Always You (14 page)

Wrenn

The eve of my graduation. One
more day until I was free.

One more day until I could
start the rest of my life, and I still hadn’t worked out what to do. I refused
to commit to Dalton unless I was sure.

God, that sounded horrible
. As bad as this felt for me, it had to
be worse for him. He didn’t need me changing my mind in five years, or ten
years. If I was with him, it was for all of it.

I tried to put things into
perspective
—
life
with Dalton, and life without him. My feelings for him were beyond love. I
loved this man more than I did anything else in my world right now. If he
did
have this disease, was twenty years
with him enough? Was it better than not having him at all? I couldn’t imagine
loving anybody the way I did him. That had to count for something.

Kass took me shopping for a
graduation dress, mostly to take my mind off Dalton and everything else that
was going on. Paige had recounted her accusations against Dalton, but the board
had insisted on investigating my relationship with him. After countless
interviews with various members of the school board, they were meeting today to
decide his fate, and I was a nervous wreck.

I hadn’t seen or spoken to him
all week. We had sent texts—a
lot
of texts
—
but
it wasn’t the same as hearing his voice. I longed to hear that deep, husky
voice whispering sexy and dirty things into my ear.

“How about this?”

Kass held out a short
purple-and-black chiffon dress. I screwed up my nose at the wide straps. I
didn’t do straps. They made my shoulders look huge. I searched through the rack
in front of me, only half focused on the task at hand.

“There, what about that?” she
said.

I stopped at looked at the
dress I was holding in my hands. Okay, this one wasn’t half bad. It was
strapless, long, and fitted with a built-in corset. I ran the dark blue silk
fabric over my fingers, loving the way it felt against my skin. This was
perfect.

The winter formal was set to
follow the small, informal ceremony for the half dozen students graduating
early. It wasn’t usual for students graduating early to have a midyear
ceremony, but Layna had insisted on marking the occasion.

“I’ll try it on,” I agreed,
carrying it into the dressing room. I stripped out of my jeans and shirt, and
my bra. Lifting the dress carefully over my head, I let it shimmy down over my
body and over my hips.

Wow
. I stared at my refection in the mirror. This dress was
stunning. I pushed open the door and called out for Kass.

“Holy shit, I hope you’re
getting that dress,” she gasped, covering her mouth. “You look fucking amazing.
You’re making me second guess
my
dress.”

I looked back at myself,
tilting my head. It was perfect, but it was also expensive. When Layna gave me
her credit card for a dress, I was pretty sure she didn’t have this budget in
mind. Still, I had a lot of savings put away. And I hadn’t brought myself
anything in a long time…

Okay. I was sold. All I could
think was
wait until Dalton sees me in this dress
, even if it was a few
days after the dance.

***

After we finished shopping,
Kass dropped me back at home. Getting out of the house had brightened my mood;
it had been exactly what I’d needed. I went upstairs to hang up my dress. The
door downstairs shut and I raced back down, hoping it was Layna. I was so
anxious for news on the hearing. Dalton hadn’t texted or called me, and that
made me nervous.

Layna stood in the hallway. I
watched as she shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the coat rack, searching
her face for any indication of what might have happened.
 
Nothing. She looked up and saw me. A
smile. A smile was good, right?

“How did it go?” I asked, my
stomach in knots.

“Well,” she smiled again. “He
will be discharged from Tennerson’s, but because you are not willing to make a
complaint, we concluded that nothing could be proven, so this won’t be on his
record.”

Yes!
I ran up and wrapped my arms around her.

“Am I correct in that you won’t
be making a complaint?” she smirked.

I snorted and glowered at her.
Funny
. “Does he know?” I asked.

She nodded. “I just called him
before I got in.”

She’d barely finished speaking
and I was back up the stairs, slamming the door to my room shut. I grabbed my
phone and dialed his number.

“So you heard,” he answered.

I threw myself on the bed and
closed my eyes, focusing on his voice. I could almost imagine he was beside me,
lying next to me. Touching me.

