LILLY

The door opens and I cry, "Please, help me!"

Sarah looks at me with wide eyes, she looked like she just woke up because of my bangs on the door. She holds me by my shoulders and pulls me to her chest, "Are you okay? Where are you hurt?" I cry, "I'm fine. It's Carter that's hurt." I pull back, "He's been shot." She freaks, "We should take him to the hospital." I shake my head, "No hospital. Help me, please!"

She ties her robe around her waist and runs down the stairs with me. I parked the car in the dark alley to stay away from Elijah.
When Sarah sees Carter unconscious, at first she doesn't want to go near him at all. I knew the risk. Sarah could lose her license for this.
I cry, "He's been bleeding a lot. Help me please."

Sarah helps me pull Carter out of the car and grunts slightly, she was stronger than me. She curses under her breath and helps me take him upstairs to her apartment.

She stops me first as I try to set him down and makes his weight lean on me as she runs inside her kitchen and grabs trash bags. She tears the trash bags in clean lines and spreads them out on her couch and then helps Carter on that couch lined with trash bags.
She checks his pulse and says, "He's alive." Then turns sharply at me, "What the fuck happened?" I sniff, "He got shot."

"I can see that! Where the fuck have you been? And why the fuck are you wearing a wedding dress? And why is his name Carter and not Daniel?"

I stay quiet. She's my best friend but telling her would put her in danger. She stands up and walks to her room, "If you want me to help, you better start talking to me, Lilly, or I swear to god, I will not help him and throw him out!"

♡

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" I shake my head as I slowly change out of the wedding dress and into the jeans that she gave me which were a little tight on the hips.

I sigh, "I wish I could."

We flipped Carter on his front so she could get started on his back easily. Thankfully the bullet wasn't too inside his muscle. He will be okay with a little bit of time to heal properly.

She says, "So the guy I'm stitching up right now, his name is Carter and he's in the mafia?" I correct her, "He is the mafia."

"We need to turn him in. He's a criminal."

"You can't."

"Why not? Because he's your fucking husband? He kidnapped you, Lilly." That hit me in the right spot, "He kidnapped you and then he tortured you for weeks. Do you call that love? Well, I call that Stockholm syndrome."

"I know, Sarah. I know it's crazy. I know that it doesn't sound right but I asked myself about it so many times. I love him, Sarah, no matter how much you twist it into telling me that this is wrong. I know this is wrong and I know it's messed up, but I love him. I do. He makes me happy." I smile at Carter, and how his thick eyelashes kissed his cheeks, "He is my blessing."

"A man like that is a curse. Get over it."

I take a deep breath because I knew she won't understand. No one would and I don't wanna explain to everyone why I love Carter. I just do. I do.

I say, "I love him so much." I get on my knees beside him and push my fingers into his hair, pushing the strands away from his eyes. He's so beautiful that sometimes I'm jealous.

Sarah shakes her head at us, "Lilly, wake up. Do you even see yourself?" I lay my head on his shoulder and look at her, folding myself together, feeling my throat hurt. I know I've cried a lot before and all the times, Carter has been with me. But this time, this time it feels like I'm gonna cry till there are no tears. Till there is nothing in me but emptiness.
Warm tears drip down my cheek and then my chin, I'm trying so damn hard to hold myself together at this moment but I can't do it. I can't.

I say as I catch my breath, "I do realize what this looks like. I do know that I shouldn't be in love with him. But, Sarah, he's a gorgeous human being. He's sweet, funny, smart, arrogant, stubborn as hell." My voice breaks now and I hate it, "He's beautiful, warm, protective, kind, and caring to me. He doesn't take advantage of my weakness or my vulnerability. He doesn't take advantage of me. He loves me the way I am, however, I am. He loves me so much that it hurts him physically." I point to the wound that was patched up on his shoulder blade, "That gun was pointed at me because they thought hurting me would hurt him. And they were right. It did hurt him. He knew he would get shot at if he acts like a shield in front of me. He knew the chances- he knew the risks, and he took it, Sarah. He was ready to die so I could live and get out. He was ready to give up his life for me in a heartbeat. How can I not fall for this man? How can I not want him for eternity?"

My hands start shaking but I don't stop caressing his cheek or his hair. It hurt so damn bad to know that he was ready to die for me. He was ready to give up his life when he was finally happy. I hate him so bad for this. I'm so fucking mad at him, but I can't act on that anger. Not when he's like this. I can't.

My gaze goes to his ring and I see it properly for the first time. I see what's engraved on the side of the silver. It had my name on it. I take off my ring and search for the other part and there it is. His name. Engraved inside the ring.

♡

CARTER

God, I felt so lightheaded.

Every bone in my body was in pain. I felt hot but I knew I was breaking out into cold sweats.
I open my eyes and I don't know where I am. I don't know where is Lilly.

Where is Lilly?

I know it's night outside by the window in front of me, but why is it so quiet? Where am I?

I hear the unlock of the door and I close my eyes again. Something happens on my back, something wet and then something warm. I feel a hand on my forehead and I know it's not Lilly's hand. It's not the same feeling. I lightly crack an eye open and these are not Lilly's hands. It was a woman but an unfamiliar one. She says, almost whispers to herself, "Look at you. I don't know what she sees in you that she loves you this much. You don't deserve her at all."

Her hands get closer and closer to my back again and when she crouches beside me, I grab her neck and tackle her to the floor. I don't see the face because her thick scarf is hiding it. Her skin is cold from the cold weather outside and she struggles under me. I tighten my grip and hold her down, "Where is my Lilly?" She slams her hands on me but I grab her wrists and push her above her head, holding down her hands and then holding her neck again with my other hand, "Where is my wife?!" The door opens again and I hear her yell, "Carter, stop!" It's Lilly. I look at her and she leaves everything she has in her hand and comes running to us. I loosen my grip and the woman under me tries to push me off but I'm heavier and bigger than her frame.

