I, Immortal

Chapter Twenty

I ate breakfast in bed the next morning, trying to postpone real life for as long as possible. The eggs were a bit runny, but the breakfast bot was a recent purchase and the first of its kind, so I couldn't really blame it. As I ate, my gaze continued to drift to the bedside table. In the top drawer, still set inside its little velvet box, was the diamond ring I had bought for Brynn. I had put it inside the table months ago, and hadn't opened the drawer since the start of Brynn's trial.

I sighed and reached to pull the drawer knob. The little box sat in the middle of the otherwise empty drawer; I picked it up and lifted the lid to see the shiny diamond ring. I smiled as I remembered the day when Lulu and I stood on the balcony in Paris, talking about proposing to Brynn. So much had changed since then, but I still loved Brynn through all of it. I closed my eyes and played back the memory of the first day that her crystalline eyes gazing straight into mine. She had not turned away, having allowed me to look into the windows she had been to shy to show. I wanted to lock eyes with her again, to feel the delightful euphoria running through every fiber of my body. I opened my eyes and looked at the little ring sitting in the velvet box; my smile widened. I could bring her back. I could prove to Brynn that I still loved her with or without her superhuman ability.

Tossing the covers aside and very nearly upsetting the tray of dirty dishes, I jumped out of bed. "Airmid, start the car. I'm going to visit the most beautiful girl in the world."

*

My car pulled to a stop in the circle driveway in front of Brynn's house. I took the velvet box from the dashboard and slid it into my jeans pocket, then opened the car door and stepped out. Gravel crunched under my feet as I slowly walked to the house. I rang the bell and waited, watching the fountain in the middle of the lake beside the house. I could hear Scotty yapping inside the house, his claws skittering across the floor. The door opened, and Scotty charged away and out of sight, probably remembering his dirty deeds before I had gifted him to Brynn. The house's Interface informed me that Brynn was located in the living room, three lefts and two rights from where I stood in the entryway.

I found her sitting on a furry white couch in the center of the dim living room, as still as a statue aside from breathing and the occasional blinking of her staring eyes. She was leaning slightly forward, hands resting on her knees. Her wings were folded neatly behind her, the bandages concealed by a mass of feathers. The silence echoed in my ears as I moved into the room and stood beside her. We were inches apart, but it was as if there were a cold, infinite void between us.

"Hi." I greeted. She did not reply.

"I came to see how you were...getting along."

The Interface answered, "Oxygen levels are normal for human comfort. Temperature is normal for human comfort. The madame's heart rate is approximately sixty beats per minute, and she shows no sign of illness."

I chuckled at the Interface's ignorant and inhuman reply, hoping Brynn would laugh too. She didn't even blink. She simply stared at some random place on the opposite wall, ignoring everything happening around her. I sighed and decided to quit avoiding my reason I had come.

"I was planning a really elaborate event for this, but I guess this is better than a huge celebration." With great care, I took the velvet box from my pocket, opened the lid, and showed her the shiny ring nestled inside. My heart flitted as Brynn's eyes slowly panned to look at the ring. I felt my chest rise and fall a little faster with each breath. I imagined she would smile, or cry happy tears, or a light would come into her eyes. And so I waited for her reaction, but if she felt any sort of happiness, she did not show it. Instead she gazed at the diamond as if it were a piece of gravel plucked from her driveway, worthless and disappointing.

"Say something," I felt my smile fading. I stared up into her empty gaze, silently pleading for even a single word from her. "Please."

Her wings moved slightly and brushed against the soft couch. She lifted her head and stared at the other side of the room. "The windows are closed, Xander." She murmured, her voice soft and painful to my ears. "They're not opening again."

I gazed at her for a long moment, trying to find something left of my Brynn, my beautiful, shining Brynn, in those emotionless eyes. She had trusted me, loved me, and now she had given up on me. To her, the proposal was a scheme to cheer her up, to make her trust me again. The world had broken her so bad that she could not believe I still loved her. She had hidden away behind the windows of her soul again, and this time I knew she wasn't coming back. I was too late to save her.

I looked down at the floor, bit my lip and nodded. "Okay. I...I'm sorry. I'll show myself out."

She made no move to stop me as I stood to leave. When I reached the doorway, I stopped and looked over my shoulder. Brynn still sat motionless on the couch, staring off into her own dimension. She did not seem to care that I was leaving. So many others had left her in the past, and now I was leaving just like the rest. The difference was that I had not first given up on her. She had given up on me.

I left the house and stepped onto the gravel driveway. The velvet box felt like a heavy stone in my hand; I wanted to be rid of the hopeless thing. I looked around the grounds surrounding me, then I turned and walked to the edge of the lake. I knew what I wanted to do. My fingers wrapped around the tiny box in my hand. I pulled my arm back and swung, releasing my hold on the box. I watched the little black box glide through the air, soar far over the lake, and descend into the water with a silent splash. It floated for a moment before sinking and disappearing under the waves. Only a small ripple remained as evidence of the box's presence, then it too faded and vanished. I turned and walked back to my car, with my hands in my empty pockets and tears clouding my vision.