Destiny (Vanish Book Four)

by Daise, Sonny

  He sat there staring into my eyes without a word, but I couldn’t look back, not into his eyes. Instead, I focused on his soft, perfect lips. He grabbed my chin and tilted my head up so that I was looking right into his eyes, right through his soul it seemed. There was pain there, it was evident. He could see right through me. My face fell. He knew something was up, and if he asked, I had no choice but to tell him.

  He moved his fingers from my chin and rested his palm on my cheek. I closed my eyes, but before the tears could come, his lips were parting against mine. It was like that one small piece awakened, now led the path for Dante to bring the rest of me to life. He pulled me closer to him, over the console and into the passenger seat with him. I knew whatever I felt for Skylar in that one moment, in that one place inside of me, didn’t compare to what I feel for Dante. I ached for him, and he was sitting right here. I felt two tears escape down my cheek. He must have felt their presence, because he pulled away and looked at me in the dull light the moon cast.

  Without a word, he wiped the tears away and pulled me closer, letting my head fall on his shoulder. He held on to me tight, as if I was slipping away, and he had to stop it. I looked back up to his face grateful that he wasn’t asking, but I knew I had to tell him.

  “I was with Skylar,” I choked. He looked at me with something I could only classify as understanding. He didn’t speak he just sat there, giving me all of his attention. “He—he kissed me.”

  “Is there anything else? He didn’t tell you anything, did he?”

  “Wha—” was all I could manage to say. “You’re not mad?”

  “No, I can’t be, but he didn’t try to tell you things… about me, right?”

  “No, no. So… we’re okay?”

  “Of course.” The understanding was still there, but there was also a hint of something else—guilt.

  “If you have something you want to get off your mind….”

  “There is one thing. Something I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, something I need you to know. It’s the reason I did everything I did in the future. It’s the reason for everything I do now. And I’m hoping it’s all that matters,” he said as he grabbed both of my hands. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, but I have a feeling there’s something else you want to say.”

  “I’m an awful person,” he said in a barely audible whisper. I almost didn’t catch it, even though our faces were only inches apart. “I was an awful person. It’s not really a secret that I’ve kept, not in this world, but in another. It’s a memory I feel bad for, and I couldn’t tell you, I just couldn’t.”

  “Tell me now,” I whispered. “I’m sure it’s nothing; get it off of your chest.”

  “I can feel everything I felt in my dreams of the past, the pain, the sadness—the desperation. I need you to know that I pretended to be Skylar to help you find Grace. To help you regain your innocence, but I had another reason. It was written in the stars since before you were born: Scarlett and Skylar. He would’ve tried to help you find Grace; I believe that, he is not as bad of a guy as he seems. You would have also fallen head-over-heels in love.”

  “So, you tricked me because you wanted to me fall in love with you?”

  “Yes,” he sighed.

  “I told you a million times when you were pretending to be Skylar how in love I was with you,” I said. “And how did you know that I was meant to be with Skylar?”

  “Come up to my room with me.”

  When we got up to his room, I sat down on the bed, and he kneeled on the floor reaching for something hidden under his bed. He pulled out a book—the book he’d found at Grace’s.

  “You took this?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he mumbled as he turned the pages. “I found this book in the past, too, although it had a much different owner: Ann. I found it one day as I was leaving your house. I felt bad for taking it, but I was happy that I did. Aha.”

  He turned the book toward me. There were two completely different pages open, each with a couple in love. The first page, showed a beautiful brunette with a dark-haired guy with haunting blue eyes. Then, it explained the reasons they had to be together, and how it would change the world. The next picture was of me and—at first glance, it could have been Dante, but then I looked closer, green eyes, ashy dark-blonde hair. I didn’t read the bottom; I couldn’t. I didn’t want to know how the world would—or wouldn’t—change because of our ‘love.’ I pushed the book away.

