Cheryl POV

I blinked my eyes twice before I finally opened them, then the memories of last night shot sharp in my head that I sat up to find myself on the bed under the comforter in the morning.

Beside me was Finn, lying shirtless on his stomach.

The relief sigh I let out was one I never did in my whole life.

God brought him back to me.

I found myself lifting my hands and thanking God. I even promised to repent and go back to attending church like I used to before mom left us.

"Hey? What in the name of religion are you doing in the morning?" He mumbled in his sleepy voice.

That was when I turned to him with a frown on my face.

"You think this is Funny?" I boldly asked.

"Cheryl." He whined and attempted to pull me to him, but I yanked my hand out.

"Don't Cheryl me, Finn. Where the hell were you last night? You just don't disappear and leave me alone." I could feel the tears coming, and I struggled to swallow the bile in my throat.

I heard him sigh and begin to sit up. "I won't go anywhere, Cheryl. I would never disappear."

"I don't know. You did last night." My voice betrayed me, and it came out more like I was sniveling.

"I'm sorry. I promised I would always be here." He cupped my cheeks in his warm hands, and a tear escaped from my watery eyes. "I have nowhere but next to you Cheryl, I'm not going anywhere; I'm here." He repeated silently and wiped the liquid on my face with his thumb before bringing his mouth to mine.

***

Finn turned on the shower, and I applied the soap on the loofah while the water was rushing from above us.

"Were you that worried about me?" He asked when he collected the sponge from my hand and brought it to my shoulder.

"Yes, I was scared." I honestly answered while he was scrubbing my chest and between my breasts.

"I'm sorry I made you worry all night." His eyes were attentive on his hand movements over my skin, and it was giving me goosebumps and shivers dancing down my spine from his touch.

"It's okay." I gulped. "Only I was madder when I found out the television in the living room was totally useless," I added, and I slightly jumped when his fingers graze below my abdomen.

"That's so typical of an old house." He smiled at me. "What did you want to see on tv anyway?" He bent before me and began scouring my hips to legs slowly.

It was exciting that I was lightly shaking.

"I wanted to... Uhm.." I struggled with words for two reasons. For one, Finn was applying pressure on the sponge cleaning between my thighs, and two, I don't know how to put it into words in a none criticized manner.

I let out a moan when he looked up at me with a smirk playing on his face.

He stood upright and moved behind me, tracing my back with the loofah in a gentle movement.

"If I was detained by the police?" He finished for me, and I felt more than embarrassed when I nodded.
"Don't worry. Not yet. What is it they say? Is it ninety-nine days for the thief, one day for the police?" He whispered seductively in my ear, and I gasped at the intense desire building in me.

"It's not applied to you. It's a different case." I opposed.

"It is, Cheryl. Believe it or not. I'm the bad guy."

I was practically resting on the wall of his torso. I could feel his erection poking my backside. His hands were sweeping around my abdomen.

"Where were you last night?" My voice was low when I asked the question.

It took him some while before he answered. "I went to Eureka Springs for chief Charles."

His honesty kicked in so badly, I completely despaired and rested my slack body against him.

The tears came without my awareness. I was shuddering-I was only breathing.

I couldn't blame Finn, no! I blamed my parents and every resident of my town.

I blamed chief Charles for his own death, for he was the acting sheriff back days when Eureka Springs turned against the Hayes.

That was what they grew out of a young boy who only wanted love.

The warm water running from the shower mixed with my tears and turned my face to a shade of red, which I could see in the small mirror on the wall.

I spun around to face the man frowning back at me. The loofah was in his other hand, so I grabbed it, and with all the willpower I had, I tried to control my hands from shaking as I began washing his skin beside the gunshot, which I'm sure was healing already.

"You're mad at me? I can live with that, but afraid of me? Cheryl, I can't handle it. Please don't." There were emotions in his eyes that made me look back to his chest and exhaled.

