Chapter Forty-One
Keres's laugh makes me roll my eyes at her dramatics.
"You had paint even in your ass." She laughs harder as she remembers that time when I was eight years old and I wanted to surprise Mamma with a painting, and completely by accident, I painted myself because there was no greater gift than me.
"You had purple cheeks for a week," She continues, her laughter turning into wheezing.
I lean over the flowers, pinching her ear. I can't just stay here and let my big sister laugh at me. She starts moaning in pain as I flick her ear in every direction.
"Do you want to remind me who created a song only by burping?" I ask her as she tries to free herself from my hold.
She gasps, clearly knowing what I'm talking about. "You swore you would never bring that again!"
"And you swore you would never talk about my two head dog painting!" I yell and I almost punch myself from reminding me that horrible painting.
She chokes up again, laughing with her full mouth, forgetting about the pain.
"It had double personality, Keres." I say for the thousand time.
"And double dicks." She laughs again and this time, I laugh too.
I let go of her ear, laughing along with her as we share moments from our childhood.
In not even a day, we almost finished Mamma's garden. It looks so much better than when I arrived here. We took care of the broken flowers, the dehydrate ones. We even plant new ones.
My heart breaks at the thought of Mamma. How could she do that to her own daughters? How could she just watch me cry my heart out in front of her and do nothing? My entire life was spent of loving my Mamma when she didn't even care about me.
A soft hand pets my hair and I look at Keres who is giving me her ocean eyes full of pain. She feels it too, the painful weight in my chest every time I think of the real world.
"Are you ready to live for yourself?" She asks me with a small voice, but I just stare at her.
I don't feel ready to go back, but I'm not going to lie. I miss Everette so much that I feel like breaking this purgatory and go to him. I need to feel his arms wrapped around me and his hard, passionate kisses. I don't know how I stood a day without him, but if a day feels like this, I don't want to know what an eternity is like.
"Althea, you've been here for thirteen days." Keres says in my head and my body freezes.
Thirteen days? When did the time go?
I look around and everything is just like when I first got here. Emptiness after the gates, light and butterflies. What is this place?
I flinch when a ringing breaks the silence. I look around confused, trying to find the source of the ringing. Is there a phone? But it sounds like it's coming from the sky.
"Hello, Gianna." I hear Everette's tired voice. Tears are filling my eyes when I hear the roughness of his voice, the one that I miss so much.
What is happening?
It's a piece of reality. This is happening right now in your world , Keres says again in my head.
"How is she?" Mamma asks and I know her enough to feel the tears in her eyes.
Is she in the place where my body is?
Did she left her nest to come and see me?
Fear takes ahold of me as I think about that possibility. Everyone will hunt her down if they figure it out that she's the Empress.
"Quiet." Everette answers and my heart breaks at the pain in him.
A wave of electricity captures my body when I think of his face, his green eyes, his messy hair. He is the reason why I want to go back.
Him and Vincent.
"Mia Althea, la mia bambina," Mamma sobs and her whimpers are bringing tears in mine and Keres's eyes. "Don't leave me like your sister. I had to survive through her death, but I don't think I can survive through yours." She cries and whispers, hoping that I can hear her.
I can, Mamma. I'm right here.
I wish I can see her face and see the love she once had for me. Maybe this love never left, she just tried to hide it from me. I want to feel her hands on my skin and realize that she remembers me.
"You are there with her, aren't you? That's why you aren't waking up." I feel my body starting to tremble, and Keres looks at me with round eyes.
What is happening?
I put my hands on the ground, trying to balance myself, but my body is out of control.
Suddenly, multiple voices are interrupting Mamma and all I hear is his desperate voice. I focus on Everette as my body trembles like never before.
"Don't you fucking leave me, Althea." Everette yells and I look around the garden, desperate to see him.
Where are you, Everette? I need to see you, please let me see you.
"Are you ready to live for yourself?" Keres asks me again and all I do is scream.
I scream because her question haunts me. I scream because I can't see my husband and all I want is him. I scream because I realize that this purgatory is my one piece of hell.
I can't stay here and hear Everette while I can't touch him, or see him. I can't stand the fact that he's there and I'm here. And I hate myself for taking so long to realize that this heavenly purgatory is just another hell.
