Page 18 of Villainous Fate

“Not sure you have enough time for me to go down that list, but I mean it. You have a life here waiting for you to come home in one piece. Let someone else be the hero. You keep your head down and come back to me.” I order.

“Yes, ma’am. I promise.” He kisses my forehead, and my eyes fall closed, soaking in this final moment. I sigh, releasing my fear, and look back at him.

“I love you, Deacon Marlo. I’m proud of you and know you will crush this retreat. Everything here will be fine,” I say, infusing the words with every drop of confidence I can find.

“I love you too, Tails,” he responds, tugging at my pigtail before letting me go. He pulls his bag back over his shoulder, allowing it to hang easily on one side of his body.

I feel the absence of his warmth immediately, and my heart aches.

It's only a few months.

Footsteps approaching behind me let us know that our time is up, so I spend those moments memorizing him. The strength of his shoulders, the line of his jaw, the lift in his eyebrow. Every tiny detail I can log as he loads his bag in the back of the white truck. He pauses at the passenger door, turning to look back at me again.

“Don’t you lose that right hook. I expect to see a bunch of black eyes when I return.”

My heart leaps, and I giggle, rolling my eyes. With a final wink, he climbs into the truck, and he’s gone.

I stare at the road long after the taillights fade, without concern for the dropping temperature. The cold barely registers against the emptiness I feel now that I’m alone.

I’m really all on my own.

Fear builds in me, and a single tear finally escapes.

I can do this.

He’s doing this for us; I can be strong for him.

My eyes fall to the folded paper still clutched in my hand, and I can’t help but open it, reading it right here in the parking lot.

Tails,

Did I even make it out of the parking lot yet? Knowing you, probably not. It makes me happy to see any time away from me is too much. Do me a favor and try to have some fun while I’m gone. Not too much, but enough that the time flies, and I’m back home before you know it.

I love you. Never doubt that.

XX

D.

P.S. - Look in the tree house. I left you some money to splurge at the bookstore. What was it you said that day at lunch? “I’m never alone. As long as I have a book, I’m always with friends,” Hoping you find some friends while I’m away. X

Chapter 11

Part 2

Song List

Unstoppable - The Score

Pompeii - Bastille

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