Page 94 of Fly Back to Me
I swallow thickly, the anklet slipping from my fingers before I comb my hands through my hair. “Holy shit,” I breathe, turning to the side. “Holy fucking shit.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Olivia beelines to the fence. On instinct, I turn to lunge after her, grabbing her upper arm to spin her around.
“I don’t want to be a victim!” she shouts, yanking herself from my grip. Her arms snap in the air, guilt and sadness contorting her facial features. “Especially not to you! I’m looking into your eyes now, and I can tell that’s all you see!”
My pulse spikes as I shake my head, stabbing a finger in her direction. “You’re not going to turn this around on me, Olivia!”
“Then go ahead! Hate me!” She swivels around, sliding up to the door of the fence and lifting on her tiptoes. Like a goddamn spider monkey, she hooks her hands over the frame, desperately clawing at the lever. But when she fails to unlatch the lock on the other side, a grunt escapes her as she drops to her heels. “I want to leave!” Her closed fists bang on the gate, the rattling of the PVC booming against the rain. “Goddammit, let me out!”
I stealthily tread toward her, the magnetic force just as compelling as it was on the other side of that dumpster. My chest melts to her back, and I catch her flying fists before she inflicts permanent damage on her beautiful skin.
Our wet and fused hands plant on the fence, my stiff chest thawing as she slumps beneath me. An umbrella of rain swallows us, the droplets hitting the PVC and our skin, but the only sound that echoes is the crashing of our souls.
In this moment, we’re two people who becomeone.
Her body rocks with sobs in my embrace. Muffled cries thathave haunted me ever since I wished I could’ve held her. Ever since I dreamed of the woman they belonged to.
My eyes scrunch, heart racing as images of the woman curled on the blacktop burst in my head. I’m transported back to that desolate parking lot, witnessing those wobbly fingers holding onto mine for a lifeline.
I channel the grip from memory, my wet fingers crushing between hers. Trapping her here with me before we sever ways again.
Not again.
Never again.
“You saved my life, but you didn’t want to know me,” she breathes harshly, pain lining her throat as she upchucks every word. “But Ineededto know you.”
My breathing labors as my slippery fingers weave through hers. And the more honesty she sheds, the more lured in I become.
Inspiredby her determination tofind me.
She called for me that day in the coffee shop, and I answered her.
I fucking answered her.
I may have been the one who rescued her, but she’ll always be the one whosaved me. Whether I wanted it or not, Olivia gave us a story that allowed us both to heal. Lean on each other. Learn from one another. A story that encouraged me to open my heart again and restore my faith in all I thought I had lost.
Maybe I soared into her life with wings, but she handed them back to me when I forgot they were there. When I lost the will to fly.
Maybe I brought her protection in a single moment, but she gifts me salvation every fucking day.
So, the answer to the pivotal question isno.
Two people don’t meet twice for the first time by accident.
It’s not coincidence, it’s not happenstance, and it’s not serendipity.
It’sdestiny.
And I’m going to seize mine.
At least for now.
Chapter 35
Olivia
The shower gains traction, water leaking into the fabric of my shirt and jeans. My eyes anchor to the ground, the dirt between the grass morphing to mud as Cade kneads his slick fingers between mine.
