Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“We’ve got another sighting,” yelled the same man as before. “Fifty-First Street. Just crossed Park Avenue, moving at a fast clip. Some witnesses are claiming he appears deep in thought. Others say he is morose and taciturn.”
“Is that Mad4Mel99? She is a total wordsmith.”
“Too flowery! I hate her.”
“I love her. I trust her updates more than anyone.”
Melody was marveling over the fact that an entire community had created itself around Wreck the Halls while she’d been busy falling in love, but a woman approached from the opposite direction and blocked her progress on the sidewalk. “I’m Mad4Mel99,” said an expressionless woman wearing a shirt with Melody’s face on it. “Follow me if you want to live.”
“Oh. Uh . . .”
“Just kidding. He’s this way.” Mad4Mel99 changed directions and maybe she wasn’t operating with an eye toward safety, but Melody trusted her gut and went. And so did everyone else. As they jogged east, people recognized her and joined the group until they were spilling out into intersections and blocking the progress of traffic, much to the delight of Yellow Cab drivers who were already being hindered by the falling snow. There had to be over a hundred people. More. And Melody couldn’t help but be comforted by the support—with her heart bleeding in her chest, she needed as much as she could get.
“This is where I saw him last,” shouted Mad4Mel99. “He was crossing Park and going east. He couldn’t have gotten far.”
Melody kept going, only vaguely aware of her shivers, because they were nothing compared to the ache everywhere else. She’d be fine once she was in his arms. She’d be able to breathe normally again and the world wouldn’t feel upside down. Beat, please. Let me find you. I’m ready. They blew past Lexington, then Third, her hope starting to dwindle.
“Maybe he went into a bar? Or a coffee shop?” Melody chattered.
“Fan out!” Mad4Mel99 shouted, like a drill sergeant. “No one goes home until they’re back together where they belong.”
“We do belong together,” Melody sniffed, beginning to feel delirious.
The crowd behind her ahhhh’d.
A little farther. She could go a little farther. Maybe it was the sixth sense she had when it came to Beat? Something told her she was almost there. Almost with him.
The white cloud of breath in front of her face almost obscured the park on her right. It was small, just a little sliver of concrete, snow-covered tables and trees.
A figure sat at the far end of the park, hands clasped between his knees. Head bowed.
“Beat,” she whispered. Then louder, “Beat!”
The man shot to his feet so quickly, he upset the chair, sending it crashing up against the brick wall. He took a step in Melody’s direction, the moonlight bathing his handsome, yet haggard, face. “Mel?” His brows slashed together as he ripped off his coat, marching toward her at a brisk pace and wrapping it around her. His arms turned to steel bands next, surrounding her in warmth, as his lips dropped hard kisses on her hairline. “Oh God, Peach, you’re freezing.”
She’d been right. As soon as his arms were around her, everything was better. “I had to come find you.”
“Without your coat?” he asked, sounding tortured.
“It was urgent.” When the warmth finally allowed her teeth to unclench, she looked up at him. “You’re so much better than I was expecting, too.”
His features softened, his eyes exploring hers intently. “What?”
“That’s what you said. When we were sixteen, right after we met. You said I was better than you expected.”
“You were, Melody,” he said gruffly. “You are.”
“We become better when we’re together. Every second, every minute, makes both of us better. You feel that, too, don’t you?”
“Do I feel it?” He choked out a sound. “How could I feel anything else when I’ve got you believing in me?”
“And you believe in me, too,” she said, going up on her toes to brush their lips together. “You believed in me enough to bring me on this journey with you. Brought me along to fight the monsters. You might have made choices to keep me out of the battles. And I understand why. I understand that protecting me is how you show your love, but we fought the war together. We won, because we get to love each other. We won because there is no one you trust more than me and no one I trust more than you. I believe in that. You showed me that by finding me again in the first place.” She kissed him, long and sweet, his forearm lifting her off the ground, up against his chest as the kiss accelerated. “We get to be together, Beat. It’s such a gift.”
He opened his mouth and closed it, seemingly at a loss for words, a sheen forming in his eyes. “You’re forgiving me, Mel?”