Lethal Vows

Madeline

       I stare intensely at the name flashing across the TV. Kattie Thomas. Sadly, she was just another face on the news. Another dead woman in the area. Of course, it’s always devastating to know that you or your loved ones could be that face. But in reality, she was still just another face to me.

“Hey, beautiful.” His arms wrap around my waist, squeezing me tight. “Come back to bed.” He kisses my cheek. Then my neck. The soft pecks would be teasing if my eyes weren’t glued to the screen. “She was buried alive,” I mumbled.

“Hm?” He hums against my skin.
“Kattie. They buried her alive.” Derek grabs the remote from my hand to turn the TV off. “Baby,” I shake my head in protest of this speech. Yet he grabs my jaw. “We’ve been through this. You can’t get invested in this kind of stuff anymore.

It’s depressing, I know. But we have no control over these kinds of things.” I sigh at the way his words sink in. “Right.” I turn away from him to head towards our bedroom.

“Maddie,” I get into bed without saying anything else. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about them. I cared too much. As my husband likes to say, I was “invested.” How could he blame me though, she was the fifth girl this week. And the killer is still out there, waiting.

Derek opens his arms and I fall into them. I snuggled into his warmth as much as I could. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong. Just be with me tonight. It’s our anniversary, after all.”

He kisses my forehead. “I love you.” I smile at the way those words dance off his tongue.

“I love you.” He grabs the remote to play the movie we had spent an hour deciding on. I didn’t quite know what love was before I met him. I just knew it was something everyone wanted.

Something that people would die and live for. Derek had more than I needed. His love made up for what I couldn’t get from my parents.

“How has work been going?” I felt the vibration of his words against my face. “Good. I haven’t had much to do this week.” My eyes darted to the buzzing on his side of the bed. I watch as he grabs his phone, unlocks it, and answers the message.

“Tell your mom I said hi.” He laughs but sends the text anyway. “I’m surprised she hasn’t asked for baby news yet.” My chest tightens at the sound of that word. The last thing on my mind was having kids. Especially after last year.

“Make sure she knows we aren’t trying anymore. The last thing I want is for that interrogation at Thanksgiving dinner.” His mom had zero filter. I have yet to stop recalling the time she asked if I was fertile on our wedding day.

“I’ve told her, but you know how she gets. I’m sorry you have to deal with my crazy mother.” I smiled at him. “Your apology is past due. Don't you think so?” He chuckles softly. The sound is rich. I can feel his chest move in sync with it.

“You’re right. It is.” He grabs my chin to lift my head further. Our faces get closer by the second. Until his soft lips meet mine.

“I’m trying to watch TV.” I remind him. Derek suddenly pushes me back and shifts until he’s hovering over me.

“And I don’t care.” His tongue runs over my bottom lip before he takes them into his. I fall in love more and more every day. That’s how it’s supposed to be.

Falling for each other should be a forever thing. That’s how you keep the spark alive. 

“Hey, sweetie.” I smile at the way his arms wrap around my waist. His lips gently kiss my cheek as his grasp tightens to pull me against his chest.

“How’d you sleep?” I take a break from making breakfast to indulge in this moment. “Like a baby.” He begins to sway our bodies to a quiet rhythm only he knows.