by Shaw Hart
She swallows and tries to compose herself before she continues.
“One night, he snuck into my room, a-and he climbed on top of me. H-H-he-”
She breaks off as more tears well in her eyes but at this point, I can tell where this story is headed.
“Did he?” I ask as adrenaline floods my veins. I want to track this guy down and kill him.
“No. My mom walked in and stopped him. He took off the same night and we never saw him again but that was when my mom started calling me a hussy and a whore. She acts like I wanted him to hit on me, but I was fighting him when she walked in. She never believed me and our relationship has gone downhill ever since.”
She seems resigned when she says the last part and my heart aches for her. She is the most amazing person that I have ever met and I can’t fathom anyone treating her like she’s not. How could a mother treat her own daughter like this? How could she not believe that her daughter didn’t lure her boyfriend into bed but, rather her boyfriend was the one who attacked her daughter?
“Ember, you have to know that she’s in the wrong. That what happened, it wasn’t your fault. That man was sick and should be arrested or worse. Your mom should have protected you, not blamed it on you. What she says, that you’re a whore, it’s not true. Not remotely. You have to know that.”
“I do.” She says and I can see in her eyes that she does.
“Then why do you stay here? You could leave and go anywhere. Why stay?”
“She’s, I, uh, she’s the only family I have left.” She says and she seems so lost that my heart breaks for her.
I tug her closer to me and rock her gently back and forth as we both think about what she just told me.
Chapter Eleven
Ember
Weston convinces me to go watch the fireworks that night, even though I’m not really in a celebrating mood. He says that he’s been looking forward to it all week and that we shouldn’t let my mother ruin it for us.
I let him drag me behind him as we weave through the crowd, trying to find a good place to spread out our blanket and sit down. There’s been a parade and festival happening all day, but we missed most of that and now all that’s left is some food vendors and games. Weston insisted that we try to win a prize so we went around to each of the booths and played. He was surprisingly good at the ring toss and we walked away with a big stuffed panda. I had quickly grown tired of carrying it around and so we ran back to the car to drop him off and grab our picnic stuff.
Weston grabs the blanket out of the car while I stand in line at one of the food trucks. I order us burgers and hot dogs with fries and grab two bottled waters. Weston finds me right as our food is coming out and grabs his basket while I grab mine and the drinks.
We weave through the crowd until we finally find an open spot with a good view. I help him spread out the blanket and we both settle down with our food on top of it. It won’t be long now and the fireworks display will start. I smile at some young kids who run past us with sparklers and watch as they zig zag through the maze of blankets and people.
We finish our food and Weston gets up to throw the trash out. He gets back right as the countdown to the fireworks starts and wraps me up tight in his arms, dragging my back against his front.
“Ready?” He whispers in my ear.
I just nod as the first burst of color shoots into the sky and explodes. Oh’s and awes ring out from the crowd as the fireworks continue. The fireworks last for another few minutes until the final one goes off like a rocket and bursts right above us. I tilt my head against Weston’s shoulder and smile as the lights begin to fade.
“I love you.” He whispers in my ear and my whole body tenses.
Wasn’t my mother planting doubts about how Weston feels about me just today? Now here he is declaring his feelings for me. I grin as I spin around in his arms and tackle him to the ground.
“I love you too.” I say before my mouth comes down on his.
I’m aware of the families around us so I pull back right away and we grin at each other as the streetlights come back on.
“Come with me to New York. Move in with me. There’s isn’t anything here for you and we can be together. I’ll take care of you. We can travel and see the world together. What do you say?”
Leave Pigeon Forge? Leave my mother? I have to admit that after today that sounds amazing. What will happen to the company, to my mother, if I leave though? Then it hits me. Why should I care? I don’t like working, cleaning up after other people day after day. If I stay here working for my mother then I’m just going to become miserable, just like she is. I’ll be miserable and alone. Or I can trust Weston and follow my heart. Fly back to New York with him and start a new life there. He was right before when he said I could find work anywhere and that there isn’t anything here for me.
“Ember?” He asks tentatively.
“Yes.” I breath as I kiss him once more.
“Yes?”
“Yes! Yes, I’ll go with you. I’ll move to New York. If it means that we can be together, then yes. Yes, to anything, Weston.”
“God, I love you.” He says.
“Let’s go. Take me back to your cabin.”
“Anything you want, Ember.”
Now, I just need to find the strength to tell my mother I’m leaving this town and her behind.
