Small town secrets

Chapter 20 - Tk's perspective - Let's not say goodbye

We took off from the dock into the crashing waves. We were so desperate to escape that we were driving a boat right into the storm. I took the wheel and attempted to steer, doing a mediocre job at best. I had to try, not only for me but for her.
"We did it!" she shouted
I looked back to indeed see that they were stuck on the dock and couldn't get to us.
"I knew we could" I responded
"Do you think Tai and Matt are okay?"
I hadn't thought about it, Matt and Tai were still in there. Our battle may have been over for now but there's wasn't.
"They'll be okay"
"I should have stayed to help him. He's always there when I'm in trouble, but I'm just a coward running from my problems"
"Tai is strong, and so is Matt. The others are there to help them. It will all be fine"
The boat hit a huge wave, sending it crashing back into the sea, knocking Kari to the ground.
"You alright?" I asked
I received no response.
"Kari?"
I got a response, but not with words. She instead let out an aggressive cough. And then another, and another until she was in a full-on coughing fit. I was trying to focus on steering the boat. I wasn't good at it anyway. I ran to her side and put both of my hands on her shoulder. I knew she had health problems in the past, even pneumonia as a child. I was worried something bad was happening to her. I wish Joe was here, he would know what to do. I couldn't think of a way to help her and it was killing me. Without thinking I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled her in tight, My arms wrapped around her small figure. Stroking her soft chestnut-coloured hair. I began to cry. This was an awful situation, and it stung more to know she blamed herself. It was never her fault, she was born into the wrong family. She always apologized for dragging me into her "mess". I never saw it that way. After all the traumatizing things that happened to me as a child, my parents got a divorce, never seeing my dad or brother. She was so interesting and exciting. Always full of life. Everything I wanted to be, was what she was. I promised her it was safe. That we'd make it out of the storm and see the rainbow. I was talking about the metaphorical storm back then. If only I knew we'd be in an actual storm. I was so lost in thought, I didn't even hear her stop coughing.
"Tk?"
Her voice sounded fragile and frail. I pulled her back, putting my hands on her shoulders once again. Staring at her and her dark brown eyes.
"Kari!"
"You were kind of squishing me there"
"Oh, my bad"
We hit another huge wave and I dove over Kari, holding her close.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine"
We sat there in a moment of silence, neither of us quite sure what to say.
"This is how we die," she said staring into space
"Don't say that!"
My words clearly startled her, causing her to flinch.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, just think positive"
"How can you say that? Just think positive? We're on a boat that neither of us can drive, in the middle of a storm. How are you thinking positive? I wish I was as filled with hope as you are."
"Hikari Kamiya, you are the light in my life. The only person who shines bright enough to light up the darkness that is my life. I didn't know the true meaning of love until I met you. Sure I love my brother, but not in the same way. Matt makes me Happy, but you were so friendly to me when I didn't have anyone else. The most kindhearted person to ever walk the earth decided to love the most damaged soul. You were always easy-going and honest with me from the very beginning. That's just one of the many reasons I fell for you. You were everything I lacked. The positive energy I was missing as a kid. So if you're asking me why I'm being so positive, it's you. It's always been you."
"Wow, Tk I never could have thought yo-"
"Wait, I'm not done! Neither of us are reckless people, so the fact that we're on this boat right now, says a lot about our poor judgement in the moment. But I just want to say, what I'm about to say isn't poor judgement or some spur-of-the-moment decision. It's coming from deep in my heart. I know we're just in high school but, call it love at first sight, I want to marry you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to die with you. Preferable not right now but you get the point. I don't have a fancy ring, only my love, though I'll get you the most beautiful ring the second we graduate. We could be like Jack and Rose from the titanic!"
"Their boat sinks and jack dies" she laughed
"Well I was going to say Romeo and Juliet but I know they die too"
"Guess we're just destined to die"
"That's not the romantic analogy I was going for"
"That already" She giggled "You know me, probably better than I know myself. I don't need fancy and extravagant things. Your love is more than enough for me. Whether we die at sea, or in a hospital bed 20 years from now, I want to be by your side. Till death do we part Tk Takaishi."
"We need to stop with the death jokes"
"We really do"
"The most morbid wedding vows ever"
"When you think about it, it's now or never"
"Don't say that. I don't want this to be the end"
"I don't either, I love you so much. If we ever get off this boat I'll prove it to you"
"I don't need you to prove it to me. If you love me as much as I love you, I trust you with my life"
"I don't want to say goodbye"
"Then don't"
I looked at her and her perfect nose and dark brown eyes. She never wore makeup, not because she thought she was too good for it, but because she was too lazy to learn how. I felt myself stop to admire her lips. A bright shade of red, a natural as far as I knew. She always had a pout on her face, I'll never know if that's the way her lips were or if she was just always salty at me. Her lips slowly approached mine. I cupped her face, bringing it closer to mine.
"I love you"
"I love you too"
Our lips crashed together, it was almost a way of saying goodbye, without saying anything at all. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close, still locking lips. She straddled me as we continue our final good bye. It was a feeling of intimacy I have never felt before. I had been with other girls but never any quite like her. We were enjoying our moments of being together as the storm worsened. The boat was going up and down vigorously over the waves. It felt as if the boat might even flip. A wave came over the boat knocking us both over.
"Are you okay?" she called out
"Yes!" I said yelling over the storm "Grab on to something!"
We both grabbed on to part of the boat as a large wave swept over the boat flipping it over, with me and Kari on it.