"Oddly Worded" contest winner - Forever mine by RipperGirl88

She was moonlit perfection. Beauty bathed in an iridescent glow. As I watched her, I wondered how I was stupid enough to ever let her go.

A small pain pulsed through my fingers as my nails dug into the rough bark. The shadows of bare branches danced across my face and shrouded me in their darkness. She would never see me here. She never did.

Why did she always have to take this way home from work? I didn't like it. It wasn't safe.

I knew she was strong, I knew she could take care of herself, but that didn't stop me from worrying about her. It was dark here, secluded. Dangerous. I worried about her walking alone out here.

But I didn't want her to know that. So, every night, I would lurk in the shadows and watch her. To make sure she got home safe. And every night, she did. So, why did I keep questioning her judgment?

Maybe that's why she cheated on me. The doubting, the questioning, always acting like she wasn't capable of making her own decisions. She probably got sick of it.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't seem to forget that day. I went to her job to surprise her, but I ended up being the one to get a surprise instead. When I saw her tongue shoved down some other guy's throat in the parking lot.

At the time, I was hurt, I was angry. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to cry, scream, strangle her, beg her. But I couldn't do any of it. Instead, I ran home with my tail between my legs.

I spent days curled up in bed, wondering what had gone so wrong between us. I must have thought of a million and one excuses to explain away what I had seen:

Maybe he had forced himself on her. Maybe it was a joke that went too far. Maybe I was at a bad angle and didn't actually see what I thought I saw.

But it was no good. No matter how many explanations I tried to come up with, in the end, I knew they were all lies. Small comforts I told myself to avoid the painful truth.

She had betrayed me.

I didn't have the courage to face her after that. Instead, I decided to cut off all contact. A clean break. No big fight, no tearful goodbyes, just... nothing. It was painful, having thing end so suddenly like that, but I guess, in the long run, it was probably better for both of us.

At least, that's what I tried to tell myself. But from the moment I left her, she was all I could think about.

Her smile, her laugh, the gentleness in her eyes whenever she looked at me. Her memories pestered me like a swarm of locusts, eating away at my willpower until everything in my life seemed barren without her. It didn't take long for me to cave.

And I hated that about myself.

I didn't want to forgive her. I didn't want to put myself in that vulnerable position again after I'd spent so long trying to heal. I didn't want to get hurt again.

But I couldn't leave things the way they were either. As hurt as I was, there was one undeniable truth that kept me from moving on:

I never gave her the chance to explain.

I knew it was pointless. That she'd probably do exactly what I thought she would and try to make a bunch of excuses. Or worse. Maybe she'd confirm everything I saw and tell me that she never wanted to see me again.

But maybe, just maybe, there was the tiniest little sliver of a chance that I actually had been wrong about what I saw. That it really was some kind of misunderstanding. That, not only had I selfishly abandoned her, but I'd done so without even having the decency to explain to her why.

I doubted it. But still, there was a chance, and I had to take it. No matter how slim.

Which was the plan tonight. I was going to meet her, talk things out, and, at the very least, try to get some kind of closure to this whole situation.

However, that plan went out the window the moment I laid eyes on her again. And, somehow, I knew from the very start that it would.

I knew that there would be no "explanations" or "calm and rational discussion" between us tonight. That my heart would race the moment I saw her. That, in an instant, her memories would flood my brain. That, without any hesitation whatsoever, I would be ready to give up anything and everything just to be with her again.

Luckily, I came prepared.

I wasn't going to let her slip through my fingers this time. I wasn't going to run away like a scared little boy anymore. I was a man, I was her man, and it was about time I made a real commitment to her.

With that last thought to help drive me forward, I took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows.

The moment I did, she practically jumped out of her skin. She gasped and flinched away from me, terrified.

At least, until the moonlight hit my face.

As she recognized me, she let out a huge sigh of relief. Her face slowly melted into a smile. "Ugh, you scared me!"

"Ah, sorry," I mumbled, lowering my head.

Fear crept its way into my brain. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I shouldn't have come here. Maybe-

I stopped that thought before it even finished.

No. No more running away. I was tired of hiding. I was tired of waiting. I loved this woman and I wasn't going to spend one more second of my life without her.

"No, no, it's fine," she said, waving off the apology. "Do you come this way often? I've never seen you out here before."

I did my best to swallow the lump forming in my throat. "Hannah... Actually, I-"

"How do you know-" She stopped mid-question and rolled her eyes. She waved vaguely as if to shoo it away completely. "Ugh, sorry. Stupid question. You've written it on my latte, like, what? A million times. Sorry, I'm like, super spacey after work."

"I-I know, and that's why I worry about you always walking here by yourself," I tried to explain.

She paused for a second. She looked concerned. "How... did you know that I always walk here? Do you usually come this way?"

Guilt flooded my body. "No... I... I watch you from behind the trees."

Concern turned to shock in a second, and disgust followed close behind. Not that I could blame her. I kind of figured she'd react this way. After all, concerned for her safety or not, it was a violation of her trust.

"You watch me?! What the hell? So you're, like, stalking me or something?"

"No, no. It's not like that," I explained quickly. "It's just so isolated out here. What if there was some kind of pervert or psychopath lurking around?

You're the love of my life. I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to you..."

"You love-"

She stopped mid-sentence. The disgust in her eyes quickly turned to fear. She looked around in a panic. Luckily, it seemed like no one was there. After all, I didn't really want anyone to hear us fighting either.

Maybe it was the fact that she'd taken a second to collect her thoughts, or maybe she'd just decided that she didn't want us to fight anymore, but in an instant, she calmed down. The glare on her face became a smile and she spoke gently to me. Although, for some reason, her voice trembled as she did.

"L-listen, that's very, umm, sweet. A-and you're absolutely right! It is too dangerous for me to keep walking this way. So, don't worry, I'll never walk this way again. I promise. I-in fact, I'll start tonight!"

She spun away on her heels, but before she could leave, I rushed over and grabbed her arm. "Hannah, wait!"

She looked absolutely terrified. I wondered if she had the same fear I did. A fear that, unless she ran away right now, things would be officially over between us.

Well, she didn't need to worry anymore. I was about to put all those fears to rest.

"Hannah... I love you. Whatever problems we've had in the past, let's just forget about them. They're not important. This is important. You. Me. Us. I want to spend eternity with you, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen."

The color drained from her face as I slipped the knife out of my pocket. She was scared. I could tell. Hell, I was scared too. But that was okay because after today we'd always be together. No matter what.

Trembling, I lifted the knife to her throat. "Hannah, please, be mine. Forever."