Page 147 of Love Me

“You trust me?”

“With my life.”

I desperately want to tell him everything. How I feel, what I think, but he swings his leg over the bike, and I wrap my hands around his torso.

Emotions clog my throat. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Then let’s get the hell away.”

With my head pressed to his back, he speeds away.

He follows the road down the coast until he parks in front of a cliff. As I get off the bike, my feet falter, awkward and unsteady like a deer taking her first steps.

I yank the helmet off, drop to my knees, and scream, falling apart. I scream until my throat dries up. Kaden pushes a bottle of water my way, drops next to me and pulls me to his side. His presence, accompanied by him gently stroking my back, is the balm my wounded insides need.

“It hurts. All these years, I have lived thinking I killed my parents only to discover one is alive but too preoccupied with finding his dead wife. I thought about my mother as his dead wife so as not to hope, or even worse, to find her and she’ll be like…”

“Like your father.”

“He’s not evil, Kaden, he’s just…”

“Lost.”

“And I have been like a kicked, sad puppy wanting his love and his approval for too long. But I am serious. I am so done.”

“Even if we find your mother?”

Seeing how she protected me with her life, her love for me shining through even while blood covered her.

“I owe it to her to save her too.”

“Whatever you want to do, baby.”

“Let’s stay for a while longer.”

The sun sets, painting the sky in oranges, violets, and reds. With every inhale, the haze in my mind clears. I lay my cheek on his shoulder and he caresses my arm in a soothing motion.

“Strangely, I wanted to protect you from that place, and you were the first to experience it.”

“They wiped my memory, but I doubt it could have been any better for you.”

“My father, my own father… I fucking hate him.”

I place my hand on his, my thumb caressing along the knuckles. I won’t allow him to go there.

“You’re nothing like your father. I hope you know that.”

“What makes you so sure?” he asks, voice ringing with doubt, breaking my heart.

“Even if Felix loved my mother, he was selfish and turned into a monster. You sent me away to protect me and you hold on for the others. Really, Kaden. You’re nothing like him.”

He takes my mouth in a long kiss. I straddle his lap, needing more of his body against mine. When our lips part, he brushes his finger on the side of my face. I lean into his soft touch, rejoicing in this peaceful moment.

“You would think after generations, they would learn that this is not the right way.”

“They only care about keeping the legacy going.”

His heart beats strongly under my palm, comforting me, and the silence surrounding us carries a beacon of hope.

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