Unconditional.

Much to my surprise Dad let me and Holly borrow his car without much thought. Although I guess life kind of owed me one at that point. There hadn't been many good times that didn't result in bad times recently, and I think I definitely deserved some time off of being tortured. Holly and I had agreed to drive south, to a little town in Devon, and we wasted no time after Dad loaned us the car. We packed a few things and then we were off the very next day, bright and early.

Holly wasn't qualified to drive yet, and to be honest I didn't think she would ever be because her driving was atrocious. I'd tried to teach her before but it was useless. She drove so recklessly it was a miracle no one was ever killed. So needless to say, I drove us to Devon.

The drive took about two hours, but for all I cared we could've driven around all weekend. It was nice to see home disappear in the rear view mirror and just drive away. With Holly in the passenger seat, a clear blue sky overhead and pretty green fields either side of the motorway, I felt peaceful for the first time in what felt like forever. Holly put her feet up on the dashboard to paint her toenails, singing softly along to the radio, and I felt completely happy just listening to her and catching glimpses of her when she tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced in my direction, smiling happily. Even her dog Peanut was behaving in the back seat, and that was a truly a miracle.

Holly was only wearing a vest and shorts, and to be honest it was making it difficult to keep my eyes on the road. She'd got a load more tattoos since I met her; her right arm was almost completely covered with her love for Sonic, flowers and cartoons. She had a few on her legs now as well, and a few more on her left arm. I never got sick of looking at them.

Holly insisted that we had to stop after an hour so Peanut could stretch his legs. I pulled up on the roadside and unbuckled my seatbelt as Holly hopped out of the car and clipped the lead on her dog. Peanut's a miniature pinscher and he's a pain in the ass, but Holly thinks he's perfect. He's literally the definition of disaster. Whatever makes her happy, I suppose. She walked him around the gritty roadside for a few minutes, letting him relieve himself and explore before putting him back in the back seat.

We arrived in a little village right next to the ocean, with roads so narrow you had to pull onto the pavement for cars coming the other way to get past you. After driving up a steep, narrow hill with sharp corners, we finally reached the little hotel we'd be staying in for the next few nights. It was a little white building with an overgrown garden, overlooking the village and the ocean. To be honest it was more like a big old house than a hotel. It wasn't much, but it didn't matter. We dumped our bags in our room and went straight back out to wander around our temporary new home.

We walked in the road, preferring it to the narrow pavement. Peanut padded along beside Holly. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to me, kissing the side of her head.

"Thank you for this," I told her.

"For what?" she said, scrunching up her nose. "You drove us here."

"It was your idea," I laughed, squeezing her shoulder.

"I suppose it was," she said, smiling distantly. "I think we should get chips."

So we did. We bought chips for us and a sausage for Peanut and we went and sat on the seafront, letting the dog off his lead to cause havoc wherever he pleased. The sea was calm and slow, glittering soflty in the sunlight. A few people walked on the beach and cars rolled over a bridge to our right. It was nothing like home. Home was gritty, dirty and rough. It was serene here. It was beautiful here.

"So," I said, "what are our plans for this weekend? Anything you want to do?"

"We should hire a rowboat," said Holly thoughtfully, nibbling on a chip. "We should go exploring. We should go to a market and look at old stuff. We should go out in the middle of the night and go on swings."

"Swings?"

She nodded. "They're always taken in the day. And I think we'll see a lot of stars here at night."

"Okay," I laughed, "what first? We only have half of today left."

"Exploring," she decided, taking another chip.

We sat there for a little while longer, finishing off the food and watching Peanut go crazy on the sand, chasing a group of screaming children, jumping in the sea and playing with other dogs. He was like a little tornado, creating chaos wherever he went.

As I watched Peanut go wild I wondered what would've happened if I hadn't wrecked Luke's car all those months ago. I had to get stitches after my shift that night, because the wounds hadn't stopped bleeding and I'd been getting pretty faint. But if I hadn't gone through that I might not have ever got with Holly. She might never have spoken to me again. Maybe she would've stopped showing up at the club, and I wouldn't have ever seen her again.

I examined my fist, looking for the little scars the wounds had left. I had acquired quite a few scars since I'd met Holly, a little reminder that fighting for her would always be worth it. There were my scars from wrecking Luke's car, getting in fights and even one from getting run over not so long ago, but I wouldn't take any of it back. We didn't have moments like this without bad ones coming afterwards, but the good times always outweighed the bad. Well, most of the time.

