He nods.
“I’m a phone call away though. You’re not alone. Let’s just give ourselves some time.”
“Same here. Day or night,” he says right before he kisses my forehead.
He starts to leave but I stop him.
“Hendrix…”
He turns to look at me from the doorway.
“You’re the best. You deserve the world and all the happiness in it,” I say.
“So do you, Lennon. We’ll talk soon,” he says with a wave.
Then, I’m alone again. I manage to change shirts and pull on my jeans and my sneakers before sliding into my old leather jacket. I grab my keys and take off. There’s someone I need to see before I can even think of trying to sleep.
38
LENNON
The sun is setting when I pull up to the cemetery. I stick a small flashlight in my jacket pocket as I make the trek through the stones to find London’s. We had the one with my name moved over beside where London’s real one now rests.
I glance at it briefly. Part of me died with her…a big part that’ll stay buried with her here. The wind whips around me as I turn my attention back to her name etched in stone. London Skye Tyler.
“I know you’re physically here, London. But I feel closer to you pretty much everywhere else I am. I guess it’s because we’ve always been one heart with two souls. So, I carry you with me everywhere. I see you in the mirror. I feel you at times as though you’re really standing beside me. I hear your whisper in my dreams. I guess that means you might already know, but I wanted to come tell you in person, I won the race today. It was my big comeback race.”
I hear nothing but silence.
“Things seem to finally be getting back on track except for how much I miss you. It’ll never be okay for you to be gone. You should be here with me. But somehow, winning this race made me realize I’ve got to at least try to keep my promise to you. The one I made to live this life for both of us. Hiding in the shadows of grief isn’t living. It’s silencing both your voice and mine. Since I’ve found mine again, yours can finally be heard again too.”
I rub our bracelets on my wrist before saying, “Goodnight, London. I’ll be back soon. I love you.”
I wipe the tears from under my eyes as I make my way back to my car. But when I reach it, I realize I’m not out here alone. A man leans against my GTO waiting on my return.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
He stands upright from where he was leaning.
“You were right, Valkyrie. I do know you. That’s how I knew I’d find you here.”
I glance around the empty lot.
“I don’t understand how you got here,” I say.
“Audrey. She might like you more than she likes me,” he says with a smile.
“Why are you here, Dash?” I ask, still trying to figure out what’s going on.
He moves close to me and tips my chin up to meet his gaze.
“I can’t make myself stay away from you anymore, Lennon.” He takes my hand and presses it over his chest where I can feel his heart beating under my palm.
“I feel you in here, in this heart of mine, every second of every day. I haven’t been able to breathe without you. I thought keeping you for myself, holding on to you would be selfish of me. You deserve the world and so much more than me. You and me, we’re fire and ice. You struck the match that I handed you, and you melted my heart with it.”
I lean into his hand now cupping my cheek.
“You’re the world to me, Dash. You’re all I’ve ever wanted,” I tell him.
