Wrapped in Hope: A Forbidden Romance (The Hope Series Book 1) Read online

  He looks at me, relief washing over him. “Frozen pizza?”

  I laugh. “Sounds perfect. But how about I cook this time?” I stand and move toward the fridge. “You know, so we don’t burn the place down.”

  He lets out a mocking laugh as I set to work on cooking the pizza.

  Twenty minutes later, we’re eating our pizza and drinking our wine. There are two tiny, white candles in the center of the table, and the bright, white moon shines in through the window next to us. It’s so romantic that it makes the emotions flowing between us almost thicken.

  “Thank you for dinner,” he says with a smirk.

  I let out a laugh. “You’re welcome. Thanks for trying to cook dinner.”

  He shakes his head. “I can’t believe I did that. I ruined everything.”

  I reach across the table and place my hand on his. “What did you ruin?”

  He looks up at me, annoyance with himself written across his handsome face. “This.” He pulls a small black box from his pocket.

  I take a sudden breath. Is that what I think it is?

  My hand suddenly jumps to my heart when he opens the box, revealing a small diamond ring. The tiny diamond catches the light of the candles, making it light up.

  “I wanted this to be perfect, but I messed it all up and I can’t hold back this question any longer.”

  Tears of joy sting my eyes as my heart races.

  “Hope, I’ve loved you since the first day I met you.” He gives me a shy smile. “You were playing with a pink ball in your front yard the day I moved into my uncle’s house. I remember getting out of his car, and I looked across the street. You took my breath away at six-years-old. You were wearing these pink overalls, with a blue and purple striped shirt, and your hair was in pigtails. I knew right then that I loved you. I knew I wanted you before I even knew what that meant.”

  Tears are streaming down my cheeks uncontrollably. I can’t believe he remembers that.

  “You’ll never understand how happy you made me the day you agreed to be my girlfriend. Will you make me that happy again and agree to be my wife?” His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, awaiting my answer.

  The kitchen is only lit by a few candles and the bright moon, but I can clearly see the nerves and desperation rolling off him, his eyes are full of fear while worry is etched on his handsome face.

  “Yes,” I whisper, attempting to wipe away my tears of joy while nodding frantically.

  He visibly relaxes, letting out a long breath of relief as he slides the ring onto my finger. I pull my hand back and look at the petite diamond on my finger.

  “I was worried you would say no,” he admits, picking up his glass of wine and taking a sip.

  “Why did you think I would say no?” He has to know by now how much I love him.

  He shrugs and adjusts his shirt, his nerves not quite settled yet. “I don’t know. We’re young and getting ready to leave for college. Our lives are about to change. I thought maybe you would want to stay available for that.”

  I meet his eyes that are lit up by candle light. “Our lives may change, but there is one thing that never will: you and me. We’re together, now and forever.”

  A smile tugs at his lips. “I love you, Hope.”

  “I love you more. Always,” I tell him before blowing out the candles and taking his hand to lead him back up to the bedroom.

  Chapter 4

  The weekend goes by too quickly. The funny thing is we don’t leave the property the entire time, only leaving the cabin so I can take some pictures of the nearby scenery. Photography has always been a fun hobby of mine, it’s something I love to play around with. We walk along the property taking pictures of the wildlife, the sunset, and I even sneak a few of Dean. When I’m caught, he chases after me, tackles me, and steals my camera to snap a few pictures of me.

  But for most of the weekend we stay in bed late into the day. We cuddle on the couch and watch TV, we roast marshmallows in the fire place, and we make love over and over. This is the most uninterrupted alone time we’ve ever had with one another, and it only causes the addiction to take hold that much stronger.

  I’m not ready to leave when Sunday morning rolls around. I’m not ready to give up this glimpse of how our future could be. I don’t want to go back home and live with my parents who won’t allow us to be in a room alone together. I’ve had a taste of him, and I don’t want to give that up. I want him by my side every night. I want him wracking my body with waves of pleasure as often as possible. I want to feel his heat, smell his scent, and hear his deep, even breathing as he sleeps peacefully behind me.