Holly saw me looking at my scars and pulled my hand to her lips, kissing it softly. I smiled and cupped her chin, turning her head to look at me. I hadn't seen her look so relaxed in a long time. It was nice, not having to look over our shoulders all the time.

We got up after a while, striding hand in hand onto the sand to capture Peanut. He was kind of hyper, so it took a while, but eventually we got him back on his lead and made our way back off the beach.

We followed the pedestrian path along the seafront, until it took us up onto the street and along a narrow pavement. We followed the road for a long while, not really caring where it would take us, until Holly dragged me across the road. I wouldn't have noticed it if Holly wasn't dragging me up to it. Across the road there was nothing but woodland, but Holly spotted a little pedestrian path into the forest and it seemed this was the perfect place for us to go exploring. The tiniest part of me worried we wouldn't find our way back, but I reasoned getting lost in this beautiful place wouldn't have to be a bad thing. We could make our home in our little hotel and no one would have to find out. No one would ever find us.

The path wound in and out of the trees, and as we walked the sound of light traffic faded into nothing. A few other people walked in and out of the trees. It was as if we'd found our own little forest community. Holly let Peanut off his lead again. We walked slowly, our interlocked hands swinging between us.

"It's nice here," whispered Holly, and I nodded in agreement. She pointed out a little clearing not far from the path, where the trees were sparse and the ground was flat. "We can build a little house over there. We never have to leave."

I smiled sadly. "If I knew we weren't planning to leave here I would've brought Ella with us."

"We'll smuggle her here," she giggled, and I grinned. "No one will find us here."

"We'd grow our own crops and live off the land," I added.

Holly nodded, staring at the little clearing as if imagining our little cottage. I could picture it clear as day, with a pond and a rose garden and a vegetable patch. We'd have a picket fence, high enough so Peanut couldn't run off, and a swinging bench for Holly to sit on and read her books. I knew Ella would like it here. She'd feel free again, but this time no one could hurt her.

My hand slipped into Holly's pocket to retrieve her phone, clicking the camera button and pulling Holly into me for a photo in front of our new home. I wanted to remember how we felt at that moment, how free we were, how no one could touch us here. I knew we'd made this place our own, and that we'd come back for it one day.

"Do you ever wonder what life would've been like if we'd never met?" she suddenly asked as we continued walking. Honestly, sometimes it was like she was in my head.

"Why would you ask that?" I said, frowning.

She shrugged. "Sometimes, when I screw up and you get mad at me, I worry you'll realise how much easier it would be with a different girlfriend. Someone normal."

I stopped walking and turned to face her, putting my hands on her waist, and she locked her fingers behind my neck. I looked at her, at her pouting pink lips, her worried green eyes and her little ski slope nose, and I smiled. She just didn't know how magnificent she was.

"I realised that a long time ago," I admitted, and sadness crept into her eyes, "but I also realised I don't want a different girlfriend. I've been through a lot trying to keep you, but I know it's all going to be worth it because we're perfect for each other. You don't have to worry, Holly. I'm not going anywhere."

"But I always screw up," she said in a tiny voice, breaking eye contact and looking down at her Converse-embedded feet.

"And we always get through it," I assure her, tilting her chin up and kissing the tip of her nose.

She sighed and fell into me, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her. It was always a shocking thing, finding a tiny piece of perfection among such a massive pile of mess. Like how we fit so perfectly together in every way possible. Our bodies moulded together as if we were made for each other. She was my complete opposite, but together we made sense. We could find a way to be happy in any situation as long as we were together. Together we could find happiness in complete misery.

Holly pulled out of the hug, looked up at me and said simply, "If you ever break up with me I'm going to steal all your pants."

"Wait, what?" I splutter, choking on disbelieving laughter.

"Yep," she said smugly, holding my face in her little hands. "I'll steal them from your house and send you pictures of them being ripped up and tortured."

"You're going to torture my pants," I repeat, laughing at how ridiculous that sounded.

"Then you'd have to get back with me otherwise you'd have no pants."

"You're the weirdest person I've ever met," I tell her, "and I love you."

