Coma (Paranormal Romance) (12 page)

Upon entering the bus, I smiled to myself. It
was absolutely full! No conversation till we get out. Zack seemed
annoyed by it, grimacing and jerking up-and-down a zipper on his
shirt pocket, but I saw another side to that event. I was grateful
to whoever was the Grand Architect in this realm for making it
impossible for Zack to say what he wanted. If he cared for me as
much as I cared for him, I wanted to hear it when he was normal,
not boiling with rage. Besides, I had to be sure it was care, not
possessiveness of an alpha male.

I sat down next to an older lady, and Zack
had to sit next to a guy with headphones, and a hood. The aisle
separating us felt as if it were an abyss separating our worlds.
From the moment we sat down, Zack fixed his gaze on me, and watched
like he did at the beginning. Calm, steady, expressionless statue,
with God given beauty. It made me nervous. I fixed my gaze on a
bald man's head a few seats down, entertaining myself with tracing
the last remains of his hair combed across his scalp. I could feel
Zack's piercing eyes on me, watching without blinking.

Uncomfortable in my seat, I crossed my legs,
and placed my hands in my lap, palms down, moving my gaze from bald
man's head to my hands. My thick hair dropped, shielding my face
from Zack. I put my palms one over the other on my upper thigh.
Nothing felt right, so I shifted in my seat again, and flipped my
palms up, bringing my hands closer to my belly. With my gaze, I
traced the life line on my palm from the index finger, around the
thumb, down to the point where it oddly split in two. Zack's heavy
sigh jerked me. I uncrossed my legs, then looked at him.

His eyes latched onto mine. My heart skipped
a few beats, and I chewed on my lower lip from the inside,
defiantly holding my gaze. His gaze was soft, and locked onto mine
as if an invisible tractor beam connected us. I wanted to look
away, but I couldn't. He didn't blink, and I wasn't even sure he
was breathing. There was so much going on in that calm gaze of his,
as if he were transmitting with it all that he wanted to say to me,
but couldn't. I wished I knew what, but I lacked decoding software
to decipher it. His lips parted, and his gaze shifted to my brows,
then traced the outline of my face, crossed over to my nose, and
stopped on my lips. My breathing increased, and I bit my lower lip.
He returned his gaze back to my eyes, and swallowed hard. His lips
parted. I felt blood rush to my cheeks, but my eyes were glued to
his, and I couldn't detach. He stripped me of my self-control
completely.

The guy next to him readjusted in his seat,
resting his back against the window, facing me with a grin. I
flinched, and returned my gaze back to hands in my lap. My cheeks
were burning, and I heard Zack's silent chuckle. The rest of the
ride I didn't dare to look up. The last thing I needed was the
wrong guy thinking I was interested in him.

~*~

Although it was hot outside, the air in front
of psych ward’s main entrance was chilly. It was on the north side
of a monumental building, shielded from the sun all year round,
making it at least ten degrees colder than everywhere else.
Grotesque gargoyles were covered in green from the mosque, with
dark gray patches where the water ran out. I shook at the thought
of spending life in there.

“Are you cold?” Zack asked, wrongly
interpreting my shiver.

“No, I'm fine,” I replied with a faint
smile.

He let out a long sigh, and cracked his
knuckles. “Okay, here goes nothing.”

“Good luck,” I breathed. Zack's face lost all
of his usual smugness. He seemed worried, and that made me even
more concerned about the outcome.

“Lyra,” hearing him say my name did funny
things to me, “Please, don't take this the wrong way.” He shuffled
his feet, keeping gaze bowed.

“Take what?”

“I don't want you to come inside,” he said,
and I didn't respond, unsure what he thought I might take wrongly.
“I don't want you near, or tied to this in any way.”

I chuckled, “I wasn't planning on coming
in.”

Zack remained serious, “Wait for me at the
bus station.” His stare demanded my nod, so I did. “Okay,” he said,
and turned around, but instead of leaving, he hesitated for a
moment. He drew in one large breath that raised his chest
completely, held that breath as long as he could, and then slowly
let it out.

