Chapter 12:

I honestly had no idea what was in store for me when I walked in my front door. My mother was silent to me the entire ride home and I was afraid to display any emotion in front of her in fear of what she might do to me. I stayed somewhat curled up on the far right side of the seat and even in my head said silently,

Dear God, please don't take him from me…He's all I have left. Please don't take him away.

Everything was taken from me; I was completely disconnected from the world by every way possible. No phone, no computer, no T.V., no car and I was forced out of my room into the guest room so I couldn't see his face on my walls. I was banned from seeing him at all. Luckily, I had snuck a wallet-sized photo of him and kept it well hidden.

For that entire weekend, I just sat up in that room and cried until my eyes had run dry. The one thing in my life that had finally made me happy and feel completed, and it was gone. The only thing that I had that no one could ever take away from me was my true and passionate love for him. No matter how many times I had tried explaining it to my parents, they still thought I was messed up in the head. To make matters even worse for me, after my graduation, they had arranged for me to check into a mental hospital and meet with various psychiatrists until I was "healed."

My life was falling apart as I knew it, the only thing I could do was to be subjected to its course. Although, there was another way out of it…I had tried not to think about it, but it seemed as though it was the only way out for me. I was contemplating suicide. The only thing was, I didn't know how or when I was going to do it. I didn't know even if I should, or if I had the guts to do it. I was so confused and scared. All I could do was cry.

That Sunday night, my parents were going out to dinner and Cass was at a party. They had left me home alone and made sure that I couldn't take my car while they were gone. Now that the house was empty, it would be the perfect time to commit suicide, but I still wasn't sure. I had gone out to the pool in the backyard, just to clear my head for a while. I looked down at the water and moved my hands in the ripples, tears forming in my eyes again.

I miss you so much…

I took a slow breath in, holding it for a few moments before releasing it.

I'm never going to see you again…

Again, a slow breath in, held it, and released it.

You gave my life meaning, you gave me life and now that you're gone…

A hesitant breath in, holding it even longer and barely releasing it…

Well…

I dipped myself slowly into the water as the last few tears came streaming down my face.

Goodbye, Criss.

As I went to take my last breath, I heard a voice coming from behind me, the most beautiful voice I've ever known.

"Serenity?"

I immediately stood up from the water, "CRISS!" I ran as fast as I could into his arms and cried uncontrollably. "I missed you so much! I have nothing! I have nothing! I thought I'd never see you again!"

He wrapped his arms tightly around my wet body. "Shhh...It's okay, baby, I'm here!"

"Oh, God!" I began hyperventilating my sentences, "I was going to kill myself, I couldn't stand being without you! They've taken everything from me! After graduation, they're putting me in a hospital! I'll never see you again! Criss, I'm so scared! I don't know what to do!"

He rubbed his hands all in my hair and held me even closer. "Calm down, baby, calm down. We'll figure a way out of this, I promise. I won't leave you."

I nodded and reached up to kiss him. I longed for his love again, his kiss brought life back into me. "How'd you get in here?" I asked. "How'd you know my parents were gone?"

"I've been coming around here for the past few days secretly. Your parents had a fit on the phone with me and told me they never wanted to see me again. They gave me my stuff and told me if they ever saw me again, they'd call the cops. They never want me near you again. But, that didn't stop me from getting to my beautiful Serenity…" He spoke in a sweet voice while brushing my cheek with his hand, wiping away the tears. "So, I've kind of been stalking your house and I was here when your parents left, I knew you couldn't possibly be with them so I snuck back here and found you. Serenity, you promised me you'd never do any of that ever again."

"Criss, I'm sorry. I can't live without you. I didn't want to, I didn't. I just saw no other way out of it!"

He sweetly smiled, "There's always a way out."

"You're the most…amazing…" I stopped and stared into his eyes again, something I also longed to do. "I love you so much!"

"I love you more." In an effort to calm me down and since we had a few hours until my parents got back, we went swimming for a while. I was finally happy, even if it was just for a few hours. It was worth it to me. I wanted all of the time I could get with him. At one point, Criss and I were near the outer edge of the pool kissing when all of a sudden; I heard a voice coming from the door. I immediately made Criss duck down so he couldn't be seen.

"Serenity! It's me, Cass! Where are you?"

Thank God, it's just my brother… I thought.

"I'm in the pool, Cass!"

Next time, I should pay attention to where I stick Criss' head, because it was right on my hip where my bikini began. Criss gently rubbed his fingers up and down my leg to my hip and lightly kissed me. He directed his kisses from my hips to my stomach and lightly brushed his fingers anywhere he wanted. I lightly splashed water into his face, but that only encouraged him to tease me more. I tried so hard not to gasp or moan as Cass stepped outside the door.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm home. Mom and Dad should be home within the next two hours."

Before responding to him, I quietly muttered under my breath, "Criss…cut it out!"

"No…" He replied with a sly smile.

"Okay, Cass. Thanks for letting me know!"

"I'm going to bed now, night!"

"Night, Cass!"

As he went back inside, I pushed Criss off of me and scolded, half joking, "CRISS! Are you trying to get me killed?"

He only laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!"

I gave him a look and finally confessed, "By the way, you felt amazing. You don't know how badly I wanted to say something…"

"Well, we could always try again, couldn't we?" I smirked and pulled him in for another kiss; slowly parting my lips open so our tongues would touch. He moaned softly and ran his fingers down my leg again. I wrapped both of them around his waist in the water so that he was standing and I was basically sitting in mid-air.

I pulled back and stared into his eyes again as I reached behind my back for the strings on my bikini top. I first reached for the bottom ones and hesitantly pulled them loose. He only watched in amazement.

"Serenity, you don't have to do this…"

"I know, but I want to."

The strings floated to the sides of me in the water as I reached for the ones behind my neck. I pulled those loose, too and let my top fall into the water, now completely exposed. Criss breathed in heavily and pressed his already bare chest onto mine. The feel of our wet, naked torsos on against each other felt incredible. As we kissed again, I took Criss' hand and led it up to my bare chest. He at first lightly touched all around me, making me gasp and moan at each touch.

"Criss…" I managed to moan in between a kiss. He cupped my left breast and continued his light touches with his fingertips. I lightly scraped my nails down his bare back, resulting in a gasp from him. I giggled and did it again, each time resulting in the same reaction. He then forcefully pushed me against the pool wall and kissed me violently and passionately. I moaned into his hair with pleasure as he directed his kisses further down on me. He kissed me along my neck, then my collarbone, moving to my breasts and lightly added the touch of his tongue, my stomach and when he reached my bottoms, I had to stop him.

"Not yet," I said with a smile. "It's not the right time or place." He nodded and apologized for getting too carried away. "No! I enjoyed it…thank you, Criss"

"Thank you? Why are you thanking me?"

"You make me feel so loved, so special. Right now, there are not a lot of people who do that." I reached for my top and started to tie the strings again.

"You're one of the most important people to me; besides my family, I'd never hurt you. I'll always make you feel that way. If anything, I should thank you for trusting me with that. I know that's something you just don't do for anyone you meet." He paused and then whispered; "I have to go" He choked. "I promise, I'll be back for you. I'm not going to leave you." I nodded and kissed him one last time before he got out of the pool and went to go exit the back gate. Before he left, he turned to me and caught my attention, "Hey,"

I looked up at him as he was smiling, "I love you!"

"I love you so much, Christopher." And with that, he escaped through the gate and was gone.