Three years later
Tanner, let's go we're going to be late." I was waiting in the hall for Tanner as he took his sweet time getting ready for our dinner tonight. Tonight is my 21st birthday, yeah exciting right? Now I'm legally old enough to drink alcohol in the U.S.
I pushed off the wall as Tanner opened his dorm room door and stepped out. He was dressed in a nice black shirt and jeans, I smiled and walked up to him to give him a kiss. I went to pull back when he refused to let me go. I laughed pulling back so I could see his face.
"We don't have time for this, Tanner."
"We have plenty of time," he said closing his door.
We started down the hall and over to the elevator. Getting out to the parking lot I looked over at Tanner as he started towards his car.
"Can we...take the Jeep tonight?" He stopped and looked back at me.
"Yeah." He seemed a little reluctant as he went towards the drivers door. I was inside the Jeep when Tanner shut his door and just stared at the steering wheel.
"You okay?" I asked.
Tanner had his hands on the wheel as he looked up at me, "yeah," he said nodding his head.
I furrowed my brows but dropped the subject as he started up the Jeep. I just sighed sitting back not even bothering to ask where we were going because I knew that he wouldn't tell me.
Five minutes passed and the silence was getting thicker, not that it felt like an awkward silence but that the tension was so big that I felt like I was going to explode.
"Are we there yet?" I asked looking over at him.
Tanner looked at me, then back to the road." No, we have another ten minutes. Why?"
"No reason."
"Sarah come on, I know you. There's always a reason." I smiled out the window as I played with my ear.
"I'm just worried about Angela. You know? She's still heart broken about Spencer."
"Why are you trying to change the subject?" He asked as he kept looking back and forth between me and the road.
"I'm not."
"Why won't you look at me?"
"Stop it, that doesn't mean anything."
"It does mean something if you won't even look at me."
"Tanner, just drop it!" I exclaimed as I looked at him.
I sighed and closed my eyes turning my head down in my hand. I felt the Jeep roll to a stop as the first tear escaped. A pair of arms enveloped me as I started crying even more, Tanner pulled back and pried my hands from my face. I didn't look at him as my eyes clouded over to where I couldn't see.
"Hey, look at me." Tanner wiped the tears with his hands as I reluctantly turned my head up so I could see him."Is this about Jack?" At his name another sob escaped my throat and the tears came back. "Sarah it's going to be okay," Tanner said as he pulled me into his arms and rocked me back and forth.
Soon enough my breath steadied and the tears stopped, the sniffles slowed but I was still on the verge of crying all over again. Before I could though I pulled out of Tanner's embrace and wiped at my face.
"Can we just go?" Tanner continued watching me as I stared forward out the window. Soon enough he faced forward and put the Jeep in drive pulling back out on to the road.
It wasn't long before we pulled into the parking lot of, no other but Olive Garden. "Really," I said looking at him.
"What? I like Italian." I shook my head and climbed out of the Jeep.
We headed inside the restaurant, and were seated immediately since Tanner had made reservations. Who makes reservations for Olive Garden is beyond me, but he's happy- and as long as he happy- I'm happy.
I noticed that I was staring, though Tanner didn't seem to notice as I smiled and picked up my menu. I skimmed acrossed it, but nothing seemed to jump out at me. I haven't been feeling so good lately, I've been throwing up all hours of the night, and couldn't seem to keep anything down. That and I missed my period, I'm starting to get worried. I haven't told Tanner any of that because I know that he would just worry.
"Sarah!?" I stopped and looked up at Tanner.
"Hm?"
"What are you getting?" I looked over at the waiter in surprise.
"Oh, I'll just have what he's getting." I closed my menu and handed it to him.
"Sure thing," the waiter said taking my menu and heading off to the kitchen.
I turned back to Tanner as I sipped from my water. He was looking at me funny. "What?" I asked.
"Are you okay?" I smiled.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"You sure?" He asked.
"Yeah, Tanner I'm fine. Why are you being so persistent?"
