Unapologetically, Juliet

Chapter Thirty-Six

WITH one last look around the town I'd called "home" for the past four years, I blinked back the tears in my eyes. I'd really loved the whole place. I was going to miss a lot about living there.

Saber laid his hand gently on my shoulder and when I glanced up at him he was smiling. "It's for the best," he reminded me. Maybe he could tell I was having last minute jitters.

"I know, I know." I was still nervous, though. It didn't make sense, but I was having second thoughts about leaving Saber behind. Even though we'd spent hours talking everything over. It was going to be the best situation for the time being.

"You ready?" Saber spun his keys around his finger as he followed me through the parking lot to where my car was parked, packed full of all the shit I hadn't wanted to stuff in the moving van I'd rented. Grimm drove it out to Ashgrove for me the day before.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Come on, King!" I called my cat, but it was a few minutes before he sauntered over like the whole world revolved around him. "Lazy brat..." I muttered, and Saber chuckled.

"Don't take your bad mood out on King. It's not his fault."

I wanted to argue with him, but in the end, I just shrugged and climbed into the passenger seat, after I let King jump in first.

"So... I have a surprise for you." We'd been driving in mostly silence for the first hour or so of our trip, it was actually a pleasant and comfortable experience.

"What?" I glanced over at Saber, who always had to drive when we were together.

"I have a surprise. Reach around your seat into the pocket on the back."

Shooting him a sideways smirk, I said, "Nothing's gonna pop out and bite me, right?"

"I'm not you, Jules." The way he said my name had butterflies erupting in my stomach. I tried to ignore them the best that I could.

I laughed. "Yeah, okay." Reaching back, my fingers closed around a small box. I pulled it out of Saber's hiding place and set it carefully in my lap as my heart started pounding against my chest.

"What is this?" I didn't want to see for myself, I just wanted him to tell me straight up.

"Open it and find out." He slowed to a stop at a train crossing and practically turned his whole body to look at me.

Carefully, I lifted the lid and peered inside. Laying on a puffy cloud of cotton, was a keychain with three different keys, and a pendant with a picture of Saber and I inside.

"Wow. What is all this?" I recognized one of the keys. It opened the grounds keeper's cottage where I'd be moving to in Ashgrove. The whole place was more than twice the size of my apartment in Briarwood.

Saber grinned. "I took that off your keyring. One of the other two opens my grandma's house, and the last one is for the RV I just bought. I figured it couldn't hurt to have a place of our own."

I had no idea how to react.

"This is awesome!" I threw my arms around his neck, and squeezed him tightly, until someone honked behind us.

"We're gonna make this work. I promise." I had no idea what would happen with us, but I was just thrilled we were both willing to try. The rest of the drive out to Ashgrove, Saber and I listened to music, laughed, talked, and had a great time. It was almost bittersweet, knowing it had to end eventually.

When we got to the estate where I'd be living for the foreseeable future, we found Marcia Pleasant and her youngest son, Jack, waiting for us.

"Oh, good! You're safe! I was just about to send out a search party." Marcia smiled brightly, so I hoped maybe she was just lying about the search party thing.