by Dee King
Our unborn children. Our babies. Our future… was my life blood.
Chapter Twenty-Two (Part Two)
All the secrets for had been revealed…
The sound of gasps filled the room, with everyone stepping closer to me, staring down at the golden specks of dust that outlined my unborn children. I didn’t look at anyone except for Sebastian whose eyes looked like the size of saucers. In one way, this would have been like an ultrasound on earth and finding out that you’re carrying twins was probably shocking for all of them. Just not me, I could feel them every day. They gave me their strength as I gave them mine. Sebastian bending over to get a closer look, his eyes meeting mine.
“Twins? A boy and a girl?” Sebastian doesn’t ask me, he asks Aphrodite.
“Yes. That’s the beauty we see here today. It won’t be long now…” She says to him, like I’m not even in the room.
“What do you mean, it won’t be long now?” Confused, I ask her.
“Twins aren’t common here and they usually come faster than most of our children born on the Mount. But this has never happened before my dear child, you see, you are carrying all our futures. These children will be the life blood for us all. Apollo has already told us of our future and this is them. They will soon be ready to meet the world.” She sounds like a nurse who is trying to console you before you go under the knife.
“Oh no. No. No way. That’s not happening...” I beg with Sebastian, grabbing for his hand.
“Sebastian, tell her. It’s not time, it’s too early. We aren’t ready. It’s only been hours since we defeated Zeus. No. This isn’t right. Tell her.” Begging him to understand.
“Love, it hasn’t been hours, it’s been weeks. You have been unconscious for weeks. I didn’t know if you were going to come back to me.” His eyes begin to gloss over.
“Weeks? No, that’s not possible. It’s been just hours.” Still pleading with him.
“I promise I wouldn’t lie to you. You forget how time works here on the Mount. What seems merely hours to you, is actually weeks or years on Earth.” He’s trying to tell me the truth, but I was in denial.
“I’m not ready. WE aren’t ready. I don’t know how to take care of them. We don’t even have beds for them, we don’t have a home. Oh my gods…” There was no hiding back my fears any longer as I could feel a single tear stream down my cheek.
“Leave us.” Sebastian turning away from me, trying to shove everyone out of the room.
That’s when I see him. Christian. My mortal brother. He peeks behind Sebastian, winking at me. How was he here? Had I died and didn’t know, and this was what the afterlife was like on the Island? A dream state? My fears begin to come full circle, as I watch everyone leave the room. Alex was the last one to leave, placing an arm on Sebastian’s shoulder telling him he would be right outside the door if he needed him. What was going on? I was living in some alternate universe. That’s the only real explanation I could come up with, especially since I had never seen this room before.
There were white linens draped all around the canopy bed, blocking my view from my surroundings. Searching myself, I see I’m dressed in an all-white pure lace dress, my hair falling way past my shoulders. Taking a hold of my hair in my hand, staring at it like I had never seen hair before, it was the blondest and longest with specks of gold shimmering in my hand; I had ever seen my hair. Yes, this was a dream and any minute now I would wake to my father standing beside me. That was the only logical answer for all of this. Laying my head back down, trying to fall fast asleep again, when the linens pull back and he stood there. Face to face with me.
“How long have you known?” His voice stern with just enough anger that this probably wasn’t me dreaming.
“What?” I ask Sebastian.
“How long have you known that you were carrying twins? You told me you didn’t know for sure if there were two babies, but you did know; and how many other secrets do you have?” He won’t get closer to me as I stretch out my hand.
“I never really knew, Sebastian, I could just feel them, I guess. I don’t have any more secrets. Seriously, how could I hide this?” I point at my overly large stomach.
“I don’t know whether to be excited or mad at you.” He folds his arms over his chest.
“Okay…” I push back from trying to reach out for his hand, pulling myself upright.
“You should have never been involved in any of this, you were right. I would have never let you fight. What if you had died and not Zeus, what if you had hurt our children? You were careless. You didn’t think of anyone else but you. How could you hurt me like this?” His voice getting deeper and louder.
“I hurt you? Really? I hurt you? Please. All this has ever been was a pre-arranged marriage to you. So, don’t act like you are holier than thou art because you didn’t truly care, if you got what you wanted, it didn’t matter. Yes, I kept this from you, and yes, I yearn to find place among all of you. No longer the outcast, but you don’t make that easy either. Just get out. I can do this on my own!” Now, filled with anger I yell at him as I cry.
“No.”
“Yes! Get out!” I scream louder through the tears.
“You win…” He says quietly, throwing his hands above his head, leaving the side of the bed, as I lay my body down, crying hard.
