The Assignment

Chapter 8: Advised (Part 2)

"Are you alright?" I asked in a rush. "Did he hurt you in any way?"

"No," she assured me. "No, not at all. I told him about our situation and I thought that he took it well. He took good care of me for you." Her smile was soft.

I breathed a small sigh of relief. My focus should be on Emmaline now, not on what happened while we were separated. She still stood in front of me on the small porch, and I took time to admire her in the slowly sinking sun.

She looked at me in my eyes with that serious look of hers, putting her hands on either side of my face and stares at me intensely. I was captivated by her touch. It was a few moments before I realized that one of her hands was slightly cold.

"Hey, wha-" I stopped talking upon realizing that the answer to my thought. She cocked her head to one side and swept her hair back. My ring was on her finger.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, confused. It was the same ring that I'd had them make custom for her, the one that I spent years saving for. Those long hours of work certainly paid off. It made me proud to see my ring on her finger and to see that she absolutely glowed with the added jewelry.

"Oh. Your dad brought it to me. He said it was from you, and how long it took to earn the amount of money it took to pay for this, and everything. I have your notebook and your picture frame. He gave me what was sitting on your bed the last night we saw each other. When were you going to give them to me?"

Her melodic voice penetrated deep within my heart, a stab. I couldn't tell her, I couldnt tell her that I had saved it for when we ran away. My hopes vanished when she told me that she couldn't go, I thought that she didn't love me enough. I've been different since then, and she knows that.

"If we ran away," I said in a small voice. "It never happened, but I had faith that your gifts would make it to you somehow. I was hoping that my dad would get them to you if I just left them out on the last night. The window creaked anyway. He's known for a while, I bet."

She frowns at me before smiling, then kisses me gently. "C'mon, they're waiting for us. I was told that there was some sort of plan for all of this. So we could go," she says. "You need a crash course in the art of pretending." She declares.

Her assortment of rushed sentences confused me. I wasn't sure what she was talking about, with a plan and all. It did, however, sound promising. She had hinted that if it worked we'd be able to run away together. The thought was comforting.

"Okay." I agreed, letting her lead me inside. The warm, inviting sound of someone laughing greeted us. It made Em and I both smile. Hopefully, it was Chris and Kia getting along.

"Oh, Chris, it's been so long! I'd forgotten how funny you were." We heard Kia say. Maybe she was right, and he was her cousin after all. Emmaline and I continued through the house until we sat down at the kitchen table, joining the small gathering.

"Hey, guys." Kia said. "Hey Emmaline, I'm Kia." She introduced herself, holding out a hand for Emmaline to shake. "I've heard so much about you."

"I wish I could say the same for you." Emma gushed, moving to stand alongside Kia. Look at my girl, getting along so well with someone that she had probably seen as a threat before. I could tell that her kindness was genuine. She smoothed her skirt, resuming her position in the chair beside me. I took her left hand in my right, playing with the heavy ring on her finger.

My dad quickly adressed the silence that had quickly come upon us. An opportunity to discuss his plan, no doubt. He cleared his throat and began sharing his ideas.

"Okay, just so you know, this is happening today. Emmaline, I had Christopher pack you a bag of clothes while you were asleep earlier. Tonight, you will stay here with Haden in this house, and I'll take Christopher and Kia back to the beach house. You are to spend the night here and immediately leave in the morning. Take a quick shower, prepare a bag of non perishables. Head out the back door and begin trekking through the woods."