Page 222 of Boys Who Taint

Euphoria straight into the brain right before death takes over.

But our plunge doesn’t come with a giant crack of the bones, doesn’t split open my skull at the bottom of the rocks.

The cold hits my lungs first, and I gasp and suck in a bucket of water, heaving to get it all out again when I finally come up for air. We’re in the water, sloshing with the waves, right next to the rocks.

I’m … I’m alive.

And my hands are still firmly wrapped around his body.

We’re alive.

He’s right here, in my arms, looking at me like he’s seeing the same ghost that haunted me all this time. And I can’t look away from those dark eyes that swept me away.

Even if I should hate him.

Even if I should get my revenge.

Even if I should let him die just like my family desires.

I don’t want to.

I can’t.

I won’t.

I refuse to give up on Levi Torres.

Because somewhere deep down, that girl who once looked at him the way he now looks at me still loves him.

Levi

She’s right herein my arms, hovering in the same ocean, staring at me with those same ocean eyes, and it feels like I’m dreaming. Like I’ve died and gone to heaven, a place I don’t deserve to be. But if she’s here, I’m right where I want to be.

Suddenly, she punches me in the chest. “Fuck you!” She punches me again and again. “Just fuck you, Levi Torres!” I let her go on because it doesn’t matter anymore. I deserve every ounce of her rage.

I was prepared to end it all for her.

I was supposed to die.

And then she saved me.

“You.”Punch. “Don’t.”Punch. “Get.”Punch. “To.”Punch. “Fucking.”Punch. “Die!”

It doesn’t hurt, no matter how many times she punches me. Her last punch is so weak that she stops trying as the tears begin to roll down her cheeks, and even when she’s crying, she’s still prettier than anything I’ve ever set my sights on. My arms instinctively wrap around her as she slowly lays her head on my chest, right where she hit me.

“I can’t … I couldn’t let you …” she murmurs.

I shush her and hold her for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

Endless waves crash into the rocks, breaking the silence.

When she’s stopped crying, she leans away, still staring at me.

“You jumped me… to save me. Why?” I ask, still in shock. “I thought you hated me.”

“I did. I …” A blush spreads on her cheeks. “But I don’t want to hate you anymore.”

All I can look at are the droplets of water running down her face, across all those gorgeous freckles that I’ve wanted to kiss for so long.

---