by Stacy Eaton
She pulled her mouth back and tipped her throat to me, I nipped, bit, and sucked on the soft flesh all while she softly moaned and rubbed harder against me.
Mitchell, no!
I froze like someone had poured a bucket of ice cold water down my back.
Rebecca pushed against me, “Come on, Mitch, baby, come on, don’t stop now.”
Mitch, don’t do this.
How much had I had to drink tonight? I pulled back from Rebecca, almost dropping her to the ground before she could get her feet under herself.
“What’s wrong?” Surprise and a little anger were evident in her voice.
I swallowed. What the hell am I doing? I shouted into my own mind.
Go home, Mitch, you need to sleep.
Why was I all of a sudden hearing Corey’s voice in my mind? Was it my subconscious trying to protect me? Was I going crazy?
I stepped back from Rebecca, “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.” I wiped my hand over my face, trying to clear my head. What the hell had I been about to do?
She stepped closer to me, grabbing the front of my shirt, “Come on, Mitch. I know you want me, just let go, take me. I’m here for you.”
I grabbed onto her hands and yanked them off. “No, Rebecca, I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.”
I spun around and made my way to my car, digging into my pocket to grab my truck keys. I climbed into my cab, wiped my mouth with my forearm and put the key into the ignition after several failed attempts with my shaking hands.
~ Brock ~
I sat in the sand, lifting handfuls of it up and letting it sift slowly through my fingers. I had screwed up. I knew it.
I had to find a way to talk to Coralenna and get her to understand. I froze when her legs materialized right before my downcast eyes.
I blinked. The hurt that was visible in her expression sent pain directly to my heart. I had caused that. I was afraid to speak.
“You need to explain to me why you did what you did, Brock.”
“I will. I know you deserve the truth,” I said solemnly.
She crossed her ankles and sank to the soft white sand in front of me, Indian-style. She watched me.
“I’m sorry, Coralenna. I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to protect you, protect all those that you loved and those that loved you.”
“What were you trying to protect everyone from?” she tipped her head sideways, her hair swinging gently away from her face. I wanted so much to caress her cheek and feel her soft skin.
I swallowed, “The day I brought you home, you were supposed to have been hit by that car.”
“Okay,” she nodded sluggishly.
I inhaled slowly, “Everyone is right, the original plan for your life was for you to continue living, but I made the decision to bring you home.”
She appeared to be trying to control her emotions, forcing herself to take a deep breath. When she released the air she opened her eyes, “Why did you,” she cleared her throat, “why did you do it?”
Finally free to tell her the truth, I let the words rush out of my mouth, “Because if I had not, you would not have had a life. Corey, you were supposed to live in a coma for months before you finally succumbed to death.”
She blinked and sat up straighter, “A coma? But maybe I would have woken up?”
I shook my head quickly, “No. The plan for your life was for you to live for a short time after your accident, but you would have died before you woke up.”
She looked at everything but me. Finally pushing up from the sand, she moved away from me and stared out over the water, her arms crossed tightly over her body. I saw her shiver.
I stood up slowly, dusting the sand from the back of my pants.
“You didn’t tell me why you did it,” her voice cracked on emotion.
“I did it so you and the ones you loved wouldn’t suffer. You would have lain there, conscious enough to know what was happening, but unable to communicate. Your family would have stood by your side and watched you struggle to fight for a life you would never have. Their constant prayers would have gone unheeded, and everyone would have suffered far longer than they did.”
She absorbed the words. A tear slipped down her cheek, but she swiped it away before it could reach her chin.
“So you didn’t do this for yourself?” she peered over her shoulder at me.
I shook my head forcefully, “No. I did it for you. I knew you would hate lying there knowing the people you cared about were suffering. I did it for you.” I stepped up behind her, close enough that the light scent of sunflowers floated over my senses. I wanted to touch her. Would now be a good time?
She stepped away, “Don’t touch me, Brock.”
Her words sliced me.
“I’m not ready for that. I know about the connection. David explained it to me.” She turned to face me, dropping her arms to her sides.
Well, it seemed David had been rather busy. I guess I shouldn’t give him a hard time; he did talk her into coming to me to talk.
“Okay, I won’t.” I slipped my hands into the pockets of my cargo shorts.
“Do you believe in it?” A soft gust of wind carried strands of her hair into the breeze and over her face. I wanted to push them back behind her ear, but clenched my hands instead.
“Yes, I do believe in it,” I swallowed around the tightness in my throat.
“Why? How can you believe in it? How can you know that with one touch we could be connected so strongly that nothing could come between us?”
I stepped closer to her, staring down into her beautiful features. “Because that’s what we do, we believe.
“I was told about this connection years ago, just after meeting you. At first I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to be connected to anyone. I had been ruthless when I lived, not caring about people or what I did to others, yet, somehow over the years, I started paying more attention to the good things that you did, how hard you worked for others.” I turned away.
She walked around me to stand in front of me again, “And?”
