Beyond the Broken Angel

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

— new discoveries —

June 10th, 2018

AS GISELLE LAID her head back against Hester's new hot tub, looking up at the dark and cloudy sky and breathing in the warm, night air, she thought about her day.

She had spent it with Ajay. They went to Frobisher and got gelato, saw a movie, went to a pond and fed ducks. It was a wonderful day, and she knew that she was close to falling in love with Ajay.

She also thought about the moments she spent worrying throughout the day.

When would the tree call me back?

Should I tell Ajay about my situation?

Would he even believe me?

Should I break up with him?

Will this relationship even go anywhere?

Why can't I get Will out of my head?

"Here," Ajay called out as he exited the back door, carrying an iced sweet tea. "You're fuel, madame."

"'Fuel?'" she questioned, shaking off her thoughts and taking the cold glass from him.

He nodded, hopping up onto the lip of the hot tub and swinging his legs around into the water. "Yes, fuel. You live off of sweet tea."

"I do not, you dork."

Ajay grinned, wading closer to her. "Don't call me a dork."

"I'll call you whatever I want to call you," Giselle smirked.

"Oh, you've done it now." Ajay attacked her with his lips, kissing at the ticklish spot on her neck.

"Ajay!" she said through giggles. "You're gonna make me spill my drink!"

Ajay pulled back. "Oh no, not your precious drink." He slipped an arm around her back, drawing her closer to him before planting a kiss on her lips.

When he drew back, she stared up at him, starry-eyed, but there was a pit in her stomach when she realized something. If I continue dating him, I'll be robbing him of a normal relationship.

I can't do that to him. How selfish is that?

"Ajay," she started, her smile dropping.

Ajay's spine straightened. "What?"

"Um, I think we need to break up," she told him slowly, all of her courage slowly dying in her words. The last syllable barely came out as a whisper.

The calm, happy Ajay she was so familiar with came to a halt. "What?" he asked. Giselle sighed, looking anywhere but at him, regretting her decision but trying to push through with it. She chose to focus on one of the birch trees behind him. "Why so suddenly? I thought you had fun tonight."

"I did," she claimed. "But I just don't think this will work out. I, um, don't know how long I'll be staying here. You know how I have to go back to America fairly often to visit family," she said, using the phony excuse she always fed him when she had to leave.

Ajay shook his head, grabbing her hand in his. "I understand that, and I'm willing to do this with you. Babe, we can do this. Long distance isn't a problem for me. As long I can hear from you, I'll be fine. We don't have to break up because of this." His eyes were hopeful, and Giselle wanted nothing more than to agree with him, but she couldn't exactly tell him that she couldn't call him when she was eighty years in the past.