Coma (Paranormal Romance) (14 page)

For a moment, I considered sleeping
elsewhere, but my reason was overpowered by emotions. I turned off
the light, and went to get myself ready for bed. A couple of
minutes later, I came back, and turned on a dim light on my
nightstand. He was still in the same position. I climbed in, and
curled up on the side with knees tucked in. He stirred, moving his
head toward me, but leaving arms where they were. I stiffened up,
anticipating his eyes would open. His breathing continued, and I
indulged in exploring his facial features.

Every muscle on that usually quite serious
face was now relaxed. I traced the line of his face with my eyes,
wishing it was my hand. His dark brows were perfectly arched over
closed eyelids. Thick, long, black lashes extended toward his
cheeks like little fans. His cheekbones suggested he was way past
his baby fat, sending a shiver down to my gut. My glance moved to
his straight nose, and down below, to his lips. Both lips were
equally full, upper slightly heart-shaped, and I couldn’t think
about anything else besides leaning in and doing nasty things to
them. As if he sensed my impure intentions threatening his virtue,
he stirred. Quickly, I moved from my side to my back, trying to
control my heavy breathing, and not to flinch. He changed position
by extending one arm somewhere over my head, and placing his other
one over me, resting his palm on my opposite shoulder. My heart
started racing out of control. Then he snuggled closer, burrowing
his head in the whole of my neck. He muttered something
incomprehensible, and inhaled deeply, exhaling warmth all over my
neck. I shivered to the bone. He pulled me closer, and his nose
connected with my neck, his breathing tingling me. I gasped, my
mind went berserk.

Minutes went by, and I was still unable to
relax. Stiffened up, I considered my options.
If I move, I risk
waking him up, and possibly ending this with him suddenly leaving.
Now, why would I do that? If I don’t move, I’ll never know what
could have been if he had woken up snuggled like this.
That
stirred my insides, and warmth zoomed through me. I decided to let
my subconsciousness deal with it, and fell asleep.

~*~

The alarm clock started ringing loudly, and I
reached for it to make it stop. With my eyes still closed, I
smacked over the nightstand with my palm, and kept missing the
clock.

“It won’t help if you break the nightstand,”
a husky chuckle against the nape of my neck jolted me. There I was,
securely locked in Zack’s embrace, and he was okay with it? More
than obviously, he was wide awake, and didn’t remove his arm. The
alarm clock was still howling, and I didn’t know what to do, or
say. He moved his arm that was cradling me, and tucked my hair
behind my ear. “Good morning,” he said, sending shivers throughout
my all-of-a-sudden-weak body.

“Good morning,” I breathed, and smacked the
alarm clock shut. Panic stricken, I searched my mind for options.
Now what!?

Gently, he rolled me onto my back. My insides
flip-flopped, and I gulped. Zack propped himself up on an elbow,
and placed his head on a palm, smiling softly. Our eyes locked,
mine wide open as if fighting for air, his soft and dreamy. With
his free hand, he crossed down my cheek with his knuckles. I
gasped.

“Hope I didn’t crush you last night,” he
chuckled. “I’m a restless sleeper.”

Didn’t think it was possible, but my eyes
widened even more. I shook my head, and muttered a faint “No,” then
sat up, turning my back on him. Last night, all I wanted was to
kiss him, and now I chickened out. I struggled with my
breathing.

“I have to get ready for work,” I breathed,
and got up. He stretched out, then climbed out of bed, as well. I
escaped to the bathroom, scared of what might happen if I got close
to him.

Quickly, I brushed my teeth, and combed my
hair, then recovered my courage, and went back. I inhaled, and
opened the door, but Zack wasn’t there. Flabbergasted, I smirked,
then saw a post-it on my computer screen.

It read, “
Had to run. See you at
Mario’s
.” That flattened my mood. Mad at myself for chickening
out, I hissed aloud “I must be bipolar!”
Freakin’ mood
swings!

~*~

When Sophie rolled in, I was taken aback. She
was nothing like the girl I met in the psych ward. That girl was a
bitter mess, this one standing before me was sweet, cheerful,
nicely dressed, and glowing with confidence. I had to ignore Zack
standing next to her as Mario's was packed with people, but I
caught his glance, and a devilish grin.

