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But instead, she delivers the harshest of blows.
"Then you'll do what I ask of you," she says, and I'm quick to nod, desperate to do anything that would fix this between us... whatever it is that we have.
"I want you to go."
I look into her eyes. She doesn't mean it. She can't be serious. She wouldn't throw all of this away, she has to know how special we are… together.
"What do you mean?" I ask, looking at her hard, hoping I'm getting this wrong.
"I want you to leave Daddy and me, and Valerie, too. I want you to give me peace of mind and let me be with my daddy for as long as he has left. I want you gone."
"I'm not leaving," I say, my voice shaking despite the threatening words.
Cassidy's eyes are filling with tears, and I'm fucking going to break down. I'm going to fall to pieces, crumble to the floor right this minute, because of this girl.
I don't care if it's been a couple of weeks, a year, or a day. She is it for me, all that I want and need. And I will not fucking leave her. I won't let her do this to herself – to us.
"Remember, Dom," she says, her voice breaking over the two simple words. "You would do anything for me, wouldn't you? You want to do what's right?"
I do.
She's breaking my resolve. Smashing it to pieces, protecting herself from getting hurt worse than she already is. And it's all my goddamn fault.
I take a step closer.
She takes a step back.
"Don't," she warns me. "Don't come closer. I'll run."
And once again, she's moving away from me, and I'm the one struggling to catch up. My sweet Cassidy, my stepsister, my love… I've lost her once and for all.
I want to fight, but I remember my promise. I know she's broken, and all I've done is contributed to that fact. She's going to fall apart if I don't do this.
The realization dawns on me like a lazy sunrise.
I need to let go.
As soon as the thought is clear in my head, I know it will fucking break me. It will tear me apart to let her go, now that I know what kind of a man I can be when I'm with her. And I'll go right back to being the prick that I was. The cheating, lying bastard I've been all my life.
"Okay," I say. Her shoulders sink as I say the word, even though she's the one demanding I do this. She's holding the knife, and I'm slicing us apart. "I'll go, Cassidy."
I feel my own eyes filling with tears. I haven't cried since I was a kid. And I won't do it now, because it might change her mind, and to change her mind is to destroy her.
I turn the other way and wait for my eyes to dry up. Then I face my sweet little Cassidy again, the girl who will be mine for a couple of moments longer.
"Let me have one more kiss, Cassidy," I beg her. It's the last thing I'll allow myself, one more taste of those full, pouty lips before I go. I'll do it even if it destroys any relationship I might have in the future. And I fucking know it will, because even though I'm only twenty-one and she's barely eighteen, this is the best I'll ever have.
She looks at me with fear and confusion in her eyes. She wants to say no, but she craves it, too. Call it closure, call it hope. It is what it is.
I take a step closer, and she stays glued to the spot. So, I walk over to her, my steps deafeningly loud as my heart pounds in every cell of my body.
I take her in my arms, not wasting another second, knowing it might be my last.
Cassidy is staring at me. Her face is blank, a premonition of what is about to come. I know that without me, she'll go right back to being her angsty, furious self, not letting anyone in. But it's the way it has to be.
I crush my lips against hers.
Sweet. She tastes so sweet.
Thunder crashes above us, and I'm sure we'll be struck by lightning. But we don't spring apart. We keep our lips locked in our last kiss, even as the rain starts to fall, coming down heavy on our shoulders.
The storm breaks above us, and I kiss her hard, my tongue in her mouth, demanding more. I need to convince her we can make it. Need to admit how I feel... Her lips are so full, her mouth wicked for doing this to me.
I clutch at her desperately, but she pulls out of my arms.
We stare at each other, a few steps separating us, but it could just as well be a precipice. I will never cross it again, I realize with sadness. She is gone for me.
