Before i fall time after.., p.17
Before I Fall: Time After Time, page 17
Raised voices and the sounds of fighting come from the tavern underneath me and I paw at the door listlessly, wishing someone would come up. Sebastian compelled me so I can’t speak to anyone but him and I can’t leave the room but if someone was to come and open this door I could find a way to get a message out to Luca so he can find me. I can’t speak but I can write a note if I had paper. I cry out as a spike of pain lances through my head. I need to get back to Luca! It hurts, it hurts so bad!
“Eden! Eden, are you here?”
I push up off the floor and claw at the door. I know that voice! Cade, it’s Cade. He will take me to Luca. He will take me back to him! I bang and kick at the door wanting to call out so bad but I can’t.
“Eden, are you in there?” Is yelled from the other side of the door as I continue to bang at it.
“Just break the damn thing down!”
That voice has me freezing in place. That…that was Luca. Luca is here! I made it, I made it back to him! My bloody hands fall to my sides as all the urgency and need to get to him that I’ve been weighed down by lifts and the fog in my brain clears. I spin away from the door and stare around the room. What happened? Why am I here? I stare down at my hands as memories of how I’ve behaved since I was shot by that soldier flash through my mind and a choked sound gushes out of me. How…why…why would I do all of that?
“Eden! Move away from the door. We are going to break it down so move back!”
I quickly move to the other side of the room even as my mind races to put the pieces together. Luca…I’ve been obsessed with getting back to Luca. Why? Why just him and not the others too? Something must have happened to make me that way. The door crashes open and my wolves come flying in with a shout. I open my mouth to say their names but nothing comes out. They pull me into their arms and tell me that I’m safe and that they’ll get me out of here but I know they can’t. I can’t leave this room until Sebastian lets me. He compel…Oh my God! I know what happened to me. I pull free from their arms and push them aside and there he is. Luca is standing in the middle of the room, his mouth stretched with a wide smile filled with insane glee.
“You came back to me.”
I try and yell, scream at him for what he’s done but nothing comes out. I know he must have compelled me to come back somehow even if I don’t remember him doing it. It’s the only thing that explains my behavior and the desperate need I’ve had to get back to him. I can’t scream what I want at him so I lunge at him instead but Cade captures me around the waist and pulls me to him.
“There will be plenty of time for hugs and reuniting when we get you back to the house. We need to go before the regulators get here, yeah? We might have caused a wee bit of damage to the owners and the property when they tried to stop us from coming up here.”
He drags me toward the door while Finn gathers my clothing up but my furious eyes never leave Luca. I can’t fucking believe he would do this to me. I had no way to fight it. It took over my entire brain. All my will was focused on doing what he compelled me to. First Luca and then Sebastian did it by forcing me to…
“Argggg!!!!”
The pain whites out my vision and has the meager contents of my stomach coming up all over. My fingers claw into Cade’s arm leaving deep bloody grooves until he lets me go and I drop to the floor and drag myself back over the threshold of the room to make the pain stop. I lay there gasping as tears flow down my face and wait for the dark spots to leave my vision.
“What just happened?” Cade yells out but I still can’t speak to him or anyone but Sebastian so I just lay there in pain.
“He must have compelled her so she can’t leave the room.” Luca spits out angrily and I roll my eyes his way and glare at the fucking hypocrite. Finn’s concerned face comes into view as he leans down and helps me to a seated position. My fingers stroke over his jaw. It’s so good to see him. I missed him and Cade so much. He looks different, harder somehow and I try and tell him how sorry I am for coming back with just my eyes.
“Is that true, Eden? Did Bas compel you to stay in the room?” He asks so I nod my head tiredly. He looks deeper in eyes and cups my face using his thumb to brush away some of my tears. “There’s more, isn’t there? What else did he make you do?”
I sigh and lean against him even as Cade drops to my other side and takes my hand. “Tell us, lass.” I make a face at him and mime speaking while shaking my head that I can’t. It’s such a fucking relief to be able to think clearly now. They pull me to my feet and make sure I’m steady before letting go and turning to Luca.
“She can’t speak either? Can you not fix it? Override it somehow? Compel her to leave? We need to get her the fuck out of here!” Cade growls at him.
I shake my head violently from side to side. No more fucking compelling! That’s what got me into this mess to start with. Luca’s eyes narrow slightly at me and then he shakes his head angrily.
“No, I cannot. Sebastian is more powerful than me. He can override my orders but I can’t change his.”
I make a muffled groan and stab my finger his way. When Bas gets back here I’m going to make sure he fucking does exactly that. I move toward Luca with a furious expression, jabbing my finger at him over and over again and forcing him to step back. I think I see a flash of shame cross his expression but then he’s knocking me to the side with an angry roar.
“She is released.”
