Halley
Part Five
By Claire
cartersgirl@handbag.com

Notes- This is what we have been waiting for… IT’S A HAPPY CHAPTER!!!! I have no knowledge of the legal system, so whether or not it’s realistic is another matter. But Kennedy deserves everything he gets, dontcha think? The song is called Black Coffee by The All Saints

3 months later, it was Halley’s 28th birthday. Carter had finally gotten the courage together to ask her if she wanted to go out for dinner with him on her birthday. She had replied almost immediately with a yes, which Carter saw as a good sign.

Now he was on the way to her house. He was thinking about the past three months, and how much better things had been going for Halley. She had suffered from quite a lot of flashbacks, but she had gone to therapy and she had started to feel better. Kennedy had also gone to court and had been given a life sentence, so Halley could walk around the streets knowing that he wasn’t going to come back after her.

Carter arrived at Halley’s house and knocked on the door. Halley opened it and Carter said ‘Happy birthday’ Halley smiled and said ‘Thanks’ They both went out to Carter’s car, and he drove them to the restaurant.

The two of them sat down, and ordered their food. Carter took comfort in the fact that some of the brightness had returned to Halley’s eyes. He heard a song starting that he knew Halley liked. He held his hand out to her and said ‘May I have this dance?’ Halley smiled and placed her hand in his. Carter led her to the dance floor. He held her in his arms and they swayed gently to the music.

~~~~~ I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else but here~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Halley sighed with contentment inside as she danced in Carter’s arms. For the first time in many months, she felt happy and safe. She thanked God for Carter; she knew she wouldn’t have gotten through her ordeal without him. 

~~~~I wouldn’t wanna change anything at all~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carter held Halley gently, not wanting to make her feel threatened. He was resting his head on top of hers and he savoured the sweet scent of her hair. He wished they could sty like that forever, but before he knew it, the song was over and Halley was leading him back to the table.

It was starting to get late, and Carter drove Halley home. She invited him and poured them both a glass of wine. Halley gave Carter his glass and sat down next to him. She raised her glass and said ‘Here’s to tomorrow’ They both clinked their glasses and took a sip of their wine. They both smiled at each other for a second before Carter moved towards Halley and kissed her. His whole body was tensed up, but he relaxed when he realised that Halley was kissing him back.

They both pulled away from each other and Carter was relieved to see that Halley was smiling. Carter hugged her and she hugged back, but then she pulled away sharply. ‘Halley what’s wrong? Did I upset you?’ ‘No, no John you haven’t upset me. I just don’t want to get your hopes raised up.’ Carter looked confused and said ‘Don’t you have feelings for me?’ ‘I do, I have really strong feelings for you and I would love to have a relationship with you, it’s just that I’m not ready for a..’ She trailed off and Carter finished the sentence for her ‘You’re not ready for a sexual relationship yet’

Halley nodded and said ‘I don’t expect you to wait for me to be ready, I’ll understand.’ Carter held both of her hands and said ‘Halley, I have really strong feelings for you as well. I think they call it love. I understand why you are not ready to have a sexual relationship, I wouldn’t be either if I were you. I don’t care how long you need because I love you and I would wait an eternity to make sure you are happy.’

Halley burst into tears and reached forward and kissed Carter again. ‘Thank you so much, I love you too. I wouldn’t have gotten through the past few months if it weren’t for you. Would you sleep in my bed with me tonight? I’d like it very much if I could wake up tomorrow morning lying next to you.’ Carter smiled and said ‘Of course I will. Are you sure that you are ok with it?’ Halley nodded and they both went upstairs.

Carter undressed to his boxer shorts and slid under the duvet cover on Halley’s bed. Halley pulled out a pair of PJ’s and, shaking off some momentary stage fright, she slipped her dress off and put her PJ’s on. Halley climbed into bed beside Carter. He wrapped his arms around her and said ‘I love you Halley’ ‘I love you too John’

Halley woke up the next morning, and looked at Carter who was still sound asleep. She could still taste the sweetness of Carter’s lips on hers and she leant down and kissed him. He woke up and smiled. Halley said ‘Good morning’ Carter smiled and said ‘It certainly is’.

TO BE CONTINUED