The doctor shined a light in my eyes, and although the light physically hurt – it actually felt good to feel the pain. Those hours I had spent in nothingness made me welcome the pain. The nurse was on the phone while the doctor was checking my eyes and listening to my heart. I couldn’t hear everything she said, but I did hear her say, “That’s right, she is awake. The doctor is examining her now.”
As I tried to listen to the nurse on the phone, the doctor asked me, “Lauren, do you know where you are?” I tried to speak but my windpipe was blocked with the ventilator, so my response sounded like a gag. I shook my head that I did not know where I was.
Wearing a kind expression, the doctor replied, “Don’t try to speak. We’re going to get the tube out. It is going to hurt, but your lungs are functioning on their own. They are weak, so we are going to have to keep an eye on you to make sure they don’t collapse after we remove the equipment.”
I nodded that I understood.
He was right. I can only equate this feeling to having a hot branding iron removed from my esophagus. The pain was excruciating - far worse than anything I had felt in my life. I reverted back briefly to the nothingness feeling I’d had for the last several hours, then was again thankful for the pain.
My breathing was labored, as if my lungs weren’t sure how to fill up. My body was full of strange sensations. I could feel my toes but could not tell if I was moving them. I was unable to sit up in the bed. I couldn’t speak.
The doctor was busy scribbling information on a tablet PC he held in his hand. Without looking up he explained, “Lauren, don’t try to speak. You have been in a coma for an extended period of time. The nurse has contacted your family, so they know you’re awake. We need to run some tests to see if there is any permanent damage. Do you understand?”
I again nodded that I understood, but what did he mean for an extended period of time?
I was poked and prodded. I lost count of the number of nurses and doctors that were in and out. Finally, the nurse that had initially come in when I woke up offered me a drink of water. She adjusted the bed so my head was elevated. The water felt amazing. My mouth was so dry that the feeling of liquid in it was nearly absorbed. I tried to swallow but gagged initially. I took another small sip and was able to swallow. I could feel the coolness of the water all the way down my throat. After several sips of water, I was moved to a gurney for I don’t know how many other tests.
I felt my eyelids getting heavy and my mind began losing the fight to stay awake. My whole body ached with each new movement. As I began to doze off on the gurney, I felt my body being lifted back onto the hospital bed. My eyelids fluttered and the nurse again offered me a sip of water.
In a hoarse voice I was able to whisper, “Where’s Max?”
The nurse looked confused and responded, “I’m sorry, Lauren, I don’t know a Max.”
How could she not know Max? She had to know Max. A flash went through my mind when I saw the picture of Seth and me on the dresser – Max hadn’t been a dream, right? He really existed. He came to me in a dream, but then we met. He saved my life. Max couldn’t have been a figment of my imagination.
She followed quickly with, “But I’ve only been working here for six months.”
Confusion overtook me. I couldn’t formulate a question because her answer was so utterly absurd. She had only been here for six months? How long had I been here? She must have seen the confusion on my face when she responded, “Lauren, you have been in a coma for more than two years.”
A tear escaped my eye, and she grabbed a tissue to catch it. More followed, but I couldn’t ask her anything else. Two years? How was that possible? Where was Max? What happened that night at the campsite? What happened to Max? I closed my eyes and relived those last memories that I had before the nothingness.
As an infinite number of questions spun in my mind, Mom came through the door. She was crying, not sad tears, but her face was soaked, eyeliner and mascara marks streaming down her face. She took me in her arms and held me so tight I was sure I wouldn’t be able to breathe. She was hard to understand through the sobs.
A hoarse whisper came from me, “Dad?” She told me he was on his way. My brother Steve would be here in a few hours. Seth was on his way, too; she had left a message for Rachael but hadn’t been able to talk to her. I was glad she had contacted everyone, but she didn’t say anything about Max.
I couldn’t not know, so I asked, “Max?”
Her expression changed, softened a little. “Lauren, I’m so sorry, but he really blamed himself for this accident. It was tearing him apart to see you this way. We all told him it wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t be comforted. He stayed with you night and day for over a year, and then when there was no improvement, he couldn’t take it anymore. Max joined the Navy. He hasn’t written in a while, but the last letter I got from him said he was in Afghanistan with the Marines serving as some sort of a medical person. He told me he was a Corpsman.”
I was devastated. Afghanistan? How could he have left? As I tried to sit up, my muscles refused to cooperate. A wave of relief intermixed itself with the devastation – Max wasn’t a dream. He was real. I couldn’t think straight. Why would he have left? Was I really in that bad of shape?
The next several hours were a rush of more doctors, more nurses, my family and friends. Seth brought news clippings of my accident. The story alleged I was mauled by a bear, and I was brought down off the mountaintop by helicopter. The news clippings stated I had been in critical condition for three weeks. Seth told me I was in a nursing home now, not a hospital – which explained the pictures and furniture in my room.
