"I have a present for you, Faith." A chuckle. "Guess what it is!"
The girl looked up at the sound Noah's voice, warm with affection. Closing the comic book she had been reading, Faith grinned. "I can see the flower over your shoulder, Noah."
He winced. "Well, at least I tried to surprise you," Noah sighed, pulling the potted orchid from behind his back. "Anyway, here: It's yours."
Faith reached out and touched one of the flowers, her fingertip running along a soft white petal. "It's beautiful. Thank you."
Noah sat down beside her, setting the glass vase on his lap. He looked really beautiful then-almost ethereal with the soft glow of the sunset surrounding him like an embrace. Faith felt her chest tighten.
"Honestly, I bought it because it reminded me of you," Noah said, his cheeks touched with pink. Or maybe it was just the lighting. Get yourself together, Faith! He was still talking when she refocused. "-and I knew that you rarely get a chance to see a real flower, especially since you were in prison. I'm glad you like it."
He beamed at her.
Damn it. Faith leaned forward, put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. He pulled away after a few seconds of shocked silence, blushing and whispering that he was too old for her, and oh Faith why are you doing this to me?
But then the warmth in his own chest took over and he leaned into her, breathing ragged as he fought a silent war. Faith closed her eyes when he kissed her softly.
He tasted like sunshine.
It was dark and rainy inside her, and she knew her sun would never rise again.
Noah is …
Faith swallowed thickly, a tear falling from her eye and landing on one of the orchid blooms. It was dying; the vase it was in had been shattered, and the plant itself was choked by smoke. The girl picked it up gently and carried it over to the window so they could look at the sky together.
"Goodbye, Noah," Faith whispered, plucking the flower from its stem and letting the wind carry it away.
Maybe it would reach him, even if she could not.
Faith choked back a strangled sob, and Noah's name tore from her throat as a sickly, rotting grief consumed her.