Its All Downhill from Here.

It was all clear to me now; I was in love with Anthony. How could I be so blind? It had been right in front of me the whole time. I had wasted all this time trying to figure out things when the answer was across the street.
He was the one I got along with perfectly. He looked forward to making me happy. It was simply effortless. I could be myself and that would be enough. I didn’t have to pretend to being anyone else and that was fine with him. Even my parents liked him and they were a tough crowd to please. We came from totally different places but somehow it worked. He was the one I was looking for. I was never one to go after boys and this time it was no different. He had found me. All these things were running through my head and Anthony was approaching me very slowly. It was a beautiful day and I could feel a light breeze going through my hair. This was a moment I was going to remember all my life, the kind you tell your kids 20 years later.

I could tell he didn’t want to overwhelm me and I wasn’t. I felt safe here, this was our place. Finally, I couldn’t take it. I got on my toes and kissed him gently. He kissed back and I thought I felt him smile. This was pure bliss. Where had he been all this time? Right here, right now, I was happy.

He put his hands surrounding my waist and I felt my arms going around his neck. He pulled me even closer and my mind went blank. All that mattered in the whole world was this. I couldn’t even imagine going anywhere else, being with anyone but him or leaving him ever again.

He pulled back gently. His eyes glistening as the sun started to go down. I could picture myself all starry eyed also. It was just like a movie and this one was going to have a happy ending. I couldn’t believe my luck, my happily ever after was here. It took a lot for me to get here but it was all worth it. I understood why I was never interested in anyone else, there was no one like my guy.

“How long?,” I had to ask. I was truly curious as to when this all started.

“I don’t want to say”, he said blushing.

“Please, please, please, pleaseee?”, I begged. I really wanted to know.

“Alright, alright. You’re impossible”, he said chuckling. “Back in October when we went to the concert and we got our tattoos I felt like you were the first person to ever worry about me. I could see the kindness in your eyes. You seem strong but you’re so vulnerable too. I realized I just wanted to protect you forever. I missed you like crazy whenever I couldn’t see you after that. You’ve been in my mind every second ever since.”

I was speechless. How could I respond to that? Anthony wasn’t a talker, but when he did it was meaningful. It was clear to me that he wasn’t just saying this, he really meant it.

“Oh my God…”, I said. “You’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met. How come I get to have you?”

“I think you are my prize after all I’ve been through. My mom, all the trouble I got, my brother. And now you’re here and you make me extremely happy. More than I can say.”

“Well, I know you are the first good thing that came along ever in my life. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this happy. Even if I’ve just realized what you mean to me but when I think about it, you’ve made me happy since the moment we met.”

He flashed a big smile and I did too. We were sitting down on the ground now. He held both my hands and I wanted to never let go.

“I don’t want to ruin the moment but what happens now?”

“Are we dating?”

“You girls never make it easy on us”, he laughed and pulled me up. “I want you Olivia to be my girlfriend”

He really meant it. He was looking me straight in the eye waiting for my response.

“Are you asking me?”

“I’m letting you know what’s going to happen”, he said smugly.

“How can you be so sure? You have to make an effort to get me.”

I laughed and he did too. Of course I wanted to be his girlfriend but I wanted to be sure about things before this went any further. I knew how I felt about him now it was time for him to prove his feelings to me.

“Ok, you’ll see. I’ll fight for you because you’re really worth it”, he said turning serious again.

I knew he would show how much he really cared about me. I didn’t doubt it for a second.

I kissed him on the cheek and said, “I know you will”

He grinned. The sun was almost down by this point and I worried about making it back in the dark.

“I think we should get back now”, I said biting my lip.

“Probably we should but why do you look so worried?”

“I’m afraid we might get lost in the dark”, I admitted.

He chuckled and said, “I grew up here, don’t you think I know this place by now? Besides, I would never let you get lost”

He smiled and stroked my cheek gently. I trusted him but the woods sounded like a bad idea at night. That’s right, I couldn’t get over The Blair Witch Project and I wasn’t afraid to say it.

“I’m afraid of the woods at night, ok?”

He chuckled again. I did felt kind of silly but I was truly scared something could happen to us and no one would ever know.

“It’s ok, you win. Let’s get back before it’s totally dark”, he finally gave in.

