Saving Each Other (Saving Series Book 1)

by S. A. Terrence

  “I vow to you to be your home and the other half of your whole, as you are mine, the E to your Dee, forever.”

  E leans into me and with a gentle kiss he captures the tears that have fallen from hearing his beautiful words. With love and happiness, I pull back and recite my vows.

  “Ean, E…” We look at each other with so much love that I melt, while my heart soars.

  “Today I am marrying the both of you. Though you both came into my life at different times and in very different ways, you came into my life when I needed you the most.

  “Ean, the first time I looked into your eyes, I sensed your soul and it left me breathless. I immediately knew we were destined to meet and were always meant to be. The day I saw you on the beach I sensed your heart and my heart came back to life. I immediately knew we were destined to be together and share one life. And the day we physically met, I saw you and immediately knew I was where I belong. I was lost, hanging on by a fraying thread, barely surviving day to day. Without knowing that, you put me back together. You protected me with your strong arms, guided me with your sure hands, and loved me with your amazing heart. You turned that fraying thread into a band of steel so strong it became unbreakable. You are my dearest friend my most trusted confidant and my truest advisor. You are my heart and my life. And E…

  “My E, you are my everything. I can breathe when you’re by my side, you are my air. I can live when you’re by my side, you are my life. You took my breath away with the very first word you ever graced me with and you’ve been taking my breath away every day since, I am truly blessed. You came into my life when I needed you the most. You made me smile when I couldn’t and laugh when I thought it impossible. You showed me how to live again, taught me how to trust again and allowed me to hope when all hope was lost, and you did it all through text messages. You are my strength, my beacon, my humor, my wisdom, my guide and my love. I vow to spend the rest of my life being your light, your laughter and your greatest love with all that I am.

  “I vow to you to be your home and the other half of your whole, as you are mine, the Dee to your E, forever.”

  I lean in to kiss Dee again because I just can’t not. Her words ring true. That’s what we are to one another.

  He leans in to kiss me with all that he is and I kiss him with all that I am. Today our souls spoke to each other echoing what we truly are to one another.

  Everybody is crying. Even the priest has tears in his eyes.

  “I have nothing to add,” Father Henderson chokes out on a laugh that’s joined in chorus by everybody in attendance. We exchange rings and then he says the words I’ve been waiting to hear.

  “So by the power vested to me by God and the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Ean, you may now kiss your bride.”

  E takes me in his arms and gives me a passionate yet tender kiss. I taste his tears, his love, his promises, and, best of all, I taste him.

  As I take my love in my arms, I barely hear the cheers of celebration. The world has, once again, faded away. It’s just the two of us and as I kiss her, I taste the salt of her tears, the love of her heart, and everything that is Dee.

  E and I usher in the reception with our first dance as husband and wife. We chose Meghan Trainor and John Legend’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” because that’s exactly how we love each other. We embrace our love with a passion and a fierceness that’s unparalleled. We appreciate and cherish what we have and we never take a second of it for granted. Halfway through the song, we bring in our closest friends and our families. The words spoken in this song ring true. Life is so incredibly precious and none of us are promised a tomorrow. Our hearts are full and our tears freely flow. And as the song comes to an end, with Chloe now tucked lovingly in our embrace, we smile because this is what life’s truly about.

  Luke takes over and The Black Eyed Peas let us all know “tonight’s gonna be a good night.” All our guests crowd the makeshift dance floor shouting the lyrics out at the top of our lungs and we spend the rest of the reception celebrating the night away.

  After the reception, my bride and I head down to the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey to celebrate our first night as husband and wife. I still can’t believe she’s really mine and I plan on spending the entire night showing her exactly how much I cherish her. Tomorrow we’re heading to Kaanapali Beach in Maui to stay at the Hyatt Residence Club for a mini-honeymoon. I adore Maui and I know Dee will love it too.

  I’m so excited to be alone with E and to begin the next chapter of our lives. Neither of us has taken a vacation in a very long time and this mini-honeymoon is well earned and very needed. We’re going on a real honeymoon with Chloe after we get back. We’ll be back in time to celebrate Christmas with our families and then we’re leaving the next day. Her birthday is right after Christmas and we’re taking her on a Disney cruise to the Caribbean to celebrate.

  All in all, life is really great.

  THE WEDDING WAS AMAZING! I still get goose bumps thinking about it. It was beautiful and personal, filled with love and laughter, smiles and tears. We celebrated the love we have while honoring the love we lost.

  We walked down the aisle to Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” because, right from the start, we both felt like we’d known each other forever. We also broke from tradition. Instead of throwing the bouquet and garter belt, we gifted them to Lysee and Justin. Aside from them being our best friends, they’re deeply in love and clearly the next to get married.

  I also still can’t get over the cake. We got it from Hansen’s Cakes in Beverly Hills, a legacy that goes back seven generations. Their cakes are legendary! Ours was a two-tiered contemporary style marble cake with chocolate chip filling. E’s favorite and I have to admit, pretty damn good. E and I went there for a cake tasting, which was completely unnecessary since he’s eaten their cakes numerous amounts of times and I trust him completely, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer. “We have to sample the cakes!” he told me. “I don’t care if I know what they taste like. Sampling them is the best part!”

