Not Your Average Happy Ending

by Chantele Sedgwick

  “Ash?” Misty said slowly, her eyes wide.

  “He’ll be fine. Let’s get him out of here,” he said.

  “But…you can’t just…” I held tears back. I didn’t want him to leave me again, but couldn’t bring myself to tell him. I didn’t want to sound needy, because I wasn’t. I was just worried about him. Especially since he was hurt. And what if he didn’t come back?

  He turned and reached toward me. “I’m not leaving you here, Kendall. You’re coming with us.” He laced his fingers through mine and squeezed.

  “But you just said you can’t teleport anyone because you’re hurt.”

  “I can teleport you fine. Sam is weak and so am I. If we’re both weak, it makes teleporting near impossible. I’m surprised I made it all the way here and didn’t get stuck somewhere.” I took a deep breath and wrapped my arms around his waist. I hated teleporting and it was best if I didn’t see anything. I buried my face in his chest, feeling the heat from his body. He wrapped one arm around my waist, his other arm hanging limp at his side. “Ready?” He asked. Even if he acted tough, I knew he was in pain. His voice gave it away.

  “Yes,” Misty and I said in unison.

  “Group hug,” Sam slurred. “We’re buddies.”

  Wind and darkness greeted me as we teleported out of my house. I had my eyes closed of course, but it still felt like my body was ripped into two and slammed back together. It was over in seconds, but I wobbled when I opened my eyes.

  The room spun and I blinked a few times while Ash rubbed my back. He knew how much I hated traveling like that.

  “Leif,” Ash yelled through the room.

  Sam groaned again. “That was weird,” he said as Ash sat him down on the couch. “Hey. This kind of looks like my couch.” He smiled. “My nice, comfy couch.” He patted the cushion with his hand.

  “Ash? What’s going on?” An older man came through a door on the other side of the room. He had long silver hair and looked a lot like Sam. He seemed very familiar.

  I let Ash leave my side as he told Leif what had happened to Sam. Misty was still hanging onto Sam’s arm, and he looked like he could pass out any minute. Leif pushed Sam back so he was lying on the couch, and as soon as he did, Sam’s eyes rolled back into his head. Leif and Ash knelt beside him, a light coming between Leif’s fingers as he placed them on his chest.

  I was having déjà vu. “I’ve been here before,” I said, more to myself than to anyone else.

  The walls looked like a tree. I remembered that. Vines and leaves hung around the room with wooden furniture placed here and there. I gasped as a scene I’d tried to forget flashed through my mind.

  Pain. Blinding, horrible pain.

  My hand went to my side and I felt the scar through my shirt. I shivered.

  “Kendall? You okay?”

  I knew I should answer, but nothing would come out. All I could do was think about that horrible night when Dax stabbed me. I was positive Ash had brought me here. I remembered Leif as well. He healed me. I think.

  “Kendall?”

  I looked at Ash’s hand on my arm. I didn’t know what to say or do. I was pretty sure I was going to lose it though. The pain was so real. I swear I could still feel it.

  Sam groaned and I squeezed my eyes shut as he cried out in pain.

  “Kendall, he’s going to be fine,” Ash said. He glanced toward the couch and then back at me. He studied me a moment before turning to Misty. “Take Kendall outside. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  Misty grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door, just as Sam started screaming. The door slammed closed and Misty’s grip tightened on my arm. “He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. He’s going to be fine,” she kept saying. I’m pretty sure she was trying to reassure herself and not me.

  I looked around, trying to distract myself and noticed we were in some kind of forest. It was really green and the house really was a big huge tree. The branches and trunk looked like polished wood, even though the tree was obviously alive. A few windows peeked through the leaves and a stairway rose up on the side of the house into what looked like an attic. It was beautiful. And crazy that it was even real. Magic people, banshees that attacked people, tree-houses. What had I gotten myself into?

  Another scream came from inside and Misty covered her ears. I wanted to help her and tell her everything would be fine, but I was trying to keep myself from falling apart.

