Page 111 of The Otherworld

“I’m sorry if I’ve caused trouble between you and your brother,” she says, quiet and solemn.

I shake my head. “You haven’t.”

Orca looks at me the way she did the day I left her, so pure and sweet and hopeful. The silent tension between us is like an extra law of physics, some force of attraction beyond our control. She bends to its will before I do, reaching out to touch my hand.

I pull away.

It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I can’t let her touch me. I can’t let this continue.

Orca’s hand retreats to her side, her voice returning timidly. “Aren’t you glad to see me?”

The hurt in her eyes makes me want to kick myself.

“Of course I am, but—”

“I found your letter. The one you left for me in your journal.”

My mind drifts back to the day I wrote it—the day I left the island. I thought it would be the final word. The last goodbye. The half of my soul I left behind.

“I cherish it,” Orca says, her voice a thread about to break, her eyes glossing with tears. “And I wanted to tell you that… I feel the same way about you. I want to spend every day, every hour, every minute with you.”

“Orca—”

“I love you, Adam Stevenson.” Her lips tremble as a single tear escapes, leaving a shimmer of wet moonlight on her cheek. “Have you stopped loving me?”

Those words pierce my armor and stab right through to my heart. “No, Orca. I could never stop loving you. But it’s not as simple as that.”

“Why not?” She steps closer, taking my hand. Her skin feels like silk on my calloused palms, so warm and innocent. “It was that simple at the lighthouse. Nothing has changed.”

God, how many times have I imagined this moment, waking and dreaming? How often have I caught myself wishing I could see her again, hold her again, kiss her again?

She wants me to kiss her. I can tell by the way she looks at me, her soft gaze roaming over my face, her fingers tracing my knuckles. The magnetism builds between us like electricity, reaching for me, reaching for her—

I close my eyes, smothering the fire inside me. “I think I should fly you back home tomorrow.”

Orca’s hopeful expression melts into shock. “What?”

“You need to make things right with your father. You’ll always regret it if you don’t.”

“No, Adam. I’m not going back. I’ve already made my decision.”

“In haste. In anger. Jack told me what happened, and I understand how you must be feeling right now. But don’t you see? Your father was only afraid of losing you. That’s why he was so upset—”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Orca snaps, pulling her hand away from mine. “Papa and I were at odds for days, long before Jack showed up. We had a fight the night you left the island.” She shakes her head, eyes dimming with sadness at the memory. “He wasn’t cruel. He just… he was so angry. When I told him that I loved you, he accused you of all sorts of horrible things, and he forbade me from ever seeing you again. He will never change his mind—about the Otherworld, about you, about me… And I’m afraid of going back. I’m afraid if my world shrinks that small again, I won’t be able to breathe.” Orca looks up at me through cresting tears. “I can’t go back to that same empty existence. I love Papa, but I can’t love only him.”

“Orca, I understand how hard it must be—”

“No, you don’t!” she bursts out. “How could you understand? You have a mother. And she’s…” Her voice cracks, wobbling and weak. “She’s wonderful. Your family is whole and together and wonderful. For so long, I wondered what that must be like.” She glances back towards the house, at its open windows glowing in the dark, the still night air carrying the voices of my mother and father and brother talking at the dinner table.

“That?” I point at the house. “That is what you’re throwing away right now, and you don’t even see it.”

She backsteps, shaking her head stubbornly.

“No, listen to me, Orca. Your father loves you. You’re his whole world. And you might be upset at him right now, but I know how you really feel about him, deep down. You can’t let this drive a wedge between you.”

“It’s already driven a wedge between us.”

“Then it’s even more important for you to make things right with him now.”

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