“I’m not going to lose my
career.”

“Yes, it’s wonderful,” I
grinned into the phone. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me either. Come up to the city
after graduation. Come stay with me.”

“And your mom?” I piped up,
cringing at the thought. I could only imagine what she thought of me. I was the
girl who had stolen her little boy’s heart.

“Mom can’t wait to meet you,
Wrenn,” he chuckled. “Do you know how long she’s been waiting for me to bring a
girl home? I think secretly she always wanted a daughter.”

“Even a student?”
 
I joked feebly. “Okay. I’ll come,” I
decided. At the very least, talking to his mom was probably what I needed to do
most to make a decision on what I wanted.

“Good. I’m sorry I can’t be
there to see you tomorrow,” he said, the disappointment in his voice obvious.

My mood dropped as I thought
about how hard the next day was going to be. I’d have Layna and Dan there, but
my graduation was one of those things I’d expected to share with my parents and
my brother. Not having Dalton there to see me graduate was just another blow.

“Don’t worry, Layna will take
plenty of photos.”

“Good. I guess I’ll see you
soon,” he said, his tone soft.

“Can’t wait,” I smiled.

***

Kass was over at nine in the
morning to help me get ready. Personally, I didn’t see the point in getting up
so damn early when we didn’t need to be at the auditorium until twelve, but I
gave in. Who was I to spoil the sudden urge she’d developed to be all girly
together?

“Are you going down tonight to
see him?” she asked, running the straightener through her hair.

I nodded. At first I was going
to stay \, then drive down the next day, go out for dinner with Layna and Dan
and celebrate my graduation. Then I had the realization that the only person
who I wanted to celebrate with wasn’t here.

He was the only person I really
cared about sharing anything with. And what’s more, it hit me that I hadn’t had
a single nightmare about the accident since the day we met.

It was at that moment I knew
that no matter what, I couldn’t give him up. You can’t choose who you fall in
love with, all you can do is be damn thankful you’ve found someone who
understands you.

Nobody understood me like he did.

***

I sat in my chair in my gown
and my cap, waiting for my name to be called.

Then it was. I stood up and
walked up onto the stage to collect my diploma. It was such a bittersweet
moment; every emotion was hurling through me, from happiness and relief right
down to anger and sadness. This was a milestone in my life that my family
should have been here to see, and I was angry that had been taken from me.

I imagined them, standing
underneath the huge oak tree over by the gardens. Mom would be smiling and
clapping like crazy while dad struggled to figure out how to operate the video
camera. Jordan would be rolling his eyes and trying to help Dad, while trying
to hide the fact that he was proud of his big sister.

I reached the podium where
Layna stood, holding my diploma. I could see the tears in her eyes and I knew
she was thinking the same thing: my family should be here. I wiped my eyes and
smiled at her, unable to hold back the tears.

“They would be so proud of you.
Just as Dan and I are,” she whispered in my ear. She kissed my cheek and hugged
me as the small crowd clapped. “Now go over to the fire drill area.”

What the hell?
I opened my mouth to question. She shook her head
and grinned.

“No questions, Wrenn. For once
in your life, just do as you’re told.”

I nodded and made my way off
stage as the graduates began to gather with their families.

I looked out over the empty
gardens, puzzled at what I was supposed to be seeing. I passed the seating
area, and the path that headed to the student parking lot, still unsure of what
the hell I was looking for.
Had they
gotten me a new car?

“Hello, you.”

I turned around, my eyes
widening in shock.
Dalton
.

What the hell was he doing
here? He stood there watching, amused by my reaction. His mouth turned upwards
into a smile as I ran forward and into his arms. God I had missed him. Our lips
melted together, his hand cradling the base of my neck, leaving my skin
tingling and my mouth wanting more.

“I couldn’t miss seeing you
graduate,” he murmured softly, kissing my nose, then my eyes, then my forehead.
“I called Layna and we agreed I would stand over here, away from…well,
everyone.”