I watched his silhouette enter the building,
then went back toward the bus station. As soon as I came around the
corner, I soaked up some sun to chase away the chill that protruded
all the way into my bones. I guess that's how reptiles must feel
after a long winter.

The street sign was all that comprised a bus
station, so I sat on one of the larger stones scattered nearby. I
was glad that it was midday, and not night, but five minutes later,
my head started burning from the sun's intensity, and I had to find
some shade. There were no houses for as long as I could see, and
going back to the north side of the psych ward wasn't an option.
Only the road, and narrow bushes surrounded me. Traffic wasn't
much, either. Little bit further down the road was a lonesome tree,
and I decided to seek cover in its faint shadow. It was better than
frying like an egg on a stone.

Resting my back against a tree trunk, my mind
wandered off to Zack and Sophie. Who knows what was going on in
there. At least I knew her doctor must have agreed to try, or Zack
would have been back already. I pulled my legs closer, hugged my
knees, and twisted my fingers to lock that position. Sitting on
nothing but dirt was uncomfortable, and I was thirsty. After
working all morning, I was exhausted. Heat and silence made me
drowsy, so I dropped my head onto my knees. The air was dry and
hot, scorching my lungs.

I must have dozed off, because somewhere in
the back of my mind I heard someone desperately calling me. I
lifted my gaze, but the sun blinded me. Couple of blinks, and
slowly my eyes adjusted to the light. Suddenly, I became aware that
the cries were real. With his voice breaking from screaming, Zack
was frantically calling my name. I stood up and saw him in the
distance, running in circles, beheaded. I waved, but he didn't see
me. He dropped to the ground, and shoved his head between his
knees, clasping hands over the head. I called out, but he didn't
hear me.

“Zack!” I called out again when I was nearer.
He jolted, and shot up, running toward me. Man, he could run!

“Lyra! You okay?” He muttered, bending over,
putting hands on his knees, trying to catch a breath.

“Yeah. I was over there behind a tree.”

Still bent, gasping for air, he looked up,
“Didn't you hear me calling you?” His eyes were worried, and face
was red from running.

“No. I must have fallen asleep,” I bowed my
head, and drew an imaginary circle with my foot on the ground.

Zack chuckled, and straightened up. “Thank
God. You can't imagine what went through my head.”

“I'm sorry. I was so tired and—” he cut my
apology by putting a finger over my mouth. My heart fluttered. The
touch of his finger against my lips had me boiling up inside.

His gaze softened. “Nevermind,” he said,
tucking both hands in his pockets. “You're okay,” his smile
widened.

“And Sophie?”

“I'll tell you on the way,” he pointed at the
bus approaching.

“But...that's the wrong bus,” I chuckled,
thinking he had lost his mind. That one wasn't going in our
direction.

“No, we have to go to the doctor's house,”
Zack winked. My jaw dropped, and I was speechless. The bus was too
close, so Zack grabbed my hand, and pulled me across the street. At
the last minute, the bus driver spotted me, and stopped several
feet away, so we ran forward to enter.

“Thank you,” I said to the bus driver upon
entering, and he nodded, closing the door behind me. Zack was
already sitting at the back, wearing his usual grin, and patting
the seat next to him for me to sit.

“Spill it,” I said, sitting down.

“Everything went like I told you it would,
but,” he paused, pressing his lips hard. His eyes were
smiling
, so I knew whatever he was about to say couldn't be
all that bad.

“But what?”

“The doctor has a test of her own,” Zack
chuckled, and shook his head.

“What test?”

“The important thing is, she believed us! But
to be sure, she wants me to go to her house, and bring her the
fifth book, on the second shelf from the top, counting from left to
right.”

“And she'll let Sophie out?” I lifted my
brows and widened my gaze, expecting a confirmation.

“Not so fast,” Zack narrowed his eyes.

“She won't?” My mouth dropped.

“She said that, if I bring her the right
book, she will let her out, but Sophie will have to deny seeing
anything out of the ordinary, and act
healed,
” Zack's
expression was of a worried kind.

“That's great! Why don't you look happy?” I
narrowed my eyes.

“Sophie doesn't want to lie,” Zack dropped
his gaze.

“She has to! Did you tell her that?”

