Bare Hearts

by Youngblood, Devon

  Her words leave me speechless and she takes my breath away. How did I get so damn lucky? I think to myself.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the justice of the peace declares.

  We hear crying and sniffling in the corner, and it’s Aunt Becca wiping her tears with a tissue.

  We laugh, kiss, and then fill out some remaining paperwork and pay a small fee.

  “We’ll how’s it feel to be Lily Cambridge?” I ask, putting my arm around her shoulder as we walk back to the car.

  “It feels fucking amazing!” She yells once we’re outside.

  “One more stop, then we will be starting our new life together,” I say as we enter the car.

  “I’m just so happy for you two. Starting a new life together with no interferences will be a beautiful thing.”

  We arrive at the police station one last time and my stomach is twisting in knots, knowing we will no longer be who we once were. I mean, we will remain the same just with new names and a new place to live, possibly out of state. I grip her hand and we walk together into the station, and we are greeted by the same officer as before.

  “So nice to see you all. Follow me,” he nods, motioning for us to follow him to the conference room.

  With her hand entwined with mine, her aunt following close behind, I turn back and can see the nervousness on her face. This shit just got real.

  Another man approaches us as we enter a conference room. “I have all your ID’s in my hand. It’s important you know your names and where you’re from. I’ve even doctored up a resume for each of you so you can get a job. You can’t have any contact with anyone from your past. It’s imperative that you honor that request, because it could get you into serious trouble if you don’t. Other than that, this should be a fairly easy transition for you,” he instructs.

  “Where are we going exactly?” Lily asks.

  “You’ll be going out west to Colorado. I know it’s a lot to process, but you will have everything you need,” he says in a serious tone.

  “You will need a less flashy car, so we will be providing you with a more suitable one,” he says, pointing at me.

  “Sounds good,” I say, giving Lily a smile.

  “We have plane tickets for all three of you. The sooner we can get you into your new identities the better; less of a chance for Tony’s people to get to you. You will also be set up in a house, so no need to worry about that. Do you have any questions?” The detective asks.

  “We were married this morning. Can we get our identities with matching last names?” Lily asks.

  “Congratulations. Yes, we can arrange that. If there is nothing else, I’ll go get everything together,” he says, leaving the room with the officer.

  “Wow, we are moving out west. It’s official,” Lily says, turning to me.

  “Okay, we’re all set; here are your new identity cards, driver’s licenses, and everything you will need. And you have a car at the airport when you land; it’s a Camry,” he says, handing me the keys. He hands each of us our new driver’s license and everything else we need.

  “I appreciate everything you’ve done,” I say, shaking his hand as we exit the room.

  “Best wishes on your marriage. It was a pleasure meeting you all.” He nods.

  Outside, we head to the Camaro. Inside the car, I take out all the paperwork

  “So, what’s your new names?” I ask, looking at Lily and Aunt Becca as we sit inside the car. “Mine is Luke Chambers,” I tell them.

  “Mine is Emily Chambers,” Lily says, looking up from her license.

  “Mine says Vivienne Links, blah,” she says like she has a bad taste in her mouth. “I don’t like it one bit,” she says, shaking her head.

  “It’s fine, Aunt Becca,” Lily says with a laugh.

  We make to drive to the airport and everyone is fairly quiet. Traffic is a breeze and we make it there in no time. We park in a lot and grab our bags while we make our way through the airport. I grab Aunt Becca’s bags as well.

  “I’ve never been on a plane,” Lily says.

  “Really?” I ask.

  “Yes, and I’m kind of freaking out. You know how I am,” she says, backing away to the opposite direction.

  I put the bags down and put a hand on each of her arms, and I look right into her eyes. “It will be fine; I promise. It’s not fast, like a roller coaster. I promise you will be okay.” I try to comfort her while she has her mini meltdown.

  “I know; it’s just so scary. But I trust you,” she says, taking a deep breath.

  Finally, we manage to make it to the ticket counter to confirm our seats.

  “Here you go, sir; take a seat and you will be able to board soon,” the lady says behind the counter. Lily and Aunt Becca follow suit and we all take a seat, waiting for the plane to be ready to board.

  Lily watches out the window as the planes come in. “You’ll be fine, Sweetie,” Aunt Becca says, reassuring her.

  “I know. This is all happening so fast,” she says, giving her aunt a weak smile. I put my arm around her to comfort her fears. I’ve been on a plane twice in my life.

  “We are now boarding for Colorado Springs,” a voice says over the intercom.

  “That’s us,” I say, standing up and grabbing the bags.

  We walk to the boarding terminal and hand over our tickets, one by one.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  LILY

  The thought of getting on the plane is freaking me out more and more. Even though Parker assured me everything will be okay I believe him, I really do. I’m still a little freaked.

  We pass through the boarding gate and find our seats on the plane. The plane is spacious, yet intimidating. Parker sits at the window seat while I am seated in the middle of him and Aunt Becca. Silently, I’m thankful I don’t have the window seat.

  A voice comes over the intercom, instructing us to turn our electronics off until the plane is in the air. I shuffle in my seat, taking a deep breath followed by another as the plane begins to descend the runway.

  “Just relax. You will be fine,” Parker says, keeping eye contact with me. His pools of blue calm me, while my aunt pats my leg. Before I even realize it, the plane is already in the air. It hardly feels like we are moving.

  A stewardess approaches us with a greeting, asking if we want anything to drink. And the first thing that comes to mind is an alcoholic beverage to take the edge off.

  “I’ll take a scotch on the rocks, and she’ll have the same,” Parker says.

  “Honey, I’ll just take a martini,” my aunt says.

