They made it to the bench, and April sat down, fanning herself with her hands and wiping away some mascara.
“If I knew we’d be going for a jog, I’d have worn different shoes,” she said, giggling.
Gripp couldn’t take it anymore. As April took a seat on the bench, he went to his knee in front of her. He held her thighs as a look of utter confusion washed over her beautiful face.
“April,” he said, voice trembling. “I can’t wait any longer. I know there isn’t much time in this life, so I want to tell you with all of my heart that I’m in love with you.”
Gripp watched as April’s chest began to rise and fall rapidly. The pupils in her eyes dilated, which was disconcerting, but he went on anyway like a runaway train.
“I know it was different out there,” he spoke quickly. “The sex and the novelty and all that was amazing, but it was so much more than that to me. I want to be with you forever. You are my soul mate.”
Gripp reached for the box in his pocket, then popped it open. April stared down at it in shock, like he was showing a severed rabbit’s head.
“Gripp,” she began. “I’m in love with you too. But I need to tell you something before we dive into this.”
Gripp held onto the box for dear life.
“They’re going to publish my story,” April said, smiling. “About the kids in Eblax. My editor said it's promising, and they want me to fly out to L.A. to start talking about the documentary. This is everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Gripp felt his heart squeeze inside his chest like someone was trying to make it burst. April’s lovely eyes glassed over with tears.
“And you don’t think I’d want to come with you?”
April sniffed, a single tear trailing down her cheek. “Would you?”
Gripp felt stupid holding the engagement ring in his hand, so he closed it and placed it back inside his pocket. The action made April cover her mouth with surprise.
“You know how important that place is to me,” he said, still sitting on his knees. “I couldn’t be in a city with movie and showy types while I know that suffering is still going on.”
April cried silent tears while Gripp tried not to meet her eyes. He was torn up inside with rage, confusion, and, most of all, love. He was capable of love, but look what it had done to him.
“I know,” April said, weeping openly. “I know you wouldn’t. That’s why this is so fucking hard.”
Gripp let his head fall to April’s knees. He rested his forehead there, his expression distorting until he could no longer contain the grief rising in his throat.
Tears slid from his eyes while April ran her hands through his hair.
“Come here,” she whispered.
April lifted his head from her legs, then leaned over and planted a kiss on his forehead. She smiled sadly as pure honey eyes shined at him in the dark.
“Let’s make the best of tonight then,” she whispered.
They went to April’s apartment and ate there. But they ended up making love multiple times, first on the couch, then in bed, and then in the shower. Gripp was insatiable for her, his love and attraction combining to create some atomic emotion that was sure to kill him once they left each other’s company.
After a pleasantly exhausting night, they lay in bed together naked. They kissed as the moon rose into the sky, then finally gave into the sadness and love that they had poured into each other for what they thought would be the final time.
April dozed to sleep wonderfully in Gripp’s arms. The feel of her breath on his bare skin was tantalizing, so much so that he had difficulty getting up. But he couldn’t wake up in the morning with her and say goodbye. He wouldn’t be able to choose the well-being of the children over her. That was how strong his feelings had become.
He slipped away from her touch and dressed quickly in the dark. He wished that he could just erase her memory. It would have been so much easier to have never met her and never have had to suffer the loss of her.
But if he never did, he would not have known what his heart was capable of. She had shown him love, and thus, it had bloomed within himself.
Gripp made himself leave without a note or even another kiss. He knew that one would not be enough. Nothing would ever be enough. It was best to depart from the situation as quickly as possible and begin the endurance of the tragedy right away.
He went back to his apartment and packed his things, of which wasn’t a lot. He then boarded the plane the next morning, and before he did, he deleted April’s number from his phone. If he knew it was there, he would always hold onto the hope of her finding it in her heart to follow him.
She could find someone else and find love with them. He would be happy for her. But for him, she was it, his fated mate.