Until We Meet Again(45)
“Yeah. I just need to clear my head. I would have gone
earlier, but you seemed so excited for me to go on that date
with Brandon.”
“I don’t feel good about it, Cass. It’s too dark and—”
“I’ll stay on our property,” I say, perhaps too enthusiastically.
“That was what I was thinking anyway. I’ll run on the beach.”
Mom gives Frank a hesitant frown but then sighs in surrender. “Fine. On the property. Nowhere else.”
“Absolutely.”
To keep from being a complete liar, I run all the way to
the beach. I probably would have run anyway, but there you
have it. As I burst through the bushes, my heart feels crushed
with the weight of a dozen conflicting emotions. I long to
see Lawrence again, but I’m afraid of how he might react to
me now, knowing what he knows. I’m filled with hope at the
thought of fighting his fate, but also with pulsing, radiating
fear. This isn’t a small thing we’re going up against, fighting the
course of history.
The sight of Lawrence will calm me. That’s what I need.
But the beach is empty.
I walk out to the water’s edge with a heavy heart. Part of me
knew he wouldn’t be here. If I learned that I was going to be
murdered on this beach, I’d stay far away from it for sure. I pick
up a rock and toss it into the white-tipped waves. If I knew I
was going to die, I think it would change a lot of the things I
did. I can’t expect Lawrence to be any different.
Despair pushes against me, though I try to fight it off. Maybe
I shouldn’t fight it. Maybe it’s smart to acknowledge that I
might never see Lawrence again.
I turn back for the house after a while. In my mind, I can
almost see the faint figure of Lawrence passing through the
narrow path. My resolve strengthens. Seeing him again would
be worth any amount of pain. I vow right then to return to the
beach every day and night until I see him again. Fighting for
Lawrence means not giving up on him. Not now, not ever.
Chapter 17
Cassandra
return to the beach the next morning. It’s a hot day,
I
with brilliant, white sunshine. I run all the way to the shore. And this time he’s there. Waiting for me. At first, I think it must be a hallucination. He’s sitting on the sand in a white linen shirt. His hair looks messier than normal, but in a way so endearing and sexy that I want to bite my fist. When he turns, I know he’s real. He looks pale. Dark circles ring his eyes. This is someone who has come face-to-face with his own death. The sight of him, so vulnerable and alone, breaks down any semblance of control I had on the situation.
I run to him and he jumps to his feet to meet me halfway. We collide in a fierce embrace. For a long while, we do nothing but hold each other. Then, he takes my face in his hands and kisses me. The feel of his lips pressing against mine fills me with trembling heat. I hook my arms around his neck, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to ignore the pain that still sits on my heart. The only thing that matters right now is this kiss.
Lawrence breaks away, winded and flushed. His eyes scan my face, taking in every detail, and then he presses his forehead to mine.
“I was hoping you’d come,” he says breathlessly.
My voice trembles. “I didn’t know if you’d be here.” He holds me to him. “I’ve been waiting since before dawn.” “You have?”
“I didn’t want to miss the chance to see you again.” I exhale, pressing my face into his chest and wanting to crush
my very being into his.
“I’ve decided something,” he says as he kisses my hair. “If I
have to die, I’d be crazy not to spend as much time as possible
with you.”
My heart beats strong and fast. Being close to him like this,
everything feels so perfect, so right. “I’ve decided something
too,” I say. “You’re not going to die.”
He steps back to meet my gaze.
“We’re going to fight this, Lawrence. There’s no reason we
can’t fight it.”
His brows come together. “Fight it?”
“Yes,” I say firmly.
He sighs. “And how will we do that? I’m going to die,
Cassandra. You read the newspaper.”
“But there’s time.”
“Yes, but if there was any way to stop it, you’d never have
read about it in the first place. The fact that you saw that article
means it will. There’s nothing we can do.”
Until We Meet Again I grip his shoulders. “I refuse to accept that.”
“Refuse all you like. That won’t change anything.” I want to shake him. “Don’t be this way! We can beat it,
Lawrence. You’re still here. Alive. Talking to me. It’s not over until it’s over.” I grab his hands and lead him to our favorite spot on the beach. We sit side by side. He squeezes my fingers so tightly it almost hurts. He’s afraid. How can he not be? “Does it say?” he asks, not meeting my eyes.