This wasn’t my dream; it was my nightmare… It was always a nightmare that came back to wake me from my life. Dreaming of wonderful things, was obviously, all that they were. Dreams. Because reality wasn’t near as beautiful as I hoped it would be.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Wishing you could turn back time…
This time I’m unsure of how long I’ve been asleep. The last time it was weeks and I thought it was hours at most, but this time my fears kept waking me. Once the words had left my mouth, I had already regretted what I had said. Often speaking before I truly thought it out; was one of my worst attributes. Why did I tell Sebastian that? Why did I push everyone I love away from me? My tears begin to flow along my face as I held my stomach. Maybe it was for fear of what my future held? Maybe it was because my words could cut like a knife? Or maybe it was because I felt alone in the time I didn’t want to be. All I remember was always fighting my own battles. Fighting for whatever to be the best outcome for me. Selfish was a word that comes to my mind. Had I been selfish like he thought this whole time? I think my anger and hurt let that be my driving force for so long now, that I can’t see the beauty through the pain. There was beauty here, there was love somewhere in this cold heart that I had created. A knock at the door startled me from crying, wiping my eyes as fast as I can, announcing they could come in. Hoping that it would be Sebastian, and that I could apologize for the awful things I had said. Even if some of the truth of what I felt was out, it wasn’t right. Not every fear, not every word should be said aloud. I was learning this a very hard way.
“Hi…” Christian’s voice was like a sweet harmony to my ears.
Sitting up, or trying to, he comes to sit by my bedside.
“Hi…” Was the one word I could get out?
“So, twins huh? You never could do anything simple.” He smiles at me, while taking my hand in his.
Chris always knew how to bring a smile to my face. With many questions on how was he even here, I was unsure of what to say. A part of me felt like it had been years since we had seen each other. He was after all a mortal, and I was nothing of the sort. How was all this ever going to make sense to him, when I barely understood myself. His face looked as if he had aged quite a bit, but not enough for him to be old. Staring at him, searching his beautiful eyes for the answers I seek. Chris had never let me down, not once, and hopefully this time I wouldn’t let him down.
“Not to be rude, but… How are you even here?” I ask, grasping his fingers and squeezing.
“You won’t find this near as weird as I do…” He begins to laugh.
“What? What’s so weird?” I start laughing as he does.
&nb
sp; “I died.” He is really laughing now.
“What?” I keep laughing, but his words sting.
“Yep, I had a car accident, guess I died, and ended up here.” He points to the room.
“What? Wait? You died? No. No, that’s not true. Did Sebastian tell you to tease me? You mean, he just brought you here again, right?”
“No. I mean, I died. I’m here in this… um… whatever you want to call this place, some sort of heaven? Oh, sorry, the Mount. Nope, I’m dead. Well, on Earth that is.”
“Stop this. Stop it. Stop saying that. It’s not funny.” Moving my hand away, pulling myself further up the abundant number of pillows behind me, unsure of it I was in my dream state again or nightmare I was truly living.
“Selene, calm down. I was told you weren’t to have any stress or excitement.” He stands beside me, trying to pull the blanket that had been down at my feet over my body.
“Stop this! Stop doing that! Who sent you here? Why are you doing this to me?” My fears were being voiced loudly, as I push the blanket away from trying to gather myself to stand to my feet.
A sudden noise catches me off guard, and almost slipping off the bed, Zack, has me in his arms helping me stand to my feet. Looking at him as if he were a stranger, I felt I was losing my mind. Chris was standing across from me, pleading with me to stay calm as Zack was trying to put me back in the bed. Before I knew what was happening, Sebastian and Alex were in the room, rushing Chris out. Just standing there, watching this happen, was too much. Falling to my knees, crying out for someone to help me, I could no longer bare all this alone. Pushing Zack back from me, I begin to pull myself up, escaping out of the room, trying to find where they were taking him, when I run into something that felt like stone. My father.
“Move!” I yell at him, as he tries to hold me in his arms.
His grip around my body was too tight for me to fight, I had become weak lying in that blasted bed for gods knows how long? Beginning to sob, as I try to push myself away and around from him, trying to see if this was real. Was Christian, my Chris, my brother from the mortal world here? If he was, he wasn’t lying. He would have had to die on earth for him to be here. That can’t be true? He was too young. We were too young. Chloe… Chloe… she would have been left all alone. Never knowing where I had gone, never seeing either or any of us again? My heart was breaking as my father held me tightly in his arms as I sobbed onto his chest. It was the first time my father had ever held me, and it was the first time I needed him to.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Where the road will lead no one knows…
The sobbing continued for longer than it should, but my mind was all over the place. Lost and confused on what was real and what wasn’t was making me insane. For so long now all I had thought of was my revenge for the pain I had felt, but it was subsiding. I was lost. No longer wanting to be the forgotten child, there was something inside of me that wanted to let all the pain go. It was that thought that I held my father tighter as I cried on his chest. There was something changing inside of my heart…
“Let me take her back to her room.” Hera tells my father, as she lays her hand on my shoulder.
“No. Not you, and I don’t want to go back to whatever that room was. I want to go home.”
Releasing my grip on my father, staring at Hera.
“This is your home now, my dear.”
“No. This is your home. Not mine, and get your damn hands off me.” Shaking my head back and forth, scared she was right.
“Selene, you may not like how you got here, but this is now your home. Earth is just a place, it’s not home.”
“It’s not your home, but it’s mine!” I yell at her.
“You need to calm down. Please. Think of the babies.” She points down at my ever-growing stomach.
