Saved Me

✨ c h a p t e r t w e n t y f o u r ✨

I had to change seven times just because I couldn't figure out what to wear. My aunt walked in with a bag in her hand.

"Need help?" she asked, a teasing smile on her face. I nodded, lying down on my bed in frustration. She chuckled before pulling out a beautiful red and white high-low dress. It wasn't too short or too long ─ it was perfect. The top half was white and the bottom half was red.

For the first time in years, I went completely sleeveless. My scars weren't as prominent as they were before ─ mainly because I was a couple of weeks clean now.

After thanking my aunt profusely, I changed into it. I took my mother's ring off my necklace and slipped it onto my middle finger.

"Abby, Roman's here." my aunt called.

I didn't do anything with my face other than add some eyeliner. I was terrible at makeup in all honesty. I just stuck to eyeliner and mascara; eye shadow on a good day.

Roman and my aunt were chatting when I came downstairs. He was wearing a red button down shirt and white Vineyard Vines shorts. I always forgot about how wealthy his family was compared to others. That was the thing about Roman ─ he never showed it off.

A grin made its way onto his face once he saw me. He stretched his hand out and I took it. He kissed the top of my head briefly.

"I'll bring her back by eleven if that's okay," he said. My aunt rolled her eyes, waving her hand dismissively.

"You two don't have a curfew, don't worry," she said, grinning at the two of us happily.

"I'll let you know when we're coming home," I told her, kissing her cheek. She nodded and let us leave.

"You're beautiful," Roman murmured as he started the car. I smiled in response.

He held my hand, occasionally kissing my fingertips, as he drove. The ride to the restaurant was quiet, excluding the music playing from his radio. We pulled up into La Dolce Vita, an Italian restaurant that was right by the water. It was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. The sun was just setting, creating a blissful aura among us. The sky was a mix of different colors: dark blue, light blue, purple, and even a bit of pink.

Roman and I headed inside the expensive restaurant. There were some fairy lights hanging off the wall. The lights were slightly dimmed, creating a romantic ambience. Roman tugged my arm, leading me to the small table where his parents sat. My stomach was in knots at the sight of them. They both looked stunning. Mrs. Carter wore a navy blue, half sleeve lace dress that complimented her figure. Her beautiful light brown hair was pulled to the side in a french braid. Mr. Carter looked sophisticated with his white dress shirt and black pants. He was the exact replica of Roman (technically Roman looks like him, but we all know what I mean). He had this look on his face that was severely intimidating, as if he was judging everyone and everything in his way.

"Oh Abigail!" Mrs. Carter said, standing up and enveloping me in a tight hug.

"Hi Mrs. Carter," I said, returning the hug. She squeezed me briefly.

"Please, just call me Moira." She grinned happily, looking about her son briefly. "I'd also like to point out that I was right."

"About what?" Roman asked, placing a hand on the small of my back almost instinctively.

"That you two would get together," she said. I blushed as Roman rolled his eyes. I turned to face his father who was watching us with a rather peculiar look. Once he met my eyes, he gave me a grin ─ a grin.

"Well, it's finally nice to meet the young girl my boy wouldn't stop talking about," he said, his voice deep and powerful. Roman rubbed the back of his neck, his ears turning just the slightest shade of pink.