Locke

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The trees flashed in red and blue as the sirens grew louder and louder. I wanted to run to him and hug him, I wanted to feel his arms wrap my body and give me the safety I needed right then.

But I didn't.

I stood with my arms hanging straight by my sides and my legs cemented to the ground like the mud was holding me in place. “Was he telling the truth? Did you really watch me all those years ago?”

His nostrils flared as his lips drew taut. Hanging his head, he sat on the ground and rested his arms on his knees.

“When I was sixteen, you and your mom were at the mall, I was sitting in the food court when you both came out of the Yarn Barn.” His eyes held mine, glazing in a memory that was old and new, real and lost in years that had passed. “I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I don't know if you remember, but you dropped a quarter, and I picked it up and handed it back. That was the first time, the first moment I knew there was something special about you. You looked in my eyes, your fingers brushed mine and I swear. . .” Taking a deep breath, a small smile flirted with the corner of his lip. “I swear it sent chills up my spine.”

“I remember that.” Lacing my fingers together, I nodded. “I had bought this stupid knitting kit so I could make a pillow.”

“I kept seeing you wherever I went; the grocery store, the skate park, everywhere. I wanted to talk to you so many times, and I never did. Then one night, Dane and I were out, driving around like we always did, and we saw you in a gas station. I didn't think he was going to find out where you lived, and I never thought we'd end up outside your house.” Cole's head dropped into his chest as he palmed the back of his neck. “I didn't know what he was doing, I swear I didn't. I was there one night and I made him leave. If I had known—”

“Shut up,” I said, tucking my hands into my ribs and hugging my sides. “You can't blame yourself for the choices he made. It's not your fault.”

“But it is my fault.” Kicking his toe into the dirt, he dragged it back and forth. “I led him to you, I heard about what happened, I saw the sketch of his face on the news—and I did nothing.”

“Cole, he's your brother, you were a kid. Fuck, you can't blame yourself for what he did. You didn't do anything, he made his own choices, he decided. . .” My voice trailed off as the forest came alive and police officers swarmed around us, guns pointed at Dane. There were officers everywhere, coming in droves.

A broad-shouldered, older man in a suit, stepped up beside Cole and gripped his shoulder. “You alright?” Holding out his hand, he helped Cole off the ground.

“Yeah, I'm alright, thanks, Dean. Can we just have a minute?”

Nodding, he slapped his back and flicked his eyes to me. “You're a very lucky woman to have this guy looking out for you.” Looking back at Cole, he smiled. “I'm just glad you're both okay. You ended this, Cole, you just saved the lives of so many others,” he said as he started towards the crowd behind me. Turning back, he pointed a single finger at Cole, “I mean that.”

Cole smiled a half-hearted grin and watched him walk away. “Locke. . .” Stretching his arm out, he let it dangle in the air. “I'm sorry, I really am.” His eyes floated to the ground, dancing over the forest floor.

Running my hands through my hair, I took a step in. “You have my brush?”

Nodding, he wouldn't look at me. “I. . . I lost you before I had the chance to find you. Then everything happened, and you disappeared. That brush was the only thing I had left, I couldn't get rid of it.”

“I want it back, that was my favorite brush.” A playful smile teased the corner of my lip. “Do you know how many brushes I went through after that?”

His fingers swept across mine, softly tangling them together. “It's yours, you can have it.”

Taking another step in, I curled myself into his chest. “I know, because you don't need it anymore, I'm here. I'm yours, I'll always be yours. You saved me, Cole.”

His arms wrapped around my shoulders, hugging me as if I was the air he needed to survive. “I love you, Locke. I've always loved you since the first time I saw you. You're the one I've been looking for all these years, you're the one who makes me feel whole.”

Tipping my head up, I stroked his jaw. “I love you too.”

Our eyes never broke, we never looked away from each other. We were two people that had been shattered, lost, corrupted by pain and hate.

But when we found each other, when our worlds finally collided in some cosmic twist of fate, we became bound forever.

I was his and he was mine.

“Keep me.” Whispering the words into my hair, Cole's forehead touched mine as his eyes glinted with a new pain; fear of loss.

Kissing him softly, my fingertips gently brushed his cheeks. “Always.”