“Sophie,” I called out. “You look great!”

Sophie did a little twirl, ending with a half
bow by extending her skirt, and bending her knees. “Uh-huh,” she
murmured, and surprised me with a friendly hug. “I'm so happy to
see you,” she sputtered.

“I get off soon,” I said when we broke the
hug, “Find a seat and I'll join you ASAP.” Sophie nodded, and Zack
silently followed her, grazing my hand on his way past me, fixing
his eyes on mine, not breaking eye contact until his head had to
turn or fall off. I gasped as there was no doubt he did that on
purpose, and wanted me to know it. Grazing was long, ending with a
deliberate twirl of his fingers to touch my palm. I blushed to my
roots.

“What can I get you?” I asked Sophie when
they sat down. She looked at Zack whose gaze was fixed on me, then
said:

“Tangerine. Can he get something?”

I shrugged, and said to Zack, “I don't know.
Can you make it invisible?”

“I suppose so, but I'm fine. No need,” he
grinned, maintaining that stare. What was he up to? Did he just
want to make me nervous? I sighed, and turned around on my heels to
get the drink for Sophie. A couple of moments later, I gave Sophie
her drink, and rushed to other guests, ignoring Zack's attempts to
catch my gaze.

Before I went to join Sophie and Zack, I had
to stop by my friend's table. Maya and Helen were already angry
with me for ditching them all the time, so they stopped coming by
every day, and switched to every once in awhile. I had to come up
with a good excuse for not hanging out with them today, and I had
none. I considered telling them who Sophie really was, but Brad and
Shawn were in the way. I decided to go with a half truth.

“I have to skip today,” I said, causing a set
of frowns on everyone's faces.

“Oh, c'mon,” Maya spouted, and scowled. Helen
looked at me suspiciously.

“You're hiding something,” Helen said, eying
me.

“Not what you're thinking. Look, I met a girl
that has the same
problem
I do,” I raised both eyebrows
hoping they would catch the drift without me saying it aloud.

“You mean your Zack issue?” Helen inclined
her head, giving me
the
eye. Guys nudged their heads
forward. Hearing a guy's name in a sentence directed toward me
caught their interest.

“Yes. She's right over there,” I nudged my
head toward Sophie's table. “I don't know when I'll get another
chance to talk to her, so I have to do it now.”

“K,” Maya said. “But you owe us details
later.”

“Who's Zack?” Brad chipped in.

“Her stalker,” Helen said, and I goggled my
eyes, hissing “
you didn't
” at her between my teeth. She
shrugged, and smiled. Brad's mouth fell open.

“Yeah, I have a guy on my back that won't go
away,” I said to buffer the damage. Maya snickered. “That's his ex
and I want to hear how she got rid of him.” That was enough to put
a lid on Brad's curiosity.

Excusing myself, I got up and went to join
Sophie and Zack, picking up a glass of coke on my way over there. I
sat across Sophie, and pushed the coke down the table to Zack.

“Thanks,” he muttered, confused by my
gesture. I wondered if it was indeed invisible now that he had it.
Both Sophie and I could still see it.

As if she could read my mind, Sophie said,
“Is it really invisible now?”

I shrugged. “Zack believes so,” I giggled,
and looked at Zack. He didn't seem to be worried it wasn't.

“That guy over there is looking our way,” he
nudged his head forward, and just like kids, both of us looked in
that direction. Our sudden attention made the man bow his gaze,
embarrassed.

Sophie giggled, “What about him?”

“Would he look like that if there was a glass
of coke floating here?” His brows shot up, paving a way for a smug
grin.

“Oh,” I chuckled.

“Cool,” Sophie grinned widely. “So, how long
have you been together?” She said, taking a gulp of her
tangerine.

“Together?” I sputtered. She didn't
mean...did she? Zack and I exchanged confused looks.

“Yeah. I knew you were a couple as soon as
you walked into my room,” she giggled.

“Oh, we're not—” I said, hearing Zack
protesting at the same time.

“Oh, please,” she sneered. “Give me some
credit!”

“No, we're really not,” I felt embarrassed.
Sure, I wanted to be his...whatever. But... I glanced at Zack; he
was fiddling with his glass.

