“Helloooo,” I call out once again, hoping that this time something other than the echo of my own voice will answer. No such luck.
I walk around for hours, endlessly searching for a way out, but there is none. It is pointless. My hand rubs against something hard and cold to the touch, and I know from memory that it is the bridge. I don’t want to keep walking, but as always I cannot stop. My feet will carry me to him; even though that is the last place I want to go.
As I approach the door that depicts the angels that are both equally beautiful and terrifying, I prepare myself for what is coming. I have a feeling deep within my soul that this time when I am asked to choose, I will not be afforded the luxury of waking up. I am having a hard time piecing it all together. It is like someone has taken a magic eraser to my mind, wiping away certain spots, while leaving others untouched. I am supposed to remember something, but what?
The loud squeak of the door brings me back to the present, and I shiver. I hadn’t even known that I moved, but apparently I opened the door. Determined to play this out, I walk forward. When I see him there, everything stops. All logical thought and reason leave me as I admire the man before me. He is remarkable. Though he looks like an angel, the power radiating off of him confirms that he is anything but angelic.
His eyes, which remind me so much of iced mocha, find mine in a look that is far too intimate for my liking. Lost in the splendor of his beauty, my feet carry me to stand directly in front of him. I am surprised to see that the anger that usually accompanies his gaze in my dreams is gone. Instead his honey eyes are pools of longing that I want to swim in. Carefully, his hand finds my cheek, sending warmth all the way to my toes. He softly traces the lines of my face, as if he is memorizing it, filing it away deep within his soul. When he speaks, his voice is gentle. Like a smooth melody, he whispers my name.
“Ridley.”
I gasp as his lips find mine, tender yet determined, in a soul shattering embrace. I am just about to get lost in him, when that feeling returns; the one that warns me that I am missing something. His lips move to my neck before I can protest, and the moan that leaves me cannot be contained. I shudder as his fangs sink deep into my flesh. I no longer remember anything, except for him. A strange red tinted light floods my body. Its warmth all encompassing. His eyes flash red, and then he is gone.
I scream in agony, as a new kind of pain threatens to shatter me. The darkness from before comes crashing back, and I am once again thrown into a world of nothingness. Never have I felt so alone, so confused. I don’t recall his name, but I know him from my dreams; perhaps from somewhere else. He is here for me, always here for me, and now he is gone.
I sink down to my knees, no longer able to stand. The sounds that leave my body are so loud and pained that I almost don’t realize that they are coming from me. My haunted cries only grow in intensity as time passes. I feel the light that was my soul slowly slipping away, and I know that if I don’t leave this place soon, there will be nothing left. I will merely be an empty vessel, devoid of anything that matters. Just when I am about to give up, I am scooped off of the cold ground. The warm arms that surround me don’t quite feel right, but they don’t exactly feel wrong either.
“Just different somehow.” Something is still missing, but I just can’t remember what it is.
“Ridley, you have to take this.” He says as he places me gently upon my feet.
Before I can ask what exactly I am supposed to be taking, he presses his now bleeding wrist to my lips. My mouth waters, yes actually waters, as the smell of his blood surrounds me. I greedily take what he is offering, sighing my pleasure when the rich taste hits my tongue. It taste of cinnamon, with a hint of something spicy that I do not recognize. Still, as I feel his blood fill me with light and warmth, I once again get the feeling that something is off. I have done this before- shared blood- but when? The memory is trapped, stuck under an invisible layer of ice, visible but out of my reach. My thoughts turn back to the man in front of me when a pale blue light, mixed with a bright red glow, begins to form around where we stand. It is a perfect blending of the two colors, each giving the other a sense of balance and belonging. I pull away from him, staring in awe at the beautiful image that now surrounds us.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he whispers, as if he has somehow picked the sentence straight from my mind.
Too amazed by the colorful display to speak, I simply nod. The colors are growing brighter by the second, and while they were both equally stunning, it is the soft pale blue light that has captured my interest. I feel a connection to that light; like if I stepped into it, I would be home. My soul longs to soak it in, but my body remains still. Waiting, un-certain what it is the lights represent.
