Coma (Paranormal Romance) (21 page)

“Yes. We must be allowed to play this giant
temporal chess with high stakes by some intelligence, or we
wouldn’t be able to do it at all. My guess is that whoever allows
it to happen, wants us to learn something out of it. When we do,
time might continue past 2222, or 2156 as it is now.”

“You make it sound like a game, but there are
so many casualties.”

“That’s the thing. They are casualties at the
moment. If we learn what we’re supposed to, they will be brought
back to life as if it never happened. If we don’t, we’ll all be
casualties for good.” Zack placed his arm over me, and snuggled
closer, burrowing his face in my hair.

“Zack,” I said, slightly absentmindedly.

“Mhm,” he mumbled next to my ear, causing my
body to shiver in response.

“That’s bigger than us,” I said, staring wide
open at the ceiling.

“Maybe,” he tugged me closer, sending a wave
of pleasant ripples to my gut. “Depends on how you look at it. To
me, nothing is bigger than us.”

~*~

First thing in the morning, way before it was
time to go to work, Ethan had informed Zack that Sophie fit the
profile through the bracelet thingy on Zack's wrist. Zack cussed at
him, and we went back to sleep, our bodies tattooed to one
another.

Zack's popping up in my room was one thing,
but waking up seeing Ethan’s face next to my bed when the alarm
clock sounded, nearly cost me my life. My heart stopped, and thank
God that Zack remembered to cover my mouth, or I would have
screamed my ass off, kicking half of my neighborhood out of their
beds. Pissed, Zack made Ethan promise to never do that again, or
he'd kick him into next century. This time, I didn't mind his alpha
bull, I welcomed it. Reluctantly, Ethan had agreed to meet us after
my shift at Mario's, and left my room.

“Is he ADD or something?” I asked, getting
out of bed.

“He means well,” Zack said, smiling. “We
spend so much time as
ghosts
, whispering to people that are
unaware of our presence, so when we're around people that can see
us, we forget the rules of normal behavior.”

“Tell me about it,” I snorted, and splashed
back on the bed. “That's how you behaved when we first met,” I
chuckled.

“Yeah,” he flipped me on my back with such
ease, and like a predator, was already hovering on top of me,
pinning me down. “You were saying?” He raised a brow, devilishly
grinning.

“Not a thing,” I snickered, trapped between
his arms.

“Didn't think so,” he kissed me softly, “I'll
get Sophie up to date, and meet you later,” and got out of bed.

~*~

My working hours flew by mostly because I was
wrapped up in my thoughts. I struggled with figuring out what to
do. My parents had one another, had their lives, but my faked death
could destroy that. I've seen what sorrow does to couples. That
amount of grief makes people say things they never would, pain eats
them, and ultimately drives them apart. Only the strongest get
through it without divorce, but nevertheless, their lives are
forever changed. I couldn't live with that much guilt, knowing I
had a choice, and that I decided to hurt them.

On the other hand, if I didn't go with Zack,
my parents would be fine, life would proceed as usual, but Zack and
I wouldn't be okay. He's the only person that ever made me feel
normal, like I belonged. With him, I was whole, and I loved him
like I never thought was possible. Losing him was never an option.
I'd rather die. That thought sobered me up.
I'd rather die?
If I died, I'd hurt all three of them. Check-mate.

Faced with a choice of who to hurt, parents I
loved, or the man I loved, I wondered where was moral and ethics in
that. No matter what I decided or didn't decide, someone would have
to suffer the consequences. Stakes were high. Quite similar to
Zack's temporal war. There had to be something other than hurt and
pain to base my decision on.

Ethan rolled in first, swaggering, and going
straight at me. I glared at him, grimacing to make him understand
that I couldn't talk to him. Regrettably, he wasn't as perceptive
as Zack. Panic stirred inside my veins. I had to do something, and
I had to do it fast.

“Where are they,” he yelled from across the
floor. Packed Mario's didn't seem to bother him. And why would it?
They couldn't see him. I remembered Sophie's classroom event with
dread.

I took my scratch pad and wrote: “
Can't
talk. Sit somewhere. They'll be here soon
,” and handed him the
paper, then stormed off to the other side of Mario's. He slid in a
booth and slouched back as if he owned the place.

