Always and Forever

by Rebeca Aguila

  “No, he didn’t shoot me,” he whispered into her ear. “He shot a hologram of me.”

  “Huh?” she asked, confused.

  “Oh yeah, right. I forgot to tell you. We can make holograms of ourselves from recent pictures that we’ve taken.”

  “Lucky.” she answered, looking down.

  “Hey. What’s wrong?” Spencer looked at Rebeca and stroked her cheek with his thumb. She ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Spencer asked Hannah.

  “I’ll go talk to her.” Hannah super speeded to her sister. “Rebeca?” she whispered. The door was open and Rebeca was crying on her bed. “Can we talk?”

  “Hannah, just go away. I just want Spencer, OK?” Rebeca said, tears raining down her cheeks.

  “OK.” Hannah went down and told Spencer that Rebeca wanted to see him.

  “Rebeca?” Spencer asked.

  She looked up to look at Spencer. “Yeah. What is it?”

  “Hannah said you wanted to see me.”

  “Um, yeah. I-I just wanted you to keep me company. Well, that is if you don’t want to.”

  “OK. Sure thing, babe.” He went to her and wrapped his arms around her. “So?” he asked her. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Um, us. If that’s what you want.”

  “Well, sure. What about us?”

  “Look. I love you. A lot. But--”

  “What? Are you breaking up with me?”

  “No. Nothing like that. But I can’t be with you anymore. I just don’t want Jacob to find me, OK? It’ll be temporary. Just for a while.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “I don’t him to find me.”

  “But you’re safe with me.” he argued.

  She kissed him on his lips and whispered, “Please? I know what I’m doing.”

  “OK.” he answered, annoyed with himself for arguing with her.

  “Thanks. I-I guess I’m just scared that he’s going to find me.”

  He kissed her neck and wrapped his arms tighter around her waist. “That’s why I said that you’re safe with me, OK?”

  “OK, but do you really think that you can go through with it?”

  “Of course. Edward, Hannah and I are all bionic.”

  “Yeah. I know. I wish I was bionic. If I was bionic, we’d be unstoppable.”

  “Well, yeah. But we’d have to do a few adjustments.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Hold that thought, sweetie.” Spencer went to Hannah and Edward and told them everything. Rebeca was called by her sister.

  “Well, that’s easy,” she said to Edward. She looked toward Rebeca. “Hey, Rebeca, so when we talk about bionics, we typically talk about hardware that’s added to the human body to make it stronger or more capable. By taking living human cells from the body and adding them to external devices, scientists think they can make big improvements in medical research. We’re still talking about the merging of humans and hardware, but that merging is taking place on gadgets in the lab?”

  “Yeah. And one particularly exciting example of this is called organ-on-a-chip technology. An organ on a chip is an attempt to mimic the essential functions of a human organ, like the heart or the lungs, on a chip of silicone rubber that’s smaller than your thumb.” Spencer explained to Rebeca.

  “So?” Rebeca asked. She wanted more.

  “Technically, it’s like taking a biology textbook diagram and bringing it to life. Creating life on a chip.” Hannah explained to her sister.

  “Nice. So how can I become bionic?”

  “Let’s go to the house and down to the lab,” Spencer said to Rebeca.

  “OK,” Rebeca replied.

  “Wait, are you sure you want to do this?” Hannah asked her sister.

  “Yes. If that means that Jacob dies, then yes.”

  “OK.” Hannah seemed doubtful. She had torn down her cheeks.

  Edward looked at her and came where she was, Spencer and Rebeca ahead of them. “Hey, what’s wrong? I thought that you wanted your sister to become bionic.”

  “Um, yeah. But that means that I’m going to lose her forever.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What do you mean? I mean, we became bionic and the government never took us away.”

  “I know, but it’s different this time.” She sighed deeply and started crying softly into Edward’s shoulder.

  “Hey, it’ll be OK. Trust me. Can you do that?”

  She sniffed back tears and wiped her eyes with a napkin. “Um, yeah. I guess I can.”