  I now understand the saying, love is a drug. It is, and it’s powerful.

  Dean grabs our bags, and we walk out hand in hand. “We can come back again,” he promises me, picking up on my apprehension.

  I nod, a little sad. “Oh, one last thing,” I say, wanting something to remember this by, other than the loss of my virginity and the new ring on my finger. I pull out my camera and set up the timed feature. I place the camera on the hood of his truck, propping it between our bags that he sets down.

  “Where do you want me?” he groans, knowing what’s coming.

  “Stand on the bottom step.”

  I set the timer to take three pictures every ten seconds. I rush over to his side and he wraps his arm around my waist as we smile at the camera. The flash goes off, indicating the picture was taken, and I turn in his arms.

  “Kiss me.”

  He doesn’t argue. He kisses me. A kiss that is full of passion, love, and devotion. I crack open one eye in time to see the flash go off.

  I pull away and he places his hand on my cheek, cupping my face sweetly while looking longingly into my eyes. I’m lost in blue with flakes of green. Just staring into them makes me want to kiss him again, but I’m brought out of my daze when the flash goes off for the last time.

  “Is that it?” he asks.

  I nod. “That’s it. Time to go home.”

  We both walk back to the truck and I put my camera back in my purse while he grabs the last of the bags to load into the back.

  I climb up into my seat, feeling weighed down. This is silly. I’m acting like we won’t ever get this again when we’ll be leaving for college in a couple of months. We’ll basically have all the time in the world.

  I take a deep breath and decide to suck it up. We’ve had a great weekend. I shouldn’t be sad it’s over. I should be happy that it happened at all. I feel all the negative feelings leave me, leaving a gaping hole in my stomach that I don’t understand.

  Dean climbs behind the wheel. “Are you sure you got everything?”

  I look over at him with a smile. “I’m sure.” Instead of putting my seat belt on, I move to the center of the bench seat so I can be closer to him. He places the key in the ignition and the truck turns over. Before he shifts into gear, my hand lands on his, stopping him.

  “Thank you for this weekend. It was perfect.”

  His lips turn up before he reaches out, placing his hands on either side of my face and pulling me in for a long kiss.

  His soft lips glide against mine, and I’m in heaven, completely surrounded by him. He’s teasing every sense, lighting every nerve ending that causes a fire to light low in my belly.

  When he pulls away, we’re both breathless. “You’re welcome.” He pulls on his seatbelt, shifts into reverse, and starts backing out of the driveway.

  I face the front, feeling my body flush with all the strong emotions running rampant through me.

  Once we’re on the road, he places his right arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to his side.

  I find myself studying my ring. It’s small and beautiful. “Do our parents know that you were going to propose?” I ask as I brush my hair behind my ear. The wind blowing through the open windows flings it right back out and it wraps around my face.

  He quickly looks at me. “Yeah, I asked your father’s permission.”

  “Y
ou did?” I ask, surprised.

  He nods. “I had to do this right.”

  “What did your aunt and uncle have to say about it?”

  “My uncle understands. He asked my aunt to marry him when they graduated high school too. But my aunt isn’t happy. She wanted us to wait until we are finished with college and settled in life.”

  Mrs. Brantford and I have never really gotten along. She’s kind and inviting toward me, but I can look at her and see the hatred she has for me in her eyes. It’s almost like she believes I was put on this earth to steal her baby boy. After never being able to have children of her own, she’s held onto Dean a little strong, trying to keep him her baby as long as possible.

  I open my mouth to say something else, but I’m silenced when a deer dashes across the road. Dean quickly swerves and I scream as I’m thrown across the cab from the sudden jerk of the wheel. The next thing I know, we’re airborne. The truck flips and hits the ground hard with the sounds of shattering glass and crushing, scraping metal.

  A violent pain washes over me, and everything goes black

  Beep…beep…beep.

  The sound fills my ears, pulling me to the surface of the bottomless, dark pit I’m in.

