Chapter 1

He leaned down and kissed me. It was a soft, gentle kiss, full of promise and longing. I closed my eyes and melted into his embrace. The longer we kissed, the more my knees grew weak and buckled. He grabbed my waist tighter and pulled me in closer. I was breathless but wanted more, needed more. Then he pulled away and looked into my eyes. It was over too soon, I whimpered.

"I love you,' he said.

" I love you too, " I said.

"I'll be on the boat today for a meeting, and then you can come and meet me for lunch," he said.

I watched as he grabbed his bag and walked out the door. I decided to put on the dress he bought me on our anniversary. It's a beautiful red floor-length flowy dress with frills perfect for today's weather.

BRRRIIING BRRRIIIING BRRRIIIING

I look at my phone. My best friend Ashley is calling. I smile as I remember when we first met. I was getting bullied in elementary school, and Ashley poured milk on all the girls and said if you don't like the feeling of being picked on, don't do it to others. We have been best friends ever since. I pick it up.

"Hello Liz, I miss you. I just landed. Do you want to meet up right now," she said

I laugh. "I missed you too. Don't you want to see your family first? " I said.

"No, they'll see me later at the family dinner, and you're coming with me," she said.

"Okay, Ashley! Let's go to our favorite bakery spot. We have to make it quick, as I have to meet Daniel at noon, " I said.

"I have you for an hour. That's not fair. You were mine first!" she whines.

"I love you too. You had better hurry and meet me there before you have thirty minutes." I said

"Mhmmm, bye, see you there, Liz," she said.

I get to our favorite bakery spot first and sit at our table. She walks in and smiles when she sees me. I stand, and she starts sprinting towards me, and the next second, it feels like a giant boulder crashed into me. The air is knocked out of my lungs for a split second. I had an aching, throbbing pain shoot down my back to my legs, and I realized I landed on the floor. I realized Ashley was smiling down at me with an innocent look. I glare daggers at her.

"Sorry, Liz, I just got excited when I saw you. I haven't seen you in forever. Grandpa can never send me abroad again, mhmm, " she said.

"Ashley, if you don't get off me, I'm going to tell Grandpa you didn't spend enough time abroad," I said.

She scoffs. "No, you wouldn't. You love me, and I'm your best friend, " she says.

"Ashley Knight, you better get off me this instance, " I said.

Once she is off me, it takes my body a minute to finally stop being numb. She reaches her hand out so she can help pull me off the floor. I look around and realize everyone is looking at us. I can feel my cheeks turning pink. I put my head down and sit down in the chair. Ashley sits across from me, and I glare at her. She tries to slide down the chair as if that'll help her. I extend my leg out and kick her knee. She yelps.

"I'm sorry. I missed you. I can't live without you. I need you, " she said.

"You've been doing just fine for four years, Ashley. We talked on the phone every day with each other. It's the first day back, and you're already embarrassing us. You're lucky I love you and put up with you, " I said.

She pouts. "I just came back, and you're mad at me already, " she said.

I laugh. She always knows how to make me laugh. I can't be mad at her even when she deserves it.

"You sound like a petulant child. You got a good education and great experience. You can now work in your family company like you always wanted to, " I said.

"I guess there is a plus side. Grandpa wants to pass the company on to me within the following year. I must start from the bottom to the top to learn the ropes. He said it'll make me a great boss if I can understand the people working at the bottom, " she said.

"There are my two favorite girls. You're finally back, Ashley. Do you two want your regular? " Ms.Shirley said.

Ashley gets up to hug Ms.Shirley and then sits back down. Ms.Shirley laughs wholeheartedly.

"Yes, our regular, please. I've been dreaming about having a scone with powdered sugar and honey drizzled on top forever, " she said.

Ms.Shirley walks away to get our scones and knowing her; she'll give us extras. I can imagine biting into a fluffy, airy cloud with sweetness. We start to catch up with each other while waiting for our scones. Ms.Shirley returns with a plate full of our scones, and Ashley begins scoffing them down like she's been starved. I ate three like a civilized person. I looked at my phone to check the time and saw I had 25 minutes to meet Daniel. I tell Ashley I must go now, and she whines, but she'll be okay. I said bye to Ms. Shirley and that we'd stop by again. 

I get in my car and tell the driver to go to the boat. We finally reach there, but he parks a distance away. I found that odd; I'm usually taken closer to the ship. I don't say anything as this must be a new driver. I begin to walk to the boat, and as I am halfway there, I see a bright flash. A gush of hot, solid air blows around me, and the force sends me flying backward onto the pavement. Silence all around me. I try to look around but can't see much around me, but a thick cloud of dust and rubble is around me. I clutch my chest, gasping for air. I hear muffled noises of car alarms going off and people screaming. 

I start to panic, thinking, is Daniel okay? Please, god, let us both be okay. I begin to cough. I shakily take off the shawl that I have wrapped around me. In the process of that, I see the blood on me running down my hands. I have to worry about that later. I can't breathe like this, so I cover my face with the shawl and take slow, deep breaths. I try to get up but feel this pressure on my leg and see rubble and metal on me. I start seeing things when the dust cloud begins to fade a little. I see destruction and fire all around me. I scream for someone to help me. I'm pinned down. But no one seems to hear me. Are the words even coming out of my mouth?

I get this sharp pain in my head that feels like a heartbeat, and my vision starts to blur. I use whatever strength I have to push the metal and rubble off me. I stagger to my feet, shaky, grabbing onto anything in my reach. My ears start to ring. I taste blood and dirt in my mouth, but I'm not worried about that. Where is Daniel? I look to where the boat is and see it up in flames. No, it can't be.

"DANIEL. DANIEL. DANIEL. WHERE ARE YOU? DANNIELLLLL. PLEASE ANSWER ME. I NEED YOU. I LOVE YOU. PLEASE, PLEASE, WHERE ARE YOU?

Everything starts to fade and go black. Then, a peaceful silence takes over, and I smile and welcome it. Wherever my love is is where I shall go.