The Girl With The Scar

Chapter Sixteen

"Sawyer what do you mean? Whats going on?" I say taking a step closer to him with each word.

"Its nothing to worry about but I should tell you" he says holding my shoulder and guiding me to the bed.

I sit and he sits next to me, I watch his mouth move, fumbling for the words to tell me something. Finally he speaks, "well for starts let me tell you about my childhood.

"I'm an only child. My dad left when I was six and my mom is a workaholic. I was desperate for attention so I did whatever would make me popular at school, sometimes those things got me into a lot of trouble. After 6th grade my mom decided I was too much to handle and sent me to live with my aunt and uncle. Here. Again I tried to popular, stay out of too much trouble this time while still having fun because my aunt is a hard ass."

I open my mouth to respond but he shushes me and continues, "Now we're getting close to college. My grades suck, my attendance record is like half of what it should be and my red file is huge. I'm pretty sure no college will accept me and I've sorta been banned from the community college here. Don't ask. Anyway I need to get into college somehow so..."

He takes a deep breath, "so after graduation I'm joining the military".

I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me, "what?" I barley get out.

"I know its not ideal but its 6 weeks boot camp over the summer and then base training. After that I can be deported. After 4 years I can get into college and for free".

"yeah if you're still alive!" I shout. Sawyer looks at me telling me to lower my voice but i'm angry.

"How could you make this decision without me? What about us? How am I supposed to live with myself if you die? huh? Do you even care about me?" I'm shouting now and I know I shouldn't be. My head is spinning and I feel my face turning red.

"Tilly shut the hell up before I get grounded again! And by the way I'm doing this for you. You know how much I cared about college six months ago? Zero. Nada. But you, I want to take care of you. I want to buy you a big beautiful house one day and afford expensive pizza to eat on the dishes you picked out. I want you to be able to buy anything you want without worrying if we need the money fir milk instead. We can't live like that if I work at Taco Bell my whole life and you know it" he says. A large breath escapes him and he puts his head in his hands.

Every word he said runs through my head. He is planning for the future. He wants to be with me forever. And, even though he didn't say it back I think he loves me.

"I'm trying Tilly" he says. Are those tears threatening his eyes? They come from frustration i'm sure.

"I know you are Sawyer. I'm sorry. I just don't want to see you get hurt you know? But, what you were saying about the future... you really see me in it?" I ask.

"of course. I love you Till" he takes a breath "I love Matilda Ginger Savon and I am going to love her for the rest of my life"

"She's a lucky girl" I say nodding my head. He reaches over and kisses me,

"I'm an even luckier guy"

With that I kiss him and we're tangled up in each others arms for the better part of the night. I drift off to sleep in his loving arms.

I wake up first. I smile to myself and then roll over to see Sawyer still sleeping. I watch his chest rise and fall with his breathing, he is so amazing. Sitting up I realize I only have one sock on. I kiss him on the temple and go searching for my other sock under the covers.

Several minutes later I'm burrowed under the covers and I still can't find it. I hear the door to Sawyers room open and I dive to lay flat on the bed. I close my eyes tight, as if that will help, and pray whoever it is doesn't notice me.

"Sawyer" the voice says. It's a mans voice, an older man but not too old. "Sawyer wake up but don't move. There is something in your bed, i'm going to knock it out so don't move" the man says. Sawyer sighs a sleepy 'ok' and then what he said registers inside me. I whip off the covers,

"No please don't!" I shout.

The man has a text book in his hands, "who the hell are you? Sawyer?" the man asks. Sawyer jerks to an upright position.

"Oh Gosh. Tilly I forgot you were here" Sawyer gushes. "This is my girlfriend. I swear we weren't doing anything . She had a bad night and we fell asleep"

"Sneaking girls into your room for any reason is unacceptable" his what i'm now assuming is his uncle says but his face is softening.
"If I had asked would you have let her in?" Sawyer asks. I notice he is sitting protectively in front of me.

"No, I think you're aunt would have had a cow. And she will now if she finds out so you should go home um..."

"Tilly" I supply. He just nods and leaves the room muttering something to himself.

"sorry Till" Sawyer says.

I shrug, "its okay. He seems nice". I hop off the bed and stretch a little. I fell asleep in my jeans. I ruffle through my bag and pull out my phone. Dead. Great. Next I grab my coat and pull it on, then my shoes, black converse. I pull my  hair up into a super messy ponytail. When I turn around Sawyer is just walking back into the room, I didn't even notice he left.

"You're leaving?" he asks. I notice he is holding two bagels, a half empty jar of jam and two apple juice boxes. The two of everything makes me cringe as I remember the fight I left unsettled with my dad.

"I'm sorry Sawyer, I have to get home before my dad sends police looking for me. I'm probably going to get it as it is" I say which is a lie because my dad probably hasn't even noticed I'm gone. I move closer to him and plant a kiss on his cheek, and then his lips. Smiling I retrieve my bag, "where should I exit?"

"My aunt is in the shower, you can go downstairs. Please, just take this with you" he says handing me one of the bagels and a juice box.

"Thank you babe" I say and he walks me down the hall. As we walk I notice the walls are pretty bare except for a few pictures. The stairs are open on both sides as we go down, we go to the right and walk through the living room. All the furniture is brown and a TV hangs off the wall. We continue through another bare hallway and then reach the front door. He opens it for me and I pause. He kisses me.

"Thanks for last night" I whisper in between kisses.

"I love you" he whispers back.

I kiss him one more time and slowly I walk away.