•Before I Let Go•

•Chapter 16•

"I think this place is a waste of Zora's gifts. She's too smart for this town."

       "Yeah, she is. Was her Dad like a genius or something? Was he a space engineer? A rocket scientist, maybe?" Cory snickered, though he was genuinely curious.

"He's a genius in his own right. Zora's a genius in a literal sense though. She's so smart... it scares people. I've never had her evaluated but, I think she may be on the spectrum."

        "I wouldn't doubt it, but there's nothing wrong with that. My manager, Colin? His son has ASD. He's not smart like Zora, but he's got some of the same traits. He's a cool little dude. He's about the only kid I'm comfortable around. I love how literal he is... about everything."

"How old is he?" Alida asked.

"He's seven. He's about as big as Zora, that's why I figured she was about seven."

"What's his name?"

"Zeke. It's funny—Zeke and Zora. Kinda surreal, right? You both got exceptional kids with weird names." Cory's wide smile faded under the weight of Alida's gaze. His chest tightened with warmth—the sensation welcome. She was pretty, and looking at him with such intensity he felt like crumbling. "How do you think Zora would feel if I asked you out on a date? Do you think she'd be okay with that?" 

        Alida's eyes widened. "What?"

"You know, a date? Like, if I took you out for dinner... without her?"

        Alida grinned bashfully. "It depends. Are you gonna disappear again?"

Cory's face fell remembering the reason he had shown up on her doorstep again. It was in fact, to give himself permission to disappear.

       "I have to tell you something," Cory said, "I have to tell you the actual reason I came here."

         Alida stood from the bucket, crossing her arms as if to shield Cory away from her heart.

She knew it—she knew there was another reason; but she had stupidly let him back in again. She kicked at the tub of plaster, waiting for Cory to break her heart. His eyes followed her every move, wondering what he had said that made her demeanor change so drastically,

        "What's the real reason?"

"I was... I was gonna kill myself. The plan was to tell you the truth and to tell you that I still love you... before I did it."

        Cory was shocked to see Alida kneeling in front of him, her hands on his knees as she looked up at him from the drywall dusted floor. He swallowed hard, placing his hands over hers as she looked to him in horrified concern.

        "Do you still want to hurt yourself?" Alida spoke softly, her voice verging near a whisper. Cory shook his head, "Cory—look at me, are you still gonna hurt yourself?"

"No. I- I don't know. I just wanted to tell you the truth before I did it. I left a note, but I didn't want the press at your door over it. I didn't want you involved in another one of my problems. So I came here to tell you in person, so that way-"

"Cory, listen to me, okay? You can't do that. Please—look at me and tell me you're not gonna hurt yourself. You can't do that to me—to Zora."

"I won't."

"I'm serious, Cory."

"I'm not gonna do it. Seeing you again... I can't do it."

"If you did something like that, I'd never forgive you, do you understand? If you did something like that... Aidan's death would be in vain."

        Cory nodded, though he had honestly never thought of it that way. "I came back here about a year ago. I saw you... you were walking up the street. I started to tell you everything—how much I regretted leaving you here. But you looked so happy," Cory was pulling Alida up from the floor, pulling her to a stand between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her small waist, closing his eyes while she ran her fingers through his dark hair. "I didn't wanna take that away from you. So I've been on a road of self destruction ever since."

        "Promise me that you won't do it. If you even think about doing that- "

"All I can think about is being with you, and making up for the time I lost with you." Cory opened his eyes, letting the shame envelope him within Alida's embrace.

Alida kissed his forehead, holding his face in her hands. "Promise you won't leave."

"I promise."

Alida planted her lips to Cory's, the taste of salt on his mouth as she devoured his kiss.

He pulled her into his lap, his hands roaming the curvature of her hips down the sides of her thighs as she straddled his waist. Trailing kisses from her jaw down the length of her neck, Cory became lost—her body melting into his. Time had become still as everything else in the world faded away.

        Cory's lips stopped moving, but Alida's carried on, kissing the side of his face. "Wait, what time is it?" He asked.

"I don't know," Alida mumbled against Cory's cheek.

"I think we gotta pick up Zora."

"Oh shit." Alida jumped off of Cory's lap, rushing to find her car keys.

       Laughing, Cory grabbed a hold of Alida's hand. "So you'll let me take you on a date? If Zora's okay with it, of course."

Alida nodded, biting her lip to keep from smiling too wide. It was like they were kids again—the spark in her belly ignited a wildfire that let loose throughout her body.

         Alida's heart sank, trying to reel back those intense feelings. Looking into his eyes, she wondered how Cory would handle knowing Zora was his daughter. She knew that she would have to tell him soon.