  My head is pounding and my body is wracked with pain. It’s all I can feel.

  Beep…beep…beep.

  The closer I get to the surface, the more I can hear. And I know exactly what that sound is. I’m in the hospital. What happened? Am I okay? Where’s Dean?

  The more panicked I get the faster the beeping sounds.

  I strain to open my eyes, my lids are so heavy. Why can’t I open my eyes?

  Still the beeping sounds faster.

  “Hope? Can you hear me?” my mother asks, squeezing my hand.

  That’s all it takes. I have something tangible to pull me to the surface now. My eyes pop open and I’m temporarily blinded by a bright, white light. It makes my head pound harder, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut. I suck in a hissing breath from the pain.

  “What happened? Where’s Dean?” My voice sounds off. It’s raspy and thick, like it’s been a long time since I’ve had a drink or talked.

  “Shhh,” she coos, rubbing her hand up and down my arm, trying to soothe me. “Gary, draw the shades so she can open her eyes.”

  Even with my eyes shut, I can tell the room is now darker. I attempt to open them again. I see my mom leaning over me. My dad quickly rushes to her side. They both look at me with stress and relief etched on their faces.

  “What happened?”

  “You don’t remember?” she asks, brows pulled together in worry.

  I try to shake my head, but even that small movement hurts.

  “You and Dean were in an accident.”

  Suddenly, everything comes back to me. Dean and I in the truck. His arm around me while I sat in the middle without a seatbelt. God, why didn’t I wear a seatbelt? He was wearing his seatbelt. He must be okay. Thank god.

  “Where’s Dean? Is he okay?”

  Both of their faces that were painted with relief now change to one of sadness. Something is wrong.

  “What? What is it?” I ask, alarm and fear taking over.

  I see my mom swallow and wet her lips. Her eyes tear as she shakes her head. “Honey, Dean didn’t make it.”

  The beeping sound is racing now from her words. My head is swimming. What does she mean Dean didn’t make it? “What do you mean? Where is he?”

  Her tear-filled eyes finally overflow and run over her cheeks as she turns toward my dad. He levels his eyes on me, always honest. “You were thrown out of the truck, but Dean, he had his seatbelt on. The truck flipping so many times, it crushed him. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. He’s gone.”

  My lungs can’t get enough air. My heart is pounding so hard I can hear blood rushing in my ears. “No, you’re lying!” I shove the blankets down my body and start grabbing at the IV’s that are protruding from my hands. If they are going to lie, I’ll find him myself. Why would they do this to me?

  My mother rushes to the door while my dad tries holding me down to stop me from pulling out the IV’s. I fight against him, kicking and screaming, ignoring the pain that’s wracking my body. I just want to see Dean. I have to find him, make sure he’s okay.

  A group of nurses rush to my side, each holding down a section of my body while my dad backs away, covering his mouth with his hand as a sob wracks his body. I tear my gaze from him and watch as another nurse comes at me with a sharp needle.

  “No! Don’t!” I cry out as I fight against the four nurses holding my arms and legs. But my efforts are futile. I feel the needle jab into my hip with a searing pain. Almost instantly, I grow weak. I fight them as long as I can, but my body is going numb. I can’t fight anymore. My eyes drift close, and I’m back in the darkness. Alone.

  I don’t know how long it’s been, or what I was injected with, but it put me out and fast.

  Slowly but surely, I start clawing my way out. The closer I get, the more I can hear and feel, but I can’t move. I’m paralyzed.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t have told her yet. She needs time to heal. She could have died,” my mother says. I can’t see her, but I can tell by the volume of her hushed whisper that she is close, probably by my side.

  “What were we supposed to do? She asked for him. We can’t lie. I don’t want to get her hopes up and then crush the girl,” my dad says. From the way his voice sounds, he’s pacing. One second his voice is loud and clear, and the next, it’s softer and further away.

  “So we crush her as soon as she wakes up? She’s been out for three days.” My mother is crying softly. I can hear her sniffling around her words.

