Beyond Wild Imaginings

by Brieanna Robertson

  Chapter Five

  Kelly’s fingers shook as she fumbled to unlock her door. Was this really happening? Was she really escorting a mythical creature she had created when she was eight into her apartment? She glanced over her shoulder and saw Garren standing there, leaning his shoulder against the wall as he waited for her to open the door. Yup, she really was.

  She shook her head and finally got the key to turn in the lock. She had no idea what she was going to do with him now that she had him. She’d kept the guy locked in an isolated wasteland for almost twenty years. It wasn’t like they could have milk and cookies and play catch up all night.

  “Well, this is my apartment,” she muttered as she threw open the door and flicked a light on.

  Garren strolled in and took a quick look around. “It’s…very spacious,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

  She rolled her eyes and flung her purse onto the sofa. “You mean it’s very empty. Yeah, you managed to fly into my life at a really bad time.” He flinched as if she’d hit him, and she instantly regretted her words. “That’s not the way I meant it, Garren. All I meant is that my life is pretty much a shambles at the moment.”

  He raised inquisitive eyes to meet hers. “Chad mentioned something about you going through some sort of trauma,” he said, coming closer to her. “What has happened? And why did you wait all this time to call to me?”

  She heaved a weary sigh and combed her fingers through her hair. “Garren, it’s not like I was purposely ignoring you. I didn’t even remember you, and I definitely didn’t think you actually existed somewhere in the universe.”

  His lips turned up slightly at the corners. “You seem surprised.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “Surprised?” She snorted. “No, surprised is when a friend you haven’t seen in a really long time shows up unexpectedly with two tickets to the Bahamas. I think having a mythical man I imagined up when I was a child save my life and then tell me there’s an actual realm of imaginary creatures in existence somewhere leaves ‘surprised’ in the dust.”

  His smile grew, but it reflected sadness. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced down, a lock of hair falling in front of his face. “Fantastic and mythical things used to be what you believed in,” he said quietly. “Your imagination was the best of them all.”

  “Yes, and I’ve made a living out of it, but that doesn’t mean I ever sat on my own and contemplated whether or not it could actually be true. People don’t think like that, Garren. Not in my world.” He still kept his eyes downcast, and her heart felt heavy in her chest. She didn’t like that he looked so sad. It hurt her inside in the most peculiar way. It was almost as if part of her heart felt like she was betraying herself by saying those very words. She reached out and touched his arm gently. “Humans are, in general, shallow, mass-produced people who rush through life with little regard for others and no time for fantasy. The world you speak of is an impossibility here where I live. Regardless of how great my imaginative capabilities are, the fact remains that all of this is outrageous and abnormal for me.” She slid her hand down so that she was circling his wrist with her fingers. A tremor ran along her spine much like it had when she had touched the feather. When he still didn’t look up, she smiled just a little. “It doesn’t mean that, beyond the part of my brain that is telling me all of this is insane, I am not very happy to see you again.”

  That got his attention and he met her gaze, a spark of life entering into his eyes. “Are you?” he whispered.

  Her smile was soft, and she tightened her hold on his arm. “Garren, you were my guardian, my companion, and best friend. After Rachel and the others decided they were too old to play with me anymore, you were all I had. I—” She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling tears sting her eyes at the memories of being all but abandoned by her playmates and being laughed at because she still wanted to believe that extraordinary things were possible. She shook her head. “I loved you, Garren,” she murmured. “I couldn’t have loved you more if you’d been made of flesh and blood.”

  He stepped up close to her and his arm went around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. Kelly gasped and closed her eyes as warmth stole throughout her entire body. She bunched her fingers in his shirt and rested her head against his chest. It startled her somewhat to realize that he had a heartbeat, especially considering she could see through him and he was made of thought, but she was coming to realize that the world she knew was only a small part of a much bigger whole. She had spent the last ten years writing fantasy novels for people’s entertainment. Now she wondered just how much “fantasy” really existed. Humans were arrogant creatures to think that they were superior beings and the only things created to inhabit an infinite universe.

  “I missed you, Kelly,” Garren said softly, stroking her hair in a comforting caress. “I’ve been so alone for so long. I didn’t know if you would ever call me to you again, if you would ever remember me enough to give me the ability to return to your world.”

  She shook her head and held onto him tightly, feeling safe in his arms. She remembered how protected he had always made her feel, and she briefly wondered if there had ever been a time when she’d felt that safe since then. She certainly hadn’t felt that way with David, despite how much she had loved him. Maybe it was because she had created Garren to be her guardian, or maybe he was just magical. She wouldn’t claim anything as impossible anymore.

  “I’m sorry, Garren,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry you were stuck there all alone for so many years.”

  He held her close for a long moment before he took her by the shoulders and pulled back so that he could look at her. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I am just happy to be back here with you.” A shadow passed over his handsome face, and he averted his eyes. “You are the only family I have left now.”

