Page 20 of Us Defiant Few

“Mind if I sit?”

Khalani immediately scooted over. She flipped her writings and tucked the page under her legs, clasping her hands tight as she stared ahead.

“How long has it been since they took him?” Elise tentatively asked.

“One week.”

All Khalani had been told was that Lane had performed the surgery, and Takeshi was still recovering. Nothing more. No word on whether the chip had been removed, or if his memory had returned.

But he was alive.

Hope hadn’t fled just yet, but Khalani didn’t know what to do or how to prepare for what was coming.

Words seemed hollow, but her body felt the opposite. Too full. And the only place she’d found a modicum of peace was in the abandoned church.

“I’m sorry,” Elise whispered. “I know it must be hard. I could tell you and Takeshi were close just by the way he looked at you.”

“What do you mean?”

Elise glanced up at the murals, her mouth curving in a solemn smile. “He looked at you like he wouldn’t hesitate to destroy anything—or anyone—that hurt you. Like you were the only thing that mattered.”

Khalani’s eyes watered, reliving every single moment.

“In another story, you would’ve been my beginning.”

She peeked at Elise, recognizing the same pain and numbness reflected in her expression. Even though Khalani had always shied away from touch, she reached over and grasped Elise’s cold hand.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when your dad died.”

Elise’s chin trembled as she squeezed her hand back. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. Doctor Strauss locked you in his building. The crazy thing is, I knew only one of us would make it out of that camp alive. And I always thought it’d be him.”

Khalani didn’t speak for a long while. She just held Elise’s hand, reminding her that grief shouldn’t have to be carried alone.

When you lose someone, people assume you want space. But what they don’t realize is that sharing the beautiful memories is less painful than forgetting them.

Because eventually, it becomes harder to remember their voice. Their laugh. How their eyes used to light up from across a room.

The pain is proof that they were real.

“I bet he’s watching you right now.” Khalani spoke from her bleeding heart. “And he’s proud that you made it out. That you’re still moving forward, no matter how difficult the journey is.”

Elise furrowed her brow. She turned her head, desperation filling her gaze. “Do you really think that’s true, Khalani? That the dead wait for us?”

“For a long time I didn’t,” Khalani admitted, her green eyes glistening. “But I met people who made me believe otherwise. On the days when it hurts too much, I think of the ones I still have to live for.”

For the first time since she’d been in prison camp, a genuine smile broke across Elise’s face.

It may have been small, but it was enough.

A hope that waited for both of them.

But not yet.

Not fucking yet.

As long as they were still alive, their fight wasn’t finished.

* * *