7th June 2019
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"Oh my God! Cassie, what have you done?" Logan looked down at the seemingly lifeless Natasha with his hands over his mouth.

Cassie walked towards her, bent, and used both hands to ransack her jacket and pockets.

"What are you doing?"

"Searching for the gun."

"Oh, God!" He sighed.

Cassie got up and looked at Logan.

"Did you find anything?" He asked and she shook her head. "Do you have any idea what this looks like, Cassie?" Logan walked towards the girl lying on the floor and touched her neck and hands, searching for a pulse. He felt so much relief to get one, even small.

"I thought she was going to kill us both," Cassie defended herself.

He got up and exhaled deeply. "She has a pulse."

"Okay..."

"We have to get her to the hospital," Logan said.

Cassie walked forward. "You're not dumb enough to think we won't get into trouble if we do that."

"I'm not going to leave her to die, Cassie. What do you think I am? A monster?"

"Well... I was not suggesting that. But if you take it upon yourself to search through that photographic memory of yours, you'd recall she actually left you to die earlier."

He gulped. "Fine. We can't take her to the hospital, but we can not leave her here either."

Cassie folded her hands across her chest as she watched him grab his keys. "What are you doing?"

He bent down and began struggling to lift the unconscious woman from the floor she was lying. He picked her up with a grunt while his wife watched him and then carried her out into his car.

Cassie hurried after him, got into the passenger seat, and they drove off.

"We have to drop her off in a secluded place and then call emergency," he suggested and it sounded like a good plan. He was certain Natasha would not be stupid enough to get entangled with the police once she regained consciousness.

They drove downtown quietly, only stealing glances at each other. Both were nervous and scared of what could possibly happen if they got caught. Once they got to a road that appeared lonely enough, Logan brought the car to a halt.

He ran out quickly, opened the back seat where she lay, and dragged her out of his car. Lucky for him, she didn't have so much weight. Yet, with all the stress he'd been through, he could feel his entire body aching from sole to crown.

Logan got back into the car and stared at Cassie before driving off and stopping at a payphone that was close by.

"I'd handle it," Cassie said, noticing how exhausted Logan was.

She got out of the car and walked towards it. Her eyes were mostly fixed on the floor, to avoid any camera from getting an image. Cassie used a voice at least an octave lower than her normal voice to make the call and give them directions, before hanging up and running towards the car.

As she got into the car, she exhaled deeply. Logan placed his hands on hers and squeezed it gently.

"What a day." He sighed.

With the look on Cassie's face, he could tell she completely agreed. This would go down in history as the most memorable day of their lives.

"I want to go somewhere peaceful," Cassie said with a small smile on her face and Logan knew just what she was talking about.

They drove for a few minutes before bringing the car to a halt again. Logan got out and walked around to Cassie's side of the door to open it and then stretched out his hand.

Cassie looked up at him, almost confused at his gesture. She placed her hands in his anyway and got out of the car.

He held her hand and led her towards the serene, temperate atmosphere of the beach. Even under the darkness of the night, as the breeze danced upon his face, he could admire the current of the waves.

This was their spot. It had always been. It represented the coexistence of calm and chaos which had been a constant occurrence in both their lives.

Cassie made her way towards the water in haste and pulled him along. She didn't care about how cold it'd be, she wanted to feel the beauty of the tide on her feet. All of it.

There was nothing as alluring and perfect as the ocean, but even more satisfying was seeing Cassie's heart filled with so much joy. It had been ages since he'd seen this intrepid smile on her face. He wished he could hold unto it till eternity.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Cassie chuckled as she turned to face him, pushing back her hair that was being swayed by the wind.

Logan smiled. "I can't believe how much I've missed you," he said, running his hand up her arm. He felt her shiver but couldn't decipher if it was the cold or his touch. So, he took another step forward. "I've missed you so much."

"Logan, tomorrow..." She stopped and chuckled. "I mean, today-"

"It doesn't matter. Not now. I only want to stay in this moment. Nothing else," he whispered to her as he tucked her hair behind her ears.

He leaned forward and she took a step back.

Cassie smiled. "The sound of the waves is like music to my ears. Makes me want to dance my heart out," she said and Logan easily saw through her attempt to divert his attention.

He placed both hands on her waist. "Do you remember our first dance?"

She nodded. "How could I forget? You were staring at me like I was the only person in the room and everyone else was non-existent."

"You got me." He laughed. "Your beauty was definitely an unfair competition," he said and noticed how she looked down. He lifted her chin. "Cassie, you still are the most beautiful thing to me. No folds, no wrinkles could ever change my mind."

Cassie placed her hands on his cheek and he leaned in slowly to do what he'd most longed to do all day. Logan placed a kiss on her soft, pink lips. It was so passionate and fought through all the barriers between them. Only the need to breathe could stop them and they'd stayed inches apart for barely two seconds before Logan's lips traveled to his favorite spot on her neck.

"Please, stop..." Cassie squeezed in between her moans. It was obvious she was struggling to fight her desires and so he respected her wish.

The last thing he wanted was to take advantage of her vulnerability again.

"I don't want to go through with the divorce. I can't..." He let out the words, staring deeply into her beautiful eyes. They held so much passion, but not enough to mask the fear.

"We've made too many mistakes, Logan," Cassie said turning away from him.

He walked closer to her and eliminated every gap, pressing her back against his chest as he rubbed her shoulders. "I know."

"I can't stay," she said and turned to face him and he was certain she could read the devastation on his face. "I need to find myself and maybe... Maybe if I'm worthy enough, I would find my daughter."

As much as he couldn't stand the idea of spending one more second away from her, he knew she was right. "I understand what you must do. But I'm not ready to give up on us."

Cassie only stared at a loss for words.

Logan exhaled deeply. "I think we shouldn't spend these last few moments feeling bad about what we can or cannot have. Why don't we dance to the beautiful rhythm of the waves?" He asked, stretching forth his hand.

Cassie smiled and placed her hands in his. "You're not afraid that this might be our last dance?" she asked.

Logan smiled in return. "The most constant thing in our lives has been the uncertainties. Our first dance was going to be the last. Just like our first date, our first kiss, and almost every one after that. It doesn't scare me anymore to let you go. It just makes my heart a little sad that I have to wait for our next last." He placed a light kiss on her hand as the water washed their feet. "This time, I'm not just going to be waiting, I'd also be working. Not to be perfect, but to be a better version of myself. Someone you deserve."

Logan stared deeply into Cassie's eyes as he spoke while they swayed gently, basking in the beauty of their surrounding.

"So, For now, let's make this the best dance, my love," he concluded.

"Even though you're still a terrible dancer." Cassie giggled at his effort.

"Oh please, I couldn't possibly count on my fingers or toes the things I'm great at." They both laughed. That was always his defense whenever she brought up the topic of his cringe-worthy dancing skills to light.

Once they were done laughing, she looked up at him, a little nervous. "What if the crazy one-eyed man or his even crazier children come back looking for us?" She asked.

He sighed. "Let tomorrow worry about itself."

Logan dismissed the nerve-racking thought as soon as it surfaced. However, it was a subtle reminder that this was yet another one of their stolen moments and it was only a matter of time before they'd be thrown into the real world to face real problems.

Logan had long known that their lives were far from perfect. But he couldn't imagine it any other way.

Perfection was merely a distant illusion meant to foster hope, and give people a firm belief that there was always room to do better. If only they were willing to try. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~