Infinity & Always (31 page)

“I
know,” he says leaning over for a kiss.

***

I
have spent the last two days here at work with Dad. I am trying to
keep busy and not have to think about tomorrow, but it’s all I
can think about.

“How
are you holding up sweetheart?”

“Dad,
honestly I don’t know,” I sigh.

“I
know you want to be there for Knox…”

“Dad
stop…you sound like him right now and I really can’t
hear it. I know what’s at stake, but his life is more important
than some stupid exam. I have money Dad, lots of money, and a job, so
a degree is not really needed.”

Leaning
my head back on the chair, I let out a breath and close my eyes.

“I
understand that you have money sweetheart, but isn’t getting a
degree a big achievement for you? Considering you weren’t even
planning on attending college after Summer died.”

“Yeah
it is Dad, but Knox is more important.”

Climbing
to my feet, I give him a hug, he holds me just a little bit longer
and kisses my head. Leaving his office, I stroll back into my own and
take a seat at my desk. Picking up the phone I dial Knox’s
extension.

“Hello.”

“Hi
handsome.”

He
laughs down the line at me. “I knew it was you, I have caller
ID.”

“No,
you don’t, my extension doesn’t come up.”

“I
got a tech friend to make it display. It says, watch out the boss is
calling.”

“You’re
such a liar,” I laugh at him.

“Okay
then bye darlin’,” he hangs up on me but I don’t
care, I have a smile on my face. A few minutes later he walks into my
office with a coffee. “Beautiful.”

“Hi
babe, nice surprise.”

He
bends down to kiss me, but I don’t let him go, deepening our
kiss. Finally, we break apart and he looks at me. “What’s
up?”

“Nothing
why.”

“You
don’t usually kiss me like that,” he says.

“Like
what? I do so kiss you like that, all the time,” I argue.

“No,
you don’t darlin’. That was a feisty, I wanna fuck you in
the bathroom kiss,” he says.

“Oh
really and how would you know what that kind of kiss is like?”

He
smirks at me then laughs. “I have given a few out.”

“Oh
well, pray tell my love,” I watch him duck his head a little
and allow his hair to fall forward. His cheeks turn a little pink,
and I move so I can look at him.

“Are
you blushing? You little slut!”

He
bursts out laughing at me and twirls my chair around with me in it.
“No, men don’t blush. Let’s just say before you, I
had a few lady frogs to deal with.”

“Oh
bullshit, you’re a man whore, I was right! All those nights
spent working in Black’s. I knew you were trouble, Knox
Porter.”

“Yeah,
well why did you chase me?”

“What!
I never did any sort of chasing babe. Your memories are a little
fuzzy.” Shaking my head, I smile at him - perched on the edge
of my desk. He is grinning back at me and chuckling.

“I
distinctly remember you chasing me down and accosting me in the
street.”

“I
think you’re full of shit babe.”

“I
think you see something you like,” he smirks and leans closer.

“I
think I wanna fuck you in the bathroom.”

I
answer, grabbing his face between my hands and pulling him closer. We
kiss hard and fast, Knox grips my hair and pulls me into his groin.
We stumble over to my door, pulling away from him I quickly close it
and lock it. His lips are on mine again and his hands are pushing up
my skirt.

“Damn
darlin’,” he says, against my neck as he leaves a trail
of hot wet kisses. His fingers are already slipping inside of me,
making me moan with pleasure. My cell phone rings and we ignore it.

“I
want you now, Knox,” I whisper, in his ear.

Lifting
his head, he looks into my eyes. His lips are swollen and I want to
bite them, his eyes are darker than normal as he looks into mine.

“I
love you,” he tells me.

“I
know, I love you too.”

My
phone rings again and I ignore it again. Slipping my hands down, I
open his pants and push them off his hips. Knox spins me around and
pushes me over the edge of the sofa. He enters me from behind and we
move together, hard. The only sound in the room is our skin slapping
off the other and my phone ringing. We reach climax together and Knox
holds my hips tightly as he pushes into me one last time.

After
we get dressed, he asks who keeps calling me. Grabbing my phone I
shrug and he wraps his arms around me as I listen to the voicemail.

