forget me || sokeefe

chapter 49

tw : slight mention of suicide

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The night seemed to have gotten away from them.

Curled up with a blanket underneath the panakes tree, Sophie and Keefe watched in slight amusement as the sun began to peak over the horizon.

"Guess we forgot to go inside, huh, Foster?" Keefe asked, his voice softer than the light sound of the panakes leaves bristling together.

"Guess we did." Was Sophie's breathy reply. "You upset about it?"

"Nah," Keefe laid his head down on her's. "I got to spend a whole night out here with you."

"It's peaceful out here."

"Yeah," A huff of warm breath came from his mouth, mingling with the early morning air and then dissipating. "Havenfield is beautiful."

Sophie snuggled a bit further into Keefe's side, "Can we stay here forever?"

"I'm not sure about forever," He looked down at Sophie's face and a smile bloomed across his own. "But maybe for just a while longer."

Pulling their blanket up higher around her, he kissed the top of her head.

Silence engulfed them again, broken only by the wind rustling the panakes tree and their own breaths.

The silence wasn't choking or suffocating, it simply held them. And the world surrounding them was at a stand still, allowing them this. This moment of peace and clarity before things became complicated again.

"Keefe?" Sophie asked softly, watching how the reflected light in the blue of his eyes shifted as he looked down at her.

The corners of his lips turned up just a bit more as he looked at down at her. Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, he said, "What's on your mind, beautiful?"

Pulling the blanket a bit higher against her, he pressed his lips to her forehead.

Sophie smiled, a shaky breath falling from her lips. "I'm just . . . I need you to promise me something."

He frowned softly, "What is it?"

"Just in case my mind . . . shatters someday-"

"It won't." Keefe cut in, "I won't let it."

"Just in case," Sophie whispered, the pained look on Keefe's face made her chest tighten. "Promise me you'll be there for my family and our friends if I can't, you know, be there." A tear traced it's way down her face.

Keefe bit his lip as Sophie continued. "And . . . I want you to promise me one more thing." She looked down, steeling herself before looking back into those blue eyes. "I want you to promise me that you won't forget me."

Keefe brushed it away, his hand trailed down her face to cup her cheek. "Don't talk like that. . ." her skin felt just a little feverish. His other hand reached down between them to grasp her's. "You will get better. You will beat this and then come back to us, to me." He ran his thumb over the backside of her hand. "And then it's you and me forever, Foster."

Sophie's lips parted, tears filling her eyes as Keefe whispered, "And just for the record, I would never forget you. How could I ever forget the woman I love?"

Sophie let out a soft sob as she turned so she would face Keefe, wrapping her arms around his waist to secure herself in his arms.

"How can you say that? How do you know that we can beat the Neverseen? What makes you think that I'm strong enough to save myself?" A couple more tears slipped from her eyes.