45. Talia
Talia
Talia grabbed the watch and led Sam out of the cave onto the beach.
There, she picked up a jagged rock, held the watch against the cliffside, and smashed the watch to pieces.
Sam jumped at the suddenness. But Talia already felt lighter.
She scooped up the shattered watch parts and put half in Sam’s hand. “On the count of three, okay?”
He didn’t have to ask what she meant.
“One, two, three!”
As the tide rolled in, they hurled the remnants of the watch into the ocean together. And when the wave rolled out, it took everything with it to sea.
Talia turned to Sam and stood on her tiptoes.
And then—finally—she kissed him.
The wind tangled horrible knots through her hair.
The sunlight glared in her eyes.
And a fresh, bigger wave roared in and soaked them.
But Talia and Sam stayed right where they were in this perfect, messy, unplanned moment.
No rewinding. No worrying about the future.
Just here, right now.
An ideal life.