We drove to the airport in silence. I mean, complete silence. Alexander didn't even blast Skrillex on the speakers. Mom drove steadily, nervously eyeing us in the backseats.
Danielle stared out the window, as though trying to take in every last detail of Germany before she left. She looked sad and lonely.
I reached out and took her hand.
The airport was noisy, like usual. Mom got another paper that said we were scheduled to meet at STATION 3. I carried Danielle's suitcase in one hand, the other twined tightly between her fingers.
We sat down. Other exchange students filed around us.
I turned to Danielle and took out a piece of paper, folded up four times. ''This has my phone number, my email, and my Skype address on it.''
She hesitated before taking it. Her eyes were wet.
''You'll call me, right?'' I asked. My voice cracked.
She nodded and wiped her eyes. ''Yeah. For sure. Here, I'll give you my number, too . . .''
She unfolded the paper and tore it in half. My words on one side, and hers on the other. She pulled out a pen from her backpack and wrote down her phone number and address.
I stared at her handwriting. It swam before my eyes.
''You'll contact me, right?''
Danielle's voice was edgy. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear.
Memories gashed through my mind. They leaked.
A loose strand of hair was hanging down from the side of her head, and I wanted to tuck it back behind her ear. She brushed it back automatically before I could.
Her eyes sparkled. I wanted to know what she was thinking.
She looked down at the poster longingly. ''I don't draw too many sunsets.''
That first day I met her. She was innocent and sweet, so much like my dead sister.
''I can show you the sunsets we get here, if you want,'' I said quietly.
She pulled the memories away from me, the scars that haunted my past. She brought me back to the real world, to a place of peace and happiness.
She smiled. ''That'd be cool.'' She paused, then added, ''Thanks.''
And now, just when I realized that I loved her so much, she was leaving.
The scars in my heart that she'd stitched back up would break open again, leaking out essence that would poison me and send me into another hellhole again. I wouldn't come out of my bedroom for days. I'd probably kill myself by the time my sixteenth birthday came on the first day of August. If I didn't do that, I'd throw one of Alexander's weights at my guitar. I'd rip all the sunset pictures off of my walls. I'd soak my sketchbook.
I would destroy myself.
Suddenly I stood up. Danielle looked at me, her eyes nervous. I took her hands and pulled her up, keeping a tight grip on her fingers.
''Promise that I'll see you again,'' I said. I felt out of breath.
She nodded. ''I promise.'' Her voice sounded sticky.
''Promise that I'll still love you when I see you again,'' I continued quickly.
''I promise. Luca, why wouldn't you still love me?''
YOU ARE READING
Sunset Memories
Romance[Book no. 1] In which Luca meets Danielle for the first time, and love dribbles through German promises, protection from the bad boy, and lullabies whispered as the sun dips into the horizon.
