Fate's Cruelty

Chapter Twenty Four: Dealing and Surprises

Chapter Twenty Four: Dealing and Surprises

                Not long after Adam left me alone in my bedroom Ethan came rushing in. He was still in his work uniform which told me that he just off of work. I laid in my bed, wrapped up in a blanket trying to warm up my freezing cold body. He crawled into bed and pulled me towards him; my head automatically falling into his chest and my arm wrapping around his torso and my legs tangled with his.

                “Holy shit babe, you’re freezing cold.” Ethan mumbled as he ran his hands up and down my arms trying to get me warm.

                I forced out a laugh and snuggled up closer to him, “No shit.”

                “What’s wrong babe?” he asked.

                “The day dad died is coming up,” I whispered.

                Ethan remained silent for a bit but his comforting never stopped. For some odd reason he slightly tensed after reminding him about my father. He had been there for me when I had received news of his death, he had skipped school to see why I wasn’t there and when he had found me I had been in the worst condition ever.

                He helped me through that tough time and he knew how much my father’s death affected me. I had always been closer to my father, I was a daddy’s girl and when he would leave it would tear me apart because deep down I knew something bad could happen. Even though I wasn’t a religious person I had prayed every night to the angels above to watch over my father and for many years they had listened to my prayers.

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                I woke up snuggled up in Ethan’s arms. He was fast asleep, his arm wrapped around my shoulders while his head rested on top of mine. The clock on my night stand read 4:18 AM and I knew that my alarm would go off in a few hours but I couldn’t fall asleep again. My body was tired but my mind was wide awake. I slowly and carefully got out of Ethan’s embrace and slid off the bed, wrapping a small blanket around my shoulders as I pulled open my balcony doors open and stepped outside, sitting on the chair that I had out there for nights like these.

                March was just around the corner and even though spring was close by it still got pretty chilly outside. We had stopped wearing our winter coats and traded them in for occasional thin sweaters. Gracie had already started to wear sleeveless blouses.

                I don’t know how long I sat out there but it must have been hours because when Ethan came out onto the balcony the sun was rising.

                “What are you doing out here?” Ethan asked, sleep lacing his voice.

                “I couldn’t sleep,” I admitted with a shrug. Glancing back at him I noticed that his royal blue work shirt was wrinkled from sleeping in it all night, his dark jeans also. He wasn’t wearing shoes but his white socks stuck out like neon signs in contrast to his dark clothes.

                His hair was all over the place but he somehow managed to make that look sexy. “How long have you been up?”

                I bit my lip and looked back at the rising sun, the horizon filling with different shades of pink, yellow and a strange tint of blue and purple. “Since four,” I replied.

                Ethan picked me up slightly and slid underneath me so I was sitting on his lap, his arms wrapped around my waist and his chin rested on my shoulder. I felt safe in his embrace, like I was finally complete; even though it sounded cheesy, it was true.

                “Babe I have something to tell you.” Ethan said, he sounded unsure of what he was about to say and that only made me wonder what the hell he was going to tell me.

                “What?” I asked suddenly afraid of what I was going to hear.

                “I got drafted into the army.” He admitted and I stopped breathing. “I leave for training in April.”