“Get your coat,” Mom finally sighs. I would feel guilty but I can’t think of anything right now.
I race to my bedroom to get my coat, tuning out the hushed words my family exchange. I know it’s about me but I don’t care. I don’t care about anything except getting to the hospital right now.
I practically push my mother to the car and try to be patient as she pulls out of the driveway. At least the reporters have all gone, they’re probably all at the hospital where the family of a coma miracle will actually talk to them.
I wish she would drive faster. It seems like Mom is driving half of what the speed limit says she can. My stomach is a barrelful of nerves. I know Noah won’t recognize me, but what if he does?
I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t anymore. I won’t be able to tell for sure until I see him. If he doesn’t recognize me then I’ll know everything is just in my head. I’ll be able to process that, I’ll be able to move on. At least I hope I will.
Mom doesn’t say anything to me the entire journey. I think she’s scared about what is going on. There is nothing I can do to reassure her, whatever I explain will only make it worse. Better she think it’s just an episode rather than four years of thinking I was time travelling.
Finally, we pull into the hospital and she turns into the parking lot. I would have been happy if she just dropped me off first but she insists on coming with me. So I have to be patient again as she circles the lot until a free space is found.
My seatbelt is unbuckled before she cuts the engine. I cross over the parking lot, vaguely aware of Mom keeping up with me.
“Slow down, Ella, what’s the hurry?” She pants at my side.
“I just need to see him, that’s all.”
“How do you know this boy?”
I grapple for an answer. How do I know this boy? The answer is simple and hits me with a sudden realization. I don’t know this boy. It was so stupid to come here.
My steps falter as I slow down. What the hell was I thinking? Noah isn’t going to know who I am. He’s going to be confused about the crazy girl who stalked him from the news. I can’t go in there.
“I think I made a mistake,” I confess. I don’t want to take another step further. I feel so stupid for coming here. How did I get it so wrong? I wasn’t thinking, it was stupid of me.
My mother stares at me, her mouth set in a determined grimace. “I didn’t drive twenty minutes across town for you to back out. You wanted to come here for a reason. Go and do what you need to.”
“But—”
“Ella. Do it.”
I lock eyes with her and cave in. She’s right, I came here for a reason. I have to get Noah out of my head and this is going to be the only way I can do it. Once I see him and know he doesn’t recognize me, I’ll leave. I’ll forget about him forever and move on.
I start walking again. I walk right through the doors of the hospital and head for the children’s ward. My brain thinks Noah is sixteen years old. If he is anywhere, it’s going to be in the minors’ ward. Nobody pays any attention to us as we go through. Perhaps I don’t look as crazy as I feel.
I stop at the nurses’ station and try not to be distracted by all the animal stickers on the walls. They are everywhere, in all different colors.
“Can I help you?” the nurse asks me. I look at her, trying to work out what I need to say. I can’t be turned away, not now I’m so close.
“What room is Noah…” What was his last name? What did he say it was? The news reporter never mentioned it. I need to hurry or she won’t let me see him. “Uh… Pike. Noah Pike. What room is he in?”
“Visiting hours are over, sorry.”
“I’ll only be a minute. Please, I promise. It’s really urgent.” What if she tells me to go away? What if she doesn’t let me see him? I know I won’t have the courage to come back again. It’s either now or never.
“You’ve got two minutes. He’s in room 3B, just over there.” She points to a room across the hallway.
I thank her and hurry over, not waiting around for her to change her mind. My mother trails behind but lets me go on ahead by myself. She lets me have my space to do what I have to.
The door is slightly ajar, I push it open carefully like it might bite me. My legs are shaking and I want to throw up. Every nerve in my body tells me to turn around and run away. But I can’t. I have to do this for my own sanity. I don’t have a choice here anymore.
I step inside and see him. Just like in my dreams, he’s got that raven black hair that I would recognize anywhere. It’s probably what made him stick in my mind for the dream later on. I have never seen hair that dark before.
He looks at me and adjusts himself so he’s sitting up a little to see better. I don’t know what to say. Like every time I see Noah, all the words just fall out of my head, leaving me speechless. I can’t move, I’m locked here in place.