“Of course I did. And her doctor told her
there was no other way; that people aren't ready to accept this
kind of thing, and would deny any proof just to keep their beliefs
uncompromised,” he let out a long sigh.

“And?”

“And Sophie said she'll think about it.”

“I can't believe it,” I snorted. “So we're
going to get the book, and Sophie might still say no?”

Zack nodded, “I guess so.”

Both of us went quiet for a few minutes, and
then Zack chuckled. I looked at him, confused. He smiled, curving
his lips more to the left, and then said:

“I didn't tell you,” he smacked his
forehead.

“Tell me what?”

“Sophie's doctor has state of the art
security in her house,” he paused, and I goggled my eyes in
disbelief.

“How are you gonna get in? You said you have
to use the door like us.”

“That's the funny part,” he chuckled. “She
gave Sophie the key, and Sophie gave it to me.”

“I don't see the funny part, yet,” I rubbed
my brow.

He pulled out a card, “This is the key. It's
a microchip!”

“Still not funny...”

“Can't you see?” He looked at me expectantly.
I shook my head. “It's a brilliant idea. Undeniable proof that
Sophie isn't lying!”

“True. But not funny.”

His brows went skywards. “It is funny if you
look at it from normal person's perspective. We're all crazy as
hell!” He chuckled again. “Passing things from person to person,
one realm to another, materializing from thin air. It's nuts!”

I couldn't find any amusement in it, but I
was glad he was getting a kick out of it.

~*~

Doctor's house was a big mansion, encompassed
by several feet high walls and thick iron fence, surrounded by a
luxurious, carefully groomed garden. Psychiatry must have paid
well—I thought. Zack went in over the wall, because the key was for
the mansion only, and I was left outside, peeking in through the
fence. This key stunt made me feel uneasy about the whole
experiment. She could have given him the key to the fence as well.
Why give one key, and not the other? That was too
playful
for my taste.

Luckily, Zack was invisible to others, so
no-one saw him climb that high wall using tree branches and ivy.
While he was struggling to get across, I prayed he wouldn't fall.
Any of those branches could have easily snapped, and broken leg
would be the end of him, unless we could find a surgeon that was
also in a coma to help him.

Zack reached the front door. I held my breath
as he was putting in the key. In that split second, it has crossed
my mind that it could have been a trick. He could have been set up.
My ears started buzzing, and heart pounding. Gripping the fence, my
fingers turned pale white. Huge wooden doors opened, and Zack
flashed me a smile. Huh. Cold sweat broke through my pores.
Plastered to the fence, I had to force myself away from it, or
neighbors might call the police about my suspicious activity.

Next ten minutes were the longest in my life.
Like a beast in a cage, I paced back and forth in front of the
mansion. Although so far everything went normal, I still wasn't
sure Sophie's doctor wasn't playing us. Having a doctor and a nurse
for parents made me privy to their way of thinking—rational and
down to Earth. Hanging around hospital when I was little was the
reason why I never revealed my secret. Everybody knew whose
daughter I was, so no-one ever paid attention to the little kid
hanging around the hospital halls, watching them. At that young
age, my whole perspective on things had changed. Seeing them
reassuring patients everything was going to be okay, and then
seeing those same patients die, or get worse, made a huge impact on
my life. I couldn't trust adults anymore.
Oh, why did I let Zack
do this?
I chided myself. Of course her doc would act as if she
believed Sophie, that's what doctors do!

A loud thud behind my back winced me. Zack
had jumped down the wall, grinning wide, holding a copy of a Bible
in his hand. Two long seconds had passed between us, and then we
broke out laughing.

“I love this woman,” Zack squeezed out, still
laughing.

“A Bible?” I stepped closer, and Zack handed
it to me. I took the thick, black copy in my hand, and turned it
around. “Why the Bible?” I asked, and he shrugged.

“Open it,” Zack said, curving up his lips,
and tucking his hands in back pockets.

Cautiously, I opened the book. It must have
been very old, pages were yellowish and chipped. There was an
inscription written in black ink. It read:

“
May Lord have mercy on your soul.
Psychiatry is the path of the Devil. It's not too late to embrace
Christ!
”

I looked at Zack, eyes wide open, smirk
trying to break free.