Obsessed

“I mean our parents, for starters.” A look of realization dawns on his face. “They hate each other, Peter.”

“I know.”

“How are we supposed to deal with that? What kind of life would we have together? I feel like that’s such a huge obstacle that we won’t be able to overcome it. I’m terrified that the poison from their relationship will spill over into ours.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

He’s trying to reassure me, I know, but it’s not working.

“And then there’s the small matter of Trevor.”

“Emily—”

“No.” I place my fingers on his lips to stop him from speaking. “I know what you’re going to say. That we’ll get through it, and that everything will be fine.”

I drop my hand from his mouth and wish I could kiss him. But I just grab a hold of his hand instead and grip it tightly.

“But, Peter, you know as well as I do that it’s not that simple. Can you stand to live your life in hiding? Because I know I can’t. And I feel like the second I let down my guard, something horrible is going to happen.”

“Look, I promised you I was going to get this guy, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“I trust you. I know if anyone can get him, you can. But what happens in the meantime?”

He doesn’t say anything, but pulls me even closer to him.

“I just don’t want to end up regretting anything. I don’t want to do this with you if it’s going to be ruined in the end,” I say.

“Emily.” He finally finds his voice. “Do you honestly think that what we have is so fragile it can’t withstand a little hardship?”

I scoff at this. “I’d hardly classify our parents a little hardship, Peter. Same for the psycho-killer stalker. It’s foolish to think—”

“Hear me out,” he says, and I grow quiet again. “You and I, we’ve had this connection between us since we first met all those years ago. It was there even when we were both too young and stupid to know it for what it was. And even though we’ve been apart this whole time, that connection never went away. Right?”

I nod my agreement.

“Now,” he goes on, “now that we are here, in this moment, together,” he puts his finger under my chin to tilt my head up, “you can’t deny that our connection has only grown stronger instead of fading away.”

The unmasked look of pure love in his eyes makes hot tears spring up in mine. I feel so much for him, lying here in his arms, that I can hardly breathe.

“I believe we’re meant to be, Emily. I believe that with every fiber of my being.”

“I feel it, too. I just don’t know if—”

“It doesn’t matter,” he says. “None of those other things matter. Not your mom, my dad, Trevor, not any of it. Because we will find a way to get through it all in one piece, and we will be together. Happily. It’s our destiny.”

I laugh softly and wipe the tears from my cheeks. “Did you just pull the destiny card on me?”

“Maybe I did. But only because it’s true. I don’t care if it’s cheesy or whatever. I love you, Emily.”

If I thought my heart was full to bursting before, hearing him actually say those words sends me over the edge.

“I love you, too, Peter.”

And

before I realize what’s happening, Peter has flipped us over and positioned himself on top me.

“And I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you,” he says.