"I can live with everything you've done in the past. I won't judge what you've done, but now? No! I can't-I can't take it when you leave to kill. I won't be able to sleep and relax knowing what you're doing is risky." I choked on my breathing and looked up to the melancholy person above me. "I can't imagine a life without you in it, you've become a part of me in a short period of time, and I don't want that to be taken away from me. Please don't do it again. I don't want to lose you." I was crying, and I didn't care. What I said to him was how I felt immediately; he told me where he was the whole night.

In a short interval of time, I've become attached to him more than I've ever had with myself. He was everything to me, and knowing my dad and the whole of American police departments were working day and night on solving his case made me feel so insecure.

His hands grabbed my face. "Then I've stopped, Cheryl. I promised. Please don't cry. I'm sorry."

With a painful frown, he lowered and kissed my lips gently, my eyes closed, at a relief I can't quite explain.

Finn POV

After lunchtime, I decided to take Cheryl around Bolingbrook, mainly to drive around and grab some things in the supermarket.

I took the strongest oath earlier. I always knew it somewhere deep down in me since I first saw Cheryl though, I knew I could do anything for her.

I wanted to complete my list, at least the last one excluding Cheryl's family, but seeing her cry that way for my safety and hearing her vocalized how losing me could damage her.

I don't want to kill again. I want a life with her too. I don't want to go to jail and spend forever without those enticing green eyes, her silky blonde hair, her alluring smile.

I don't see a life without her in it, so I vowed to stop everything if it meant having her here.

She was staring around the town that day as I drove. She kept smiling at the trees and gardens and courtyards that were neatly wrapped in flowers and fresh grasses.

"I don't want to leave here. It's like paradise for me." She informed me, but her eyes were on the road.

She has no idea how her present was paradise for me.

"We shouldn't leave this town. We should stay here. Can we stay here?" With enthusiasm, she turned to me and held my forearm. "I love this place."

The excitement and desperation in her voice send chills of happiness inside of me.

She wanted to stay in my mother's town. She wanted to stay with me.

Cheryl wanted me!

"Yes, we can stay as long as you want," I assured her.

Her smile turned to a grin. "We can grow old here, together in the lake house, and feed the ducks whatever ducks eat. What do ducks eat?" She confusedly asked, and I couldn't help laughing at her.

"I think they eat worms and insects and snails." I shrugged, actually, I didn't know, but I loved the twisted disgust reaction on her face.

"Eww, gross. We would feed our ducks bread and peas." She firmly confirmed.

"Bread? That's going to choke them up, Cheryl. You have to call the emergency line then and do the back blows and chest compression with rescue breaths."

"What? On ducks? How's that possible? They're tiny."

"They have souls, so yes." I enjoyed her dumbfounded face.

"I'm not gonna let them eat worms and all those stuff." She frowned.

"Then we'll work on our ducks' food before we get old, but for now, we should go get our food stocks and some clothes," I suggested as I parked by Bolingbrook's famous supermarket. My mom worked there for three months before she moved to campus.

"Better," Cheryl said as we both climbed out of the car.

"I can't wait to see how a persistent old woman you would be in the future." I playfully joked and held her hand in mine.

"I can't wait to see the gross old man you would become." She joked back.

"But you'll love me anyway." Chuckling, I reminded her.

"Oh yes! With all the grossness and everything. I would love you." She giggled.

***

"Why didn't you let Samuel and Justin bring you clothes?" She asked after we'd picked some more outfits for ourselves and some food stocks that we were running out of.

"They're looking after the house."

"What are you going to do with the house now?"

"Maybe renovate it in some time. That way, it would take all evidence completely with it." That was my intention ever since Cheryl told me she preferred this town.

"Oh!" She muttered while we pushed the cart, heading to the cashier.

"Your school?" She asked when I didn't bring up a word.

"What's wrong with my school?" I asked her.

"You're missing it." Her brows lifted.

"I have all the money. The school was for distraction anyway. For both me and anyone who will suspect." I honestly answered.

That was how I took my education, though, for Denny and Sharon, it was for the benefit of my future, they say.

I didn't even understand. I had billions and different assets, was school compulsory?

"Well I think, you need to not give up on that. You shouldn't throw that away." She turned away. I caught a frown on her face before she hid her expression from me.

