“Well, it won’t matter what happens to me in our case, because if you stay human, you will never know, will you?”
“No. You can get through it. You can live—find happiness again.”
He shook his head decisively. “I won’t be the same man if I lose you.”
“No one stays the same, David. Everything you are is as a direct result of something that’s affected you in your past, whether it was horrible or wonderful—and no one has the right to destroy themselves because they can’t deal with the pain,” I said. “You have to learn from it. It’s not over—the good in your life—it’s not over until you’re dead.”
A pompous smirk occupied his face. “Pretty passionate about this, aren’t ya?”
“It’s because I’ve been there. I almost crossed that bridge a few times.”
He swallowed hard, becoming suddenly very still. “Will you come to it again when I leave?”
Maybe. “No.” I smiled. “And you won’t, either. Look, I know you can’t die, but you have to promise me that no matter what—” I took both David’s hands in mine, “—promise me you’ll keep going, and that you’ll try to make your life good again after I’m gone.”
“Do you mean gone as in old-and-grey-dead, or gone as in you’re-not-coming-with-me?”
I sighed. “You have to be prepared for it, David. What we have is so wonderful, it will always be wonderful, but it might just be a wonderful memory.” I squeezed his fingertips until he looked at me. “Promise me that if I choose to stay human, you will love again—you will keep fighting for happiness.”
David wrapped his wrists around my lower back and pressed my waist to his. “I am nothing without you. I won’t promise to go on, because it would be a lie.” He kissed my brow. “When you die, when you no longer exist, I will give myself to the monster inside me, Ara. I won’t survive,” he said, then smiled. “You will just have to promise me forever.”
“I want to. But today, I can only promise my forever—not yours.”
He exhaled heavily, leaning back, a mischievous grin igniting his eyes as he looked into mine. “I’ll make you see reason. I can be very persuasive.”
“And I can be very stubborn.”
“And that, mon amour, is one of the things I love about you,” he said with a husky laugh. “But please, just don’t be too stubborn. I only have until the last leaf turns red and falls from the last tree. Then, I must go.”
There was nothing more to say. A choice had to be made. We could have the summer together—it was our only promise. But everything else would just take more consideration.
I sat down between his legs, my back against his chest, his soft breath warming the top of my head, and awed the tranquil serenity of the lake for a while. Then, as my mind wandered over everything we just said, it stopped on one particular inquisition. “Okay, so tell me?” I squinted against the sun as I turned slightly to look at him. “When exactly did you want to feed from me?”
David laughed aloud. “It was right here on this spot, actually. The second time we came to the lake. Do you remember it?”
He obviously didn’t know how clearly I remembered everything he and I had ever done together. “When you should’ve kissed me.”
“Yes. It was very stupid of me. Not just because I didn’t kiss you when I had the chance, but also because I hadn’t had blood in two days. Which would’ve been fine if it weren’t for these—” He ran his thumb along my lower lip; I closed my eyes, revelling in the tickly sensation. “Then, to make matters worse, I had to contend with your warm, velvet skin, your sweet smelling breath and this.” He placed his hand on my chest. “I nearly completely lost control.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but, after that day, I now know what I’m capable of. I need you in my life more than I need nourishment. I’m pretty sure that—” he grinned warmly, “—kissing you shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I think I kinda knew.” I laid back against his chest. “I mean, I knew there was some reason you wouldn’t kiss me, but I just never imagined it was because you wanted to bite me.”
He smiled and kissed my forehead.
“Well,” I mused, “I suppose that’s the best excuse I’ve ever had for a boy not wanting to kiss me.”
“There’ve been others?” David asked, curiosity lifting his tone.
“No, well, one—when I was about five. But that was because of cooties.”
“Hm, yes, cooties. Horrible disease. Caught it once, myself,” he joked.
“Was it from a girl?”
“Well, it wasn’t from a cat, if that’s what you’re asking.” David chuckled and pulled me tighter, kissing my forehead again—like his lips couldn’t get enough of me.
We sat still for a while, quietly listening to the sound of our own thoughts—or maybe just mine. David and I could exist like this, in perfect unity, where the silent whispers of our minds filled the warm space around us. It didn’t feel uncomfortable. And despite him knowing every little thought I had, including things like needing to go to the bathroom, it, strangely enough, wasn’t awkward.
“David?”
“Yes, my love.”
“No matter what I choose, you know I’ll love you for as long as I live, right?”
He drew a long breath, becoming so still the only sound around us was the gentle songs of birds along the soft breeze. “Then, I guess,” he said softly, releasing his breath, “I must hope that you will choose to live forever.”
I wrapped his arms tighter around my shoulders and sat back, imagining it, as a darkened summer glow trilled across the southern sky, lighting the dusk with a brilliant red. The treetops turned orange first, and then, as the shadow of the night descended into the forest, I could no longer see the lake beside us, but marvelled at the heavens—littered with thousands of brightly twinkling stars.
In that moment, there was no death, no immortality, and farewells were for the unlucky. There was only David and I, and the night—forever.
For my forever.
Chapter Nineteen
Leaning my shoulder against the window frame, I watched the sun rise over the hills to the east—the very same hills David ran to when he stole the blue rose. It’d been only four days since I was thrust into the world of the supernatural, but I still felt just as confused. No clarity had come with time passing. No decision had come waking me in the middle of the night, telling me if I should go with him or remain human. I was starting to wonder if it would.