A/N: It was brought to my attention that this story was uploaded with a lot of random symbols and text, so I fixed it. Sorry for the confusion!
"You know how I remember how to spell 'because'?"
Isabella shook her head, the beads in her braids clicking together.
Kate wrote out a sentence on the paper. "Big elephants can always understand small elephants." She underlined the first letter of each word. "See?"
Isabella's eyes widened. "How'd you do that?"
"Magic." Kate giggled. "One of my teachers taught me that when I was your age."
A car pulled up on the curb, the woman inside waving to them. Isabella sprang out of her seat, putting her paper in her backpack.
"Alright," Kate said. "Here are the vocab words to work on for next week. And do the next three exercises in your workbook."
"Thank you, Miss Katherine." Isabella flashed her a smile, showing off three missing teeth. She bounded down the driveway to her mother's car, and Kate stayed on the front porch until it disappeared down the street.
She walked across the lawn to the mailbox, quickly sifting through mostly recyclable junk. She stood for a moment, a strange prickling sensation at the back of her neck. Her head shot up, looking toward the trees that boarded the house. Was that…?
No. It was Mr. Hoffman, the man who lived next door. He was trimming the hedges, earbuds in and his clothes covered in dirt. She took deep breaths, starting back to the front door.
Five years had gone by. Things were still shaky, especially since she was taking night classes and tutoring Isabella once a week (a daughter of one of her father's coworkers). He was working two jobs, barely a spare moment to himself unless it was the weekend. Their parents were being very generous, allowing them to rent a house her father had designed and built and checking in every day by phone. Kate told them to stop giving her allowances, but Cameron was a little less hesitant to refuse. They needed it for food, and they could never have enough of that.
"Done already?" Cameron was on the couch, channel surfing on the small TV, his feet on the coffee table.
"Feet down, Cam. You know my rules."
"I have socks on. Exception."
"Socks are gross and still smudge the wood."
He pulled his feet down, rolling his eyes. "I swear, you're becoming more like your mother every day."
"So remind me why you put up with me?" She sat next to him, arms folded.
"You understand."
He didn't elaborate. Kate knew what he meant; the image of the pale man with no face and black tentacles appeared in her mind again, and she bit the inside of her cheek, tensing up. They really were the only ones who understood each other. Kate was certain she would have gone insane - well, insaner - if Cameron hadn't been through all the therapy, drugs, and nightmares with her. He could be irritating, but so was she. They were perfect for each other in a twisted, surreal way.
"My mom asked about kids again," she said quietly.
Cameron winced. "What did you say to her?"
"Still thinking about it. None of her damn business, either way."
He signed heavily. "Shouldn't we get married first?"
"I don't know, we're barely getting by on our own. It's not a great time to…" She stared at him, kneeling on the ground and an intricate ring in his hand.
"Dammit, Cam, money's tight -"
"Grandmother's, inherited it."
"How long have you…"
"A few months."
"And it couldn't have waited?"
He shrugged. "We don't have to get married anytime soon."
"I haven't accepted yet!"
"Okay. Will you marry me?"
"I don't know. Living with you is hard enough. I'm not sure I can handle marriage on top of it."
"Would it help to know that I love you?"
"No. I already knew that."
"Okay. You can just have the ring and we don't have to -"
"Don't make me feel guilty."
"I'm not trying to."
She slapped his arm. "Fine. I'll marry you."
"I don't want to force you -"
"You're not."
He sighed again, sitting back on the couch. "I really do mean it, Kate. I'd like to get married someday."
"You mean in ten years, when everything's somewhat normal?"
"Ten, twenty, whenever. I…don't want to lose you."
"You live in the same house as me."
"I know that."
"Then what?"
He frowned, his face hardening. "You're the one person who knows I'm not crazy. And…I hate to think about losing that security. I know it's selfish and stupid, but -"
"It is selfish and stupid. But I…I worry, too."
They sat in silence for a moment.
"Even before all this…" He looked at her. "I still liked you, Kate."
"I'd say you're lying, but I know you're not."
"How?"
"You would have left a long time ago if you didn't love me."
He cracked a smile, glancing down at his shaking fingers.
"So am I getting the ring or not?"
"You'll marry me, then?"
"Don't have much of a choice." She gave him a wry smile as he slipped the ring on her fourth finger.
"I wasn't expecting it to fit this well."
"You were going into this not even knowing that?!"
He laughed as she tackled him, pinning him under her smaller frame. "I was too busy wondering if you'd say yes."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Lucky you that I did."
"Lucky me indeed." He placed his hand on the back of her nead, gently bringing her face closer to his…
Kate wakes up outside the radio tower, something she's prone to do when she dreams about CR. It's embarrassing, really; that's all behind her, it can't be changed. She's hoping he won't catch her out here tonight, lest he ask questions -
Out again, I see.
Shit.
Kate blinks up at him, his pale skin glowing in the moonlight. He regards her with mild indifference.
Please don't ask about -
What a peculiar dream. I wasn't aware you still cared for -
"I don't," she snaps.
Really?
He knows she's lying. "Yes."
What a shame. He would have made a useful companion, don't you think?
"He was meddlesome enough…too meddlesome."
No use yearning for what could have been, Kate.
"I'm not yearning." Her voice wavers.
Time to hunt, Kate.
He glides away, silently beckoning her to follow. She does, her dirty cheeks crimson from knowing he's probed her mind and discovered the one thing she hates to admit.
But he's right. She can never go back to her old life. That world has forgotten her. The only thing to do is follow him forward into the unknown.