Chapter 1: Future

I knew there was a reason I liked summer. Summer marked an end and a glorious new beginning. Summer marked survival, calm before and after the storm. Summer meant that although I'd almost died the previous winter, I didn't. It marked more than six months of an entirely rehabilitated mom. It also meant that I had nearly three months of uninterrupted time to spend with Seth.

It was the summer to top all summers. We were constantly doing something new and exciting and fun. For some reason the Cullen's absolutely loved to shower me with gifts, such as movie tickets, go kart passes, and bizarrely, a car. I couldn't even drive it, so I made them take it back. (Quite mortified I might add). Seth thought it was funny. Apparently the Cullen's have a car fetish. Seth happily took up the offer of a used car though, with the promise to pay them back with interest. So, we had a set of wheels which opened doors to many more things to do. Sometimes we would wake up and the car would have a full tank of gas and a note instructing us to have fun.

Once we drove all the way to Portland, Oregon and did touristy things. Another time we did the same with Seattle. But, after a while of wild running around and activities, I decided that I liked nothing more than sitting in Seth's lap with my feet dangling over the cliffs, watching the sun rise or set. One evening in August stands out particularly in my mind.

"Have you ever thought about our future, Seth?" I asked looking up into his sparkling brown eyes.

"Of course I have, babe. I'm guessing you have something particular on your mind though?" His brow furrowed characteristically.

"Kind of, I was just thinking about how I want to be a doctor, and trying to decide if that was what I really want to do. Then I started thinking about college and wondering what you were planning on doing. So that got me thinking about how we'd definitely not survive the separation if we go to different colleges. What are you planning on doing?"

"Well… I guess I'm planning on sticking with the police thing, so, college for criminal justice, then additional training. There has to be a university that offers pre-med and criminal justice. Right?"

I nodded. "I think the University of Washington might. That wouldn't be too far away."

"Let's aim for that then." He said, smiling at me.

Junior year flew by like the summer did. I took the SAT for the first time in the spring and got an above average score. Scholarships began to pour in. Seth got a good score too. All too soon, we were faced again with our future. We were walking by the cliffs again, but this time thoroughly bundled as it was November. As it was senior year, I had just turned seventeen. Seth reached eighteen that summer.

"Let's say we apply to U.O.W. and get accepted. Where are we going to live?" I asked nervously.

"We could get an apartment." He suggested casually.

"Well… umm…" I had something on my mind but I didn't want to offend him.

He noticed. "Hon, you can tell me anything on your mind. I won't get mad." We stopped walking and he pulled me close to him, our arms around each others waists.

"It's not that I don't want to live with you, but it would feel weird, morally. I'll still be seventeen and you'll be barely nineteen. And even though we don't do anything against my morals, it would be wrong to live together if we weren't married. And I won't be an adult yet so…." I bit my lip and looked at the ground.

"I get it. I totally get it. Should we just both get a dorm then?"

"Yeah, I think we should." I said, relieved that he understood.

"And I could find a part time job to save for when we do eventually get married."

My heart skipped a beat. Obviously I knew I would marry him one day, but we'd never really talked about it before. "That makes me happy." I said, my voice breaking a little. I looked up at him, feeling a big goofy grin spread across my face.

"Kayla, you sound almost surprised when I say we'll get married some day!" He said smiling back.

"Not surprised that way, just surprised to hear it out loud. We've never really talked about it before. Even though technically I've known I would marry you since I was almost fifteen." My eyes roamed his handsome face and I felt his warmth through my poufy jacket. Those signified love to me. I saw him briefly look over my face too, and when our eyes met, the connection was tangible. I felt a familiar ache in my chest, but it didn't last long because he bent his head down to kiss me.

Even though we'd been together more than two years, it still felt like my first kiss every single time I kissed him. A thrill rushed through me and my head grew light with joy. My body felt like it had been set on fire, but it was just smoldering warmth, not pain. He pulled away after a minute or so and gazed into my eyes, paralyzing me.

"I love you Kayla, and I swear, when the time is right, I'm going to marry you."