Page 69 of Shattered

I don’t want to talk. I just want to feel his lips against mine. I don’t care why he lied. All I care about is somewhere along the way, I fell in love with him.

I nod and he grabs my hand, leading me towards the hotel that is next to the airport. He doesn’t stop or talk until he lets us into the room he had already rented for the night. He must have gotten a ticket on the same plane as me.

I let my bag slide from my shoulder onto the floor as I walk to sit on the foot of the bed.

I want to tell him everything that’s been running through my head since I left him only a few hours ago, but I want to hear what he has to say.

When my eyes land on him. He’s holding out a red, spiral-top notebook. “What’s that?” I ask him.

He takes a step closer, holding out the notebook. I take it and open the cover, revealing Katie’s handwriting. A shock jolts through me, burning a trail right to my heart.

She made him a list too.

“What is this?” I know, but I want him to say it.

“It’s my list.”

I look up at him briefly. “Katie made this for you?”

He nods slowly, eyes downcast.

I read over the first page. “Kiss a girl on the dance floor?” I quirk an eyebrow at him.

“That girl was you,” he says as he moves to my side, taking the place next to me. “After her funeral, I needed to forget for a little while. I went to that bar intending on getting hammered so I could sleep, but then I saw you on that dance floor and it was like she was giving me a sign. I knew I had to do this list.”

“Help someone who’s grieving?”

He nods once. “That was also you.”

“Meet me on the beach?” I look over at him suddenly realizing. “When did she make this list?”

His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. “Two days before her crash.”

“That is the day she wanted me to go with her to meet you.”

He nods. “I had been hearing about you since the first time I met her. I was practically in love with you before we met.”

My eyes fall back to his list. “Meet me on the beach.” This is on my list too.

“I think she was trying to set us up. She told me that she was trying to trick you into going to Miami with her. It wasn’t until I saw your list that I put two and two together. Since we couldn’t meet that day, she was going to trick us into meeting in Miami.”

My heart begins hurting all over again as I look at his list. Kiss a girl on the dance floor, did she set all this up? Was she hoping I would just happen to go to the same club to dance in public and we would meet?

“Did you go there looking for me?” I finally allow myself to look up at him.

“Not exactly. I mean, after you kissed me and walked away, I knew I had to find you again. I had no idea I’d run into you that night, but I’m glad I did.” He moves to his knees on the floor in front of me. “Don’t you see, Jovi? Katie wanted this. She knew we were meant to be together.”

Part of me wanted to give in, to believe him, but then I remembered why I was hurting. “But all of this is built on lies. Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

His hands land on my cheeks softly, forcing me to look at him, to see all the love and pain he holds within himself. “I couldn’t. I knew if I told you she was my sister, that would cause you to run. I wanted you to see me for me, not just Katie’s brother. I didn’t want you to feel more pain from looking at me, I wanted to take that away from you. I wanted you to be free, not held back. I wanted you to let your guard down. And you did. You did all of those things. You checked everything off your list.”

“There is still one thing on my list,” I whisper.

Lines appear on his forehead as his hands fall from my face. “There is?”

I nod as I lean over and pull the list from my bag. I flip to the first page and show him.

“Fall in love,” he reads before he slumps back, looking defeated. His eyes fall to the floor as his jaw tics.

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