“I’m not waiting until something happens; I’m sending a few people there to keep an eye out until Vick can get to you this evening.” The anxiety in his tone wasn’t lost on me.
“That’s not necessary,” was all I was able to say before he hung up in my ear. I didn’t want or need anyone watching me. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything I could do about it now. When my father made a decision, it was final. For that reason, I didn’t even bother calling back to protest. If Sam noticed someone lurking, she’d definitely have questions and I was trying as hard as I could to keep her oblivious to how muddled my life really was. I’d gone this far without her being involved and I was determined to keep it that way.
It didn’t make sense to me that I had to live my life in fear because of things that my father had done and decisions that he’d made. I was aware of the small risk in coming here, but I’d be careful. Besides, my father had just as many allies in New York as he did enemies, so I knew who to call or where to go if anything jumped off. Still, I didn’t want to think like that. Sam and I were here to have fun and that’s what I intended to do.
Being in this situation made me that much angrier that my father actually thought he was better than Sam. Our entire family was in danger because of him, and yet he still had the nerve to look down on her. Over the past six months or so, things between he and I started to shift. Most of my life I’d actually respected him. Now? The only thing I felt toward my father was hatred. If it weren’t for the fact that my entire future was in his hands, I’d sever ties with him completely. So much had come to light that it was hard to even look at him the same anymore. As far as Sam knew, he was keeping such a close eye on me those last few months of school because he didn’t approve of our relationship. While it was true that he didn’t want us together, my safety was more his concern at the time than anything else.
I hated most that Sam had to go to away to Charleston without me, especially after everything she’d gone through. What would she think if she knew that just being around me could be dangerous? Was I being selfish by having her here? Would it be better for her if I ended things completely and didn’t involve her in this mess? My head started to spin as these questions bombarded me. None of this was fair to her, whether I decided that we should be together or apart. Just then I heard the shower cut off and I quickly got up from the bed and threw the towel to the ground before pulling on my boxers and jeans. I walked over to the window so that she’d think I’d just been waiting all this time, not that I was actually considering permanently separating myself from her for her own safety.
I heard Sam walking up behind me, but I couldn’t turn around to face her – she’d see the uncertainty all over my face if I did. I’d grown fond of the familiar smell of vanilla that always seemed to accompany her and it reached me long before her skin touched mine. Her arms enfolded me and the warmth of her cheek caressed my back when she rested against it. Her heart was beating in perfect synch with mine and I dropped my head as a realization set in - there was no way I could let her go…..for anything. I couldn’t live without her.
I’d never felt this way about anyone in my entire life and I knew I never would again. From the first day that we ran into one another in the hall, I knew I had to have her. Granted, I felt like an idiot when I almost knocked her down, but it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Instinctively, Sam squeezed me tighter and I felt guilty for even considering that I could just walk away. I turned around and held her in my arms, accepting the fact that there wasn’t anything in the world that would keep us apart.
“What if we didn’t go anywhere at all today? We could stay here and chill. New York can wait,” she said, running her hand up my back.