11 Chapter 11

My knees buckled at this declaration. I would have fallen to the ground had Wes not had a hold on me. I melted into his arms, my lips pressed against his neck. “You’re my everything, Wes,” I mumbled against his warm skin.

Side by side and shoulder to shoulder, we headed home, blissfully happy after our confessions to each other. I wanted to holler into the night sky how much I loved Wes and how perfect everything was going to be now that there was no question of our commitment to each other.

Our giddy bubble popped as we approached the apartment building to find Wes’ mom tossing garbage bags into the trunk of an unfamiliar car. There was a strange tension in the air, urging me to turn around and return to the relative safety of the alley with Wes.

Wes’ mom jerked in our direction as we got close. “Wes, there you are! I was looking all over for you.” She swiveled her head around frantically, searching for some unseen thing. “Go grab your stuff upstairs and let’s go.”