  There was silence for a moment and I breathed a sigh of relief. I hoped Sam was okay. I was about ready to go back inside when I heard a string of curses come from the house. It was Ash. I’m sure he was getting his shoulder healed.

  I shivered, remembering the pain when Leif healed me. I wondered why healing hurt so bad. You would think it would take all the pain away. But no. It was awful. Something I never ever wanted to do again.

  He swore again and I smiled. At least he wasn’t screaming like Sam was. Cursing meant he was coherent.

  Misty sat down on the porch and wrapped her arms around her knees. “This sucks.”

  I sat down next to her. “Tell me about it.”

  “I thought I was over him. Obviously I’m not.” She put her face in her hands. “I’m such an idiot. I hate boys. I’m sure human boys aren’t this complicated.”

  I snorted. Right.

  I didn’t want to break it to her though, so I kept quiet. Ash swore again, making us both jump. “At least Sam doesn’t have a potty mouth,” I muttered.

  She laughed. “I’m sure he would have been swearing too if he wouldn’t have been hallucinating. And Ash doesn’t usually swear, so he must be hurting pretty bad.”

  “I know. I’ve only heard him like twice.”

  The door opened then and Misty and I jumped to our feet. Ash stepped through the doorway, looking much better than before. He wasn’t pale anymore and his shoulder seemed fine. He looked tired though. He reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “You okay?”

  I nodded. “I am now.”

  “Sam’s asleep inside if you want to go check on him,” Ash said to Misty. He put a hand on her shoulder. “He’s going to be fine. He keeps asking for pancakes for some reason.”

  Judging by the grin on his face, I was positive he knew how Misty felt about Sam.

  “Thanks, Ash.” She blushed and gave me a small smile before going inside.

  “Walk with me?” Ash asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Are you really okay?” I asked as he led me down the porch steps.

  “I’m fine. Promise. Leif is a dang good healer, so don’t worry about me.”

  “You could have fooled me with your potty mouth in there.”

  He snorted. “Sometimes the only word you can think of is a swear word.” His cheeks reddened. “Sorry about that.”

  I laughed and squeezed his hand.

  He led me down a path surrounded by trees. The trees were so close together it looked like we were in a tunnel. The canopy was so thick I couldn’t see the sky above. “I wanted to show you something,” he said, stopping in front of a row of trees. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, since there weren’t any big openings to go through.

  He placed his hand on the tree trunk closest to him and it glowed before making an opening big enough for us to walk through. I looked up at him and he winked before pulling me into the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. It was a small clearing full of flowers of every different color I could imagine. My mouth dropped open at the beauty of it all, and Ash chuckled. “I told you my world was green and full of flowers.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  He shrugged. “It’s better than a bunch of rocks and dirt I guess.”

  I nudged him with my shoulder. “You guess?” I reached out, touching the petal of a huge white flower in front of me. It was as big as a pumpkin, but delicate and thin. I could see silver veins running through it. It was soft too and reminded me of Ash’s wings.

  “Figures you’d touch the fairy flower first,” he said.

  �
�What can I say? I like fairies.” I glanced around, and for the first time, noticed little creatures zipping from flower to flower and through the trees above us. They looked like bugs, but I knew they weren’t.

  Ash must have seen my confusion. “Pixies,” he said.

  One of the tiny creatures flew over to us and landed on Ash’s shoulder. I was surprised how human like they were. This one looked like a teenager, only with large red and black butterfly wings. Her red hair went to her waist and she batted her beautiful eyelashes at Ash.

  “Hi, Chloe,” he said. “This is Kendall.”

  She gave me a curious look and waved shyly at me.

  “Your wings look great today. They match your hair,” he said. “Last time I saw you they were blue.”

  She giggled and blushed before flying away.

  “She seems very taken with you,” I said.

  He shrugged. “What can I say?”

