"You okay?" he asked.
Denella nodded. "This whole thing was stupid anyways. I don't even know why I agreed to come down here."
He sat down on the sand beside her. "If you want, we can go down to the cemetery tomorrow before we leave."
"No, it's fine. I just want to go home tomorrow. There's the whole Celcus thing and Judy Walker is still out there somewhere. Then, Henry is in the hospital, and my mom . . . I don't even know who she is anymore. I don't think I could ever trust her again."
"You can always trust me."
"I know." she said as she smiled. "And, thank you for doing this with me; coming out here to help me try to find my mom. It means a lot."
He smiled, "Anytime. I will always be here for you if you need me."
There was a long moment of silence as they stared into each others' eyes.
"Do you ever wonder how life would be with your mom?" Denella asked, hoping she wouldn't upset him by asking that question.
"Yeah, all the time. I just miss her a lot. And then, my dad isn't here either, so I do get lonely. I used to not be able to get her off my mind, but that stopped when I met you."
Denella could tell her face was turning red, and she started to smile. "What do you mean?"
"When I first met you in that warehouse, there was just something about you that was different than everyone else. I didn't even know you, but I felt like I did. Then, I got to see you more often and know you better, and I felt like . . . like even though my mom, who was just like an angel, was gone, another angel came into my life. He leaned forward, until Denella's lips were just an inch away from his, and kissed her.
It was kind of like when Brandon was kissing her, she felt like she was in a different world. There were definitely sparks, and Denella felt safe where she was. She was safe and she was happy.