By itself.
Magic.
Desmond's magic.
Fresh tears spill.
“Desmond?” I cry.
No response.
Of course not.
The house is silent.
Too silent.
I run upstairs.
Straight to the bedroom.
Our bedroom.
Oh God, it hits me then because it could have been, right?
Mine and his.
I collapse onto the bed and grab his pillow.
It smells like chocolate and cinnamon.
Like him.
I clutch it to my chest.
“How can this be real?” I sob.
“How can I feel like this over someone I just met?”
The room offers no answers.
Only silence.
And loneliness.
The same loneliness I'd lived with for years.
Only now—now I know exactly what I'm missing.
And the pain of it is too much.
Twelve
Desmond
The second the portal opens, I throw myself through it.
Someone shouts behind me.