Eighteen

Four years earlier…

“But when you put two and two together, you don’t really have to go anywhere,” she says and pursed her lips. He chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around her waist. He had to bent over to do that as she was short. She looped her arms around his neck and tip-toed to kiss him. He kissed her back, it was soft but urgent.

He moved back and observed her face, she was smiling at him. She always smiled no matter how upset she was, no matter how gloomy the day was. He loved that about her—because she never lets a woeful day take over her smile no matter how bad it gets.

“When will you be back?” She asked, staring up at him. She was hopeful that he was going to tell her he wasn’t going anywhere.

He breathes in and exhaled, thinking of how he’d tell her he won’t be back until midnight.

“I will try as much as I can to come home before midnight,” he told her. He saw the disappointment on her face but she still managed to smile and hugged him tighter. “You’re going to miss