Chapter 37
Lily
" O h, there he is. The star of the moment." Mrs. Fletcher's voice rose in adoration as she caught sight of her son. My heart skipped a beat. We had spent the past several hours talking about her life in the army, being a wife, a mother...and about Eric. Stories of him as a kid, expressions of regret, the sweet way he showed up for others and was always the one who saw the silver lining, who painted the colors into the rainbow. And his loyalty to the ones he loved. How much he loved.
It took me back to high school, the first time we met. Everyone else thought I was weird, but he was obsessed with me until I had no choice but to give in to his charms. Okay, he wasn't obsessed. He was sweet and kind, and didn't give up easily despite the closed doors around my heart. I was reminded all over again about the reasons I fell in love with him. He was the sunshine to my dark gray skies.
Even though I knew he must be as affected by what happened to me as Ryan was, he still fought every day to look at the positive side of things. There was a part of me that hurt because of it. Because I wanted him to be able to let his guard down too, to not have to be so strong all the time.
With the way his mother spoke of him, it confirmed everything I first believed to be true about him, before my mother's words infected my thoughts. There was no way someone so good could kill.
But if he did...
If my mom were right after all, I knew he would have only done it because he loved as hard as he did. Just like his friends did, because like attracts like and he attracted good people who were just like him. Was that so wrong?
The question caught me off guard and I reeled back. Ew, what kind of person did that make me? Of course it was still wrong. For a person to resort to murder, unless it was self-defense, there must be something not completely good and safe within them. Something I wouldn't want to be around.
I didn't want to think about that right now.
I only had proof of Eric's kindness.
His parents, they were hardened by the harsh things they'd had to face in life, but they kept overcoming difficulties. They were wholesome and nothing like the families I'd grown accustomed to seeing, hearing stories about on repeat from women who were in similar situations as myself. This was like what going to Disneyland for kids must feel like. Caught up in a haze of fantasy and hope, where anything and everything was possible. His parents inspired me. And if they could have that kind of effect on me after being in their presence for less than a day, how much greater could their effect have been on Eric?
"You okay?" His thumb across my cheek shook me out of my reverie.
"Huh?" I smiled up at him.
"I was asking if you're ready to go to bed, but you've just been staring at me, smiling." He grinned. "Tired, huh?"
I swallowed and touched his hand against my flushed cheek. I leaned further into it. "Yeah." I cleared my throat and stood up. "I'm ready for bed."
He slipped his hand in mine and looked over at his mother. "No worries, mom. We're not all going to share a bed in your house. The other guys are going to stay at a hotel. And I'll be just downstairs if you need me."
"Wait, what? You're not coming upstairs with me, at least?" I asked, disappointment evident in the hitch in my voice.
"Is it the nightmares?" He asked, rubbing his hands down my arms, heating up my already warming blood.
"Nightmares?" His mother asked.
He smiled at her and nodded. "I'm going to step outside with Lily for a bit."
Eric nodded me toward the door. It wasn't the nightmares I was worried about. Not yet, anyway. I wasn't even thinking about those, so thanks for the reminder, Eric. What I was thinking about was how tense and worn his eyes looked. And how much I wanted to wrap my arms around him and kiss away all the stress he was carrying, and make up for the past couple of weeks of me pushing him away.
As soon as we stepped outside the door, I looped my fingers through his hair, tipped on my toes and pulled him down to me. My lips met his with longing and he groaned, wrapping his arms around my waist in an instant.
"What was that for?" He panted as we pulled away to catch our breaths.
"Thanks for bringing me here." I gushed, my heart full. "Everything just feels right, you know?"
He smiled and his eyes searched my face. "I haven't told them about the wedding yet," Eric confessed.
At his mention of the wedding, my heart started galloping. "Good."
"Good?" He creased his brows as I leaned into him.
"Yeah, because it's back on, Eric. The wedding's back on. I want to marry you. All of you. As soon as possible." I threw my arms around his neck.