Page 32 of Mania

I should leave.

I should pack my car and never look back. It would be the sane thing to do.

But …

What’s waiting for me out there?

Nothing but loneliness and heartbreak.

It’s what made me leave in the first place. And it brought me here. To Hazel.

Finally, I look up, my fist slowly unclenching the duvet.

“Like fate?” My voice is small and full of uncertainty, but nonetheless, I ache for his answer.

Relief flashes across his face, and he smiles. Still on his knees, he drags himself to my side of the bed and cradles my face in his hand. “Just like fate, dream girl,” he says against my lips before kissing me. “Just like fate.”

Interlude

Lovers.

Two souls bound to meet.

Bound to meetme.

A synchronicity.

An invisible string.

A happy ending.

But is happiness a static state?

Or just as fleeting as mortality?

Here now.

And gone the next.

What if?

I promise you eternal happiness.

Only …

I ask for one final thing.

One last favor in exchange.

Would you accept?

Would you take that fateful leap?

Chapter 17

Hazel

I’m rippedout of my dream as if an invisible hand dug into my chest and pulled me out of sleep by my spine.

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