Empyreal: Awaken - Book One

by Christal M. Mosley

  Coralie shifted her view to Court, who was now crawling back onto his bike and cranking the engine. He looked up to the window where she was standing. Coralie froze. He smiled, and then put his helmet on. She could tell the smile was still there. She smiled too, but quickly slid away from the window when she heard her parents enter the front door.

  “Coralie, honey?” the both of her parents called out.

  “In here ... in the kitchen...” she said, quickly grabbing a glass from the middle shelf of the cabinet, and starting to fill it with water from the filter tap.

  “Coralie...” they both started.

  She turned to face her parents with a smile, “Yes?” But her smile started to fade as she looked at the faces of both her parents. “Something's wrong ... isn't there?”

  Katelyn and Cal stood close to one another and were eyeing each other as if to question who would go first.

  Katelyn broke the silent stares. “Honey, your father and I would like to talk to you...would you like to have a seat...”

  “Sure,” she said as she sat her glass of water down on the countertop. She walked over to the kitchen bar and slowly slid onto one of the barstools. “What's going on? Is everything okay?”

  “Well, honey, we wanted to talk about tonight...”

  “What about it?”

  “Well, besides the blackout at the benefit,” Katelyn started, “... did anything out of the ordinary happen tonight?”

  “Out of the ordinary like how?”

  “Like, I don’t know, did you maybe ... hear anything or see anything different ... did you feel like anything was different? Or even –”

  Cal abruptly interrupted. “Did Court happen to say anything to you...”

  Coralie, caught by surprise, answered questioning, “About what?”

  “About anything ... what did you guys talk about?”

  “Dad ... We just talked...” Coralie let a smile escape her lips. Not noticing that her parents noticed. “... He's nice...” Coralie was suddenly lost in remembering every detail of his most perfect face.

  “So, nothing ... no particular topic of interest...” Cal probed.

  “Dad,” Coralie shrugged her Dad's words off. “But, Mom, to answer your question, ... yeah, I felt like something was off tonight...”

  “Off?”

  “Yeah … so I guess my own questioning would be about the blackout itself. What happened?”

  Her parents looked to each other as if looking for an answer from the other.

  “Forget it. Don't worry about it. It was still a great night, guys. Great teamwork. I would love to stay up and chat but...” she paused for a yawn, “I am beat ... I have had quite an...” she paused remembering Court’s word usage, “... eventful night...” she said, with smiling lips.

  When she heard no rebuttal from her parents, she pushed her stool away from the bar, resting her bare feet on the cold kitchen floor. She leaned over to her mother, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then walked over to her dad, who was standing at the sink. She reached up, doing the same, and then walked to the door leading out of the kitchen.

  “Coralie...” Cal started, causing Coralie to turn to face them again. “You forgot your glass of water...”

  “Oh, right ... thanks, Dad...” she said as she took the glass and walked out of the door. “Next time, go a little easier on the lighting...” she called out, letting out a quirky giggle on her way up the staircase.

  The two sat in silence for a few moments until Katelyn spoke aloud. “I froze ... I'm sorry...” Katelyn said, turning to her husband.

  “Me, too, honey...” he answered, reassuring.

  “We can't keep doing this to her, Cal ... her memories ... They are hers, not ours...”

  “I know, honey ... we will talk to her, I promise...” Cal vowed.

  “When, Cal ... how many times ... how many close calls ... what will it take to convince you –?”

  “That she needs to know? After tonight, I'm convinced. I had every intention of telling her everything tonight ... but I froze, I panicked...”

  “This is no time to panic ... we did this, we have kept this from her, and now ... now, it's time to come clean...” Katelyn finished, with a tear rising up in her eye.

  * * * * *

  Court drove through the dark night on his motorcycle. The wind on his face was refreshing, cool.

  He smiled as he thought of Coralie's smile. The way the corners of her mouth turned up at even the slightest gesture of his words. How her eyes lit up when she spoke to him.

  He adored how naïve she was in her nature. She had been under continuous protection from those around her, some she didn't even know of. She had been watched over for all of these years and has never known why. She didn't have the slightest inclination of her purpose or importance.

  And furthermore, she had no idea that he would lay down his own life for hers ... or how close that time to come may be ...

  Chapter 9

  Coralie woke to the beam of sunlight that was peering into her room through her window. She stretched and smiled as memories started to fill her mind. She thought of Court ... his face, his laugh, his voice, and the way he held her hand. She felt so safe with him. Just the thought of him made her smile.

  She started to try and replay the events from the previous night at the Benefit. She remembered her parents and their awkward introduction of Court, the terrace balcony conversation with Court and ... and ... nothing ... but home.

  Wasn't there something else?

  She felt like something was missing.

  Was there nothing between the terrace and her arrival at home?

  Confused, she rose from her bed and jogged down the stairs, throwing her hair up in a hair-tie.

  “Good Morning, Parental units...” she said, walking into the kitchen.

  Both Cal and Katelyn were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. “Breakfast?” Cal asked, cheering up his coffee cup.

