by CS Patra
“I will.” Ms. Howard promised, holding out her hand. Olivia, however, was still holding Donnie. “You can let him go, dear. We’re running low on time.”
“I know, but—” Olivia looked up at him and gave him a tight squeeze. It felt funny. He had been unwilling to let her go at first, but now she couldn’t let him go. The reality was finally starting to sink in. “I can’t let go yet. I don’t want to.”
“I’m going to be fine, Olivia. I’ll be with everyone else.”
“Donnie, that’s not what I mean! I need to tell you something!” she insisted. “I need you to know the truth!”
“Olivia, it’s okay! I will be okay!” Donnie held out his hand. “You need to get those gems back and put them in their right place! I will survive!”
“I said I wasn’t leaving without you!” she screamed. “Donnie, I don’t want to lose you in this world! We said we were going to do this together!”
“No, Olivia! You are the only one who can do this,” he reminded her. “Listen to me—I know you can do it. I know you can get all of these universes back to normal.”
“Yeah, but,” she lowered her gaze. “I want you to come with me.”
“Why?” he asked. “Are you scared?”
She swallowed. “That’s part of it. I’m scared of going through this without you because—I don’t—I don’t want to be without you. I don’t want to experience your dream without you. This is what you’ve always wanted!”
“Yes, but—” Donnie took her hands. “What are you actually saying, Olivia?”
“I-I think,” Olivia closed her eyes. “I think I want to be with you.”
“I’m not following.”
“Come on, Donnie, read between the lines. I know you know what I’m really trying to say. I know you feel the same way.” She squeezed his hands. “Come with me. Or if you won’t, then I’m staying with you.”
“Olivia, I can’t do either of those things,” he whispered. “They need you more than I do right now. I’ll be here in the end. I promise.”
“You’re still not reading between the lines.” She mumbled, looking into his dazzling green eyes. She took special notice of their golden flecks as they were shining brightly from the sunlight. She could feel his breath fanning against her face. Her fingers intertwined with his and she tried to tell him the truth. “For someone so smart, the obvious clearly eludes you.”
“What are you trying to say, Olivia?”
“You still haven’t figured it out.” She let out a little laugh. “I want you to come with me because—I want you.”
He blinked. “You want me?”
“Forever.” She mumbled, slowly releasing his hand. “Call me crazy or whatever, but these last few days have changed me, and I don’t mind.” She leaned against him. “I’ll come back to you. Just don’t anything I wouldn’t do.”
He returned the hug. “I think you should go now.”
“You don’t have much time!” she heard Alice yelling. With every last bit of her strength, Olivia pulled away from Donnie and started to walk backwards. Her eyes were locked on his, and she wanted to say so much more. Ms. Howard took her by the hand and started to pull her down the path. The others were saying their goodbyes, but she couldn’t focus on them. It was Donnie that she was looking at. He kept motioning for her to move but it was Ms. Howard who was dragging her away.
“I love you.” She said, although her voice couldn’t be heard over the winds. Maybe he could read lips. If Ms. Howard had heard it, she didn’t speak up. Olivia hoped that no one else had heard that but Donnie. One day, she would be able to tell him again when they were alone. When they would be back in their own world, together. She grabbed Ms. Howard’s hand and closed her eyes.
That was when she realized that something wasn’t right. The feeling she got from traveling wasn’t there. They had stopped moving, and Ms. Howard still held her hand, but she was afraid to look. She could hear nothing to let her know where she was. After five seconds, Ms. Howard spoke up and let go of her hand.
“You can open your eyes.”
Olivia opened them to find Donnie standing in front of her. He seemed just as confused as he stared back at her. Not only that, he also no longer looked ill. His nose wasn’t running, and he wasn’t coughing any more. His skin was back to its normal color.
“Huh? What are you doing here?”
“I-I was in the Frostland, and now I’m with you,” he said. His voice didn’t sound stuffed up like it had been before. “I don’t think I’m sick anymore. Something happened back there when you went into the woods. The wind picked up, there was a bright flash of light, and now I’m here.” He looked around him and noticed that it definitely wasn’t the Frostland. The snow was all gone, and there were no people in this world that he could see. Ms. Howard was no longer there, and neither was anyone else. They were alone in this world, which was brightly lit and very colorful.
“Where are we?” she asked. “This isn’t where we should be, is it?”
“I don’t know.” Donnie said. He watched as some birds flew overhead and noticed that something was strange. “Um, Olivia? Check those birds out for me. Tell me I’m not crazy.”
Olivia followed his gaze and saw what he meant. The birds were made of paper. She started walking around and noticed that the ground was made of paper, as well. The trees had tissue paper for leaves, and the trunks were made of papier-mâché. “Oh my God. This isn’t our world, either! We’re in some paper land here!”
“That’s just the thing, Olivia. We’re somewhere else, and we have no way of knowing how to return to any other world.” Donnie said, taking her hand. “It’s you and me now. We’ve got to get through this together. We have to get out of here.”
“I know.” Olivia gave him a hug and realized that his skin felt warm. He was still sick in this world, and they hadn’t done anything to take care of that. Now that they were out of the Frostland, she had no idea where to go. She didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable or worried, so she gave him a squeeze. “I think we can make it.”
She kept staring at the paper birds. They were alone now. They were trapped in a world made entirely of paper, and they were in danger. Still, she couldn’t do anything about this now. They had no time to waste, or a way to go back. The first thing they had to do was find the Hearts Under Ice. Then they would find their way home.
She took Donnie’s hand, did her best to hide her emotions, and looked straight ahead. She didn’t need him to see how scared she was. They had a mission. She tugged his arm and started to lead him down the path ahead.
“Come on. Let’s save the worlds.”
To Be Continued in Book 2: Paper Hearts
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
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