"I would never do anything that I thought could harm my girls. It's just a thirty minute drive, and then we can tuck our baby girl in so she can wake up on Christmas morning in her own house. We can make Christmas special and our own from the second our eyes open."
I smiled, and traced my finger along his full bottom lip as my eyes flickered down to that delicious mouth.
"You know Allie is too young to remember if she woke up on Christmas morning in her own crib."
"I'll remember." Stefan's eyes held no humor as he spoke.
No longer could I hold back as I molded my lips to his. The beginning of a new beard rubbed against my skin as my tongue caressed his. Every time we touched it was magic. From the accidental brush of our hands to each and every time our bodies connected into an incredibly passionate moment. From day one I could touch his arm and everything around us disappeared. It didn't matter if we were in the privacy of our own home or in the middle of a crowded store-this was what destiny felt like.
"I love you," I whispered against his lips.
I felt him smile against my mouth. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. "Not as much as I love you, Greyson Rose."
"Let's go home," I finally said.
"As you wish, beautiful girl." He cast me a playful wink before putting the car into gear and driving into the night.
I tried my hardest to stay awake and keep Stefan company, but I lasted no more than five minutes. My fingers remained curled into the sleeve of his jacket, and it was that feeling of safety that put me to sleep just as it did every night. With Christmas carols playing softly in the background and the warmth from the heater rolling over me, I rested peacefully.
We weren't home yet, but something woke me up. I wasn't sure what it was exactly but there was something in my gut pulling me from my sleep. My eyes opened, but quickly snapped shut again to adjust to the growing light. That's when I figured it out. I peeled my eyes open and next to me was Stefan, asleep behind the wheel as our car slowly cruised towards oncoming traffic.
The bright headlights of a truck pierced our vision, the deafening blow of the horn startling Stefan awake.
"Shit!" he yelled.
"Stefan!" I screamed before I could stop it.
His hands took hold of the wheel and whipped our car away from the approaching traffic, crashing us into another vehicle. I screamed, tires screeched, and Stefan panicked. My neck was yanked back and forth until the side of my head collided against the window sending the glass in a shower around the car; the horrific sounds went silent while everything else went black.
Summer 2013
"Grey?" I blinked away the memories and focused onto the face of my concerned therapist, Amy.
"Hmm?" I honestly couldn't remember what her question had been.
She offered a comforting smile. "Did I lose you for a second?"
Over the years that I had been coming here, this had become a normality. Every once and a while I would zone out into some moment I usually tried to forget, and then I'd spend the next part of my conversation with Amy deflecting questions about the memory I revisited.
"No, I'm fine, just a little tired." Amy nodded knowingly. In the beginning she pushed for more and more, but slowly realized I just wasn't going to let her all the way into the depths of my mind.
"Well, we have about ten minutes left of the hour. Do you have anything else you'd like to talk about before our session is over?"
I crossed one leg over the other and looked to the ceiling as if my monosyllabic script was written above.
"Um, well, we hired a new receptionist at the salon this week. So that's been sort of fun and a bit stressful to help make sure she fits in with everyone."
A polite smile appeared on Amy's face. "Hiring new employees can be very invigorating, but also a lot to take on," she added.
I bobbed my head in a slow, awkward nod. "Yeah, but she seems to be fitting in so far."
Amy smiled. "That is great to hear."
My smile matched hers, but my eyes darted to the clock hanging on the adjacent wall - 1:57, another hour survived. Or so I thought, until I glanced back to Amy and saw something in her face that always meant there was more coming that made me uneasy-curiosity. She closed her notebook, set it on the desk, and turned her full attention back to me.
"Grey, do you mind if I speak openly about a few things?"
I wanted to say no and leave it at that, but I couldn't. Not only had I subjected myself to this therapy appointment, but Amy had always been there for me. Whether it was because it was her job or she truly cared-it still meant a lot to me.