Robbie woke up, looking around his suroundings. He wasn't in his hotel room. He then remembered. He was in Cat's living room, lying on her couch. After last night, she didn't want him to go back to his hotel. She didn't want him to be lonely. And she didn't want to lonely herself last night.
Robbie streched, hearing his joints pop as he lazily yawned. On the table in front of him were four empty wine bottles, all used to drown the sorrow inside the two scared souls. But it didn't work. It only made them honest. Cat completely; Robbie only partially. They had sat there, hugging one another for hours, two broken pillars preventing one another from breaking down completely. An urge rose inside of him, the urge to stay. To be there for her. To help her. To hold her every time she wanted to break. The urge scared him. Anything he felt for her scared him. The more time he spent next to her, the more insecure he became. He wasn't a hundred percent sure anymore about the plan. He wasn't sure anymore about the final part of it.
But there was another urge, fuelled every time he thought about Annie. It was powerful, especially the day before the annyversary. His determination came back the moment he thought of her. The moment he remembered her face. The moment he remembered her eyes. Her smile. He was sure again. But then his mind drifted off to the redhead. To the girl he had dearly missed after all this time. His old high school crush he always had kept a special place for in his heart. He told Annie about her, sharing the old stories and tales of what they had been through and all the weird and funny things they had experienced. Annie seemed to like her, always saying how she would love to meet her one day. But that day would never come. He had imagined it. Annie and Cat talking, laughing together and him enjoying the company of both. But that was a perfection of life he never had. And he knew he could never have that.
He got up and took the empty bottles and glasses. He carried them to the kitchen and put the glasses into the dishwasher while he placed the empty bottles back in the wooden bottle holder, knowing that Cat would either take them back or recycle them. He saw that there were some undone dishes, left from the dissaster of the cooking attempt Cat had made. Robbie threw the uneatable food away and took the plates to the sink. He began scrubbing them, trying to get the burnt in fat off it before the dishwasher could do it's job. After around ten minutes, he was done. Proud of himself, he placed everything into the dishwasher and turned it on. He washed his hands before he turned around, and saw her standing there.
„Good morning." Cat said, a small, sympathetic smile on her face.
„Good morning. I did the dishes. A little thank you for the dinner." He said. She stepped towards him and wrapped both arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.
„Thank you." She said, not letting go of him. He hugged her back, pushing away the thoughts he dreaded so much.
„No problem. It's the leas I can do." He said, leaning his head gently on the top of hers.
„Can I ask you for something else. Another favor?" Cat asked shyly.
„Of course. What can I do for you?" He asked.
„If you have the time... I mean if you don't have to leave LA yet, spend the day with me. Let's just hang out. I don't want to be alone." Cat said, her arms still around his neck, his arms still around her smaller body.
„Sure. We can hang out." He said. She looked up at him, a wide smile forming on her lips. He looked down at her. He looked into her brown eyes. Even while they were red from all the crying. Even when she had tearstains all over her cheek. Even when she looked tired and completely drained. Even when she didn't have any make up on and her hair was a mess, she was still so beautiful. She still looked like an angel. She reminded him so much of her. Or was it Annie who originally reminded him of Cat? He didn't know anymore. He didn't want to. He couldn't let anything change his mind. Not now. Not while he was less than 24 hours away from his goal.
„Just a little bit longer. Hold out." He thought.
„Thank you." She said, leaning her head back onto his chest for a few seconds longer before stepping away.
„You don't have to thank me. What are friends for." He said. Her smile faded for a moment, and he noticed, but decided to ignore it. He couldn't think about it. He didn't want to think about it. It would only make it worse for him. Only harder for him.
„Yes. You've always been a great friend." She said, looking down.
„Is there anything you want to do?" He asked, not letting silence fill the room. Silence always made him think.
„No idea. I just don't want to be alone." She said.
„Well, what if I got one."
„Huh?"
„Let's go get some breakfast first. Then, I will take you somewhere." He said.
„Kaykay." She happily said.
