Wow, I think this is my fastest chapter to date! I guess it really helps that I like this part quite a bit more, being on the home stretch and all. I didn't get a lot of chance on editing, as I'm not home right now, but I hope you still like it!
Disclaimer: No different.
Chapter 9: Second Chances
"Taylor!" a muffled voice called out in the darkness. "Please wake up!" I hadn't heard that voice in months, yet I could still place it as easily as my own. But I almost didn't dare believe this was anything other than a dream, and opening my eyes would rip me from it. "Taylor, please, it's me." The voice was neared near now; I could feel the warm and calming presence.
Finally, I opened my eyes dazedly, finding the ink black sky all around me and the ground far below; admittedly, weirder things had happened before. What really threw me was the translucent figure floating in from of me, warm brown eyes holding the same gentle kindness as in life. I almost couldn't believe it; even hearing his voice had not prepared me to come face to face once again. In immediate response, I propelled myself forward, clutching the boy fiercely and feeling the gesture returned just as passionately.
I might have had almost no idea what was really going on, but I did know one thing. Whatever this was, I wanted to stay, didn't want it to end any time soon, not ever.
"I've missed you so much, you have no idea," I said, surprised I could maintain even the slightest sliver of self-control.
"And you think I haven't worried about you?" he reassured me in subdued tones. "That you weren't on my mind every second I was trapped inside that thing?"
"Really? Every second?" I tried joking lightly, tried restoring the status quo, as I moved back a fraction to see Corey again for the first time since the tragedy in Paris. The tragedy. That brought me back to the surrealism that was somehow, possibly, our reality. "But how is this all happening? Is it – and you – just all a dream? Because, if it is, I don't know if I want to wake back up."
A light smile graced his features, most likely at my uncontrolled romanticism. "The three chosen duelists defeated Dartz and saved the world, saved all of us." A mixed sense of happiness and nostalgia washed over me; I hadn't seen that look for months, save for the images in my mind. "Sounds like just about every fantasy story you've ever heard," he continued lightly, "except this time it's real."
The corners of my mouth rose at his jest in spite of myself. "Kind of is, save the fact that I never thought I'd be the one to bring about the Apocalypse. Always had some vague hope I'd be the one trying to save everyone instead."
His expression changed at that, reminiscent of the one he would always wear when coaxing me to leave my darker memories behind. Perhaps, because that position was the one he was made to fill, even in death and beyond, like the guardian angel I'd always believed him to be. "You know you can't blame yourself for all these things you couldn't have ever had any control over." Yes, guardian angel here on Earth, that's what he was.
"Yeah, but that doesn't change what I did or how much I hurt other people. The fact that I was in control the whole time, knew exactly what I was doing, saw the fear on these innocent peoples' faces, and still hurt them without caring in even the slightest. I can't just forgive myself for that, and I can't possibly expect anyone else to either. What've I done to earn that type of forgiveness?" I admitted resignedly. "If I'd just stayed strong, not given in to weakness and hardship the way…" My voice trailed to a stop as I realized the words still silent at the tip of my tongue. The way Valon had taught me, had reminded me again. God, that was one of the worst parts. Realizing he'd been trying to make me remember the entire time, given me all the clues I needed to go so far as break free from Dartz and the Orichalcos and my past, and that I could've made attempts to fix it all. Knowing it all came down to my own weaknesses. But now wasn't the time. I pushed the thoughts back; seeing Corey again was still hard enough for my mind to process, and I simply wasn't ready to deal with my thoughts about the Australian yet. One thing at a time. No more rushing in blind.
"But it's all over anyways, isn't it?" Corey went on, understanding that that particular topic was one I didn't dare breach. "So you should just let your regrets go. Nobody here blames you for any of what happened. We understand."
