Page 99 of Twisted Fate

My whole world stops. My arm freezes halfway to where the stake was heading for his chest, and I snarl. “You bastard! You don’t know anything!” There’s no way to bring Adam back. His body was burned to ashes the day after he died.

He nods. “Touché, Aurora.”

I growl and drive the iron stake into his ribcage.

He cries out in pain, a sound so excruciating, I want to cover my ears. He falls, rolling off of me, but still holds my broken wrist in a weak grip. “There she is,” he mumbles.

His mouth forms a perfecto, his eyes widening in shock before they close for the last time.

My eyes snap to where his fingers remain wrapped around my wrist when the contact starts burning. It becomes unbearable, but I can’t get free. Tingles shoot up my arm, traveling to the rest of my body, and my heart pounds in a panicked frenzy. Fire races through my veins, burning everything in its path. I throw my head back, screaming in agony that seems to last forever.

The pain is slow to recede. I’ve cried my eyes dry and my throat raw. I manage to pull my wrist free from Jules’s lifeless grasp, and everything goes dark.

“Aurora. Aurora, you have to wake up.” The voice tickles my senses. He shakes my shoulders, and I open my eyes. “You can’t stay here. Please go back. You’re not ready. It’s not time for you to be here yet, Roar.”

Roar.

I suck in a sharp breath and scramble back across the stark white floor. My eyes whip around, and I find that I’m surrounded by nothing but whiteness. My eyes land on him as a sob catches in my throat. “Adam?” I whisper.

He smiles, his blue eyes bright like before he got sick. His brown hair is still a mop of messy curls on his head, and he’s wearing his favorite band T-shirt. He waves. “Hey.”

I blink several times. “Am...am I dead?”

“I don’t think so,” he says, walking closer and sitting next to me.

I frown at him. “Why am I here?”

“Something bad happened, Roar.” Adam’s brows tug closer together. “I’m so sorry.”

I wipe the wetness from my cheeks. “I don’t understand,” I whisper.

He touches my shoulder. “I know, but we don’t have a lot of time. You need to get back before it’s too late.”

“Too late? Adam, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t want you to get stuck here. I miss you, Roar, but I can’t let you stay.”

I nod. I’d rather return to the world of the living, no matter how much I miss Adam. There’s still so much I want to do with my life. I’m not ready to be here yet.

“You’re going to wake up, and things are going to be harder than they’ve ever been, but I need you to remember who you are. Promise me you’ll remember, no matter what happens.”

More tears leak free as I nod again. “I promise.” I wrap my arms around him in a tight embrace. “I miss you.” I cry against his shoulder.

“I know, Roar. I miss you, too.”

We sit like that, holding onto each other, and I realize I’m getting the goodbye that was stolen from me when he died.

“Adam?” I murmur.

“Yeah?”

“I love you so damn much.”

“I love you, too.”

The beautiful white walls crumble as the blank scene around me fades. I’m about to leave Adam for real this time.

“You’ll see me again, Roar,” he promises with a light kiss against my cheek, and then I wake up.

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