A/N: Hey guys! Merry late Christmas! I was supposed to upload this yesterday, but I didn't get anytime!

Enjoy!

Ch 12

Monday. The most mundane day from the seven choices to pick from. Plus, it was neither hot or cold, windy or breeze-less. But it wasn't the weather that was upsetting.

School was not the most delightful place to be, especially since the only person she spoke to was doing a great deal to avoid her. She stared at Rudy at the other side of the field. He was surrounded by other boys, laughing. But he wasn't so into it. His eyes were on the floor and he was kicking the dirt with his shoe. He smiled once in a while or returned a nod when the conversation was directed to him.

And he never came to Liesel.

Liesel admitted, the argument was fair from both sides of the situation. She did not want him to leave her and he wanted to continue with his future. Both for the sake of either Liesel or Rudy, their relationship should not be sacrificed. Not after all they've went through. But Liesel didn't care anymore. All she wanted was to feel his arms around her, whether she was right or wrong. She needed to hear his voice, whether or not they were going to laugh or argue again.

She wanted to reach out to him, but something was holding her back.

A hand touched Liesel's shoulder and she jumped.

When she turned around, she saw Theo.

"You scared me!" she yelled.

He laughed. His brown hair was swept to one side of his face. His bright green eyes sparkled in the sunlight. "I just came to say hi," he said.

"Oh, well then hi," she said. She glanced at Rudy hoping he had not noticed they were talking. But when he caught Liesel nervously staring at him, he spotted Theo and frowned.

Liesel cleared her throat. "Listen, Theo," she said quietly. "I really want to talk to you, but not with-"

"- Rudy over there?" He pursed his lips.

Liesel sighed. "I really want to, but things are rough between us." Liesel did want to speak to Theo. She wanted to get to know him better. He seemed to be one of those people who had also gone through miles of hell like her to get to where they were.

Like her.

"No, I get it, Liesel," he said. Liesel could see the pain in his lime green eyes. "I'll see you later." But before she could protest, he had already turned his back on her.

It was end of the school day and every one was on their way home. But Liesel had no reason to go home. She wanted to walk through town with Rudy and munch on sweets. She wanted to talk to him and complain to him about her terrible teachers.

But she couldn't, and she needed too. Because she lived and ached for those moments that helped her hold on to life.

Through the commotion of the crowd, loud chattering, and hasty walking, she caught the simple sight of the strand of his blonde hair.

She pushed through the large groups of people surrounding her and tried to get to him.

"Rudy," said Liesel.

The school crowd reduced slowly as they all scattered in various direction. He was walking towards the bike racks.

"Rudy, wait up!" Liesel yelled.

He could clearly hear her, for his eyes tried focusing on the handles of his bike as they hastily jumped on and started pedaling.

Liesel knew she couldn't do this anymore. It was starting to burn a hole inside of her. She plunged herself in front of Rudy's bike. His eyes widened all of a sudden as he abruptly placed his feet on to the ground leaving marks on the pavement. He gripped tightly onto the handles to keep the bike from moving. His breaths were sharp and dangerous. He didn't look up at her.

"I could have hurt you," he said in a low tone.

Liesel took a step back. It was the first thing he had said to her in days. "It wouldn't have hurt that much compared to what you're doing now."

His eyes darted around until he finally had the nerve to look Liesel in the eye. He gripped the handle again and attempted to move out of Liesel's way.

Liesel held on to the handles before he could leave.

"Why are you doing this to me?!" Liesel yelled. She could feel her heart beat in her lungs and her palms.

"You were the one who yelled at me on Saturday!" Rudy yelled. He got off the bike and slammed it back on the ground.

Liesel gulped. She looked at him. His eyes were a dangerous blue and his face was rock hard. Liesel's voice was on the edge of cracking. "Okay and I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was mad and hurt." She paused to swallow. Her lips quivered."But what you're doing, shutting me out, it's just pure cruel."

At first, Liesel almost saw the ice is his eyes break. She could almost feel his arms about to embrace her. She almost felt his lips on her forehead spreading warmth throughout her.

But instead he picked up his bike. "I'm not in the mood to talk now. I'll see you later."

"Wait, Rudy-"

But he was already gone.

At about six in the evening, she walked to his house.

"I'm sorry, Liesel," Alex Steiner, Rudy's father, told her. "But he left an hour ago. I'm not sure where he went. But, he'll be back for dinner."

And when he closed he door on her, she knew exactly where he would be.

To walk through memory lane was nothing like the actual walk through memory lane. Liesel had not walked through here for years, but in her mind she still imagined the place to be encrusted with smoke, ashes, and dirt. She could still hear the sirens, the loud voices. She could see the blood, and she could still feel the pain.

But Himmel Street did not resemble of which she remembered. It was rebuilt and reconstructed. And new paint and new faces were a part of it now. Even the sky looked a little brighter and it felt a little warmer.

And Liesel felt like a complete stranger here.

She walked cautiously though the street, as if she was to be careful of stepping on a dead body until she reached the neighborhood's sports field. The sports park where the famous Jesse Owen's incident occurred.

And Jesse Owens himself was running around the track, not painted with charcoal, but shirtless, despite the cold weather.