Everyone told me about what I had missed the last couple years. My brother, who I rarely talked to, was now married and was a father. Seth and Amanda were living together; they got a house right after she graduated college – she was a reporter at the same news station where she did her internship. Rachael was doing well for herself, and my parents seemed exactly the same. It was still hard to wrap my mind around the idea that I had just missed two and a half years.
My mom was the only one who had kept in contact with Max. She had sent him a text after she got to the nursing home to tell him I was awake, but she hadn’t gotten a response. She told me that wasn’t uncommon, that he was essentially in the middle of nowhere and rarely had his cell phone with him if he was out on a mission.
That first night was full of excitement. Everyone was talking at once, doctors and nurses joining in on filling in my last two and a half years. I was excited to be alive again and anxious for Max to know that I was okay. When it got so late that I could no longer keep my eyes open, I asked Mom to call Max again. She left him a voice mail telling him I was okay.
I had found my destiny. I found him exactly the way he told me I would in that dream. The dream, no matter how many times I had it, never changed much. A dull ache permeated from my chest. I knew a person’s heart doesn’t actually break, but this steady ache was a constant reminder that Max wasn’t here.
I don’t know what happened to me on that camping trip. I have no idea how I lost two and a half years of my life. The only thing I really knew was I needed Max. As the light from the window began to diminish, one-by-one my visitors left. I lay there turning everything over in my mind. I closed my eyes, willing myself to see Max, and his images flooded my mind in vibrant color. For now, this would have to be enough.
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Thanks so much for reading Meeting Destiny! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. There are two more books in the Destiny Series. Destiny’s Revenge (Book #2) and Destiny’s Wrath (Book #3). I’m an independent author, which means I don’t have an agent, a publicist, or a publishing company backing me up. I DEPEND on word-of-mouth advertising. If you enjoyed Meeting Destiny, it would mean the world to me if you recommended it to a friend (or ten friends!).
Independent Authors live and die
by reviews from readers. If you could take two minutes and write a review of Meeting Destiny and post it to Amazon, I would be very grateful!!
Finally, if you would like to chat with me, here are the best places to find me:
My Author Page on Facebook: http://alturl.com/en5ia
My blog: http://www.nancystraight.com
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Email: [email protected]
I hope to hear from you,
Nancy
I’d also like to introduce you to an author I love, Christie Rich. She has written an amazing young adult paranormal romance series, Elemental Enmity. Like my Destiny Series, her Elemental Enmity Series is complete and it is FABULOUS: Five (Book #1) is FREE. Go download it right now and tell me I’m wrong. To try to sway you to check her out, I’ve included an excerpt from her series. I hope you’ll take a minute to read it and fall in love with her books the same way I have!
I twisted and cupped his flushed cheek. Sweat dripped from his hairline in tiny rivulets down his face and along my fingers. I moved my fingers over his forehead toward his chin. He caught my hand and touched his lips to my palm.
I closed my eyes, letting my body anticipate every zing of electricity his movements created. Taking in a breath, I shivered. His lips found mine, and I melted into him, becoming a part of him, letting him take me to an indescribable height. He groaned, pulling me closer. My skin exploded in tingles as he traced my neck with his tongue. His breath came in my ear, catching then releasing. He tugged the edge of my shirt and slid the rough edge of his fingers along my abdomen.
I stilled.
He pulled back. “Is this okay?”
My heart fluttered and my breath stopped. I dipped my chin in a slow nod.
He smiled, his blue eyes flaring with desire. I found myself on my back. He lifted his shirt over his head and placed it under mine. Then he lay beside me.
Every inch of me burst into lightning. I inched closer, running my palm down his chest. The slight dusting of hair tickled my fingers. I got caught up in the beauty of him, exploring the hills and vales of his body. I stopped at his belly button and looked at him.
His breath was so shallow, I could barely hear him breathing, but I could see the effect I had on him. This was a power I had never known. Well, not never, but I wanted the power this time. I wanted to make love to him. He was my future. I couldn’t allow myself to focus on things that would make us both miserable.
I gave him a shy glance, not really knowing how to start this. All I’d ever focused on was stopping myself from making a mistake.
His gaze met mine. The intensity sent a shockwave to my bones.
That’s when I noticed the tiny green line circling his blazing irises. I took a second glance just to make sure. It was still there. My stomach turned to acid.
Muscles hardening, I scrambled away from him and leapt to my feet. My body surged with the power inside me. Never had I connected so strongly with the elements. Both my hands lit up in blinding white light. My breath still hitched in my throat. I could hardly believe what was happening.
She got him too. Ainessa had Luke and Zach under her spell.
His eyes flew wide. “It’s not what you’re thinking, love. I know how it looks, but she doesn’t have control of me.”
I shook my head at him. “I can’t trust you.”