  “I don’t care. You didn’t trick me into anything—aside from thinking you were Skylar, but I don’t care. I don’t want to know what that stupid book says. Maybe it would be better for the world if I was with Skylar, but it wouldn’t be better for me.”

  “Thank you for understanding,” he said.

  “No, thank you,” I smiled. “Did you—did you read what it says?”

  “No,” he said. “I could never bring myself to read that part.”

  Chapter 8: Heartbreak

  I lay back on the bed, looking up at his face as he looked down at mine. He smiled and closed his eyes, while he slowly inched his lips toward mine. It was like torture, waiting and waiting, until finally, his lips were one with mine, and he was lying beside me.

  Before I could tell that any time had passed, the sun was peeking in through the window. I looked over at Dante and smiled. It was beautiful; I didn’t have to second guess my feelings for him, never. Unfortunately, that piece inside of me was growing stronger, it was starting to sink deep inside me, and I had to think about the feelings that came with it.

  I didn’t understand what could be so important that two people would be pushed together for that one purpose. I couldn’t look at the book; I couldn’t know why I needed to be with Skylar, because then, when I wasn’t, I would know exactly what the consequences were, and that I couldn’t handle.

  I knew what I wanted, who I needed, and I knew the only person who could make me feel complete. No one could take Dante’s place; these were feelings developed over years of friendship, and a one-year romance. The feelings for Skylar seemed to appear seconds after our kiss, but that didn’t mean they would be so easy to get rid of.

  “Do you want to go to the movies?” Dante asked.

  “Sure,” I said, still wrapped up in thoughts that would break his heart.

  As we pulled up to the theater, I noticed Skylar’s car was still parked across the street at the park. I got out of the car without moving my eyes away. I looked a little further, and I saw Skylar still sitting at the bench. I couldn’t rip my eyes away from him; I couldn’t see him clearly, but I still couldn’t stop staring.

  “So what do you want to see?” Dante asked as he walked over to me.

  He waved his hand in front of my face when I didn’t respond. His hand partially obstructed my view, but it didn’t matter; I still couldn’t look away.

  Dante came closer to me, and stood, looking in the same direction that I was. He sighed, “I think I forgot something in the car.” He went and sat down. I looked for a moment, but it didn’t seem as if he was looking for anything.

  When my eyes turned back to Skylar, he was standing in front of his car about twenty feet closer, staring back. He curled his lips up into a smile, but that didn’t hide the fact that he looked miserable. He had circles under his eyes. He walked closer in my direction. Oh god, he was coming over to see me.

  As he got closer, it was pretty evident he had been crying. His eyes were glassy, red, and swollen, and as he got closer, I could see that his lips quivered through his smile.

  “Hey,” he said as he came over.

  “Hi,” I said in the calmest voice I could muster. It seemed as though that tiny part of me had a pulse of its own, and it throbbed and ached. It hurt me to see him like this, a guy I didn’t even like less than twenty-four hours ago.

  “Hello,” Dante said as he got out of the car. Skylar nodded in his direction. “Are you ready to go Scarlett?” Dante asked.

  I couldn’t take my eyes
away from Skylar, away from his even-brighter green, tortured eyes. I tried; I tried with all of my might to answer Dante, to look in his direction. I wanted nothing more than that, but I was no longer able to control myself. It was like I was paralyzed.

  “I’ll see you guys around,” Skylar said as he turned around and walked away. When I finally looked over to Dante, I saw almost the same exact look in his eyes, as I saw in Skylar’s.

  “I—I’m so sorry. I don’t know why—”

  “Don’t worry about it. You can’t help it; I know that.”

  “What does this mean? For us, I mean.”

  “Scarlett, I honestly don’t know.” His voice took on a harsh edge that cut through me like a knife.

  I didn’t ask for this; I didn’t want this. I wanted everything to go back to the way it was yesterday before I met with Skylar. How could one kiss change you this much?

