Lucian became angry. He suddenly stood and started to walk toward the pond. He looked down at his reflection and roared, breathing erratically.
"I was the one who caused our lives to crumble," he said. "I disobeyed the rules. Crying for my father, I ran into the room to get their attention. What else could I do? I can remember my father turning, wearing the suit he's kept with him all this time, and in his hand was the virus."
And suddenly, I knew what had happened. The chain reaction that caused our lives to change forever; it all had to do with that car accident. My father killed Lucian’s mother, and the hurt ricocheted across us all. "You were infected."
He nodded, chest pumping with air. He gritted his teeth and said, "It contaminated us. The whole fucking building. Most of the scientists died. Your mother held on for dear life."
My heart felt cold, like it had just stopped within my chest. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, and my vision seemed to wax and wane. It wasn't his fault. He was just a child. My anger was directed at the world. Why did it have to be like this?
He lowered his head and continued. "The car crash. The incident. Everything is connected," he said. "Everything comes undone to realign once more, just as it always has. That’s what she told me," he said. "Each of us reacted differently to the virus. My father underwent a terrible scarring, ruining his dapper face and swaying his charm forever. Your mother seemed to age one year, every day. My brother and I were the lucky ones. We mutated. Our bodies turned on us. We became monstrosities. In the hospital, government agents guarded our room. We were threatened with tests of all kinds. The public could not know what had happened in their laboratory, they warned. Your mother was the only one who cared for our wellbeing. She was an angel who seemed to be given a gift from the heavens. But that gift could not last forever. At least, it couldn't last in this world. Perhaps she’s elsewhere now, but I can't be certain."
"What gift could she have been given?” I asked, still terribly unable to piece everything together.
He looked up at the sky. "The gift of sight. She told us she could see the future," he said.
Lucian turned and saw the look of disbelief form on my face. He took my hand and brought it to his chest. "You do not trust me," he said. "But I’m telling you the truth."
I shook my head and glanced at the broken structure. The paint was weathered, revealing the harsh reality of what this place really was underneath. I looked past the cement and saw that a section of caution tape was still left wrapped around the west wing of the premises. There were still even some clothes left behind, half-buried in the barren soil. The facility bore all the signs of an evacuation.
I knew that Lucian was telling me the truth, but it wasn't easy to accept. The sight of this place first gave me hope. Within minutes, I felt more alone than ever. The world was gone. The past was gone. She was gone.
But I had him.
"It's not that I don't trust you. I do, Lucian. It's just a little hard to take."
He breathed and looked up into the yellow sky. The story had taken me so off-guard that I forgot what was happening around us. The slow decay of a planet I wanted to love was right in front of me. It was happening, albeit slowly. Somehow, that was the least of my worries.
r /> "I understand how you feel. I didn't believe her either. For years, I sat in that cage, wondering why she had picked the forest as a place to find shelter. I couldn't understand why she would ask us to stay inside these woods, and why our fathers readied for an eternal war. I thought that, maybe, it was because of how we looked. But as time passed, even that didn't make sense to me. I had to believe there was something else. I had to believe Juliana knew what was going to happen. And now, I can see that she was right. The world is coming to an end. It’ll be a slow process of unraveling, she said, but it's happening before our very eyes, Lilly. I can't just put it out of my mind. I can't turn back on her revelations," he said, swallowing hard. "She told me she was born with a purpose, but whatever that purpose was could not be revealed until the end. When that end comes, the beginning can start."
"More riddles," I said. "It's stupid. It's so fucking… pointless!"
"It's hard. This whole life is rife with pain. But we came through that tunnel to find our truth. Both of us," he said. "And right now, sitting before the grace of your beauty, I know that I love you. It's the only thing I can hold onto. Please, stay with me on this journey."
I looked into his eyes and saw through to his soul. The human in him was good, but he was forced to live a life of obscurity and pain. Sometimes, people needed to spend time in the darkness to find the light. Sometimes, it was the one thing that could bring that good out.
My life was a constant struggle between finding myself and finding solid ground. I’d waited for the end moment for so long. I was scared I wouldn't be strong enough to withstand the chaos. I leaned my head against his shoulder, and I could see how wrong I was. I could be strong. I could withstand anything if I believed in something.
If I believed in us.
I could hear my mother's voice. I could feel her speak through me. "Nothing is a mistake," I said. "Everything is an opportunity."
It was a similar philosophy to what my father believed. “Fear is the catalyst for taking control of your life.” I had always focused on that fear part, but that was an emotion I was willing to fight against. My father didn't understand the entire truth. There was no controlling anything, for time controlled our every move. We couldn't stand in the way of it, so we would allow it to flow freely.
Lucian took my chin, and I closed my eyes, inhaling his oaky, masculine scent. Desire and excitement flowed through me, and a deep heat shook between my legs. I wanted a family with him. I wanted everything.
I wanted him to take me. "I want you," I moaned.
He crushed his lips against mine and inhaled deeply. He bit my lip and brought himself closer, hands running up the inside of my shirt. Our tongues danced like waves on the shoreline, pushing and sliding deeper, never getting enough of the sweet sensation.
I unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans, panties exposed and wet. I ran my hand across the fabric and groaned, spreading my thighs apart.
As our lips broke free for one short moment, he pulled my shirt over my head. The cold wind ran across my breasts, and I slid my hips forward, throwing my legs around his waist.
He dragged me closer and grinned. "Come here, baby. Give it all to me."
I cocked my head to the side and fell into him more. He kissed up and down my neck, sucking lightly against my clavicle. I opened my mouth and smiled, turning the thrill into a deep hunger and need. "As soon as I saw you, I knew we were destined for something," I said. "I love you so fucking much."
"You are so special to me, Lilly. I will love you throughout time."