Chapter 6: The Day We Met

...Kati POV...

It's the morning after I admitted to Sebastian that I love him. When he said that he loved me too, I was so relieved and beyond excited. We have wasted seven years of our lives and only have three months to catch up. So I am going to do absolutely everything in these few months to show him how much I love him. I don't know how to give love, but I will try my damnedest to show him. I know this means that he will even hurt more now, but there are no unsaid words between us left.

Though, I have been hiding another secret from him. One I don't think he is going to like or understand. There is no time that will be the right time to tell him. There is nothing I can do to change it. Why tell him if it is going to make no difference. I know that is the wrong way of thinking of it. So he will be mad at me after it has happened, but I am protecting him from getting hurt in my own messed up way.

This morning, I have decided to make breakfast for him; I know it's only five in the morning, but I think he would appreciate it. He is still sleeping, so I take it to his room. And of course, I need to put up a noise to wake him.

"Sebastian. Sebastian, please wake up."

"Kati. What do you have there?"

He points over to my attempt to make him some slightly watery eggs and toast that has perhaps been in longer than it should have been. But he still smiles as I put it down.

"Look, I made you breakfast."

"Sweety, it is five in the morning."

"I was bored; I could not sleep."

"So this five in the morning is going to become a thing."

I burst out laughing and give him a playful punch on his arm. Just before I could pull my hand away, he grabs me in his arms. I can feel the heat build between our bodies. I feel my body tremble in anticipation. His eyes search mine; I can see the love he feels for me deep inside. He slowly, inch by inch, moves his lips closer to mine.

The moment our lips touch, the world vanishes in an instant. His lips are softer than I ever imagined, and he tastes even sweeter than heaven. My lips are firm against his, but the kiss remains soft, gentle, and slow. We hold it for a few seconds before our lips begin to move in perfect sync. My eyes fall closed, and all I could feel is him. His warmth, his touch, his being. It is agony, knowing that this could be the first, last, and only time that we could experience this.

After a few moments, we pull away to get some much needed breath, and I know if I do not stop now, we might go further than what I am ready to go yet.

"I am going to have a shower; maybe we can go hike up that trail."

"Sounds great; I will meet you outside in half an hour. I will go pack a bag with things we might need."

..... Sebastian's POV.....

I can't believe that Kati feels the same way about me. If I knew this before, then I would have told her a long time ago. But she finally knows now, and I am so glad that I at least had enough time to tell her and that we both did not live regret. I am going to spend every moment of every day to show her how much I love her. I can't make up for seven years, but I can make the best of now.

And she has already shown me that she loves me without her even noticing it. Yesterday the picnic, today the breakfast, everything she does for me, I will never forget. I am the lucky one, not her as she claims. I want to make her forget even though I know that we can't. I will protect her with my own life.

I have been so in my thoughts that I have not noticed it has been an hour already. She never takes so long to get ready; I usually am the one that is late.

So I go inside to check what is taking her so long. As I walk into her room, I see that she is not there, but I can hear that the shower is still running. She cannot possibly be in the shower still?

"Kati, are you okay?"

There is no answer. She probably can't hear me from the shower, so I call after her a little louder.

"Kati, can I come in?"

There is still no answer. She should have heard me. She should have been out of the shower a long time ago. There is a horror that fills my body again. We have been here before, but it was nothing to get nervous about. Has it changed? So I call one more time as I enter the bathroom.

"Kati, I am coming in."

Then…

There she is, she is lying on the floor in front of me. She is not moving, and there is blood that is coming from a wound on her forehead. Her naked body feels cold to the touch. I don't know how long she's been lying here like this. I feel so hopeless; I do not know what to do. I just promised that I would be there for her, and now she might be lost to me again.

"Kati, no! Please no. Please wake up, Kati!"

I take her in my arms and lay her head on my lap. She is not moving, nor she is not waking up. But I am relieved when I feel that she has a pulse, it is faint, but it is there. It still does not stop me from sobbing uncontrollably. And as tears are running down my cheeks, it drips down on her cheek. My heart is hurting again; why can't I just take away her pain.

"Don't take her. Please just take me. I would do anything."

I lift Kati off the floor and take her to the bed; I pull the covers over her body. I need to phone the doctor. I had made sure there was a doctor close by before we came here. After one hysterical call full of mumble and tears, I finally managed to get an address to the doctor, who is at least over an hour away. While we wait, I send my mom a message to come, I don't know if this is the end.

Then I get on the bed and lay next to Kati. I wrap my arms around her body. I am holding on for dear life. I smell her sweet perfume lingering on her skin. Her hair is so soft; it tickles my face. My body pulls tighter into her, and I keep her save, save from all the horrible things out there. I remind myself that I will always protect her, no matter what. She is the one and only love of my life.

Then I start to speak to her as if she is awake, telling her a story that she might have forgotten.

"Do you remember the day we met? It was the day before my twenty-first birthday; I came to pick your brother up for a sleepover for my party the next day. While he was getting ready, you were sitting in the lounge with me. You could not stop staring at me, then when your mom called you to help her with something in the kitchen, you got up, but you were still staring at me. But you forgot to look at where you were heading and you walked into the wall. I think it was maybe that day that I fell in love with you too."

I take one deep breath and get the courage that we both need.

"Kati, I love you; please hang on."