  “Dante, please. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not really in the mood to watch a movie anymore. Do you mind if I just take you home?”

  He pulled up to the house. He didn’t say a word, he just waited for me to get out. I looked over at him, waiting for him to say something, do something—anything.

  “I need you to know that I’m not angry,” he said, his eyes never leaving the windshield. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t do this.”

  “But last night—”

  “Last night I was fooling myself. Last night I didn’t know the extent of this.”

  “The extent of what?”

  “The extent of your love, the extent of this—this curse.”

  “Please don’t do this, I love you.”

  “I love you, too, but it doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter, don’t say that,” I argued.

  “Get out.”

  “Dante,” I cried.

  He didn’t say anything else. I reached for the handle, and slowly got out. As soon as I shut the door, he raced off, not to his house, but to the entrance of the neighborhood.

  I stumbled over to the private spot on the lake; somewhere no one could see me. To be more specific, it was where Dante and I came back to life. I fell to my knees on the shore, and let myself fall face-first into the water. My screams came out only as bubbles, rising to the surface of the water, my pain escaping me, never to be heard.

  I pretended the tears weren’t there as they flowed into the water. I kept my head under water. I thought about not coming up for air, but before I could make that decision, someone had grabbed my shirt and pulled me out of the water—it was Dante, he came back. He realized he couldn’t do this either. I turned over to face him.

  No. I was wrong—it was Skylar.

  “How did you know?” I cried.

  “I just did,” he said as he pulled me closer.

  I grabbed him back and wrapped my arms around him, burying my head into his chest. The tears streamed down, and I couldn’t stop them, but he didn’t care. He backed up, still keeping his arms around me, and looked at my face.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know how you feel about him; I never consciously wanted to ruin that for you. In fact, I’ve tried to find some way around this, but I haven’t, not yet anyway.”

  I pulled him closer to me. With his strength, he didn’t have to let me, but he did. I stood there in his arms and cried until the tears ran out. I heard a car speeding down the street and looked over the bushes—it was Dante.

  “I’ll be right back, okay?” I said.

  He grabbed my hand; he didn’t want me to go. His grasp loosened, I could tell it took a lot, and finally, he let go. I knew my face was red and covered with tears, but I needed to talk to him. I ran over to him and grabbed his hand, I didn’t need to say how I was feeling; I knew he felt it too. I kept my eyes patiently focused on him, waiting for him to say what a mistake it was.

  “I’m leaving,” he said.

  “Don’t go, I need to talk to you.”

  “I don’t mean it like that.”

  “Wh—what do you mean then?”

  “I’m going to my aunt’s house; she needs help with… something.”

  “Where?”

  “A few states away.”

  “Please Dante, no. You can’t leave me; I need you.”

  “No, you need him.”

  “When—when are you leaving?”

  “Tonight. Good-bye Scarlett, I hope you can be happy.”

  He walked inside the house and shut the door. I collapsed on the porch, and just cried. I heard the door open, and I looked up, anticipating seeing his face, possibly for the last time, but it wasn’t him.

  “You need to leave,” his mother said. “Can’t you see what you’re putting him through? I never thought you two would end well.”

  “What?” I could barely speak.

  “Please just leave him alone.”

  I got up and left the porch. I stumbled back to Skylar, who was waiting for me next to the water.

  “He’s leaving,” I said without emotion. “It’s really over.”

  “I’m sorry, Scarlett. If it helps, I’m here for you.” That tiny part of me that jolted awake last night, was growing stronger by the minute, I think I might have been letting it. I needed to know if Dante and I would ever have a chance again.

  “I need to talk to him once more before he leaves, I’m sorry.”

  I got up, turned invisible and ran for the house. I climbed up on the garbage cans under his window; it was open, and I could hear music blaring. All I needed to do was lift the screen up and try to climb inside. There was a tiny ledge that I could stand on, I got the screen up, but it seemed like climbing inside would be an issue. I peeked up to see if he’d noticed the screen opening, he didn’t. I got half of my body inside the window, and the rest of me came in with a thump on the floor. He jumped up, alarmed, and I became visible.

