Page 96 of Fervency Love

“That’s right.” I laugh. “How was your day?”

I wonder if he even went to school. His approach to studying worries me. You need to be resourceful, smart, and intelligent, and you get that by studying. But sometimes it’s easier in life when you finish at least high school. The mentality in this country is what it is. I don’t like that, but I see how people with vocational education are treated, how they’re looked down on. I just don’t get it. Everyone is valuable. We all fight our demons every day, and everyone should get a fair chance or at least a glimmer of hope.

“I sat with Paul. Dad had stuff to deal with,” he says.

So no, he wasn’t at school again.

“But you do have a plan, Ve, don’t you? You’re not going to repeat the year?”

“Of course not. I always have a plan. The finals will be the hardest.”

“Don’t you worry about those yet. We’ll manage,” I say and hug his arm harder.

When we reach Infinity Estate, it’s nearly seven. We spend a minute or two by the building. I lean on the railing and recall that day after we had our hot chat online. We were in the same spot. That’s where we kissed for the first time.

“What are you thinking?”

“Do you remember our first kiss?”

“Yes. It was right here.”

He shifts closer, taking up all the space around me. The same as that first time.

“What did you feel that day?” I ask, suddenly realizing we’ve never talked about this.

“I was already crazy about you. Actually, I wanted you to be mine from the time you didn’t let me kiss you after our first date. It impressed me! You became a challenge. I never believed I’d be able to accomplish it. Until that moment. After our kiss, I became obsessed with you. I was turned on the most by your extremes. You’re so shy and bold at the same time.”

“Want to know my secret?” I don’t wait for him to answer. “I gained my confidence with you. I don’t know how or why, but I trusted you since we met. I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. The image you were constructing at that time said something to the contrary, but I trusted my feeling. Besides, I never felt vibrations like yours before.”

“It was the same for me. I loved you a lot earlier than I admitted, even to myself. When I think about it, I loved you from the very first moment I saw you. I feel the taste of life with you. I started really breathing only when I met you. I’ve never felt so alive before. Before you, I just existed. With you, each beat of my heart makes sense. You breathed life into each cell of my body. You awakened my soul. With you I can discover myself again. Meeting you was like a breath of fresh air.”

“I feel exactly the same. I hope it will stay like that forever.”

“Me too.” Ve kisses me on the brow and hugs me.

Our hearts beat as one. Our souls are magically linked, as if they’ve known each other forever. We’re one being in two bodies. We had to meet to feel that. I still think we just needed to find each other.

Chapter 48

Abby

We’ve been together nearly six months. I’m still working on how to celebrate the occasion. I have a plan. I’d like to prepare us dinner with candles, wine, and dessert. I just need my parents to go to Daisy Valley and Grandma to stay at her place. I can’t get the thought of our special night out of my head. I can imagine it with specifics.

The sound of the doorbell yanks me back to reality. It’s Ivy and Nikki. I didn’t expect them.

“Hi, what’s up? What happened?”

They have worried expressions. Ivy breaks the silence.

“I didn’t want to worry you, but you really should know. Ve isn’t going to tell you.”

My legs quiver, and my heart picks up its pace. I’m out of breath. Whenever I’m overcome by stress, I always feel like that. I can’t breathe.

“Let’s go to the balcony,” Ivy suggests. I can’t stand the pressure.

“Nikki? Ivy? What’s the matter? What should I know about?” I ask with concern.

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I can feel my stomach cramp, pushing my last meal up to my throat.

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