Promise // Mullette

chapter 22

- Hercules -

The next few days, I hadn't received any more texts from the anonymous number. I knew it had to be King. I had showed the messages to the police, knowing it was better to be safe than sorry. They agreed with me, thinking that it was most likely King.

It was nerve-wracking knowing that he had my contact information and could probably easily find out every single thing about me. He could find where I was, get back at me for taking Laf. He could hurt Laf, or someone else that I'm close to. He could probably find my mother, for God's sake. I couldn't bear to lose her.

I didn't tell Laf about the messages. I decided that it would be better to wait until King was in police custody before I told him. I knew he would get anxious over it, and I didn't want him worrying any more than he already was.

We had a few days before the police came back to us with any information. They told us that they were going to head up to New York to find him and hopefully get him in custody. They had more than enough evidence to show that he was committing crimes.

I knew Laf was really worried about the whole situation. He had been talking to Alex a lot more lately because he was having trouble sleeping, and I woke up to see him pacing a lot. He must be feeling similar to Alex - knowing that if he sleeps, the nightmares will be able to come into his head. I felt terrible for him.

I wanted to help him get his mind off of everything, so I was planning on doing something with him today. It was creeping closer to Halloween every day, the holiday right around the corner. Maybe we could go do some cute little autumn activity together.

I started searching for places we could go today as he ate breakfast in the other room. I settled on a corn maze where we could walk around, pick pumpkins and apples, and just hang out together.

New Jersey in October wasn't the warmest, so I told him that he should dress warm, and if he needed anything, I could provide it.

We went our separate ways to get ready, him going into my bedroom and and me in the bathroom. I put on a pair of grey pants, a white long sleeved shirt, a dark jacket and of course, my classic dark grey beanie. I brushed my teeth before leaving the bathroom to see Laf waiting for me on the couch.

His hair was tied up in its usual little puffball on top of his head, and he was wearing a pair of tight jeans with a light, thick sweatshirt. He looked great.

I smiled at him and held my hand out to him, spinning him into me along with the non-existent music. We stood close together for a moment, breathing each other in, before our lips met for a soft kiss.

We got into my car and I held his hand while I drove us down to the corn maze. Every red light, every stop light, I couldn't help but look over to him and just admire him for a moment. He just had something about him, some charm, enchantment, that made me need to keep looking at him. I was so lucky that he was mine.

Before we knew it, we were pulling into the parking lot and getting out of the car. I made sure my wallet was in my pocket as I put my car keys in to join in before we walked through the front gates.

Hand in hand, we struggled to make our way through the maze. Before we knew it, we were laughing to the point that we were almost crying because we had no idea how we had gotten so lost.

"I thought we kept track of all the turns we have taken!" Laf laughed, leaning against me a little bit as we paused on the dirt path. I stopped to catch my breath from all the laughing before shaking my head.

"Who knew that we'd be this bad at this?" I said, sending us into another fit of laughter. Tears began to form in his eyes as he laughed, choking out his breath. This just made it all so much funnier, seeing him laugh this hard. My stomach hurt from the laughter.

We continued on our tangled up path, laughing every time we got to a dead end. At one of the dead ends, he paused there for a moment, grabbing my hand and wrapping me in a hug. I kissed him gently and he deepened it just a little bit before we realized that we should probably leave the making out for later when we were back home.

"I just wanted to thank you for everything. I owe you so much for you saving me and helping me get away from him." Laf said, squeezing my hand.

"I'd do it a thousand times over for you, love." I told him, kissing his forehead. He smiled at me and we continued through the maze, finally making our way out.

"Jeez, that took you guys quite a while! Get lost in there?" The lady at the exit said. We laughed again and told her that yes, we had gotten quite lost in the maze.

The next few hours were spent picking pumpkins, sneakily taking apples off the trees and snacking on them, and drinking warm cider. I wasn't sure what made me feel more like I was glowing inside, Laf or the apple cider.

The sun was just about to set by the time we were leaving the orchard and maze, so I decided to take Laf somewhere special.

One of my favorite places in New Jersey was a high-up hill that overlooked a park I used to play at when I was younger. Once I outgrew the swing sets and slide, I began to climb to the top of this hill and look over the world.

As Laf and I made our way up, my mind began to go back to the day and the days after my dad died. My mom was devastated, but all I could feel was numbness. I came to the hill and sat here for hours. I watched the sun set and rise without moving a muscle, without any thoughts of food or water or going back home. I got yelled at for quite a bit when I got back, my mom saying she was worried sick and 'how could I do this with what just happened'. She stopped yelling after a few minutes though, and his just pulled me into a hug and cried.

My relationship with my dad wasn't always the greatest, but he was always there for me. He supported me through everything, helped me get my first job, taught me how to drive, helped me apply for colleges. I could never forgive the drunk driver who hit him, no matter how hard I tried. I knew I probably never would.

We sat quietly on the hill, watching the sun sink lower as the temperature began to drop a little bit. He snuggled in closer to me and I wrapped my arm around him, encouraging him to come as close as he wanted to.

We shared some of the caramel apple we had bought as streetlights flickered on around us and in the town down below us. Once it started getting darker, I noticed Laf getting more tense, and I suggested we head home. I didn't want to put him in a situation where he was on edge. He agreed, and we got back in the car, a gentle bliss surrounding us both.

Eventually, we were back in my apartment, snuggled in my bed and watching a classic Halloween movie, sharing popcorn and candy. Laf was tucked against my chest, his head resting lightly on my shoulder as we watched the movie.

It made me happy to see that he had drifted off by the time the movie came to an end.