  “Besides, what’s so different about it?”

  “When I became bionic, my parents hid the lab. But when the Feds found it, they found my capsule and everything in it. They took my parents away and I had to run away so they wouldn’t find me and do experiments on me.”

  “So? What does this have to do with your sister?”

  “A few days later, when Rebeca was born, I told Rebeca that it was a laboratory for bionic people and when she saw that she wasn’t bionic, she went crazy. But when we turned 17, I decided, ‘What the heck?’ but then, I remembered what happened to my parents. They’re dead, Edward. I don’t want my sister dead too. She’s the only family I have left.”

  Edward hugged Hannah and whispered in her ear, “I won’t let that happen, OK? I love you and your sister.”

  She wiped her eyes with Edwards’s shirt. “OK,” she answered, reluctantly. Edward kissed her lips and, with that, they went to her house. “Rebeca?” she called. They heard a clatter and gunshot.

  They ran toward the lab, and they found Rebeca and Spencer dead. Who did this? Edward asked. “I’ll be right back, hon. OK?”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To find out who did this.”

  “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

  “Well, then, if you’re so concerned about me, then come.”

  “OK. I’ll stay, then if you don’t want to be with me.”

  “OK. OK, babe. Come on. Come with me.” He held out his hand but she didn’t take it. She didn’t look at him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “Um, nothing’s wrong.” She silently started crying and ran out of the lab. Edward ran after her, scared of losing her. He soon caught up with her.

  “Hey, hey, hey. What’s wrong?” He calmed her down by making her look into his soulful brown eyes. She didn’t look for a long time.

  “My sister’s and her boyfriend are dead. You said that wouldn’t happen.”

  “OK. OK. But--”

  “Stop it, Edward. OK? I have to go.” Hannah then ran to her thinking spot. Why did I ever get involved with Edward? Rebeca was right. She’s always right about everything.

  “Hannah? Are you up there?” someone asked. It sounded like Rebeca.

  It can’t be Rebeca. Hannah thought. She’s dead.

  “Hannah?” they asked again. Someone sat next to her. “Hannah, it’s me. Your sister.”

  “Rebeca?” she asked. Her eyes started watering. She looked to her left and saw her sister.

  “Yes, it’s me.” she chuckled. “I’m not dead.”

  “I tried telling her that,” Edward answered.

  “I told you I had it under control.” she replied toward Spencer.

  “That’s right.” Spencer came next to Rebeca.

  “But how? You guys were dead.”

  “Turns out that you don’t need bionics to become a hero. I had a bullet proof vest on under my shirt.”

  “But there was blood all over you.” Rebeca had a packet of fake blood in her hand.

  “Fake blood,” Spencer said.

  “And guess the best part,” Edward whispered into Hannah’s ear. “We caught him.”

  “You caught Jacob?” Hannah asked.

  “I thought you couldn’t do it. But you did it.” Spencer whispered into Rebeca’s ear.

  “I know. I can read the future, you know.”

  Spencer smiled a
crooked smile, leaving her breathless. “I love you,” he said to her.

  “Me too.”

  “Hey, wait,” Hannah said, breaking the silence in her head. “Then, if Jacob’s going to jail, then where’s Lilly?”

  “She’s with Catalina and Robert,” Edward answered.

  “What about Katherine and Alex?” Rebeca asked. “I haven’t seen them for a few weeks.”

  “Right here,” Katherine answered. She was standing in front of her, along with Alex and Hadassah.

  “Wait, I thought she was dead,” Hannah said to Katherine, looking at her.

  “No, he didn’t kill her. He wouldn’t kill his daughter at all.”

  “Then, why did Rebeca say that he killed his daughter to get to her?” she asked.

  “I really don’t know.” She looked at Rebeca to see if she had the answers.

  “I-I can’t answer that.” She ran toward to her room, at Hannah’s house in the forest.

  They followed behind her. “Rebeca!!” Spencer called. She didn’t stop. She kept going until she fell and scraped her leg. She yelled in pain and hit her head on a tree stump.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A few days later . . .

