“I have something to ask you.”
Chase
I wrapped another strand of Erica’s hair around my finger, just like how I knew I had her heart. I didn’t want to hurt her by leaving, but I didn’t have a choice with my father running for Mayor of Savannah, Georgia. He had been in local politics for years, but this was his first big break into doing more.
So, instead of dwelling on the worst of this situation, I was going to ask the question I needed answered most. The one that would hopefully let Erica know that no matter how far the distance, she would always have my heart.
“Can I keep you?” I asked the question with all I had in me.
When we had watchedCasperweeks ago, the second the line came on, I knew I needed to ask her. You might ask, why would a nine-year-old ask a girl he had only known over two summers if he could keep her? One that is in love is what I would say.
I watched that movie, Casper and Wendy dancing together, and could tell how much he cared for her. I had seen the same thing between my parents my whole life. I felt it in my chest when I looked at Erica. I knew it was love, even if I was so young.
Erica put a hand over her mouth, as to not laugh.
“What are we, in a movie now?”
Her laughter spilled past her hand and filled the space between us. It was a welcomed sound because moments ago, there were tears in her eyes I couldn’t stand to look at.
“I’m not kidding, Erica.” I used her real name again, not something I normally used when we were talking. I had nicknamed her peaches the first day I met her. She had just finished eating three peaches and smelled like them the rest of the day. But now, I needed her to know the seriousness of all this. This conversation wasn’t a light one that ended with me coming back next summer. “I’m keeping you.”
I leaned toward her, my fingers taking another strand of her hair, and pulled my other hand from the pocket it had been stuck in. With it I pulled out a dog tag that was on a key chain. I had it made at the zoo last week, hiding it from my parents ever since.
I held out the metal to Erica and watched as she assessed it and took it from my hand. She ran her fingers over the words I had asked her. She held it up to her chest, holding it tight. I was leaving her and I wanted her to have something from me she could carry every single day.
“You’re crazy.” The words slipped out of Erica’s mouth and I laughed at how cute she looked. She was simple in the best way possible, and it was the exact reason why I liked her so much.
Black hair, grey eyes, pale skin, the perfect size to fit in my arms and the perfect hands to fit in mine.
“I am.” I placed my forehead against hers and closed my eyes. “But so what?”
The honk of my parents’ car behind me made us both jump, causing a space to grow between us. My mother tapped the watch on her wrist while still talking on the phone to most likely my father. He was probably still at home finalizing the move because it wasn’t like we were leaving in a week or two, we were leaving tomorrow morning.
My mother laughed me for the crush I had when I asked her to wait one more day before we left. That I needed to say goodbye to Erica, my peaches, before we moved away. The vans had packed up everything over the past three days to move us to Savannah.
We had moved almost every year since I could remember. Atlanta was the first place we had stayed longer and I was grateful for it. It meant I had gotten to spend more time with Erica. I hadn’t told her about moving around because I didn’t want her to think I would just move, but it was always in the back of my mind. I had been waiting for my father to say something, and when he brought it up last week, I knew it was inevitable.
And it was now or never to tell Erica how I felt about her.
“Why would you want to keep me?” she asked and the way her grey eyes looked at me made my heart skip. I felt like we were inCasperright now. That my parents, our friends, none of it mattered around us as we were floating in the air, enjoying us together.
“Because you’re my peaches.” I let my hand rest against her cheek and leaned in a little. I let a whisper of a kiss brush where my hand had been against her cheek and pulled away.
“You can always keep me, Chase.” The words spilled from her lips as I dropped my hand from her.
“You’ll always be mine to keep, Erica.”
I turned away, not chancing a look back at her. I knew what I would find if I did, a sad gaze and tears forming. I could barely hold it together when I first saw her lip quiver, but now I would absolutely lose it. I walked away with my head held high, knowing that one day I would be able to get back to her, but for now, all we had was words.
And those were forever.
