Page 66 of Diverge

“All I’ve ever wanted to do is to protect you from all this pain, the helplessness you feel right now in your chest. I felt that when I was first diagnosed. I don’t want that to consume you. You have far too much talent to waste it away mourning someone whose fate is already written.”

I wrap my arms around him, letting the tears fall as he hugs me into him. “I’m scared, Finn. I don’t want to lose you twice.”

“I know, B.” He caresses my hair as he kisses my temple. “But I want you to know, I’m not scared at all, not of dying, because this won’t be our final goodbye.”

We spend the rest of the day out in the sunshine, reading, talking, and writing. Finn writes something on his laptop, and as I try to sneak a peek, he throws me a disapproving look.

I spend the rest of the afternoon building my business, writing to different companies, and setting up meetings with them. I made Finn a promise, so I need to follow through. We all gather around the dinner table in the evening, joking and laughing as Mr. Mackenzie shares stories about their time in France together. Riley joins us just before we have dessert.

“How was the flight, Riles?” Grace asks as she hands him a small pot of crème brulée.

“Rough. I get why people choose to stay a day or two at their layover destinations,” he jests as we all chuckle.

“It’s quite long, isn’t it?” Mrs. Mackenzie says with empathy in her voice. “Well, dear, make yourself at home.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Mackenzie.” Riley nods and takes a seat next to me at the large table. He gently places his hand on mine and gives me a sympathetic look.

We spend the rest of the night huddled together in the family room watching feel-good Christmas movies, like when we were kids, even though it’s not Christmas.

We had a tradition where we would have to do a dare every time someone cries but over the years as we got older, we changed the dare to shots.

Nothing felt better than being surrounded by my second family, in the arms of my first love. As the clock ticks closer to midnight, almost everyone retires back to their rooms. I glance over to Finn, his eyes closed, softly snoring. I gently wake him, then help him upstairs into his bedroom and slide underneath the covers of his bed.

“Good night, Billie...” he whispers as he struggles to keep his eyes open. “I love you.”

My heart pinches as I watch him give into sleep. “I love you, too,” I whisper back, pushing the short strands of his hair off his face, and close my eyes.

I feel a cool breeze on the nape of my neck as I rouse from sleep. Turning, I see Finn sitting by the large French doors outside on the balcony with his laptop resting on his knees, typing away. He notices me sitting up and smiles that familiar boyish smile I love so much.

“Go back to sleep. I’m almost finished.”

I lay back down and let sleep take me into its familiar hold once more.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Billie

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