  “I know how long she’s been out, but that doesn’t change the fact that I will never lie to her. Let her get some rest and when she wakes up, she will be calmer.” I can feel my dad standing closer to me now. I don’t know how, but I’ve always been able to feel when he was near, like we have some kind of bond between us. I have always been closer to my dad than with my mom.

  The room grows silent, all but the soft hum of the machines I’m hooked to. The beeping sound has been quieted. I can hear soft breathing, my mom sniffling, and the sound of vinyl creaking, like someone sat down in a cheap chair.

  I push everything away and think about Dean. I remember our last moments together: taking the pictures outside of the cabin, the kiss in the truck, wanting to feel closer to him, so I removed my seatbelt. I should have kept it on. I should have gone with him. He didn’t deserve to die. I don’t deserve to live. I would rather be dead and be with him than to have to live out the rest of my life alone, knowing he was the one that was taken when it should have been me.

  I feel a hot tear slide down my cheek, but I can’t move to brush it away.

  Dean is gone. Forever.

  I try to locate my hand, wanting to feel his ring on my finger, but I can’t feel it. Is the ring still there? Did I lose it in the crash? I just need something to feel closer to him.

  I’m already in some sort of catatonic state, unable to move, open my eyes, or talk, but I’m finally too tired from trying to claw my way out. I give up. I let myself fall even further into the darkness.

  I don’t want the light without Dean anyway.

  Chapter 5

  I spend the next three days in the hospital, mechanically doing everything they tell me. I eat, drink, and sleep, but none of it is for me. I’d rather die. But I can’t stand to watch the pain reflecting in my parents’ eyes any longer. The pain I’m going through is enough. I can’t look at them and see more of it.

  The doctor finally came in and told me that I have a concussion, two broken ribs, one of which punctured my lung, and cuts, bruises, and scrapes all over my body. I don’t know how I got so lucky when Dean was crushed to death. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

  We’re always told to wear our seatbelts, that they will protect us, but he wore his and I didn’t, and I’m the one alive right now. It contradicts everyt
hing I thought I knew. I thought I would get to spend my life with Dean, but now he’s gone. What do I have left to live for? I still don’t even know what I want to go to college for, and since Dean was supposed to go with me, if I go now, I’ll just be reminded of his absence. I can’t sit at home and wallow in self-pity either. Being at home and never seeing him will only highlight that he’s gone. I’ll be constantly looking out my window waiting to see him pull into his driveway. I’ll be sitting still, listening for the loud rumble of his truck as it makes its way down our street. Everything I do or don’t do will just be another reminder that I’m alone, living when he’s not.

  I’m finally discharged from the hospital, but I’m just as lost as ever. When we pull into the driveway, and my dad opens my door for me, I step out and the first thing I do is look at his house. I’m home after our trip, but he’s not, and never will be again. His aunt and uncle have to live with that. I have to live with that.

  Hot tears flood my eyes again and my breathing comes in sort puffs. My chest literally hurts with the weight of his loss. Scenes from that day flash before my eyes: his big smile, our conversation, that deer jumping in front of his truck, my scream, excruciating pain, the sounds of shattering glass and metal bending. Everything goes black.

  I jump awake and look around me to see that I’m in my bed. I must have fainted. Nothing more hurts though so I guess my dad must have caught me before I hit the ground. I take a few minutes to slow my rapid breathing while wiping the sweat from my forehead. I feel like I just woke from a nightmare, like I could look out my window right now and see his truck setting there like any other day. I slowly lean forward, wrapped in a blanket of hope, and pull back my curtain to see an empty spot in his driveway.

  My heart cracks a little more. I let out the breath I was holding as I release the curtain, letting it shadow my room once again in loss and despair.

  I stand from my bed slowly and make my way towards the door. I need something to drink and some pain medication. My ribs hurt so bad I don’t even want to breathe. I walk down the stairs as carefully as I can, but come to a stop at the bottom, listening as my mom and dad talk.