She should know I wasn't going to be selfish. I wouldn't return to school when hers had been paused. Either way, I could look after us, so school wasn't a necessity at that moment but having her around was, so I was grateful when my eyes landed on some LG LED television around the electronics side, and with a smile, I took less than five steps and grabbed it.

I thank technology for the thing was lightweight-ed

"What are you doing?" Cheryl's forehead formed a crease.

"If we're growing up here, then at least we would need a working television," I told her, and she smiled.

That was all I wanted, for her to smile at me.

Cheryl POV

On our way to the payment desk, Finn spotted two men he referred to as friends. So instead, he gave me his credit card, and I pushed the cart with the large television standing tall-I headed to pay for our supplies.

I began bringing out the stuff we purchased on the desk in front of the older woman on duty. "Cheryl?"

"Yes!" I mumbled and scanned the tag on her uniform. It reads, Maggie.

"You really are pretty, just like they said." She glanced at me and smiled while she calculated the prices.

With knitted brows, I politely stated. "It's like everyone knows about me here."

She stopped and looked up at me. "Of course, darling. You're the daughter of those who took the life of the most kind-hearted man away from us along with our daughter."

Feeling guilt and embarrassed, I inclined my head and muttered. "Then why are you all not stoning me and chasing me out or killing me?"

She laughs at me. "Look over there." She motioned to where Finn was laughing with some middle-aged men. "Since his parents died, he's never been this happy... He really loves you. It's ironic how everything could change. He had been planning on crushing your family since he knew himself, and now he was telling everyone to keep you safe." She went back to work.

He was telling everyone to keep me safe?
It sunk my heart as I watched him laugh freely, like every other citizen. Indeed he was happy. He was gleeful.

"A television?" Maggie asked, and both our eyes fell on the big plasma screen in the cart.

"Yes! Some things in there needed either repair or replacement." I told her.

She nodded in agreement. "Well then, if you need anything, my children are good in redecorations and other house repairs."

"Thank you, though I don't want a redecoration. The house is beautiful. I think I will only need a new bed and fridge. I will tell Finn anyway." I smiled, and she returned.

***

It was late evening on Friday when Denny paid us a surprise visit. He was more kind to me than the first time we met. He brought a cake along, claiming it was from Sharon, and I made coffee for both men before I headed upstairs to shower and give them some privacy they might need.

After about forty minutes of warming my skin, I dried my hair and headed out to the bedroom until I heard something that halted me in my track.

"You either kill her yourself, or I will send men to do it."

"What is wrong with you? I told you I would not, can't you understand?"

"Nate is after you. He might not know what you look like yet, but having her around? She's going to expose you."

"That's not true."

"The plan is for you to kill her and send her body to her parents, Finn. You're ruining out of time, and you're God damn 20. You have college to graduate and a company to run." I gasped as tears rolled down my face.

"I'm not punishing her parents, Denny. The list is no more."

There was a deafening silence that lasted for almost a minute. I heard Denny heave a sigh and say. "After everything, you choose to fall for the daughter of the people who took away my best friend, the person who made a man out of me. Eric Hayes gave me hope when everything was empty. Now under my watch, his son decided to protect his murderer's daughter. How selfish."

"No! No, don't. You have no right to call me selfish. I took all risks ever to exist and gave out my life to whatever could happen tomorrow or in the next minute to avenge my parents. I've killed one hundred and eleven people for them, those whose eyes and families haunt me every time I close my eyes. So just because I've given up on four, earn you no right to call me that. I want happiness for once. I want a life." My hands covered my mouth tightly to hold my whimpers.

"I never asked you to kill anyone, son. You fucking ruined everything. You decided to go for blood when you had love and home and people who were ready to provide you solace anytime you were in need." Denny yelled, and I flinched, which caused the old wooden floor to creak. I was sure they understood I was eavesdropping on them at that moment.

"Get out." Finn irascibly uttered to the man, who is considered his father.

"Finn, you have to..."

"I said get out," Finn yelled.