9. Hellie
HELLIE
T he next morning the bed’s empty. My heart sinks.
I dress quickly. I find him in the living room by the window. A quick look around confirms my red dress is gone.
There’s only Cal. And my bags.
But no hope.
“I have a friend coming. He’ll help you get set up with a new life, Hellie.”
I swallow. “And you?”
He doesn’t answer.
“And you, Cal?”
He turns, kisses me softly, and the softness melts into something harder, tongues tangling, a kiss that rocks me to the tips of my toes and clenches my heart.
Bittersweet.
A goodbye.
Finally, he lifts his head. “I’ll take care of the rest.”
“They’ll kill you.”
“No,” he says. “They won’t.”
Outside, a car pulls up.
“Cal, come with me. We don’t?—”
“We do. If I go, they’ll chase us and you’ll never be safe. Go. My friend will help.”
There are words I want to say. Words that make no sense and hold the bones of truth. Words of love.
I’ve fallen for him.
It took an instant. The moment I met his eyes a lifetime ago and now…
And now, he steps away, walking from the room and my life.
Forever.