Falling From Eternity (A Paranormal Love Story) (18 page)

“
Dammit!” I cursed aloud,
knowing I needed to get my hands on that phone. Scanning ahead for
traffic I saw that the roads were pretty clear so I bent down,
reaching under my seat as far as I could and finding nothing. The
ringing stopped and the beeping grew more incessant indicating I
had another voicemail. Flipping the switch on the side of my seat,
I allowed it to slide backward giving me more room to maneuver.
Bending down again, I reached further under my seat, but I was so
focused on the phone I wasn’t paying attention to the
road.

The SUV rolled over the rumble strip,
shaking the car violently. Car horns blared as I bolted upright,
grabbing hold of the wheel as I slid along the guard rail. Despite
my superior instincts, I couldn’t gain control of the vehicle
before hitting a patch of black ice. I did everything I could to
manipulate the slide so I didn’t crash into anything, or anyone. I
knew my best option was to go off the road. Waiting until my tail
end was going in the right direction I turned into the slide and
rolled down the snowy embankment. Slamming into a pile of snow, I
came to an abrupt stop.

Not caring about any damage done to my
car, I immediately went in search of my phone. What if Ming was
calling with news, or changes in Autumn’s surgery? I needed to be
on top of any developments. Or, what if Autumn was calling to see
where I was? She was probably worried sick. My fingers clasped
around the tiny cellphone, snatching it up with a grip tight enough
to crush it. The screen came to life like a glowing firefly as I
ran my finger across the smooth surface, unlocking the security
combination. A message began flashing in the center, screaming that
I had several missed calls and just as many voicemails. Without
even looking at the phone number, I pressed the button to play
them.

“
William,”
Autumn’s voice cracked through the phone’s tiny
speakers,
“where are you?”

I felt guilty for worrying her, and
knew I’d have a big apology to make when I got back. I saved the
message to my archive, loving the sound of her voice even when she
was upset with me and moved on to the next. It was nothing, but
muffled noises for about thirty seconds and then the line went
dead. Autumn was probably fuming. I needed more than an apology
this time. I’d been gone for over two hours on a night I’d promised
we’d spend together. I deleted that message and moved onto the last
one. It began like the last, several muffled noises until after
nearly a minute I heard Autumn’s panicked voice.

“
Will…I need you…I don’t
feel…something’s wro…”

The line cut off and my heart dropped
to my stomach as heavy as a cement brick. The pain in her voice
revealed everything she hadn’t been able to say, something was
seriously wrong. She was hurting, and I wasn’t there! I pressed for
the message to play again while I tried desperately to start the
SUV. The engine sputtered, but wouldn’t turn over. I knew that even
if I got it to start it would take too long to get out of the
embankment. Autumn needed me, and I had only one option. If we’d
run out of time I had to get her to Ming as soon as
possible.

I jumped out of the car and tried to
call Autumn’s room directly but the line was busy. Her cell rang
and rang until going to voicemail. I hung up and dialed the
reception desk at Shady Willow’s. Maryann was on staff tonight, I’d
have her check on Autumn until I got there. When the line went
immediately to the facilities voicemail, I screamed in rage. There
was only one choice left. I had to run. I was faster than any
human, but it would still take time. Time that Autumn might not
have. As I ran I dialed Ming’s number, telling him that plans had
changed and he needed to head to Shady Willows. I didn’t know what
was happening, but I had a feeling deep within me that Autumn
needed help now; tomorrow would be too late.

My feet stomped through the snow in
the woods alongside the highway as I ran toward Autumn as fast as
my legs would carry me. Cold, wet snow soaked up to my knees,
freezing the flesh of my legs in its icy grip. The bite of winter
had never bothered me before, but when it was given time to sink
into my body it began to chill the blood in my veins. That was hard
for even a vampire to ignore. My fangs extended as I tapped into
the monstrous vampire inside, pushing myself harder than I ever had
before. I embraced the rage of the monster I once was, using it to
make myself faster and stronger. It was happy to be free of the
chains I’d locked it in so long ago. Tonight, we were no longer
enemies. I would have to embrace that which I hated to save the one
I loved. All this time I’d thought it would destroy what I’d
become, the small speck of humanity I’d been able to
preserve.

An unspoken fear dug its claws into
the back of mind like a festering wound. If I lost my hold even a
second, would it turn my desire for her affection into something
stronger? Something deadlier?

Despite my fear, my legs kept plodding
through the snow, and my arms kept pumping back and forth as I ran
full throttle through skeletal trees that threatened to snatch me
with their spindly limbs. My eyes zeroed in on the forest before
me, blurring out the world around me like a fish bowl. All there
was, was the next step; the straight path in front of me, and
Autumn…my angel…waiting for me to save her.

~

12

Lost Love

The sun broke through the
clouds, shining on me with a brilliance that contradicted
everything I felt inside. How dare it be sunny! How dare the birds
sing their sweet songs, or the buds begin to blossom on the trees;
their delicate color blushing the branches in a shade of pink.
Today the sky should cover itself in a murky shroud, shadowing
anything that threatened to show its beauty; anything that would
make
this
day
less dreadful than it was. Than it
should
be.

Metal scraped against metal as I
yanked the curtains closed in my living room. A deep scowl had been
etched across my face for days, my fangs taking permanent residence
in my mouth. There was no point in hiding who, or what I was
anymore. I would be leaving Denton, forever.

My books returned to their familiar
cages, inside the dusty boxes I’d locked them away in for years. I
hadn’t realized how vital they were to the man I had been trying to
become until I sealed the last box, and looked at my empty
apartment in dismay. This small, cramped space had been the first
place that had ever felt like home to me. Now…now it would only be
a painful memory that I could never erase.

