"What?" She whispered.
Dean put his face in his hands.
"I knew it… I can't even begin to explain this, I can't."
Camille shook her head. "No, Dean, you need to tell me."
Dean sighed.
"You died… you committed suicide. In your bedroom. You hung yourself from the curtain rod…"
Camille could hear him trying to compose himself. He was getting emotional.
"I was working that whole week. I wasn't there for you. My mom called me from work and told me I needed to get home immediately. And when I got home Dani and mom were sitting on the couch. I could tell they had been crying. My stomach was in my fucking throat. I could tell something happened. But never in a million years had I thought it would be your death…"
He took a breath before continuing. " My mom sat me down. I didn't really want to, I just wanted her to tell me what was going on. I thought maybe my dad was dead. But I would have been glad for that then… and then she told me." His voice broke. "She told me that you had passed away, by the looks of it you had taken your own life."
Camille hadn't even realized she had started to cry with him.
"In that moment I felt like the world was ending. I became like a zombie. I don't even remember how we got to the hospital. But there you were. Cold and pale on the table. I remember I was just hoping that it was some sick joke. A prank. It couldn't be true."
"But it was… you were gone and my life was crumbling around me. You were supposed to be valedictorian, and I was next. You left me a letter, you congratulated me on becoming valedictorian… I was there for your wake.. I kissed you goodbye… I rode with your dad and Jackson and some family friends to the cemetery. I carried your casket… I watched them lower you in the ground next to your grandmother…. And then I stayed and helped bury you. It had only been two days but it felt like years."
Camille sat quietly. Listening to every word he spoke. He covered his eyes with his hands.
"Then I graduated. But you weren't there. I gave a speech but I had included in my speech some of yours because the title wasn't mine. I hadn't earned it… you did… I went to college after that… it's how I knew my way around when we got there this time… because I'd been there before… But I was different I was miserable. I'd met Scott and everyone but I wasn't close with them like I am this time… A long time had passed… before I knew it, it had been nearly a year since you died. My mom came to visit me and she asked me to try and start moving on. To be happy, damn I don't know, but she wanted me to stop being so miserable all the time…"
"So I tried. Even though there was no way I would ever forget about you… I tried. I told Scott about you. I formally introduced myself to the rest of the guys. And one night they invited me to a party up on Coral Hill, I agreed cause of my mom. But also I was hoping like hell to get drunk out of my mind. Deep down I was angry with you for leaving me, and I was angry with myself for not being there for you. I hated myself. And I just started drinking. Glass after glass. It got suffocating in the party. So I stumbled outside. I didn't know where I was, I just kept walking…"
Dean took his hands off of his eyes. But he didn't chance looking at Camille, he wouldn't, not until he was done speaking.
"I heard a girl… she sounded like you. I was drunk and I was delirious and for a second I thought it was you. She was across the street. So I stepped into the street. I was going to cross to follow her. And I didn't see the car coming down the road and the car didn't see me. It was too late. The car hit me… The last thing I remember was bright lights and people all around. Sirens.. people rushing towards me. Voices asking me if I was okay. But it got really hard to keep my eyes open. And then I just stopped trying… it all faded into darkness… And then I woke up somewhere. Where there was nothing but light around me. And I heard a voice, where it came from I don't know… it asked me if I wanted a second chance. I said yes. It told me that things wouldn't be as they seem."
"I passed out again and when I woke up I was here. In New Jersey. Back in Cape May. In my truck in front of the grocery store. Back in March of 2023, though I'd just been in May of 2024… I thought that there was really something wrong with me. But I knew that I knew you. I drove home and I was panicking. I asked my mom where you were… And it shocked the hell out of me when she said she didn't know who you were."
"I went to sleep thinking maybe I was hallucinating and I was still at the party and maybe I did drugs and I was on a weird ass trip. But when I woke up I was still in that room. I was laying in my bed… It's why when I saw you again for the first time, it's why I already knew you."
" Why I called you Cami even though the only other person who had called you that was your grandmother and my family. It's why it was so awkward because I was nearly crying and then I was so thrown off when you didn't know me. And it's why I didn't give up on getting you even though you didn't really like me at first…. And now these dreams. I can't remember them. I'm just in that same bright place and I can only remember something about a choice and a sacrifice to make… I don't think going to therapy or any medications is going to help anything at all. This is something outside of this world."
He finally looked over at Camille. She was just sitting still. Pale as a sheet.
Dean was mortified. This is what he hadn't wanted to do. He didn't want to scare her.
He got up. "I'm sorry Camille. I didn't want to have to do this. I'm sorry."
He opened the door and stepped outside into the cold night air. Back onto the cool sand.
Not long after Camille followed. She caught up with him. Grabbing his arm. Though her voice was weak, she looked up at Dean with a determination in her eyes.
"I believe you, you're not crazy. I believe you."
That was all it took.
His lips crashed against hers and he picked her up. She allowed herself to be carried back into their room. They collapsed onto the bed, still lost in each other.
"I love you Dean Carter."
He smiled. "I love you Camille."