Vindicated (16 page)

Sliding his hand into mine, Alex led me back to the house.

As we walked inside, I kept waiting for him to say something.
 
What Jeremiah had said was true, I was keeping things from Alex.
 
There were things I could never tell him, at least not yet.
 
It would be natural for him to question me as to what Jeremiah was talking about.

But he didn’t say anything.
 
He simply pulled me into his arms in the living room, pressing a kiss to my forehead, and held me for a very long time.

Eventually he released me, kissing me just once on the lips.
 
“You look tired.”

I could only nod.

“I’ll let you go to sleep then.
 
I’m going to start working on the cake tonight.”

“Okay,” I said quietly as he took a step away from me and started for the kitchen.
 
I crossed to my room, pausing in the doorway.

“Alex?” I said quietly.

“Yes,” he paused, his eyes looking slightly sad.

“I love you.”

“I know,” he said with an almost forced half-smile.
 
“I love you too.”

Trying to smile back, I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.
 
I leaned against it, letting my eyes slide closed.

I hated keeping secrets from Alex.
 
I hated that I couldn’t tell him that I was communicating with Cole, that I was begging for his help.
 
I couldn’t tell him that as of right now, I couldn’t die, that I could never join him.
 
I couldn’t tell Alex that I was considering doing
anything
to save him.

But it was better to keep him safe.
 
Even if it meant keeping the truth from him.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the door and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
 

As I brushed my teeth, I studied myself in the mirror.
 
I’d gotten used to the otherworldly perfection I’d acquired.
 
It was still unnerving for me and everyone around me but I was used to it by now.
 
But there was something different about my countenance.

It was that I wasn’t running scared anymore.
 
I wasn’t just kneeling down and taking the beating the afterlife had dealt me my entire life.
 
I wasn’t shedding tears anymore, my hands didn’t shake, my emotions weren’t getting the best of me at every moment.

I was finally fighting.

I spit into the sink and rinsed my mouth out.
 
I changed into my tank top and cotton shorts, glancing in the mirror at the raised scars of intricate wings that spanned my back.
 
I had been only minutes away from acquiring my own real set of wings just before Alex died.

Strangely, I felt calm as I climbed under the cool sheets.
 
I wasn’t panicked, I wasn’t scared.
 
Only weeks before, Cole had terrorized me, was my worst nightmare.
 
But now I sought out his presence.

I could face my worst fear if it meant saving the man I loved.

And then I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing, and let sleep take me over.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I sensed another presence in the dark as soon as I entered the world of the unreal.
 
They shifted uneasily, their breath rapid and scared.

“Hello?” a voice cautiously called out.
 
“Is someone there?”

I didn’t know what to answer.
 
I knew I wasn’t supposed to be here.
 
It seemed better that I didn’t say anything.

“I know you’re there,” they said in a shaky voice.
 
“Do you know what’s going on?
 
Where… where am I?”

A part of me wanted to reassure whoever it was in the dark, to tell them that everything was going to be alright.
 
But that would be unfair.
 
I knew nothing of the deeds of this man’s life, what his scrolls contained.
 
He had a fifty-fifty chance of being pulled into the fiery depths in just moments.

“I…” they stuttered.
 
“I think something happened to me.
 
I… I remember a car swerving in front of us.
 
And then…”

As the person struggled to remember their final moments of life, I felt the air shift around me, turning icily cold.
 
With a muffled scream, that other person was plunged into the afterlife.

I waited.
 
If a trial was just getting over, it might take a little bit before Cole could escape unnoticed.

He arrived quicker than I had expected.
 
The air suddenly chilled again, and I felt his presence behind me, standing very close.

“That was a very brave and very stupid thing you did,” his voice saturated my ears.

“I couldn’t let them take him,” I breathed as I hugged my sides.

Even though I couldn’t see through the dark, I sensed the smile that spread on Cole’s perfect face.
 
“You’ve grown, Jessica.
 
You’re not afraid anymore.”

“I’m terrified,” I said as I furrowed my brow, turning in the dark to face him.
 
“Every moment I’m scared that I’ll find that he’s gone, that I can never join him.”

“But you’re fighting now.
 
You have learned to stand up for yourself finally.”

“Did they mean it?” I asked.
 
“That they will give him a while longer?”

“Yes,” Cole said as he started pacing.
 
“But a while is not a long while.
 
You’ve got to figure this out faster.”

“Can’t you just tell me how to save him?” my voice came out desperate.

