The Runaway by J.M. Hurley (online e book reading .txt) 📕

asked my next question, “And what about Alonzo, what happened to him?”

“Well, no one really knows for sure. He could’ve been killed in the bombings, but no remains were found, and he might have also been captured and has surely died by now.”

“When did this all happen?” I asked and she smiled at me, her cold demeanor softening into a warmer one.

“Don’t you read your history books at all, my dear? It happened just nearly twelve years ago, which would’ve made sir Alonzo just nine years of age at the time, poor dear…”

“Summer are you okay, you look pale?” My mother’s voice droned in and out of my ears and I felt the world around start to spin. I was vaguely aware of Zane’s brilliant blue eyes shoot me a concerned glance before my knees went out. Tumbling to the ground, I felt strong arms grab me around the waist and then, I blacked out.

***

“Summer, Summer…” I jerked awake, gasping and panting for breath. I was laying outside on a makeshift bed, Zane and I were alone.

“What happened?” I asked and Zane gently pulled me close into his warm, comforting embrace.

“We were learning about the Monclatzo massacre and you suddenly just lost it,” he whispered and I felt my stomach drop. Yes, that’s what we were learning about, but why would she lie? After all, she was lying…right?

Zane gave my forehead a kiss and pulled my chin up so that I was staring into his eyes.

“We’ll find out what happened, I promise we will, but you need prepare yourself for it, Summer. You can’t be fainting or getting ill, you’re the more important thing here.”

I felt as if I wanted to scream. I hated being the weakest link, the person who everyone needs to look after. In a calm and reserved voice I asked, “Can I see that surprise now?” Zane’s worried look lightened for a bit and I saw his adorable dimples appear.

“Of course you can,” he said and the next thing he did took my breath away. He bent down, as in down on one knee, a black velvet ring box in his hand. I felt all the oxygen left in me, leave my body and at first I thought I was going to faint.

“Summer Janine Charad, since the first moment I met you, I fell in love. I fell so in love that even just the prospect of someone else having you makes me sick, that whenever I have you in my arms, I have to pinch myself to believe it’s real. That when my lips meet yours, I think that there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, and no one else I’d rather be with.” At this point, I had to start blinking rapidly to keep from crying, this isn’t happening

. Zane took a deep breath and opened the ring box up, exposing a gorgeous ring. For a moment, time seemed to stop, everything that had happened in the past year wasn’t present and the only two people alive were Zane and I.

“Will you marry me?”

I felt myself nodding before he even got the words out and once he looked up and saw me a huge grin broke across his face and he stood up and scooped me up into his arms. Spinning me around, he kissed me like never before and only stopped to slip the ring onto my finger. I smiled as I stared down at it, “I love you,” I whispered and Zane laughed and gave me a kiss. “I love you too.” This kissing didn’t stop there, it intensified, it grew with a passion and hunger that was insane but eventually he pulled away.

“Careful, we don’t want to have the honeymoon before

the wedding.” I giggled and felt my cheeks blush; I had been a bit pushy at the end there. Grabbing my hand, Zane and I walked over to where a small building was present and he knocked on the door.

“The rest of them are waiting inside,” he explained and the young woman, who Zane now explained was named Aida, came to greet us.

“I’m glad to see that you are okay,” she said with a tiny smile as she opened the door wider.

“You’re okay!” Sierra exclaimed as she rushed over and gave me a rib cracking hug.

“Yeah, I’m fine, really,” I said and my mother walked over and squeezed my shoulder.

“We were waiting out there with you, Aida thought the fresh air would help you, but Zane insisted we rest,” my mother’s calm, quiet voice was soothing as I tried to calm my racing heart that kept holding on to what had just happened.

“So now we need to talk,” my mother said more strongly, motioning for us to sit down. We both took a seat and my mother gave us all a strong, powerful look. “We will need to start training you all so that you can protect yourself. Stephanie and Zane, you can both help me since you have more experience. But Sierra, Summer, and Lance will need all the training they can get.” I tried to ignore the fact that my mother thought I was weak and gave Zane’s soft hand a squeeze.

“Okay Mom, when do we start?” I asked and my mom smiled.

“We can start tomorrow, but for now, we need to be on our way,” she replied as she readjusted the large burgundy watch on her wrist.

“You can stay here,” Aida offered but Stephanie shook her head quickly.

“No, but thanks anyways,” she received angry glares at this.

“What? If we don’t arrive back tonight Jasmine might worry!” she tried to make her expression innocent but it came off more as disgusted. “Let’s just leave, okay?” she asked and Lance let out a tired sigh.

