Emma Becker flipped a strand of her damp chestnut colored hair over her shoulder, and wrapped her pink Old Navy sweatshirt further over her hands. The sky was a relentless black sheet, still managing to send cold, sharp drops of rain down onto Emma. She was no longer Sutton Mercer; she no longer had a car or beautiful luxurious clothes. She was Emma. A normal, middle class girl sitting on a peeling green bench, waiting to board a bus to Las Vegas along with other tired and worn out patrons.
Her heart ached, and her tears blended in with the raindrops tickling and sliding down the flesh on her face. Just a day ago she was in the welcoming family home, with Kristen and Ted and most importantly Laurel. It killed her to lie to them, but now that Sutton had returned she would never see them again. Never. Emma snapped out of her trance as the bright lights of the bus pierced through the darkness. It had taken her three buses already passing by to have enough courage to actually board the next.
Emma stood up, and peered around to Arizona. A once beautiful town now seemed so hopeless and lost. She walked up behind a bald man who smelled like tuna salad and cigars, and waited to board the bus. All of a sudden she saw a muscular figure, with long black hair staring at her from across the parking lot. Ethan. She peered at the bus, then over at Ethan. This decision would change everything.
"Emma," he called loudly. She stood, like a movie in slow motion. Her mouth was popped open, and her eyes couldn't draw away from him. She hadn't said goodbye, these were Sutton's friends and family. She had no connection; they never would even know she existed as Emma Becker. Yet, something about his presence put everything in perspective, she couldn't leave Ethan.
"Hey, lady, are you getting on or not?" an irratable bus driver with a bald head and full cheeks. Emma didn't respond, because her sneaker clad feet were already carrying her over to Ethan. Heart pounding, breathing heavily, she ran like the ground below her was slowly dissolving. She leaped into Ethan's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and her hands around the back of his neck. She took one look into those big brown eyes, and was at ease.
"Ethan…" she murmured silently before their lips came crashing together. The rain fell even harder, but she barely realized it. Their kiss was filled with not lust, but passion and desire. A sweet symphony, a masterpiece of their perfectly matched hearts. Time went by, but the moment stood still. The world was tiny compared to their love, Emma felt invincible.
"Never leave me, never let go," Ethan whispered, staring into Emma's soul, begging her to hold on to his heart. He rubbed a strand of wet hair off of her face. She had to resist leaning in and kissing those soft, pink lips. The lips that made her feel safe and…wanted.
"There can't be two Suttons here, Ethan," Emma sighed reluctantly, "this is a goodbye kiss," she managed to choke out through her tears.
"Wherever you go, I will go. My heart is yours, and yours is mine. I won't let this go, I have never felt this way before," he grabbed one of her delicate hands and placed it in his own secure, rough one. "Emma…I…I love you," he said with a cracked voice, his own tough exterior crumbling. He set her down onto the ground, with an expression of such tender care and love.
Before Emma could respond, a voice sounded behind her.
"Sutton?" the voice shrieked, "what are you doing? We have to get too our sleepover" the voice came closer and finally a thin hand whipped Emma around. It was Mads.