“Your words were beautiful, sweetheart,” he whispered in my ear before standing and wrapping his arm around Mum.
When Sarah had called to tell them I was in hospital and had been shot, Mum had been furious. She was angry her only child could’ve died and told Sarah she was stupid for letting me go into the MMC’s facility. Once Sarah broke down crying, Mum had too, and she apologised for her nasty words, confessing she was in shock and scared of losing me. Joe and Sarah told them the entire story and they’d told them they were proud of what we’d done.
Rose approached us and gave me a hug, followed by Ethan who wrapped me so tight a pain spread through my chest. I must’ve winced because he moved off my lap.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes red and his cheeks shiny.
“It’s okay. I love your cuddles. They make everything seem so much better,” I assured him.
Rose led him away and we were approached by Harper and Wade, who each gave me a hug.
“Can’t believe she’s gone. After everything she did to help us.” Harper shook her head.
Wade wrapped her in his arms and gave her a kiss on the forehead before they made their way over to the park behind Rose and Ethan. It was hard to believe she was gone. After the hate I’d harboured for her, then the transition into actually liking and caring about her, to considering her one of my good friends. It was hard to imagine she wouldn’t be around anymore.
Joe began to push me towards the grassy clearing where the wake had been set up. I looked at my friends and parents standing in a circle, talking. We were still together even if only for a short time. I knew we’d be going back to our lives with the MMC gone, and I wasn’t sure what that looked like anymore. But at least I knew we didn’t have to fight anymore and no matter what, I had them when I needed them.
As we drew closer, Joe stopped, and a warm hand pressed on my shoulder. I turned to stare into the bright blue eyes of Cameron, a slender woman with long dark hair on his arm. He leant forward to give me a kiss on the cheek and a hug before standing at his full height again.
“Amelia, this is Elise,” he said.
“Nice to meet you.” I smiled at her.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.” She hugged Cameron’s arm as she spoke.
“How are you feeling?” asked Cameron.
“And here I was thinking I’d get a break from you checking in on me today,” I teased.
“Maybe I just take my new job at the hospital seriously?” he suggested.
“I don’t think they expect you to make house calls,” I replied.
“Okay. Make sure you come and have a chat.”
“Of course,” answered Joe.
Janine had sacrificed her life so the rest of us could have our lives back. So we could be free of manipulation and control and be free to create our own dreams, our own happy endings.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was funny how life found a way to settle back down, pretending the heartache and pain caused by the events in the past was nothing but a bad dream. After Janine’s funeral, Mum and Dad stayed with Joe, Sarah, Byron and me at Joe’s house in Sandhaven for a while. Once I was up and out of my wheelchair two weeks later, they returned to their beautiful Queenslander on their farm in Montville. I promised Elizabeth and Nathan I’d keep in touch, and they were planning a beach holiday in Sandhaven during the next school holidays.
Rose had taken Ethan back to her mum’s house, where Ethan was reunited with his friends, and he was back at school and doing well. Wade proposed to Harper when he’d moved into her apartment above the Dreamers Intuition shop, and they were planning on getting married in a year’s time on Sandhaven Beach. Sarah, Wade’s sister, and I were going to be her bridesmaids. I don’t know what happened to Kaelee. She apparently made a brief appearance at Janine’s funeral, but I hadn’t seen her. I was still angry about what she’d done, and the fact she didn’t seem to regret her decisions. Now the MMC were gone, I didn’t have the urge to know her every move.
While I’d been unconscious, the guards had released the crowd in the foyer when Tech had spoken over the intercom system telling them to let them go. Police arrived to arrest the MMC employees, and it wasn’t long before news crews caught gist of what was happening. They were more than happy to spread the truth through the media. By the time I’d woken up, the old government had been overthrown and a new one was going to be elected to stand in its place. They promised an inquest into both the old government, the police force and the companies that’d been feeding money into the MultiMind Corporation. Many members had been prosecuted, along with Geoff Michaels. I’d attended his trial, although I was thankful I didn’t have to get up and describe the day he’d shot both Janine and myself. But to be able to look into his eyes and show him he hadn’t won, and we’d beaten him, almost made being shot worth it. But I would’ve swapped Janine for him in a heartbeat.
Joe and I were happy to be together after all we’d been through. He’d started a small business on Sandhaven Beach teaching people to surf while interpreting dreams on the side. I enjoyed working for Harper again at Dreamers Intuition.