“You think I have all the answers,” Cole said coolly.
 
“I know you have the ability to do it yourself.
 
Jessica,” he paused.
 
“I don’t know how you are going to save him.
 
I do know that if they take him, it will be too late.
 
He’s dead.
 
Once the council claims the dead, the dead don’t get to go back.
 
At least not permanently.

“And even if I did know what to tell you, I couldn’t,” Cole said, his voice lowering.
 
“I would risk losing my position.
 
As it is, it is already in danger.
 
They watch me.
 
My being here now is dangerous.”

I reached out through the dark, searching for Cole.
 
My fingers only met the cool air.
 
“You’ve grown too, Cole.”
 
I couldn’t help but smile.

“Don’t mention it,” he said sarcastically.
 
“There is something else you should know,” he moved on.
 
“Alex’s mother.”

“Caroline?” I questioned.
 
“What about her?”

“I can sense her.
 
Her transition into my world becomes stronger by the hour.
 
I felt her a few hours ago.
 
She’ll be under my leadership soon if you do not intervene.”

“Where is she?” I asked, my voice coming out desperate sounding.

“She’s in a place that’s familiar to her.
 
I can feel Alex’s presence all around her.
 
I don’t recognize the place.”

“The rental house,” I breathed.
 
My heart started hammering in my chest.
 
“Thank you, Cole,” I said, again reaching out for him.
 
“I have to get back.
 
We have to help her.”

“Jessica,” he called as I started willing myself to wake up.
 
I paused, turning in his general direction.
 
“You can’t come back to this place.
 
It’s too dangerous.
 
For both of us.”

I nodded, figuring Cole would know I did.
 
“Good-bye, Cole.”

“Good-bye, Jessica,” he breathed.

The air started to warm, my insides started shaking.
 
And I opened my eyes to the pre-dawn lit ceiling.

“Alex!” I shouted, jumping out of bed, rushing for my closet.

Alex burst through the door, his front side covered in flour, panic in his eyes.
 
“What’s wrong?”

I pulled off my sleeping shorts, not even thinking about Alex seeing me in only my underwear.
 
Pulling on a pair of jeans, I then threw on a long sleeved t-shirt.
 
“We need to get to the rental house.
 
Now.”

“Why?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

“I just… have a feeling we should go over,” I lied.
 
Again.

“What…” he shook his head.
 
“What’s going on with you?”

“Please,” I said as I stepped out of the closet and held his eyes.
 
“Just go get changed.
 
Quickly.”

He looked at me a moment longer, the wheels in his head turning.
 
“Okay,” he said as he shook his head and walked out the bedroom door.

I whirl winded around the bathroom, trying to tame my hair, brushing my teeth.
 
By the time I walked back into the living room, Alex was dressed and waiting with the truck keys.

“Let’s go,” I said, having a hard time meeting his eyes.
 
Not saying a word, he followed me out to the garage.

We drove in silence for a long while, tension hanging in the air.
 
My fingers were knotted together tightly in my lap, my palms sweating.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Alex finally asked.
 
He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead of him, his left hand gripping the top of the steering wheel just a little too tightly.
 
The veins in his forearm bulged out.

I just shook my head and stared out the passenger window.
 
Through the reflection in the glass I saw his jaw tighten.

As soon as we pulled into the driveway of the house, I jumped out of the truck, before Alex had even put it into park.
 
Not seeing Caroline at the front steps, I practically ran around the back of the house.
 
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and started dialing 911.

And there she was, passed out on the back step of the house.
 
We had only brought her here once to see all the improvements Alex had made but apparently she had a good memory.
 
I wondered how long she had been lying there, unable to get through the locked door.

“Caroline?!” Alex shouted as he followed me.
 
Moving faster than me, he was suddenly by her side, rolling her onto her back, and pressing two fingers to the side of her neck.

“She’s still alive,” he said, followed by a curse under his breath.
 
“She reeks of alcohol and I don’t even want to know what else.
 
Call an ambulance.”

I simply pressed send.

In less than five minutes we heard the sirens wailing and the saw the lights flashing in the early morning air.
 
A man and a woman loaded her up and less than seven minutes since I made the call, Alex and I were headed to the hospital.

“How did you know?” Alex asked very quietly.
 
His entire frame was rigid.

“I just had a feeling,” I lied, hating myself.

“How did you know, Jessica?!” he half shouted.

I glanced at him, seeing his cold, hard eyes turn on me.
 
“I had a dream about it, okay?” I said defensively.