I looked back at him skeptically, wanting to believe him in that but finding such a task difficult. My mistakes and remorse ran deeper than he could possibly know, so I tried desperately to change the subject. After all, both of us would prove too stubborn in our opinions to change them so easily, and I wasn't about to be so stupid as to waste away whatever time we had here over whether or not this was my fault or if I did actually deserve anybody's forgiveness. Luckily, a bit of wording caught my ear, and I latched onto it harder than any normal person had any right to fixate on something so minor. "Since when did you become 'we'?" At that, he floated aside, revealing the two older spirits behind him, two people I was glad I hadn't noticed up to this point. No way did I want to ruin our time together. "How did you…?"
"Guess that's the silver lining in being caught by some madman with a lust for power. You do meet people," he said a bit ruefully.
"I will not talk to those people," I replied coldly, spitting out the words venomously as more forgotten memories resurfaced. Another of the past, of that darkest time after I'd met Valon (a detail only now fit back into place) when the whip suddenly began it even more vicious descent. A young girl holding up a sparkling pendant only for her parents to snatch it violently from her hands, a seemingly greedy gesture, though the real intention wouldn't be discovered until years later, until the day she recovered the pendant itself. Automatically, my hand flew to the skin at my neck before realizing the golden chain was no longer there. I tore my eyes back to Corey aghast. "Don't you know who they are? That those are the people who singlehandedly ruined my life? I don't want anything to do with them."
"I know you don't, and I'm sure if I were in your position I'd be thinking the same thing. But please, just hear me out. We were trapped together for a while, and I can tell you I don't think it's exactly the same anymore. They truly seem sorry for what they did to you, or it seems so at the very least. Besides, doesn't everybody deserve a second chance?" That smile again, and his deeper meaning was obviously clear.
I let a nearly imperceptible nod slip, partly if only to stop from bringing up that same argument yet again, yet also knowing that I wanted, deep down, to believe him in that. That people could get second chances, whether they deserved them or not, because I certainly needed one as soon as this whole fiasco was over and done with. Steadily, I made my way nearer to them, taking a page from Alister's book, keeping my appearance emotionless and detached as the gap closed further.
Much too soon, my parents and I met in the middle where they promptly pulled me into their arms, forcing my mask to slip in the slightest. Who knew when the last time I'd actually seen any sort of sign of affection from them; I, for one, didn't. Funny thing is, I would've expected something so out of the ordinary to feel awkward or uncomfortable in at least some way, shape or form, yet it wasn't. It wasn't exactly natural, per se, but nor was it inherently wrong. Or I'd been through seen enough weird for more than a lifetime, so this just didn't quite weigh up anymore. Either way, I made no move back towards them, neither hugging nor pushing away, not disgusted but, for obvious reasons, not trusting yet either. Eventually they released me, and we floated back a few paces. "Oh, baby," my mother began in a too-sweet tone, "We're so sorry about everything we did to you. Now, we see now how wrong it was and how selfish we were. We just thought we were helping you, but it never occurred to us how much we were hurting you."
"Oh, really?" I countered sarcastically, "Only took years for you to figure out. Can't forget the yelling, crying and arguing either."
"We know, and you're completely right," my dad spoke now, and I flickered my attention over to him. "We never realized our wrongdoings until you actually left for college and never looked back. After that, well, it was hard to miss that we were the ones responsible for you wanting to leave so badly."
My mom took over the story effortlessly, this time speaking fully in earnest, no more of the melodramatic act of remorse. "Before then, we were blinded by our need to control your lives. Letting you see the rest of the world, interact with other people, would pull you away from us, make you into people we didn't want you to be."
By now I was truly listening. If nothing else, they did sound genuinely honest.
"That's why we were always so hard on you all the time. Somehow, we thought we could mold you into exactly the people we wanted you to be, and the world would undo the work we put into you," my father continued the recount. "It never occurred to us that you two would want everything so badly, and that the things you could become yourselves might still be ones we can be proud of. We never noticed that you hated us so much, not even after Drake left, and we threw ourselves harder onto you."
