Something hard slams into my chest and wraps around me. I open my eyes and instantly recognize the top of Kai’s head. On instinct I just hug him back. I didn’t want to die alone but I didn’t want Kai to die too. I rest my chin on his head, I made peace with my death but I don’t want my best friend to die too. Trying to break that glass was probably a bad idea. I glance up to watch Kay’s mech fly out of the space station as well, but no signs of Daamin or Kevin. At least she’s dying with us. Kai lets me go, but holds onto my hand so we don’t float away.
“Guess you got to hold my hand again,” I try to joke. “Sorry you got sucked out here with me.”
“I jumped,” Kai says. “I didn’t want you toe die alone,” he uses his free hand to wipe a tear.
Now I’m crying, “I didn’t want you to die with me. That’s stupid.”
“My life wouldn’t be worth living without you.”
“You’ve got plenty to live for.”
“You always believe I’m so much better than I am. If I don’t have you, I don’t really have anything of value.”
“You’re the value Kai. You’re always there to support people, even people who don’t deserve it. So many people in this world try to tear each other down just to get to the next step in life, but you build people up.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Dre,” Kai wipes more tears.
“I told you stop crying over me.”
“You also promised to come back, but I had to go chasing you.”
“Fair enough.”
We start to pick up speed towards the Earth. Now I’m wondering if we’re going to burn up in orbit or splat. I wonder what death is like. Is there a Heaven? Will I go to Hell? What if reincarnation is real? Do I get reincarnated as an apple and eaten in the second chapter? I’ve got so many questions flying through my mind and I can’t put words to most of them.
“Dre, I fucking love you,” Kai says. “I fucking love you,” he repeats several more times.
“I love you too Kai.”
“No, I really fucking love you. Some mornings you are my reason to get out of bed. If you don’t text me during the day I get anxious. I hate when you compliment me because I get butterflies in my stomach. Everything you say to me is just genuine. You’re the realest person I know. You make me stutter sometimes,” Kai raises his voice, “I’ve fallen asleep thinking about you so many times. You’re always on my mind,” he finally runs out of steam.
“I told you, I love you. You’re my best friend, one of the people I care about most in the world. I don’t want to die, and I don’t want you to die. But I’m glad you’re here with me. I always feel like I need to be the best version of me when I’m around you. I don’t ever want to disappoint you because you might cry and I hate seeing you cry.”
“I really love you Dre. I just don’t know how else to say it or show you,” Kai keeps talking but I can’t hear him.
We’ve entered orbit. It’s almost as if the sound of every gust of wind in existence is flowing through one ear and out the other. I can see Kai shouting at the top of his lungs, but it’s no good. I point to my ears, and he just nods. Understanding it. He just squeezes my hand tighter and closes his eyes. I don’t close mine, I want to see what happens when it’s over. We start to burn up and eventually I have to close my eyes from the heat. I just wait for the impact and the end to come.