The Concession

Chapter Twenty Nine

She sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Whew, I'm rambling now, I must be very tired."

"We should go—"

She was about to stand up but a hand held her back.

"Hope," He saw her eyes widen.

"Ditto." He whispered.

For the first time in a long time, her heart raced and she couldn't figure out why.

"Come on, it's getting cold." He stood up helped her up and she still had that dazed look in her eyes.

He took her home in his car. The drive was quiet, almost as though none had anything to say but Hope's mind was a jumbled mess.

She held a hand over her heart.

Seth was stoic but he was anything but inside.

His heart was beating fast against his chest, such that he was hyper-aware of everything around him; every rustle of leaves as they drove past, every sharp inhale of breath, every gust of the wind.

He knew what he was feeling, what he'd been feeling. Unconsciously his hands tightened around the steering wheel.

He didn't want to admit it to himself

"How long do you think we have left?"

It was a whisper, it caught him off guard but he quickly recovered.

He turned to look at her and he felt his heart skip a beat again.

He looked away.

"About seven years give or take."

"Things are happening so fast, it's a lot more awful than we'd all thought. So many deaths..."

"It's inevitable."

"I wish it wasn't."

"Those three are coming. It ends with them." Hope's hands tightened around herself.

"We're not nearly enough,"

She felt his hand on hers. She looked up at him.

"We're more than enough."

He parked in front of her apartment building.

They both got down and Seth walked her up to her door.

"Today was...nice." She said turning to him.

Seth smiled. Hope noticed his eyes glimmered more when light reflected off them; they looked nearly hazel now.

"Sleep well, Hope." She closed her eyes when he kissed her goodbye.

It was a soft kiss to the cheek but it warmed her heart.

For some reason, she didn't want him to leave.

"I'm sorry but I can't stay Hope." Electricity flickered through her chest.

"I-I know. I'm sorry for even thinking about it."

She blushed.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled at her one last time before turning around and heading to his car.

He unlocked the door and got in.

He looked at her one last time and pulled out of the parking space.

The clouds darkened and before long, the rain started falling from the sky.

Pit-pat.

Pit-pat.