  “Rebeca? Wake up, honey. It’s me, Spencer.” Struggling to open her eyes, she tried to find the voice. Where am I? What am I doing here?

  “Hi. Are you OK?” he asked. He seemed different. What happened to you?

  “I-I think so. What happened to me?” she asked, her eyes open.

  “You had a concussion and scraped your leg. The doctors had to amputate your leg, so congratulations babe. You’re bionic now.”

  “I’m bionic?” she asked, surprised. “Wow.”

  He took her face into his rough and warm hands. “Yes, honey,” he whispered. “You are.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, Rebeca. I love you so much.” He kissed her with all the love that he had for her.

  “So? Where are Edward and Hannah?”

  “They’re on their way now. I just got off the phone with Edward.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So? What are you thinking about?”

  “You.” She groaned with pain. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing. Nothing,” she said.

  He kissed her with nothing else left to say. He whispered to her ear, “I love you so much, Becca.”

  “I love you, too, Spence.”

  “Will you do something for me then?” he asked.

  “Anything.”

  He breathed deeply. “Will you marry me?”

  She smiled. “Yes,” she whispered. They kissed.

  “I love you.” he said.

  “I know. I love you, too.”

  The door opened and in popped Hannah and Edward. “Hey, guys,” Edward said.

  “Hey,” Rebeca replied. “Guess what?”

  “What is it?” Hannah asked.

  “I just asked Rebeca to marry me.” Spencer happily answered.

  “But, I want to get married at 22. Not now. I’m too young.”

  “OK, babe. Whatever you want.” Spencer said. He kissed her cheek and smiled at her.

  “So? Why’d you get engaged so early?” Edward asked.

  “You love each other and, now that Jacob is taken care of, I think you can get married,” Hannah answered.

  “Well, yeah. But I really want to get married in my early 20’s. If we get married now, we’re could have problems. I don’t want that. Do you?” she asked Spencer.

  “No. So I’ll wait. I love you too much to not wait.”

  “I love you,” she said. She kissed him. “See, now that’s my macho man talking.”

  Hannah and Edward smiled and said, “Well, we should go. Hannah has to go pick up Lilly and Hadassah and I have to go pick up Katherine and Alex and their daughters. They’re so adorable. They really want to see you.”

  “OK. Sure.” Rebeca said. “See you guys later.”

  “Sure thing, sis,” Hannah replied.

  “See you guys in a few,” Spencer said.

  “Well, actually, it’s getting late. We’ll probably see you tomorrow first thing in the morning.” Edward replied.

  “OK. Sure thing. Bye.”

  “Bye.” Hannah and Edward, then, left, closing the door silently behind them.

  Spencer looked toward Rebeca. “Do you love me?” he asked.

  Rebeca kissed him, giving him an answer. “Yes, I do.”

  “Will you love me forever?”

  “Yes, well, until I die.”

  “Bionic people live forever, honey. We don’t die.”

  “Well, that’s amazing. But--” Her sentence trailed off by thinking about Robert and Catalina.

  “What is it?”

  “What about Robert and Catalina? They’re my friends. Catalina is Alex’s sister.”

  “Well, I don’t know about them. Isn’t Catalina a werewolf?”

  “Yeah, but what about Robert?”

  “What about him?”

  She looked away, not looking at him. “I-I can’t answer that.”

  “Wait; don’t tell me that you like him, too. Do you?”

  “No, I-I don’t. He’s just a good friend. Why did you think that I like him?”

  “No reason. It’s just that I’m jealous, baby, OK?”

  “I noticed.”

  “I just don’t want to lose you.”

  “Me either. I love you.”’

  “I love you, too.” He kissed her lips.

  They stared at each other for a long time and Rebeca smiled at him with a huge smile on her face. “So? What are you thinking about?”

  He took her face in his hands, bringing himself closer to her. “You,” he answered, kissing her forehead. “Te amo,” he said in Spanish.

