Tornado sirens rang in the distance. Wind whipped the house as the family huddled together in the crawl space. Suddenly, the middle daughter of three yelled out, clutching an unseen wound on her stomach. The family focused on her, trying to see what was wrong, but she jumped up and ran into the night.
The sixteen year old girl ignored the splitting pain as she raced the twenty blocks to the street she'd never been on. The name pounded in her head with every step-- North 18th Street.
Her friend and elder sister dashed after her with wolfish speed yet the elder could not catch one cursed with the knowledge of dying love.
The middle sister turned sharply onto the road and headed straight for the house she'd never seen. The tornado raged on no more than ten blocks away as the girl skidded down the slope and to the side of her soulmate.
Tears fell, mingling with the rain and mud as she took notice of the pipe thrust through his stomach. Crying, pained, chocolate eyes met sorrowful, knowing, sky-blue ones. She stroked his blond-brown hair, hers falling over her shoulder like a curtain, shielding the two from the hateful glare of his wife.
His seventeen year old lips shakily whispered one simple word. "B... Brat..."
Her joyless laugh broke as she leaned over and pressed her lips to his. Incoherent, hurried words poured from her mouth as she tried to say all she needed to in the fading moments. He smiled and kissed her softly once, giving her his last breath. The elder sister descended the slope in time to hear the final words of her sister's lifemate carried on the wind.
"I'll wait for you."
The younger cried, her sobs breaking the night. The wind of the storm whipped her hair, wiping the tears from her face. The girl was inconsolable, her heart shattered and her soul torn in two.
No thing and no body could sooth her pain. The passionate fire that once consumed her scalded and burned until, soon enough, she joined her lover in Heaven. And, true to his word, the elder of the two inseparable lovers was waiting by those pearly gates, having not gone in until his best friend was by his side.
A/N: Um... lifemates... like soulmates, imprints, true loves, whatever term you use. I SAW MINE TODAY YAY!
Much love and hugs!! --ARI