Chapter Twelve
Weston
I hold Ember’s hand as we walk up the path to her childhood home. She wants to grab a suitcase and some of her things before she confronts her mother and I just want to make sure that she makes it through that conversation without her mother saying anything shitty to her. She unlocks the front door and pushes it open, leading me down a narrow hallway to her bedroom. It’s tiny with only a twin bed and dresser. She moves over to the closet and drags out a black duffel bag, quickly filling it with clothes and her camera and laptop. She zips it up and turns to me as her mother yells from down the hallway.
“Ember? What the hell are you doing here? Who’s watching the office?”
I watch as Ember swallows hard and her face pales. I’m by her side immediately, taking the bag from her with one hand and twining our fingers together with the other. Her mother comes around the corner and her eyes narrow when she sees us together. I step in front of Ember slightly, wanting to fight this battle for her, but my girl is strong and she steps out from behind me, squeezing my hand as she lifts her chin and squares her shoulders.
“You lazy slut. What are you doing here?” she demands.
“I’m leaving.”
Her mother freezes and for the first time she seems to notice the duffle bag in my hand.
“No. You can’t leave with some man that you don’t even know.”
“I know him. I love him and he loves me.”
“I said no. Now, get to the office.” Her mother says, turning to walk away.
“I’m nineteen, mother. You can’t force me to stay. I’m leaving.”
Her mother spins on her heel and stalks back to us. My body tenses, readying for a fight.
“You stupid whore, you-”
“STOP! You did this. You pushed me away. I have tried and tried and tried. I work every day. I do everything you ask and you do nothing but bully me and treat me like crap. I didn’t hit on your boyfriend. He attacked me and you blamed me for him leaving, even though I was the victim. Weston loves me. He treats me like I’m precious, like I’m important. I love him and I’m leaving with him and I am never coming back here. I never want to see or speak to you again.”
Ember turns and looks at me as her mother’s face gets redder and redder.
“Ready?” She asks me.
“Yeah.” I say, my throat so clogged with pride for this brilliant, strong girl who is all mine.
She squeezes my hand and together we walk forward, pushing past her mother as she sputters behind us. I lead her back to the car and open the door for her before I throw the duffle bag in the trunk and get in behind the wh
eel. I start the car but turn to Ember before I drive off.
“Are you ok?” I ask.
She pauses and I can see her thinking it over.
“Yeah.” She says and she sounds surprised. “It feels good. Like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I won’t have to deal with her ever again. She was my mom but she hasn’t been my family in a long time. I think I’ll be happier without her.”
She smiles over at me before she leans across the console and kisses me.
“Thank you.” She whispers against my lips.
“For what?”
“For giving me the courage to walk away from this toxic relationship. She was destroying me but you helped me see that I deserved more.”
“You deserve everything, Ember.” I say honestly.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I see Ember’s mom come outside over Ember’s shoulder and I put the car in drive before she can try to hurt my girl.
“Let’s go home, Ember.” I say as I drive us away from her mother, this place, and all of the bad memories that it holds for her.
Chapter Thirteen
Weston
One Month Later…
I hold Ember’s hand tight as we climb up the stairs. We’re back in New York after traveling around Europe for the past month. I took her to see Rome, London, Paris, Madrid and all of the little places in between. It was the best month of my life.
Every day with Ember is the best day of my life. I still can’t believe that she’s mine. I don’t know how I got so lucky but I’m thankful every day for the forces that brought us together and I plan on never letting her go. I finger the velvet box in my box with one hand as I pull her tighter against me with the other.
“Where are we going?” She asks as we continue to climb up the stairs.
“Just a little bit further.” I say, secretly.
She smiles up at me and I love how happy and easy going she is. I’ve been planning this surprise for a month now and I want it to be perfect. I had a hell of a time getting the permits all set for this but I know that Ember will love it and watching her face light up with happiness will be worth any headaches I’ve had to deal with to get here.
We never hear from her mother and I don’t want to upset Ember but I heard that the cabin rental that she runs is already going under. I’m not surprised. That woman never did anything, instead forcing her daughter to run and care for the place. Of course it’s gone to shit now that Ember is gone.
We reach the top of the stairs and I let go of her to unlock the door and push it open. I hold the door for her and she walks past me and out onto the roof. I let the door slam closed behind me as I make my way over to her. I take her hand back in mine and we walk over to the edge together.
We face the water and I kiss her once before I drop to one knee. She gasps and covers her mouth with her free hand and I can see tears already forming in her blue eyes. I smile up at her as I pull the ring box from my pocket.