  “It’s me; it’s me.”

  He turned off the music, and did not look amused. He turned toward me, there wasn’t a hint of emotion in his eyes; they looked dull.

  “I told you I didn’t want to see you, isn’t it obvious? I’m leaving the state; I can’t do this Scarlett. It’s just too hard.”

  “I don’t want to be with Skylar; I want you. I would leave the state with you; I would leave everything behind.”

  “Now that you know, now that you’re starting to feel something for him, it can’t be reversed. You will never be truly happy with me.”

  “I was truly happy with you this morning, Dante. Why don’t you believe that?”

  “No, I don’t. I believe you were happy with me yesterday, but I don’t think we can ever be like that again.”

  “Why are you being like this? You’re saying that there will never be another chance for us?”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head, and then he opened them. “Maybe, but for now, I want you to just go with what you’re feeling and not worry about me. If you really are meant to be with Skylar, if it really would make you happier then fine, it won’t change anything. I’ll still love you, and you will always have loved me, and I can live with that. I have forever, and so do you.”

  “Please, tell me what you’re feeling. Tell me what you’re thinking,” I begged. I needed to know if there was some detail that I was missing.

  “I’m feeling lost and alone. I’m also feeling the guilt slowly fading away; I’m not keeping you from your destiny, not anymore.”

  “You don’t have to feel guilty; I’m choosing you. Right now, I’m choosing you.”

  “Then when the time is right, I hope you can feel that way again.”

  He bent over to zip up the suitcase I hadn’t noticed on the bed. There was a small red box on top of the clothes.

  “What’s that?” I asked, curious.

  “When the time is right you will know,” he answered as he picked up the suitcase and grabbed a second one by the door. “Good-bye Scarlett,” he smiled, but it was forced, fake.

  I ran over to him, closed the
door and pushed him up against the wall. Then, I stood up on my tiptoes and struggled to reach his lips. He looked up pulling away. He acted like it was crucial to avoid this kiss. The kiss I so desperately wanted to remember, for who knows how long. I put my hands on his shoulders trying to pull myself up further, but he was too tall, and I couldn’t reach. I buried my head in his chest and began sobbing.

  “I need you,” I cried. “You are the one for me, and I haven’t ever doubted that, not seriously, not in the real world.”

  “What do you mean?” he turned his face down to look into my eyes.

  “I mean the way I used to view things like this. Now it’s all pre-decided. I don’t have a choice or some major thing will not happen or go wrong or whatever. In the real world, you love someone because they’re so perfect for you, it makes you crazy to think of how your life was without them. When they look into your eyes, no matter how many times they’d done so before, it makes your heart stop. It’s a love so real that you would rather jump off a cliff than be without them.”

  The whole time his face was lowered so that he could look me in the eyes, and it remained there even after I was finished. I had caught him off guard and now was my chance. I looked up into his eyes and rose up onto my tiptoes again. I put my hands behind his head feeling his silky hair. Next, I moved my hand to his smooth freshly shaven cheek—he let me. I took a deep breath. The smell of his cologne filled my nose—and my mind, a familiar, amazing night. I slowly moved my lips to his, but I was still a little short. He brought his mouth down to mine, and our lips touched ever so slightly. I could feel the pain in his kiss. In that moment, I knew he was still going to leave, but I didn’t care. I grabbed onto the back of his head and forced his lips into mine; he gave in, and soon we were on his bed.

  In this moment, I was thinking of nothing other than Dante. Taking in his smell, feeling the softness of his skin, and taking in the perfection of his face. I couldn’t lose him, but if I would, then I would need one hell of a night to remember. I pulled his shirt up and took my lips away from his for a moment; I pulled the shirt over his head and threw it onto the floor.