  “Not that kind of breakfast ... I'm more of a cereal-type gal, with a shot of chocolate milk. You know I like the hard stuff...” Coralie humorously explained, as serious as she could without smirking, to her parents.

  Cal rose from his chair and walked across the kitchen. “You have always liked to live life on the edge, kiddo...” Cal said, jokingly, handing her a box of cereal from the top shelf of the pantry.

  She poured her breakfast into a bowl and sat down at the table. As she took her first bite, she had the odd feeling that she was being stared at. She looked up from her bowl of cereal. And she was. “Umm, ... am I missing something?” she paused for only a moment, only to proceed overdramatically, “Do I have something on my face?” pausing again to act shocked, she continued, “That's it, isn't it? I'm missing my face ... Man, I knew I forgot something this morning...”

  She began to laugh, but a word began to ring through her mind like sounding chimes. Forgot ... She took in a sharp breath as she shook off the word that lingered within her mind.

  Her parents looked at each other and then at Coralie, who was allowing herself to snicker. “Ease up, guys! It's a beautiful day!” She said, taking another bite of cereal.

  Katelyn and Cal looked at each other. Cal nodded. “Coralie, honey, can we talk?”

  Slurping down the last of her milk from the now empty bowl, Coralie looked up at her parents and said, “Sure, but can we do it after Church...nobody likes a Late Lizzy!”

  “Hey, isn't that my line?” Katelyn asked, watching her daughter walk over to the sink.

  Coralie turned and smiled. “Not today, it isn't...” Then she tossed her empty bowl into the sink and hurried out of the door, leaving her parents standing with curious faces.

  * * * * *

  Coralie walked out of the Church's giant, wooden, double front doors. The building was beautiful in its old architecture - one of the oldest in Thessla, according to her parents. Oddly enough, it seemed to serve the entirety of Thessla.

  As Coralie stepped into the sunlight, s
he felt the rays fall upon her. The sun felt warm against her skin.

  “Coralie!” she heard. She turned to see Court walking up the steps toward her. “Hey ... how are you this morning?”

  “Good...” she said, allowing smile to wash over her face. “And you ...?”

  “Better now...” he said, as he took her hand. Coralie's cheeks blushed with red. “So, what are you doing tonight?”

  “Tonight?” she asked, as her breath caught in her chest.

  “Yes, tonight ... do you have any plans?” He moved in closer to her, awaiting her answer.

  “Umm ... no, I mean, well, actually, kinda ... I have this paper due for Lit, and quite frankly, I haven't even started on it ... why do you ask?”

  “I thought you may want to accompany me to dinner tomorrow night ... just to, umm, talk ... what do you think?”

  “I would love to ... but tonight I … I don’t know...” Coralie began to stumble over her words.

  “Well, how about this ... I will not be the cause for you making the dragon-lady unleash on you for a late assignment...” he said grinning, “So, another time soon, perhaps?”

  “I take it that you know Ms. Sieve pretty well...”

  “So?”

  “Yes, I’d love to have dinner with you sometime...” trying not to sound overly excited, though she was almost overcome with it.

  “Tomorrow night, then?”

  “On a school night?”

  “I like to live life on the edge...”

  “I see … Well, I’m not so sure that I should take on that sort of company. Your devious ways may rub off on me.”

  “Oh, right … I wouldn’t dare want for you to turn to the dark side...” Court smiled at her. “So, I'll pick you up at seven o'clock on Friday ... not a school night...” he said, leaning in, giving her hand a slight squeeze. He paused, moving in close to her, and slowly breathing her in, “... until I see you again...” He gave her a light peck on her cheek, then turned and walked down the steps, and started down the sidewalk.

  She watched him walk away, sighing at the element of his absence. Her hand ached, like his hand had been a part of her, and then ripped from her clutches. She could feel the void where his hand had been in hers. His familiar touch and composition was comforting, yet she wondered from where the familiarity came. She stood there, watching him walk down the sidewalk and longed for his return.

  “You ready, kiddo?” Cal asked, making Coralie jump at the sound of his voice.

  “Yeah, Dad...” she said, continuing to watch Court as he walked down the sidewalk, yearning to follow him.

  Chapter 10

  Coralie sighed. She had been staring at the same blank piece of paper for over two hours. She couldn't concentrate on her rough draft, not now ... with so much running through her mind...

  Her recent and reoccurring dreams, her parents weird reactions to nearly everything these days, and of course, Court ... He seemed to hold most of her thoughts...

  She thought of his tall stature, his muscular shoulders, his most perfect face, his light blue eyes, and light hair – she recalled both glistening earlier in the sunlight ... She sighed deeply, once again.

  Abruptly, she was startled by a sound at her window. She turned to see what could have made it. A dark figure moved outside of her library loft window.

  Her parents had arranged this space, which sat just above her room, into her very own library-slash-office space. They said that it would help her excel in her studies, if she could manage to keep her education and readings aside from her leisure.

  She moved from her desk chair, as she saw the dark figure shift along the rooftop once again.

  Impossible, she thought, I'm on the third floor of the house...

