We walked for a while, but I stayed silent, trying to comprehend the light thing. I mean, where did it come from? And how did I manage to even do it? It just appeared out of nowhere.
Ethan finally stopped behind a dark and deserted supermarket. While the place creeped me out, he didn’t seem to mind as he spun around to face me. His eyes had changed. They were still deep and dark, but they were so cold they sent a shiver down my spine.
“You need to let this world go,” he nearly yelled the words at me. “I know how hard it is. Believe me, I’ve been there. But in order to keep your family and yourself safe, you must let them go.”
“I can’t let them go,” I bounced back at him in a shaky voice. Warm moisture began to bead up in my eyes again. I tried to push the tears back down, but they made my eyes burn. “They’re all I know, Ethan. And you’re the one who took me away from them. You!” I turned away from him as the moisture rolled down my cheeks. “I’ve lost everything.” I slowly turned to face him. “I watched my friends die. Seen things nobody my age should see. Things nobody should see. I can’t get rid of the bloody faces, the screaming. It’s haunted me all day. My family is the only thing I have left. Cody needs me!”
Ethan shook his head. His eyes were no longer angry or cold. They were filled with a deep sadness. “But if you don’t let them go, Kiera. They’ll be dead as well.” He swallowed. “Even Cody. The only way to protect them is to leave them here and to stay away from them.”
With what happened a few moments ago with the light thing, I was thinking Ethan could be right. I mean, what if something like that happened when I was around Cody? Or Mom and Dad? Could I really hurt them? Could this Darkness thing?”
I swallowed hard, finally realizing the truth. But, if I did leave, I had one more thing I had to do before I went away, especially if it meant I would never see my family again. “Is it possible for me to run home first?”
Ethan stared at me blankly, like he was really thinking hard about this.
“I’ll just be a minute, and if anyone is home, we’ll go back later.” I tried everything I could to persuade him. “Please, Ethan.”
“Once we leave, we can never come back, Kiera,” Ethan finally spoke.
It took me a minute to absorb his words. Never, was a very strong word.
“Please—” The tears started to fall again— “let me just go back for a minute. I swear, Ethan, I won’t be long. And then you can take me wherever you want to take me.”
Ethan drew in a deep breath. “We will both go to your house. But if anyone, and I mean, anyone, is there, we’ll have to continue to Asteria. We are out of time.”
“Deal.” Relief washed through my insides. For some reason, I didn’t think I’d ever get him to agree with the way he was looking at me.
Now all I had to do was hope they weren’t home.
Saying Goodbye
Glancing at the house, and then at Ethan, reality began to set in. But I couldn’t think about that now. I knew what I had to do, and I had to do it quick.
I slowly walked to the front door and bent down to swipe the spare key from under the mat. Then I opened the door and stepped into the eerie darkness. Mom and Dad were here at some point. Their energy still radiated around the room. The heaviness pressed down on me, and I lost everything I had been holding back as I opened the drawer to the small end table in the doorway. I managed to keep myself together long enough to find a flashlight.
Rain poured down my face as I ascended the stairs one by one, my hand tracing the banister as I gazed at every photo on the wall. Family portraits, my school pictures. Pictures of Cody as a baby. I didn’t want to let them go, I wanted to remember them, drill them into my head so I’d never forget.
Finally, I made it upstairs and headed to Cody’s room. I worried about him the most. Who would protect him? And tell him stories about what our crazy family did before he came into this world? He needed someone to fend of the bullies in school. Who could possibly do that now?
I glanced at the Spiderman blanket sprawled on the bed, and then the matching curtains draped over the window. We sat together at that window so many times, gazing up at the stars at night. I went over each of the constellations with him. He had to know them by heart.
His Legos sat in a big pile in the corner of his room. We built many things out of those tiny colorful blocks. Trucks and buildings. Then he’d have a ball destroying all our creations.
I slowly crossed the room and collapsed on his bed, taking in his scent off the blanket, as I cried big, chest heaving sobs. I couldn’t control it anymore. It just rushed out of me all at once.
How am I supposed to live without my parents or Cody? I’d already lost Chasity and Nicole, but now Ethan expected me to give up my family too? It wasn’t fair.
Yes, I knew I had to keep them safe. And if keeping them safe meant leaving, then I had no other choice.
I rolled over in Cody’s bed and wiped the tears from my eyes. There had to be a way to make him understand. And then I got an idea.
I walked over to the shelf in the corner of his room. Books were jammed inside one of the shelves. Mom told him all the time to straighten them out, but he never did.
I managed to smile at the memories even though the tears continued to fall.
Crouching down, I pulled a white piece of construction paper out of his pack on the shelf above the books. Then I searched his crayon box for a sky-blue crayon. His favorite color.
I moved over to his little table and sat down in the too small chair. Ethan would be angry if he knew what I was doing, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. It would be the one secret I’d keep forever. And forever was all I had left.
