Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The next morning, we take our coffees and sit up at the top of the lighthouse to watch the sunrise. Our new spot. I’m curled up in a camping chair, chin resting on my knees as I sip the delicious drink he made for us.
I take a deep breath and try to find the words for what I want to say to him. “Are you happy here?” I finally ask as I keep my head straight, scared to look over at him. We can’t let any more distractions get in the way. We need to have this conversation. I need to, or I’m going to combust.
He finishes his sip of coffee before responding. “What do you mean by here?”
“In 1993.”
“Oh, umm.” He’s clearly caught off guard by my question and taps the side of his ceramic mug, the tinging sound rattling through the small space we’re in. “Enough, I guess,” he tells me. “Why?”
“The lighthouse is falling apart,” I start, turning to face him now.
He knits his brows together and waits for me to continue.
“In 2025. It’s crumbling. I wish I could show you, but I’ve been taking photos on my phone each time I come.
And every time, it looks worse. There’s even a warning sign that’s been staked in the ground by the path.
Iris thinks it’s going to fall to the ground in time for the storm.
” I suck in a breath. “Which would mean I could never come back.”
“Oh.” He places his mug on the floor and rests his elbows on his spread legs, dropping his head low. “But that’s after… after I…” He can’t seem to finish his sentence.
I scooch my chair closer to him and place a hand on his rounded shoulder.
“But what if you didn’t have to? What if we try, Dylan?
What if we try, and then you can… you could come…
” Suddenly, I’m stricken with fear and go mute.
A nagging thought weaves its way through my mind.
What if he doesn’t want to come into the future with me?
What if I love him more than he loves me?
My heart wants to shatter at the thought, but even still, if I could save him, then it would all be worth it.
Even if he didn’t come with me. At least I’d know he was alive.
“Come with you?” His head rises up and tilts, pensive green eyes focused on me.
“Y-yeah.” I tuck my hair behind my ear and bite my lip with my top teeth.
“But Iris said—” He clears his throat. “She said that we can’t change the past—”
“That doesn’t mean we just get to give up, Dylan!
” I’m yelling now. “We don’t get to bow down and accept this.
We have to try. I need you to try.” My words are coming out shaky as I almost start to hyperventilate.
He grabs the mug from my quivering hand and places it on the floor before pulling me on top of him and wrapping me in a tight hug.
His lips press against my forehead, and my breathing calms from the pressure of his embrace around me.
“Okay,” he whispers into my hair. “We’ll try. I’ll try anything if it means I get to be with you, Lucy.”
“Thank you,” I sigh as I keep myself pressed against him, feeling the rise and fall of his chest and the pattering of his heart.
The sun rises in the sky in front of us, and we sit like that together on one tiny camping chair. Crowded but content. Coffees in hand. A plan is beginning to formulate in my mind.
A plan to keep Dylan alive.
After I shower and get dressed in yesterday’s clothes, Dylan comes up and takes my hand in his. “Let’s have fun today,” he says as he spins me around. “Everything has been so serious, and I get why, but I want us to take this weekend and have fun together.”
That would certainly be a nice change of pace. Even for a moment. A minor distraction for us both. “Okay. What do you want to do?”
“How do you feel about Ferris wheels?” he asks, a smirk on his face. “And eating way too much cotton candy?”
I can’t stop the grin that begins to grow. “I think I would love both of those things,” I say matter-of-factly.
“Think?”
“Can I admit something?” He nods. “Embarrassing?” He nods again. “I’ve never been to a fair before.” I shield my eyes with my hands, peeking through to see his reaction.
His eyes widen, and he pretends to be shocked. “Lucy Brooks!”
“I’m sorry,” I laugh. “My parents didn’t see the point. They said it was all too cheap and beneath us. We did other things instead.”
“Well, that changes today.” He gives the top of my head a quick peck and backs away. “I’m going to take you to the fair, where you’re going to eat a greasy corn dog, have way too much cotton candy, and then go on a ride that spins so fast it makes you sick to your stomach.”