“Afternoon
Bailey, this is Agent Daniels. I hope you get this message on time. I
can proctor your last exam today at two o’clock. Call me back
to confirm if I don’t hear from you then I will take that as a
no.”

Checking
my clock, I notice it is one twenty already. “Fuck!”
pressing the callback button I kiss Knox one more time and grab my
purse running out of my office. I leave a voicemail back and race
through the town of Blackrock towards the college. Traffic is shit
and I am freaking out. “Come on!” I shout at the cars in
front of me. Banging my hands on the steering wheel I bounce in my
seat. When my phone rings, I almost scream from fright.

“Yes,
hello?”

“Hi,
Bailey I got your message. I will be in the Science Building room
SC201, see you in ten.”

“Okay,”
I answer. The traffic moves a little bit and I am able to pull into
the parking lot at the apartment. Climbing out I race all the way to
the science building in my heels and suit, barging into the room at
one fifty-seven, panting like a mad dog.

“You
okay?” Agent Daniels asks.

“Yeah,”
I pant. “I was at work.”

He
frowns at me and points to a seat. Taking it, I notice about fifteen
other students here and try to calm myself.

“Did
you run from work?” he asks, handing me my test.

“No,
I drove to the apartment. The traffic was bad so I ran from there.”

Shaking
his head, he pats my shoulder and wishes me luck. Before I know it, I
am on the last question. I just finish writing and he calls time, my
head snaps up and I sigh. No time to revise. Walking up to him, I
hand over my answer sheet and say goodbye. I’ll miss him.

“Thank
you for helping me.”

“You’re
welcome and I hope everything goes well tomorrow,” he answers.

Nodding
I leave the room and exit the building; wow college is over. How did
that happen? I take my time to walk through campus and arrive home to
find Knox pacing the floor.

“Darlin’,”
he grabs me in a hug the minute I step into the apartment.

“You
okay?” I ask, a little concerned.

“Yeah,
when I saw the car I thought you didn’t make it on time,”
he sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“I’m
done babe, all done.” Tears prick my eyes as I digest that
fact. Tomorrow seemed so far away and now here it is.

“Don’t
cry baby,” he whispers, “It will be okay.”

After
a shower, I smell pizza and walk into the sitting room. Max and Knox
are playing video games while Paige munches away.

“Hey
guys,” I grab a slice of pizza and sit next to Paige. She
squeezes my hand and smiles at me. Knox and Max are acting the way
they always do, trying to grab the others controller and pushing each
other. My heart hurts looking at them, knowing tomorrow everything
may change.

We
all get up at six in the morning. Knox has a shower and complains
about being hungry.

“Aren’t
you eating?” he asks, walking into the kitchen.

“Na
bro, we’re starving in solidarity,” Max grins.

“Lying
fucker, you’re just waiting until I’m knocked out.”

“See
you know me so well, we should be twins,” Max answers.

Knox
rolls his eyes and kisses me hello. After a while, we leave the
apartment and climb into the truck. Knox and I take the back seat and
he holds my hand in silence all the way. I can’t help but stare
at him while he looks out the window. I catch Max’s eyes in the
rear view mirror a few times, and we both have worry on our faces.
When we reach the hospital, Knox checks in and is shown to his room.
He gets changed into the gown, moaning about it the whole time and
climbs into the bed.

“Darlin’.”

“Yeah?”
I smile, taking a seat on the bed beside him.

“I
love you so much. Don’t ever forget that. I am happy I got to
spend the last four years with you. I could never love anyone the way
I love you…”

I
press my finger to his lips. “No babe, you can tell me all this
on July 29th.”

He
smiles at me and pulls me close whispering in my ear.

“Just
in case darlin’, know that you mean the whole world to me,
okay?”

Nodding,
I pull back when Max and Richard enter the room. I leave them alone
to have some family time and wait in the hall. I watch a doctor walk
into Knox’s room and Max calls me in. Knox takes off his ring,
placing it in my hand.

“Love
you darlin’.”