I placed the crayon to the paper and wrote:
Hey Buddy,
Please, whatever you do, don’t show this to Mom and Dad. It’s our little secret, okay? I want you to know I have to go away. But I won’t be too far away from you. I’ll always be in your heart, and you’ll always be in mine. I promise.
Warm tears rolled down my cheeks and onto the paper. For once, I had no idea what to say. Cody was only eight years old. How do I even begin to explain to him? It was like I was standing on the edge of a cliff. Part of me wanted to leap off, but another part begged for me to stay for some reason, like I actually had a future or something important to accomplish. That other part must be delirious. I couldn’t see a future without my family or my mortal life.
I knew I had to continue to write before Ethan figured out I was up to something.
Just remember I’ll always love you. And, maybe someday, we’ll find our way back to each other. Think of this letter as our own little treasure map. The X is in our hearts.
Forever,
Kiera
XOXO
I didn’t have much time, but I balled up a few pieces of scrap paper and doused them in Cody’s gold glitter glue, hoping they looked good enough to be his very own pirate loot. I placed the gold nuggets on the letter and stood up, slowly making my way out of his room and back down the stairs. I didn’t even bother visiting my room one last time. What was the point?
As I opened the drawer to place the flashlight back in, my heart crashed into my stomach. The tube of lip gloss Chasity gave me for my birthday a few months ago sat on top. I never even opened it, even though she wore the same color every day. It was red as a rose. I think that was why I tossed it in there in the first place. The color red never looked good on me.
I grabbed the lip gloss and shoved it in the pocket of my shorts. At least, I had something left of her. Then I turned off the flashlight and tossed it in the drawer.
When I walked out the door, I found Ethan on the step, waiting for me. “What took you so long?” His dark eyes studied mine.
I pulled the lip gloss halfway out of my pocket. “Sorry, I couldn’t find it.”
He looked at me, confused.
I forced a smile and said, “It’s a girl thing.”
He shook his head. “No nee
d to explain. I just want to make sure you didn’t leave anything behind for your family. You know, something letting them know you’re alive.”
“Nope, not at all.” I glanced away from him so he couldn’t read my expression. I’d never been a good liar. “And, as I promised, I’m ready to go with you now.” Another lie.
Ethan nodded, but he didn’t say a word. He just turned and started walking toward my backyard. Even though I had no idea what he was doing or where he was going, I followed him.
We ended up behind my house. Ethan had his back to me. Suddenly, something began to manifest in front of him. Something from a Sci-fi movie. At first, the trees behind it were visible, but they slowly blurred away as a swirling mass of energy took shape. It was quite mesmerizing. I’d never seen anything like it. The gray energy began to swirl and twirl. Faster and faster and faster, until it resembled a spinning candy striped barrel at the end of a carnival funhouse.
A pair of headlights suddenly turned into the driveway, taking my breath away. Mom and Dad and Cody. I wanted to run to them, tell them I was here and I was okay, but this energy seemed to be drawing me in.
I glanced back and forth between the headlights and the mass of energy. I’d never been so confused or so torn in my life. I knew which way I wanted to go. But I couldn’t. I knew if I went the way I wanted, I would bring harm to my family.
Ethan placed his arm around me. “I know it’s a hard decision, Kiera. But leaving them is the safest thing for you to do. Think about your brother.”
“Cody,” I whispered.
The lights disappeared and they shut their doors. Cody was talking, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I needed to protect him. As his big sister, it was my job. Even if it meant leaving him.
I slowly turned to face the portal. Ethan’s arm slipped away from me and he placed his hand over mine. Tears fell all over again. I couldn’t help it. And I couldn’t stop them. I had so many fears, so many doubts. What if this is all wrong? What if it’s not supposed to be this way?
Ethan smoothed his thumb over my hand. “It’s okay, Kiera,” he said in a low, comforting voice. “I’ll be there every step of the way. I’ll show you everything, and I’ll protect you, always.”
For some reason, I believed him. I stepped into the portal with Ethan, not knowing where I was going or how my life would turn out. I just prayed I didn’t end up on an island full of zombies.
I glanced back at my house, my memories, and my mortal life one last time before the portal swallowed us up, leading us out of this world, and into the next.
The End
* * *
Continue the Other Side of Forever Series.
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About the Author
Shannon Eckrich is an International Bestselling Paranormal Romance author who writes for teens and adults. She is a dreamer, an avid reader, ghost hunter, and believer in aliens, myths, and love at first sight. After all, she did marry her high school sweetheart. Shannon also believes all the problems in the world can be solved with a little bit of love and compassion.
When she’s not creating worlds that walk the line between fiction and reality, she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at the firehouse down the street.
She currently lives in Delaware with her husband, two kids, three cats, and her two dogs, Chewy and Buster.
Forever Kiera (Other Side of Forever series Book 2) Page 4