I continue to gaze at the invitation, my memories flowing together and forming one big blur of emotions. JT and I have, needless to say, been through a lot together. But we have fought the battles like the strong soldiers we are.

After that day at the hospital things were never the same. JT and I got back together, of course. Mia was really upset but, being the sweet, sensitive, caring guy JT is, he talked to her and explained it all. I thought she still hated me, to be honest.

So anyways, things went by really quickly from then on. JT and I were really happy, despite the fact that Lakehurst joined with us. JT didn't hold a grudge against the school. The one boy who had stabbed him was facing a long stint in prison.

Those few months felt like a dream. I hardly knew what was happening; all I knew was that JT was alive, we were together, and nothing could ever take that away from us. I was on cloud nine.

Then, in March, JT proposed. It was really nice, the way he did it. He took me out to the fanciest restaurant in town. I'll bet he spent a month's worth of paychecks from the pharmacy to pay for that dinner. And, needless too say, it was lovely. Everything, from the white roses (my favorite flower), to the peach cobbler for dessert (my favorite dessert), was positively perfect. And when he took me out to the balcony, we saw a shooting star. Just as I closed my eyes to wish upon it, I felt JT slip something onto my finger. My eyes widened as I looked up at him.

He got down on one knee, holding my hand in his. "Liberty," He murmured. "Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

I didn't say anything; I merely felt sick to my stomach with happiness and shock. He stood up and put his hands on my face, looking into my eyes. "Liberty, will you marry me?"

My mind raced, all my plans for the future flying through it at a mile per second. If I married JT, how would I go to college? How would I get a degree and my dream job? But then I looked into his eyes, seeing the soft brown of them, the love I saw in them, and I knew everything was okay. "Yes," I whispered.

His face broke into a smile that reached from ear to ear, and he pulled me towards him to kiss me. "I promise you, Liberty, you won't regret this!"

I smiled at him, and in my mind I thought, that better be true, JT Yorke. Don't go breaking my heart yet again. I sighed and gazed into his eyes.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Three months later, we were married. It was a nice ceremony, in my backyard. Our closest friends and family attended. I was so happy on that day. Nothing could have brought me down.

At the reception, Emma came over to me and gestured for me to come somewhere with her. When we got into my room, she turned to me and put her hands on my shoulders. "Liberty, I've known you for a really long time. You know you can tell me anything." I nodded, looking at her confusedly. "Okay, so tell me this: Why exactly are you marrying JT?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh… Because I love him!"

She gave me an 'Emma Look'. "Come on, Liberty. You know I don't believe you, Liberty. You've never been a great liar." She smiled vaguely, and I swallowed hard. She stared at me through narrowed eyes for a few moments, as though trying to analyze me. "Liberty, are you marrying him just to prove something to yourself?" I shook my head sternly, but she continued with an eyebrow raised slightly. "If you're trying to prove to yourself that JT loves you, you don't need to. He does, I'm sure, but even so, Liberty: He broke your heart! Doesn't that make any difference to you whatsoever? Don't you remember how you felt, seeing him with Mia?"

Emma had always known how to make me uncomfortable. She also knew how to make me think. As I stood there facing her, I thought about my choice. Had I made the wrong decision, rushing into this so quickly? Was I trying to prove something to myself?

"Liberty…" Emma awoke me from my thinking. "Are you trying to prove to yourself that…you can be loved?" I glanced down so she couldn't see the look in my eyes; the look of shame and self-pity. "Liberty!" she hissed. "You don't believe in yourself? You ability to be loved?" I looked away from her. She pulled my face back towards her. "Listen to me, Liberty. I don't care what decision you make, but you must know this: You are beautiful, intelligent, and devoted, and any man would be lucky to have you, you hear me? Don't settle when you have options. Plus, honey, you're only eighteen! Can't you wait? Give it some time! If it's meant to be then it will happen. Don't rush things!"

I took a deep breath, refusing to meet her eyes. "Emma, JT is the only boy I have ever loved. And I'm going to do what I feel is best. I'm going to marry JT." Now I looked her straight in the eyes. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me." And with that I walked out of the house, back to the backyard, where my new husband was waiting for me. And it thrilled me to see him there, with love for me. It made me happy. And all I wanted was to be happy.

Two months later I awoke to nausea. I ran to the bathroom of my childhood home, where JT and I had been living since we had gotten married, and vomited into the toilet. I then vomited three more times. When I crawled back to bed, JT was leaning his head on his hand, looking at me nervously. "You okay, Lib?"

"Uh…Yeah, of course!" I stuttered, and lay down, gazing at the ceiling. I turned to JT, a faint smile on my face. He raised an eyebrow. "Hey, JT, remember when you gave me driving lessons?"

He grinned fondly at the memory. "Yeah, you were quite the animal behind the wheel! It was pretty hard to, ah, calm you down…" He leaned over to me and kissed me hard, whispering, "Let's do it, right here, right now."

I pushed him off me, no longer smiling. "JT, no! I'm being serious!"

He looked concerned. "Well, what is it?"

"Um…so… remember when you took over the wheel? When you were driving us to school…" He shrugged, as if to say, sure, go on! "Well, remember what I told you? The thing that made you get in that accident?" His eyes widen. "Well, I think that little…thing…has happened again." I brace myself for his reaction, waiting to see what he'll say. He just sort of looked at me surprisedly, but then a grin appeared upon his face.

"I'm going to be a father…" He said, as though trying out the words, playing them in his mouth. "For real this time." He turned to me excitedly.

I sighed and turned over. How could I explain to him that I was scared to death? After what Emma had said to me at the wedding, I just couldn't seem to get the image out of my head. Of him leaving me. And turning to Mia. Again. How could I explain to him that I don't want my heart to be broken? And with a baby… That would just have been too much for me to handle. But then I turned back around, and the look on his face, of pure joy and excitement, shamed me. How could I do this to him? Here, I was the one not trusting. I was always being too controlling. Control-freak is what they would call me. And that's exactly what I was being right then. Why couldn't I just live in the moment? Was that too hard?

So I reached up and kissed him gently, then pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Whatever is good for you is good for me." I smiled at his reaction, which was to jump out of bed with an ecstatic look on his face, and scream, "Wahoo!" as I watched him, laughing. But then I pulled him back onto the bed and put my hand over his mouth, telling him to be quiet.

Now I looked at him with no longer thrilled eyes. Instead, they were telling him I was serious. "JT," I said sternly, still looking into his face with a stony expression. "There is one condition. You need to promise me… no, swear to me that you will be a mature adult. No more telling Toby about our…sex life…" I shudder at that memory and continue. "And this time, I need you to get money to support us… the legal way, JT." He glanced away for a moment, ashamed. I continued. "So, if you want this baby, then you need to do those things for me, okay?" He nodded, now serene. I shrugged and turned over, climbing out of the bed. It was time to find out if this baby was real.

I entered the hospital, the memories all flowing back to me of that night with JT, the one that changed my life. I started to wonder what would have happened if he had died. It hurt me to do so, but I did. I thought about who Mia could have ended up with, who I would have ended up with, and I couldn't bear to picture myself with anyone else. I just wished that I could trust JT's loyalty. I wished I could.