Clara nodded. “Yes, she does. She starts college in the spring – going to some college down in Florida.”
Samantha was laughing at something Alex was saying. She was chubbier than she’d been before the baby, her hips wider. That night, she wore a black pencil skirt, a blue button-up long-sleeved shirt, and black pumps. Her blonde hair was tied up in a French twist and she wore sparkling, dangling earrings. “Is she hitting on Alex?” Hannah asked.
Clara giggled. “Maybe. He’s single now. Natalie didn’t handle the whole ‘my brother is a serial killer’ thing very well.”
Hannah smirked. “She was with him only for the idea of being with him. I don’t think she ever loved him.”
“Hannah, why haven’t you gone after Alex? You’ve had the hots for him for ages,” Tracy said, giggling behind her hand.
“I can’t. Alex is a good guy, but he has a lot of baggage and I’m just not interested in dealing with Natalie for the next 18 years. Besides, to him, I’ll always be Betty’s little friend, nothing more. I’m not even going to put myself out there to be hurt by that one. And there are way too many hot college guys to take myself off the market right now.”
The girls all laughed. Hannah fell silent first, looking out at the crowd.
Stacy reached over and touched her hand. “Hey, what are you thinking?”
Hannah looked at the others. “Did you guys see the news last week? About Andrew?”
Clara quickly looked over at Anthony, hoping he wasn’t within earshot. Seeing that he was still over with her parents, she leaned in. “Yeah, we saw it. He was sentenced to 25 years for each murder. Was ruled guilty on all four, “she said happily.
“Are they gonna make him serve them consecutively?” Stacy looked worried.
Clara nodded. “That’s what Anthony said. He’ll never get out of prison alive.”
Hannah nodded. “Good. I don’t know what I’d do if he ever got out of prison.”
Clara shook her head. “He’d haunt me for the rest of my life. He blames me for his getting caught. Says that to Anthony every time he goes in to see him. That it’s my fault he’s in there. He has also mentioned Jasmine. Anthony says he talks about her just about every time and that Andrew blames her even more than he does me because she was the one who lured him to the house in the first place. Anthony never answers any of his questions about her, but I know it bothers him when Andrew mentions her. Andrew doesn’t realize that he’s in there because he murdered four girls.”
“Why does Anthony still go to see him?” Stacy asked.
Clara sighed. “I think he feels guilty, like if he’d noticed the signs or whatever he could’ve saved him. So, he goes and sits and talks to Andrew even though most of the stuff Andrew says really upsets him. Getting away from that will be very good for him. I’m so glad he got into Texas A&M.”
Clara jumped when Anthony laid his hand on her shoulder. She hadn’t heard him walk up. He bent down and kissed her cheek. “What are the four of you talking about so seriously?”
Clara turned and squeezed his hand.”Plans for the future, Babe. What we want to do with our lives.”
He leaned in and looked at the other girls. “I sure hope your future includes me.” Clara blushed. “Because I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Hannah made gagging noises like she was dying. Clara wadded up a napkin and tossed it at her. She stood and wrapped her arms around him. “Of course my future includes you. I just don’t know how the next couple years will go. With you there and me still here. It’s so far away.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “So, come with me. Live with me, be there with me.”
Clara shook her head. “Anthony, I can’t do that. My family needs me. Jasmine needs me.”
From behind her, Clara heard a soft voice say, “No I don’t. I’m fine now, Clara. Stronger than I ever was before. You helped me get here. Now you need to live your own life. Go with him.”
“Yeah, honey, go with him. Its time you did what makes you happy.” Her father touched her hair softly. Her mother kissed her cheek.
“Besides, it would really suck being so far away from my fiancée.”
Clara looked up at Anthony in surprise.
“That is, if you’ll marry me?” He got down on one knee and pulled a small black box out of his pocket. The room went silent as everyone realized what was happening. Clara’s hand came up to her lips in surprise.
“Anthony, are you sure?”
The look on his face said it all. She got down on her knees in front of him and took his face in her hands.
“Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you and want to be with you. I’ll go with you.”
He pulled her close and hugged her. Clara thought she’d never seen him so happy. Her father hugged her next, kissing her head. Then her mother, tears brimming in her eyes.
Jasmine hugged her last, laughing as she did.”Everything is falling into place, huh? We’ll be OK, won’t we?”
Clara nodded, hugging Jasmine tight. Then she turned to Anthony.
“Are you ready to start our life together?” he asked. “Out there, away from all this love and security?”
At Clara’s nod, he took her hand and they walked out, ready to take on the world together. They were ready to see what was in store for them next.
Renee Marski is an American writer currently living in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and dogs. She works full time and writes on her spare time, when she can get a few moments to herself. She grew up on Sci-Fi, Luke Skywalker being her first love. She currently has several books in the works.
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