For Forever (A FirstPrince Story)

June

12:01 am

June Claremont-Diaz wasn't going to get a call from Deathcast today because she's not dying. Deathcast typically called Deckers between twelve am and two am. They had people working all over the world to account for time differences.

June stared down at her brother, who's eyes were locked on his phone. A number didn't appear with the contact. There wasn't a contact photo either. It just said Deathcast. June couldn't read his facial expression. "Answer the phone," June said. Alex hit the answer button. He put his phone on speaker.

"Hello?" Alex asked.

"Hey," the woman on the other end said. "Is is Alex Claremont-Diaz?"

June was internally freaking out, something she assumed her brother was doing also. "Yes," Alex said. His voice had little emotion in it, but June saw past it. She knew her brother too well.

"I call as I regret to inform you that, within the next twenty-four hours, you'll die," the woman explained. It was as if the world had stopped. It had certainly stopped for the Claremont-Diaz siblings. June instinctively reached out for Alex's hand, and he took it.

"I can't tell you when or how you'll die," the woman continued. "You may also visit our website to start planning your funeral. Again, I'm incredibly sorry for the loss of you."

The call ended a few seconds later. "Alex, I'm so sorry," June said. She had tears forming in her eyes. Without a response, Alex climbed out of his bed. He walked towards his closest. "Alex?"

"I have to tell Henry before word gets out," Alex answered. "He's in Silver Springs."

"Don't you think you should call him instead?" June asked. "I don't think the roads are the safest place for you right now."

"I can't just tell him over the phone," Alex said. "I should tell him before someone else does."

There was an official list of all the people dying that day on the Deathcast website. However, public figure deckers were excluded from that list unless given explicit consent. It was to stop people from getting any murderous ideas. "I'm going to his hotel," Alex declared.

June knew there was no way to talk her brother out of it. She didn't think the entire secret service could stop him. "Okay," June said. "I'll drive you."

12:25 am

Rain pattered against the roof of June's car. The road was relatively empty. The only sound came from the rain, and the radio. "You know what we should do?" June asked. "We should call dad. Let him know because he's going to want to catch a last minute flight."

"No need for him to fly down," Alex said. "I've thought about what I've wanted to do for my last day. I'm going to say my goodbyes, then go somewhere and be alone."

"You wanna be alone on your last day?" June asked.

"It's less about what I want," Alex explained. "I have no health conditions. However I go, it's not going to be pretty. I don't want to force anybody to watch that. When it hits midnight tomorrow, send the cops to my location. It's better this way."

There was a beat of silence. "We should definitely call him, though," Alex said. June only nodded. She hated the silence. The silence made her think about where she'd be this time tomorrow. Tomorrow, she'd be in grief. Though, in a way, she felt as if she was already grieving. She was barely keeping it together. How was Alex?

A car swerved into their lane. June instinctively placed an arm in front of her brother. However, impact never happened. The car got back into its lane. "Asshole," June muttered. "Hey! There's a decker in this car!"

The two siblings sighed in relief. There was the silence June hated so much again.

After a moment, Alex spoke up again, "should we call dad?"

"When we're back in the car," June said. "We're here."

They stared at the hotel Henry was staying at. He was staying there for a conference. It was the first time June saw Alex get emotional about his impending doom. June rubbed his arm. "Do you need a minute?" June asked.

"I don't have a minute," Alex said. "Let's go."