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I could convince her that we could be together, that we’d be happy here. But I’m not going to entice her. I can’t wait for her—I won’t—not when Lyr is right here, not when she needs me. Not when I know that all of this would be for nothing without her.

I didn’t think someone could find their soulmate in the afterlife. The world makes you believe that everything has to happen a certain way, in a specific order, and within a timeline, or it doesn’t count. This experience with Lyr would beg to differ. Every time we touch, our souls create something special. I have yet to figure out what it is, but in the meantime, it’s mesmerizing.

“Lyr.” She’s zoned out, so I try to grab her attention. It works on the first try.

“Yeah?” she replies robotically.

“I think we should go. I was thinking back to the motel.” While I can’t imagine her agreeing to that, I’m going to try anyway.

“Ew, why?” she asks with a grimace.

I chuckle. “Because there are empty rooms there. We can find one that doesn’t have dead bodies in it and maybe relax for a night. What do you think?”

She shifts, and I can tell she’s pondering.

“I think that I really don’t wanna go back to that motel, but I would like to go somewhere a little more… clean.” She makes a face, scrunching her nose.

Surprised by her answer, I raise my eyebrows in shock and frown.

“Amen to that,” I joke.

I watch as Lyr stops in the middle of the room, scanning the area. She looks sad and exhausted, like a shell of herself. She blinks rapidly as she takes a deep breath and walks out of the room for the last time.

As we approach the motel, a sense of dread fills me. After tonight, I never want to stay at this motel again. Ignoring my feelings, I stuff them down and focus on doing what I did last time. I scan the rooms, passing the ones filled with drug addicts and prostitutes, small families who were tricked into staying here with photos from when the place first opened up, and construction workers from out of town.

When I find an empty one, Lyr and I pass the threshold without issue and settle down.

It’s not hard. It’s not like we have anything to unpack. We spend the next few hours reflecting on our time together and everything we’ve been through thus far.

“I’m sorry,” I say regretfully, the two of us sitting on the end of the bed, conversing.

She furrows her brow and looks at me, genuinely confused.

“Sorry for what? There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.” She huffs, sounding annoyed.

I’m not trying to get her worked up. So I attempt a different approach.

“I’m sorry for all of this. The whole thing. None of what happened to you while you were alive should’ve happened. You deserved better, and everyone failed you. And for that, I’m sorry.”

I place my hands on her knees as I continue, locking eyes with hers, “I’m sorry that all of this was for nothing. You sacrificed your chance at peace so you could bring yourself justice instead. That was brave… and also stupid.”

I need to rein it in before I mess this up.

“I don’t know what happens now, but just know that we’re in it together.”

I reach for her hand and squeeze. This doesn’t affect me the same way it does Lyr. I didn’t just lose my parents or kill off an ex that I originally thought I had a future with. I mean, I did kill him, but it wasn’t my ex. I’m exhausted, but I chalk it up to still coming down from all the adrenaline of the last few days.

“Thank you, Attie. For everything.” She says softly, holding my hands in her lap.

We eventually reach a point where we sit in silence. We don’t need to be interacting with one another to be content. When night falls, Lyr is quick to tell me she wants to sleep.

“I know we don’t need to sleep, but I feel like I should. It’s what my body would’ve done before. Is that okay?”

“Anything you want, princess. If that’s what you need to get by tomorrow and all the days to come, then do it. I’ll still be here when you wake up.”

Her eyes brighten and she smiles at me. She looks hopeful and understood. She crawls into bed, still in her clothes, and I cover her up and tuck her in before hopping in next to her. Lyr’s battery is fully depleted and needs a recharge, and I know this because within a couple of minutes, my Strawberry Girl is sound asleep in my arms.

CHAPTER 48