***
“Hey, hey…look at me.” Ty touched her chin and turned her head to face him. “I’m sorry for putting you through that. Have any idea the number of times I came close to barging into your house and just damning the consequence? It wasn’t easy, baby. This picture kept me sane Tanesha. But look at us now. We’re together just as we wanted. It pays to be patient don’t you think?”
Tanesha didn’t respond. She put her head on the pillow and stared at nothing. She was surprised at the intensity of the sudden anger within her. She’d thought she was over Ty’s silence and deceit but she realized she wasn’t after all.
Ty could feel the tension within her. Though the plan was to talk, he decided to allow Tanesha to calm down before they did any serious talking. He certainly hadn’t thought seeing he had her picture would upset her that badly. Ty clicked on a remote and instantly flooded the too-quiet room with tunes from a collection of low soothing music from the nineties. He’d always been a sucker for old tunes thanks to his dad. He felt Tanesha tense up even more against him when Ricochet’s ‘Connected at the Heart’ began to play and immediately threaded his fingers through her long hair, stroking her soothingly.
Tanesha couldn’t help but freeze at the very first line of that beautiful song. If felt as though Ty was saying those words to her.
‘There is a picture in the pocket of my shirt
I always keep you next to me
When I’m away from you all I do is hurt
I think about you constantly’
Tanesha felt Ty’s fingers running through her hair soothingly… almost as if he knew how tightly strung she was. She loved him so much at that moment it hurt. She felt her chest tighten as her eyes flooded with tears. Suddenly it didn’t matter at all that Ty hadn’t contacted her. The most important thing was that they were together again.
‘But you’re always with me deep inside
I can feel you when I close my eyes’
It had indeed been hell but she was finally right where she belonged…in his arms. Tanesha’s eyes fluttered shut as she listened to that lovely song, her tears silently sliding across her face and down her temple in rivulets, wetting the pillow beneath her cheek.
‘We are connected at the heart
Nothing on earth can keep the two of us apart
Time has no meaning
Distance has no power’
“I love you, Ty.” Tanesha blurted out irrepressibly, her voice shaking with emotion. She just couldn’t stop saying those words out loud. She might as well have commanded the wind not to blow. God, how she loved him.
“I love you too angel.” Ty murmured against her hair. “So damn much.”
‘It’s never too late
No matter how long
We’re never that far
We are connected at the heart’
Tanesha had been affected by lots of songs but none came close to that song playing at that very moment. She shuddered to think about what would happen if Ty were no longer part of her life. She definitely never wanted to find out. And even as the beautiful song washed over them, her fingers found and entwined with Ty’s.
“Why did you open the door after I’d specifically asked you not to, Tanesha?” Ty asked. He’d been dying to know since his heart nearly stopped at the sight of Tanesha with a grenade wielding Mickey, that fateful day, three months earlier.
“What?” Tanesha whispered. She knew exactly what Ty was asking about. She was simply shocked at the suddenness of the question, that was all.
“On the Island. I told you not to open the door to anyone but me. I saw the door later and it was obvious no one broke it down. I just… How did they get in?”
Tanesha took a deep breath, discreetly wiped her face with the edge of the covers, and then turned within Ty’s arms to place her head on his shoulder. “Mickey…Mickey told me you said he should bring me.”
“And even after what I’d…”
“I saw him as a friend, Ty.” Tanesha’s voice was barely above a whisper. “And in the end he was. He saved my life, Ty. I’m sorry I went against your orders but I really thought you had sent him.” Tanesha rubbed the creases off Ty’s forehead. “Hey, stop frowning.” She said softly. “It’s over. And we survived. I can’t believe they all died though.”
“All except Ghost and Jess.” Ty rasped.
“But I saw Jess lying on the floor…dead.” Tanesha looked confused.
“Not dead. Just unconscious. He’s in prison. I never told you this but…sorry about Mickey. He was a good kid.”
“Yeah. I still can’t believe his own uncle shot and killed him.” Tanesha let out a sad sigh.
They talked at length about their time on the Island, with Ty answering Tanesha’s numerous questions and finally helping her understand exactly what had been going on the whole time. She knew her kidnapping was due to the fact that she was her father’s only daughter but she didn’t know the details and the level of danger she’d been in. By the end of their talk, Tanesha felt so lucky and grateful she didn’t know what to say.
“Thank you for saving my life.” She said, her eyes shining with gratitude.
“And thank you for saving mine,” Ty replied right back. He felt a shudder pass through Tanesha at his words and instantly regretted making her remember how she’d had to kill. Ty groaned and tightened his arms around her. “Hey, you did good. That idiot would have killed me if you hadn’t reacted as you had. I’m forever in your debt, Madam.” He purred jovially, trying to ease the pensive atmosphere. “Anything you want, I’ll do for you.”
Tanesha laughed shakily. “Sure about that?”
“Positive. Your wish is my command.”
“Can I make a wish now?” Tanesha tilted up her head to look into Ty’s eyes.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Will you make love to me?” She asked with a wicked twinkle in her eyes.