Everything slows right down as my body twists from the shove and I step back. My feet catch in the clothing Finn dropped and my arms windmill to try and find my balance. I catch sight of Luca slamming into Sebastian who is standing in the doorway as I go down and my feet fly up. I hear the snap when the back of my neck connects with the edge of the tub filled with cold water but strangely feel no pain from the hit as my body jackknives in half and I hear the thump of it hitting the floor but I still don’t feel it. That familiar rushing of wind fills my ears and the last thing I see is Cade trying to pull Luca off of a horrified Sebastian and Finn reaching out for me with the saddest look on his face and then I’m tumbling over and over and hitting the floor of the turret in front of the mirror again.
When the heaving stops I start to scream and scream and scream. I need to go back. I need to go back to Luca!
Eden
There’s a ringing that won’t stop. It goes on and on and finally breaks me from my stare down with the mirror, waiting for it to come to life so I can go back. I try and swat it away but it just rings again, causing me to snarl and spin on my knees to find it. The pain knocks me onto my face and it only gets worse when I try and straighten my legs. I grunt and moan and wail from it until I can focus enough to send my hands to the source, my knees. I manage to sit up and my bathrobe falls open showing me the swollen purple and angry red knobs my knees have become. The ringing noise sounds again and the pain from my legs clears my head enough that I finally recognize it as the doorbell. I try to yell that I’m coming but my mouth is so dry that my throat almost closes up on me and I gag. I don’t know how long I’ve been in front of that mirror but I do know if I don’t find a way to stop myself from doing it again, I will die before it ever recharges and that will stop me from getting back to Luca.
It takes a while for me to massage my legs back into working order enough that I can pull myself up onto my feet. When I sway from dizziness I have a flash of a memory of this happening before. My need for food and water, and judging by the smell coming off of me, a shower needs to be addressed if I want to be well enough to go back to Luca. I make my way down the stairs and into the kitchen desperate for a drink of water. I drink too much too fast and end up throwing most of it back up in the sink so I fill the cup back up and force myself to take smaller sips with time in between each one. I catch sight of my phone on the window sill with the back cover off exposing the small solar panel to charge in the sun. I have no memory of putting it there at all. I reach for it and see way too many notifications to deal with in my current state. The date means nothing to me. I have no idea how long I’ve been home this time.
Once my water is finished, I refill the cup and open the fridge to address the next pressing need but find it empty. I brace myself on the counter and spot an open cracker box on its side. There’s only a handful left but food is food right now so I stuff them into my mouth one by one and try not to gag on the stale taste of them. It won’t be enough calories to see me very far so I swipe open my phone, open the delivery app and place an order for like half the menu. I can reheat what I don’t eat over the next few days before the mirror is ready to take me back to Luca. Luca! I have to go back to him. He needs me to go back! I turn to race back to the mirror and slam one of my damaged knees into the cupboard, sending a shocking jolt of pain through me. It hurts so much I almost throw up the crackers I managed to force down but it also knocks me out of my need to go back to the mirror.
Fuck! What was I doing? Right, right, food. I need food. Takeout is coming but I should get more so I place another order at the local market and just add my entire favorites list to the order and send it. I need to keep it together if I want to go back healthy and whole. I pull out the junk drawer and find some elastics and wrap them around my wrist. I swallow down my trepidation and see if it will work.
Luca…Luca…I need to get back to Luca! As soon as my feet turn to go to the mirror I snap the elastics…hard. Ouch! Fuck, okay maybe I don’t need to snap them that hard but it works so there’s that. Alright, what’s next? Water, check. Foods on the way so…shower, right! I stink…badly. I limp to my bedroom and manage to stand in the hot water without falling and breaking anything so I scrub my skin and hair clean and only have to snap my wrist three times to stay on task. I search for my favorite comfortable clothing but most of it is missing so end up in an old pair of sweat pants and a black slouchy sweater. I don’t know where all my yoga pants and leggings have gone to and most of my hoodies are gone too.
The doorbell rings just as I’m done combing out my wet hair and I pray it’s my take-out because my stomach has woken up and it’s growling like a beast. I head to the front door but when I pass the stairs I have to snap my wrist twice to keep myself from running up them to the mirror. When I pull the door open a box tumbles down to my feet and the delivery driver is waiting with his hands full of bags to hand me. I practically snatch them from his hands as the glorious smells hit me. I have already pre-paid his tip on the app so I nudge the box further into the house and with a half-smile close the door on him.
I carry everything into the living room using my feet to push the box ahead of me, limping the whole way. I dump the food bags on the coffee table and ease my sore body down onto the couch and then my butt down to the floor so I can straighten my legs out underneath the table. I spread the food out and open every carton after finding the plastic utensils that came with the order and dig in. Spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccini alfredo with chicken, chicken parmesan, cheesy garlic bread, and a few other dishes all get sampled. I moan and groan at how good everything tastes. All too soon my shrunken stomach protests even one more bite so I close all the covers and stack them to one side to make room for the box that had been left against my door.
When I flip it over and spot that the return address label belongs to my lawyer’s firm, my heart speeds up. This could be from my aunt. It could be something that will help me get back to Luca sooner. Luca! I need to get back to him. Oh god, he needs me to come back. SNAP! Fuck! I need to change those elastics to my other wrist or I will have some major welts by the time the mirror has recharged. Speaking of that, how much longer do I have to wait?