  Her heart lurched as his soft-spoken words reached her ears. She wanted to cry at the sorrow that she saw etched into his features. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what he must have seen. She didn’t know how things happened in the Creative Realm, but dying was dying regardless of how it happened. Because her playmates had turned their backs on their childlike innocence and had forgotten what it was like to believe impossible things, Garren’s entire race had been wiped out right in front of him. She couldn’t even imagine that kind of horror. She didn’t want to.

  “Are you tired?” She gave a small, nervous laugh. “I don’t know if imaginary creatures get tired, but…”

  He grinned. “I am weary, yes. It took a lot of strength to make the journey back to this world.”

  She nodded. “I’m tired too. I fell off a building today,” she grumbled as she started toward her hall closet. “Twice, thanks to Chad.” She opened up the closet and pulled out a blanket. “I hope this is enough for you. Do you get cold?”

  His smile was disarming. No one, imaginary or otherwise, should have such a beautiful smile. “I can feel chilled, but I do not get cold as you do.”

  She gave him a playful scowl. “Well, excuse me. I’ve never had a Lucienus in my house before.” She flung the blanket out on the couch, and his chuckle made her smile. “My bedroom is on the left,” she said. “If you need anything, help yourself. Since you came from my brain, I think you’re safe around my stuff.” She frowned as she took a quick glance around her apartment. “Or lack thereof.”

  Garren grinned. “Thank you, Kelly. Your kindness has always been something I admired in you. You were always so kind, compassionate, and trusting. You believed everyone good until proven otherwise.”

  She rolled her eyes as she headed toward her bedroom. “Yeah, well, that may be an admirable personality trait to you, but it also got me cheated on while I was in the hospital.” She sighed and waved. “Goodnight, Garren.”

  “Goodnight, little one.” He gave her a very gentle smile, and she took the liberty of looking over him for one glorious moment before she turned back to her bedroom. Despite the sorrow cloaking him, and the fact that his appear
ance had altered since she’d last seen him, he was still magnificent to her, strong and powerful. He was striking in a way that made real men seen dull and ordinary, and it made her wonder, just for a second, if any human man would ever be able to compare to Garren’s beauty.

  Brushing the thought away, she turned, intent on getting some much needed rest.

  “Kelly?”

  She looked back at him over her shoulder.

  He frowned thoughtfully. “What’s emo?”

  She burst out laughing, and it felt good. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had laughed. “It’s a style of music. Emo fans look kinda like you.”

  “Oh.”

  He still seemed puzzled and she giggled. “Don’t worry about it, Garren. Goodnight.”

  He looked up at her and smiled. “Goodnight.”

  She went into her room and flopped down on the bed with a sigh. Time for the only thing that ever made her feel any better. Sleep.

  * * * *

  With a huff of frustration, Kelly rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Okay, yes, sleep made her feel better, but why could she suddenly not seem to get any? Why was it that, when she did manage to doze off for a second, her dreams were filled with disturbing memories of David instead of Garren’s comforting visage?

  She rolled her eyes and sat up. “Because he’s in your living room, you idiot,” she grumbled to herself. “Can’t dream of the dude from your head if he’s not in your head.”

  She swung her legs over the side of the bed, propped her elbows on her knees, and put her head in her hands with a sigh. She hated that she kept seeing David when she closed her eyes, and she hated that she missed the jerk at all. Most of all, she hated how she felt threatening tears prick her eyes. She was so tired of crying over him. He didn’t deserve her tears, and he certainly didn’t care that she was hurt. He was in Jersey with Office Barbie and probably hadn’t given her a second thought since he’d emptied his stuff out of her house.

  With a sigh, Kelly stood and went over to her bedroom window. She pushed the curtain aside and looked out at the twinkling city for a moment. The city that never slept. It certainly was a contrast to the slower-paced New Jersey. She could only imagine what poor Garren must have thought. The last time she’d seen him, she’d been living in Syracuse with an enormous backyard full of greenery and plant life. Now all he got to look at was concrete and taxi cabs.

  Kelly rolled her eyes again and padded softly out of her bedroom and toward the kitchen. She still couldn’t even believe that Garren was really there and, well, real…more or less. Part of her still feared for her sanity where he was concerned.

  She stopped in the hallway as her eyes fell upon the man in question. He was awake as well, and leaning up against the wall by her living room window. His arms were folded across his chest, and he was gazing out at the city in much the same way she had been doing moments before. A small smile tugged at her lips. “You couldn’t sleep either?”

  He turned his attention to her, and a smile split his sculpted lips.

  She waved away any reply he might have given and continued into the kitchen. “I wouldn’t be able to either if I was wearing a studded belt and trying to sleep on a couch two sizes smaller than me.” She frowned as she looked down at the black combat boots he was still wearing. “Did you try to sleep with your boots on?”

  He shook his head and pointed to the couch where the blanket she had given him was still lying untouched. “I haven’t tried to sleep. I’ve just been looking out this window for hours.”

  She raised an eyebrow and decided to forego the drink of water she’d been after. She walked over to Garren and, peering out her window, wondered what was so fascinating. Nothing, as far as she could see, but she hadn’t been trapped in a void for twenty years either. She sighed and leaned against the other side of her window, mimicking Garren’s positioning. “What was it like?” she asked. “In the Creative Realm?”