"Because you just ordered Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara."
"So."
"Sarah, you're allergic to shrimp." I furrowed my brows as I realized what I had done."
"Oh." I looked over at our waiter who was at another table. "Sir, excuse me." He looked over at me and came my way after he finished refilling their drinks.
"What can I get for you?" He asked.
"I'd like to change my order." He handed me a menu and waited with his paper and pen at the ready.
I skimmed through the menu and saw what I wanted, "I'll have the Chicken Marsala please." With that I closed my menu and handed it back to him. He silently thanked me and headed back to the kitchen to replace my order.
"Sarah?" I turned back to Tanner. "Is there something going on that I don't know about?" I slowly shook my head.
"No, everything's fine." Tanner nodded his head. I knew he didn't believe me, but I wasn't ready to tell him yet.
Soon enough our food came and we ate mostly in silence. I was half way through my chicken when I decided on a subject.
"So how are your classes going?" Tanner glanced up at me as he took a drink from his coke.
"Good, I just took my final semester exam in my English class, so I'm just waiting for the results. What about you?"
"Same except I had another final exam in science so I'm waiting to get those scores back." I scooted my plate away from me as I finished the last of it.
"You know that's the first meal you've been able to keep down in awhile," Tanner said looking at my plate.
"Yeah, I've been feeling better," I said smiling. I cleared my throat and turned my head to the side as I looked at all of the other couples in the restaurant. Some of them were holding hands and smiling as they gazed into each other's eyes. Tanner and I never liked to show our affection for each other, in public.
I turned back to him and smiled. " Hey? How about we get out of here?"
"And where would we go?" He asked.
"I don't know, anywhere." He smiled and flagged down the waiter.
~*~
Tanner opened my door for me and I jumped out of the Jeep slipping my hand into his open one, as we walked into the woods I looked at the path watching my feet. I took in a deep breath as I looked up, eyes closed as I smelled the trees, and wilderness all around me. I smiled and looked over at Tanner as I hugged his arm and leaned my head against his shoulder. He laughed as he looked down at me, then in the back of his eyes I could have sworn I saw nervousness. I didn't ask what was wrong because I didn't want to ruin this perfect moment.
Moving back to Maine for college wasn't always everything I thought it would be. We were an hour away from my home town, so that I could go and visit whenever I had the time. Going to school at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. I'm studying Forensic science, as Tanner is studying In biology but more specifically bio-medical science. I never knew how much he loved science until his little science project with Spencer who also was studying in science but more on the botany side.
I looked over at Tanner as we broke through the trees and ended up in our own little spot. There was a small meadow like place with a pond off to the right side. We found this place one day when we were on the park trails not too far from here. There was a little bench in front of the pond, that was quite old, but it still held both Tanner and I the first time we sat on it.
I watched the water as Tanner pulled me in the direction of the little meadow. Then as he sat down I sat next to him, hugging his side. I sighed as I watched the water, and as Tanner wrapped his arms around me I felt completely and utterly safe. At peace. At home.
A few minutes had passed in silence as I sighed leaning my head onto his shoulder. I opened my eyes when I heard Tanner clear his throat. He pulled away and I looked at him as he swallowed. I watched his adams apple bob up and down as I then looked into his eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked pushing myself up a little more. He stood up and looked down at me. "Tanner?" He held a hand up as he closed his eyes.
"Sarah Nina Lincoln." He got down on one knee as I realized what he was doing. "I have loved you ever since you yelled at me in that Jeep three years ago, because I dug into your private life with out your permission. Now that I know how and why I love you. I was wondering if you would do me the honors and marry me?" I looked up at him in shock as he took my hand in his. His other hand shook as he reached for his pocket I grabbed it and held it in mine.
"Yes." I smiled as a tear slipped down my cheek. "Yes, a thousand times yes." I laughed and kissed him.
When we separated he smiled and looked down at our intertwined hands. "But you haven't seen the ring."
"I don't need to," I whispered as I leaned my forehead against his.
