Chapter 5 - Lila's Pov:

I get so nervous around needles. It took a lot just to get me in the chair for the first and only tattoo I've ever gotten. Then I damn near fainted the first minute into it. But Ethan stood by my side and reminded me why I decided to do it. Because I want to be free and wanted to have something that would forever represent my journey toward freedom.

But watching Ethan mark his finger with something that would always connect him to me is different. It makes me feel even more free and alive. Excited. Overwhelmed. Loved. It's the perfect moment that ends too quickly because suddenly he's finished and it's my turn.

"You sure you want to do this?" he teases, stretching out his fingers as we trade places.

I eagerly and very anxiously nod as I plop down in the leather chair. The large guy with a lot of colourful tattoos on his arms who did Ethan's tattoo tells me to put my hand up on the armrest. He seems sort of cranky, but I don't care. Nothing could ever ruin this moment, not even a cranky guy who smells like he's in dire need of some deodorant.

I stay quiet as he positions the drawing on my finger until he gets it in the right place. Ethan holds my hand the entire time, while staring down at his free hand. The skin around the tattoo is a little red, but other than that it looks perfect.

He's perfect.

He's the only person who's every fully understood me. The only person I've ever trusted. The only person who saw who I really am and the potential of what I could become. He loved me in a way that I thought wasn't possible and that's what I keep telling myself over and over again as the tattoo artist presses the tip of the needle to my finger.

I've gone through a lot over the last eight months or so. I've changed for the better. I've had a lot of moving, life-changing moments. But this one is different. This one is epic. I can feel it through the blissful pain that makes me hyperaware of what I'm doing. And when I'm finished, I feel genuinely happy even though my finger aches.

"So?" Ethan says as I get up from the chair. He watches me, like he's waiting for me to say I regret it.

I stare down at my ring finger with a big grin on my face. I've always pictured myself with a huge diamond on my ring finger, a carat at least, but now... well, this feels so much better. So much more personal and intimate. Nothing could mark our relationship better than this.

I glance up at him, looking him straight in the eye. "I think it's perfect."

He smiles back at me and then slips his fingers through mine. It makes the area of the tattoo sting a little, but there's no way I'm going to pull back. We pay for the tattoos and walk hand in hand outside to his truck.

"You ready to start our journey back home?" he asks, opening the truck door for me.

I nod as I climb in. "I'm ready for anything."

There's a sparkle in his eyes as he leans in, pausing when our lips are only inches apart. "Me too."

He kisses me passionately before pulling away, blinking his eyes with a dazed look on his face. "We'll have to go on one of these trips every year," he says as he starts to shut the door. "Just you and me and the road. Living in a tent and eating camp food again. Taking baths in the pond." He grins. "Having sex on the shore of a lake, hiding under a blanket."

I smile, feeling happier than I've ever been because I know Ethan will be in my future and that's all I ever wanted, and as long as I have him, nothing else matters. "Sounds perfect."