My attention piqued at that, at the name. My brother, whom I missed desperately and hadn't interacted with, heard from or even about in years. "Wait," I allowed my guard to drop a bit more. "Drake. Is he here? Have you seen him?"
Unfortunately, my parents shook their heads in defeat. "No, not since we assume you last did, though we too wish it were otherwise," my mother informed me as a heavy weight fell inside my chest. He'd been my confidant as a child, but had just disappeared off the grid, unwilling to put up with the pressure any longer. "We want to tell him everything like we did for you, though I suppose we were lucky enough for even this much, despite the circumstances. I know we can't force you to forgive us; we won't ever force you into anything anymore. I guess we just wanted to try and reconcile our mistakes, let you know that we are here for you now." I nodded, accepting their apology for the time being. "But we do need to find Drake, and soon; he deserves an explanation equally as much, and neither of us can guess how long it might take to find him." My parents floated closer together, taking each other's transparent hands. "Our door will always be open. If nothing else, please remember that." And, defying physics (though I wondered why, in this supernatural world I'd discovered, the rules of science meant a thing any longer), their spirits coalesced into two small white spheres, almost like the stars in the night sky, zipping off into the endless inky night together.
I continued watching, deep in thought over the unexpected reunion, as a hand laid itself on my shoulder, and I gripped it back fondly. "Alright, I guess I can't be too mad at you for talking to them, though it baffles me how you could've met anyone in that awful place."
"You'd be surprised," he answered me simply, and when I craned my head to better see him, he was clearly remembering something only he knew. At length, he spoke again. "Actually, your parents weren't the only ones I met back there. There was someone else who knows you." I frowned at him quizzically, trying to piece together who he might be talking about before realization dawned on me. He couldn't mean…? "Said he had met you as a kid and found you again in Paris after…" he trailed off, a flash of pain briefly twisting his features, never fully melting away even as he started again. "Also said he was still worried about you, hoped you wouldn't end up here too."
I let out a breath in resignation. He did mean… "You met Valon?"
"Yeah," he confirmed as I caught sight of two lights floating up and away in the far distance. "But whatever happens, he still loves you, whatever you might feel for him." So that's what I'd seen in his eyes in those last few moments before his soul had been ripped from his physical body: there were no hard feelings left anymore, just forgiveness for everything I'd done wrong, as if none of that mattered. But a question still hung in the air. "Taylor, you can be honest with me. Do you have feelings for him too?"
"I…" What was I supposed to say? My thoughts already oscillated in an insane state of limbo, trying to work out where I stood regarding my family, and now talking to Corey had only proven one thing. "I don't want to leave you. I - I do love him, but especially seeing you again, I don't know if it's right," I started, shocked at what I'd admitted.
"But you do know," he spoke in the same compassionate voice that could melt me into absolute submission, "that what we had, amazing as it was, isn't possible anymore, no matter how much you hold on. You can't keep living in the past forever, and, while I'm not saying to forget, you have a life I want you to keep living. Especially when there's someone out there who, I know, will never leave you, will always care."
"Are you really sure this is alright?" I asked, more for reassurance than to hear the answer I already knew.
"Trust me," he gently turned me to face him, revealing his genuine kindness. "You two need each other, now maybe even more, and you know I have no reservations about this. While I might have in life, all I need is for you to be happy, and he can give you that. Everything he feels for you is real, the same as what you think of him."
And I knew he was right, without a shade of doubt. "But what about you? What'll happen?"
'Don't worry about me. I'll always be with you, too." One last smile and, just like my parents, his image morphed into a bright, glowing ball of light, radiating warmth as it floated towards me, embedding itself into my chest. A pleasant heat flowed through my entire body, out to my fingertips, and I curled protectively around the spot where it had entered.
"Corey," I spoke his name to the limitless heavens above. Thank you.
A/N: So, there's actually only one more chapter left plus an epilogue, and I'd love if I could get a few more reviews on this chapter as well as your opinions on whether or not I should make a sequel. I'd really appreciate it!