He stretched his hand out toward me. “Rayla, please. Come back to me.”
I took a step away from him. “I can’t risk it.”
His muscles tightened and he stiffened straight as a stick before his body convulsed. I knew what was happening, but I still didn’t want to believe it.
A wicked smile stretched across his handsome face. Zach no longer gazed back at me. His voice came different, no longer holding the light lilt I was used to. “So surprised?” He stood, taking his time as if we had all day.
My fear for him tore from my throat. “You have to fight her, Zach!”
His body stepped closer. “I’m afraid Ammon’s not here right now. If you’d like to leave a message please hang up and try your call again.”
My brows rose; she was trying to be funny. Well I sure as heck wasn’t laughing. “Why are you doing this to your own brother?”
“Ha! I’ve already told you he doesn’t deserve to be called that.”
Still, she had never said why. “I don’t know what happened between you two, but you can’t be that cold.” Something strange crossed Zach’s eyes. He was fighting her—I could see it. Maybe if I gave him some time. “I don’t see why you think you need my power. You seem to have plenty on your own.”
“I know what you’re doing, Rayla, and it’s not going to work. Ammon cannot break my connection at the moment. I’m sorry to interrupt your little tryst, but I needed to speak with you. I tried earlier yet was sent away for my efforts. When you did not accept my gift, I had no other choice.”
Full of disbelief, my eyes narrowed. “You’re gift?” I shook my head. “I should have known.” I’d considered it, but the note had thrown me off. I’d been slipping up a little too much lately. I should have never come here. I should have fled with Heath. As if a rushing tide, my feelings for him flowed through me, lighting my body with his fire. “I really have nothing to say to you, Ainessa. You may have gained acceptance within the fae courts, but you will never have it from me.”
Zach’s face twisted in anger. “You self-righteous little twit. I don’t care what you think or what you want. You are nothing more than a means to bring fae into true power. I know your secret.” I seemed to have many secrets I wasn’t aware of lately. “Human blood does not flow in your veins. It is only a matter of time before I will know who your sire is.”
A shiver hissed over me. “Why should I care about that?”
She scoffed. “No point in playing the fool with me. When I have him, I’ll no longer need you. I will create my own race to rule.” Her ring flared to life, rivaling the blue sky above. “Few things remain between me and my new world. You think you are powerful, yet you know nothing of power. You’re precious humans will succumb to me, just like you will.”
She reached for me, but I skidded away. “You’re insane.”
“Most genius is labeled as insanity, Rayla.” Her compulsion slid up against my mind, seeking a crack in my armor. “Think of it: a world we could control together without the restraints of a creator who does not care.”
Yeah, ‘cause she’d make such a great god. Um, no thanks. “I don’t want to be a god, Ainessa. I just want to live my life, free.”
She threw up a hand. “Freedom! So many claim to want freedom, yet those same people will stand in line to have those freedoms stripped one by one merely for money or false power or fame. I used to have hope for the human race, but it has withered away in recent times.”
Anger flared inside me, charring my veins with acidic fire. “You don’t get to decide what happens to humans or anyone. I will slit my own throat before I will let you have my power.”
“You are fighting a losing battle. It would be so much better if you just concede. I will spare your family along with any other person you deem worthy of living.”
“Everyone has a right to live!”
She laughed. “Come now. You can’t possibly be that naïve. There will have to be casualties for my plan to work. My followers need bodies, after all.”
I stared at her with unbelieving eyes. “Your followers already have bodies.”
A chuckle split the morning. “Most do, that is true, but immortality without the ability to progress is an unbelievable hell. I do not expect you to understand. You will come to submit. All do.”
“I won’t.”
A dark smirk covered her brother’s face. “You’ve been able to resist; I will give you that, but you have no chance of keeping it up. No matter where you go, I will find you. No matter how you fight, I will win. I’m offering you a chance to save those you love. Why do y
ou care about people you have never met?”
“I’m not a monster.”
“Ho. A monster, am I? I used to have such ideals…until I saw what happens to those who do not take what they want. You will come to see as your mother has.” She reached out her hand. “I will take the pain away, Rayla. Let me be your champion. Together we can create the world we both want.”
I shook my head, backing away.
Her ring flared and energy clamped around my body like a tractor beam. “One moment of contact with you is all I need. There is no escape.”
My feet shot forward before I could stop them. My mind raced, searching for some spec of hope. I remembered my angel giving me a spec of light; however, I still didn’t know what it was for. I reached for that spec, but it was just beyond my grasp. Giving up on that, I summoned my power, pulling everything to the surface. My heels dug into the grass. She was only three feet away. Any further and she could reach out and take me. Our struggle intensified until my mind stretched to a snapping point.
A voice so welcome, I nearly cried out spilled into my thoughts. “I’m here. Take my power.”
Meeting Destiny (Destiny Series) Page 28