She got dressed and put on a little bit of makeup. After twenty minutes, she was ready to head out. They made their way towards his favorite cafe, eating calmly and enjoying the silence. It wasn't awkward. It wasn't weird. It felt natural. Just one being close to the other did so much for them. Still, Robbie didn't want to think about what tommorow would do to her. How she would shatter once she hears the news. Once she finds out the complete truth.
An hour later, they decided to leave. Robbie went to the counter to pay, but the owner only rose his hand and shook his head.
„You've been here every day for more than a week now. This one is on the house." The man said with a smile.
„Thank you." Robbie said as he smiled back.
„So? Where are we going?" Cat asked after they left the cafe. A smirk formed on Robbie's lips as he waved for a taxi. He got inside and Cat followed him, suprised when he heard him say to take them to one of the bridges.
They arrived a few minutes later. Robbie paid for the ride and both got out. They walked for a while, Cat enjoying the view on the ocean while Robbie only looked straight ahead.
Cat stopped after a few minutes of walking when she saw what they were walking towards. Ten guys were standing in the middle of the bridge, holding long, rubber bungee cords in their hands while another was sitting behind a box, seemingly writing down the people who sign up for it.
„No." Cat said weakly, looking towards him. Robbie chuckled, taking her hand in his and not stopping until they arrived in front of them.
„Hey guys. How much is a jump." Robbie asked.
„Fifty bucks per person." One of the replied.
„Good. Sign us up. Two jumps." Robbie said. The man nodded while Cat stared at him in disbelief.
„R-Robbie, I don't want to jump." She said in a shaky voice.
„It's safe. I've done it before. You put the harness on and just let yourself fall." Robbie explained, but Cat only shook her head.
„No! I'm scared." She said.
He took both her hands in his and gave them a light squeeze.
„How about this. I will jump first. Then you can decide if you want to do it or not. If you do, I'll take you to get as much ice cream as you can eat." He said with a smile. Her gaze moved towards the lower corner of her eye. She was thinking about it, but the fear was still crushing her. „Watch." Robbie said as he let go of her hands and walked to one of the guys. He gave them a hundred bucks and they put the harness on him. He climbed on the guardrail, facing the water with his back. He handed one of the his glasses and gave Cat a small smile. He then let himself fall down, back first towards the water. He didn't yell, he didn't utter a single sound as the rope streched as much as it could before pulling him back again. After only a few seconds, he was done, hanging upside down from the bridge. The guys pulled him back up, and as soon as they removed the harness he walked back to Cat, his cocky grin not falting for a moment.
„See? It was nothing bad. And you feel so much better once you do it. You feel so alive after it." He said.
„Robbie..." She said in a weak voice.
„Do it for me." He said as he put his hands on her shoulder. Her doubt and fear were replaced with courage at his words.
„Kay. I'll do it for you." She said. She walked towards the men who put the harness on her. Robbie helped her climb the guardrail. She looked dow, frightened at the drop.
„Be brave. Be strong. You can overcome your fear. You can do anything you want to do, Cat." He told her as he held her hand before letting go.
Cat let out a sigh as she closed her eyes and let herself fall. Her scream must have been heard back in the middle of the town, but she did it.
„I did it!" Robbie heard her shout, both pride and surprise present in her voice. He chuckled as the men pulled her up. As soon as she was up, she ran towards Robbie, hugging him as thightly as possible.
„I did it! I did it! I jumped! Robbie, I jumped!."
„I saw. I'm so proud of you. And as promised, we'll go for ice cream now."
„Yay!" She happily yelled, stepping up on her toes and kissing him on the cheek. He smiled at her gesture, wanting to enjoy as much as possible. It was his last day anyway.
The harness was off and Robbie thanked the workers before calling a taxi to pick them up. Cat hugged his arm, holding on to it. Robbie looked at her, surprised by the gesture.
„Don't be fooled, I might have done the jump, but my knees are trembling." She said, making him smile even more.
