And this time, when he kisses me, I kiss him back. Just barely, but I can see the triumph in his face. The glaze. “What do we do?”
My eyes slide to the cliff edge again. This time, his gaze follows mine. “To… together.”
I cough, and it hurts. He stares at me, until comprehension crosses his face. A flash of anger. And then thought.
I take another breath. I’m running out of time.
He pulls his phone out, his fingers flying.
“What… are you doing?”
“Calling Theo. You’re going to tell him.”
My heart leaps.Theo—
But he doesn’t answer. It rings out, switching to his voicemail.
And Brett holds the phone out. “Tell them, Kennedy. So they know.”
A test. This is a test. I can see it in his eyes.
Prove it.
So I breathe, and then I smile. I stare into his face, and I make my words as clear as I can.
“Only you. I only want you. You and me, Brett. Just like we always planned. Okay? This is the only way we can be together without them interfering. You know I’m right. They don’t want us to be together. They’ll ruin it, like they always have. I don’t want any of them to ruin what we have.”
He starts shaking. “Do you mean it?”
“Together.” The pain is coming back now. It sharpens my mind, and I cling to it. “Take my hand, and we’ll jump. Nobody will ever separate us again.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
My eyes close.
“I don’t want you,” I say finally, into the phone.
It feels like I’m shattering my own dreams as I say the words. Words that will condemn me in their eyes.
“Any of you.”I wanted you so much.
“I only want him, do you understand?”I don’t want him. I never did.
“Just… leave us alone.”Don’t leave me alone.
“Don’t come after us.”Come for me.
“Leave us alone.”Don’t leave me.
Please, don’t leave me here.
When he ends the call, his eyes are bright. Almost feverish, as he holds out his hand. “Okay. You and me.”
It takes me a long time to stand. Brett frowns, as if I’m inconveniencing him. “I’ll just carry you.”
“No,” I rasp. “I want to… I need to do this. To prove it to you.”
