Don't Forget Me

Chapter Thirteen.

You can always feel it when something's about to end. It's like this quiet little weight settles in your chest, even when everything around you is still bright and loud and normal.

That's what today felt like. The last full day on the boat. The last full day with Colt.

We were heading back now-back to real life. Back to everything that wasn't him.

So I made a decision. No family breakfast. No group activities. Just Colt.

When I found him, he was exactly where I figured he'd be-leaning on the railing of the top deck, hoodie on, hair messy from the wind, just staring out at the water like it had something to say.

He looked over when he heard me. "Well, look who showed up."

I smiled. "Don't sound too excited."

He laughed. "I thought maybe you ditched."

"I considered it," I said, moving next to him. "But then I remembered you'd be lonely without me."

"Wow. So thoughtful of you."

We stood there a while, watching the waves. The sun was bright but not hot. The air smelled like salt and sunscreen.

"You good?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Just wanted to hang out with you today."

He smiled like that meant something. "You've got me."

The day was slow and perfect. We wandered the boat like tourists, even though we'd already seen most of it. He made me try this green smoothie at the spa that tasted like lawn clippings. I made him try on a floppy sunhat and told him he looked like someone's rich aunt.

We found a mostly empty game room and played air hockey until we were both laughing too hard to care who won. He got way too competitive, and I "accidentally" knocked the puck into my own goal just to see the look on his face when he won.

We sat by the railing and made up stories about people walking by. One guy was definitely running from the law. A lady in a huge sun visor had to be hiding a secret identity. I said she was a retired pop star. Colt thought she was probably an ex-spy.

We took a break in the middle of the day and laid out on pool chairs, barely talking. Just watching clouds. He swore one looked like a T-Rex doing yoga. I said it looked like a squished chicken nugget. We didn't argue about it-we just laughed.

When the sun started to dip, everything went soft and golden. It made the boat look like it was glowing. That's when we headed back to my room.

Colt dropped onto my bed with a dramatic sigh. "I need a nap, a massage, and a cookie."

"You're so high-maintenance," I said, sitting beside him.

He sat up a little and pointed at the books on my desk. "You've been hiding a whole library in here?"

"I get bored easily," I said. "Books help."

He pulled one out. "Verity," he read. "Looks intense."

"It is. Not for the faint of heart."

"What's it about?"

"Hard to explain," I said. "Just... flip to pages 238 to 242."

He gave me a suspicious look, but did it.

And I waited.

I watched his face change as he read-confused, surprised, mildly horrified.

Then he looked up. "Lux. This is filth."

I grinned. "It's fictional filth. There's a difference."

"You just casually read this?"

"Hey, it has a plot," I said, laughing. "A disturbing one, but still."

He held the book like it might catch fire. "There's no way this is legal."

I pulled out my phone and started recording. He didn't notice right away-he was still flipping back and forth, like he needed to confirm what he just read.

"Oh my God," he muttered. "Did she actually-? Nope. Nope."

When he finally saw me recording, he reached for a pillow and launched it at my head. "You're the worst."

"You're the one who read it."

"Under duress!"

We were both laughing now, the kind of easy, full-body laughter that only happens when things feel simple-even when you know they aren't.

Eventually, we both flopped back onto the bed. My shoulder brushed his, and he didn't move. Neither did I.

After a moment, he looked over at me. "Still doing okay?"

I nodded. "Today's been good."

"Yeah," he said, smiling. "It really has."

We stayed like that for a while, just talking. Random stuff. He told me about this time he tried to skateboard down a hill and ended up with a black eye. I told him about how I once got kicked out of a grocery store for climbing into a cart and riding it down the frozen food aisle.

The sky outside kept getting darker. The room filled with that soft blue light that always makes things feel calmer.

I rested my head on his shoulder. He didn't say anything. Just wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in a little closer.

He started humming quietly-something soft and familiar. I didn't ask what it was. I just closed my eyes and let it sink in.

I didn't think about tomorrow. Not yet.
I didn't think about saying goodbye, or going back to life without him in it.

I just let myself be there, in that moment. Warm and still and wrapped up in the kind of peace that's hard to find.

He kissed the top of my head and whispered something dumb like, "Don't read Verity before bed."

I smiled. "Noted."

And that was how I wanted to remember it-us, curled up together, laughing over weird books and sharing stories, pretending like the world wasn't about to shift.

Because even if I'd never see him again...
I'd have this.
And that was something worth keeping.