He took my hand and led the way back. Our little walk did feel kind of nice, just the two of us.

“Well, it was their own damn fault for going looking for the Blair Witch, don’t you think?”

“Yes, it was. Besides people know better than to go looking for a witch in the woods I would think”

“You know they say a girl got lost in these woods like 10 years ago and they never found her?”

That was all it took. I opened my eyed as far as they would go and felt my heart stop for a second. I wanted to take off running but I was paralyzed.

Then Anthony realized I was truly scared and apologized for making that up. I still wasn’t sure if he had made that up but I really didn’t want to find out.

“Aww, I’m sorry. I didn’t think you would get that scared. I promise I made it up, there’s no girl”

“Please stop talking about her”

“There’s not a girl here, I made it up”

That’s when I heard something. I could swear I heard something. There was something going on, I could feel it.

“Did you hear that?”

“I didn’t hear anything. Let’s go, we’re almost there”

“Uhm, ok”

“Olivia, I promise. There’s nothing here”

Then I heard the noise again. My knees were trembling now. Finally, I was starting to see some distant lights. We had made it alive. Next, Anthony went silent.

“You definitely heard that, admit it!”

“Your mind is playing tricks on you. You’re like a kid, it’s so funny”

“It’s your fault for telling me that story”

I could handle a movie but I definitely couldn’t handle a real ghost or witch in the middle of the woods or whatever.

“I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you?”, he asked earnestly.

“You can’t”, I said and kept walking away from the woods.

He stopped me and made me look at him. Then he closed the space between us and kissed me on the forehead. I felt my heart racing again but in a good way.

“Do you forgive me?”, he said looking sorry for real.

“Yes, just don’t do it again”

“I promise”

We kept on walking until he dropped me off in front of my house. The lights were on and I could hear the sound of the TV inside. Anthony kissed me gently on the lips once and said he would call me later.

I went inside and talked to my parents for a little while. I wasn’t ready to tell them about Anthony and me yet. I climbed the stairs and decided I had to talk to someone.

“OMG, Charlie you’ll never guess what happened today”, I exclaimed excitedly.

“This has something to do with a boy, I just know it”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’ve known you since we were 5 years old and I’ve never heard you so excited about anything”

“Ok, shut up. I think Anthony and I are dating”, he could barely hold my excitement but I decided to play it cool.

“Can I say that I knew it?”, I heard her laughing on the other end.

“I can’t believe you saw this coming before I did. Anyway, I think I’m in love with him”

“Yeah, I knew that also. The way you two look at each other … I haven’t seen so much love since Titanic”

I laughed. “You’re such an idiot”

“No, I’m your best friend and I know these things. That’s my job”

She was right. We had the ability to guess each other’s thoughts without even talking. It had never worked right on Cameron though. She was her own mystery.

“Well, I wanted to fill you in on current events and now you know. I’m going to bed, ok?”

“Just one more thing”

“Yes?”

“I’m still on the run for bridesmaid, right?”

“I’m not getting married. We’re dating, that’s it”

I sensed doubt as I said it. Something was telling me this wasn’t just a boy. This was the boy.

“Sure, whatever you say”

“Goodbye, Charlotte”, I said and hung up.

I contemplated my future finally resting in my comfy bed. This was it and I just knew it. Marco had been a mistake, a big one. Anthony wasn’t and that was clear to me. Things wouldn’t be the same after this afternoon. I found myself feeling comfortable with the idea of marriage and that was a lot to say. There was a time when I decided I wouldn’t get involved with anyone. I would travel and get to know the world. I didn’t want anyone telling me what to do or getting in the way of my dreams. Somehow this changed in a second. My whole set of beliefs and ideas turned upside down by one person. I couldn’t believe it.

My phone started ringing and I found myself wanting to answer as soon as possible so I could hear that voice.

“You!”

“Hi, Olivia”, he chuckled.

“I was seriously missing you. Where were you?”, I was pouting even though he couldn’t see me.

“I was having dinner with my dad, actually. He was waiting for me to get home”

“That’s sweet”

“I told him about you”

“Uhm, what did he say?”

“Welcome to the family were his exact words”

I smiled.

“I’m not in the family”, I said.

“You will be”