  “Very funny,” I said, wandering away from him and looking at more of the flowers. “What can pixies do exactly?” I watched a beautiful purple winged one sit down on a tree branch. She didn’t pay any attention to us, just braided her long, dark hair. Another one with short blue hair landed next to her and stretched her wings. She flipped onto her stomach and put her chin in her hands, watching us.

  “They keep the flowers blooming, the trees healthy and anything else nature-ish you can think of. Curious little things. I’m glad they’re around. They do tend to make things nice looking.”

  “They have gorgeous wings.”

  “They do.” He watched me for a few more seconds before taking my hand and pulling me into a fierce hug. “I’ve missed you,” he spoke into my hair. I wrapped my arms around him, breathing in the smell of rain. His hands slid around my waist and pulled me closer. “You have no idea how good you smell,” he said.

  I smiled, seeing how I just thought of how good he smelled. “You don’t smell chips do you?” I remembered the last thing I ate and grimaced.

  He chuckled. “No. Vanilla. Always vanilla.” He took a step back and searched my face. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “Ash…” I said, embarrassed. I still wasn’t used to his compliments. His eyes softened and I noticed they were a little darker than usual. Instead of the silvery blue, they looked a little gold. Weird.

  His finger traced the scar on my face from the accident a year ago. It was lighter now, less noticeable, but it still made me self conscious. Ash never said anything about it though. He kissed my cheek and ran his thumb over my lips making me shiver. “I’m serious.”

  My face heated. He knew how to get to me.

  “Do you remember the first time we kissed?” he asked, still running his thumb over my lips.

  I gulped and nodded. Even though we’d been together for five months he still made me nervous. And even though he’d kissed me many times since our first kiss, I still wouldn’t forget how I’d felt that night.

  “You have no idea how long I’d wanted to do that,” he said. “And honestly, I was scared out of my mind before I did.”

  “You? Scared? I don’t believe it.”

  “I agree it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”

  “Well, I’m glad you finally had the guts.”

  “Me too.” He grinned. “We have the weirdest story ever.”

  “Agreed.” It was true. How many people could say they fell in love with their fairy godmother? Or father. Or brother. That sounded totally creepy.

  He leaned in, touching his lips to mine. The kiss was short and sweet, but still made me tingle all over. He pulled away, a smile on his lips.

  “Is that it?” I asked.

  “Not quite.” His eyes blazed before he pulled me close, kissing me more deeply than before.

  I melted into him, missing his familiar touch I’d come to love. He tasted like lime again. Always lime. I slid my hands around his neck and he tightened his grip around my waist with one hand and touched my cheek with the other. I don’t know how I survived without kissing him the past few weeks. It was always like…magic.

  A few minutes or hours later, I pulled away. “Wow,” I said, looking up at him.

  “Uh…” he trailed off and cleared his throat. “I’ve missed that.”

  “Me too.”

  We stood there, still wrapped in each other’s arms, but not saying anything. I rested my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat slow. It was the perfect moment. I wanted to stay there forever. But I also had to know what happened to him and Sam. “So,” I started. “About Washington. I’m guessing you didn’t find Dax.”

  “No.” His voice had an edge to it and when I looked into his eyes, the gold was more pronounced than before. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “We’ll find him. Don’t worry.”

  “You’re leaving again?”

  He sighed. “I can’t just let him go. He almost killed you.”

  “Well…maybe if you stay here, he’ll come looking for you. Then you’d have more help to catch him.”

  “I don’t need help,” he said, frowning.

  Why did he always have to do that? He always had to be the hero. “You’re so stubborn,” I said, turning away from him. “You can’t ever admit you might need a little help.”

  He moved in front of me and folded his arms. “I have a good teacher,” he said.

  I raised an eyebrow. “If you’re calling me stubborn—”

  He silenced me with a kiss.

  “Am I interrupting something?”

  I pulled away from Ash and we both turned to look at Sam who leaned against a tree with a smug look on his face. He had on new clothes and his hair was spiked and gelled. He looked like he was going to a party, not being inches from death an hour earlier.

  “Way to ruin the moment,” Ash said, glaring at him.