One afternoon, Joe and I lay on a sun lounge out on the wooden deck facing the beach, the soft, salty wind licking at my face. I took a sip of my wine and sat it on the table next to me, wrapping my arm over his bare chest.
“I wonder if it would’ve been this good if you’d picked me over Cameron?” he asked, more curious than defensive.
“I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t think either of us were ready to be together.”
“I think you’re right. It still amazes me how on point Dawn was.”
“I think our connection and what it could be was more obvious to the people around us than it ever was to us.”
He laughed hugging me closer. “Guess we’re both too damn stubborn to listen to everyone else. We needed to work it out our own way.”
Life had a funny way of sending you what you needed right when you needed it most, even if you didn’t realise it at the time. Sometimes it came in the form of something good, and sometimes it seemed as though you’d taken a wrong turn and needed to find your way back. The trick I’d found was to learn to find the lesson in both the good and the bad.
When you looked back over your past, it was easy to understand how certain situations shaped you, changed you, moulding you into the person you are. Some events made you stronger, some taught you to be softer and more compassionate, and each of them presented a challenge you could grow from. If you look at yourself in the mirror and don’t like who it is you‘ve become, then you know you haven’t finished growing yet.
Together, my friends and I grew through our trials with the MultiMind Corporation. At times it felt like it wouldn’t end, but there we were, happy and free. We’d achieved what we’d set out to do: free people from being manipulated and controlled. Give them back the right to make their own decisions. We’d woken them up, and now they could create their own dreams.
THE END
Have you enjoyed this book?
The best way to thank an author is to leave an honest review of their book. Each review is not only important in helping the book reach a wider audience but it also helps the author write stories you want to read. By being honest and letting them know what you did and didn’t like about their book you help them bring you the stories you want to read.
Your time and effort are greatly appreciated.
About the Author
L J Higgins writes fiction with an intriguing twist. Stories that remind you to open your eyes, minds and hearts. Hailing from Queensland, Australia, she is a wife, and stay at home mother of two young children.
Always intrigued by dystopian worlds, the advances in technology, and what those might mean for the future of the human race, L J Higgins enjoys creating stories that explore these ideas. She is also passionate about helping teens through some of the battles they face as they go through high school, and writes st
ories to empower them while showing them how their choices can affect the lives of themselves and others.
Visit her online at www.ljhiggins.com
Or find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Sign up for L J Higgins readers group and receive monthly emails with release information, book deals, giveaways and more at www.ljhiggins.com
Acknowledgments
It’s with both excitement and sadness I release Rise of the Dreamer, the final instalment of the Dreamer Trilogy, into the world. I’ve grown to love Amelia and her friends, and it’ll be strange to be writing something new. Thank you for loving them just as much as I have, and for wanting to read their story.
Jane (Mum), Margaret, Kylie, Jacqui, Tizena, Terri, Bethany, Kayla, Sue-Ellen and Shelley, I thank you for your honesty, and taking time out of your busy lives to read the manuscript.
Dannielle Line, thank you for re-editing the entire Dreamer Trilogy. It’s the time you put it that makes my words easier to read.
Tim, my amazing husband. You are my biggest supporter, and will do anything it takes to help me succeed. Even if that means forcing me to take some time for myself when all I want to do is write.
The biggest thank you needs to go out to you, my readers. Without you I wouldn’t be able to do what I love every day. Every review, email, and comment, fuels my desire to write and I can’t thank you all enough for your support.
Also by L.J. Higgins
The Dreamer Trilogy:
Dawn of the Dreamer
Fall of the Dreamer
Rise of the Dreamer
Standalone:
On Delicate Wings
Secrets of Aurora series:
Utopia
Eden
Arcadia
Elysium
Utopia
Secrets of Aurora book 1
Available on Amazon NOW!
In a single moment, Aurora’s life is forever changed…
The floating city Utopia, is all sixteen-year-old Aurora has ever known. Along with three other cities, it is home to the only survivors of the cataclysmic events that ended life on Earth sixteen years ago.
After witnessing her mother’s gruesome murder, Aurora finds herself on the run from the very people who are meant to protect her. With the help of her best friend, Fletcher, Aurora must find the truth behind her mother’s execution and why she is being hunted.
Someone wants the facts to remain hidden, but Aurora won't stop until each hurtful truth is revealed.
When her search takes an unexpected turn, nothing can prepare her for the answers that prove her entire existence has been built on a lie.
Rise of the Dreamer Page 19
