Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,281

heart and tapping against my wrist with his hand in time to my pulse.

"I love you, Ash," he whispered.

My vision went blurry from unshed tears. "I love you too, Kemp. We keep doing this, you know? You always seem to find shadowed alleys for us to kiss in," I said with a laugh. Kissing Kemper on the streets of Ethros was one of the few good memories I had of our time there.

Kemper closed his eyes, squinting them shut in embarrassment. I knew he was mentally chastising himself. “Not that I’m complaining,” I quickly added, hoping to stop whatever spiral of self-deprecation he was in.

Kemper looked at me like he wanted to toss me over his shoulder and carry me back to the manor—or back to Dormas—but once again, he made even the dirty streets of the Zone feel like paradise. “I swear to you,” he began. “The next time we kiss like this, it’ll be in my bed, and I won’t stop. Not until you come apart while I’m inside of you. And then we’ll do it again, and again, and again,” he growled out.

We continued down the street, our breathing heavy from the brisk walk and our kisses. We didn't stop until we arrived at a shack on the outskirts of the Zone. "Ash," Kemper began with a nervous whistle. "Maybe I shouldn't have...fuck..."

Kemper looked down at the ground then back at me. I took in our surroundings, taking special notice of the shack in front of us, with it's chipped blue door and rusted metal roof. "Where are we, Kemper?" I asked.

He let out a shaky breath. "When I learned the database from Louis, I found out where your childhood home was. They burned it down when your parents died..." he said, and I frowned. "But there was still something here...in the concrete," he quickly added.

Kemper leaned forward, pulling me down with him to stare at the concrete sidewalk. There, imprinted in the street, were three sets of handprints with names traced above them:

Claire

Daniel

Ashleigh.

I gasped, tracing over the indent of my mother's hand and letting the love of the parents I never got the chance to know, fill me up. Grief was fickle. I went years without thinking of the parents I could barely remember. All I knew of my childhood was Josiah and Stonewell Manor. It was rare that I remembered anything from before the auction. My life in the Zone was nothing more than a fuzzy, distant memory. I sometimes doubted that it was even real. But this, this permanent and concrete marking proved that my childhood was real.

My parents were real.

"Kemper," I said while clutching my chest. "How did you...this is so..." My tears covered the pavement, and I closed my eyes, trying to remember when we did this. I now had names for my parents. This was a gift I'd cherish forever.

What little memories I had were fleeting, and in the height of this moment I found myself feeling unsure of what they were like. I pictured a tall man as my father. Big eyes and callused hands. He would have been thin from malnutrition but toned from his job at the junkyard. He was hard working. Maybe a playful smile covered his face when he came home to us.

I imagined my mother, a woman that looked like me, with curly hair and fierce but kind eyes. I imagined us huddled together over the wet concrete, feeling mischievous. Maybe they whispered to themselves while carrying fear in their hearts. They didn't know if they'd survive X, but they knew that this would be a permanent memory, a permanent fixture in this world. Something that could prove that we all were once together and that we were happy.

"Thank you, Kemper," I choked out while turning to hug him, it was like I couldn't squeeze him hard enough. Being here was the greatest gift anyone had ever given me. "This is amazing. Thank you."

Kemper stroked my back, rubbing little circles as I held him tightly against me. "I'd do anything for you, Ash. Anything."

Chapter Nineteen

I didn’t want to go back to Cavil’s tower again. Tonight’s event was expected to be a dinner party, so I couldn’t hide away with Maverick or Cyler like before. I wore a long, elegant white dress with jewels covering the torso. It dipped low, revealing my cleavage in a tasteful but seductive way. Jules did my hair up in an elegant twist that pulled the strands of my hair so