The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era [BL]-Chapter 704: [SERENDIPITOUS SUMMER] (V)

THE beach looked different tonight. The usual dark clouds were gone, replaced by a bright moon and countless stars that made the waves sparkle. Abby knew this was a dream - the same one she'd had many times before. The dream where Danny was supposed to meet her, but never did.

Yet tonight felt different.

Her breath caught when she saw him. There, walking out of the shimmering water, was Danny. Exactly as she remembered - his messy hair, his easy smile, the way he held himself like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Hey, sis. Missed me?"

Abby couldn't speak. Her hands shook as she reached out, terrified he might disappear if she touched him. But he felt real - warm and solid as he wiped the tear from her cheek.

"You've been carrying this weight for too long, Abby," he said gently.

She knew this wasn't really him. But it didn't matter. The words she'd wanted to say for eight years came tumbling out. "I don't know how to let it go, Danny. It's already a part of me."

He sat on the sand, patting the spot beside him. When she joined him, he spoke softly. "Listen, what happened that day was not your fault. I made a choice out of love." His smile was just like she remembered. "I'm your older brother. Protecting you was like breathing to me."

Abby studied his face - still eighteen, still perfect. While she had grown into the age he'd never reach.

"But I could've—" Her voice broke.

"No 'buts.'" Danny cut her off gently. "Life doesn't always go how we plan. Blaming yourself won't change anything."

The words hit her like a wave. All these years, she'd been drowning in what-ifs.

"You shouldn't seek my forgiveness, Abby," he continued. "Because there's nothing to forgive. It's time you forgive yourself."

A sob tore from her throat. "I want you to be happy," Danny said, his voice as warm as the summer days they used to share. "That's all I ever wanted."

"I don't know if I can..." Abby whispered.

Danny took her hands in his. They felt so real. "You can. You're stronger than you think. Let go, Abby. Live your life. Find happiness."

The dam broke then. Eight years of guilt, of pain, of missing him came pouring out in great, heaving sobs. "I... I can't promise that, Danny," she cried, clinging to him like the child she'd been when she lost him.

And for the first time in all those years, in that moonlit dream, she let herself grieve.

Danny pulled her into a hug, the way he used to when she scraped her knees as a kid. "Hey, it's okay," he murmured. "You don't have to promise anything right now. Just take things one day at a time. One day, without even realizing it, you'll wake up and find that the weight in your heart is gone."

Abby clutched his shirt, her tears soaking into the fabric. "I just want to stay here with you."

A voice cut through the dream then—distant but familiar. Someone calling her name.

Danny smiled and gently pried her fingers loose. "Listen. Someone's looking for you."

Abby shook her head. "No, I—"

"It's time to go, Abby." He cupped her face, thumbs brushing away her tears. "Be happy, okay? Not for me, but for you."

Then he pressed his forehead to hers—just like he'd done when saying goodnight all those years ago—and whispered, "I love you, shrimp."

***

Jace didn't think—he just moved.

The second Abby disappeared beneath the waves, his body acted before his mind could catch up. He sprinted straight into the raging sea, the freezing water hitting him like a wall. The storm screamed around him, the wind and rain trying to beat him back, but he fought through, his eyes locked on the spot where she'd vanished.

He dove under, the dark water swallowing him whole.

For one heart-stopping moment, he saw nothing but swirling blackness. Then—a glimpse of pale skin. Abby was sinking, her body limp, her arms drifting like broken branches.

Jace kicked harder, his lungs burning. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward him, hugging her waist. Then he pushed off the seabed with everything he had.

They broke the surface with a gasp—or at least, he did. Abby didn't.

Her head lolled against his shoulder, her lips blue.

No. No no no—

The waves crashed into them, threatening to drag them back under, but Jace clung to her, swimming sideways until his feet finally hit sand. He hauled her onto the shore, his arms shaking.

She wasn't breathing.

Jace rolled her onto her back, his own breath coming in ragged bursts. He tilted her head, pinched her nose, and blew two sharp breaths into her mouth.

Nothing.

"Come on, Abby—please—"

He laced his hands over her chest and pushed—once, twice, again and again, counting between breaths.

On the fifth compression, Abby jerked. Water spilled from her lips as she coughed violently, her body curling sideways.

Jace pulled her up, gripping her shoulders as she gasped for air. Her eyes were wide, disoriented—but alive.

"J-Jace—" she choked out.

Jace didn't let her finish. He crushed her against him, his face buried in her wet hair. His whole body trembled—not from the cold, but from the sheer, staggering terror of almost losing her.

Jace held Abby's face, his thumbs brushing the saltwater from her cheeks. His voice came out rough, cracking under the weight of everything he'd just felt.

"Never scare me like that again." Then the fear twisted into anger. "What the hell were you even doing out here in this storm?!" He didn't let her answer. "No, never mind. Let's get out of here first."

Before she could speak, he hooked one arm under her knees and the other around her back, lifting her against his chest. He took off running, his boots splashing through the rising water as he carried her toward higher ground.

Abby, still coughing, curled into him. Her arms slid around his neck, her forehead pressing against his jaw.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Jace's grip tightened. He didn't say another word. He just kept running, her weight solid and real in his arms—proof she was alive.

***

Jace carried Abby all the way back to her house, his arms burning but refusing to loosen their grip. When they stumbled through the front door, her parents rushed forward—her mother's face streaked with tears, her father's hands shaking as they pulled Abby into a crushing hug. Their relief was palpable, their earlier terror now giving way to trembling gratitude as they turned to Jace, their silent thanks written in the way her mother clutched his sleeve and her father gripped his shoulder.

He stood there awkwardly as Abby's parents clung to her, their tear-streaked faces pressed into her damp hair. The storm still raged outside—rain hammering the roof, wind shaking the walls—but inside, the relief was thick enough to almost forget the danger.

Hours passed. The family stayed huddled together near the fireplace while Jace watched the windows. Slowly, the furious drumming of rain lessened. The howling wind softened to a tired whistle. By dawn, the worst had moved on, leaving behind only puddles and dripping trees under a gray but clearing sky.