Human Sized Hurricane | Michael Clifford

Chapter 23 - Life & Death

1 Year Later

Emma stood by herself on a thin path of paving stones in the middle of a muddy field as she stared down at a new gravestone embedded in the ground, its flowers fresh and bright. Her eyes travelled across the name as droplets of water passed over the black letters: In Loving Memory Of Michael G Clifford. Beloved Son and Brother. 1995 - 2013. She sighed thoughtfully as she watched the rain fall upon the grave stone and soak into the ground beneath the tiny pebbles surrounding it. Her arms were crossed and her hair slightly shorter underneath a red beanie hat and round glasses. As she heard the sound of a car door closing a little way behind her, she took a while and glanced over her shoulder, not changing her facial expression as she saw the blond haired teenager approached her quickly, squinting in the dismal day as rain collided with his porcelain face. He came to stand beside Emma underneath her big umbrella and placed his hand on her back, rubbing it up and down for a moment as they stood in silence before the grave. "I never thought I'd visit my own grave before" He admitted, throwing his arm around Emma's shoulders.

"Hmm" Emma replied, keeping a tight grip on her umbrella. "You've experienced this sort of thing before" She said, turning her head to look at him through his sunglasses, even though it was raining.

"You get used to it" Michael replied, smirking underneath his tinted glasses.

"My uncle's been tracking down some of Bobby's rats and it seems a lot of them would rather rot in jail for forty years than confess, so that's what they'll get" Emma said. "That warehouse fire the other day..." She began as Michael looked at her. "... a lot of the men and their bodies have been found and their families informed" Emma said, her eyes taking a glance around in case of any visiting people in the grave yard. It was a large grave yard on the land surrounding a small church in the town with the path snaking around the rows of stones and joining the edge of the road in the centre of the field. "The tickets for Paris are booked for later on. You still coming?" She asked, her voice filled with expectation.

Michael's eyes fell as he thought about the offer, then they returned to Emma's a moment later. "Those rats deserve to rot in jail for fifty years rather than forty" He replied, nodding slightly. "Is your dad still alright with you leaving. What did he say when he told you?" He asked, as they turned and began walking slowly along the path, Emma's heels clicking against the paving stones.

"He was very reluctant to let me even live away from home for a weekend, but this just took it to a whole other level. He gave me this huge lecture about the danger I would be in France, how the men over there would try to feed me snails or do something like what happened in that film 'Taken'; when the daughter is abducted. And just to prove his point, he made me watch all three films" Emma said with a smirk as she linked her arm with Michael's.

"Serious?" He questioned, brows furrowed.

Emma laughed, then suddenly stopped and became expressionless. "No" She said. "He's fine with it as long as I call him whenever I can" Michael smiled and kissed her cheek, making her smile as she recalled a moment from not too long again in her mind of Michael down on one knee. "Are you serious about marrying me?" She asked him out of the blue, making his eyes widen at her sudden change of subject.

"Of course" Michael said, stopping to turn and face her, while he placed one hand on her neck and the other around her waist as she slipped her free into her jacket pocket. "I love you" He told her with a sincere and soft smile.

Emma's cheeks became flushed and she closed her eyes at the sound of his voice. "Say it again" She said in a voice that was a little above a whisper.

Michael knew exactly what she meant and removed his sunglasses, placed his forehead against hers, and pulled her body against his so that only their clothes separated them in the cold and rainy winter afternoon. He closed his eyes and brushed her soft lips with his, sending chills down each other's spines as their icy breath danced on each other's cheeks, creating a thin cloud of vapour around them before it drifted away in the gentle breeze. "I love you" Michael finally said, then placed his lips upon Emma's and kissed her passionately. Emma responded quickly and wrapped her free arm around his neck as she held the umbrella to shield them both from the pouring rain. Her fingers laced through his hair and pulled at it gently while Michael caressed her cheek and warm neck with his cold and pale hand, kissing her mouth with a wanting passion. He parted his lips from her and gazed into her eyes, keeping their foreheads together. "I love you" He said once more and planted a final kiss on her lips before taking her hand. He lead her back to his Chevy and climbed into the driver's seat at the same time as she did, then he started the engine and tossed the soaking umbrella behind them to the floor of back of the car. Crammed together along the smooth back seats of the car was their multiple luggage bags, filled with the essentials and the needs that would require for starting their new life in Paris. Michael drove out of the gates of the cemetery and proceeded towards the motorway as the rain continued to pour.