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“To answer your question,” he continued, “make a list.”
“A list?”
“Of everything and everyone that is important to you. Write down your hopes and dreams. And then ask yourself, is this obstacle—whether it is one person, place or thing—worth burning your list over? If not, then you do whatever you gotta do. The world takes what it wants, Noah. If you want to have a heart, fine. But it doesn’t need to be shared with anyone not on that list. Whatever morals everyone else has mean shit the moment the people they love are taken from them. Everyone is ruthless. They just don’t know it until they need to. It is just that simple.”
When he hung up, I did realized he was right. We were similar. I believed the same thing. The only reason why this was so painful was because it was family—I had lost family.
“We are here, sir,” Daniel whispered, but I couldn’t step out. I just stared for the longest time, and when the doors closed again, he held them open until they buzzed, like an alarm reminding me the world waited for no one.
Stepping out, he led the way though he didn’t need to. The signs above us clearly marked where we needed to go.
A man in a lab coat said, “Mr. Sloan—”
Ignoring him, I walked in and Daniel kept him back.
“Austin,” I whispered, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to reply. He wouldn’t be able to see me. He just laid there, his skin—what wasn’t burnt off—already losing color.
“Austin,” I called his name again, reaching out to take his hand from under the sheet. “Austin,” I repeated. I had so much to say, but his name was all I could manage, as I wept, as I sobbed for a man who wasn’t just my manager, or friend, but who I saw as an older brother. “Aus … tin.”
For more than ten years, he had always been right behind me, and now he was gone. Just gone. It wasn’t like the movies. I didn’t get to tell him thank you. He didn’t get any last words. He was just dead, a body on the table. And it was my fault.
“I’m so … I’m so sorry Austin.” My eyes burned, tears rolling down my face and off my chin right onto him. “Forgive me.” Please forgive me.
“Thank you for everything. Thank you for being my brother and friend when everyone else left. You saved me. Amelia and I will do better. We won’t let all your hard work go to waste. And we’ll never forget the person who made us who we needed to be. I swear. It’s the best I can do.” Wiping my eyes, I put his hand back under the sheet, standing up straight again.
Exhaling, I stepped away from the table and moved back to the door.
My list now was just Amelia.
My dream? The both of us, married, kids of our own, still acting.
It was all possible—after we healed from this.
Amelia
“Are you awake?”
Opening my eyes, I saw him sitting right beside me, brushing my hair back gently.
“Noah ...” I smiled, my eyes focusing on him. “You’re here.”
“Where else would I be?” he asked softly. “How do you feel?”
I didn’t think about it until I tried to move. “Ugh ... sore.”
“Yeah. Just rest—”
“Austin?” I remembered, cutting him off as I became fully alert. “What happened? Austin went back for Esther—we had a plan, my stupid plan, but he’ll explain but—”
“Amelia,” his voice was hard yet barely over a whisper. Taking my hand, he kissed it and shook his head.
“What does that mean?” I stared, trying to pull my hand away. But he held on tighter. “Why are you shaking your head like that?”
“Amelia—”
“Where is Austin?”
He didn’t answer.