  “I try,” Sam said.

  “You look better,” I said.

  Sam smiled. “Thank you for noticing.” He looked at Ash again. “I was just coming to tell you, a few members of the Council showed up at my house. You probably want to get out of here. You know what will happen if they find Kendall in our world.”

  Ash stiffened and pulled me close. “Thanks, Sam. When you’re up to it, meet me at Kendall’s house later. We need to plan our next move. I need to go check on Logan as well.”

  Sam nodded. “Logan’s fine. My dad was with him earlier. Still the same. Still sleeping.”

  He sighed. “Great.”

  Sam turned around. “Someone’s coming. You’d better leave. Oh, and Kendall, keep an eye on him. Don’t let him leave until I get there.”

  “Okay.” I sighed. I didn’t want them going after Dax again. I didn’t want them to get hurt. And I knew I should tell Ash about my side and passing out, but I didn’t want him to worry. So, I just stood there. Only half listening to what they were talking about until Ash grabbed my hand and took me home.

  Chapter 11

  Ash

  Kendall was quiet as we sat in her living room. I had already asked her what was bothering her several times, but she claimed she was fine. I knew better though. Girls never made it easy to figure out why they were upset, and Kendall was no exception. I knew better than to push her though. She’d tell me when she was ready.

  The front door opened and Ellie walked in. She looked exhausted. Dark circles were under her eyes and she yawned as she came in the room. She threw her backpack on the floor and kicked off her shoes, not bothering to say hello.

  “You okay, El?” Kendall asked, as she walked past us.

  “Fine. A little tired. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.” She glanced in the mirror on the wall and touched her face.

  “Why not?” I asked. She really did look awful. Even her long hair was a mess. And she never left the house looking less than perfect.

  “Um…school. I’ve had a lot of homework.” She shrugged and went into the kitchen.

  I frowned. Something was off. Since I’d known Kendall, Ellie was al
ways happy and outgoing. She never missed a chance to talk to us or make fun of me for whatever reason. Hopefully Kendall could see something was going on as well. “Ellie seems a little different,” I said.

  “I’ve noticed that too,” Kendall said. “She says she’s fine, but I’m not sure I believe her.”

  “Huh. Sounds like something you’d say. You’re fine but you’re really not.” I knew I shouldn’t have said it, but I always seemed to get in trouble when I opened my big mouth.

  She frowned. “I already told you. I’m tired. That’s it.”

  Sure she was. She seemed fine earlier. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. But something’s wrong. I know you better than you think I do.”

  She folded her arms and whispered something under her breath, but I didn’t catch it. Probably cursing me for bugging her about it. I let it drop, but was determined to bring it up again later.

  I looked up as Ellie walked back through the room and didn’t even acknowledge we were there. She rounded the corner and instead of her light skip, her footsteps were heavy on the stairs. I don’t know why it was bothering me so much that she was acting strange. Girls had mood swings a lot. It was normal. But for Ellie, it wasn’t normal.

  “I’m thirsty,” Kendall said. She got to her feet and I couldn’t help but notice the way she wobbled a little. After regaining her balance, she walked into the kitchen. When I didn’t follow, she poked her head back in the living room. “We have Oreos.”

  I jumped to my feet. I’d never had Oreos until I met Kendall. They were probably my favorite snack food. I could eat a whole package in one sitting. True story.

  Kendall was prepared, as usual. She had a couple of packages out on the table and was pouring me a glass of milk when I came in. “So, you haven’t told me a lot about your trip with Sam yet. You keep avoiding it.”

  “I wouldn’t call it a trip. It wasn’t fun at all. Not really fun to think about either. That’s why I keep avoiding it.”

  She frowned, her hazel eyes worried. “What happened, Ash?”

  I sat down at the counter and dug into my Oreos, wanting to ignore the question, but knowing I couldn’t. I probably could have done the same thing she was doing to me and not answer, but maybe if I told her about my bad day, she’d tell me about hers.