Her Greatest Treasure II

Chapter 8:

It's been two weeks since the worst day of my life. Dr. Albee, the doctor who helped me in the aftermath, was sweet as can be and I couldn't be more thankful for her.

I've been... okay since it happened. Christian and I go to bed talking about our future family and how excited we are for that even though it's tough to think about right now. I think it's better for us to talk about it rather than ignore it.

"Hey, baby," Christian groans as he rolls over in bed and cuddles me.

I would say that the miscarriage has brought us closer... but we also haven't been intimate since it happened, which is fairly unusual for us. I just feel as delicate right now and am not sure if I'd be ready for that again (seeing how it ended last time) and I know Christian understands that. It's just hard not feeling as close to him as I usually do.

"Good morning," I mutter as he hovers over me and gives me his usual good morning kiss. "How'd you sleep?"

"Better than I have been. You?"

"Soundly."

"Glad to hear it." A silence stretches between us that feels like forever, even though it's probably only thirty seconds long.

"It was before I met you. Well, I knew who you were, but before we got together and started the treasure hunt, I mean. After my Dad left, I felt so numb I just wanted to feel something but the pain I felt when he left me. So I got drunk, high, and hooked up with a lot of guys. I partied too much, and it got me pregnant. To be honest, when I found out I was pregnant at 17 I had no idea who the father was. I was freaking out and thought about aborting it, but I didn't. I was pregnant for about three weeks before I miscarried."

"Avalon, I'm so, so sorry. I can't imagine what you must have been going through."

"Thank you. Christian?"

"Hmm?"

"That day I first met you on the beach—when you were lifeguarding months before we got together—I was broken. I hid it with a smile, but I was broken. Earlier that day, I lost my child. And I was all alone."

"The Avalon Grey I met that day had a miscarriage hours before I met her?"

"Yes, she did. But that's not who I am. Before my Dad left I was a good student. Had maybe one boyfriend for a few months, and took care of the house. I wasn't the party girl that I became when he left. And then I met you, and I literally felt like my world turned upside down. In the best way possible, of course."

Christian's eyes search mine and I feel his ocean eyes pierce through me before he leans forward and kisses me deeply.

"Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry you had to go through that," he tells me in between kisses. I kiss his bare shoulder and I feel him shudder before he pulls away. "A-are you sure you want to do this?" he whispers against my lips. "I know you're fragile right now, and—"

I cut him off with a kiss. "God, it's like our first time all over again. Of course I'm sure."

...

"Good morning beautiful people! I'm so sad this is our last day in paradise," Erin exclaims as Christian and I greet her in the kitchen later that morning.

"I'm sad too, but we'll bring you back here again sometime I'm sure! We have a 9:30 pm flight to Scotland."

"The gold will be transferred by our security guards that run this property when we're away. From there, they'll transport the gold to Scotland via a private jet we rented while we're in first class on flight that takes off 10 minutes sooner. As soon as we get to Scotland, we go here," Christian says as he points to our set location on a map.

"Glasgow? But isn't that one of the biggest cities there?" Erin questions.

"Yes, which is exactly why we're going there. It would be strange to transfer a huge chunk of money to a small town, right? But in big cities it's practically second nature," I explain.

"So this is the plan?"

"That's the plan."

...

After a very long and tedious flight that made me restless, we finally arrive in Glasgow. As soon as we arrive at the house we're renting for the week we all get settled in.

"You look worried," Christian says as he wraps my arms around my waist once we're on our room getting ready for bed.

"I've had this weird pit in my stomach since we left New Zealand. What if we should have just left the gold there?"

"Lonnie, it's fine. Be a little more trusting."

"You're the only person I've ever 100% trusted after my Dad... you know."

"And I'm telling you to trust in this. Everything's going to be alright. I promise."

I look at my blue eyed boy and feel the tears forming in my eyes. "How did we get here? We just got married, and I feel like there's been too much shit going on to even acknowledge it."

"What if we do this: as soon as we get back home to Whitney and our family we'll celebrate our marriage and go on a real honeymoon. Maybe somewhere tropical?"

"I've always wanted to go to Bali," I admit.

"Then we'll go to Bali. We'll go wherever you want to go, do whatever you want to do. I just wanna be there for you."

"You already are," I whisper as I give him a kiss. "Tomorrow we'll secure the money in the bank, and then we'll do some exploring. How does that sound?"

"Wonderful."