“I’m pretty whipped too,” he replied and Sierra nodded in agreement.

“Wait what time is it?” I asked, didn’t we just get here?

I couldn’t remember but I didn’t think the sky had been that dark when I was outside; then again, I wasn’t really paying attention to my surroundings at the time.

“It’s 7:00 at night,” Stephanie answered as she checked her platinum silver wrist watch and leaned back against Lance.

“We really should head out-” My mother began but Aida cut her off.

“Oh no, no, no! You no go out there in the dark night, you get hurt! You stay here for tonight, then leave in morning,” her voice was demanding and as if to prove her point she latched the door and started shooing us back into the house. “You room in here,” she said as she lightly pushed me into the room and I was surprised to see Zane stumbling in behind me. My mother’s eyebrows shot up but Zane beat her to the chase.

“Um, shouldn’t we have separate rooms, I mean; I’m not sure Summer’s comfortable with this.” My mother’s eyebrows seemed to go up even more at this but I tried to ignore her and chimed in with Zane, though I had no real problem with him sharing a room with me.

“Yeah, that’s really not appropriate,” my mother said, cutting me off with her stern tone of voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Aida said in a surprised voice, “I just thought that it’d be fine considering the circumstances.”

I wasn’t the only one with a confused look on my face at this point, “What?” I asked and Stephanie let out a frustrated sigh.

“Okay, what the hell are you talking about?” she demanded and Aida sighed, looking flustered.

“I’m sorry; I guess I just assumed…well, I thought you were with child.”


Chapter 6

“What?!” I wasn’t sure who the first person to cry out in shock was, but I did know that the room got chaotic at this point. Sierra’s face showed readable shock, my mother looked like she was going to kill someone, someone meaning Zane, Lance looked majorly uncomfortable, Stephanie was smiling as if she thought this situation was funny, and Zane looked like he wanted to run for the hills. I felt my face flush and before I could even muster a whimper my mother’s commanding voice broke through.

“What on Earth would give you the authority to assume that?” she asked, I could tell she was struggling to keep her voice even and calm.

Zane seemed to be able breathe now and he let out a shaky breath, “Why would you ask that?”

Aida blushed and shrugged her shoulders, “I guess I just assumed since you’re so young and, well, tying the knot as you American’s call it.”

Every eye in the room darted to my finger and I felt my face flush red. Zane sighed and out his face in his hands and I heard Sierra squeal.

“Oh my God! This is perfect! Why didn’t you tell me? Never mind that, I’m so happy for you!” Sierra was practically jumping up and down, then, seeing my mother’s expression, she quickly became silent.

“Take that off now, you’re being ridiculous,” she demanded in a cool, collected voice and I shot her an exasperated look.

“Excuse me? I’m being ‘ridiculous’? No, I’m making decisions for myself, and Zane is one of them,” I replied and my mother’s calm expression slipped, she was angry, angrier than I’d ever seen her.

“You may not have lived under my roof in a long time, but I am

your mother. When I tell you to do something, you do it, and no questions asked, no complaining, no talking back. Now take it off,” she yelled I caught out of the corner of my eyes Stephanie and Lance quietly slipping out of the room.

“What so now that you’re actually in my life again, you think you can play mother again? No, I don’t think so! You weren’t there for a good half of my life, you’re just another adult I know, and even though you gave birth to me, you are not

my mother and you cannot tell me what to do!” I shouted and Zane laid a hand on my shoulder.

“If I could,” he said quietly, “Mrs.Charard, I’m in love with your daughter, in fact, I’ve never even heard, yet alone felt, anything even close to what I feel for her. Now I can tell her goodbye, you can take her away, and I can lose everything I live for, but I’d still have to spend the rest of my life with her. I’m her guardian, Linda; I can’t just get out of her life. So, can’t we spend our eternity how we’d like to, or do we have to spend the rest of our lives wanting but never receiving?”

My mother rested in forehead in her hands and let out an audible sigh. “I can’t deal with this…Really, I just…wow,” she said in an exasperated tone. “I am

you’re mother, for one, and another thing, I have always been there, you just haven’t asked.” She locked eyes with me and I shook my head.

“No, mom

, you haven’t, but that’s not the point. I love Zane, whether you like him, whether you hate him and-”

“Okay.”

“Oh, and that’s another thing…Wait what?” my voice trailed off into space and I let me jaw
drop.

“Okay. Fine, if this is something you really want,