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me.
Here was a man, a beautiful, gentle and protective man who had just basically
saved my life, and I knew next to nothing about him. My fear was that if we
stepped outside, the spell of our newfound friendship would be broken. Then,
just like everything in my life, I would end up with nothing.
    He turned me to face him, and I saw the
same look of apprehension in his eyes. “Becky, I swear to never leave you. We
will find a way to make this work for us.”
    I had known him for over two years and
watched him every day, but to hear him say those words broke me. He was a
stranger to me, but I felt a connection with him that was undeniable. If he
could look at me with those sweet and caring eyes for the rest of my life, I
would finally be whole again.

Chapter 4  

    Rebecca

    As we left the cabin, he swore that he
would never leave me, and he had done his best to stay by my side. The long
walk home had been torturous. The ground was still wet, and I would have fallen
down so many times if it weren’t for Marcus. He held me up the whole way.
    It took most of the day to get home, and
we used most of that time to talk about ourselves. It became evident that he
truly did know a lot about me. He even knew what type of shampoo I used on my
hair, and what toothpaste I used to brush my teeth. To most women, this would
be a red flag, but I was completely enraptured. Someone was finally seeing me.
The real me that I kept locked up in my personal mental asylum. I didn’t have
to tell him about my mother’s death or my father’s alcoholism.
    I also learned about his life. He was
open and honest about any question I had. He resided with a foster family in
town, but never really lived there. They were greedy and selfish, and only kept
foster children for the money each month. He told me how they never really
noticed that he was not at home. If he kept his grades up and his act clean,
then he could pretty much just get by on his own.
    Once a month, a social worker would come
by to check up on the household, but he only saw the perfect façade. This was
the longest he had ever stayed in one place, and he said that was because of
me.
    The one time we stopped for a rest, he
held my face in his hands and told me, “Rebecca, I know you and Caleb have been
dating for a while, but since I first saw you my world has always revolved
around you. I just had to find you. Now that I have, I will never leave your
side.” I was taken aback at how sincere he was. I wanted to believe him.
    Upon returning home, I was immediately
apprehensive about explaining to my father about where I had been the previous
night. I was also worried about what Caleb may or may not have told him. I
didn’t think he would be so stupid as to tell my father what had happened, but
I realized now that I didn’t know as much about Caleb as I once thought.
    Marcus bravely walked with me to the
door, and we met my father at the threshold. I was frozen in my spot, but
Marcus was so calm and cool. He simply reached over and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Hunter,” Marcus said.
    Such a simple gesture. Richard looked
between Marcus’s hand and my eyes, and let out a gruff breath. He refused to
accept Marcus’s hand and pushed past us on the porch. “Guess you're going to
turn out just like your mother. I'll say hello to Caleb for you.” He walked to
his car, glaring at me as he opened and slammed his truck.
    I was completely embarrassed, but Marcus
just brought me to his chest as I shuddered.
    As Richard pulled out of the driveway, he
rolled down the window and yelled, “I still expect my dinner on the table when
I get home.”
    That was it. Richard never said another
word to me about it.
    I went upstairs to take a shower, and
Marcus went to the Smith’s garage to pick up my car. I still don’t know how he
started it without my keys, but I was so grateful to see my car back at home.
He refused to shower himself, but took me to the doctor to get my head