The Road That Leads to Us (Us 1)

I didn’t want to.

But I knew we needed to.

I wrenched my mouth away, burying my head into the crook of her neck. Her chest rose and fell harshly with each desperate breath. My own breaths were sharp and scattered with no seeming rhythm. My thoughts were just as scattered.

Willow.

Lips.

Skin.

That was about as much as my brain could process at the moment.

I kept a careful hold on Willow and she slowly lowered her legs to the floor. If I wasn’t mistaken I swore there was a slight tremble to her limbs.

Moving my hands up her sides, over her breasts and neck, I finally captured her chin in my hand.

“I love you,” I whispered, wanting her to hear the words.

To feel them.

Her eyes closed and she wrapped her arms around me, her head landing on my chest as she hugged me.

“I love you too.” Her voice was muffled against my shirt. “A love like ours feels too big to comprehend.”

I ducked my head, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “The best things in life aren’t meant to be understood.”

She nodded at this and took a step back.

Her hair was a wild blonde nest around her head. If I looked hard enough I was sure I could find a twig and maybe a bird or two.

Despite that, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world to me.

I loved her imperfections, her flaws, as much as everything else. Every little bit that made Willow uniquely her was something to be loved and cherished.

“Wanna watch a movie?” She asked me, smiling brightly.

I was a bit startled by the sudden subject change, but I nodded.

She ran towards the family room and instead of going around the couch she jumped over the back of it, landing with a thump on the cushions. She then rolled off onto the floor and ran towards the TV, sliding in her socks when she’d almost reached it, and dropped to the floor.

Watching a movie was an Olympic sport for Willow.

She opened the cabinet beneath the TV and began rifling through the DVDs Liam had. I left her to it and went in search of microwave popcorn.

Once I had the popcorn popping I snuck upstairs while Willow was occupied and rifled through my duffle bag, smiling in glee when I found the stash of blue-raspberry lollipops I had stuffed in the pocket.

I closed my hand around them and tiptoed my way downstairs and back into the kitchen where I dumped the finished popcorn into a large mixing bowl.

When I walked into the family room, Willow cried, “He has ‘Beetlejuice’!”

Her excitement was palpable. I knew it was her favorite movie—one we’d watched many times growing up.

I took a seat on the couch, propping my legs up on the smooth leather ottoman. “’Beetlejuice’ it is.” I stuck a handful of popcorn in my mouth while she started the movie.

Once it was on she barreled onto the couch beside me, nearly knocking the popcorn on the ground in the process.

“Sorry.” She smiled regretfully and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch, using it to cover the both of us.