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Never like this.
Nothing in my wretched life has ever merited a tear. But here I am now, rivers falling from me, threatening to pull me under until I drown under its ruthless tidal wave of suffering. We hold each other with such fierceness, afraid if we let go, the pain will inevitably suffocate us. But in this very moment, as we are both being swallowed whole by grief’s cruelty, I feel his presence in my love’s embrace.
Valentina begins to kiss my wet cheeks, and I do the same to hers. We’re a fucking mess, and still, it feels like we haven’t even touched the worst of it yet, but a flicker of hope tells us it will not be our end.
“I loved him so much.”
“I did, too,” I choke out.
“I’m so scared, Quaid. I’m so scared.”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t accept that. You are your father’s daughter, princess. So whenever you forget that you hold his strength inside you, I’ll be here to remind you. I fucking swear it. I once promised him that I would give you the world if you asked. You know what he said to me?”
“What?”
“That you didn’t need the world. You already had what was most important—love. And if I wanted to promise him something, then to promise him that I would always make sure you were loved in every way possible. I will never break my word. Not to him. And not to you.”
“I know you won’t.” She sighs as we clean the remnants of our tears away. “He’s going to miss so much. My graduation day from college. My residency at a hospital. My wedding day. The birth of his grandchildren. He’s going to miss out on all of it.”
“No. I don’t believe that for a second either. He’s here, Val.” I press my open palm to her heart. “He lives inside you.”
She leans in and places a wet, chaste kiss on my lips.
“I love you. If tomorrow never comes, I need you to know that I love you.”
Fuck.
I grab her and push her on top of me, needing to hold on to her just as fiercely as I need to hold on to this moment right here.
“I love you, Valentina. And tomorrow will come for us, Princess. I promise you. And I’ll make you another promise. When I die, I vow that I’ll still love you just as much as I do in this very moment. Not even death can tear us apart.”
“Promise?” she sobs.
“Until my very last breath.”
Chapter 13
Now
_____________________________________
Valentina
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Is she breathing?”
“Her head is bleeding!”
“Call a fucking ambulance!”
Why do their voices sound all wrong?I think blearily as my eyes creak open.
There’s dampness on my face. Where am I? Struggling, I move my hand tentatively to my face to see why it’s so wet. My hand comes back slightly sticky, and I frown, trying to remember what happened and where I am.
The rain.
We were walking through the rain. To a river cruise.
