Chapter 23 : Together

I sat in the car looking out the window, with my head pressed against it, at all the graves neatly placed in rows with beautiful colored flowers covering them. The sky was covered with dark clouds as the temperatures started to lower. The car slowly stopped in front of a small path. Without saying a word I got out of the car by myself, hitting my broken arm on the door. My body was to numb to think of the pain. I just ignored it and started for the path. The path was small and winded around old trees. The leaves had begun changing color and started falling over the graves. I walked by myself in silence as I climbed the hill that caused the path to end.

When I got to the stop I walked slowly to the only grave that occupied the hill. When I stood in front of it, my eyes slowly began to water.

"I miss you," I said out loud to the grave.

"I wish you could have saved me from him,"

"I love you"

"You know she loves you to and would have done anything to save you from him," a voice whispered behind me.

"I know" I responded.

Two strong arms wrapped around my waist and held me close.

"She would have loved you Jeff," I told him.

"From what I hear, she was a wonderful woman," he comforted me.

He let go and picked up the flowers that we brought my mother's grave. He tried to hand them to me but I protested.

"You do it," I smiled.

I had changed dramatically since the day I heard he would be sentenced to 35 to life. Jeff had held my hand the whole time. We both shared a hospital room and talked through the nights.

He neatly placed the flowers on the grave. "I will take care of her," he whispered.

He hugged me again and gave me a kiss.

"Come on guys, its freezing!" Erica yelled from the car. We turned to see her jumping up in down and blowing into her hands to prove her point. Her face had more color in it then her last hospital visit. The doctors said her illness didn't seem to be getting better fast but she wasn't getting worse.

We laughed and began walking down the path. I stopped and took one more look at the grave. Jeff only got a few more steps further until he noticed I had stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Just worried what's going to happen when your parents arrive,"

He climbed up to me and grabbed my hand placing his other hand on my shoulder. "They will accept you or I will leave, we will leave," he corrected and smiled, he stood there looking into my eyes. I could melt into his.

I shook my head in agreement and we both walked back to the car with the wind blowing against us, hand in hand.