  “I didn’t know that you spoke Spanish.”

  “I don’t, it’s a special ability to speak every language in the world.”

  “Do I have any abilities?”

  “Let’s find out,” he whispered into her ear. “Hey, guys. Come on out,” he called.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Out came Lilly, her daughter, Katherine, and Alex and their daughters. “Hey, Becca.”

  “Hey guys, how are you?”

  “We’re good. Look who’s here.”

  “Who?” Hadassah came toward Rebeca and gave her a hug.

  “Hi, do you recognize me?” Hadassah asked.

  “No.” Suddenly, a flashback came to her. Lilly was holding the baby and running away from Jacob, giving Catalina the baby. She asked for Catalina to take care of her while she was running for her life. She came back to the present and shook her head, getting rid of the flashback, refreshing her memory.

  “Rebeca? Now do you remember?” Spencer asked, standing next to her bed and holding her hand.

  She looked at Hadassah. “Yeah, you’re Hadassah, Lilly’s daughter,” she said.

  “Now you know you’re new ability. It’s looking into the past with vivid images and voices. Congratulations honey. You have flashback ability. A lot of bionic people and vampires don’t have that ability.”

  “Really? I thought Katherine had that ability.” Rebeca said, surprised.

  “No, I have the ability to look into the future.” she corrected.

  “Wow,” Rebeca replied, astonished.

  “I have the ability to read minds,” Alex answered.

  “And I have the ability to be in two places at once.”

  “I have the ability to super speed,” Hadassah said in a high voice, scared for some reason. She cuddled near her mother, putting her arms around Lilly.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” Lilly asked her daughter.

  “I’m sensing something. I wish he wouldn’t be here.”

  “Is it Jacob?” Katherine asked. She put her arms around Alex and around her daughters. “Hey, Becky. These are my daughters, Jasmine, and Rachel.”

  “Aww, how old are they?”
<
br />   “I’m 7 and she’s the same age. We’re twins.” Rachel said.

  “Aww, that’s sweet.”

  “Go over and give her a hug,” Katherine whispered in her ear.

  “OK.” Taking her sister’s hand, they went to Rebeca and gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her.

  “Thanks, girls,” Rebeca whispered.

  “Shh . . . he’s coming.”

  * * * *

  “Oh no,” Hannah said, scared. She grabbed ahold of Edward and he held her protectively, like a baby.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, holding her tighter, protecting her.

  “It’s Jacob. He escaped from jail and he’s on his way to take Rebeca away.”

  “Does she know?”

  “I don’t know. Let me call her.” She called Rebeca by her GPS placement on her neck, to be able to find.

  “Hey, sis,” Rebeca said. “Um, where are you?”

  “I’m on my way with Edward.”

  “OK. Hurry.” her sister exasperated. She was breathing hard like her lungs were about to explode.

  Hannah and Edward sped toward the hospital. “Hey, we’re here.” Edward exasperated. The clique was tied up and Rebeca was nowhere to be found.

  “Where is she?” Hannah asked. “Where’s my sister?”

  “She was here, but Jacob took her before we had the chance to protect her.”

  “Where is she now?” Lilly asked. The girls woke up, without knowing anything.

  “What happened?” Hadassah asked her mother. Lilly couldn’t tell her. She couldn’t help but think about hurting herself and the rest of the family if she told her.

  “You’re father happened.” her aunt Katherine replied. She looked at Hannah and Edward. “We don’t have much time. I-I’ll stay with the girls while you guys try and find him, OK?”

  “I’m not going to him again. He’s an arrogant little asshole. No way.”

  “Fine. I’ll go and you can stay. Just take care of my girls.”

  “Don’t worry. I will take care of them, along with Hadassah.”

  “Wait,” Hadassah said, shyly. “What if I use that technique that Aunt Katherine showed me? You know, the one where I use the puppy dog eyes to get what I want? I can turn into a dog if you want me to.”

  “Oh yeah.” her mother said. “I didn’t think of that one.”