Liesel didn't know if he could see her at first. His eyes were focused on the space in front of him as he paced the track. He looked amazing with the wind blowing through his hair, his face steady and concentrated. Liesel just wanted to study Rudy. He had changed a great deal after four years. But to her, he would be the same. He spotted her at the corner of the field. For a moment, Liesel thought he was going to ignore the fact that she was here, but after he took a moment to glare at her, Rudy slowly walked towards Liesel.

When he approached her, Liesel said, "I knew you'd be down here."

"How?"

"Herr Steiner, " Liesel said. "I know you too well to be fooled."

They sat down on the benches at the corner of the park. The sky was in different shades of grey, but it still held beauty in it. The clouds soon huddled together and moved away with the wind.

Rudy gave out a sigh of relief. "Good," he muttered. "I thought there was going to be a storm."

Liesel shrugged. "Does it matter?" she said. "It will disappear eventually. It won't last long."

Rudy's voice grew quiet. He noticed her word play. "Well, what if it does? I've heard of storms that lasted for days."

Liesel shook her head. "Well, that's possible. But it doesn't mean you should pack your bags and leave if there is one."

"Well what if that was the only way to get away from the storm?

Liesel stood up and faced him. Her temper rose. "There are other ways, Rudy!" she yelled. "There are other ways to deal with a problem than to run away from them."

Rudy dropped his eye contact.

Liesel took a deep breath in. She knew what she needed to say. "Rudy," she begged. "I'm sorry about everything I said that day." She sat back on the bench and let her hand touch his fingers. "If that's what's bothering you-"

He stopped her with his hand. "It's not."

"Then what is?"

It was silent for a moment. He looked straight ahead into the dark field. When he turned to look back at her, his eyes were full of tears. "Liesel," he whispered. "Do you love me?"

She clutched his hand. She searched his eyes. "Of course I do."

He stared into Liesel's eyes. "Do- do you think I love you too?"

Liesel's heart stopped for a moment. Why was he asking her this? "I know you love me, Saukerl."

He placed his forehead onto hers. "Because of what I said that day if you thought I didn't love you then I'm sorry-"

"Rudy, it's okay-"

"No, Liesel. I could never say something like that to you. Please-"

"Rudy, shh, calm down-"

"No, Liesel. I want you to know that I never want to leave you. No matter what the circumstances are, I would never want to."

He closed his eyes and stroked the back of her hand. It was all Liesel needed to hear from him.

But it wasn't right and Liesel knew it. "I can't make you stay, Rudy. You need to go and I understand-

But he stopped her again. "Shh," he voice blended in with the wind. "Can we not talk about this now?"

The air was frosty and Liesel began to shiver slightly. She noticed Rudy, his body bare but not even displaying a sign of being cold.

"Rudy," she breathed on to his bare chest. "Why are you shirtless?"

His laughed tickled Liesel's nose. "I've been running for two hours straight. I got a little sweaty."

Liesel pressed her lips against his. Oh, how much she longed for his affection after the absence of it for days. His lips tasted a little salty, but they were soft and gentle against hers. She put her arms around him and pulled him against her. His fingers slid through her hair and the other gripped her back. He stood up and pulled her into the air.

"Woah there, Liesel," Rudy warned. His blue eyes glistened in the dark. "I didn't know you missed me that much."

She kicked him in the shin with her left leg. He winced and almost dropped her. "It's okay, Saumench," he told her. A smile grew on the corners of his lips. " I missed you too."

They were walking out of the neighborhood together hand and hand.

"Can you believe it, Liesel?" he asked her. His voice was soft but condense. He looked around. "I mean this place years ago. We played soccer here and lived here. Now," he sighed. "It feels awkward."

Liesel looked around. She didn't even know where her old house would have been. "It just doesn't feel right," she informed Rudy. Her eyes scanned the street for any resemblance. "After all we went through, they just tear it down and make it seem like nothing else happened."

Rudy halted in spot and pointed down the street at the end of the road leading out of the neighborhood. "Liesel, look."

It was a large wooden sign with names all painted over it. Liesel hadn't seen it when she came in.

When they got closer, Rudy gasped. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." His voice was barely audible. "What does it say?"

Liesel squinted in the dark trying to make sense of the sign.

It was a memorial. To all the ones who were killed during the bombings.

"When did they make this?" Rudy asked.

Liesel shook her head. She found Hans' and Rosa's name. "I don't know," she replied. Her hands slid over the white paint. She could almost hear Rosa yelling at her to keep her hands to herself. Her heart ached. The names of the other residents killed in the bombings were listed underneath.

"They probably made it recently," she said. "The paint looks pretty new. Have you ever been here anytime after the bombings?" she asked. And when he did not bother to answer, Liesel looked over at him. "Rudy?"

But he was preoccupied with something else on the sign. Liesel glanced to where he was looking. His eyes were wide. "What is it, Rudy?"

And that's when she saw it. Underneath all the deceased names, next to all of the late Steiners, came a certain name that shouldn't have been there.

Maybe once, but never again.

Rudy Steiner.

A/N: So what do you think? Sorry for the cliff-hanger! I just wanted to say thank you guys so much for all the support I've gotten so far. It means a great amount to me! I would love to hear about his chapter so PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!

I hopefully will update in a few days, but if I don't, Happy New Year!

Emma