Hope's Chance(59)

I tried to pay for breakfast, but Chance insisted. When we got back into the car he had a big smile on his face.

“What?” I asked.

“I have something for you.” He said.

“Is it a kiss?” I said as I leaned in for one.

He returned the kiss but pulled away enough to speak. “Nope, it is something else.”

I was getting more excited by the second. “Tell me what it is.”

Chance reached in his bag and pulled out a small bag. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it did have a pretty blue ribbon. “I stole the ribbon from your bedroom one day. You were wearing it the day we first met. I kept it with me the whole time I was gone, in my wallet.”

I pulled the ribbon that I now recognized, feeling a bit of red rush through my cheeks knowing he had something with him that was mine. When I removed the ribbon he grabbed it and put it in his pocket. “This is special to me, so don’t mind me taking it back.” He stated as he winked at me.

I reached in the bag and pulled out a small velvet bag. Chance’s face got bigger as I dug inside of it. I pulled out the chain and gasped at what I saw hanging from it. There were two hearts that were separate pieces, one said Hope and the other said Chance. They were small hearts made of plain white gold that hung over top of one another to appear like it was just one charm. When I didn’t understand it, Chance explained.

“I wanted you to have something special so I had these made. You can wear them every day and your father will never see my name, because it will be hiding under yours.” He took the necklace and showed me.

“I love it. Thank you so much. I will never take it off.” I exclaimed.

“That is what I was going for when I got it.” He laughed.

Chance



Putting that necklace around Hope’s neck made me feel so happy. I had bought that for her with my first paycheck and couldn’t wait to give it to her. I pulled it out every night as we talked on the phone and traced her name with my thumb.

While she drove she played with it with her fingers. I could tell it meant a lot to her, which in turn meant a lot to me.

Hope drove the slowest I had ever seen her drive on our way back to the house. I wondered if she was going to hang a left and drive us out of state, so that she didn’t have to pretend today. I missed my sister, but being without Hope was unbearable.

When we pulled into the long driveway I heard Hope sigh. She dreaded this part of my visit and I could feel her pain. I squeezed her hand. “Baby, I promise.”

“I know. I just don’t want to wait and I don’t like sharing you.” She pouted.

“Trust me Hope, I plan on going to bed early tonight. Don’t you?” I winked.

“Hell yeah. I feel tired already.” She joked.

I brought her hand to my lips. “I love you and I am home. Nothing is going to keep me from holding you in my arms tonight.”

“Then let’s get this show on the road.” She said.

Hope left her bag in the car and walked with me toward the house. Buffy came running out and hugged me immediately. “If he asks I called Hope this morning to grab you from the airport.” She whispered.

“I missed you too sis.” I said as I saw Mark approaching us.

“Hey Chance. I didn’t even know you were visiting this weekend. How have you been doing?” Mark asked.

I tried to remain calm, but I was still pissed about what he had done to his daughter. There was no way I would ever treat her that way. “I wanted to surprise everyone this weekend and I pretty much hate the job. The money is good, but when it is over, I plan on coming home and going back to school. This isn’t what I see doing forever.”

Mark raised an eyebrow. “Sorry to hear it isn’t going that great. Well, come on inside and get comfortable. I think the pool house is the way you left it. Sometimes Hope goes out there to study, but I doubt if she made a mess.”

Hope spent time in the pool house. Although Mark was still talking, I was picturing her rolling around in my sheets taking in my manly scent. When I started to smile, I realized they were all standing around me.

“It is really good to be home.” I announced.

Buffy talked Mark into going out to dinner, and with Hope still not speaking to him much, he said yes immediately. He hadn’t even made a big deal out of her picking me up from the airport. Maybe me being away had given him time to realize I would risk my life for her safety.

After being home for only about a half hour, Mark got a phone call and had to run to the strip mall to meet with a potential new lease. Buffy had hugged me a million times and finally allowed me to breathe. As soon as Mark’s car pulled out of site Hope was back in my arms. We walked hand in hand to the pool house and closed the door behind us. Buffy said she would text us when he was back so Hope could just walk outside and act casual.

The funny thing was that Hope didn’t seemed fazed by her father. I think she would have been okay with him seeing us together. Her animosity towards him was disturbing and I realized that she had just reached her breaking point. There may have been no way for them to fix their relationship. The man had let his daughter be sexually assaulted while he sat back and did nothing to the kids involved. That was a crime in itself.

When we got inside the pool house, I noticed how clean it was.

“I came in here a lot more than both of them know about. In fact, I suck out at night and slept in your bed sometimes. It might sound creepy, but I just wanted to be near you, well as close to you as I could be.” She admitted.