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"Okay, let me rephrase I know it means we’re over We have to be I’ve alood when the visions start co on to a lost cause, Ali"

Panic set in I had to make him understand "I’m not a lost cause We’re not a lost cause I don’t like Gavin"

"But you will"

No! "Don’t do this," I said "Please You have to trust ain, and I didn’t care how desperate I sounded "There are sos you can never take back, and this is one of them"

A terrible stillness ca Then he was sto a fist

Boo a hole Dust erous boy I’d been warned about in the beginning The one hters The panty irls at school call him The boy others feared The violent cri to look at Gavin and suddenly start wanting hiine it "You’re the one for me And this isn’t like you," I added "You never back down You never walk away froht for ed wall

"Cole," I said quietly Must get through to him "Do you want Veronica?"

"No," he said, and I could have sobbed with relief "Not even a little"

"See!"

"Ali, I" He straightened, turned toward me I saw the panic a split second before a sheet of ice fell over his features, and that ice was far worse than the fury he’d displayed earlier "Our feelings right now aren’t the probleive ive myself Butwe’re done"

Done

Just like that

Over Finished

"Cole"

"We’re done," he repeated more firmly "We’re done"

How finite he sounded How sure

For the second time in ht I would die But this time, I had the second heart, the new one, whatever it was, to pick up the slack, to keep me alive

Silent now, he backed up, away fro after you," I croaked

"I don’t want you to"

With those five words, he shredded the rest of ive hiain I couldn’t "I won’t take you back even if you co into his tone "And I won’t I can’t" He shook his head "There’s nothing I can say to make either of us feel better about this, and I’m sorry about that You’ll probably never kno e my mind It has to be this way"

He turned and left

Chapter 6

Welcohtth to stand My legs shook With fury Sorrow Helplessness Regret

Pain

I wanted to chase after Cole and tear into him the way he’d just done to me I wanted to hit him I wanted to screa

I wanted to cry and beg him to come back to me

I wanted his arms around me

I wanted to hate him

Maybe I did hate hiht he was How could he be? He’d cut me loose the sa Only difference was, I’d had a little warning I just hadn’t wanted to face the truth of it

I wanted to avoid hiain Of course I would We would even talk to each other We’d have to In a way, he was htly rotation schedule He headed up all training But the easy ca The touching

Over

He’d wanted to protect hi battle, from whatever mystery he refused to discuss, fro for other people while ere still together

I’d been willing to risk it