  I watch as the stewardess takes other orders as she goes down the aisles. The plane is fairly crowded and the noise level is rising. Our drinks arrive just as I start to relax.

  “Cheers, to our new life,” I say to Parker and my aunt. We clink our glasses in unison.

  The thought of being married hits me at this very moment. “Oh my god, I’m a married woman now,” I scream in excitement. Parker flashes his toothy grin and kisses me.

  “Finally, we can be in peace. I can’t wait to start my life with you,” he gushes.

  Hours and a long plane ride later, we finally arrive in Colorado. Descending from the plane, I can already see the snow coated mountains in the distance. We go through baggage claim and manage our way into the parking garage as we were instructed by the detective the day before. Parker presses the button on the key fob and we find the white Camry when it beeps flashing the headlights.

  We throw our bags in the trunk and get into the car. Inside, you can still smell the leather, and I inhale the fumes, letting it take over my senses. The car is brand new and it even has a sun roof.

  “Wow, this is so nice,” I say.

  “Yes it is, and it’s ours!” Parker exclaims.

  He leans over the seat and kisses me.

  “I can tell I’m going to need my own place while you two honeymoon,” Aunt Becca says, laughing.

  “Don’t be silly. We will stay in the
room and be quiet,” I say devilishly.

  My aunt just shakes her head and I like seeing her squirm in her seat. Inside the console, we find directions to our new place.

  Parker takes to driving us while I admire the scenery as we drive along the road. Colorado is so beautiful and picturesque. I notice the leaves are starting to change and fall is approaching. Fall is my favorite time of year, and it will be especially pretty here.

  We pull into a cul de sac, and I notice how nice the houses are. Looking at the map, we find ours in the back. Pulling into the drive way, I admire the house. It has a perfect green lawn, with a mailbox at the end of the driveway. The house is off white, trimmed in a chocolate brown. The development looks new.

  Leaving our stuff in the car, we go in to check out the house. Inside, there is a coat closet to the left, and as you go straight the living room is to the right and the kitchen is off to the left with sliding glass doors that lead to the back yard. Out back, I can still see the snow coated mountains and I inhale the freshness of the air.

  Back inside, we find a small bathroom as well. The stairway is off to the side of the living room, leading us to three bedrooms and two baths. The rooms are spacious and inviting. The house isn’t real big, but it’s perfect for us. Back by the entryway, there is a door that leads to the basement. The three of us head down and it’s completely furnished; it has carpeting, a place to set up a bar area it’s perfect for entertaining.

  The furniture is sparse, so we will have to go shopping for some stuff. However I did notice beds in the bedrooms. My aunt heads straight to her favorite place; the kitchen. I can already hear the pot and pans clanking.

  I feel a tug on my arm and Parker is pulling me into the main bedroom. He slowly undresses me as we lock our eyes. He lays me down on the bed and tugs my pants off while I fling my shirt to the floor. I lean up to kiss him, and our tongues dance together in harmony. Breaking from the kiss he pulls his shirt over his head and it lands on the floor. Our lips clash again as he slides his body onto mine. He cups my face with both his hands and it seems like we just lay there kissing for a long time. His body feels heavy on mine, but I start to feel his erection pressing into my pleasure spot. I turn so I’m on top of him. My hair fans over our faces, and there’s only darkness; just us in our world where only we exist. We take our time with each other.

  Parker flips me back underneath him. Taking his time caressing my body, his hands roam over my tits, down my stomach, and over my thighs over and over. My body aches for him to be inside me. He takes a moment to stare into my eyes in between kisses. Finally, I can’t wait much longer and I wrap my legs around his waist. His erection slides into my slickness and his thickness makes me feel full. We both succumb to the pleasure of ecstasy.

  “Welcome home,” he says, embracing me with his strong arms.

  “Home,” I repeat. “I like the way that sounds.”

  “Me too, me too,” Parker says, kissing the top of my head.

  Epilogue

  PARKER

  It’s been six months since we arrived here in Colorado. It’s January and waking up to the backdrop of the snow caped mountains is amazing. Life has been very pleasant and easy since we have been here. I managed to get a security job at a well-known corporation in the city; the drive is long, but worth it. Lily secured a management job close to home at a flower shop. Aunt Becca keeps busy helping at the flower shop as well.

  Surprisingly enough, even Aunt Becca has adjusted quite well with life here and her new name. We still use our old names in our home, but outside in the public we use our new names. So far, we have been doing well with no slip ups. We didn’t want to lose who we are or change, just because we have new names.

  We haven’t bothered to keep up with Tony’s case. I know you can’t escape your past, but we are comfortable in knowing he won’t be knocking on our door anytime soon.

  Lily and I both still suffer from missing our parents’ but we’ve managed to work through it. We love each other enough to make this work. We’re no longer walking zombies, just existing in the world that constantly spins. We embrace life the good, the bad, and the ugly.

  We are thinking about starting a family soon, because we want to be young parents. The love we share for each other is so rare to find, and most people don’t believe you can fall in love with someone so quick. But with Lily, it’s so easy and we connect on such a deep level that sometimes it’s freaky.

  Looking back on my life before, I know this is where I belong, and I belong with Lily. We believe both our parents had a hand in our chance encounter, and then I knew it was fate when I saw her at the cemetery.

  She is home.

  The End

  If you’d like to reach me, I can be found on my Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/D-Youngblood-Author/363603683759679?ref=hl

  Other titles by this author are Coming Back to You it can be found on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iBooks.

  I’m currently writing a novel called Driving Layne, hoping to release in March 2014. Make sure to stop by my facebook page for updates and teasers on upcoming books.