Page 106 of One Last Rainy Day
Whoosh. Whoosh.
“Always.”
Whoosh. Whoosh.
“...my girl.”
Those words crush me as she inquires about everyone else’s whereabouts, and Sean tells her he’s taking her home so we can talk. Her confused eyes dart between us as my insides start to rattle, feeling like they’re about to break apart.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Cecelia reads us both easily and puts a voice to it. “Are you safe?”
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
“...is an illusion, baby.”
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
“...for once, can you lie to me?”
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
“...hate the ground you walk on.”
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Sean’s eyes find mine once again.
“When?”When did you find out?
“Now.”When I texted you.
“Fuck.” I sweep Cecelia from head to foot as anxiety takes hold. “Get her home.”
Sean moves to usher Cecelia away, and she refuses him, rushing toward me instead as our cloud starts to disburse. When she reaches me, I sweep her into a kiss, feeling the break start inside as she surrounds me. Clinging to every second, desperation laces the last press of my lips. “You gotta go, baby.”
I keep her gaze for as long as I can, burning it in, knowing the next time our eyes meet, that look may only be glimpsed in memory.
Sean whisks her away, and it’s the brush of our fingers as she literally slips through my hands, and our cover disappears, that does me in. As she vanishes from my peripheral, the loss consumes me, and I boil over.
Destroying everything in my path, the crashes fuel me as I fucking rage against the laughing heavens who duped me into thinking this reality was possible. A reality where I got to keep the girl and everything else I hold close. But I can’t exactly blame them because I called on them too late. I can’t blame fate or the fortune that’s never been on my side, or anyone...but myself. I forged my own future from the minute I was capable and chose this fate. It was only inevitable that after ignoring every crackle of warning in the sky and every rumbling step that followed outside my window, the heartless giant I helped to create would finally appear.
Trying to reason with love is fucking pointless. It doesn’t care about your reasons, right or wrong. Love has no regard for circumstance, nor does it give a fuck what state it puts you in. It’s a relentless and unforgiving emotion that will never let you lie to yourself.
—Tobias,The Finish Line
Chapter Forty-Two
“PLEASE, DOM. PLEASEdon’t go.”
Hell exists.
Hell’s current geographic location?Paris.
The city my brother conquered in his early twenties and declared our righteous prison.
Hell’s definition? Replaying the last year and change on a loop while questioning my decisions and the choice I made every second of every day since.
