“You were going to breakup with Dakota?” Hannah’s face filled with disbelief, hurt, and disappointment. It seemed his sister was more shocked about that than the fact that she had a crazy ex-boyfriend that was going to start a load of crap when school started.
“I was thinking about it, but every time I saw him, the world started turning upside down, and I don’t know, I just couldn’t. There’s something about him that just makes everything else disappear. Nothing else seems to matter when we’re together. It’s like he’s a freaking angel sent down just for me, and I can only fall to his will,” she admitted.
A smile took hold in Hannah. “You love him.”
No question about it. “When I’m with him, there’s nothing else, and when he’s gone, it’s like something was ripped away from me. So if that’s love, then yes.”
Hannah asked, “You didn’t…”
Cally knew what she was asking. “I didn’t cheat on him. Seth is a friend, but I wouldn’t make it out to be anything more than that.”
“Have you told him?” Hanna asked.
She looked to Savannah. “No. I wasn’t sure how to tell him. And this wedding stuff is so stressful that I wasn’t sure that I should.”
“What are you going to do?” Hannah questioned.
“I was hoping to marry the man I love and then deal with Seth when school started. But if you want me to tell him now, I can.” She watched her soon-to-be-sister lean back against the wall as she pondered what to do.
Savannah was the one that asked, “Do you want to go back to Seth?”
Cally looked at her. “I don’t know that I really ever loved Seth and I don’t think I ever could. He was more of an entertaining distraction and a way to get through the next day.”
“You told him, though?” Savannah accused.
She nodded. “I told him at the beach that night. And he saw the ring, so he knows, and I haven’t talked to him since.”
“You won’t cheat on my brother, will you? I can’t see my brother hurt like that.” Hannah huffed with a worry that seemed to run deeper than what she was saying. It just felt like she wanted to say more, but she couldn’t or wouldn’t.
Cally looked at Hannah and could understand what the girl was thinking. Hannah just wanted to protect her brother more than anything. “I have never cheated on him and I won’t. I don’t believe in cheating at all, if you don’t want to be with someone, then you should just breakup with them.” Hannah eyed her and Cally couldn’t help but continue on her little rant. “I also believe that marriage is forever. When I get married, there is nothing in this world that is going to break us up, short of death itself. My parents have been married for over twenty years, and that’s how it should be. I don’t care what anyone else says or thinks or does. I’m not them, and I’m not going to do it. If I marry him, it will be set in stone, and there will be no changing it. You will be in that school, and you’ll know if I do anything.”
She watched as Hannah nodded. “So why are you telling me all this?”
“Because you’re going to find out, and I would rather you know before I marry your brother. That way, you can have a say in this,” she said, wondering to herself why she was doing this at all.
Hannah shook her head. “I’m not going to stop you, but you should tell him.”
Cally looked at her and got up. There was no reason to wait. She could tell him now when he could still stop it or she could tell him after and destroy everything they had together. She grabbed the phone and went back in her room; damn thing was her parents wouldn’t let them have cell phones, because they were afraid of all the bad things out there that could happen between the internet and the phones, so landlines helped her parents to monitor them and strip them of their privacy. Savannah and Hannah were still talking when she sat down.
She wasn’t going to be the coward now. She dialed his number and waited. “Hello?”
“Hey,” she managed with a huge lump of dread filling her throat.
“I thought Hannah was staying over tonight,” Dakota asked, puzzled.
She closed her eyes to avoid having to look at them and realized that they were both quietly listening. “She is. She told me that I should tell you something.”
His voice enveloped the apprehension she expected. “What? What’s happened?”
She took a deep breath to try to steady her nerves and just said it. “My ex has been following me and calling. A lot.”
“And?” he asked when she paused.
“I’ve avoided him and won’t talk to him, but I know why he’s calling.” She took a second to get the courage to say it. “I was thinking about breaking up with you for the past month, but every time I tried, I couldn’t. You’re so perfect. You listen to me and treat me better than anyone ever has, and when I’m with you, nothing else matters. And when you leave, I want nothing more than for you to come back. I swear I never did anything with him, and we only talked a few times.”
“Did he tell you to breakup with me? Or do you want to?” Dakota didn’t sound hurt, but there was something else in his voice.
Cally took a moment to think through her conversations with Seth and realized that. “He told me to,” came out as she remembered the day Seth had said it.
Dakota sounded calmer. “Did you want to before that?”
“No, not really.”
“Then he convinced you to do it, but you didn’t,” he said, calmer than anyone should be in his position.
She didn’t know what to say or do, and she couldn’t hold the tears back as the silence stretched out before he asked. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to be with you. I want him to disappear and never come back. I love you and I want to be with you. I swear I’ll never talk to him again,” she finished, full out crying.
“I know. Is there anything else I should know?” he asked.
Something seemed a little off. He should have been angry with her, but he wasn’t. It was almost like… “You knew.” That pause confirmed it. “How did you know?” She looked at Savannah and saw it all written over her face. “You told him?” she demanded, shocked.
Her sister got defensive. “He’s my friend, so yeah, I told him.”
“And you still asked me to marry you?” Cally accused into the phone.
His voice turned to the confident man she knew. “Yes, you had the chance to say no to end everything right there, but you didn’t. You chose me…us. You wanted to be with me, even though you had another choice.”
“You were testing me?” She couldn’t believe it. He had known everything and still wanted to do this. “I’m either the luckiest person alive or you’re the craziest.”
He got a little cocky when he asked, “Are you still going to marry me?”
She just sat there stunned. “Yes.”
“Then it doesn’t matter. I know you love me and knew you would choose me. There’s nothing wrong other than your ex has been stalking you, which