She beamed and leaned in to press our lips together. My eyes fluttered closed and I let my other senses kick into overdrive. I pulled her close to me, holding her against my body, our kisses growing more intense as my heart pounded harder. Everything else faded away. It was just Holly and me.

I felt her hands creep up my shirt, her fingers digging into my back, and my breaths came out ragged. I wanted her so badly. Her hands travelled slowly down my back and we stumbled backwards, against a tree, and suddenly my eyes flew open. It took all my self control to pull us apart and sink to the floor, panting.

Holly smiled devilishly, straddling my lap and sinking slowly to my level, sitting on my legs. I leaned my head back against the tree, never taking my eyes off her. She moved her face closer to mine and I tried to shake my head but somehow her lips found mine anyway. I laughed breathily and gently pushed us apart.

"Stop," I told her, struggling not to get sucked in by those glittering emeralds in her eyes.

"No," she breathed, leaning in again, but I held her shoulders still.

"There are people," I reminded her, laughing softly.

"Don't worry, they're not looking."

She kissed me again and for a few blissful seconds I didn't stop her. Her warm hands rested under my shirt, pressing into my flesh, and her lips were soft. I felt my heart rate increase and pleasure jolted through me like electricity, and I was finding it increasingly difficult to remember that we were in a public place and this sort of thing was frowned upon. But something in me snapped and I knew this was getting far too heated for public viewing.

"Stop it," I panted between kisses, and I felt her lips curve into a smile against mine. "I'm serious."

She sighed and pulled away, some vague sort of sense floating into her vision. For a moment we just sat there, getting our breath back. Holly leaned against me, her hands still subtly exploring my back and setting off all sorts of emotions I found it difficult to suppress.

"Um," I said weakly, "what happened to exploring?"

She shrugged. "I found something better to do."

"Not here, you haven't," I said sternly, and she pouted.

"Fine," she grumbled, getting to her feet and helping me up with her. "I'll steal your pants later."

I rolled my eyes.

I put my arm around her and we continued our walk, finding Peanut a little while later, digging a hole in a soft patch of dirt. I shook my head disapprovingly, but Holly just laughed. We continued along the little path until the trees began to separate and the woodland came to an end, opening back out onto the road. Surprisingly, we appeared nearer to our hotel than we started.

We walked slowly back to the hotel and into our room, which was decorated in ugly floral wallpaper, brown curtains and a lumpy bed. I carried a filthy Peanut into the connecting bathroom, which was just as crusty as our bedroom, if not worse. I dropped the dog into the mouldy shower and switched it on, trying my best not to get soaked as I washed the dog and Holly fell about laughing in the doorway. Somehow Peanut managed to soak us both, though, and he escaped before I finished washing him. I couldn't be bothered to chase him around the room. I let him go and switched off the shower.

When I turned to leave the bathroom, Holly had already stripped out of her soggy clothes, and stood there in her underwear. The sight of her stole the breath from me.

"God, you're beautiful," I breathed, and a smile crept onto her lips.

She stepped towards me, and before I knew it she was stripping me of my wet shirt. This time I didn't hesitate. I brought my lips down hard on hers, walking her to the nasty brown duvet as she unbuckled my belt.

She turned me around so my back faced the bed and then pushed me backwards, my knees buckling against the mattress. My jeans were peeled off my legs before Holly climbed on top of me, her hair falling onto me and tickling my chest. Her kisses began at my neck and travelled down, stopping underneath my chest, and her thumbs found the waistline of my underwear.

She lifted her head to look at me, her eyes shining. "I love you, Joshie."

"I love you too," I murmured, stroking her soft hair.

My heart pounded hard against my chest as our underwear joined our clothes on the floor, and bliss just rocketed through me, encompassing us and nothing could touch us. I was happy, and I didn't feel one ounce of worry.

I wasn't terrified Luke would break in and kidnap my girlfriend. I could barely feel my minutes ticking away and the court date drawing closer. All I could feel at that moment was complete ecstasy and pure love for the girl I was sharing the bed with.

And I knew at that moment that Luke could throw anything he wanted at me, but nothing could stop this. Nothing could get between me and Holly, because what we felt for each other was stronger than anything he could possibly throw at us. We were safe as long as we had each other, and there was no way he could taint that as long as we didn't let him.

Or so I thought.