Break Away (Away, Book 1) (32 page)

“You don't have to explain anything,
just…please, stay awake.”

I smiled. I knew this commotion would wear
off with the days, just as I knew our relationship would turn all
weird and uncomfortable again. But in that moment, in the midst of
relief and joy, everything felt okay between us, and I was glad I
had him here.

His cell phone rang. He fished it out of the
pocket of his jeans and answered. “Hello?” A moment of silence
passed. “What?” he said, his eyes widening. Then, he turned to look
at me and said, “Buffy. She's awake, too.”

My stomach dropped. “She's—she's what?” I
didn't wait for an answer and snatched his cell phone. “Hello?” I
pressed it to my ear.

“Dafne? Oh my God, honey, I'm so glad to hear
your voice,” Gran said with sheer delight and tears edging her
voice. “A star must be shining over us today. How are you feeling?
Are you okay?”

“I'm—I'm fine, Gran. Just a bit drowsy, but,
uh, is Buffy…” I left the words hanging in the air, anxiousness and
hope suffusing it.

“Oh, yes, honey,” she said, blowing out a big
gulp of air, as if releasing all the tension and fear that'd been
haunting her. “Buffy is back. She's really here, just like
you.”

Tears of joy welled up in my eyes. “How…” And
then confusion hit me, fusing in a mighty storm with the happiness
swirling within me.

“It's a miracle. You're both miracles,” she
said, with a grin in her voice.

Miracle.
Was it really? Doubt and
suspicion rumbled around in my head, clashing with the bright and
warm feelings that wrapped my heart. Maybe it was a coincidence—me
dreaming of being in Chimera, finding Buffy in the Garden of
Wandering Souls and asking her to come back. A deep line appeared
between my eyebrows. Again, that little voice deep inside me made
its presence known and said it was too much of a big coincidence to
be pure and simple luck.

“Can I talk to her?” I asked quietly.

I heard a sigh. “I'm sorry, Dafne. She just
barely woke up a couple of minutes ago and she doesn't know what
happened to you, or her. Let me talk to her first and I'll call you
later, okay? Just give her some time.”

My shoulders sagged in disappointment.
“You're right, Gran. You're right.”

“I love you, Dafne.”

“I love you, too, Gran,” I said back, a sense
of déjà-vu brushing my mind.

“Oh!” She said before hanging up. “Please
tell Ian it’s time for him to come over here. Buffy will need him.”
A pang of remorse bit my chest. “Aunt Morgan is on her way over
there.”

Aunt Morgan
. “Sure. I'll tell him.”
The line went dead. I handed him the cell phone and dropped my
gaze, wanting to avoid those chips of bright emerald. “Gran says
Buffy needs you, that Aunt Morgan will come to replace you,” I
said.

“Yeah…of course,” he said, though he didn't
sound so sure.

The room went dead silent, each one of us
contemplating our situation. Now that Buffy was awake, everything
changed. The full weight of what we'd done in the library at Comus’
house packed our conscious with profound guilt. I told myself the
terrible circumstances that'd been surrounding us had weakened our
spirits and pushed us to seek a comfort, but that pain in the ass
little voice emerged and told me something different. Something I
didn't even want to consider.

“Dafne…”

“Don't,” I shook my head and finally looked
at him. “Nothing happened, okay?
Nothing
,” I repeated to
emphasize—no, actually to
brand
in his brain that this was
an off-limits discussion.

Even if he didn't seem to like my words and
didn't agree with my unspoken terms, he let it go for the time,
handing me a silent victory.

“I'll just wait for your aunt to come and
I'll leave,” he stated sharply, the hard set of his mouth telling
me there was no other option than this.

The young nurse chose that moment to slide
inside the room to check on me. “How are the lovebirds doing?” she
asked us with a secret smile. Ian cleared his throat. “Is the
boyfriend happy that her sleeping princess has awakened?” she asked
him now with a grin and looked at me. “The doctor will be coming
soon, okay?” she informed me, touching my arm gently, and turned to
leave.

I threw Ian a chastising look.

He glanced at me under his long lashes and
shrugged. “I had to tell them I was your boyfriend so I could stay
with you,” he said, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

Jesus,
I thought. Something told me
this thing with him was going to be awkward as hell.

