by Carly Marino
I bit my index fingernail. What were we going to do?
Pounding footsteps upstairs jolted my heart, and I surged to my feet, hand on my racing heart. Nowhere to hide. I was trapped in this basement. What if Larc had found us? Spider-like legs crawled my spine. What if Nora and Logan were dead?
“Thea!” Nora’s voice reverberated from above, the tone a mix between fear and excitement. A crack, as if the door at the top of the staircase slammed against the wall. She barreled down and paused on the last step, a glow lighting her face. Not fear. Definitely excitement.
What could she possibly be excited about? We were currently in the worst situation. “What?” I asked, my voice breathless, strained.
“It’s Cole.” A grin. She was grinning. Could it be? “He’s alive.”
Dizziness circled my head, wobbling my vision, accelerating my heartbeat. Alive. The sweetest word I’d heard all day. Cole was okay. A smile graced my lips. “Where is he? Is he here? Can I see him?” Hope burned inside me as I hurried to climb the stairs but Nora caught my arm.
“He phoned Logan.” She released her grasp but blocked my passage. I wanted to toss her to the side. “We’ll contact Cole when we’ve reached a secure location. We want to make sure Cole’s, Cole. Do you understand?”
“Of course, he’s Cole. He wouldn’t have called if he wasn’t.” And if she’d move out of my way, I could call him back. “The quicker we get somewhere safe, the quicker I get to see him.”
“I—I need to tell you something. The reason we fear Cole might be different is because…” Her head bowed. “I’m so sorry, luv. He doesn’t remember you.”
I anchored to the spot, my breath freezing in my lungs. Cole hadn’t escaped in time and Larc fulfilled his promise. He’d dissolved me from Cole’s memories. For all we knew, Larc let him go after implanting something in his memory to harm us. To harm … me.
The Cole we knew, could be gone.
I held my breath for a moment then exhaled the negativity from my heart. Cole would never hurt me. Our link to one another was too strong. Even with my soul hidden in this body, Cole still found me. He’d fought through Lyra’s memory wipe and came back to me. He might not have been aware of it, but the moment he walked into Seaside High, he had.
Plus, I refused to let Larc win.
“He’ll remember me.” I walked across the room and scooped up the box. “Like you said, Yuanfens are drawn to each other. Our light ties us together, right?”
Nora’s head bobbed curtly, and she shifted to the side for me to go first. We ran to the front door.
I hovered my hand over the knob, and Nora waited patiently behind me as if understanding I needed a minute to prepare for the journey ahead.
Every time I stepped outside this house, I walked into more uncertainty. I still had a lot of questions about Lyra and myself, but I now had a purpose—stealing the memcap from Larc and extracting the Original Memory. With the formula stored inside of me, more people I loved would be hurt, and Cole and I would never have a chance at happiness. I didn’t want to carry that burden any longer.
I owed Cole everything. He’d given me a place to belong and told me the truth. If he hadn’t sought me out, I’d still be an outcast, wondering why I had these abilities, and I wouldn’t have two Inflexaens ready to fight with me. I glanced over my shoulder at Nora.
I’d still be alone.
Cole risked his life to save mine, and I’d do anything for him. I had hope that my father’s research would restore his memories, and we’d have our happy ending—living a love-filled life and dying on the same day.
No one would steal that from us.
For the first time, I had clarity. I smiled and opened the door.
The End
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