Then, he finally says the words that I have been dreading since I woke up here.
“Choose Ridley.”
How can a person choose when they don’t know what they are supposed to be choosing? I take a shaky step back, studying the lights more closely. The red light gives off an aura of power and passion, but it does not call to me; not like the other. The blue light speaks of peace, love, and belonging. It pulls me to it like a magnet. I have no idea why, but I know with every fiber of my soul that I was made for that light.
It is mine.
Without speaking, or giving him a chance to argue, I jump forward; letting the soft blue glow blanket me in its warmth. Instantly, peace fills my soul; returning everything that has been missing. I close my eyes as the soft blue light explodes in a shower of sparks, some blue and some silver, and wait on it to take me home.
~~***~~
Ridley
My eyes open to a strange room, and a mixture of familiar voices. I am lying in a bed, and when I focus I see that I am definitely not alone. There, sitting right beside me is the single most stunning man that I have ever seen. His eyes, sapphire with silver star burst, latch on to me. His perfect lips curve upward, forming a smile that could melt ice, and break hearts. His hands gently cup my face, and it is all I can do to remember to breathe.
“Ridley. It’s me, Tristan. Oh baby, thank God you’re awake.”
His voice holds such emotion that it makes me smile. Still, I am confused. Where am I? My throat is so dry that it takes me a moment to find my voice, and when I do it sounds foreign to my own ears.
“Who?” I ask the beautiful boy, hoping that maybe he can tell me what happened.
The collective gasp that sounds throughout the room tells me that I am obviously supposed to know him. I want to, really want to, but I don’t. I don’t know him at all. The pain in his eyes as he looks at me makes me wish that I could take it back, but I can’t. It is the truth. Though his eyes look familiar, I do not remember ever seeing him before. Trust me, his is a face that I would not forget.
“You-you don’t-remember me?” he ask, taking the warmth of his hands away from my face. The absence of his touch causes me pain, but I’m not sure why. All I know is that I want his touch. I need it, on a cellular level. Without it, I feel cold, empty, and somehow more broken. I think about lying, just to erase the hurt away from him, but I can’t. He deserves the truth just as much as I deserve answers.
I turn my face away from him, finally taking in the other people in the room. There is a cute girl with short black hair and kind eyes. Eyes that beg me to remember, to see. I look away from her, not wanting to see the hurt that my ignorance will cause. A boy that looks like a model is standing at her side. He too is a mystery to me. Sitting in a chair in the far corner of the room sits a man with blond hair and aqua eyes. His face is fixed in a frown, making him look un-friendly. They all look familiar, but I just can’t place them. It’s like bumping into someone that you haven’t seen is ten years. You know that you should know them, but you can’t remember them at all. It’s awkward, and upsetting. I scan the room one more time, my eyes landing in the doorway. Caramel eyes watch me with the same intensity from before. The longing in his eyes is still present, but it is dampened wi
th a degree of sadness. I want to take that sadness away, but something tells me that for now I shouldn’t. I am pulled from my inner musings when Tristan, that was what he called himself, speaks again. I was so distracted that I missed his question.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” I ask as I turn my attention back to him.
“I said, do you recognize any of us?”
I turn my attention back to the door, and raise a shaky finger in his direction. His eyes follow mine, and when he sees who I am pointing at, anger becomes visible on his face.
“Him…..you remember him?”
I answer the only way that I can; with honesty.
“Yes.”
Tristan lets out a pained sigh, his raven locks tumbling into his face. He pushes the offensive hair back with a shaky hand.
“How Ridley? How do you recognize him?” he ask as he starts to pace the small room.
I swallow, and close my eyes, bringing his face up in my mind. I have seen that face in my darkest hour, felt those lips in my dreams. I let out an unsteady breath before telling them the only thing that I know for certain. The only fact I can recall since waking up here.
“I would know him anywhere. He is my destiny.”
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