Page 65 of A Thousand Broken Pieces

“Three teams,” Travis said. Dylan swung his arm around my shoulders, towering over me. Since our talk, Dylan had seemed a little lighter. He’d confided in me more. Had told me story after story of him and Jose and their life together. Each time he finished a story, there was a new fleck of brightness to his amber eyes. It had become my goal to see them fill with life once more.

Some people you just click with. It was that way with Dylan. I looked to Cael. It was that way with him too.

He saw me watching and playfully pointed at me, then gave me a thumbs down. I couldn’t help but laugh again. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was smiling. The last time he’d smiled this hard was at the ice rink in Norway. Cael was a born sportsman. He clearly thrived in competition. He needed to play hockey again. It was more than what he played; it waswhohewas. I didn’t know how to make that happen. But it was true. Sport and the thrill of competition were his happy place.

He had become mine.

The sounds of screams and laughter grew closer as the streets outside of the hotel began to fill and people raced for the ghats. Colored powder splattered on the windows, and Dylan rubbed his hands together. “I’ve got you, Sav,” he said and kissed the top of my head.

“You better get off my girl, Dyl,” Cael warned, Massachusetts accent thick but humor lacing every word.

Dylan wagged his eyebrows. Cael laughed but then pointed at Dylan in the same way he had pointed at me. I was momentarily struck. I knew I must’ve been witnessing a glimmer of the Cael from before Cillian passed. The one who would joke with his teammates. The free Cael, one not shackled by grief.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him this way. His dark tattoos and gauges standing stark against the white of his clothes. He was tall and broad, the muscles of his arms defined through years of hockey training. I hadn’t met anyone more beautiful.

Dylan whispered in my ear, “You’re drooling, Sav.” Embarrassment immediately blazed on my cheeks, and I nudged Dylan in the side. Dylan’s laughter was light and beautiful. I nudged him in his stomach again, and he made a sound a lot more dramatic than my touch had warranted. Apparently, that was highly amusing to him too.

“Ready?” Dylan asked, when Kabir went to the door. Even Mia and Leo were with us, with their bags of colored powder too.

“Ready,” I said, gaining better purchase on my bags. My pulse was racing so fast. I didn’t know what to expect. But Kabir had told me it was a moment I would remember for a lifetime.

Walking over to me and Dylan, Cael dropped a kiss on my head and whispered “I love you, Peaches” into my ear; then the door burst open into what looked like the inside of a rainbow. Just before we stepped out, he added, “But I’m coming for you.”

I laughed as Dylan took hold of my hand and dragged me outside into the busy street. I barely made it six feet when a ball of blue hit my chest. I coughed as the powder exploded into the air before me. I turned to see who had thrown it but was quickly hit by another ball. It was pink this time. I could barely see the street for the colors—blues, greens, pinks, and purples. People had no particular target; it was like being inside of a Jackson Pollock painting.

A ball of yellow hit my side, and I saw Cael towering over the rest of the people in the street. He was already covered in a rainbow of colors, his silvereyes as bright as the powder he wore. But I realizedhehad thrown the yellow ball at me.

“Sav, get him!” Dylan shouted from beside me. I moved on instinct and, grabbing green powder from my bag, threw it back at him. Cael’s face was illuminated with happiness, and it stole my breath. My momentary pause was an advantage Cael took, and he threw purple at my arm. Then he bent down and quickly pressed a powdery kiss on my lips as if to soften the blow.

I reached into my bag, Cael backing away with his teeth gleaming in the sun, and the next few hours became a melee of color and laughter and fun. Of celebrating and experiencing a culture that had only been kind to us.

We ran through the streets, our group never straying too far from one another. Kids and adults alike threw powder and colored water at us, followed by gracious embraces. The ground became a huge piece of street art, the walls of the buildings a riot of life. And through it all, Cael remained nearby. My cheeks ached from smiling, my chest was sore from so much laughter, and my heart felt full. The constant ache of grief had momentarily slipped away, and I relished the feeling. It was freedom. It was hedonistic.

It was so incrediblyneeded.

Needing a break, I pushed myself into a small, curved-out section of a wall, just to catch my breath. My hand pressed over my racing heart, and I laughed as Dylan threw the rest of his blue powder over Lili. Her scream was deafening. Jade chased Travis through an alleyway, only for Cael to jump out and cover her head-to-toe in pink. I watched it all playing out before me like a movie. Watched Cael’s hair turn, hour by hour, from black into a multi-colored neon dream.

I was so in love with this boy that it was almost too much for my heart to contain.

Thiswas life.This, laughter and happiness, connection and play. The simplicity of this day had made me feel more alive than I had in years. And love. Loving Cael had been the single biggest blessing in my life. Allowing someone else into my heart was a happiness that I had chased away for too long.

Not anymore. I wanted to hold on to what we had with every morsel of strength. Now that I had him, I couldn’t imagine losing him.

An older man sprayed orange water at Cael. He retaliated by throwing a blue ball of powder all over his back. Laughter and hugs were shared, and I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face. As if it was a beacon to Cael, he lifted his head and searched the area for me. Just seeing how thoroughly he looked for me made my heart beat faster.

He was pummeled with water and powder as he stopped to find me, only relaxing when our eyes met over the crowd. The expression of relief, then love that shone from his handsome features almost made my heart burst.

Cael strode through the crowds, colored powder and water still hitting every part of him. When he ducked into the alcove that gave me shelter and a hiding place, he laughed. “You suit all these colors, Peaches. How’s that possible?”

I laughed too. It felt amazing. “You suit them too.” I smudged a mess of pink and red and blue on his cheek with the back of my hand.

“You okay?” he asked. Several hours had passed and the streets were slowly clearing, the city readying for the evening’s calmer celebrations.

“I’m good,” I said and held Cael’s hand. I didn’t know what had happened this morning, but the thread I felt tied us together had pulled even tighter, grown stronger. His hands ran up and down my bare arms, mixing the paint. Goose bumps spread in his wake. Butterflies invaded my stomach, and I felt breathless. There was a shift between us somehow.

“You look beautiful,” he said, and I felt those words right down to my bones.

I couldn’t stop touching him. I felt the lightness coming from him as powerful as the midday sun in Georgia. It was a glimpse of what we could have. Of what our future could be like.Us, healed and unburdened of our heavy grief. A glimpse into a future where we could laugh often and not awake in pain. Where we could remember Poppy and Cillian and not feel like we were drowning but floating instead—twin feathers drifting on calm seas.

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