Half an hour later, Sophie and Zack strolled
in. I expected Sophie to be worried as much as I was, but she
obviously took it better than I did. She came up to me glowing.

“How cool is that, eh?” She pinched my hip.
Zack walked behind my back, slightly removed my hair, and placed a
kiss on my neck. Goose bumps zigzagged down my back. I cleared my
throat.

“Not cool,” I frowned, thinking maybe she
didn't know we had to die to our loved ones.

“Where's that Ethan guy?” She asked, raising
eyebrows up and down.

I shrugged out of frustration, “Follow
Zack.”

“You go on,” she said to Zack, “I have to
tell Lyra something in private,” she winked. Zack glanced at me,
arching his eyebrows, then went to join Ethan. Sophie turned to me
and said, “Gotta see what he looks like first.”

“He's kind of cute,” I said. He wasn't my
type, but I had to admit the truth, he was good-looking.

“Oh, he's a hunk,” she squealed, and clapped
her hands.

“A hunk? Really, Soph? A hunk?” I snorted.
Sophie shot me a glare, and then started toward them. I twisted on
my heel, sighing out loud, and went to get out of my working
clothes.

When I came back, Sophie was giggling, and
Ethan was cracking jokes. Zack's face showed frustration as soon as
his eyes connected to mine.

“I told her to fake being on the phone,” Zack
said to me as I was sitting down, “But would she listen? NO!” He
sighed, and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, c'mon, Zack,” Ethan said, “What are they
gonna do? Lock her up?” Both Ethan and Sophie burst out laughing,
while Zack and I stared at one another in disbelief.

“There's a bright side to this story,” Zack
cocked a smile, “He's gonna be
her
handler,” now we broke
out laughing. Poor Sophie. She had no idea what she got herself
into.

“Can't wait,” Sophie said, twirling her curl
around a finger.

“Did you decide already? To become a temporal
guard?” I asked, looking at her dumbfounded.

“Sure! I've nothing better to do,” she darted
a look toward Ethan.

“What about your parents?” I continued what
made her scowl.

“What about them?” Sophie let out a snort.
“They didn't have a problem with locking me up, and throwing away
the key. Why would I care now?”

“It wasn't their fault,” I argued. “They
thought they were helping you. Mine would have done the same.”

“They abandoned me in there! They wouldn't
listen, and they should have believed me. Unlike others, they had
tons of proof. I'm doing this, and that's it!” Sophie's eyes flared
a fiery glow.

Zack leaned in, and whispered, “Let her be.
She's just angry.”

“You're not on board?” Ethan directed his
question at me.

“I don't know,” I answered, glancing at Zack.
He remained quiet, keeping to himself.

“Is it the parents, or not having kids?”
Ethan cocked his head.

“Parents,” I answered. “What's that about
kids?”

“He didn't tell you?” Ethan's eyes
widened.

“I didn't,” Zack said, shifting in his seat.
“It hasn't come to that.”

“Once we get frozen, we won't be able to have
kids,” Sophie sputtered. “Not that I ever wanted any,” she snorted,
darting her gaze toward Ethan.

“Pretty confident statement for a
twenty-year-old girl,” Ethan retorted.

“Not entirely true,” Zack interjected. “If
you decide to have kids later on, you can get defrosted, and live
the rest of your life like normal people do.”

“But you can forget about getting pregnant by
me,” Ethan said to Sophie, throwing a quick glance at me.

“Eww, that's gross,” Sophie grimaced, pushing
him on the shoulder.

“Yap. Unlike you ladies, frost kills all our
spawning abilities for good,” Ethan explained, unaware of Zack's
teeth grinding in silence. Although he was talking to Sophie, I
felt as he was telling that to me by the way he looked at me.

I took Zack's hand in mine, and threaded my
fingers through his. He glanced at me with troubled expression,
then said, “Step with me outside.”

I followed him out of Mario's, and down the
street. He stopped further away, and leaned against the wall,
keeping his gaze lowered.

“I couldn't tell you that yesterday,” he
said, then turned to looking at a distance.

“I know,” I leaned my shoulder against the
wall next to him.”There's so much to cover.”