He just stares, probably wondering who I am. He doesn’t recognize me, I just know it. He would have said something by now if he did. We’re just strangers, two people that happened to be in a coma at the same time.
“Sorry, I… I didn’t mean to disturb you,” I mumble as I turn to leave. Now I’ve proven to myself that it really was just a mindless dream, I need to leave and get over it all. Perhaps I should talk to a counselor or something, try to work out the way to move forward.
My hand lingers on the doorknob, ready to pull it closed again. I take one last look at Noah and his beautiful blue eyes. He isn’t my Noah, I never had him to begin with. I slowly close the door when he opens his mouth to speak.
“Ella.”
Chapter 22
“Ella.” One word. My name. He shouldn’t know my name. He doesn’t know me, just like I don’t know him.
But we do. “Noah?” I ask, barely believing what is going on. I stay by the door, frozen in place.
His lips curl into the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face. “You’re real.”
I start laughing nervously. “So are you.”
“Ella,” he repeats, as if testing my name on his tongue to see how it tastes. He gives me that look, the same one I have seen so often when he cocks his head to the side just a little. I know that movement. It can’t have been just a dream.
I run to him, crossing the room in less than a second. I practically jump on the bed and wrap my arms around him. I feel his warm arms snake their way around me. We fit together perfectly, just like I always thought we did. I feel safe in his arms, now just as much as I did then.
We finally let each other go, staring into one another’s eyes. He hesitates for barely a second before leaning over and kissing me. Those lips, they’re so familiar, they had to have been real. He fills me with warmth, the passion in the kiss makes every part of me tingle.
When we part, I hold his face in my hands. I don’t ever want to let him go again, not after what happened last time. I never want to be parted from Noah, not even for a second.
“I thought I had made you up,” I confess. “They keep telling me I’ve been in a coma for four years.”
“I’ve been told the same thing. I kept asking for you and nobody knew who you were.” He clasps his hands around my waist, keeping us close and together. I like feeling the weight of his arms around me. “What’s going on, Ella?”
“I have no idea.” I’m scared to mention the time travelling, I fear I still conjured up everything in my mind. I don’t want Noah looking at me like I’m crazy too. Not when everything feels so right at the moment.
“They said I was in an accident,” Noah continues. “They said I was lucky to survive and that I’ve been here all this time. Can I tell you something weird?”
I laugh, as if this isn’t weird enough already. “Of course you can.”
“I don’t think I have been here. I have all these memories of bouncing around through time. I was sure I was a time traveler. Am I nuts?”
“Not unless I am too.” I am beyond relieved to hear those words come
from Noah’s mouth. He has never said anything more beautiful. “Do you remember when we last saw each other?”
“I think I do. Egypt?”
I nod readily. “We were in ancient Egypt and the guards took us. I remember seeing you being taken down a corridor that was in the opposite direction to where I was being taken. Then I got pulled away and woke up in a hospital.”
“That’s the last thing I remember too. I kept telling the guards to let you go and then suddenly I was gone.”
“You told me you lived in 2014,” I point out. “It’s 2018.”
“I told you I was confused,” he shrugs. Somehow, it’s not difficult to believe that. Not after everything we’ve been through.
We stare at each other for quite some time, unable to find the words to explain any of it. I’m tired of trying to make sense of it all. The whole thing is just so exhausting.
I look up into Noah’s eyes, feeling like I’m really home for the first time. “Whatever happened, I think it’s all over now.”
He nods slowly. “I do too.”
“No more being pulled away.”
“Nope.”
“So what do we do now?” I ask, acutely aware of my mother just outside of the room and the nurse who is probably counting down the minutes until she demands I leave.
Noah grins, from ear to ear. “Ella Breeland, would you like to go out on a date with me?”
I laugh, it’s the best feeling in the world. “Well, Noah Pike, I would love to have the pleasure of your company.”
“And we won’t have to rush anymore.”
“Never again.”
I can’t keep the smile off my face as we lean in and our lips meet. Noah kisses me passionately, like we’ve known each other for a long time. I know we aren’t strangers, no matter what really happened.
