My hand trembled as he grabbed it. He held it near his chest and I could feel the gentle thumping of his heart beat. Unwelcome tears welled up in my eyes. I looked down immediately. I couldn’t let him see me cry.
He placed a finger under my chin tilting it upwards. I could see the outline of his handsome face through the blurry film of water that formed on my eyes. I forced back the sob that seemed to be growing in my throat as the tears slipped from the corner of my eyes, flowing down my burning cheeks. It cleared my vision enabling me to see the smallest grey flecks in his luscious dark brown eyes.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, our stomachs touching. I stared into his comforting eyes in an attempt to decipher his unreadable thoughts.
“Please, don’t go.” I whispered. The clouds overhead rumbled at us in reply sending down a mist of rain. The scent of the meadow’s wildflowers tickled my nose. The nearby forest surrounded us at every edge.
“Bailey, do you know how much I love you?” he asked me. His face unintentionally exposed the seriousness of his words.
“If you loved me you wouldn’t leave me.” I mumbled choking back a sob.
“If there were any other way, believe me, I’d have found it.” We paused taking in the sound of the rain. The water had already soaked through my first layer of clothing and was slowly working on the second. It dripped from my hair falling silently to the ground. Beads of the liquid sat on his eyelashes.
“I love you so much.” I told him nuzzling his neck. The scent of his cologne filled my nostrils with its intoxicating scent.
“I love you more.” I leaned back in his arms to stare him down. His thoughts which were once foggy to me suddenly became clear. He truly meant every word he said. As I hugged him tighter our noses casually touched. We wrapped each other up like presents in our loving embraces. I moved my hand through his smooth, thick black hair.
The heat that radiated off of his body warmed me up like a summer’s sun. His hands searched my back in a rhythmic massage. He finally pressed his hot lips against mine in a comfortable kiss that increased with intensity every second. He pressed harder wanting more. The savory taste of his tongue seemed like a drug that made me instantaneously high.
He pulled back suddenly. “Bailey we have another option.” His stern look startled me.
“What?” I asked with desperate curiosity seeping into my words.
“Run away with me.” He told me with his voice was full of believable promise.
“We’re seventeen, where could we even run to?” I asked hopelessly.
“Wherever you want to go, I’ll follow you.”
“Nathan we can’t!” I sobbed “We have nowhere to go.”
“New York!” You’ve always dreamed of being a journalist, right? We can live our lives out there. You can go to college at NYU. You’re sure to get the scholarship."
“We’d be homeless!” I cried.
“I can get a part time job or two. Bailey, it’s the only way.” He told me stroking my cheek with his left thumb.
“But your father wants you to join the army. He’d be furious if he ever found out. Your mother would forbid it. They’d disown you for ruining the family’s reputation.”
“Three more months and they can’t control me anymore. I’m sick of being their puppet. It’s time for me to cut the strings.”
“My parents, they’d never allow it.”
“They will never find us.” He reassured me. “I can promise you that.” We kissed even more passionately. It felt so safe; so right. I was forced into a reality check as he pulled away.
“What do you say?” the nervousness was exposed in his eyes. He swallowed hard.
“Yes, yes I’ll run away with you!” he held me tight in his arms planting another kiss on my rain drenched lips.
“Promise me something, Bailey.” His hot breath on my neck made my spine quiver with the chill.
“Anything.” I replied with my voice barely above a whisper.
“You’ll love me no matter what happens to us, no matter where life takes us.”
“Of course. I’ll be forever and always yours.”Another steamy kiss was shared as I pressed my forehead against his.
“Marry me, Bailey.” My breathing halted as my heart sped up. This was all happening so fast. The logical part of my brain told me the idea was simply absurd while my heart told me otherwise. Adrenaline surged through my veins.
“Yes!” I wouldn’t have this scenario planned out any other way. The tears which had magically melted away were back at full force. They fell in unison with the pitter patter of the rain.
“I’ll love you forever.” He told me.
“Forever and always.” I repeated.

“You cannot stop me!” I shrieked at the top of my lungs annunciating every word.
The evil witch I had once called my mother grabbed my wrist as I made a break for the staircase.
“The hell I can’t!” her shrill voice practically shattered my eardrums.
I broke free of her monstrous grasp just long enough to dash up the steps stomping into my room.
I slammed my door so hard behind me the walls shook sending a picture of my family crashing to the floor. Pure anger coursed through my veins. I screamed. A nearby paper weight became a victim to my endless rage as I picked it up off of my desk.
I took a good, hard look in the mirror. My blue eyes had turned the color of the sea, the way they naturally did whenever I was angry. A stormy, stubborn typhoon that threatened to destroy anything in its path. My brown hair was tangled in ratty knots. My jaw clenched hard tensing up along with the rest of my body.
The weight still lied heavily in my hand. I rolled it into the air several times enjoying the pressure as gravity brought it back into my grasp. The uncontrollable frustration followed its path into my forearm. I mustered up every last ounce of strength I had in my body and forced the weight to shoot into the air colliding with my mirror. Glass shattered flying across my room in every direction. The bits and pieces lost themselves in my plush rug.
As I walked to my closet my foot found one. I welcomed the pain as the blood stained the innocent white carpet. I flung open the closet doors throwing clothes from their hangers. Jeans were flung from the dresser. Every precious item I held near and dear to my heart was stuffed into my suitcase.
A recognizable horn blared throughout the house. I glanced through the space between my blinds to find loving Nathanial’s beat up old car resting in my drive way. My mother approached the vehicle shouting in a fit of rage.
I rushed down my steps and burst through the front door. Nathan’s repeated apologies did nothing to calm my mother. She grasped my hand cursing his name trying to pull me to the dungeon known as my home.
“No!” I yelled as I shook my hand loose. I would not be trapped in this hell hole any longer. I’m like a bird; I needed to be free not locked up in a cage. I hopped into the front seat of his car. The door closed behind me creating an eerily silent setting compared to the obstruction outside.
Nathan backed the car out of the driveway at a slug’s pace. My mother banged hard on the side of the vehicle leaving another unforgivable dent. We pulled out onto the main road. We were almost gone. I looked at my mother as time turned to slow motion.
Her hands were pressed against her cheeks. Her eyes reminded me of a puppy dog’s; round and miserable.
I pushed my hand against the window leaving a hand print on the glass. I mouthed one last “I love you” to her as we drove away. Her shadowy shape disappeared as the distance between us grew and grew.
I was leaving my old life behind in the dust. I had no clue what the future might have in store for me. Whatever I was in for, as long as I had Nathan was by my side, I was prepared.