“It’s a date.” I smile as I grab my purse off the coffee table and head down the stairs behind him.
The outfit I chose on Friday is working out well for me today, as it’s sunny but with a slight chill in the air.
I’ve got my favourite pair of light-wash wide-legged jeans, white Converse, a green tank top, and a very cozy, oversized cardigan.
My hair is up and out of my face in a claw clip, which I’ve learned is very helpful right at the coast, since the wind here is so strong and blows my hair every which way when it’s down and loose.
Dylan is ahead of me, turning to give me a smirk as he holds the back door open for me to step outside.
I can’t help but check him out in the soft black hoodie I plan on stealing later and cuffed jeans with sneakers.
His hair is in a topknot, and he smells divine.
We start on the path into Killick Bay, hand in hand. “We’ll have to stop at my parents’ if that’s okay,” he says as we’re about halfway into town. “My car is parked there since there’s nowhere to park it at the lighthouse.”
“Okay, works for me. Where’s the fair?”
“It’s not far, just over in Lochport. Umm…” He pauses before continuing. “I’m not sure if my parents will be home, but if they are, it might be a bit awkward. Just warning you.”
My fingers tighten around his. “That’s okay.”
After grabbing a coffee at the Breeze Cafe, we walk another ten minutes or so until we hit a more suburban area of town.
We wind down a paved street lined with cozy one- and two-storey colourful cottages with beautiful gardens until Dylan stops in front of a light blue house with a pale yellow door.
His eyes dart from the driveway, where two cars are parked, to the front door.
“They’re home. And the keys are inside.” He looks back at me, fingers still laced in mine. “You can wait out here if you want.”
“I’ll stay with you,” I reply as I push onto my tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “We’re in this together. Always.”
“Here goes nothing,” he sighs as we make our way up the interlock path. He stands in front of the door, willing himself to knock. I give his hand one more light, reassuring squeeze, and then he brings his fist up toward the yellow wooden door and knocks three times.
We stand there, and all I can hear is the steady rhythm of our breaths and the odd car that drives down the street behind us.
When the door finally creaks open, a very tall, very stern-looking man in his sixties stares out at us.
He looks identical to Dylan, except his hair is cut short, and his eyes are brown, like the falling leaves around us.
“Dylan.” His deep, gravelly voice cuts through the quiet, and his dark eyes squint as he speaks.
“Dad. Nice to see you,” Dylan responds calmly, twisting the sleeve of his sweater as he stands there in front of him. “This is my girlfriend, Lucy.”
Girlfriend. I have to hold back the smile that wants to light up my face at the mention of that word for the first time from him.
My mouth twitches to the side before I bring it back into a straight line.
“Nice to meet you, Dylan.” I raise my hand to shake his, remembering how he and his son share the same first name.
A sour expression washes over his unimpressed face, and his arm remains down at his side.
“Mr. Hart,” he retorts with a hint of disdain.
Dylan’s hand moves protectively around my waist with that comment.
“What are you doing here?” His eyes shift back toward Dylan, who stands right above eye level to him.
“Picking up the keys to the car. That’s all.” His dad closes the door almost all the way and grabs them, the sound of jingling metal making its way to our ears. Then his hand is out the door, dropping the car keys into Dylan’s outstretched hand.
“Thanks, Da—” The door closes shut before he can even finish saying goodbye to him.
“Well, that went about as well as I expected it to.” He looks at me and raises an eyebrow before we turn and walk over toward the driveway.
Seeing the way his dad just treated him only furthers my belief that Dylan is meant to be in 2025 with me.
The thought that he could be so unwanted in this time doesn’t sit right with me at all.
It’s all the more reason to fight to keep him alive and bring him home.
“I love you,” I say as he leads us toward a slate-blue Toyota hatchback. He goes to my side first and unlocks the door with the key, opening it up for me to get inside. “I liked hearing you call me your girlfriend,” I add as he walks over to his own door.
“That’s what you are,” he responds as we slide into the front seats. “Now, let’s go to the fair, girlfriend.”