  We made a day of it, buying our wedding bands at Tiffany and Co. We got my engagement ring there the day after we met, and chose to go back so my wedding band would match. I love my rings but adore the ring we chose for E. It’s a platinum ring that’s both architectural and classic, and suits him perfectly; elegant, strong and sure.

  After we got our rings we wandered around Rodeo Drive, window shopping at all the exclusive stores before E dragged me into Agent Provocateur. He took one look at the window and insisted we go in, pulling my arm while saying, “We need to get some of this!” I giggled and happily followed him in because I knew what would happen once he saw me wearing the lingerie we bought.

  Afterwards, we had lunch at Nate and Al’s, a classic delicatessen, that’s been around since 1945 and similar to ones you’d normally find in New York. Many of the waitresses have all been around just as long and act that way, which is the beauty of it. The food is amazing. We shared a big bowl of chicken soup with matzo balls, a pastrami sandwich on rye, and an order of latkes with sour cream.

  I didn’t invite my mother to the wedding. When I left San Diego, I left her in my rearview mirror. I made one final attempt and invited her to our engagement party. When she again was a no-show, I ended it for good. I have too much good going on in my life to allow her poison to taint it.

  Our mini-honeymoon was beyond belief. I laugh at how little we actually got out of the room. We were in Maui but I couldn’t care less because we spent the entire time wrapped up in each other and that was infinitely better. We also ended up buying a timeshare so we’ll be going back.

  We’re now on the Disney cruise and having an amazing time. Chloe insists on spending every free minute in the kids’ club. I don’t mind because it gives E and me free time to be together, but E isn’t happy about it and keeps pulling her out to play in the pool.

  It’s been great watching her meet all the princesses and the other cha
racters. They host an autograph session at a certain time each day. The schedule of who will be signing autographs on the main deck, and when they’ll be there is posted in each room. It’s meant to let the kids pick and choose which characters they want to see, but Chloe, like many other kids, wants to see all of them. She even wants to see the ones she doesn’t like, like the villains. The kids stand in line with autograph books in hand and both E and Chloe stand there bouncing with goofy grins on their faces while they wait. I swear, he really is just a big kid at heart.

  I love the rooms! They’re more like hotel rooms rather than the standard rooms you’d normally see on a cruise ship. Ours has a balcony and we spend a lot of time on it drinking wine and being together.

  One of my favorite features is the towels, which are folded into animal shapes and set on the bed at turndown. E likes the chocolates they leave on the pillows and shares them with Chloe; she’s turning into a chocoholic, just like her dad. I love how he is with her. He really is a great father.

  I’m standing in the middle of the gift shop. I was here earlier with Chloe and saw the perfect thing to give E for his birthday this spring. We both have spring birthdays. He’s an Aries; his birthday is April 13. I’m a Taurus. My birthday is May 15. Our signs are compatible. I don’t usually follow the zodiac but I was curious and googled it. Turns out that when “Aries and Taurus come together in a love affair, the partnership is a natural union of the love represented by Taurus, and the passion represented by Aries. The relationship is all about balance and the Aries-Taurus relationship is known to be a great learning experience for both signs.” Exactly what our relationship is like.

  I’m giving him a ceramic Mickey and Minnie, lounging on Adirondack chairs and sipping margaritas. Last year, celebrating our birthdays was interesting because we celebrated them through texts. We each got a cake and champagne, sang the Happy Birthday song, blew out the candles, and made a wish. We didn’t tell each other what we wished for but I’m sure we wished for the same thing, to physically meet.

  Shortly after arriving home from our honeymoon, E and I open our own store in Manhattan Beach. We’re also centrally located between our rental, Chloe’s school, and the home we’re building. We named the store “Scott and Allie’s,” and E recreated the sets he made for me when he started building furniture again. We’re doing really well. So many people are happy to see us back. Our collaboration in work is as strong as our collaboration in life. Together, we’re a force to be reckoned with.

  E and I have also been spending a lot of time helping others. We alternate between Covenant House where Lysee volunteers and Austin House, where Justin does that and so much more.

  I’ve created an arts program at both shelters. I love art and believe it helps people heal. E created a sports program at both shelters and spends time with the kids running them around to burn off all the excessive energy and anger most of these kids carry with them on a regular basis. After E moved to Hermosa Beach, he started spending more time at Austin House and noticed the need for such a program. We split our time between the two. We’re always together. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

  The biggest news of all is that I’m pregnant! We just found out. I’m nine weeks along and yesterday we just heard the heartbeats for the first time. That’s right, heartbeats. E and I are having twins!

  “JUST ONE MORE PUSH,” E begs.

  We’re in a labor and delivery room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. I wasn’t due for another two weeks but started spotting this morning and having lived through tragedy, I’m extremely cautious. The minute I told E what I saw he yanked me out to the car, as gently as he could in his panicked state. And even though my safety was his main priority, I think he broke every speed law known to man and kept wishing he’d get pulled over so we could get a police escort.