  “Lonely.”

  Kelly glanced at him, and her heart lurched painfully in her chest. His voice was soft, sad, and his mind looked a million miles away.

  He sighed and turned his gaze to the ground for a minute. “Well, not always. When the Lucienus were alive, it was beautiful.” He met her eyes. “The world you and your friends created for us was fantastic.”

  Her brow furrowed slightly. “What happened when it disappeared? What was it like then?”

  He turned his attention back to the window. “The Creative Realm is full of creative magic. It has an undeniable beauty to it even when there is nothing there, but it began to feel like a prison after awhile. Sometimes, I would see flashes of color in the distance where other things were being created, but nothing ever came to me.”

  Her stomach churned, and she swallowed hard. “I am so sorry.”

  He smiled softly. “Don’t be, Kelly. It is not your fault. You are the reason I even still exist. I am very grateful.”

  She didn’t feel very much like a savior. She felt like a murderer. She felt like all of them were. “Are you hungry?”

  He looked at her and frowned.

  She shrugged. “When I can’t sleep I get middle of the night cravings. You want something?”

  A look of confusion crossed his features, and he held his arms out a little. “I…don’t know.”

  She frowned. “You don’t know? What, are you watching your weight? Come on, are you hungry?”

  He looked even more confused. “That’s just it. I’m…not sure.”

  She blinked. “You don’t eat?” When he didn’t answer right away, her eyes widened. “Have you ever eaten?”

  “Creatures of thought don’t have to eat,” he stated.

  She wasn’t quite sure how to tackle that one. “Well, can you eat? I mean, do you have the ability?”

  He frowned. “I imagine so. We just…don’t. There’s no need.”

  She shook her head and reached over to grab his wrist. “That’s it, Garren. I can’t handle this. We’re going to go get you some food.”

  He seemed bewildered for a moment as she pulled him after her toward her bedroom. “Where are you going in the middle of the night?”

  She shoved on her shoes and pulled a sweatshirt on over her pajama top. “There’s a twenty-four-hour deli down the street. It’s not gonna be gourmet by any standards, but at least we can get a hoagie and some desserts.”

  “What’s a hoagie?”

  Kelly fought the urge to giggle. Goth people tended to have a certain look about them, like they had seen a lot more of the dark side of life than everyone else. They looked knowledgeable to a certain degree. Garren was no exception to this rule, and his childlike innocence contrasted greatly to his appearance, as well as cracked her up.

  “Kelly?” he prodded. “What’s a hoagie? Is it like emo?”

  She burst out laughing before she could stop herself. He stepped back, looking slightly hurt, and she shook her head, trying to banish the picture of an emo hoagie from her mind. Yes, I’ll take the ham and cheese on wheat. Heavy on the eyeliner, please. She shook her head again and scrunched her nose with another giggle. “No, a hoagie is a sandwich. You eat it.” At his pained expression, her heart warmed, and she reached for his hand again. This time, instead of grabbing him by the wrist, she laced her fingers with his. “Trust me, okay?”

  He heaved a sigh, and his shoulders slumped in defeat as he nodded acquiescence.

  She smiled and led him out the door, to the elevator, and down to the street below.

  “You know no one can see me,” he reminded her.

  She looked up at him and smiled. “What does that matter? I can see you.”

  His violet eyes seemed to light up, and he gave her a bright grin. “It doesn’t matter that you look like you’re holding hands with no one and talking to yourself?”

  She glanced down at their twined fingers and shrugged. “New York is full of crazies. It’s not that strange.” His fingers tightened around hers, and she liked the l
ook of joy that crossed over his features. She continued on to the deli, happy to be with Garren. It was a lot better than being alone in her apartment, thinking of David and sulking. Garren was a distraction. He was a childhood friend who reminded her of happier days. He just also happened to be the most amazingly gorgeous man she had ever met in real life.

  Even if it wasn’t exactly real life, it was good enough for her.

  Chapter Six

  The roof was, by far, not the most inspiring place to show Garren, but it was private and safe and she could talk to him there without looking like a complete nut job. She’d spread out a blanket and forced him to eat a six-inch ham, turkey, salami, and provolone hoagie with the works. At first, he’d looked at it like it was an alien life form that he had no clue what to do with, but after a few tentative bites, he’d eaten it almost voraciously while making several different kinds of rapturous noises. He was now lying on his back, staring up at the sky with a kind of comatose wonder on his face.

  Kelly smiled and leaned over him. “Happy, Garren?”

  He shook his head and met her eyes. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”

  She wondered briefly what it would feel like to taste food for the first time. There were so many things that humans took for granted. “If you think that’s good, wait till you taste this.” Along with the hoagies, she had also gotten four different kinds of dessert pastries. An éclair, something called a Napoleon, which was nothing more than a bunch of alternating layers of phyllo dough and sugar icing, a slice of strawberry swirl cheesecake, and a custard fruit tart. “Pick one,” she said, indicating the display of decadence.