“Marry you?”
“Yeah, at the top of the Eiffel Tower, at sunset.”
“It sounds like something you would’ve scripted.”
“It’s way better than anything I’ve ever scripted,” I reply, hugging myself and trying not to have a total crying breakdown.
“Don’t cry,” he says, lightly punching my thigh. “Close your eyes and listen to this.” He starts singing, “You’re my faith and inspiration. You’re the ink in my tattoo. You’re the water in my desert. All I can think about is you. You’re the sun in all my sunsets. You’re the wind in every breeze. You’re the moon on my horizon. You’re the one that makes me breathe.”
“That’s beautiful, Damian.”
“I need a chorus. Something about fate. And us being here. I’m gonna record us. Listen again and then sing the first thing that pops in your head. Okay. Here goes. You’re my faith and inspiration. You’re the ink in my tattoo. You’re the water in my desert. All I can think about is you. You’re the sun in all my sunsets. You’re the wind in every breeze. You’re the moon on my horizon. You’re the one that makes me breathe.”
I feel his words resonate in my heart and when he finishes, I sing, “It’s sorta like fate that we’re together. It’s sorta like fate that we’re both here.”
He continues, “It’s sorta like you and me forever.”
“My destiny is clear.”
“Holy shit. That’s it,” Damian says. “That’s exactly it. You’re a genius.”
I give him a smile, then bite my lip so I won’t start crying again.
Damian turns off the recorder and puts his hand on top of mine. “You still planning on telling him goodbye?”
“Yeah.”
“Keats, I think that might be a mistake.”
“You know I don’t have a choice.”
“Are you sure about that? I mean, have you really thought it all through?”
“Yes, there’s no other way.”
“What if I help you find another way? No one knows I’m here. If I went back with you, I could help.”
I shake my head. “If you go back with her, I can’t go back. And you can’t help me.”
“So, you’re going to make me choose?”
“Yeah, Damian, I am. And your choice should be easy. If you love her like I think you do, don’t you dare let her go.”
“I love you too, you know.”
“I know, but it’s not the same.” My eyes fill with tears. “Damian, will you promise me something?”
“Okay,” he says tentatively.
“That didn’t sound like a promise. I’m completely serious about this. I need you to promise that you’ll do this for me.”
“Okay, I promise. What do you want me to do?”
“If I don’t make it through this battle with Vincent. If I die. I need you to tell Aiden that I loved him.”
Damian’s eyes get huge and he lunges toward me, knocking his guitar into the sand. He grabs both my arms and says sternly, “Don’t say that. Don’t you dare say that.”
“Just promise me, please. I can’t do this if you don’t promise.”
He lets me go, looks into my eyes, and nods. “I promise, Keats.”
“Thanks. I’m gonna go back to my room. Try to get a little sleep before—well, just before . . .”
Sunday, November 27th
I wish none of us had to leave.
6am
I dozed off at some point, but the clock is still ticking in my brain and I can’t lie here any longer.
I wander down to the beach and find Damian still out in the cabana, asleep.
I go up to the house and grab a few of Inga’s homemade oatmeal cookies and two cups of coffee and carry them out to the sand and wake him up.
“Shit,” he says. “I can’t believe I fell asleep out here.”
I look out at the sky brightening as the sun rises behind us. “I didn’t tell you, but something happened last night.”
“Besides the call from Brook?”
“Yeah. I saw the green flash.”
“You always say that.”
“No, for real. We both saw it.”
“You’re totally in love with him.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“So why would you even want to give B a chance?”
“Because I promised.”
“But why did you do that?”
“Because, Damian, he’s the boy I’ve always dreamed about.”
“And now, if they were both standing in front of you and you had to choose, who would you pick?”
“I had a dream like that. You were in it, but you were a wolf. We were all humans trapped in wolves bodies and I had to choose between the Brooklyn wolf and Aiden wolf. And I think you helped me somehow, because when I kissed one of them, I chose right. It was true love’s kiss, it broke the curse, and all the wolves turned back into men.”
“But you don’t know who you kissed?”
“No.”
“So what does that tell you?”
“I don’t know.”