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"How? Okay, well I'll fucking leave then." He pauses. "Who gave them the fucking address?"
My pulse rate spikes as Dylan walks out of the door, continuing his conversation out of earshot. Again with all the ‘fucks’. He can't hide what's happening; I can guess. Scanning the room for any remaining items, I push them into my bulging rucksack. I can't think straight. The day switched from days out at souvenir shops to life with someone who people arelooking for.How do I leave? Where do I go?
I walk to the front of the house. "What's going on?"
Hand in his short hair, Dylan shakes his head at me as he continues the conversation. "Half an hour? Who contacted you? No, you get on fucking Twitter or whatever and tell them I'm somewhere else. I don't know—the fucking moon!"
Dylan launches his phone across the garden and I flinch as he slams a palm into the side of the house. For a minute, he rests his head against the bricks, chest falling and rising rapidly.
"Did someone find out where you are?" I say as calmly as possible.
"Yes." His tone is bitter; stance defeated.
"The supermarket?"
"Sandchurch."
"But I didn't see anyone...?"
Dylan turns, rests against the wall and stares up at the evening sky. "Someone always sees."
And that's why we could never co-exist in each other’s lives.
"I guess we're not waiting until the morning?" I ask.
He doesn't take his eyes away from the stars. "No, we have to go."
"Someone is coming to take you home?"
"Yeah." He looks at me. "Will you come with me?"
"What? No, no way. I'm going to my friend's place and picking up the pieces of my life."
"Sky..." Dylan steps towards me, touching my cheek. "Come back with me, at least until we know you're safe."
My pulse launches sky high. "Safe? From what?"
"Whether the press knows who you are—they have pictures."
My stomach turns over. "What pictures? Who?"
Rubbing my cheek with his thumb, Dylan studies my face. "You said your life is a mess—that you might not have a job. Stay with me while you sort things out?"
"I can't." My voice is hoarse, barely a whisper.
"Why?"
How can I say because going with him drags me further into this craziness? Can't he see? Tears well as I’m frustrated my bubble burst and the world is pouring in. Annoyingly, a tear slips from my eye and Dylan's face fills with alarm. He places his lips on my cheek, kissing away the tear.
"Don't worry, you’ll be fine. They'll forget about you soon."
And you'll forget about me if I leave now.I inhale deeply and tip my head. One last time, I want to lose myself in the intensity of our kiss. As his lips meet mine, I know this kiss is a mistake as I’m reforging a connection I’m trying to break. Fate brought me to this incredible man and then handed over a part of my heart and soul to him. But the new knowledge of who he is, what that means to our lives and how this will end, catches hold and pulls me back to reality.
Dylan can never be mine because he belongs to so many others, and I'm not the person strong enough to help him lose those people.
I withdraw and touch his cheek. "Pack. How long until your… whoever is here?"
"Maybe fifteen minutes. Are you coming?"
My heart tears in two, as I'm torn in half. "Yes."
"Thank you." Dylan grabs my face, kisses my mouth hard and disappears inside.
Pulling my phone from my jacket pocket, fingers trembling, I call for a taxi. Behind, light shines through the doorway of the sanctuary I came to four days ago.Four days. That’s all it took to be pulled under by the man from the sea. I know I have leave to keep my head above the water.
My rucksack rests on the floor in the kitchen, and I pull the bag onto my shoulder. I don't know how long Dylan will take to pack, I need to decide now.
The half-moon in the cloudless sky illuminates the lane leading away from the house, as if guiding me in the direction I need to go. Chest tight and pressure building in my head as I fight tears, I glance back at the door. Dylan could reappear anytime, and make this harder. I walk along the lane towards the road above the house, pushing through the remaining walls that surround my fantasy world.
