BLEAK

Nightingale

Chapter Twenty-Four

"It was sweet of you to think that he might want something more than just a round in the sheets." I said.

Gunner choked on his apple and fought to control his laughter as he wiped his mouth. He dressed in a pair of gray slacks, the pant legs rolled up to his shins. His plain white t-shirt stretched over his torso and the sun light on this fine afternoon was much like all my other dreams. Soothing and welcoming.

His eyes were much more softer, they had been slowly changing color from the electric blue he often had to a beautiful calming hue. His hair was growing past his ears, the dirty blonde in it shimmering in the sunlight. We sat by the edge of a dock, looking out to the large heap of white clouds providing some shade from the sun. The large lake before us was still, so still not even a ripple could be seen. I laid on my side, on top of a black picnic blanket.

Dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt as well I relaxed and enjoyed my time next to him. There wasn't anywhere in the real world I'd like to be than here. There wasn't any work to deal with, bills, and most of all messy dates.

"You have to give one of them a chance, Mindy. Keep in mind that they are lonely as well and are looking to connect." He advised.

"Sometimes I wish I could fall asleep and never wake up." I muttered.

I could feel him grow still next to me. My eyes opened to find him sitting up, his arms resting over his knees as he looked out to the water. "That's not good." He replied, in a stiff tone.

I sat up and stared at him a bit confused. "Is there something wrong?" I asked, feeling my heart accelerate. Then it hit me as I stared at Gunner glare straight ahead. Mariel had been right, I was growing attached to Gunner. I felt my heart break as I lowered my head and finally stood from my comfortable position.

I felt my body tingling all over as I took a deep breath and held it. I was growing attached to Gunner and he saw it as a terrible idea because it meant that I would intervene in his unfinished business.

"I'm sorry, I take it back." I whispered, I felt my eyes grow heavy with sleep, which only meant I was waking just as he stood to face me. His features were that of a broken soul as he lowered his head. His lips uttered something that could only be described as an apology as he faded away.

"I told you so." Mariel said, as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

I pushed out of bed and sat there for over an hour, trying to rearrange my thoughts. It didn't matter how I tried to view it, it was plain and simple to see that my feelings for him had suddenly taken a sharp turn.

"No, no, this isn't possible. It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" I hissed as I swatted my pillow.

"There is no point in beating around the bush, why fight it?" Mariel pressed.

"Because he is dead! What good does that do me?" I asked.

"Maybe this is the way it was supposed to happen." She said.

"No, I refuse to believe that this is how I finally forgive and accept my mate!" I snapped.

"Mindy, you cannot tell him, no matter how badly you want to, you can't. He won't be able to cross over if you do. He'll be stuck there until you join him." Mariel insisted.

"Shit!"

I pushed out of bed and paced back and forth, unable to find a peace of mind as I watched the sun slowly rising. If I fell back to sleep I knew where I was going and I couldn't afford to be in Gunner's presence at the moment. It was the weekend and I had been given the day off. I had been looking forward to sleeping all day just to join Gunner in a conversation that would take me away from the real world.