WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST
Cara, a troubled college dropout, finds herself slowly falling for a handsome stranger - who turns out to be Death incarnate. But the arrival of a mysterious being puts Death's home for lost souls and his very existence at risk...
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I've never known how much a single touch can have the power to paralyze you, until now. His palm is shockingly warm and clammy against my own, and suddenly I want to feel every crease. I want to memorize his fingerprints.
But I don't do that. I lead him over to the edge of the dance floor. He moves his hands down to the small of my back, and I shiver. Get control over yourself, before you do something stupid. I wish it was easier to listen to logic right now, but it seems that that ship has sailed.
We sway gently in time to the music, something too loud and a bit grainy on the low-quality speakers that Mem pulled together. It takes me an entire verse and chorus to start breathing normally again. I want to press closer to Death, and I wring up every last drop of my willpower to avoid doing so. I don't want people staring at us more than they already are.
"You did a great job with this party," Death says, raising his voice a little to be heard over the music. "This is the best I've ever seen it."
"Thanks," I say, looking at the ground, at the DJ booth, anywhere but his face. "Mem did a lot of it, so..." I trail off awkwardly. If he wasn't interested in me before, I'm definitely not doing myself any favors.
"I also wanted to thank you," Death says again, quieter. "For what you did for Sarah." My stomach clenches, and I finally glance up at him. The hollows of his cheekbones collect the evening shadows, but there's definitely color in his face that wasn't there before. "I had started to think that she'd never make it to the other side. But thanks to you, she found peace."
"She's gone?" I rasp, and Death nods. I'm not sure how to feel. Happy, because it's what she deserves. Sad, because I'll never see my friend again.
"She found me late last night, and I just knew. It was time. She told me what you did for her, and I could hardly believe what I was hearing." The way that he's staring at me makes me fidget.
"I just wanted to help," I mutter. "Anyone else would have done the same."
"No. Not anyone." He shakes his head, those bottomless eyes boring into my soul. Challenging me. "I wish you knew how special you are, Cara. You care about people more than anyone I've ever met. Yet you still don't feel that you deserve the same."
I stare back at him, and it's torture. I want to rise to the challenge. I want to feel adored, deserving of his kindness. There's so much that I want to say, so much I want to do, now that he's here in my arms. This is our chance: here, now.
Emboldened, I tip back my head and close my eyes as the music crescendos. Every fiber of my body begs him to bridge the distance, and I know he understands what I'm asking for by the way his grip tightens. I lean forward, an invitation, the perfect precursor to a kiss. My lips part. I feel his warm breath wash over my exposed throat. And then...nothing.
The song ends, and I feel his hand leave my waist, and when I open my eyes I watch him cross the dance floor. Leaving me alone, stranded, just like that.