  He called my obstetrician, Dr. Liu, on the way.

  “Don’t panic, she’ll be fine,” he told him, but E was still beside himself.

  “Why is he always so fucking calm!” he bellowed.

  Dr. Liu delivered Alex and was supposed to deliver Ean and Alyssa’s baby. He also sees Heather and Riley, so I’m very confident everything’s going to be okay. Dr. Liu is a great man and an amazing doctor. He’s always joking around and makes everyone feel confident and relaxed even when that’s the last thing you think you could feel.

  Even though I am a sweaty mess, E keeps telling me how beautiful I am and how proud he is of me.

  “Just one more push!” he tells me again.

  “STOP SAYING THAT!” I shout, squeezing all the feeling out of his hand.

  “Let’s meet Hope and Allie,” he says, gently toweling the sweat that’s dripping off my forehead.

  This is my first vaginal birth. Chloe was delivered through an emergency cesarean section; she was breach and the cord was wrapped around her neck. Dr. Liu said I could have a VBAC if the conditions that were present with Chloe weren’t present with the twins and the last ultrasound proved they weren’t, thank God!

  “You’ve said that too!” I grunt out.

  We knew the babies were both girls and wanted to name one of them in honor of Alyssa so we decided to name our firstborn Allie. “I hope they look just like you,” I said once we agreed on Allie’s name and E lit up.

  “Hope!” he exclaimed.

  “Hope?” I asked, having no idea what he was talking about.

  “Hope!” he exclaimed again. “That is the name of our second-born!”

  Hope.

  “Dee!” he said emphatically. “We gave each other hope when we had none. That’s the perfect name!”

  I couldn’t agree more. “It’s perfect!” I told him. “Hope it is.”

  It was decided. Allie for the baby that comes out first and Hope for the second.

  “There are my godbabies!” Lysee announces as she rushes to my bed. Josh, Justin, Chance, Kyle, Riley, Luke, Beverly, Rodger, Heather, and Jerry all follow her in. She rushes to me and tenderly grabs Allie out of my arms.

  “Mine!” Josh rushes over like a mad man but then, just as gently, takes Allie out of Lysee’s arms and sits to cradle her.

  “Hey! We made two of them,” I laugh.

  “Come to your uncle Josh, my sweet magnolia,” Josh drawls, kissing Allie on her forehead.

  There are two babies and they’re both fighting over one. That is so Josh and Lysee.

  “Josh has Allie,” I tell everyone. The most important people in our lives are in the room with us right now. “And E is holding Hope.”

  “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Beverly asks while taking Hope from E’s arms.

  “Perfect,” I answer looking up at E who’s beaming with pride and love. I love seeing him this happy.

  “She’s just beautiful,” Heather gushes looking down at Hope lying in Beverly’s arms before taking Allie out of Josh’s arms and sitting to coo to her newest grandchild.

  “Mom,” E announces. “You’re holding Allie Simone Adams-Montgomery.”

  We took my dad’s name, Simon, and made it Allie’s middle name, adding an “E” at the end to make it feminine.

  “And Beverly,” he continues. “You’re holding Hope Alexandra Adams-Montgomery.”

  We used Alex’s name and changed Alexander to Alexandra to make it feminine.

  The girls are beautiful. Identical twins, each with a full head of dark brown hair and bright blue eyes that already shine with mirth. They have little button noses and full pouty lips. Both are healthy! Allie was born nine minutes before Hope. And Allie is six pounds two ounces while Hope weighs in at five pounds ten ounces.

  “Today’s their birthday!” E says. “So we all need to wish them a happy birthday.” At that, he starts singing “Happy Birthday” to them and everyone joins in.

  “I’m loving this!” Lysee cheers after the song comes to an end.

  We’re all sitting around in my private room, enjoying the babies, when Justin’s phone rings.

  “Justin here
,” he answers, without a care in the world.

  “Wait…WHAT?!” he shouts jumping out of his seat. His voice full of panic.

  Justin turns white as a ghost and visibly starts to shake. E races over to him and grabs the phone as it starts to slip out of his limp hand.

  Oh my God! Something is horribly wrong.

  Everyone jumps to their feet and Lysee rushes to Justin’s side while E quietly talks to whoever’s on the other end of the line.

  “Hold on,” he tells the caller and lowers the phone down to his side. “Austin House is on fire.”

  Lysee’s hand flies to her mouth as she gasps while words of disbelief reverberate throughout the room.

  E quietly listens, his scowl deepening as anger and fear cloud his previously joy-filled eyes. “Okay, we’re on our way!” he says and hangs up. He then turns to us. “They say it was one of the husbands of one of the new families that just moved in.” He takes a pained breath and continues. “He torched the shelter.”

  “Fuck…” Justin whispers in disbelief.

  “It’s bad,” E tells everyone, grasping the back of his neck, his tell. “The police are there now. He was in the building demanding they go with him. They refused and he went ballistic. He screamed they would all ‘burn in hell,’ and ran out. Not five minutes later, they heard glass break as they watched the front of the building become engulfed in flames. They’ve managed to get everyone out of the building but…it’s bad.”