38

I wake up in the middle of the night after a terrifying dream, and when I open my eyes, Brandon is staring at me.

He wipes away my tears. “Are you okay? You were crying.”

“Hey...” I bury my face in his chest and embrace him. “I thought you left without saying goodbye.”

“Alayna, I’ll never do that to you. But are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“I am okay with this,” I whisper. “I’m happy that you wanted to finally do this.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“We don’t know what’s going to happen. Everything is going to change.”

“My feelings for you will never change.”

I force another smile at his vow. “You should have decided to do this a long time ago, you know?”

A soft murmur escapes his lips, and he embraces me. “It will be torture without you.”

“That is why you have to heal fast,” I tell him. “I’m looking forward to seeing you succeed.” But I then laugh softly between tears. “Is this going to be our last night together?”

He does not bother to reply because we both know the answer