Page 109 of Eternal

There’s this constant fear living inside me that I’ll lose her. That she’ll slip through my fingers if I’m not careful.

Brushing her hair back again, I watch her eyebrows pinch.

The nightmares are trying to take hold of her again, and I’d like to wake her up. I’d like to tell the truth. I’d like to come clean. I’d like to save her if she’ll let me.

Instead, I lie beside her and hope she’ll whisper her secrets from her dreams. That she’ll tell me what I’ve been after since I first listened to those recordings of her therapy sessions.

Longer than that.

Since Alex first brought her to Montgomery Psychiatric Ward.

I need a name.

She thinks I’m a monster, but she has no idea what’s really out there. She can’t comprehend the real reasons I am the way I am. She doesn’t remember the moment I lost my soul.

Someday, she will remember it all.

And when she does, I’ll remind her why we’re eternal.

30

Deliver

Teal

The silence that surroundsRochester Lake is eerie. A haunting whisper hangs in the air as I stare out at the water, waiting for a hand to break the glassy surface.

Music plays in my ear, and I let it fill the night.

After skipping the barbeque to eat with Kole and Violet at our cabin, Declan and I went for a walk by the water, and it was nice to escape the crowd for part of the day.

I glance to where he’s leaning against a tree, listening to the music through my other earbud. While it annoyed me the first time he stole my music from me, it’s comforting now. Like letting him into my one safe space.

“What’s that look?” Declan lifts off the tree, meeting me at the edge of the water.

“I hate this place,” I admit, and a shiver runs down my spine. “I swear this lake is haunted.”

“Interesting.” Declan hums.

“I know, it’s ridiculous.”

“It’s not.” He wraps his arms around me.

I appreciate that he validates my thoughts when everyone else in my life has always dismissed them. He doesn’t call me crazy or brush me off. He listens to what I have to say, and hehearsme.

A bird dips low over the water, skimming the surface with its beak as it searches for fish. But there’s no life beneath that surface.

I shiver, and Declan wraps me tighter in his arms.

“Cold?”

“No.” I look up at him. “Should we go meet up with everyone?”

Every night after dark, people gather at my parents’ cabin to drink, roast marshmallows, or plot how they plan to corrupt another facet of the financial market. So even if we’ve escaped part of the evening, we can’t avoid them forever.

“We have time.” Declan kisses my forehead. “Or we can ditch it if you prefer.”

“Like Violet and Kole are?” I frown. “My dad won’t let me get away with that, and neither will yours. I really thought Violet would be a better barrier this weekend, but she’s been glued to Kole’s side the entire time.”