Chapter 23
Four Years Earlier
My friends can spend all night at the mall but I have homework to do. I leave them to it, I can catch up on all the gossip that I’m going to miss tomorrow. At least I’ll be prepared when Mr. Moscov gives us another ‘surprise’ quiz—like he does every Thursday.
If I hurry, I can make the bus and be home before Mom and Dad. They hate it when I don’t come home directly from school. They still treat me like a baby, even though I’m almost thirteen now. I keep telling them I can look after myself but they just don’t listen.
If it was up to them, they’d wrap me in bubble wrap and store me in the hall closet—only letting me out for special occasions like the good china. They don’t treat my brothers like that, they can do whatever they like.
I make my way through the street, trying to keep out of everyone’s way. I have to hurry or I’ll be forced to wait for an entire hour before another bus comes. Then I’ll arrive home after my parents and they’ll ask a million questions. I have to make this bus or I’m dead.
Suddenly, I’m being pushed. It’s so fast and unexpected that I can’t catch my footing. It feels like I’m tumbling over in slow motion. The only thing I can see is the face of a man. He’s got a really dark, thick beard. He has to be twice the size of me but he glares like he hates me.
I don’t even know him, how can he hate me so much? I reach out, trying to grab anything I can to stop my fall but nothing can save me. The man just watches, he doesn’t do anything to help me. Why isn’t he even helping me?
I tumble sideways and I realize I’m falling onto the road. It’s peak hour traffic, I can’t do that. Cars are everywhere. Cars, trucks, buses. I’m falling right into the middle of all of them. I can’t do that, I’m going to get hurt.
The ground smacks against my head and the world goes momentarily black. I open my eyes just seconds later but my vision is completely filled with stars swimming in every direction. I can’t move anything. I know I need to get up and off the road, but I can’t make my body follow orders.
People start to watch me, calling out for help. Good. Someone will pick me up off the road, someone will rescue me. It won’t be the bearded man, I bet, but it will be a good person. They’ll get me to a doctor and then I can get home.
I hope my parents don’t find out about this. They will completely freak out. They’ll probably stop me going to the mall after school all together. I don’t want that to happen, I’ll be a social leper.
“Are you okay?” a guy asks, coming into my vision. He’s surrounded by exploding stars so I have to squint to try and see him properly. His hair is jet black, like the color of a raven. In contrast, his eyes are so, so blue. They’re magical.
“I can’t move,” I reply honestly. I have to try to not be distracted by his beautiful eyes. I have to focus on getting help. I need to get home. My parents will be waiting if I miss the bus.
I have to make that bus.
He looks at me with concern. I want to tell him not to worry, I just need a hand to get up, but I don’t get a chance. All of a sudden, the sound of a car horn beeping drowns out every other sound.
I see the boy being torn from me, pushed to the ground by a steal monster. Breaks squeal and my entire body bursts with a new round of pain. The man with the beard, the boy with raven hair, they’re all forgotten as I realize I’m being run over.
I’m not going to make the bus.
CONTINUE THE STORY WITH
Broken Future
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PAST DOESN’T ALWAYS STAY IN THE PAST
OUT NOW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Jamie Campbell grew up in the New South Wales town of Port Macquarie as the youngest of six children. She now resides on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Writing since she could hold a pencil, Jamie’s passion for storytelling and wild imagination were often a cause for concern with her school teachers. Now that imagination is used for good instead of mischief.
Visit www.jamiecampbell.com.au now for exclusive website only content and free downloads.
Jamie loves hearing from her readers, send her an email at [email protected]
Also by the Author:
A Hairy Tail
Another Hairy Tail
All The Pretty Ghosts
Ashes to Ashes
A World Without Angels
Fairy Tales Retold
Fashion Fraud
Gifted
Dark Eyes: Cursed
Songbird
Tainted Magic
Ten Thousand Wishes
The Project Integrate Series
The Starkissed series
Trouble
Two Beating Hearts
Copyright © 2018 Jamie Campbell
Jamie Campbell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.
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