Who We Were | Book One

10. We Could Die Tomorrow

The mini-golf course seemed to stand still as I sat on the wooden bridge. My arms were wrapped around my legs and I'd rested chin against my knee, closing into myself. Even the wind had softened, only managing to lift a few strands of hair from my shoulders. A warm glow fell as the sun began to lower itself into the horizon, casting stretched shadows across the grass. I picked at a loose piece of skin on the corner of my thumb mindlessly as I tried to forget the reality that surrounded me.

Once upon a time, the golf club would have been full of life; families teaching their children how to play, elderly couples spending time together in their retirement.

I wanted to scream my anger, my rage and hatred at the world but I knew there would be no use.

There was no-one left to hear, or rather, no-one with the capacity to respond.

"Room for one more?" A deep, raspy voice came from behind me.

I didn't bother to move as the wood creaked underneath his feet, his shadow leaning lazily against the post to my left.

"Sure," I replied.

He lowered himself to sit next to me, stretching his legs out. I glanced out the corner of my eye. He'd removed the jacket I'd given him, revealing his plaid shirt which had been rolled at his wrists. His dark curls sat messily against his forehead, brushing against his lashes.

"Can't see the sunset from the other side," he said, looking to the kaleidoscope of soft colours. "Pretty impressive."

A silence fell into the air as a hazy orange glow cast between us.

"I've come to a conclusion,' he began, lowering his head to the off-blue water beneath us.

"What?"

"We're both dickheads."

I scoffed. "How did you come to that?"

"I can tell this is all new to you, so maybe I need to be a bit more understanding," he explained in a low voice. "You, on the other hand, need to trust me... I may not look like I know what I'm doing, but I do."

I gave a small nod. "I think I'm just struggling to adjust to all this..."

"You've seen them before though, right?" He asked. "You're not completely oblivious?"

"Yeah... But nothing up close. It's different when you're at their level."

He paused and his dark brows furrowed in my direction. "You never left your flat?"

I shook my head. "Everyone else left, so the supplies for the building were just left there... All the news channels said to stay put, so I did."

His pupils glinted and the hint of a smile flickered across his lips. "Clever," he said. "Not smart... But clever."

The wind drifted between us, creating a comfortable silence as the orange glow darkened the sky.

"I never said sorry," he continued, quieter. "About your parents."

"You did actually," I corrected, my hand instinctively hovering above the rings at the base of my neck. "I threw a gun at your head before you could finish."

"Right," he nodded, his lips pulling into a faint smile as he looked out to the golf course. "I-"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now..." I interrupted as my fingers caressed the smooth metal.

"Sure. I understand," he whispered, his words falling into the air. The air had become colder and grey clouds had begun to mask the sunset but as we sat just centimetres apart, the heat that radiated from his body made mine tingle. "I want to show you something," he said, pulling himself up from the bridge as the sky seemed to darken and delicate raindrops began to cascade down. He held an open palm out in front of me, an eyebrow raised.