Page 191 of Always: A Legacy Novel

Probably.

A lot.

“I want to be here with you. After graduation, I mean,” Catherine said quietly.

Cross kissed her inner wrist, where he had once drawn that small black cross, and then down her arm. “Yeah, I figured, but it’s got to be by your choice, Catherine. It’s always your choice.”

“It is.”

“Make sure your father knows it, too. He’s already got enough to hate me for.”

One breath … two.

One step … two.

Catherine tried to shake off the nerves that were suddenly waging a war through her insides. She had been waiting for this day forever. Graduation should not be such a big thing that caused her any kind of anxiety, yet it did.

She knew why, too.

Her gaze darted along the crowd of people, all standing and watching the line of graduating students get smaller with each name called. She found her own collection of people in the crowd, and it certainly wasn’t a small bunch by any means. Her parents, brother and his wife, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They took up three rows all by themselves.

She really only looked for one person, though.

Dark eyes, black hair … all hers.

Cross.

He had just made it home the night before, from a trip to Chicago … his third trip altogether. She knew he was tired, exhausted even, when hands couldn’t even keep hold of her wrists for too long without releasing.

You drive, he’d told her.

He had fallen asleep before they even got on the highway. But he made it back in time, just like he promised.

Cross stood on one side of her father, while her mother stood on the other side of Dante. Catrina was a hell of a lot closer to Dante than Cross, though.

Everybody needed just a bit more breathing room today.

Catherine included.

This was her anxiety.

This was the reason for her shaky hands.

This day had been counting down in her house for nearly two months, but no one really talked about it. It was all unspoken words and knowing glances passed between people who didn’t want to say something that might hurt a little too much.

Catherine was only three graduates from the end of the line.

She was two graduates behind getting her diploma.

She was hours from moving out of her house.

Catherine missed the two names ahead of hers, but managed to hear the call for her just fine … somehow. Everything moved a little bit faster after that. The final graduates, hats in the air, cheers all around.

Congratulations, Graduates.

Catherine was bombarded by family the second she stepped off the stage, and she really didn’t mind. It kept her from having to look at her father for too long because she didn’t want to see if she was causing him sadness again.

She ended up eye to eye with him somehow anyway.