Heart Shaped Lies

Chapter Twelve

Hannah  awakened with a jolt, drawing in a deep, shuddery breath, the scent of rubbing alcohol and disinfectant filling her nostrils. 

"Hey, beautiful," a voice said from beside her. Hannah  flicked her eyes to the left, spotting the beaten, familiar face of Sawyer. She sat up quickly, too quickly, causing a sharp pain to explode behind her eyes. 

"Take it easy, Hannah ," Sawyer said gently, limping over to her. "You're in the hospital for a reason, baby. Just take it easy."

"Sawyer," Hannah  said softly, tears clogging her throat, "I thought you were dead." 

"Again?" he laughed, perching on the edge of the bed and taking Hannah  carefully into his arms. 

Hannah  gazed up at Sawyer. He looked awful. He was shirtless, his ribs bandaged tightly. It was clear his nose had been broken and set painfully back into place, making his already blackened eyes even darker. Stitches zigzagged his face, his lips, his chin. 

"I'm so sorry, baby," she whispered. 

"Hey, just don't ever say I never did anything for you."

"Is he dead?" Hannah  was fearful that somehow a man like her father could survive even a bullet through the brain. 

"He's dead, baby. It's over. We won." Sawyer smoothed her knotted hair away from her forehead. 

Hannah  laughed then, a true laughter of freedom, of victory. Sawyer laughed too, lying in the hospital bed beside her. Exhaustion soon overcame both of them, and Hannah  watched as Sawyer's eyes fluttered shut, listening to the deep, even sound of his breathing, listening to the air whistling ever so slightly through his broken nose. Relaxing in his arms, Hannah  heard her mother's voice. You're free. 

                                                                              * * * *

"Our senior prom king and queen are...Sawyer Harvey and Hannah  Miller!"

Sawyer beamed proudly as he ascended the stage holding Hannah 's hand. The crowns were placed on their heads and they turned to face their classmates. Hannah 's eyes scanned the gym, and when she spotted her, she squeezed Sawyer's hand for reassurance and began to speak.

"I've gone to school with most of you for the last ten years of my life, but it wasn't until recently that you all discovered who I really was and where I really came from. I've spent most of my life running from my past, and I thought I was succeeding until I had no choice but to face up to my demons, when they showed up and took everything that was important to me." Hannah  swallowed hard, blinking back tears. She knew that most people didn't give speeches when receiving crowns at their proms, but nobody was stopping her, and with her gaze fixed on the face of the girl in the crowd, she continued. 

"I lost people that I loved, people that loved me. And a lot of people died trying to save my life."

Hannah  began to cry, raising her hands to cover her face. Sawyer took over quickly. 

"Candice, could you come up here, please?" His voice shook as he spoke, but Sawyer tried to keep the emotion he was feeling from showing on his face. 

Candice Carson approached the stage tentatively. Sawyer reached for her hand and gently placed her in between himself and Hannah . Hannah  struggled to regain her composure and turned to the sheriff's daughter. She took the girl's hands in her own and spoke shakily. 

"Your father was one of the bravest men I have ever known. He stepped up the moment he knew my life was in danger, and not once did he give up or stop trying to protect me, even when I thought it wasn't worth it. You may never forgive me, and I wouldn't blame you. I never forgave my biological father for taking my mother from me. And this may mean nothing to you, but I was informed when I turned eighteen a couple of weeks ago that my birth mother had a pretty impressive fund set up for me, one that was kept up by my foster family--my parents. The money was released to me to do whatever I wanted to with it. It didn't take me too long to decide."

Hannah  looked at Sawyer. He and the principal rose the curtain behind Hannah . 

Candice's eyes welled with tears and she let out a sob as she took in the scene. The statue had been created as a granite copy of a photo of Candice and her father when she was a child. In the photo, and the statue, Candice had her arms wrapped tightly around her father's waist, standing on his feet, clearly in the middle of a sweet father and daughter dance. The base of the statue had the names of all of those who had died during William's rampage, and beneath that, a quote that Candice had spoken at her father's funeral: "Your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever." 

Hannah  looked at her classmates, tears stinging her eyes as she witnessed dozens of teenagers break down in tears. Candice flung her arms around Hannah  and wept. 

"Thank you," she choked out. "Thank you for letting everyone know that he died for something important." 

Hannah  cried with her, and when they had released each other, they turned to the statue. Hannah  knelt down and ran her fingers over the engraved names, stopping to trace over the names of her parents, and of her mother. She smiled. Sawyer knelt behind her, wrapping his arms around her, his chin on her shoulder. 

"You never told me what you bought for us, that big surprise you promised." 

Hannah  laughed. She had spent a lot of the money on the statue, but she had promised Sawyer that she had bought something for the two of them, something big. 

"We were just crowned king and queen. Don't you think we should stay for a little while?" Hannah  asked. Sawyer pouted playfully before pulling her to the dance floor. After one dance, he kissed her.

"Okay. How about now?" 

Hannah  grinned and let Sawyer lead her to his car. 

"Where are we going?" he asked after settling behind the wheel. Hannah  gave him directions, and after a few minutes, they pulled up in front of a beautiful home. Hannah  leaped excitedly out of the car and stood in front of the house, throwing her arms wide. 

"What do you think?" 

"What do I think of what?" Sawyer asked slowly, leaning against the car. 

"Of the house! I bought this house!"

Sawyer's jaw dropped. 

"You bought us a house?" he asked, running across the grass to Hannah  and sweeping her into his arms. 

"Maybe..." Hannah  kissed his lips quickly. "What do you think?" 

"I think I want to marry you," Sawyer said, his tone suddenly serious. Hannah  looked at him in surprise. Sawyer reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and knelt down, clearly oblivious to the damp grass that was seeping through his dress pants. 

"I've planned on asking you on prom night for a while, but after everything happened, I thought you might want to wait. And if you want to, I understand. But I love you with all of my heart, Hannah , and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Hannah  began to cry and knelt in front of Sawyer, kissing him hard. 

"Of course I'll marry you."

Moments later, Hannah  unlocked the door to their new home, quickly giving Sawyer a tour. When they reached the bedroom, Hannah  took Sawyer's hands and pulled him inside. 

"Lay down with me, Sawyer. I want nothing more right now than to lay in our own bed, in our own home, in your arms." 

Sawyer pressed his lips to Hannah 's as they lay back on the bed, wrapping his arms around her. Hannah  Miller closed her eyes.