“It's not that I wanted to keep that from
you,” he jerked his head toward me, eyes glazed over, “Things
between us are... It's not a random piece of info. I didn't know
how to bring it up––”

I cut him off by placing a finger over his
lips. “I understand. Don't––”

“No,” he removed my finger, “I know things
between us are,” he sighed heavily. “Well, intense, and unusually
fast,” he wiggled in place, searching for words, “And––” he sighed
again, averting his glance to the side, then back to my eyes,
“Shit! Marriage and kids matters should be discussed later on, not
at the beginning,” he stepped away, shaking his head, and turned
around keeping his gaze on the floor. I moved toward him, but then
he snapped back around and said, “We're practically forced to deal
with so many things in such a short time, and I––”

I sealed his lips with a kiss. He made
several attempts to speak, then gave in, losing himself under my
assertion. By the look in his eyes afterward, I knew he got the
message. I understood his side of things, but he must have felt the
need to unload what bothered him, so he continued as if I didn't
stop him.

“I'm afraid that––” He ran his fingers
through his hair, “That it'll break us,” dark green eyes I loved so
much stared at me for a brief moment, then disappeared behind his
lashes.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and
connected my lips to his, then breathed, “We'll get through it all.
I promise.”

His eyes snapped open, “That's not a promise
you can make.”

“It is. I don't care about those things,
Zack. I never did.”

“Maybe now you don’t,” he cupped my face, his
breath caressing my lips, “But you might later on.”

I had to put my foot down, so I said, “You’ll
just have to trust me on this one, and don’t presume you know
everything there is to know about me. Okay?” I stared wide into his
eyes to make the point. Maybe one day, I'll feel comfortable to
talk about what happened between Damien and me, and tell him that I
cannot have kids even if I wanted to. My chlamydia infection had
long term side-effects. He returned the stare, then gave in, and
nodded, sighing out loud.

~*~

Ethan and Sophie were busy chit-chatting when
we came back. As soon as we sat down, Sophie said:

“We'll be young forever!”

I forced a smile. That wasn't on top of my
priorities list, but I was curious to hear more. “Really?”

“Your body gets frozen, and so does your
age,” Zack explained, lacing his fingers through mine.

“Of course, frozen cells don’t age,” I said
more to myself than Zack, but he nodded just the same.

“I don't understand why you're even thinking
about it,” Sophie formed a challenging glance. “Forever young,
traveling through time, saving the world,” she flipped up her left
palm, “Or getting old, working at this place, raising kids, and be
bored till the rest of your life,” she flipped her right palm,
weighing both options, ending in favor of the left hand.

“I don't want to hurt my parents,” I said,
clenching my throat. “They have to go through immense pain of
losing a child, so I could have fun? I don't think so!”

“Oh, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see
their child withering away once we're gone,” Sophie huffed, her
blue eyes striking me down. “Once Zack is gone!”

Pain shot down to my stomach. I knew how
hopeless my situation was without her reminding me.

“Sophie, that's enough!” Zack hissed at her.
“She knows all that. Let her make that decision for herself.”

“Do I get the same perks as Zack does?” Ethan
flashed a sly grin.

Sophie punched him in the shoulder. “No, you
don't. That's something you'll have to earn.”

“Oh, please, do tell,” Ethan edged closer to
Sophie, “How do I earn them?”

“Shut up,” Sophie giggled.

~*~

Friday came too soon, and it was time to say
goodbye to my friends. Summer wasn't officially over, but one epoch
of our lives was. When school had finished, we thought we would
spend each day together, and make the best of it, make it a thing
to remember. But, as all things in life don't go as planned, our
summer ended up being completely different. Now I was about to see
my best friends with a knot in my throat. They were mad at me for
not spending more time with them, and I was sad for not being able
to merge the two worlds I resided in. The worst thing was, they
would have loved Zack if only they could see him.

Going away party was scheduled at Brad's
place. This time it was a small gathering without college people,
and chaperoned by Brad's parents. The rift in our friendship was
tangible, especially while I was getting ready. No wardrobe
conference calls, no picking me up with huff'n'puff. All I got was
a text message stating place, time, and a type of party. Zack
couldn't stand seeing me sad, so he suggested: