A Life Unexpected: Holly Nather Book One (Holly Nather Series) (39 page)

I am laughing so hard and eventually give up. Dripping wet, he wraps me in his arms and kisses me as if he hasn’t seen me in ten years. He picks me up, and I wrap my legs tightly around his waist. He carries me over to the blanket and lays me down. I dig my nails into his back as he starts kissing down my neck.
This isn’t right…
Images of Luke flood my brain like a monsoon, and I quickly move from underneath him and stand up. He quickly stands to his feet and takes a deep breath, running his hands through his hair.

“I’m sorry I—” He starts to say but I cut him off.

“Luke, it’s okay—”

With a look of pure fury, Cohen yells, “LUKE?!” Well, crap… I just called him Luke, didn’t I? I place my hands over my face in embarrassment. How am I going to get myself out of this one?

“Cohen, I’m so sorry.” I feel his hands on mine, and he removes my hands from my face. He lifts my chin so that I am forced to look at him. I am a total jerk.

Anger fills his eyes and in a harsh tone he says, “I will
not
be second best to some guy from a
dream
.”

“Cohen, what just about happened between me and you…? I’m not ready for that. The last person I shared that part of me with was Luke. Who cares if it was a dream! It was real to me! That is all I knew while I was in a coma!”

Cohen’s anger doesn’t go away; it only gets stronger. “DO YOU LOVE ME?” He yells.

I start crying and turn so I’m not making eye contact with him. “I don’t know.”

“DAMN IT! STOP DENYING IT!” He grabs my wrist to reveal the mark that confirms my feelings for him. In a calmer voice, he says, “If you didn’t—”

I quickly cut him off. “I know; it wouldn’t be there.” He releases his hold on my wrist and stands in silence waiting for me to say what has needed to be said. “Cohen… I realize my heart has decided, but I just can’t say that right now. I care for you, a lot. Just
please,
give me some time to get over that dream. It was all I had while I was asleep.”

Subdued now, he says, “I will give you all the time you need. Just don’t ever call me Luke again, okay?” I nod my head, and he wraps me tightly in his arms. I bury my head into his chest. Whispering, he says, “About what
almost
happened a moment ago… I will wait until you are ready. I have a habit of losing self-control when I’m with you.”

Looking up at him, I smile and say, “Thank you.” We stand here in silence for a moment when it dawns on me that he may know what Harim’s problem is. “Hey, do you know what Harim’s issue has been lately?”

We sit down on the blanket and both dry our clothes. Much to my disappointment, he puts his shirt back on. He sighs and says, “I was hoping you would know. He won’t talk to me.”

“Maybe he is jealous that we are spending so much time together. I really haven’t hung out with him lately. He has been stuck with Stella.”

“No, that wouldn’t be it. You and I have always spent a lot of time together. Plus, he has a bunch of friends. It has to be something else. This isn’t like him at all.” Cohen brushes a strand of hair that came loose from my pony-tail and places it behind my ear.

“Maybe…” I say and force a smile on my face. I lay back on Cohen’s chest, and he plays with my hair. We don’t say anything and enjoy just being together. My lack of sleep is catching up with me, and eventually it wins.

When I wake up I am in my bed and notice Cohen sleeping beside me. I look at the clock and notice it is only ten o’clock at night. I kiss Cohen on the cheek and get up to take a shower. I feel so gross from being in the salt water.

After I get out of the shower I put on a t-shirt and comfy pants. When I walk out of the bathroom Cohen is sitting on the edge of the bed. I smile at him and lean against the wall. He gets up and walks over to me and puts his hands on my waist. He slides his hands under my shirt but keeps them at a safe distance. His bare hands touching my bare skin send chills all over my body. I place both my hands on his chest and make his shirt disappear. I push him towards the bed, and once we reach my bed, I push him down on it. He sits up so he can pull me down on top of him. Knotting his fingers in my hair he pulls me into a kiss. He starts to slip my shirt off slowly when my bedroom door flies wide open. I quickly jump off him, readjusting my shirt. I turn to look at my unwelcomed visitor— Harim. I stare ominously at Harim.
There had better be a good reason for this…

“What the hell?” Cohen says to Harim as he makes his shirt return.

“Luke! Holly, his name is Luke! They are killing him tonight. Luke requested they kill him sooner.” Harim says loudly.
What?!

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” I scream, and Cohen rushes to my side. The look Cohen is giving Harim is making me fear for Harim’s life.

“He was king and gave up the throne in Terre. He gave it up because his ‘
wife’
died as well as others he loved. He said he had nothing to live for. That is why he is giving up his life. He
wants
to die.” Harim looks like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

“What are you trying to say, Harim?” Cohen says through a clenched jaw.

“I think Holly was supposed to die that day. Holly, I think you may be living in an alternate reality. It is the only thing that makes any sense.” I fall to the ground with a hard thud. Cohen is trying to comfort me, but I push him off me.

“They are killing him tonight? And you are sure it’s him? Is this why you have been avoiding me?!” Tears are streaming down my face. I’m not sure how to process all of this.

Harim shakes his head and says, “No, I am not sure, but I think if you care enough about this Luke from your dream it is worth going to see if it is him before he dies. And, yes, this is why I have been avoiding you. I wasn’t going to tell you so you would stay here. I just couldn’t stand it anymore; I had to tell you.”

“Wait a minute… You said alternate reality. Are you being serious?” I am trying to focus on breathing so I don’t pass out.

“It is possible.” Harim states matter-of-factly.

“How do you know this?” I ask, more like plead, for an answer.

“I talked to him.”

“You did?! What did he look like?”

“Holly, I think you should go see him for yourself. They are taking his life at midnight.” When Harim says that I quickly look to the clock to see it is already eleven-thirty.

“I only have thirty minutes!”

“Then I suggest we go now.” I hear Cohen say. I quickly turn my head to face him.

I shake my head no while crying hysterically. “Cohen…”

Cohen forces a smile on his face, but it isn’t fooling me especially since that tear just rolled down his cheek. “Holly, I could be selfish and refuse to let you go, but I love you too much to do that to you. It may be him, and it may not be. Dear God, I hope it is not. But if it is…Your heart belonged to him first. I couldn’t keep you here and watch you suffer at the loss of him.”

Talking fast, I ask, “What happens to you guys if it is him? What happens to me here?”

“If it is an alternate reality, once you two are re-united, everything will go back to the day you almost died. Only you
will
die here in Gaia. You will never be able to return here if you choose Terre. You have to choose. Gaia or Terre.” When Harim says that, I look to Cohen who refuses to make eye contact with me.

“COHEN, LOOK AT ME!” I scream, but he refuses. I grab his face with both hands so he has to look at me. “I LOVE YOU! I TRULY DO! I JUST—”

Calmly he says, “I know; it’s just you love him more. Holly, I love you more than life itself. That is the
only
reason I am letting you go. But, I am going with you.” He wipes tears off my face and forces another smile on his face.

Cohen knows the way to the prison. We don’t hesitate any longer and quickly run out the door and down the steps. It is extremely dark, but that doesn’t slow us down. Once we reach the prison, I hesitate.
Breathe, Holly, you can do this.

“I will be with you the whole time. It is going to be okay.” Cohen says as I look at the double doors. There is a possibility that Luke is somewhere behind those doors. I look down at the hand that is holding mine. I love my life in Gaia. But…I also love Luke. Why does this have to be so hard?

I push thoughts of Gaia out of my head and storm through the doors, with Cohen following close behind. We meet two peace keepers at a front desk. “Can I help you?” One of them asks.
How do I explain this?

“I’m Holly, the one that almost died at the hands of the Versipellis. We came to watch this Versipellis take his last breath.” I am shocked at how calm I remain when I said this.

“Right this way. We didn’t think anyone would show up for his execution.” We follow a peace keeper down a long hallway, and we stop at a metal door. “He is in there. He is restrained and can’t move. In five minutes we will release the drugs into his IV that will stop his heart. Are you sure you are prepared to see him die?” I hesitate and then nod my head. When he opens the door I feel sick to my stomach and squeeze Cohen’s hand.

HOLLY

I FEEL COHEN’S
hurt eyes burning into my skin. He pulls me to him and wraps his arms tightly around me. He runs his hands through my hair and over my face, as if trying to remember every single detail about me. Tears are pouring from his eyes and he can barely say a word. Somehow he manages to speak. “What am I going to do without you? I—… I am not sure how I am going to handle you dying and never waking up.”

“Tell me to stay! Tell me not to walk through that door!” I say through tears, in a hurry as time is ticking away.

Cohen looks thoughtful for a moment and wipes the tears from both of our eyes. “You would stay with me?”

I quickly nod my head. “Just say it!”

More tears fall from Cohen’s eyes as he ponders the thought. “No.”

“NO?!” I scream.

Without another word Cohen opens the door and shoves me in. I turn around to run back to Cohen but he is gone. I go into full panic mode at the thought of never seeing Cohen again and scream his name, but he doesn’t reply. I take deep breaths trying to calm myself down. Why am I so scared to turn around? Working up the courage I didn’t know I had, I hold my breath as I walk further into the room with thoughts of both Cohen and Luke racing through my mind. I don’t look at Luke; instead I look at the floor as I make my way over to him. My heart is pounding so loudly; I know he can hear it. I can feel my blood boiling from nerves, and every area that has a pulse is pounding so hard that my veins may burst through my skin.

“Is it time?” My heart skips a beat, and I freeze in my spot when I hear his voice.
It’s him.
My mind is no longer screaming Cohen’s name and is now fully consumed with Luke. To hell with walking, I run to him and when his eyes meet mine, time stands still. He starts laughing, and I don’t understand.
Why is he laughing?!

“LUKE, IT’S ME!” I scream, and he continues to laugh. I start trying to free him from the restraints holding him to the table, but I’m unsuccessful. He also has needles and tubes inserted into his body that I’m not sure how to get rid of.
I have to do something, fast!
Think, Holly!

“Is this some sort of sick joke? Oh how I loathe dreams.” Laughing and pointing in my face he says, “You—are
not
real. You are a figment of my imagination. Only with... green eyes and really black hair.”
He thinks he is dreaming
?

“Luke, you are not dreaming. This is reality!” I am pleading with him to believe me. I am so close yet so far away.
DAMN IT!

“Ah, but you see, reality is merely an illusion.” He grabs a strand of my hair and says, “You are dead.”

I jump when I hear a voice over a loud speaker announce, “SIXTY SECONDS.” Without hesitating, I run to the door and open it. I can hear Luke laughing. He has lost his mind! I run to the peace keeper and start screaming.