“Siri, when is the next full moon?”
Somewhere underneath the discarded plastic bags, my phone answers me.
“The next full moon is on September third, twenty twenty-eight.”
Panic and an overwhelming feeling of urgency start to bubble up in my mind when I figure out that’s still three weeks away. I can’t wait that long. Luca needs me. Luca! I have to snap my wrist twice when I push the table away and leverage myself up to go to the mirror. I sink back down on the couch when the pain knocks it back and then switch the elastics to my other arm for the next go-round. I have to keep it together if I want to make it for three whole weeks without slipping into the fog. My body can’t take going that long without food or water.
I pull the box back over to me and rip the tape off and open the flaps. It’s filled with Styrofoam peanuts that I have to dig through to get to a shiny square wooden box about six inches by six inches. Tied to it with a ribbon is an envelope that I recognize from my aunt’s stationery set and it has my name on it. I pull it off and set the box in my lap and slowly open the envelope and pull out the folded note inside.
My dearest Eden,
I hope this finds you well. I do wish I could be with you to guide you on your journeys.
As I am not, I hope this gift will be the compass you need in finding your way.
A caution and a warning.
Love can be an epic tale or a dark tragedy.
Our choices will shape the outcome.
Sometimes, in order to fix what has been broken,
one must make the greatest sacrifice and shatter it all.
Safe travels.
Love,
Adera
I read the words over and over again trying to understand the meaning behind them. How could my Aunt possibly know that I found love in the first place? She died before I even traveled the first time and found Sebastian, Cade, Finn, and Luca. Luca! SNAP, SNAP…SNAP. It’s kind of creepy how she seems to be speaking to me beyond the grave and I wonder if she visited the future and saw all that would happen to me. Shaking my head, I set the note aside and lift the box from my lap, nervously chewing on my bottom lip. Flicking the small metal latch, I open the lid and my eyebrows shoot up in awe. Sitting inside on a bed of royal blue velvet is what looks like a blinged-out compass. Just like the frame surrounding the mirror, the device has an assortment of small jewels that create a pattern of runes around the outside edge of it. At the top is what I think is a diamond, in the shape of a triangle that points down. The inside has three different rings with numbers and a small nudge shows me that they all will spin. The very center has a moonstone that clicks when I push it. I lift the compass from its bed and pull up the velvet hoping to find a fucking user manual but find nothing.
I set the compass back into the box and put the box on the table and then lean back. This is how I can control the mirror but I’ll need to figure it out. I rub my head and wish that I could think clearly. My brain is so foggy and it’s hard to think past the urgent need I have to get back to them, to Luca. I make it halfway up the stairs to the mirror, stumbling on the steps before I realize what I’m doing and snap the hell out of my wrist to stop myself from going any further. I turn and sit on the step and drop my face into my hands. Why? Why is this happening to me? I feel like I’m losing my mind and I’m terrified that it might be a side effect of using the mirror or time traveling. Maybe this is the cost of it. Maybe Adera died from going insane and I will too. I push to my feet and slowly walk back down the stairs to put the food away. If madness is the cost of going back to my loves, to Luca (SNAP) then it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
Sebastian
Luca’s mind is gone. I lean against the door of the room I compelled him to stay in and listen to his ranting and raving for her. He screams her name over and over and begs her to come back and forgive him. In his anger at me for keeping Eden away from him, he pushed her to get at me and unwittingly caused her death. He begs for her forgiveness in his madness when I’m the one to blame. I did this in my quest to protect him.
“Come away and leave him be. We need ta hear from you on how this transpired, Sebastian.” Finn tells me in a cold voice.
I turn and meet his gaze and then Cades and see nothing but cold contempt and it makes me wish for the heated rage they showed me the night before just after she left us again. I took every hit they all threw at me as we fought and destroyed much of the upper level where I had been keeping Eden. I only compelled them all to stop when Luca lost control of his monster and went for their throats. We managed to get him out and back here so he would not be a danger to the innocents in the town in his madness and thirst to destroy and consume. The coldness I now see in their expressions tells me that no amount of explaining or justifying I do will ever be able to repair our relationship. I have lost them all. I follow them down the hall to the study and reach for the brandy but Cade swipes it from my hand and tips the bottle back, drinking half of it before passing it to Finn. His eyes glow briefly as he looks at me but when he clenches his hands his eyes settle back to the blue-green of his human form.
“Tell us…from the start.”
I scrub at my face and then nod. “I found her surrounded by rough men taunting her. She came back in her modern clothing and it was clear that she was sick. She was gaunt, unkempt - I knew right away something was wrong. You know how much Eden values being clean. She clearly had not washed or eaten in days, maybe longer. I got her into the room but she was inconsolable, manic to get to you and Luca. I have never seen her in such a state. When I removed her clothing to bathe her I saw just how much her health had suffered. I could count her ribs and her hip bones jutted out. All her curves were gone and I feared that she was wasting away from some disease so I gave her my blood to try and heal her.”