  She started to call out to her parents when, suddenly, she caught a glimpse of something familiar in the shadowed figure. She walked over to the old-fashioned, plantation shutter-style, paned window and pushed it open. “What are you doing here?”

  “Would you believe that I've taken up the sport of roof-jumping...” Court asked, moving closer, across the roof line in front of her window.

  “Nice try...” she said, taking a seat on the window seat.

  “I wanted to see you ... or rather, I needed to see you...”

  “Such a fine line between the two...”

  “Such truth in your words … but, I also wanted ask you something...”

  “Ask me something? You know, you could've just called ... risking your life on a rooftop is highly over-rated...” she said, with a chuckle.

  She noticed something in the way he looked at her...

  Rooftop ... the word trailed silently through her mind. It resonated and hovered in her psyche. The word seemed to trigger a memory of some sort, but she shook it from her consciousness. “So, what? What exactly did you need to ask me?”

  Court stood, staring at Coralie with no words to speak of.

  “Court?”

  “Oh, I'm sorry ... I've lost all musing ability ... I tend to lose myself around you … but you do that to me, Coralie ... all of the time...” Court confessed. “My thoughts are completely consumed with you...”

  Coralie's cheeks blushed a deep shade of red, but she could not contain the smile from brushing across her lips.

  “I know that you said that you can't go out anywhere tonight, but do you think that you may could take a short break and come out here ... with me, on the roof?”

  “Out there ... on my roof? Did I mention my thoughts on rooftop dangers?” she asked, stopping to, again, shake away the thought of what the word rooftop actually meant ... the thought of what significance it might hold.

  “Yeah, I think you mentioned something like that … Come on, it's a beautiful night...” he said, extending his hand.

  “Okay, Rooftop Casanova ... but I still have a paper to write ... so just a short break...” she said, giving in, taking his hand.

  “This will be the shortest break in the history of all breaks ... I promise...” he said, with a smile.

  Coralie stood upright outside of her window and looked around. The vast darkness surrounding them was lit up by millions of twinkling stars above. The moon that hung overhead shone bright across their faces.

  Coralie looked over at Court, he was staring at her with intense eyes, wistfully.

  “Court, can I ask you a question?” Coralie asked, breaching the quietness of the night.

  “Go ahead … Shoot...” he said, encouraging her to continue.

  “What's like in Greece?”

  “Greece, huh? You've never been?”

  “Well, if you look at my passport, it seems that I've been almost everywhere … in fact, it says that I’ve been to Greece seven times. So, yes, I've been … I’ve been with my parents. I used to travel with them a lot.”

  “Sounds pretty great...”

  “Yeah, it does … it sounds great, right...”

  “Well, yeah ... but it’s not, is it?”

  “It would be, if I had any recollection of anything during my stay ... if I had memories to go along with these visits. I don’t know … I guess it’s not the worst thing that could happen. I just wish that I knew –”

  Looking at her with intense eyes, Court spoke up, “What do you mean? Like you know that you've been places, but you don't have memories of any of them ... like no recall of anything...”

  “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up...”

  “So, there’s just nothing?”

  “Well, not exactly nothing ... I mean, I don't have the ability to remember a lot of things ... which is sometimes really scary...”

  “That must be terrible… I mean, you can’t remember anything…”

  “No, it's only certain things, you know, not everything. I have memories. They are all just very cut and dry, black and white...” she paused, assembling her words. “I guess what I'm trying to say is that ... umm, that there are holes...”

  “Holes...”

  “Yeah, holes ... like where s
omething should be...”

  “Like something’s missing...”

  “Exactly… I never used to notice before... but recently, I have...”

  “Cor,” Court slid over closer to her side, sliding his arm around her, “I am so sorry...”

  “It's not like you've caused it or that you would even know anything about it ... and I don't tell these things to a lot of people, so...” she let her voice trail off.

  “Your secrets are safe with me...”

  “Thanks...”

  The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, Court holding Coralie in the safety of his arms.

  “It’s not fair...” Court spoke up, breaking the silence, his voice sounding almost as if it was filling with anger.

  “What?”

  “It's not fair that your life is like a movie reel, you know, with scenes that don't make the cut ... So what? Do they just get to hit the cutting room floor, never to be relived again? It’s not fair that you are unable to remember the colors in your life ... because that's what memories are, they are colorful moments that we can relive over and over and over again ... some are good, and some aren't, but it's from those that we learn from...”

  Coralie shrugged. “I guess … I just wished that I knew why or even what was causing this...”

  “Coralie, I promise you that I will always be here to help you ... anytime that you ever need me, I'm here ... and I will try my hardest to help you get those memories back, okay?”

  Coralie nodded.

  Court, with his arm still around her, he rubbed his hand along Coralie's arm, and then pulled her closer to him. She put her head against his shoulder. Feeling secure where she ordinarily felt lost.

  After a few long, what Coralie would consider, moments - because time didn't seem to matter when she was with Court - of sitting on the rooftop, Court finally spoke, quietly. “I probably should go ... my parents will wonder where I've been ... I left hours ago...”

  “And I still have a paper to write … But Court, I don't want you to go...”