by White, L. C
I can’t answer, because I don’t know. It all sounds like a game of chance; either way I would have lost.
I wipe a tear from my cheek, sitting down on the edge of the bench because my legs feel weak. I’ve been overloaded with lies, and now grief. Michael may have thought Tristen’s soul had always been lost, but to me, it was the purest I’d seen.
“Tristen saved not only you, but man, and his soul,” he says in a soft tone. “Now you will live the life you were supposed to live. You will be delivered back into the world, anew.”
I sniff up as more tears slowly fall. “You mean, I’ll remember none of this.” I smirk in upset.
“Like I said, anew.”
“What if I don’t want that; what if I refuse?”
“You have enlightened and ascended, you have no choice,” he says. “You have been rewarded.”
“Rewarded,” I snap at him.
“Yes,” he states, sharply. “I’ve always loved you, but you have to move on.”
“You can do or say what you want to me.” I snivel as my cheeks heat with fury. “I will, one day remember this… what you did.”
I glare at him. I’m going to store his face and his words deep inside my mind. I will find them again.
His hand reaches out and brushes over mine. “Sleep now Bethany, and when you wake, your new life will begin.”
I don’t know what he’s just done to me. I’ve been blinded, and my mind is running crazy thoughts backward. I breathe in and out with my eyes closed, sensing the atmosphere around me transforming. I’m floating into some strange unfamiliar territory. Territory I don’t want to embrace.
Chapter Twenty Eight: The Entwined Path
Beth
“I really can’t believe I’m not going to see you for three months,” Mom blubbers on my shoulder. “I’m so proud of you.”
I blow out and pat her back as I pull away from her, wishing she would stop fretting. I know I’m probably not the only freshman to have an overemotional mother, clinging onto every minute and every word. But jeez, I’m going to have to change my blouse, she’s sobbed on it so much.
This is the sixth time she has told me how proud she is of me. I know how proud she is. When I was accepted into Pikes Peak College, she bought me a car. Okay, so it’s not brand new. It has a few electrical problems, such as the air conditioning doesn’t work, and the driver’s side window doesn’t roll down. But I love my little green ford fiesta, and she hasn’t broken down once on me.
Mom takes the last box of my things out from the back of her Nissan, and places it on the curb by the back wheel of my car. I only have a few more items to take up to my room, and I seem to be more organized than most arriving today. Right now there’s a guy yelling at his mom, because she’s dropped his box of soccer trophies on the path leading up to the dorm next to mine. I really think I’m going to like it here. The campus is alive, and as well as studying, there’s a fun vibe.
After the hell I went through, getting over the car accident, I deserve some good luck. I missed the homecoming dance, and my graduation celebration was cut short, because of the migraines I suffered. But all that is behind me now, and I feel great. This is a brand new start for me, and I’m determined to make the most of my new independence.
Mom hovers next to me, not knowing what to do with herself, as I take the last box of my things out from the backseat of my car. I set it down on the roof, my throat getting tight as my eyes begin to haze with emotion.
“I can take the rest up now, Mom.” I gulp down a hard lump in my neck, getting ready for the final goodbye.
She flings her arms around me, weeping uncontrollably. I lock my hands around her and hug her back, trying to be strong.
“Mom, stop,” I say as the tears begin to tumble. “I’m not that far away, and you can call and facetime me every day.” I push myself back, trying to get a grip.
“I know,” she chokes up. “Everyone has to grow up sometime. But you’re my baby girl. It only seems like yesterday I was dropping you off at kindergarten, and now I have to leave you in the big wide world alone.”
I circle my eyes at her. As much as I love my mom, and as much as I will miss her, she’s starting to irritate me.
“And I’m not a baby anymore.”
She snivels and kisses my cheek quickly, smiling. “You’ll always be my baby girl.”
“Okay, enough Mom.” I laugh, playfully pushing her toward her car. “Time for you to go home, and open that new bottle of wine you bought yesterday. I’m going to be fine,” I insist.
With clumsy steps, because she keeps looking over her shoulder at me, she arrives at the open door of her Nissan.
“Call me,” she squeals with tears streaming down her face.
“Yes Mom. Now go!”
She drives away and a sudden nervous feeling whizzes through my body. I feel like an invisible cord to all I know, has been cut. This is all new, and I’m kind of excited but apprehensive at the same time.
I lock the car door, slide my box full of books from the roof, and hug it into my chest. I take three big breaths, then make my way toward the hood.
A high-pitched, extremely loud screech, sounds right behind me, making me stagger and lose my footing. The box I’m holding falls out of my arms, and lands in the middle of the road. I gasp out, watching my books, papers, and knickknacks fall across the tarmac. I stand still with my mouth ajar, as the idiot who caused this mess, and made my heart boom wildly, stops his motorbike. He swings his leg over the saddle, then kicks the back wheel hard, calling his bike a piece of shit.
Breathlessly, I march into the road and begin to pick up my stuff. What an asshole. He’s not even helping me. He’s more interested in his bike.
“That’s it!” I bend over and snatch my planner up from the road. “You don’t need to help me. I’m perfectly fine,” I utter to myself, irritated.
I take hold of the flaps of the cardboard box, and drop my planner inside. As I straighten up, I see the guy picking up my psychology books and folders.
So what, he’s helping me now, big deal. He still drives like a lunatic.
He walks toward me and holds out the items he’s retrieved. He’s kind of cute in a dark mysterious way.
“You shouldn’t ride if you can’t control a bike,” I say, as he places the books into the box I’m holding out. “You could have killed me, or someone else.”
“Sorry about that,” he says in a huff. “She’s never done that before. The accelerator jammed up, and the breaks wouldn’t work for a second.”
I study him for a moment. He’s wearing a janitor’s jacket for Pikes Peak College. I look at the breast pocket, to see a badge with his name engraved: Tristen Blake. Tristen, hmm, nice name.
“Well.” I cradle the box tighter into my chest. “You ought to be careful. You’re not even wearing a helmet.”
He gazes at me, creasing his brow as a confusion flashes over his pupils. I can tell he’s not used to being told what’s what.
“I don’t need to wear a helmet,” he says in a sharp tone. “But thanks for your concern.”
“Clearly you should consider it.”
“Look.” He peers at the side of the box I’m holding, where my name is written in permanent marker. “Beth, I’ve apologized haven’t I… It won’t happen again.”
I hold in a smile and leave him lingering a little longer. He’s uncomfortable, and I’m finding his awkward body language, really cute. He’s biting his cheek, waiting to be excused.
“Okay, I accept your apology, Tristen Blake.” I offer him a flirty smile, then turn to make my way toward the dormitory doors.
“Beth,” he calls out.
I turn to see him standing by his bike. He’s displaying a sexy grin which sets my heart racing, and has me catching a sharp breath.
“Again, I’m sorry,” he says, as he swings his leg over the saddle. “See you around?”
“Maybe you will, Tristen Blake.”
I giggle to mys
elf as my cheeks burn-up, pushing open the glass door with my butt.
***
Michael
I watch the door close like the end of a chapter behind Bethany. There is a saying: a fine line between love and hate. Well the same goes for light and dark. They go together hand in hand, and without each other, they are nothing. The scales have to be equal. If they tip out of balance, then chaos will reign. This world isn’t complete without Bethany and Tristen. Their story is just beginning. They each have a path, and that path will always cross.
“Professor.” I turn with a smile, to see Dean Haughton approaching. “Let me show you to your lecture hall.”
“Lead the way my good man.”
The End
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