Tom rubbed his furry chin against the
offensive cardboard blocks, finding them to be the perfect
scratching post. The plan had never been to keep him, but I knew
there was no way I could leave him behind. His companionship had
been the only thing that kept me sane the last week. Hopefully, he
could keep me that way forever. Even Marie’s daily visits, had no
effect on my spiral into the abyss of depression. She’d bring me
dinner every night, trying desperately to pull me from the depths
but I wouldn’t let her in. I should have, but I wouldn’t…I
couldn’t. Maybe she would have understood how I was feeling…she,
more than anyone I knew, could even come close to fathoming the
magnitude of my loss.

The hands on my watch signaled I was
running late; late for a day that should have never been. I tugged
my coat sleeve over my wrist, hiding the silver face of my Fossil
watch. I hated it. I hated it with such severity, as if the thing
could actually control the very sands of time, but chose to signal
the moment of misery which I so desperately wanted to avoid, just
for the sheer enjoyment of seeing me suffer. I wanted time to stop;
to stay frozen in place for as long as I existed, as long as fate
chose to torture me. Even with the level of grief I was already in,
continuing this day would only compound it. I would gladly wallow
in this grief than allow time to reveal the reality that I had not
even begun to feel the sharp sting of sadness.

Time would do me no favors, nor would
fate. Holding my breath, I scooped my keys off the counter and
stomped out of my apartment. The garish sun made itself known, and
I slid on my sunglasses with a growl. My SUV was still on the side
of the highway, so I marched down the alleyway toward Main Street.
I hadn’t wanted to go back there, back to the moment that altered
my world. The moment where my hopes and dreams betrayed me. I was
happy to leave it there; to allow it to be buried beneath the last
snow falls of the season. Someday someone would find it, sitting in
a puddle of spring snowmelt, a bag of ice cream and a movie on the
passenger seat.

The sidewalks of Denton were clear of
snow and salt crunched under my feet with every step. The season
had probably seen the last signs of winter and spring was ready to
claim the land. I kept my head turned down, hidden beneath the
shadow of my hat; away from anyone who dared look at my face. Heavy
bags dropped below my eyes from endless sobbing, made worse by the
dark circles that swirled around them like I’d been punched in the
face. In some ways it felt a bit like I had been.

Like the terrifying gates of hell, I
stood before the entrance to the cemetery as dread seared my
insides. The thumping of my heart ceased; falling to the pit of my
stomach and shattering into a million pieces. I thought that coming
here for Hazel’s funeral had been the hardest thing I’d ever done,
but I was wrong. I stared, wide-eyed, like the entry carried an
invisible veil that hung over the threshold, and all that passed
would venture into another world.

A world of unspeakable
pain.

A world that I could never
leave.

There was no turning back; my worst
fears had come to light.

I could feel my soul dying with every
step as I passed the divide between light and dark. A rumble began
to grow inside, building into a growl that would soon scream from
my lungs. The caged beast within me was being set free, and I
didn’t want to fight it anymore. In fact, I was embracing it. The
monster I had been fighting was going to be my sanctuary. Soon I’d
forget who I was; I’d forget this town and everything in it.
Suddenly the price Ming had asked for didn’t seem too
high.

An evil grin threatened to pull up the
corner of my lips, but I refused it when the sight before me sent
the pain of my reality crashing down with staggering force. I would
have to fantasize about drowning my sorrows in blood another day,
because right now nothing would ease my tremendous agony. Nothing
but the one thing I couldn’t have.

My bottom lip began to quiver, and my
eyes began to blur with tears as my feet brought me closer to hell
on earth; a hell that was covered in daisies and roses of every
color in the rainbow. I’d shipped them in special delivery for
today as if it would make any difference. As if she could smell
their tantalizing perfume, or feel their soft petals caress her
ivory skin. Their heavenly scent floated in the air reminding me of
the most painfully beautiful creature that ever existed. I tried
holding my breath but it was too late; the memories flooded through
my mind like a tidal wave of excruciating pleasure.

I was the last to arrive, and the way
their eyes watched my every step I knew they had been waiting for
me. Marie, Maryann, and even several of the nurses from work and
every resident that was well enough to travel; and Kenneth, my
boss. Were my eyes playing tricks on me, or did they look sadder to
see me than the reason we were actually all here? My head began to
shake from side to side before I even realized I was doing it. They
shouldn’t feel sorry for me; there was a greater loss to the world
than the disintegrating of my dark heart. An angel had fallen, and
with her absence an evil would be unleashed.

Maryann gestured to an
open seat beside her but I couldn’t stomach the thought of sitting
near her, or any of them. Their whispers of
“I’m sorry for your loss”
, or
“She’s in a better place now”
were likely to set me off. My sanity was holding on by the
finest thread and the smallest poke would send me careening off the
edge of an abyss. My anger was seeking a target like a heat seeking
missile, and if I wasn’t careful I’d turn this funeral into a
bloody massacre.

My tongue slid across my
lips allowing my mind to wander into dreamy thoughts of tearing all
their throats out. I wanted them to feel the pain I felt. I wanted
them
all
to feel
what I felt. The only thing stopping me was Autumn. What if she was
looking down from heaven; what would she think? I couldn’t be the
one to turn her resting place into a nightmarish
landscape.

My feet cemented to the ground at the
foot of her coffin. It was a dark mahogany, mixed with deep shades
of red that contrasted the vibrant blooms that surrounded it. Words
fluttered inside me, begging anyone that was listening to not take
her away from me, no matter how futile I knew it was. How could the
world be so cruel? Why had fate brought her into my life only to
take her away?

One thought, and one thought alone,
hammered its way past the rest. This was all my fault. If I hadn’t
left then maybe she’d still be here. If I had gotten there in time;
she wouldn’t have been alone.