“And I saw the good you did. It made me think a lot about things I had done before I’d died. Seeing how good you were, how happy you could be helping others made me want to be more like you.” I tossed my hands up in the air, “I have no idea how I got here, how I got to be a Garda, not after my track record, but when I watched you, I had to believe that the reason was because of what we would have one day. I had to believe that.”
I watched her face as her gaze traveled over mine. She searched it, hunting for some great clue or maybe just trying to see if I gave her a straightforward answer. I had told her more than I had planned, but I needed to be honest. If Corey was to trust me, then I had to be honest with her.
“How did you die?” she asked almost casually.
I blinked and was confused for a moment, “I had an inoperable brain tumor.”
“Did you suffer long?”
“No.” I cleared my throat.
“How long would I have lived?” she asked softly.
“Four months, you would have lived for four more months.”
We watched each other, the gentle winds tugging at our clothing, pulling her hair out and around her head. My hand slipped from my pocket, slowly moving towards her.
Then we both felt it. Her body vibrated deep within. She blinked rapidly and stepped back from me. “I’m being summoned.”
“Corey, wait!” but I was already too late, she had vanished. “I’m sorry, Coralenna.” I whispered into the space she had just emptied.
~ Corey ~
I listened to David, and then he left to allow me to think. Maybe I was being unfair to Brock. Maybe he did have a good reason for doing what he’d done.
There was only one way to find out, so I reached out for him. I was so attuned to his energy that as I moved to stand before him, I felt his pain internally, like my own.
I sat, afraid to hear what he would tell me, but knowing that I needed to hear the trut
h.
To learn that I would have been left as a lifeless body while I was able to still process what was happening around me left me chilled. I stood up suddenly, the need to know I was in control strong.
Brock was right. I would have hated knowing my family was praying for me and watching me suffer. I couldn’t fault his decision even though I hated it, hated knowing that I had been ripped away from the people I loved earlier than I should have been.
Maybe I could have found a way to say goodbye, though. That thought surged through my mind as Brock stepped up behind me. As he moved, I remembered the connection that David had explained, and I stepped away.
“Don’t touch me, Brock.” I felt the sting of my words. The only way to make him understand them was to explain that I knew about the connection.
I didn’t know if I could believe in such a rare occurrence, especially in one that said I would be connected with someone so strongly, someone that I barely knew.
Could my life had made such a difference to the man who stood before me? Could I have helped him to become a better person?
I observed him closely. He was so very handsome, and I felt I did know him in a way. His features seemed so familiar, but that was probably from staring at him so often recently.
He died from a brain tumor. That seemed like a painful way to die. Would I have been in pain lying in a coma?
“How long would I have lived?”
His voice was husky as he replied, “Four months, you would have lived for four more months.”
Four months. I would have had four more months with my family, four more months with Mitch. Four months to watch my family struggle with my pending death.
I decided then as I examined his light green eyes that he had indeed made the right decision. I knew he was about to reach for me, and suddenly I wasn’t afraid. He had protected the ones I loved in a way that I had not been able to.
Would it be so bad to be connected with such a strong man, a man who appeared to actually have a great deal of compassion? Obviously, he was good deep inside, or he wouldn’t be here.
Just before he lifted his hand, I felt the rumbling deep within my soul. I was being pulled to the Maker against my sudden desire to stay where I was.
I heard his fading words as he called out for me to wait, but I had no choice.
I blinked at the bright light. The sudden stillness of where I was felt almost oppressive to the soft breeze of the shore.
“Welcome, Coralenna.”
I cleared my throat, “Thank you.”
“You seem upset that I have brought you here,” the voice echoed around me.
I shook my head, “No, not upset, just,” I bit my lip, “just seemed like bad timing.”
A vibration of laughter filled me, “It is not time for you and Brock yet.”
I glanced around, “Then what time is it?”
The voice grew serious, “It’s time for you to return.”
My heart sped up. Return where? Return to Earth? To Mitch? I wet my dry lips.
“Relax, my child. You are needed in the living arena. Your friend is having trouble with your death, and you need to find a way to help him.”
I struggled to say his name, “Mitchell?”
“Yes. Do what you must do to help him deal with the situation. The evil ones are barking closely at his heels, and I do not wish to lose him. I have plans for him.”
“Not anytime soon I hope?” I whispered, afraid to know that his life was in jeopardy.
“That, dear child, is up to you.” A whisper of a breeze floated over me. “Now go, you must only think of what you might need to succeed in your mission, and it will be yours—within goodness that is.”
“But what do I have to do?” Suddenly I was afraid. What if I could not save him? I had no idea of what to do once I got there.
“You are one of the strongest we have had here. You have proven that over and over again. I believe in you.”
“You believe in me?” tears blinded me momentarily.
“No tears are needed, my dear, go. Your friend is in dire need of your assistance. The path has been opened for you.”
A chill raced down my spine and I felt as if I were falling. My stomach dropped as if I was on a roller coaster, and I opened them to a dark parking lot.
