Tethered Wings (Hidden Wings Series) (18 page)

We looked at each other and broke out into laughter.

The mood was definitely ruined.

“By the way, I know the girl you’re speaking of,” I said. “We’re very close, she and I. As a matter of fact, she spoke very highly of you. Just before you interrupted me tonight, she had told me that you are the glue holding her together. You’ve filled in the pieces of her broken heart, and were her very first love.”

“She told you all of that?” he whispered, as he pressed his forehead against mine.

“Yes.”

“Could I tell her something in return?” He asked softly.

“Of course,” I answered.

“Could you tell her that I love her?” He gently placed both of his hands on either side of my face, steadying me. His piercing hazel eyes steeled on mine. “I love you, Emma. The thought of losing you today, the reality of me not being there to protect you, it killed me. I may be your Guardian, but I need you just as much as you need me.”

I was nearly breathless, my heart drummed loudly. “The girl, she just told me to tell you something.”

“Yes?”

“She said…to kiss me already,” I exhaled.

I raised my hand and captured the back of his neck again. His hungered mouth once again possessed mine. As our lips and mouths connected, I felt like I was floating.   

Placing both hands under the back of his shirt, I gently felt his scars.

He flinched away from me.

“Do they hurt? Your scars?” I asked, concerned I’d hurt him.

“No.”

“I want to feel them then,” I whispered. He complied and I pulled up his shirt, moving around him to gently kiss his back. “Thank you for saving me that day. I’m so sorry you had to endure all this pain.”

He turned around to face me and wrapped me in his arms.

“I told you, don’t ever be sorry.”

I leaned back in to kiss him again when I heard laughter echo down the hallway.

Oh crap.

Kade quickly gave me one last kiss, before he clicked on the light. I bent down to pick up my apple when Courtney and Lia appeared in the doorway.

“Well, no wonder you took so long. We thought you were lost,” Lia laughed.

“Nope, I was just telling Kade goodnight,” I said, glancing at him. His eyes shimmered as he grinned.

“We ran out of soda, and you can’t have water with popcorn,” Lia stated.

“That is very true,” I agreed. “And not just any soda…”

“Dr. Pepper,” we cheered in unison.

“That cupboard, second shelf,” Courtney pointed.

Kade chuckled, so I turned to him with a grin. “Are you sure you don’t wanna join us? It’ll be an entire night of fun-fun-fun,” I cheered oh-so enthusiastically. 

Lia couldn’t let this opportunity pass. “Come on, Kade. You have to come, or Emma will have her head in the clouds the whole night, wishing you were with her.”

I glared at her.

“What? You know I’m right.”

“She
has
been my best friend for the past three years. She does know me,” I admitted.

“Damn, right. Hell, if I were in your place, Emma, I’d be wishing the same thing,” she laughed. “Come on. Don’t make me beg, Kade. It’s not a pretty sight.”

He blushed, and shook his head.

“Please?” I gazed at him with puppy dog eyes. “You can have my pillow.”

“What will you use?” Courtney asked.

“She’ll use this,” Kade said, patting the spot, right between his arm and collar bone. I smiled. He was too perfect. He glanced at me and winked.

“Oh stop. You guys are killing me with cuteness,” Lia huffed.

Courtney giggled, covering her mouth. Her cheeks flushed with bright pink.

“So are you coming, Kade?”

“I guess I have no choice. I’m outnumbered three-to-one.”

“You really don’t have to come, if you don’t want to,” I said.

“No, I want to,” he answered, looking directly into my eyes. “Staying up all night, filling myself with crap, watching a movie with you…it all sounds amazing.”

Even if I didn’t get the same electrical shock, or the instant euphoric feeling I got when he was an immortal, with just a look, Kade still did a number on my emotions.

Either way, there was a bond which connected his heart to mine. He was everything good in the world, wrapped up into the most beautiful package, and sent to me. We were so different, yet connected. How could I have been so blessed? 

We grabbed the drinks, a few more snacks, and headed back upstairs.

The movies played, but somewhere between the second and third, I fell asleep, safe and snug in Kade’s arms.

When I woke, I was on Courtney’s bed with a blanket pulled over me, and Kade was gone. My four companions were sprawled out all over the floor, and body parts were strewn in every direction amidst stray pieces of candy and popcorn.

I took my pillow and quietly tiptoed through the maze of bodies, trying to avoid stepping on anyone. When I finally made it safely to my bedroom, I pressed the pillow to my face and breathed in the sweet lingering scent. Even his smell brought a smile to my face. I placed it back on my bed and then headed over to the window, and pulled back the curtain.

It was the most beautiful day outside. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and gentle breezes rustled the fresh new leaves on the trees.

As much as I wanted to see the beauty in everything around me, I couldn’t. No today. My head was shrouded in a dark cloud of sadness, and every cell within me was filled with gloom and pain.

Today was the day we were going to bury my parents.

This day was supposed to be part of a closure in my life that I wasn’t ready or prepared for. My parents were my world. They instilled every good thing they possessed into me, and in an instant, they were gone. And I was never given chance to say goodbye.

There were no last loving words, no last hugs, and no last kisses. One moment they were sitting in the front seat of the car, laughing and singing along with the radio, and the next, their lifeless bodies were being crated to Alaska.

The day they were taken from me proved how very fragile and unpredictable life really was. I thought I was headed one way, only to have it tumble out of control, and then land in the completely opposite direction. My head had still not settled. Deep inside I wished to see my parents walk through the front door, take me by the hand, and lead me home to live out the rest of our happy, normal life.

