Falling

Chapter Thirty

He makes his way in without a hello or, you know, knocking. Sarah glares at him as she tucks hair behind her ears. Discontent as it falls over her paper anyway she throws into the messiest ponytail Owen thinks he's ever seen. She tries to focus on the words on the page by the merge and blend and she isn't quite sure she wants to read the end, after everything else. 

She can't stand the smug look on his face as he watches her, she looks up at him and scowls.

"You're such an asshole Owen." He chuckles and throws himself down beside her and rips the book from her grip. His eyes dart over the black letters on yellowing paper.

"You weren't kidding." He sniggers.

"Three hours I've been reading that damn page." He shakes his head.

"Don't you have packing to do?"

"Yes." She snaps and crosses her arms. "I just wanted to finish it, but I can't." He shrugs off his jacket and lays it over her bare legs. 

"Why?" He asks as if there will be some pristine logical answer. She looks at him sideways and cocks an eyebrow. Nothing more. No wasted effort. She'd learnt from the best.

"I don't know."

"The Sarah Collins doesn't know?" He questions mockingly. She puts on her best grouchy face but it slides right off her face as she looks at her Owen Riley. It had been a very long four years indeed, since she read the first book in the series. She had sprinted through the other five in a week and now this page was all she had left to discover, it was all that was left unknown. There was no more mystery.

"Not really." She replies honestly, making to retrieve the book from him. He holds it higher and grins at her, she was going to have to fight for it.

"What am I meant to do when it ends?" She asked desperately, she was drowning and Owen in his boat might just be able to lend a hand.

"Read a new book."

"Its not that simple."

"Why?"

"I'm involved, I need to know what happens to them past that page, they're real Owen, to me at least." He nodded, but couldn't help the smirk he sent in her direction, it was instinctive all right.

"The book?" Sarah queries, making for another grasp at it. Instead, she watched in horror as he got to his feet and took steps back until his legs hit the dresser.

"'Rin,' he cried, but she couldn't hear him. 'Rin!' He cried louder as if the mere increase in volume could breach the gap between the living and the dead. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, he shook her and he begged her to come back to him, but there was nothing to be done, nothing could overcome the ultimate fate of the Wryer women, to die and leave him. He'd watch a hundred generations go and he feared he'd watch another hundred generations abandon him, to be eternally alone, until he could only be empty. 'RIN!' he cried one last time into her pristine, blank face. Rin was silent, her eyes reflecting the mocking stars. She was truly, gone." He looked at Sarah as he stopped reading and saw the tears rolling down her face. 

Instantly regretful he rushed back to her and took her face in his hands.

"It's just a story Sarah." He pleaded for her not to cry, every tear she'd ever shed had cut him, he hated to see it, to experience it second hand.

"I hate you." Sarah laughed. "You made me start that stupid series four years ago knowing it ended like THAT!" Owen shook his head at her and leant back.

"This would have been far more entertaining four years ago, now..." He trailed off as he beamed at her and kissed her forehead. He remembered why he loved her, why he had for so long, because before anything else she was his best friend, and it was so much fun to piss her off.