Enemies to... Lovers? - By SilvenySlays :)

~The End of Project Moonlark, Chapter 23~

"NO!" The voice that came from my mouth was heartbroken. I frantically ran to the machine and watched as the beeping fell silent. My heart pounded in my ears as Elwin rushed to the machine and tried chest compressions on her. I covered my ears and sat on the floor, hugging my knees as tears rolled down my cheeks.

Finally, Elwin stood up.

"No. No. No. She can't be..." I stared up at Elwin. "She's not...?"

Elwin had tears in his blue eyes. "She's gone, Keefe. I'm sorry."

"It's all my fault." I whispered.

"Don't think like that, Keefe. You know what it can do to you." Elwin insisted.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter anymore. Not without her." I stared at Sophie's breathless body. Her skin was gray, and her beautiful eyes no longer looked at me lovingly.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye." I whispered as my words broke down into tears again.

Elwin hugged me. "She was a fighter."

"Yeah. But without her..." My voice cracked again. "Without her, I can't fight anymore."

We sat in silence. "I guess I should... Tell her parents and send out a scroll. For the planting." Elwin mumbled.

I felt numb. "Let me talk to them first."

*****

I arrived at Havenfield, and usually I felt at home here. But now it felt gloomy and wrong without Sophie at the door.

I knocked softly, and Edaline opened the door. She smiled.

She hugged me. "Here for more mallowmelt?"

"Usually I would, but not today." I said with a weak smile. She seemed to notice my red puffy eyes and she frowned.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm sorry, Edaline, but... Sophie's gone."

Edaline froze. I don't even think she breathed. "No." She whispered. Tears filled her eyes. "When?"

"A couple of minutes ago." I whispered. Edaline sat on the stoop of the house and sobbed with her head in her hands.

Grady came out, asked why Edaline was crying, and when I told him, a tear rolled down his cheek as well. The two of them held each other and pulled me into the hug after a while.

We sat there in silence.

Maybe it was hours. Maybe it was days. But when Edaline spoke, I felt like crying all over again.

"Losing one daughter is heartbreaking. But... Losing two..." Edaline took a shaky breath. "Keefe, I knew from the moment you met her... I knew that you two were going to be inseparable. Just know that... She loved you from the moment you two found each other. And you were the greatest love she could've asked for."

At that moment, I was so overwhelmed that I ran out of there and light leaped away.

*****

I couldn't handle it. I kept running.

One foot in front of the other. Not stopping. Not thinking. Just running.

I somehow ended up back at the Waywards hideout. My friends were still there.

"Keefe?" Biana asked. She ran over and hugged me, then kicked my shins and cursed at me and was overall really welcoming. "Where have you been? Where's Sophie?"

I almost broke down again. "She's gone."

Biana blinked. "Yeah, yeah, funny joke. Where is she?"

"She's gone." I snapped. "The Empathy killed her, okay? And I couldn't do anything to fix it. That's what I do, I ruin things and I can't fix them. I should've never talked to her."

"Keefe... She... She can't be..." Biana dropped to the ground and cried. I sat next to her, both of us just sitting there as the sun started to set. 

All of our other friends came out, and when I explained it...

Fitz punched the wall and turned away so no one could see him crying.

Dex comforted Biana, tears rolling down his cheeks as well.

Linh cried, and Tam just stood there in the corner, dark and brooding.

Marella burned a couple of trees down as Maruca just stared at the ground.

I told them about the planting, and we all went our separate ways.

I leaped home and collapsed in my bed. "Why'd you have to go?" I whispered.

Sophie couldn't hear me, but I needed to say it out loud. "I loved you. I tried to fix it. So why..." My voice trailed off when I glanced at my drawings.

I stared at them for hours. I was never going to forget her. Even if I lived for a thousand more years.

"I love you." I kissed her photo.

I hugged Mrs. Stinkbottom and fell asleep. Then my thoughts faded into a dream.

I stood in a field, with Sophie standing just a few yards in front of me.

"Hey, Foster." I whispered.

She smiled. "I'm not gone, silly. You don't have to pretend I'm real."

"I don't know if my brain is saying that, but... Yeah. You are gone." I said.

"No I'm not." She stepped closer and brushed some of my hair out of my face. "I promise. I would never lie to you."

"Then where are you?" I asked.

She smiled again. "Do you know why the Lost Cities are called the Lost Cities?"

"Because some dude lost his marbles?" I suggested. Her laugh made me smile.

"No, idiot. They're called the Lost Cities because the people who die there aren't really lost." She replied.

"How?" I asked.

"When I was close to dying, I discovered an opening in my mind. It's only accessible for... Well, for me. Because I've been genetically altered." She smiled and stroked my face. "It allows my consciousness to remain in my DNA. If you can get my hair from that planting ceremony tomorrow, and if you can keep my old body... You might be able to regenerate my consciousness."

"You'd be... Alive?" I asked.

"I was never dead." She said with a sad smile. "But you're my only hope, Keefe. I love you." She kissed me, and then I woke up.

*Hehehehheheheheheehehehehehe

Sorry if I made you cry, laugh, and squeal at the same time... But it's kind of my job as an author lol.

Bible verse! "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9.

Have an amazing week!!

TEAM FOSTER-KEEFE FOR THE WIN!

-SilvenySlays :)