Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Every person on that list deserved worse than to be killed and forgotten.
My throat closes, and I can’t speak for a minute. Part of me still wishes she would change. I wish she would write to me and tell me how wrong she was for disregarding me.
I’d still want her gone, even if she did that. There are some things you can’t take back.
She can never take this back. And I would do anything for Dean. She should have never laid eyes on him. She’s not worthy of judging him.
It takes a few more beats to steady myself.
I finally tell him, “She deserves it as much as the rest of them do.”
He closes his eyes, his dark lashes coming to rest on his cheeks. I’ll never forget how he looked the first time I saw him, back at school. The warmth I felt when his eyes met mine kept me alive for months after that. It gave me hope even when there was no reason for me to be hopeful.
Somehow, I just knew. Most people would say that you can’t know so much about a person from a single glance. They’re wrong. You can know everything you need to know about that person if the circumstances are just right to let you see.
And I saw him. And he saw me.
I’ll always see him just how he was, and just how he is.
How both of them are.
Dean opens his eyes and strokes my hair again, centering himself. It takes a little longer this time, but finally his fingertips trace my cheekbone and down over my jaw until his hand drops to mine. He twines our fingers together. Whenever he does this, I fall for him all over again. It’s his way of telling me without words that it’s us against the world.
It’ll always be us.
“Is this the last one?”
I step closer, still holding his hand, and kiss him.
“I promise.” Another kiss. I’m sealing my promises with them. They were forbidden for so long, and now that they’re not, I’ll give them whenever I can. “And then we’ll get the happily ever after we should have had.”
“Okay,” he whispers, and presses a final kiss to my forehead. “Did you write me a note?”
I take out my notebook. The time and location are already there on the page. I tear it out, fold it up, and hand it to him. “Leave it in your pocket until he’s ready.”
“I always do.” He traces the note with the pad of his thumb, then slips it into his pocket. His eyes come back to mine with another question. “You won’t leave me, right?”
“I would never leave you. I love you both.”
He looks away. It’s my turn to put my hands on his face so he’ll look at me. I’ll never be able to erase the pain those people caused, but I can do my best to make sure he doesn’t feel like I’ll cause him more.
“We’ve talked about this,” I say gently. “You’re both worthy of love. You’re both worthy of so much love.”
“I’m the one who’s a monster,” he whispers.
“You’re human. Just like me. They broke us, but we survived.” He swallows thickly, the muscles in his neck tightening. “We’re not the same as we were, but we’re healing, and that’s what matters.”
“You think you’ll try to leave if I’m healed? Like if—”
“That’s not going to happen.” I lean up and kiss his lips. I mean these words with all my heart and all my soul. “I promise. It’s just like I told Dean. You deserve more than me. I love you so much. There’s nothing you could ever do that would make me not love you. I’ll protect you from everything and everyone. I promise.”
He drinks in that promise, whispering some of the words to himself.
“Do you love me too?”
“I only survived because of how much I love you.”
The truth is in his eyes, undeniable and forever. I’ll never have to spend a day without him once all this is over. It’s so close I can almost taste it.
All the people who hurt us, gone for good, and then the rest of our lives.
That future begins here and now.
We start it with a kiss.