Tanner smiled as he reached into his pocket and slipped the ring onto my finger. I didn't even look at it as I put my hands on his face, all I looked at was his eyes, the deep carmel brown that I woke up to that morning in New York three years ago. I leaned in and kissed him, Tanner's nerves were all gone as he kissed me back with the same amount of force, maybe even more.
I pulled away as I thought of my family. "My parents, we need to tell them," I said standing up and brushing off my pants.
"Yeah, okay," Tanner said nodding and standing up as well.
~*~
We were almost to Van Buren when I thought of Jack. "Wait, go to the cemetery," I said as the sun was starting to set. Tanner just nodded his head and turned the signal on as he took a left.
I saw the cemetery coming up on my right, I sighed as I looked to the road. There was a blue Toyota coming our way, just when I thought that it was going to pass us it swerved over and crashed right into us.
Tanner lost control of the Jeep as we crashed through the cemetery gate. The Jeep broke through and kept going, as we hit grave sites the Jeep flipped over and tumbled through the cemetery.
Once the Jeep stopped on its top I coughed as I had felt a piece of glass in my throat, it flew out and I grabbed my head. I saw everything upside down, as I looked over at Tanner he looked unconscious as I grabbed his shoulder. I shook his shoulder and yelled his name but he didn't wake. I saw fire out of the corner of my eye, it was coming from the back of the Jeep. I turned back to Tanner and saw someone walking up to the Jeep.
"Hey! Help us! Please help us!" I yelled as they walked around to my side. They bent over and looked inside, a tear ran down my cheek at the person who I was looking at. "No, your dead." Liam smiled as he sighed, and shook his head.
"Sarah, Sarah." What am I suppose to do with you. Always getting into trouble. Always getting hurt. Well." He reached inside of the Jeep and grabbed ahold of me. He ripped the seat belt off and pulled me out throwing me onto the ground. "I guess I'll just have to take care of you myself."
I put a hand up to my head as I looked up at him, "I don't understand. You're supposed to be dead."
"No," he said stepping towards me. "That's what they wanted you to think, but in reality they locked me up. Only I escaped." He grabbed my hair and I screamed out in pain as he lifted me up. "Now I'm going to kill you, while your little boy toy over there watches." I looked over and saw Tanner as he started to put a hand up to his head, as he came too.
I looked back to Liam and glared at him, "go to hell." He smirked and stood up dragging me a few feet away from the Jeep. I kicked and screamed as I looked back to Tanner who was now watching me. He struggled as he tried to get the seat belt off.
"Sarah! Sarah!" He yelled as I heard him struggling.
"Tanner!" I yelled, as I looked at him.
"Oh shut up!" Liam threw me down and I rolled onto my side, moaning at the pain. "Oh what a surprise." I looked back at Tanner as he fell out of the Jeep. He must've gotten his seat belt off. "Look who's here Sarah." I turned my head up to see what Liam was looking at, but before I could he grabbed me and threw me up against one of the headstones.
I hit my head against the hard rock, and closed my eyes. "Don't go to sleep yet Sarah." I was grabbed and lifted up into the air. Opening my eyes I was looking back into the deep depths of Liam's blue ones.
"Please don't do this."
"Oh, but it's so much fun." He threw me back onto the ground, and I coughed out in pain. I looked over and saw Tanner crawling out of the Jeep. "Oh don't pay him any attention. I'll deal with him when I'm done with you." He picked me up by the hair again as I grabbed his arm.
Before I could talk him down I felt an enormous pain to my head. My vision blackened as the pain came back I could see it out of the corner of my eye. The pain came three more times before I couldn't see anything and I felt myself being thrown to the ground again. I looked up at the grave stone and saw my own blood running down across the words.
Jack Andrew Lincoln
1997-2015
Beloved brother and son
"The blood will never loose its power."
I looked back over at Liam as he smirked at me, and stepped towards me. Right before I blacked out all I remember seeing was Liam being tackled. Then, there was nothing.