Her even mentioning my unborn children was enough for me to be angry again. There was no way they were going to raise my children or be a part of their lives. Look at the mess they had made of all of us. She was crazy if she thought she was going to get her hands on my children. Turning around from her, seeing that there was a large staircase just to the side of me, I begin running to the stairs. Taking two steps at a time, down the stairs, I wanted out of here. Away from her. Away from whatever this was. Not knowing where to go, turning the staircase, seeing an oversized door, I run to it, opening the door as fast as I could. Stepping out into a yard filled with the greenest grass that my eyes had ever seen; I stop. This didn’t look familiar to me at all. Which way did I go? Where the hell was I? Was I trapped in alternate universe? Was I still dreaming? Question after question kept racing through my mind. Until I saw him. He was still the most beautiful god I had ever seen. He stood in front of me, not smiling, not frowning, just standing there. He was… He was my heart.
“Hey…”
“Hey…” My heart almost skips a beat as he speaks to me.
“Where are you going?” He begins to approach me.
“I don’t know? Just… not here?” Turning around, I now see the mansion I had been in.
“What’s happening to me?” I ask Sebastian.
“What do you mean?”
“Am I dreaming?” Asking him, as he now moves to stand in front of me.
“You dream of me?” His half-corked smile was hard to resist.
“Always.” Sebastian’s smile was contagious.
“You’re beautiful in every way, have I told you that lately?” He moves even closer to me as my breath becomes faster.
“Not lately.” Moving my eyes down from looking at his.
“You are. I would do this again and again, if it meant that I could be with you.”
“Me too.” Are the words that slip out of my mouth as he places his hands around me.
“I don’t know the future, Selene, but this… This is real. I know you’re mad at the world, but I promise, I’d chose you a thousand times, in a thousand lifetimes, I would choose you.” Holding me tighter, raising my head to peer into his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, I’m just so lost right now...” I burst into tears, as I hold him a little tighter than I should.
We stand like this for a while, as the tears run down my face, if I was dreaming, I didn’t want to wake up. I had never meant to hurt Sebastian, and my words had been harsh. Unsure of why our futures had been tied together, it didn’t matter anymore to me. He was my love as I was his. We had to make choices in our life that no one should have ever had to, but we did it. We did it together. The mistakes I had made along the way made me sad, somehow, he had been right. I had been selfish. I had held too many secrets inside like our parents had done, and yet, he still stood here, with me, as one. Loosening my grip on his body, stepping back from him slowly, taking in my surroundings, we had grown a crowd. Others were standing there watching us, silently. If this was a dream it was becoming more real as the minutes went on. I peek up at Sebastian, pointing with my eyes and head to look around us. We were no longer alone. He barely loosens his grip he has on me, searching around us. All eyes were on us, in this moment we had just shared, everyone had seen. Sebastian, leans his head down, brushing his lips to mine, pushing my hair back from my face with his hands. The crowd begins to clap, and he turns me around, facing this mansion I had been trying to run away from. Picking me up, holding me in his arms, the crowd begins cheering. He carries me all the way to the door. It opens slowly, as he crosses over the threshold, smiling down at me. This was done for me, not for the others. This wasn’t a show that they had obviously been waiting for, this was for the two of us. A sense of mortality in a form. He had forgiven me, as I had forgiven him, and he was giving me a mortal wedding blessing. Sebastian would never let me down… We may have been young, but our love was going to be eternal.
He was my destiny…
Chapter Twenty- Five
Never underestimate true love.
Sebastian carries me all the way up the stairs as everyone in the house keeps staring at us, stepping out of the way.
There wasn’t a care in my mind who saw or what they thought. We had been through hell and came out together. We find ourselves back in the room I had just left from, when another sharp pain flow through my body. Screaming out in pain, placing my hands on my side, Sebastian could feel it too. Nearly dropping me on the bed, his face turns white. The pain had been almost too much for him. He keeps standing, trying to lay my body down gently on the oversized bed.
“My gods!” He finally says as I gather myself, trying to keep holding my side as if it would help the pain subside.
“Is it like that every time?” He asks me almost out of breath.
“Yes, sometimes worse.” Pulling myself up, trying to get comfortable.
“I knew they would be strong, but that’s… That’s horrible. Felt like I was struck with a lightning bolt. No pun intended.” He begins to laugh at himself, as he held his stomach from the pain that had shot through me.
We both laugh with one another, but it quickly disappeared as the pain came back, sharper and harder this time. Trying not to scream again, holding my side as tightly as I could, he places a hand on where the pain was coming from.
“Do you know if they are boys or girls?” He smiles down at me.
“I don’t … I wasn’t even sure it was twins until I could feel what felt like butterflies jumping around in here.” Pointing down at my stomach.
“How long have we been here?” I finally ask him.
“What do you mean?” His blue eyes finding mine.
“How long have we been on the Mount; in this home, and … is Christian, I mean, Chris, really here?” My voice shakes as I ask him about Chris.
“Do you want the truth?” He takes a seat beside me.
“No, lie to me.” I laugh at him while rolling my eyes.
“Okay, well… since we were here before, then back to Earth, then you came back and set the fire, then back down to earth, then back for the battle… it’s been… a while.”