AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod. "I would have stayed. A love like that only comes once in a lifetime. That is why it's my favorite. All the other books have a happily ever after. Even if the man or woman dies in the end, they still loved one another. To me, the phantom always stood out, and in the past, they had adaptations of plays and musicals because the music is so beautiful. My favorite is the piano version."
"Is it?"
"You've never heard?"
He shakes his head. "No. It's not my thing."
"Oh. Of course not," I say and chew my lip nervously. "What is?"
"Are you asking what music I like to listen to, Lillith?"
"I am."
He slides his thumb over the screen, and “Imaginary Friends” by Deadmau5 plays.
Progressive house music. I shouldn't be surprised. Killian is a tech genius. I wondered how he could pinpoint my exact location and how Ciro showed up in the nick of time. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but now I know I'm always being watched.
I can't run away even if I have the balls to do it. He will always find me. There is nowhere I could run to or hide. Killian will always find me.
"We're really different, huh?" I ask.
He lowers the music so that it plays softly in the background as the stars light up the dark sky from the panoramic view of the moving car.
"Different is good."
"How so?"
"It means we could never be bored of one another. Different doesn't always have to equate to bad. You like things that are not easily accessible, that have meaning to you and history. It makes you unique because you like things that most people have forgotten exist. Books written by people who they thought were a lost cause. A lost voice. People like you keep them alive. You keep their stories alive."
I smile. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. No one in my father's house knew that I read besides Ethan or that I liked to read novels by great writers of the past.
"Thank you. I think you are a very intelligent man. "
He doesn't respond.
I want to throw in that he's gorgeous, but I know he wouldn't believe me. I wish he would take the mask off when he's around me. I want to memorize his face and expressions when he looks or speaks to me, but he doesn't feel comfortable around me.
The car stops at the edge of a road with a lighted path leading to the beach. When I was young, I once saw the beach because my father had to meet someone, and we were out. I was in the car and could never touch the sand or go in the water. I wanted to come on my own but was afraid of what I would find. What if I drowned? He jumps out and opens the door for me, holding out his hand.
We reach the sand, and I hear the waves crashing wildly on the shore as the wind blows my hair. All I see is the black sea with stars blanketing the sky. The sand covers my boots as my heels sink.
Killian plops on the ground beside me, drawing his knees up.
"Why are we here?"
"I thought you might like the fresh air and the sound of the sea."
I take a seat beside him, smelling the salty air. "I do. Have you ever been?"
He shakes his head. "No. Only my feet and then the accident.”
I frown, thinking it odd that he built a boat but has never fully gone in the water. It dawns on me. Of course. The accident.
I turn my head. "Your eye. You can’t go in?"
He shakes his head. "Never. I would lose the capability of my prosthetic. It's my own personal supercomputer. It transmits what I see to my brain."
"Is that why it shifts like you're a reptile?"
