Free A Destined Death by Lisa Rayns Page A

life, and I’m not going to let you or anyone else tell me how to live it. I’m not them, and I’m not going to die young.”
    “Yes, you are,” he insisted, between clenched teeth. “You’re making a mistake.”
    “Good. That’s what college girls are supposed to do.”
    “You’ve made your decision then?”
    I nodded, but I had to look away from the pain on his face. “You’re obsessed with me because you think I’m them, but I’m not anything like them. I’m not going to get stabbed to death, and as soon as I graduate I’m moving somewhere where there aren’t any earthquakes.”
    He tipped his head and his eyes closed. “This is what you want?”
    “Yes,” I squeaked, my voice cracking. My eyes watered like I stood too close to a fire, but I forced the words out quickly, “And I don’t think you should stay.”
    When his eyes flashed open, he stared at me like I’d just slapped him. 
    “I can’t,” I explained as my tears started to fall. “You’re torturing me.”
    His brows pulled together as his head shook. “Forgive me. I did not mean to cause you pain. Tell me you don’t mean it.”
    “I do,” I lied, but I couldn’t look at him. Even as I said the words, I wanted to take them back. My heart and my head felt so overloaded and heavy, I thought I would implode. “I just need some time.”
    “Should you need me, you know how to reach me,” he said. Then he was gone.
    ****
    Normalcy returned after that night, and the next two years went by in a flash. Once my story was published in the magazine, my confidence grew, and I entered more contests and won. I made a name for myself as a budding author and became somewhat popular on campus. I loved university life. I smiled more, laughed more, and got involved. Even Tina spent more time with me, mostly we hung out on my homework days. That wasn’t always pleasant but I didn’t mind the distraction. Guys started to notice me too, and some asked me out, but I could only see how they were not…him.
    The jewelry stayed under my mattress, and Draven stayed MIA. I thought about him constantly. He haunted my dreams and every waking thought, and each lonely night I contemplated making one little wish. I couldn’t though because I missed seeing him too badly. I knew if he asked me to give up my dreams one more time, I would.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    “Three, two, one…” I sang out as the old Chevy Camaro leapt across the South Dakota border near Spearfish. Even though several states now separated me from my lifelong city, I felt closer to home than I ever had.
    I couldn’t wait another minute to get out on my own but I could have been happier. I’d wished for Draven at sunrise to at least tell him goodbye and return his jewelry. He didn’t show, and I was still coming to terms with the fact that he’d given up on me.
    It had been a torturous effort not to wish for him over the years but I couldn’t trust myself. He drew me. Every look he’d ever given me affected me down in my gut. Every word he’d ever said seemed sincere and riddled with meaning. I’d never wanted anyone more.
    “I am waiting for you.” At the memory, I almost slammed on the breaks and turned around to go find him. If only I’d had any idea where to look in Seattle, I would have. Without knowing his last name, I couldn’t very well look him up in the phone book. Now, I doubted he would be able to read my mind from so far away.
    “No. No. No. He’s forgotten all about you by now!” I argued to myself, yelling freely out the side window of my car. 
    My car– Hecate. The dark blue car I’d bought as a gift to myself. The one I’d drooled over every day between school and my jobs that always had to be within walking distance of a bus route. The car that screamed speed and power from its mere presence belonged to me, and I loved it. It was my ticket out––out of Portland and out of my childhood. The time had come to be free from all of that and