“Well, you should be,” she spouted, and I
opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. At the
corner of my eye, I thought I saw the slightest of nods on Zack's
behalf, but it couldn't have been. “It's written all over you,”
Sophie cracked a smile.

“What is?” Zack asked, downing the last of
his coke.

“Attraction!”

I felt my cheeks burn. I heard Zack grunt,
but the buzzing in my ears prevented me from hearing what.

“You two are ridiculous,” Sophie snorted,
“But I'm glad you came into my life. How can I ever repay you?”

“Nah,” I waved my hand.

“It was the least we could—” Zack stopped
without finishing his sentence. His face turned pale, and his lower
lip trembled.

“Zack?” I called out. He didn't respond. He
gripped the table with his both hands, and pressed his lips hard,
turning them pale, as well.

“Is he okay?” Sophie looked at me for an
answer. I shrugged, and placed my hand on his shoulder. That broke
his trance, and he looked at me. The pain behind his glance ripped
my insides apart. Something bad was going on.

“Zack, what's wrong?” I shook his shoulder to
get his attention.

“I just remembered my birthday,” he uttered,
absently.

“A birthday? As in horror birthday party?” I
asked, forcing a smile.

“No,” he swallowed hard, and the pain in his
eyes turned into confusion. “A date.”

“And that's a bad thing?” Sophie asked,
cautiously.

Still holding my gaze, Zack's lips trembled
before he said, “August, 2091.”

“What?!” I shrieked. He had to be joking.
“That can't be true,” I said, suddenly feeling queasy. “1991,
maybe?”

Zack grabbed my face between his palms,
staring closely into my eyes, then said, “Lyra, it's 2091.”

“But...NO! That's not possible,” the pain
building up inside of me stopped me from rumbling further. I placed
my palms over his that were still cradling my face, and fought the
urge to cry. Seeing my emotions mirrored in his eyes as well, made
it that much harder. Tears burned my throat.

“Pff,” Sophie sputtered. “You're wasting
precious time.” Her comment jerked our heads toward her. “Look at
you!” We jerked our heads back, gazing at one another. “You can't
deny what just happened there,” she motioned between us with her
finger, and chuckled.

“
2091
, Sophie,” I stressed out the
year.

“I heard him,” she smirked. “There's nothing
you can do about that, but you
can
make the most of his time
here.”

Hearing her words intensified my pain. As if
sucker punched to the chest, I gasped for air. That couldn't be
true. I wanted to scream.
His time here
kept repeating in my
head over and over, like a malevolent echo.

“Zack,” I turned to him. His eyes watered,
and he lowered his glance. “It could be false memory,” that came
out more as a question than a statement.

He shook his head, “Unfortunately, not. Some
other fragments came back. Remember when I told you that none of
the earlier ones matched anything from around here?” Defeated, I
nodded once, feeling the ground dissipate under my feet. “Well,
that's because I
am
from the future,” his voice cracked, and
he took my hand in his. “The new ones fit with the old ones. Now it
all makes sense.”

“I'm so sorry, guys,” Sophie said, her glance
matching her words.

“But, how did you end up in 2013?” I asked
Zack, squeezing his hand.

“I've no idea,” he resigned.

“You said before,” I said to Sophie, “That
their last memory is their destination,” she nodded. “How could he
have known me in the future?”

“Beats me,” she shrugged. “Maybe he found a
picture of you in an old building, and then a ceiling collapsed on
top of him, or something.” My world came crashing down like a
ceiling in Sophie’s statement, and then Sophie pushed the knife
deeper. “I have to warn you, Zack,” he flinched toward her. “If you
start feeling a pull in your lower back, a kind of thug,” Zack's
eyes widened, “It's your body pulling you back.”

Zack inhaled sharply, and I couldn't take it
anymore. I covered my face to hide tears, and rushed outside. I
needed air. I needed to wake up from that nightmare. Zack came
straight after me, but I ran away from him. One more look into his
eyes, and I would have broken down in front of him. The pain was
tearing me apart, and the more it hurt, the more I pushed my body
to run faster. There was only one thing on my mind—to reach that
bench in the park, the one that made it all okay, the one where
life with Zack seemed possible. As soon as I reached the bench, I
collapsed on it, and started crying hard. Sobs burst out of me in
terrible packs, releasing everything that had been piling up
inside.