“Ember Marx, you are the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen in my entire life. You are brave and strong, caring and sweet. Before you everything was gray but since you’ve been in my life, everything is bursting with colors. I love you, Ember. You took a leap of faith when you left your mom and town behind. You left everything you know behind and left with me and now, I’m asking you to jump again. So, Ember, will you marry me?”
I flip the lid of the ring box open to reveal an emerald cut diamond in a platinum setting. I hold my breath as she stares down at me but she has so much love shining in her eyes that I never really doubt that she’ll say yes.
“Yes. Oh my god, Weston, yes.”
I stand and pull her into my arms and she crushes her mouth against mine. I can taste her salty tears on her lips as I push my tongue into her mouth.
“I love you.” She says against my lips when we finally come up for breath.
“I love you too. So much.”
I pull away from her long enough to slide the ring on her finger. She admires the way it shines in the light for a minute before she stands on her tip toes to kiss me again. That’s when my second surprise starts.
Bursts of color begin to shoot off and explode in the sky right in front of us. I turn to watch Ember’s face and I’m not disappointed. Her eyes are so wide as she stares up at the fireworks. We stand in silence for several minutes as the display I arranged wraps up. Ember turns to me with the biggest smile on her face.
“Did you set that up?” She asks, wrapping her arms around my waist and cuddling into me.
“Anything for you, Em.”
“Perfect proposal.” She sighs as she leans her head on my shoulder.
“You deserve everything Ember, you should have fireworks every day.”
“I don’t know. I think they’d lose their magic if I had them every day. They should just be for special occasions.”
“As you wish, Ember.”
I take her hand and lead her back down to the waiting car. I open the back door and help her slide in before I follow after her. She wastes no time cuddling up to me. I pull her closer as she rests her head on my shoulder and the car begins to take us home.
“You know I kind of see fireworks every time you’re inside of me.” She whispers in my ear.
“And can you have those fireworks every day? Or will they lose their magic too.”
“Why don’t we test it out and I’ll let you know.”
God, I’m one lucky man. My lips find hers as we head home to do just that.
Chapter Fourteen
Ember
Five Years Later…
I tuck my twin boys in for the night, giving each about a dozen good night kisses before they finally agree to settle down for the night and go to bed. I smile at their mess of hair, which is the only thing visible from under their covers. The door closes with a quiet click behind me as I head down the hallway to find my husband.
Weston and I got married a couple of days after he proposed. We found out I was pregnant and expecting twins a week after that. I thought that maybe Weston would be mad, or think that we rushed into things too fast but he just laughed. He said he’d been moving fast since the day he came into my sleepy little town and he didn’t see why this should be any different.
The pregnancy was rough and I had to be put on bed rest towards the end of my third trimester. Both boys were born healthy but we still decided that taking care of two would be enough for a while. Trust me, those little boys know how to keep us busy.
Weston has pulled back at work a lot. He only works an hour or two a day now and all of that is from home. Occasionally, he has to go into the office for a meeting or whatever but that doesn’t happen very often. He helps me with the kids and the house and all of the errands and play dates. He’s given me the family that I always wanted but never dreamed I would get. My life couldn’t get more perfect.
The twins turn five in a couple of months and I’ve seen the way that Weston has been staring at all of our friend’s babies. He wants another one and I know that he would love to have a girl. He says he wants one that looks just like me. I’ve been thinking I’m ready for another too and I was going to tell my husband that tonight. Then, hopefully, we can get started trying. Now, if only I could find him.
I search our bedroom and the living room and kitchen before I double back and look in his office and the guest rooms. Still no sign of him. I frown as I retrace my steps, thinking he must have been in a closet or one of the bathrooms when I notice the balcony doors are open. I head in their direction and when I get closer, I can see him leaning against the railing.
“Hey, there you are.” I say as I come up behind him.
He turns to me with a smile before he pulls me into his arms and in front of him. I put my hands on the railing as I lean back into his chest. We stare out at the New York skyline together in silence for a few minutes.
“Did the kids go down alright?” He asks.
“Yeah. D
id you get the bathroom cleaned up?”
We both laugh at that. Normally, Weston would help me put the kids down but they made such a mess in the bath tonight, so Weston stayed in there and mopped up all of the water while I got the kids in their pajamas and read them a story.
“What are you doing out here?” I ask as I turn in his arms to look up at him.
“Just wondering how I got so lucky.”
“Well I came to find you to see if you wanted to GET lucky so…”
I let my sentence trail off as I see the lust and laughter on his face.
“Get lucky, huh?”
“Yeah, I thought maybe we could try for another baby.” I say huskily.
I laugh as he grabs my hands and drags me after him as we race to our bedroom. I guess I’ll take that as a yes.
The End.