But life was sometimes unkind, and didn’t give second chances. Instead it gave you two choices. You could either curl up and die, or get up and try again.

Getting up takes huge amounts of effort. It means bearing down and pushing through the toughest of times, even if you have to create barriers around your heart, and grow an extra layer of skin. But it also gives you a strength you probably never knew you’d possessed. An ember begins to glow. The glow eventually sparks, breathing new flame, which fuels a hope and desire to live.

These were the things my parents taught me. Things I didn’t care about, or ever gave a second thought about – not until I had to live it.

Within myself, I had made the decision to get up. But I was still trying to regain my balance. I could feel that tiny ember smoldering inside of me, but I knew if there was any hope of it sparking, it would come from the strength they instilled in me. They would never die. They would forever live on in my heart, my actions, and what I would someday pass on to my own children.

My best friends slept most of the day away, and when they woke, the atmosphere remained somber. Everyone seemed down today. We ate lunch, and then got ready.

It was late afternoon when we all made our way down a cobbled path leading to the cemetery. A violin started playing a beautiful song as we all gathered.

We were now outside of the protected barrier, so everyone except Alaine, Samuel, Kade, and my four mortal friends were out there watching, guarding, and protecting the area, making sure we were safe.

I had to explain Samuel’s presence to Jeremy and Lia, since they hadn’t seen him before. I told them he was Alaine’s new love, and they immediately bought it. They were perfect together.                

We stood in a small, open area. An intricate stone wall separated the cemetery from the outside. It was quiet and peaceful. The grass was soft and well-manicured. Outside of the wall towered spruce and birch trees which swayed back and forth to the peaceful sounds of the wind and violin. Bright multicolored tulips and wildflowers were beginning to bloom all around us.

Aside from all of this, you couldn’t help but notice the two large holes excavated to hold the exquisite coffins.

On each of their coffins, Alaine placed a picture; a self-portrait of each of them.

My dad looked so handsome dressed in a black business suit and lavender tie. His hair was combed back, and his blue eyes sparkled just as brightly as his smile. He had the best smile, and the best laugh. Whenever he laughed, everyone around him followed, because he was that infectious.

The picture of my mother was taken at the beach. She was sitting on her chair. Her sun-kissed hair was pulled back from her perfect, porcelain face. Her lips and cheeks were a soft pink, and her eyes were big and bright green. Her face was beaming with love and laughter. This is how I remembered her best. She was the epitome of joy.

God, I missed them.

My eyes began to well up with hot tears and every cell in my body ached. They were so full of life, and had so much more to give. But they were murdered. Stolen away from me much too soon, and it wasn’t fair. 

“Are you okay?” Lia whispered, taking hold of my hand.

I nodded, trying to hold back the unavoidable tears, but they finally spilled over and rushed down my cheeks. I quickly wiped my face and turned to gather myself.  

This is when I noticed two gravestones off to the left. One was Alaine’s late husband, and the other was Courtney and Caleb’s mother. Caleb had just walked Courtney over to their mother’s stone, each of them carrying freshly-cut, red roses. I watched as Caleb knelt, and dusted away a few leaves which had fallen around on her plot. He then gently placed his roses down.

Courtney leaned over and hugged her mother’s stone, whispering something so silent, only she and her mother could hear. My heart ached and empathized with them. I watched Courtney wipe the tears falling from her red eyes. She finally knelt and placed her roses down next to Caleb’s. He wrapped his arm around his sister, and they stood in silence, remembering.

Lia and Jeremy stood to the right of me, and Samuel and Alaine to the left. Kade came and stood directly behind me. I was glad he was there. He always had my back, and today I would need him there more than ever.

Alaine called a local minister to perform the ceremony. When he arrived, he took his spot at the front, and everyone went silent. He was a stout man, with wispy gray hair, greased and flattened to his scalp. He wore a black robe, and carried an aged Bible in his hand, with colored notecards sticking out from various pages.  

The violinist changed songs and played softly as the minister opened his Bible and began the ceremony. His words offered faith, hope, and an assurance that my parents were in heaven, and that one day we would meet them again. I wished and hoped, with my entire being, that he was correct because his words offered me something I could hold onto. A life after death.

My body felt completely numb, and I wished my mind would be too. The ceremony was a blur and before I knew it, it was almost over. The minister asked if I wanted to say something about my parents, but the thought of speaking about them sent a tidal wave of emotion crashing through me which was almost unbearable. Alaine grasped my hand, and assured me it was okay.

Jeremy and Lia cried through the entire ceremony, but I tried my best to hold on. I tried to remember the wonderful and happy times we shared. I tried to be strong because I knew they didn’t want us to shed tears for them, but rather celebrate their life instead of death. They would want us to be filled with comfort, not grief. 

As their caskets were being lowered into the ground, reality hit me like a brick. This was final. My parents were dead. Their lifeless bodies shrouded behind those beautiful boxes, about to be placed in the earth for all eternity.

Lia suddenly turned to Jeremy and buried her face into his shoulder, sobbing. He wrapped his arm around her as tears streamed down his own face.

Samuel held Alaine tightly in his arms, and I heard her soft cries.

I tried to be strong, but the veil of sorrow was wrapped too tightly around me. Blinded by despair, I ran forward to my mother’s casket and threw myself over it. At that very moment, whatever was left of my broken heart, shattered into a million pieces.

I wept until my body was too weak to move, and then dropped to the cold ground between them.

This wasn’t a dream. This was my nightmare. 

Strong, protective arms suddenly wrapped around me, holding me tight.