Page 121 of Time to Bounce

My mind spun.

The moment I met her, she looked up and her eyes met mine, and I felt something inside my chest shift. Something that clicked into place, as if just seeing her was exactly what I needed to know that she would be there for the rest of my life.

“I love your sister,” I said, looking over at the man still standing there, waiting.

“You love her, but you’ll leave her behind?” he asked.

I closed my eyes as I imagined her face.

The way she looked when I told her I loved her.

The way she parted her hair.

The way she filled out a pair of jeans.

The sundresses that drove me wild.

The way she slept with one leg hiked way up to her chest, partially on her chest, and partially on her side.

“I don’t want to leave her,” I disagreed. “I…” I trailed off. “What’s that?”

“That’s the end, buddy,” he said. “Welcome home.”

My heart panicked inside of my chest.

“Will she be there?” I gasped.

He shrugged. “Eventually. Time passes weird here. It feels like I just left Athena yesterday, but when I look back, years have passed.”

I didn’t like that.

“She is by herself,” I commented. “I don’t want her to be by herself.”

His eyes gleamed. “Then don’t let her.”

I wouldn’t.

I wouldn’t let her be alone.

Only, that white light… it felt freeing.

It felt like there would be no problems there.

It felt like…

Athena’s laugh. I loved that laugh.

The first time she’d laughed across a table from me, I’d felt like she’d yanked and snatched my heart right out of my chest. I’d remember that laugh forever. She was so beautiful. Her eyes had sparkled, and her mouth was wide open, and her jaw line was sharp.

“Time to go,” Gavrel said.

I opened my eyes and the white light was closer.

A white so pure that it beckoned me in.

There was no pain there. No gangs or drunk people. No kids starving, or women being beaten by abusive husbands. Only peace.

I wanted peace.

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