Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter 3 First Kisses

When it's time to say our goodbyes, I can't let go of Levy to be in a different room than him, so they put us in the same room. I sit next to him on a couch and they let our families in. Levy doesn't have any siblings, so it's just his parents.

The sight of my family rips a hole in my heart that hurts so much. The tears that have been streaming steadily down my face now pour out like a pair of twin waterfalls. My sister hugs me so tight I can barely breathe but I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. Any pain other than that from my heart is welcome. Levy and I are forced apart by our families. I see tears on everyone's faces. They are saying words I understand and I am saying words back.

"Please, please try to come back," Lydia says between sobs.

"Yeah please try. You can do it. Please," Royal says.

I tell them I'll try. I will try so hard, but what I don't tell them is that it probably won't happen. I know there is someone out there who can kill me, who will kill me. Or maybe it will be the starvation, or dehydration, or the elements.

Whether one way or another, I will die.

Every memory I have with them flashes through my mind in a second.

Lydia and I stay up until midnight watching YouTube or some anime on my phone, cuddled together on my bed.

Royal and I play with legos scattered all across the floor in his room.

Lydia and I fight because she just doesn't understand and then she storms away, angry. I shouldn't have let that happen. I should have just let her win so we could have spent so much more time together.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," I say, over and over and over.

If I had known I was going to die so soon I would have stayed up every night and done something to fill my too-short life. I would have gone skydiving. I would have hugged everyone I could. I would have had Levy kiss me so we could have our first kiss and I would kiss him so much to make up for the marriage we will never have. I would have had kids and loved them.

I would have done so much, had I known.

But it is too late now.

I am going to die.

Their time is up and I am hugging and kissing everyone goodbye. This will be the last time I will ever see them.

Ever ever ever ever ever.

My dad looks Levy in the eyes and says, "Bring her back, please."

"That's the plan," he responds.

And my dad backs out of the door. When it closes I wish I had given them all one more hug, one more 'I love you'. But it wouldn't have been enough. Nothing would have.

For some reason, the tears stop. I don't want them back so I try to look ahead.

Ahead of Levy and I are, according to the book, interviews, parades, training, and more.

Christina comes in next. So does Levy's best friend, Garret. She cries and hugs me and asks me to come back and I say I'll try as hard as I can. She tells Levy to bring me back like he promised. I tell her I love her and she says she loves me too. All too soon, the time is up again and we are ripped apart and separated by the door.

Forever.

The woman who called the names will be our escort to Washington D. C. We're driven to an airport and hustled onto a plane. It isn't the normal kind of plane, this one is more like a private jet.

As it takes off, I stare out the window and watch my only home disappear as I fly to my death.

***