The taxi picked them up not too long later, and drove them to her favorite ice cream shop. They sat down, the uncomfortable silence seemingly gone since adrenaline was rushing through her body.
„Jumping like this...that feeling... it's amazing." She said as she began eating.
„I know. When I did it for the first time, I had the feeling my head was going to hit the water." Robbie said.
„I had that feeling too. But then it pulls you back up... it was just amazing. Where did you get the idea for that?" She asked.
„I can't take the credit. Adam got me into this deal where he and I would try something crazy once a year. One year it was bungee, the other it was skydiving, which was even better. Every year we would do one of those things that we usually would have been afraid of doing. He always said that we had to expand our horizons and that those things would remind us that we are alive." Robbie explained.
„Wow. Adam sounds like a great guy." Cat says.
„He is." Robbie said. What he didn't mention was how he felt nothing during the jump now. He had tried doing a lot of those things, but it never gave him that rush again like it used to. Truth is, he hadn't felt alive since he found out that Annie was sick.
„I'm so glad you are spending the day with me. I wish we could have hung out more often. Why didn't you call me for so long, or contact me?" Cat asked.
„I... think you know why." He said.
„Because of the graduation party? Robbie..."
„I know, I know... It was a dumb reason, but I couldn't deal with it anymore. I knew that I couldn't have you... that you didn't want us to be together. So I ran away. Like you did after I kissed you that one time." Robbie said.
„Do you know why I ran away that time?" Cat asked, her voice serious.
„Because I kissed you and you didn't want to hurt my feelings with rejecting me. I know you let me do it because you felt bad for screwing up my date." Robbie said.
„Yes, I let you kiss me because of that. Because I felt bad. But when you kissed me... something happened. I...felt something that moment. And it scared me. You were my best friend, and then I felt something I couldn't have felt... something I shouldn't have felt. But I did, and it scared me. I'm sorry for running away, but you shouldn't have done the same after that night." Cat said, her voice filled with regret from the memories.
„You felt something?" Robbie asked. Cat only nodded. „I... I didn't know."
„And I didn't want to admit it to myself. But that was why I kissed you at the party. That was why I told you to come with me to the bedroom. It wasn't alcohol that made me sleep with you that night, Robbie. I wanted to. I wanted to see if what I felt was real. And it was. But... but before I could tell you... you were already gone. You just left, without even saying goodbye." Cat finished, a single tair making it's way down her cheek.
Robbie looked at her, not believing what he had just heard. His inner struggle grew. Both sides became even that moment. His feelings for Cat seemed to come back after every second more he spent with her. He wanted to leave, before it could change his mind even more. But he wouldn't. Not after what she had just told him. He wouldn't run away again. She didn't deserve that.
„I'll take you home." He said. They got up and walked the short distance. Nobody spoke. They didn't look at one another. They just walked, and not too long later, they were standing in front of Cat's home.
„It was nice seeing you again. But I have to go. I...'m leaving LA tommorow." Robbie said, looking down.
„It was nice seeing you too. Thank you again for spending this time with me." Cat said, looking at him.
„Okay. Goodbye." He said as he turned around.
„Robbie." He heard her say. She had taken his hand, holding on to it. „Please, stay a bit longer." She said.
His emotons went crazy at her words. He wanted to get out of there. He had to. What she was doing to him was inhuman. He couldn't take it. He couldn't feel what he felt now. He wouldn't allow himself to. He turned around, to tell her off. To tell her that he had to leave. To break her spirit after he had healed her just this little bit. But then she did something. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and pull him down as she crashed her lips onto his. One side of the battlefield inside his mind went numb that moment, as he picked her up and carried her inside the house, up towards her bedroom. Both landed on the bed, their lips never separating. They both needed this. They both wanted this.
Robbie had felt alive for the first time in two years. He actually had felt something that wasn't anger, sadness, grief or sorrow. He looked at her. She was asleep, lying next to him, the covers thrown over her naked body.
But then his eyes caught something. His gaze landed on the digital clock on the wall. It was what he had waited for a whole year. It was midnight. Today was her annyversary.