Page 53 of Don't Forget Me
Now, as the sun sank down on the horizon and she watched the lake that had contained so much laughter hours before, she realized there was more than one way to create perfection.
Nick overcame something big today. Even if she didn’t know all the details, she’d witnessed a special moment, one she’d never forget. They spent most of the day swimming and lounging on the dock in the sun, not talking about everything she’d kept from him or the accident. There’d be enough consequences when the real world came calling.
As the day wore on, she knew there was only one more thing that could make it truly great.
A bonfire. Just like she’d made with her mom and dad a million times before. Nick covered up one of the fire pits when he had the deck built, but what he didn’t know was they’d moved it to that spot from another to have a better view of the lake.
Around the side of the house was an overgrown area, once the perfect spot to sit out with family and neighbors. There’d been a guy a few doors down who always brought his guitar to play with her mom and others who showed up with food.
Elizabeth’s dad always made sure there were plenty of hot dogs and s’mores though.
Once she’d found the old pit and used a tiny shovel to clear away the overgrowth, finding a broken ring of rocks surrounding the area, it was time to get the fire started.
Nick only watched as her hands did what they’d done hundreds of times before. It had been years, but one never forgot some things.
The first inkling of a flame started, and she backed away, satisfied with herself.
“So, are you sure you just want hot dogs? I mean, you’re the almost-chef.”
One corner of her mouth curved up as she reached for the sticks she’d instructed Nick to prepare. “I don’t think I could want anything more.”
By the time they’d cooked their hot dogs and eaten them, the sun was no longer visible behind the mountains across the lake, leaving them with darkness illuminated only by the orange glow of the fire.
Elizabeth hugged her arms around her knees, staring into the flickering flames.
“You okay?” Nick’s voice was low, as if he didn’t want to break the magic of this day, magic that shouldn’t exist.
Glancing back over her shoulder, she offered him a smile. “Sitting here in front of the fire makes me feel closer to them.”
“Your family?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes shifted back to the flames. “My mom… I know she’s not here, but I can almost feel her sitting next to me. And my dad, waiting for me to wake up. He must be so scared.” Her kids had never been here, but she closed her eyes, picturing their sweet faces across from her. Evelyn and Owen would love this place just as much as she always had.
Nick reached an arm around her, pulling her between his legs. She leaned back, resting her head on his chest with a sigh. How could something feel so perfect and so wrong at the same time?
“Stephen died here.”
The words shocked Elizabeth out of thoughts of her family, and she turned in Nick’s lap, letting her legs rest over his. Her eyes searched his in the dark. “He drowned, didn’t he?”
That was why Nick wouldn’t get into the water. Until today.
He swallowed thickly, his throat the only part of him that moved until, finally, he blinked, long lashes pulling down against his cheeks before rising again. “I haven’t talked about it since the cops showed up to tell me the boat had been found.”
“You don’t have to, you know.” She reached out, needing to touch him, to feel the strength she now knew he possessed. “You don’t owe me any answers.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“But you can. We’re safe, right? When we finally wake up, this will be nothing but a dream, and anything we tell each other will stay here long after we’re gone.”
A tear slipped down his cheek, and she brushed it away with her thumb. She wouldn’t take the sight for granted, as the stoic movie star let himself fall apart in front of her. It could have been because of his admission about his brother’s death, or because he recognized the truth in her words, but when he brushed a salty kiss across her lips, she savored him, tears and all, telling herself this complicated, damaged man wouldn’t completely shatter her when he was gone.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I don’t think you know what you’ve done for me while we’ve been here.”
“What we’ve done for each other.”
He smiled against her, his eyes closed. “You’re still keeping something from me.”
Elizabeth pulled away, a question in her eyes.