I wrapped my arms around his
waist, my head resting against his chest, so glad he was there.

I glanced back over at the
crowd around the podium, which was beginning to dissipate. I wouldn’t be going
to the dance that night. I wanted to spend every moment with
him
.

“Come over to the house,” I
said, pulling him in that direction.

He raised his eyebrow at me as
if to say ‘now?’ I giggled and blushed as I nodded my head furiously.

He shook his head and laughed.
“See, you can’t keep away from me, Wrenn. You can barely last a day without me
around.” It was true. The few days had been hell without him. If that hadn’t
already made my decision up for me, then seeing him here today sure as hell
had.

As we walked away, I spotted
Paige staring at us from the other end of the gardens. I slowed to a stop, my
heart beating furiously.

“Can you give me a moment?” I
said to Dalton.
I needed to do this. I needed
closure.

“Sure,” Dalton replied, taken
aback. He glanced around and spotted Paige, his body tensing. “What are you
doing?” he asked uncertainly, his hand gripping my arm.

“Something I should have done a
long time ago,” I murmured. As he let me go, I walked over to her. She eyed me
coolly, her lip turned up as I approached her. If she felt bad or embarrassed
about what she had done, she didn’t show it.

“I want to ask you something,”
I said, looking her in the eye. All the hell she had put me though and it came
down to this: me finally confronting her.

“What?” she sneered in disgust.
Her chin rose, like even talking to me was below her. She flicked her blonde
hair over her shoulder and waited.

“I want to know what your
problem is. Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?”

Paige laughed and shook her
head. “See, you never did get it. You come in here, the little niece of the
headmistress, acting like you’re so much better than everyone else with your
perfect little life.” She pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing in on me. “I
don’t need a reason to hate you, Wrenn. I just do.”

I began to laugh. She stared at
me like I was crazy. Maybe I was. For so long I had let her get under my skin,
and now I couldn’t give less of a shit about her. The response she had just
given me confirmed what I already knew: she was a selfish little brat.

“Do you know why I came here?”
I asked her. I didn’t wait for an answer. “Because my entire family died in a
car accident. I lost my mother, my father, and my brother, Paige. Do you think
I asked for this? Do you think I wanted to invade your little world?” I asked,
spreading my hands. “My perfect little life ended a long time ago.”

Her mouth fell open as her blue
eyes filled with shame. She actually looked sorry. I almost laughed. The bitch
actually had the balls to feel
sorry
for me.

God, that made me want to slap her.

“My God, Wrenn, I didn’t
know—”

“Of course you didn’t, Paige,”
I cut in. “You
never
gave me a
chance. All you did was make my life hell, and the lives of others. Do you
think any of this matters? In ten years, where will you be? Still judging
people on the very little you know about them?”

She didn’t respond. Instead,
she dropped her gaze and waited for me to finish.

“Do me a favor and learn from
this, because often what seems perfect really isn’t.” I turned and stalked off
before she could reply, flipping my hair over my shoulder.
 

Damn, that felt good.

***

“Are you sure we’re not going
to be…interrupted?” Dalton mumbled, kissing my neck. I nodded. Layna and Dan
would be tied up with school-related graduation things for at least the next
two hours.

Then, we were having dinner.
The four of us—something that made me completely anxious. Since the truth
about us had come out, I hadn’t had the pleasure of being in the same room as
Dalton and my family, so I had no idea what to expect.

Up on my toes, I curled my arms
around his neck, tilting his lips down to meet mine, loving the feel of his
hand on the curve of my back. Reaching for his hand, I led him to the bed,
curling up with his arms around me. I didn’t need sex to feel close to him.
Just having him next to me was enough.

***

Well, this was awkward.

Dalton, Dan, and I sat at the
table as Layna carried over the roast that had been slow cooking all day. The
table was full of fresh rolls, beans, roast vegetables, and other foods, the
smell of which were making my mouth water.