Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 24

 I hear someone yelling behind me, getting louder and louder until I can make out what the voice is saying. "Emma! Emma! Stop! Emma!" I finally feel a tug, and I spin around, almost falling.

Caleb catches me. "What are you doing?" he asks.

"Let go of me."

"No. What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving."

"Why? Look, I'm sorry for yelling and saying what I did. I just sometimes don't remember that other people have feelings. I'm sorry. Please don't run away, and definitely don't kill yourself. Please."

"I'm tired of this."

"Tired of what?" he asks.

"Everything. Life, especially."

"No. Are you tired of me?"

"No, not of you. Definitely not of you. Just life and everything beyond you. I'm tired of life, and I'm tired of death. I'm sorry, but that's how I am. I never want anyone to die. By my hand or not."

"No one's going to die by your hand ever again," he reassures me.

"You don't know that! You can't tell the future!"

"What if I said I could?" he tentatively says.

"B-But you can't. Can you? Oh my God, you can! Other dimensions, future-telling people, the world is being turned upside down!"

"No, I can't. I just wanted to see how you would react!" he laughs.

"Oh my God!" I punch him, too softly to be serious but too hard to be joking. "You're so mean!" I pause. "Okay, now that we both know that, I'll be going now."

"No you won't."

"Yes I will! You can't make me stay!"

"Actually, I can," he objects. He lifts me up by my waist and swings me onto his back. He presses his arms to my back so I don't fall off, and so I can't escape. I squeal in protest. He walks into the hospital and into his room. "Okay, so." He swings me into the bed. I land with a flop. He tucks me in with a blanket. I try to get up, but he presses me down again.

"Let me go!" I command, a little irritated.

"Only if you promise that you won't do anything you'll later regret," he says.

"But-"

"You do realize this is for your own good, right?"

"No!"

"Well it is!"

"I am not promising."

"Well then I won't let you go."

"Please?"

"Not unless you promise."

"I promise that I will not promise."

"You're very stubborn."

"I know," I answer.

"So am I."

"I know."

"I am not letting you go unless you promise a simple promise. A simple promise." That I don't have to keep, I think.

"Fine. I promise," I say in a mocking tone. He glares at me and then lets me go. "Freedom!" I yell. "Sorry. Was that too loud?" He laughs. I pause for a second. "Thank you for letting me go. And I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" he asks, confused. His eyes tug at mine, so I have to look at him.

"For not keeping my promise," I murmur. I turn around and run as quickly as I can towards the outside world. He won't catch me this time. He won't. I run across the street. I hear a horn and look to see a truck zooming towards me. I can't move; my feet are stuck to the street like gum. My mind tells my body to move, to do anything, but my body doesn't listen. My body is frozen, frozen to the street, frozen to life. My mouth is open in a silent scream as it rushes to me, not stopping, not breaking. Zooming. It wacks my body. I hear a low scream that definitely isn't me. Caleb. And then I see nothing.