I glanced around for something I might recognize. Near the road was a sign for the business, Harry’s. I had been to this bar a few times, the cops hung out here after shift.
The sound of two people kissing came from the darkest part of the lot and I moved there, suddenly sensing Mitch’s presence.
He had a woman pushed up against the stone wall, her legs wrapped tightly around his body, her arms holding him close. He was kissing her neck so I got a good view of her face. That wasn’t his wife.
Mitchell, no! I shouted.
He suddenly stopped moving as if I had flipped the off switch.
The woman gawked over his shoulder and our glares met. She was Os Malos and she saw me. Evil glittered in her shiny globes as she pushed her body against his, begging him to keep going.
Mitch, don’t do this.
He shook his head as if to clear it, stepping back from her so fast she almost fell. I would have enjoyed that. Anger was pulsing through my veins as I watched her come at him again.
I watched his unsteady gait, saw him weave slightly. He was drunk.
Go home, Mitch, you need to sleep.
He stepped further back from the woman, swiftly trying to sober up, and apologized.
Don’t apologize to her, I thought.
One more time she tried to get him back under her spell, but he had heard my voice, and it had woken him up from whatever drunken stupor he had been in.
I watched as he stumbled to his truck. He should not be driving, but I would make sure that he got home safely.
I turned to the woman as I heard him start the engine. “Stay away from him.”
“Yeah, and who is going to make me?” She sauntered over to me.
“I will.” I eyed her from the roots of her bleached-blond hair all the way down to her fancy shoes.
She laughed, “Yeah! You can’t take this on. We’ve been working on him for a long time. It’s only a matter of time before he sides with us.”
“I will do whatever I need to do, but you will not have him.”
I spun when I heard Joe answer from behind, “Why? Is he still yours, sweet Corey?”
I stepped to the side so that I could see them both. “He doesn’t belong to you,” I said snidely.
“Yeah? Well, he sure doesn’t belong to you, either.” Joe sauntered up closer, “You’re looking good, Corey.”
His appraisal roved over my body and made me nauseous. I ignored his comment. “Leave him alone, Joe.”
He stepped away from me, glancing around the parking lot. “Where’s your new boyfriend? Hiding?”
There was no reason to argue his words, it didn’t matter what he thought. “Brock is not here. I’m here on my own.”
He turned, surprised, “I can’t believe that. Why would they let you loose after only a few short months? They normally keep you there a lot longer.”
A few short months? I thought it had only been a few days. “I learn fast.”
He laughed, “You must. I have never seen them release someone from the Realm in only six months.”
Six months! His words spun through me, and I leaned back.
He watched me closely, “Ha! They didn’t tell you how long you were there, did they?”
I guarded my expression, careful not to let him know that his words had just taken me on another roller coaster ride.
“Sweet, sweet Coralenna, that is what they call you up there, isn’t it?” He didn’t wait for a response and kept talking. “You’ve been dead for six whole months. Mitch has moved on!” His laugh was evil, “His life is all kinds of different now, and I am proud to say that I have helped him to get on with his life.”
I watched him, not sure
what to say.
“There’s no way you are going to get him back to your side, Corey, so you might as well just go on back to the clouds and get it on with your new man. Mitch is mine.” He finished his sentence with a sneer.
“Like hell he is,” I spat out between clenched teeth.
He stared at me for a moment, “Well, I guess it’s game on, then.”
“You can bet on it.”
He chuckled and started to walk backwards, “I look forward to it, and I’ve missed you around here, Corey. It will be like old times.”
The woman walked up beside him. He threw his arm around her shoulder, and they turned and disappeared around the dark corner.
I let out the tense breath I had been holding and spun slowly, searching the dark parking lot.
Six months! I thought it had been just a few days! I closed my eyes and searched for Mitch, suddenly desperate to see what state he was in.
Part 6 – The Truth
~ Mitchell ~
The steering wheel creaked when I slammed my hand on it in frustration. The street in front of me wavered. I was too drunk to be driving.
Where had the thoughts of Corey come from? Was I so messed up that her voice came back to me? I hadn’t heard it in six months, not since her funeral. How was I all of a sudden hearing it now?
Focus, Mitch.
Focus, yes I needed to focus and get home. With a deep cleansing breath, I stared out the windshield, watching the road as closely as I could. I was only a few blocks from home now. I couldn’t get pulled over; I’d be in a world of trouble with my job if I did.
I can’t believe I am driving. I never drive when I’m drinking. I shook my head; my mind was such a mess.
You’ll get through it.
Will I? How?
One step at a time.
Mad laughter bubbled out of me, “I’m freaking talking to myself! No, I’m pretending to have a conversation with Corey. I’ve completely lost it.”
I concentrated on the last few blocks and made it home without crashing my car or hurting someone else. My head fell back against the headrest.
What was I thinking tonight? I was going to have sex with some random chick! For what? What was I trying to prove? Was I trying to prove that I could move on? That I could get over her? That my marriage was over? What?