Bending
down, I kiss him and wrap my arms around him so tightly. After a few
minutes, he is getting wheeled out of the room. “Max, take care
of her,” he shouts, over his shoulder.

“I
know,” Max chokes out and grabs me closer to him. We follow the
bed down the hall. I watch Knox run his hands through his hair, and
then he smirks at me as the doors close to the elevator. As soon as
he is out of sight I allow my tears to fall and cling on to Max.

“It’s
okay sis, he’ll be okay,” he whispers, holding onto me as
much as I am holding onto him. We take a seat in the waiting area.
The doctor said it was going to be at least four to six hours for the
surgery. I stare at the blank wall for a while, I’m not sure
how long. When I look around, I notice Max and Richard are sitting
together in silence.

“I’ll
be outside for a minute,” I tell them.

Richard
smiles and nods at me, so I walk outside and find a small tree with a
bit of sunshine, and I sit down. I take the worn envelope from my
purse and turn it over in my hands. I’m not exactly sure why I
brought it with me, but I did. Brushing my finger over the writing on
the front I smile. I don’t know if I am supposed to wait for my
wedding day or not, but right now I think I need to be close to
Knox’s mom. Sliding my finger along the top, I rip the paper
open and take out the blue writing paper inside. Lifting my eyes to
the sun I close them for a minute and ask Nan and Summer to keep Knox
safe for me, I can’t lose him.

Opening
the pages, I begin to read the script writing that looks so much like
Knox’s.

Dear
Mrs. Knox Porter,

I
am not too sure what to call you, so I hope you don’t mind. If
you are reading this letter, then I know my son has found a truly
special person to love. I am only sorry that I can’t be there
to see your wedding. I wanted to introduce myself to you. I am
Annabelle Porter, wife, mother, and friend.

I
am writing this letter as a way for you to get to know me a little
better, but also as a way to tell you about my son. He is a wonderful
boy and I know he has grown into a wonderful man. I am sure Knox has
told you that I am a music teacher and both he and Max have learned
everything they know from me, well, they are right. Some days not by
choice, but I hope music plays an important role in their lives
today. I love my children so much and it hurts to know that I will
miss out on many special occasions in their lives. But I also know
that my husband will be there for them and see them through it for
me.

So,
on to Knox, my handsome young man. You may already know this about
him, but I will tell you anyway. Knox is my sweet, sensitive son, he
is caring and loving and has a kindness that he tries to hide, but he
can’t. It is him, and it will always, be him. He loves, not
only with his heart, but with his whole being, and that is a very
special love to have.

He
will treat you like a princess and give you all of him. I just hope
you give all of you in return because he deserves a woman like that.
When he hurts it will be deep and he will not forgive easily, but
eventually he will come around. I am not trying to scare you away. I
know he must love you very much.

I
hope you have a beautiful wedding day and spend the rest of your
lives together, living in pure happiness and joy. Love each other
passionately, and live each day to the fullest. Life is short but
with the love of Knox, you will have a happy heart. I am blessed to
have had sixteen years with my sons and I hope you have much more
than that together.

Please
give my son a hug and kiss from me, and tell him I love him more than
anything. I miss them both and to you, I love you for loving my son,
treat each other with respect and love will always bloom.

All
my love,

Annabelle.

I
read the letter twice and close my eyes, hoping that Knox will be
okay and I can show him how much I love him for the rest of my life.

“Hey,
sis, what you doin'?”

I
allow a small smile to grace my lips as I look up at Max. “Nothing.
Just reading,” I answer, holding the letter in my hand. He
takes a seat beside me wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“Anything
interesting?”

“Yeah,
a letter from your Mom,” I reply. Max stiffens beside me and I
look over at him. He looks a little worried and confused so I pass it
to him.

“Here,
don’t tell Knox.”

Taking
the letter, he looks at it then at me. “You sure?”

“Yeah,”
I reply and close my eyes again. I hear a snort and grunt a few
times, and then the sound of the paper, as he puts it back inside the
envelope. Opening my eyes, I look at him. He blows out a long slow
breath and pulls me into a hug. Neither of us speaks for a long time
and I finally pull back.