16: Holding Back

"Promise you'll never leave,"

"How about we just stay together for as long as possible?" The blurry-faced girl tipped her head to look at him, before pulling away from the hug, taking a step backward from the seashore, and stepping into the sea.

"Promises are meant to be broken, Quinlan," she added with a low sigh before rubbing the side of her arm as she stopped when the water reached her waist.

Her response was like a stab in his gut.

"Are you planning to leave sometime in the future because you're beginning to develop cold feet?" He inquired, looking hurt. And as if to mirror his emotions that were tremulous inside of him, it began raining.

"We were meant to be only for a short period of time," came the response that literally pierced through his heart.

Panting as the rain poured heavy droplets upon him, he put his hand on his forehead and raised his head to look at the sun that was pumping excessive heat, in spite of the heavy downpour. It was bizarre how it shone so much despite