Ian kept his word and left as soon as Aunt
Morgan arrived. Places now traded, she settled her work station on
the small coffee table between the two upholstered chairs and began
grading papers. Really, even in the face of tragedy—or medical
miracles, you name it—she couldn't stop working. I wondered if
there was something like Workaholics Anonymous.

I felt grateful, though, for her distraction,
because seeing a copy of Mom wasn't easy on the heart, especially
after I'd seen her in a dream where I'd decided to leave her. And
besides Comus, I didn't want to talk about what I'd “seen” while
I'd fallen into a coma. I didn't want to talk about how I felt,
because I didn't really
know
how I felt. I was a mess of
happiness, confusion, and…sadness. The last feeling was one I
didn't want to ponder on too much.

I sighed and looked at the colorful flower
arrangement that sat on the small table next to me. It screamed
Comus all over, with the multicolored roses and strawberry
lollipops shooting out of the greenery everywhere, but mostly, the
purple envelope with the words “She-fledgling” written on it was
what truly stamped it as his. Inside, a cream-colored card
explained he was sorry that he couldn't be there with me, that an
unexpected business trip to India had unfolded and he had to leave
the country for a couple of weeks—on a private jet, for sure. But
he finished by saying, with a smiley face, that a very important
talk awaited us in the future.

Yes it does,
I thought. Even if Buffy
and I had returned, there were still a lot of people in coma.
People who had families waiting for them to open their eyes again,
feeding on hope each day. If what I'd done had been real, if
anything that'd happened had been real, then I had to find a way to
bring everyone back. And Comus was the key.

I plucked out a lollipop from the arrangement
and unwrapped it. The noise of the paper must've distracted Aunt
Morgan, because she stopped grading and stood up. She reached my
side and said, “I forgot, I have something for you.” She stretched
out her hand and gave me an envelope—a white one. “It came to the
house yesterday.”

“Thanks,” I said, inspecting both sides. I
wasn't expecting mail.

I opened it with a frown and unfurled the
letter.

Dear Ms. Cadwell,

I am delighted to inform
you that the Committee on Admissions has voted to offer you a place
at the Aremihc Institute of Arts. Please find enclosed a
certificate of admission. Our faculty
—

I stopped reading and froze. Oh, my God. Was
I still dreaming? Was this really happening? I turned to look at
Aunt Morgan. She was holding a thick, bright gold paper in her
hands that glinted under the light.

“Is that…”

She smiled and gave it to me.
“Congratulations, Dafne.”

Oh, my God. I traced my fingers across the
shield and embossed letters in a trance, feeling as if I'd been
given the golden ticket to go into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Only this was better, way better. My dream come true.

Then I remembered Ian had been admitted into
Aremihc, too, and my happiness deflated.
Oh, no
, I thought.
I'm in big trouble.

This was definitely going to be a crazy
year.

Wow. A lot of people deserve my unending
gratitude. To Roger Pineiro, for his priceless help and sharp point
of view. To Daniel Tyx; you opened my eyes to a whole new creative
world and turned me into a better writer because of that. Special
thanks to Bob Plunket; what would I've done without your initial
assistance? You put me on the right path with the right tools. I
will always trust my instincts. Huge thanks to my book doctor,
Christie; I'm so glad to have you. You truly rock! A ginormous
thank you to Kizuna-chan for such a beautiful image. To all those
wonderful book bloggers out there; your words open windows of
opportunities for all of us, indie authors. Thank you for the hard
work.

Where would I be without my family? To my
brother, Luija; thank you for your companionship and continual
support. To my zistas, Heidi and Jessica; you really are the best
cheering buddies one could have. A big thank you goes to you both.
And Heidi, you must know that most of what I've accomplished
couldn't have been done without your help abroad. Thank you. Last
but absolutely not least, my parents; you guys don't even bat an
eyelash when it comes to me writing books. Your undying trust in me
is what truly keeps the wheels going. I love you with capital
letters.

And mostly, thank you, dear reader, for
embarking on this journey with me. Hopefully you'll join me on the
next one!

When not writing, glued to her husband, Mr.
Keyboard, or reading books into oblivion, Tatiana Vila can be found
watching tacky reality shows, singing in the shower, eating way too
many Wonka candies, and fantasizing about her next book.

Her motto: let the mind run wild.

Other titles by Tatiana Vila

The Ylem (The Ylem trilogy, Book 1)

Visit her blog at
http://tatianavila.blogspot.com