Because I won't leave a life without Everette. I rather suffer a life on earth but have him by my side, then torturing myself with his ghost.
I gasp when a sudden pain comes from my chest. It feels hard to breathe and my shoulder is numb. My head hurts and I can feel my body screaming.
I look at my sister and see the tears in her eyes. I think this is goodbye.
She nods at my thought, and with a broken body, I take her in my arms. I hug her until I feel my arms numb, until my heart cries because we're separating again.
"You'll be just fine, Althea."
"Will I ever see you again?" I ask her as I hug her harder.
"Of course, mia sorella da questo universo." She smiles on my shoulder.
I close my eyes, the pain making me whimper. I smell her again, knowing that this is the last time I'll see.
"Althea?" She yells.
"Althea?"
"Fucking hell, baby. Don't do it."
Beep beep.
I almost cringe at the sound. Electricity captures my body and I feel my body flying.
"Come back to me, baby."
I want to come back, but I don't know how. My eyes
are closed, the darkness making my skin turn into goose bumps. I try to look for Keres, but there's no sight of her.
It's just darkness.
Muffled voices along with that beeping are making my ear bleed. My body feels heavy and I feel something running through my veins. A cold, soft, round thing is on my face, forcing air down my nose and mouth. My left eye is openly forced and a light blind me to the core.
I can hear the man sign in relief and talk with someone in the room.
My face is finally free and my nose inhales the smell of medication. I feel my throat dry and I would do anything for a ship of vodka.
I hear a rough, Russian accent and I almost choke. Where the fuck am I? Was I kidnapped? Did the whole action take place in Russia and I'm just a dumb fucking person?
A wave of warmth makes my forehead twitch and a gentle pair of lips kiss me there.
My heart beats faster because I would recognize those lips everywhere. The monitor, that I think is beside me, starts beeping loudly and fast.
"You felt that, baby?" My fingers tremble, feeling like I can't do anything else. Everette's fingers are gripping mine, and his voice is so soft it makes me want to cry. "Good girl, now open your beautiful eyes."
With everything that I have, I force my eyes to open so I can finally see my husband. My eyelids are heavy and my vision is blurry, but I open my eyes as much as I can. A white wall is in front of me and I try to focus on the lines on it, so that I can clear my surroundings.
I turn my head slowly, the pain making it feel like it will explode. I look at the medical, empty room, the silence almost loud.
"Althea?" I move my eyes to the man next to me who has tears in his wide, shocked eyes.
I open my mouth but I wince when my throat squeezes. Everette moves his hand toward the table and
grabs the glass of what I hope is vodka. His other hand goes to the back of my head, raising it a little so I can drink the cold liquid.
I groan when water makes its way down my throat, refreshing my insides. After I drank all the water, I look up at the most beautiful green.
"Hi, Little Fox." He whispers and I can see in his eyes the torment he’s been through.
My beautiful, brave beast is breaking down right in front of me.
I move my trembling hand toward his face, caressing his left cheek with my thumb. "A-Are we recreating the s-scene from f-four years ago? Because you were the one injured, not me." I hardly say, but the smile he gives me is worth it.
With his hand still on the back on my head, Everette brings my face closer to his, kissing my cheeks repeatedly.
"Don't ever leave me like that, Althea. My heart can't function when the source of its beating is half dead." He whispers brokenly.
My own eyes fill with tears as I let his words awaken my body. His face is tired and he looks like he aged with ten years.
My big, bad beast.
"You are the love of my goddamn life, Althea." Everette says roughly, making my heart melt.
I don't want to let him see the way his words affect me, but I can't control the wave of emotions that are starting to leave me. I always taught that with all the lies, he won't be able to love me the way I love him. That the curse I've been gifted will always remind me of the good things I can't have.
Hearing him say the words I desperately wanted to hear feels like a dream. One from which I don't want to ever wake up.
"But if you do something like that again I will spank your ass so hard until you won't be able to walk
anymore." He threatens me, and a painful laugh makes my chest hurt.
"But I came back to you," I say with a little smile.
Everette grunts and lowers his head again to capture my lips into a desperate kiss.
"Thank fucking Christ for that or I would've awakened you with that spanking."