The Catch

Chapter 21

STEPHANIE'S POV

It's been 2 weeks since Parker passed away. West and I hang out everyday but every night I cry over Parker.

I'm lying down on my bed listening to Taylor Swift music. She has a way of making a song to fit any situation. It's why she's queen.

I hear my phone start to ring. I reach for my phone and look at the caller ID. It's West.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey Steph. So I was just thinking about how it's our 2 month anniversary of meeting each other..." he starts

"That's today?" I interrupt and bolt upwards into a sitting position.

I hear him chuckle a bit through the phone and smile.

"Yep." He replies.

I laugh a bit. "Sorry I completely forgot. But it's not that big of a deal so please don't get me anything!"

I can tell he's smiling through the phone. "Well to late for that. I'm on my way to your house. Start packing an overnight bag and I'll be there in twenty minutes."

I hear the line disconnect and smile. 

I get up off my bed and walk to my closet. I dig through it until I come across my old dance duffel bag and start throwing stuff in it.

I finish packing just as I hear the doorbell ring. I run downstairs and swing open the door.

West is standing there with a bouquet of yellow and pink flowers.

"West you really didn't have to." I say and motion towards the flowers.

He smiles at me. "Well actually it's only half a bouquet." He says separating the bunch into two sections. "This half is for later."

I raise an eyebrow and grab half of the bouquet. "Well thank you." I set the flowers on the table beside the door and look back at West.

"Ready?" He smiles and holds out a hand.

I nod and grab my duffel bag from behind me. I shut the door behind me and lock it.

West grabs my hand and kisses my cheek causing me to blush.

We get into the car and West pulls out of my driveway.

We're driving for about 20 minutes in silence when I finally speak up.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

West keeps his eyes on the road and smiles.

"We're going to see Parker. If it weren't for him we wouldn't even be having our 2 month anniversary." He explains.

I look at West.

We buried Parker in the next closest town. We got Parker at a pet shop a couple blocks away from a graveyard so we thought that graveyard would be a good place to bury him.

"Thank you." I whisper.

He takes his right hand off the steering wheel but keeps his left hand on. He reaches across and grabs my hand.

"I booked a hotel room for tonight." He says.

I nod and look out the window.

We finally get to the town and West parks the car outside the graveyard.

We get out and West walks over to me.

"You look beautiful." He says and holds out his hand.

I grab his hand and lean in and kiss him.

"Thank you." I whisper again.

I haven't been here since the funeral. I don't know if I can handle seeing his grave again.

"West I can't do this." I stop walking.

He looks at me and squeezes my hand.

"I'll be here the whole time." He reassures me.

I nod and started walking.

We zigzag through the rows until we stop at Parker.

"I used to tell him everything. He was there when no one else was." I whisper.

I kneel down on the ground and look at the grass.

"Hey. I miss you. It's not the same without you around." I say slowly.

I feel West sit down beside me.

WEST'S POV

"Hey Parker. It's West. I know how much you mean to Stephanie. I really like her and seeing her hurt over you being gone tells me that you must have been a really great dog." I say.

Stephanie sniffles and looks up at me.

"He was a really great dog." She laughs.

I wrap an arm around her and pull her close. She leans her head against my shoulder and we just sit there in silence.

"Do you really mean it?" She whispers after a while.

"What?" I ask.

"Do you really like me?" She asks.

I kiss her head. "Yes." I answer.

She pulls out of our embrace and looks at me.

"West?" Stephanie speaks.

"Yeah?" I question.

"I love you." She states.

"I love you too." I reply.

And I really mean it.

We lean in and kiss slowly. Stephanie wraps her arms around me neck and we deepen the kiss.

When we both finally pull away we stand up and walk back to the car, hand in hand.