I slowly stand up and make my way to Lilly, pulling her into a hug instantly. She struggled in my arms as if she wants me to let her go. I do and she runs to that woman who's coughing on the ground, trying to catch her breath, "That man is crazy! Fucking crazy! Fuck!" Lilly goes down and helps the woman by gently rubbing her back and constantly apologizes, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about this. He didn't mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry." The woman still keeps coughing and Lilly pulls her thick scarf away from her face. She's somewhat familiar to me now but I still can't put my finger on it until Lilly says again, "I'm so sorry, Sarah."

Sarah. I know her. Lilly's best friend. She works with Lilly too. Used to.

Sarah looks at me as if she will kill me right now and I realize how awkward this is. I won't apologize because I didn't do anything wrong.
Lilly finally looks at me and she starts sobbing as if relieved. When Sarah finally picks herself off the floor, Lilly runs to me and wraps her arms around my waist, her head at my chest, "I was so scared." I hold her back and I hold her tight, "I know, baby. I know." Sarah looks at us both and says in a raspy voice, "I'll leave you guys while I choke in another room." Then she walks into a room and closes the door.

She could call the police or anything.

I'm about to follow her but Lilly holds me back, knowing what's in my head, "She is trustable." I tell her, "No one is." She says, "You can trust me, right?" I stop and look down at her, leaning my forehead to hers, "With my life." Her voice breaks, "Don't say that. I hate it when you say that. Don't you ever put yourself in danger to save me. Ever. Or I'll..." she trails off as if thinking of a threat and finally comes up with one, "I'll divorce you, Carter. I swear!" My hold on her waist goes tighter unintentionally and she makes a sound of pain, as I tell her, "You're not getting rid of me until I'm dead, Lilly. That's for sure."

She huffs a laugh and then sniffs, wipes her tears away with the heel of her hands. I smile because she's wearing our wedding ring. And I smile even more when it dawns on me that she's my wife now. My other half.

I pull her closer again and I press my lips on her. The way she kisses me back is confirmation that she has been dying for me too. We pull and she says, "I was so worried about you." Her hands were on my bare chest, gently rubbing with her cold palms. She says, "I've been worried for days and-"

"Days?" I ask, catching on her words, "How long have I been out?"

"Five days."

"Five days?"

"We had to keep you sedated so you can heal properly. The bullet didn't kill you but it hurt you bad, Carter. You were in pain every time your system ran out of morphine or Vicodin. We had to do everything we can to keep you safe."

"Did anyone see you?"

"No, and if anyone did, no one has done anything."

"Yet."

I know I'm scaring her again. I ask, "Where's my phone?" She takes it out of her back pocket and passes it to me, "I've been keeping it charged for you." I smile and kiss her temple, press her to me, and swipe through my phone. She had the data off as well as the location. Smart girl. My phone isn't tapped, I'm sure about that.
I go through the photos and show her the house near the beach. She smiles and says, "That's a pretty house. Did you get that off Pinterest?" I snort, "That's our house." Her eyes go wide and she takes my phone from me, zooming in on the house and then on the door that said our name in bold gold on an orange plate.

CARTER & LILLY

I kiss her temple as she smiles at it, "Happy wedding present, my Lilly." She says, "This was my wedding present all along?" I nod, "It's a secure place. No one knows about it. The land is bought, and the house is as well. Wide enough for our privacy. It's all ours, Lilly. And it's also the most secure place for us. We have to get there now."

She nods, "Okay, we can leave tomorrow." I shake my head, "Right now. Where's the car?" She gulps, "Parked in the alley. In the dark. Sarah told me no one goes in that alley because of a crime that happened there three years ago." I nod, "Good girl. Do you have enough stuff for us to flee now?"

"Yeah, enough for us but how long is the road trip?"

"Seven hours. We'll make it before dawn. I'm sure of that. We should get going."

She walks to the couch that I woke up on and takes out clothes for me. It's a T-shirt and jeans. She smiles, "I had to borrow money from Sarah because I knew you would need new clothes." I asked, "what happened to our wedding clothes?" She smiles sheepishly, "I couldn't let them go to waste so I tucked them in a trash bag and then stuffed them in the back of your car. I know how to get the blood out, I've been getting it off my scrubs for years."

I take the jeans and shirt from her and I start changing right in front of her. It's not like she hasn't seen me naked and if Sarah comes out, let her see me naked. I want her to envy my wife a little.

♡

I let her say her goodbyes to her best friend while I stay outside her apartment.

When Lilly walks out, Sarah is behind her. She glanced at me and says, "You hurt her, and I know one-hundred ways to make your murder look like an accident." Then she slams the door. Lilly just purses her lips to hold in her smile and I say, "Does she know who I am?"

"Oh, she knows and she doesn't care. She says what she means."

"Consider me scared."

♡

On our way there, Lilly sleeps the whole time. I know she's exhausted and I know she hasn't been getting any sleep for days because of me.

When we reach the house, I don't wake her up. I gently take her in my arms and walk inside the house. The weather was warm. Not too hot. The smell of the salty sea was comfort. And having her with me in my dream place was a dream come true.

I gently set her down on our new bed upstairs and she doesn't take any time to snuggle closer. I sit down on the side and she snuggled even closer, rests her head on my lap, and says, "Five more minutes." I bent down and kiss her cheek and then run my hands through her hair.

We're home.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

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Love, Hope
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