Christian (The Mitchell/Healy Family #3)(61)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“Chris, wake up.” She stirred and rolled over to my side, never opening her eyes. I walked over to that side, sitting down on the mattress beside her. After removing the hair away from her face, I leaned forward and kissed her. “Darlin’, wake up. I’ve got somethin’ to tell you.”

“Five more minutes, Ethan. I was up late studyin’.” Since she’d enrolled in online classes Chris had spent quite a few evenings buried in books.

“It’s important. You can go back to sleep as soon as I’m done.”

She sat up and cracked open both eyes. “This better be good. I was dreamin’ of us bein’ at the beach already.”

“It’s only a few weeks away, babe.” I waited for her to smile before continuing. “So I woke up and had a text message from a number I didn’t recognize.”

“Is it from an old girlfriend?” She asked as she stretched out her arms. Since moving back into my parent’s house, Chris had been staying with me. She hadn’t technically moved in, but it was only a matter of time before we made it official. I think I was more concerned about what her parents would say about it, but so far they’d been pretty cool.

“No! It’s not from an old girlfriend. It’s actually from that girl Amber. Do you remember her?”

Her eyes shot open. “Of course I do. What about her? Why is she sendin’ you messages?”

“Seth got arrested over the weekend. Accordin’ to Amber’s text he got trashed and attacked Mila at the frat house when he found out she was seeing someone new. Apparently he thought his friend was asleep in the room they were in. Halfway through the guy got up and started beatin’ the shit out of him until the police came. I don’t know the details other than what I’ve told you, but I’m pretty sure he’s not gettin’ out of this one. Amber said she wanted me to let you know the detective might be contactin’ you about your statement.” I waited for it all to sink in. While Chris remained silent I crouched down in front of her and took her hands. “I’m tellin’ you this because I know you’re strong now. If you want to pursue this we’ll do it together. If you don’t then we’ll go about our lives as if this conversation never happened.”

I could tell she was thinking about it. “Is Mila okay? She was a bitch to me, but nobody deserves what happened.”

“I guess. Amber didn’t go into details. She just basically said Seth was arrested and why.”

“I’ll testify.” Her answer was short and to the point.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “If the detective gets in touch with me I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure this never happens again.”

I pulled my girlfriend into a big hug, noticing right away that she wasn’t freaking out. She’d been going to therapy for months, and our relationship was also going strong. Chris was happy, and we both promised to never look back at what we could have done differently. “I’m so proud of you.”

She pulled away and looked right into my eyes. “I couldn’t have done this without you, Ethan. The other girls aren’t as lucky as me. They’ll need to find something to help them heal. It’s somethin’ they’ll never forget, but will be able to let go if they learn how.”

“You’re so beautiful when you’re strong and determined.”

The smile that followed let me know she felt as beautiful as I saw her. Out of something horrible my girlfriend had learned to love herself. I didn’t want to feel thankful for what happened to her, because it was awful, but I was glad that through it all we were able to come together and I was finally the person she needed me to be.

No matter where life took us we’d be together. From the very moment she stepped inside of that bus I knew she was my future. I’d spend the rest of my life making sure she knew it too.

The End