Rewind (Vanish Book Three) (15 page)

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Chapter 1: Anniversary

It had been one year since the fall of
the Alliance. One year since Dante and I became a couple. One
heavenly year, where Dante and I took things slowly, and learned
things about each other we’d never thought to ask before. A year
full of sacrifice and happiness. A year full of celebration and a
little bit of regret, but the only thing that mattered, was that we
were all here. It had been one whole year without the bother of
peoples’ greediness, without the fear of being chased.

I had to admit, it was perfect.
Perfection wasn’t being without flaws. It wasn’t steering clear of
any issues that couldn’t be resolved. But it was learning to accept
the little things and the obstacles that stood in your way, because
if you never learn to look past—and get past—those things, you
never learn what perfection can really be.

There was not one day in this last year
that went by without problems, but there was also not a single day
that I couldn’t see every reason I had to be happy. I was lucky. I
felt like the luckiest girl in the world, but I that didn’t stop me
from feeling like at any moment it could all come crashing down. I
didn’t want to think that way, but I also didn’t want it to be a
huge surprise if and when things did go wrong.

I turned toward the mirror. My long red
hair flowed in even curls down to my waist. I was wearing a
bright-orange blouse and a pair of jean shorts. Most days, I didn’t
bother with makeup, but it was a special occasion, and I wanted to
look my best.

I waited for Dante to arrive. I craned
my head and looked out the window. It didn’t look like he was
coming yet. I grabbed the small wrapped box from under my bed and
readjusted the bow. Then, I grabbed my orange flip-flops and went
downstairs. By the time I got down, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door and stared into his
eyes. Just seeing his face was like a jolt to my heart. He stood
there smiling, he didn’t say a word—he just let me soak in his
perfection.

“
Are you ready?” he asked,
after my eyes wandered to the perfect blue sky above.

“
Yes,” I
answered.

He grabbed my hand and led me to the
car.

He drove a little ways and then
stopped, right in the middle of nowhere. He got out of the car and
then, went to get something out of the back. It was a blanket and a
picnic basket.

We walked about half a mile into the
woods before I started wondering where we were going. I’d seen at
least five places where we could have set the blanket. He stopped
for a moment, scratching his head.

“
Okay, I think we go this
way. It’s only a little bit farther; I know it.”

We walked on a path that went downhill.
The sun shined through the leaves, and it started getting brighter.
The trees spaced out more and more the farther we walked. Finally,
we reached the spot Dante had been looking for. I knew before he
said anything, it was beautiful. There were wild flowers strewn
through the grass, and a tiny river ran right through the middle of
the sun-drenched meadow. We set the blanket about a foot away from
the stream, and sat down.

“
This is beautiful, when did
you find this place?” I wondered.

“
Oh, I was looking for an
amazing spot to take you the other day,” he answered.

“
Well, it’s
amazing.”

He opened the picnic basket and set out
the food. Once it was all out, he pulled out one more thing. It was
a tiny box, wrapped in teal paper with a tiny pink bow on top.
That’s when I realized that I had been holding onto his present the
entire time. We exchanged the boxes and opened them together.
Inside the box, was a beautiful charm bracelet, each charm was
unique.

“
Thank you,” I said. I
looked over at him, and he was putting on the watch that I’d given
him.

“
Thank you,” he
repeated.

“
You’re welcome,” I said as
I looked at the intricate detail on each charm.

I fidgeted with the bracelet as I
admired it. I thought today would be a great day. A day where I
would forget all of the things I had speculated about, but still I
could tell he was hiding something from me.

“
What’s on your mind?” he
asked, staring into my eyes.

“
Nothing,” I said with
little conviction. “What time is it?”

“
Almost three,
why?”

“
I have to be somewhere
around five.”

“
Where?” he
asked.

“
It’s nothing really, kind
of an appointment.”

“
Oh, okay,” he
sighed.

“
Look, it’s nothing really.
I just promised to help someone with… something,” I
explained.

“
Okay, I’ll have you back to
your house by four thirty.”

“
Thank you,” I
smiled.

It wasn’t that I needed to keep this
secret from Dante, but I knew that if I told him, he wouldn’t
approve or worse—he would worry and follow me there.

We sat bathing in the sunlight next to
the river. I sat in front of Dante, and leaned up against his
chest. I slid over one way, so that I could look up at him. He
smiled, but he almost looked sad.

“
What’s wrong?” I
wondered.

“
I just love you so much,
you know that, right?”

“
I love you, too,” I said as
I straightened up and turned toward him. “Is everything
alright?”

“
Fine,” he
mumbled.

It seemed as though only moments had
passed, when Dante got up.

“
What are you doing?” I
asked.

“
Packing up, it’s almost
four thirty.”

“
Already?” I
groaned.

“
Well, you don’t have to go
if you don’t want to,” he said in an almost pleading
manor.

“
No, I have to. I’m sorry.
We’ll have to come back here though.”

The walk back to the car seemed to take
less time. Dante knew where he was without a doubt now. It was like
he was rushing. He wanted to know the details, but was trying as
hard as he could not to ask.

He raced down the narrow dirt road all
the way back to our neighborhood. I still felt a haunting presence
there, like this was a place where only evil could truly flourish.
I shook it out of my mind for the moment. I’d had too many long
nights where I never found sleep, to think about all of this. Now
was not the time.

Dante stopped the car right in front of
the house, almost hitting a giant plant pot in the process. He got
out of the car, walked me up to the door, and kissed me on the
forehead. He stopped and stared into my eyes. It was as if he was
trying to figure out on his own, if I was up to no good. He sighed
and then walked away.

I stood there watching him until he
made it home. Then, I went into the house. Violet was waiting at
the table, reading the newspaper. She stopped, set it down and
looked up at me.

“
What’s wrong?” she
asked.

“
Nothing, but I need to
hurry up and get ready, there’s somewhere I need to be.”

She picked up the newspaper and
continued reading. I was glad that for once, she didn’t have fifty
questions to ask me.

I marched upstairs to put on something
a little more—intimidating. I chose an all-black outfit. I grabbed
my sunglasses and threw them in my purse. Then, I ran down the
stairs and out the door, without a word. I jumped in the car and
began driving toward my destination.