Another thunder rolled through the sky, this one roaring with a promise of rain.
“I swear I was going to tell you.”
His gaze landed on mine again and his brow furrowed. “When?”
“Soon. Next week, at our doctor’s appointment.”
When he didn’t respond to that, my heart dropped. “Don’t hate me,” I pleaded with Killian.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sky opened up and the rain come down hard on, drenching both of us. But neither of us moved.
His eyes darkened, thunderous and pained. His fingers tightened in my hair before wrapping my ponytail around his fist, tugging my head back. I let out a choked sob when I realized that I was hurting us again. The rain washed away my tears.
Killian lowered his head and his lips brushed against mine, tenderly. “I can’t lose you again.”
“You won’t,” I promised into the kiss. He stole my breath from my lungs, kissing me hard before pulling away.
“Doctor Pearl have been monitoring me closely,” I explained, breathlessly. “I’m healthy. The babies are healthy. I haven’t had a single seizure during my pregnancy. My blood pressure is somewhat stable and I’ve practically put myself on bed rest.”
“I wish you had told me,” he rasped, his voice raw and harsh.
I sniffled. “Me too. Are you still mad?”
“Yes.”
“Do you hate me now?”
Killian dropped his forehead against mine. There was tenderness in his gaze now and my heart swelled in relief. “I can’t ever hate you, Princess. No matter how angry you make me.”
He swept me up in his arms and carried us back inside, away from the thunder and safe from the rain. “Don’t lie to me again, Julianna. No more secrets. And I’m serious this time. You have to trust me with your worst news and I have to trust you to tell me when things are not good.”
“No more secrets,” I breathed.
CHAPTER SIX
Julianna
One week later
The world tilted suddenly. It happened so fast and then I heard her fearful scream. My heart stopped for a second and then it was all agony, before I sunk into a very dark place.
I couldn’t hear anything. Couldn’t see; couldn’t feel.
I tried to make a sound, but it felt like my lips were stitched together. I couldn’t breathe…
Couldn’t breathe… help me. Please. Help.
“Julianna.
I heard my name but I couldn’t make out who was calling out to me. It was too dark for me to see.
“Julianna.”
Yes, I tried to respond. But I was voiceless.
“It hurts,” the voice echoed.
The taste of coppery blood filled my mouth and I gagged.
“Julianna. Julianna. Julianna.”
My name was called out, again and again. Until my ears bled from the ominous voice.
“I’m scared.”
I was too.
And I finally remembered…
Her screams.
The sound of my bones breaking.
My cries.
The sound of crushing glass.
Her stuttering breath.
And I remembered the silence.
I blinked and the darkness disappeared, replaced by a bloody Gracelynn. Her dead eyes cold and wide. Her mangled face.
I heard her voice, even though her body was too still. She wasn’t breathing.
“Julianna.”
“Gracelynn,” I cried.
The pungent scent of death filled my nose and I gagged again, fighting back the urge to retch.
“Why did you leave me?” the quiet voice accused.
“I didn’t!”
“Why didn’t you save me?”
Agony flicked through my veins. The pressure on my chest was unbearable. “I couldn’t.”
“My baby…”
Choking back on my cries, I tried to reach for her. “I’m s-s-sorry… Please, I’m sorry. Please. PLEASE!”
She faded away.
My body seized and everything went black.
My body startled awake and I stared at the ceiling, sucking in desperate breaths. My chest hurt and my face was wet with tears. My lips trembled with the effort to hold back my cries but I couldn’t, so I started choking on my heavy sobs.
The absolute terror of my nightmare paralyzed me and all I could do was stare at the ceiling. I thought I was moving on, finally putting Gracelynn’s death behind me. But the memories still haunted me.
I knew I shouldn’t have read those comments online. They were my trigger and now I was trapped in a never-ending cycle of nightmares once again. How unfair was life…
That I thought I had finally found my happily ever after.
Only for my past to come back to haunt me; surrounding me like evil cloak.
“I didn’t kill her,” I whispered, as if to remind myself. “It wasn’t my fault. The accident wasn’t my fault.”
My face and neck felt like they had been scratched raw. My scars itched badly and I had to fight the urge to dig my fingers into my face; to claw at my burned flesh.
No matter what those comments said online, no matter how much they tried to paint me as the villain – I wasn’t evil. I didn’t kill my sister.
I brushed away my tears, taking in shuddering breaths as I tried to calm my racing heart. Once I wasn’t shaking anymore, I forced myself out of bed. It was only supposed to be a nap…
How did my nap turn into such a horrid nightmare?
My phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. A quick peek at the caller ID told me that it was Mirai and I answered the call. “Hey.”
“Tell me how much you miss me,” she said in her usual cheery voice. Mirai was almost twenty years old now, but she was still the same old Mirai I met six years ago. I didn’t know if she had a sixth sense, but she almost always called when I needed some cheering up.
“Tell me how much you miss me.”
“A whole lot. I can’t wait to see Cameron again. I miss his sweet, chubby face. I should be back before the triplets are here!”
I hoped she would. I was going to need all the moral support with three newborns. “How’s Europe?” I asked eagerly.
“It’s so beautiful!” she practically squealed in my ears. “And everything I dreamed of. While I was in France, I was honestly contemplating finding myself a nice Parisian man and settling there. But after two months traveling around Europe, I realized that I miss home. Oh, how did that fundraiser event go yesterday? Better than the last one I hope?”
“It was fine,” I simply responded. I wasn’t fine.
Actually, it was an absolutely disaster. I was given dirty looks all night look. Some people were very much supportive of me and the cause – our mission was to raise awareness about victims and survivors of sex trafficking.
While others showed clear distaste for me on their faces.