Dad's loud snore jerks me awake, my heart fluttering in my chest. The sun is setting outside, coloring the sky in shades of pink, deep purple and blue.

Finally, I can call Eric.

But I'll go into town to do it, use a payphone. I can't risk Dad waking up while I'm speaking to Eric.

I grab a quick shower, because I really need it, and change into a flowing white skirt and linen shirt, my old clothes, which are so different from the things I bought and wore in New York that my whole chest is cramping up. But I haven't given up. I never will. Dad'll come round. I just hope Eric takes me back.

A black SUV is approaching the house as I step outside, going so fast the cloud of dust it's driving up nearly obscures it.

He came for me!

But that blissful thought is quickly quenched by icy dread. My dad is sleeping in the living room, still gripping the shotgun.

I run towards the road, faster than I ever have, faster even than the time I ran from Terry. I'm waving my arms, trying to get the car to stop, but it doesn't. And it might not even be Eric. I can't see inside because the windows are tinted and it's nearly dark. But I know it's Eric, I know he's come for me, and I must keep him away from the house.

The car finally slows, comes to a stop a few paces in front of me. I stop too, breathing heavily, a painful stitch blossoming in my side.

But all that discomfort just vanishes as Eric steps out of the car. He's dressed in a white shirt and khaki pants, sunglasses covering his gorgeous eyes.

I run towards him, my feet moving as though they have a mind of their own. He does the same, catches me in his arms, his smell exploding around me. He leans down and kisses me, my surprise blown away by the gentleness of it, the tenderness, the feeling of home it arouses.

But we have no time for this. "We have to go, now," I say, breaking away from his lips and pulling him towards the car with both my arms still wrapped around his waist. I can't let go. I won't.

"What's going on Joy?" he asks, not budging. He pulls off his shades fixing me with a gaze that dissolves all my fears of him not wanting me back, burns them away like they never were.

"I'll explain in the car, Eric. Please, let's just go." I glance over my shoulder, fully expecting to see my father running towards us with the shotgun. But all is still, only the nighttime desert noises marring the silence.

Eric finally budges, lets me lead him to the car.

"Where to?" he asks once we're both seated inside.

"Just drive," I say. "I'll tell you when to stop."

I know the perfect spot. Far from anywhere, with nothing but nothingness for miles around.

And he obeys.

"Why did you just leave, Joy?" he asks, his voice very small.

"I had to, Eric, I didn't want to," I say, trying to catch his eye. "My father…he came for me, he wanted to hurt you, and I didn't know what else to do, but go with him, get him far away from you. And I tried to call, but my phone died, and I didn't know your number by heart and—"

He kisses me again, interrupting my rambling explanation, making me forget what I was saying.

We've reached the spot I wanted to take him to and I tell him to stop. The sun has set, left only a dark purple band along the horizon. The full moon is already up, washing everything in a soft white light.

"So you didn't want to leave?" he asks, taking my hand.

I shake my head vigorously.

"I can handle your dad," he says with mocking bravado. "You should've had more faith in me."

But I know he's not actually reprimanding me.

"I couldn't risk it," I say and lead him to the single rock in the middle of the desert stretching out all around us. He sits in the sand, and I do too, leaning against him, as he leans against the rock.

"I never want you to run from me again," he says. And it's a wish, but it also sounds like a command, one I will gladly follow for the rest of my days.

"I won't," I whisper, gazing at the night sky above us, which is starting to twinkle with stars. I fit perfectly against him, he molds perfectly to my shape.

“I love you, Joy,” he says. “More than I ever thought I could.”

I look into his eyes, left speechless by the sincerity of his words. But only for a moment.

“I love you too, Eric,” I whisper.

He kisses me, and I surrender to the love bubbling inside me, let it consume me completely. But I feel him tense.

He pulls away and he takes a deep breath.

"Terry was arrested for Julie's murder," he says quietly.

"Oh no," I say, jerking back, so I can look into his eyes.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. Thank God you ran away from him."

But my safety was the last thing I was thinking about. "That's so awful."

"It is, we'll see what happens," he says, in a faraway voice that suggests he'd rather not talk about it anymore. So I don't press it, just nestle back into his arms, and try to comfort him without words.

"On a happier note," he says after awhile. "I won't be needing your father's land for the project anymore. He gets to keep it. Think he'll still want to kill me when he hears that news?"

He delivers it in his signature mocking tone, but it hardly registers.

"How? You said it was impossible."

He chuckles as I twist my head back to frown at him.

"It used to be impossible," he says. "But now, with the might of my father's whole empire behind me, I can move the whole operation to the middle of the Sahara and the other investors would still follow me. Hell, they'd beg me to take them."

I have no idea what he means by that, and it must be evident in my face, because he chuckles again, kissing my forehead softly.

"My father signed his company over to me in light of Terry's arrest," he explains. "It's something I've always wanted, but under the present circumstances it's bittersweet. But giving you your home back goes a long way to alleviate that."

"My home is with you," I say, meaning it completely.

His face softens, fills with all the love I feel in my heart.

He kisses me again, gently, tenderly, slowing time, silencing all else but my desire for more, for our love to last forever, for eternity, until the end of time. And I am certain it will.

It's a knowledge that comes from deep within me, bubbles up from the center of the earth, flows down from the very heart of the universe. It's whispered by the silence all around us, carried by the bond of love and understanding solidifying between us, which is stronger, thicker, more unbreakable than any chain. Because it was always meant to be.

* * *