Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Zoey’s family walks out, but I hear them hovering by the door, not wanting to go far as I climb right into Zoey’s bed, pulling her into my arms and holding her to me, struggling to keep myself together. She doesn’t need to see me break. I need to be strong for her. I need to give her the strength so that she can pass on with peace, knowing that I’m going to be alright.
“I’m sorry,” she cries.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Zozo.”
“I . . . I think . . . I think it’s time,” she tells me, her voice breaking.
“I know,” I say, holding her even tighter, my hands gently brushing over her skin, desperately trying to soothe her. “You’re going to be okay, Zo. I don’t want you to be scared.”
Her tears soak into my shirt, and they destroy me as the grief doubles down, constricting around my chest like a vise. “I’m terrified,” she whispers. “I’m not ready to let you go.”
“You won’t. I’m going to be right here, holding you the whole time. I’ll never let you go,” I vow to her, my voice trembling. “And then when you close your eyes and feel peace come over you, Linc will be waiting. He’ll guide you through.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I know so,” I promise her. “He’s going to watch over you until I get there, but just know that when I do, I’m going to run to you, Zo. I’m going to run so fucking fast, right back into your arms, and we’ll be together, just as we were always meant to be.”
She nods against my chest, reaching up to wipe her tears. “Not goodbye,” she whimpers. “Just see you later.”
“Exactly. It’s never goodbye.”
She takes gasping breaths, her crying making her even more uncomfortable, and I try to soothe her the best I can, but I’m breaking, feeling her beginning to slip away. She reaches back against her pillow before taking something in her hand.
She turns back to me, those fading eyes gazing up at me. “I want you to have this,” she says, taking my hand and dropping a long chain into it. Reluctantly pulling my gaze away from hers, I look down at my open palm and see the two rings that represent the short-lived marriage between us. They’re looped through the delicate chain I gifted her on her seventeenth birthday, and I instantly curl my fingers around it.
“Zoey, I—”
“Don’t,” she says. “I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t want them buried and forgotten with me. I want . . . I want you to have them. These are the most precious things I have. They represent you and me, Noah. I need you to keep them safe for me. Treasure them the same way you’ve treasured me.”
I nod, barely able to get the words out.
“I need you to be okay,” she begs me. “Promise me, you won’t fall into the darkness.”
“I promise, Zo.”
“And when you have kids,” she continues in a broken cry. “Will you tell them about me? About how much you loved me?”
My hold tightens around her slender body as I press my lips to her temple, terrified to let go. “Every day of my life,” I vow to her.
She whimpers, snuggling her face into the curve of my neck. “I . . . I love you, Noah.”
“I love you, too, Zo,” I say, hot tears welling in my eyes as I struggle to hold on. “You’re my bestest friend, right from the beginning. You’ve mesmerized me, held me captive for eighteen years, and been the other half of me. Just like you said in your vows, baby. We’re twin flames, and I promise you, no matter where you are or what happens next, I will find you. Don’t be scared, Zo. I’ve got you.”
I feel her nod against my skin, and as she starts to relax in my arms, my tears flow over.
Her parents peer back into her room, and I nod, letting them know it’s time to come back, that she doesn’t have much time left—minutes maybe.
Her mom stands at her bedside, grasping her hand, her thumb brushing back and forth over her knuckles as her father drops to his knees, his hand resting against her thigh. Hazel stands between them, tears streaming down her face. “I love you, Zo,” she croaks.
Zoey offers her a beaming smile. “I want you to fly, Hazel,” she tells her. “You can be anything you want to be. Don’t think about those silly boys who don’t deserve you, don’t settle for anyone unless you know he’d have Linc’s stamp of approval, okay?” Zoey pauses, needing to catch her breath. “Live your life like it’s the greatest adventure. Treasure every day just as much as I’ve always treasured you.”
Hazel shatters, sobbing hard as she crushes herself into her mother’s side.