Hearing Her Thoughts

"You're not real." That was the first thing that came out of Kayleigh's mouth as she stared into Chance's eyes then to the hand he was offering her.

He smirked at her response. "I'm real," he assured her, trying not to laugh. Even though she wasn't convinced this was real, she accepted his hand and he pulled her up. Sparks shot up her arm at the skin on skin contact. Damn it, he felt real. "They're all real too." She shook her head at his words. No matter how real he felt or how real that thing felt grabbing at her ankle...This had to be a hallucination -- all of this. "How about we talk about this later when there aren't Darklings attacking us?"

Kayleigh glanced over to the being approaching them. If looks could kill, she'd be already in a grave. She squeaked as it charged at them and he blocked them. She watched him fight in awe as he handled the... what had he called them 'Darklings'. Her eyes scanned the area and noticed the others were indeed handling the rest of the Darklings. They had the numbers advantage on their side. They made quick work and soon the Darklings were retreating.

The Darkling fighting Chance snarled at him. It snapped their knarly teeth at him. "It only takes one of you to fail," it taunted wickedly. Their eyes swept to her and she swallowed as they leered at her. "She's not yet trained. She'll be easy pickings now that we can scent her."

Scent me? she thought to herself. Do I stink? Chance laughed for a moment then coughed. She frowned, eyeing the guy in front of her. Why would Chance laugh at that? She didn't want to be easy pickings. Obviously the Darkling took offense to it for an entirely different reason than why she would be offended.

Actually maybe it was the same offense. It was no joking matter. She wasn't a joking matter.

"More is coming," it threatened and it growled when Chance took a step forward. "It's only the beginning."

"They're not here now," he reminded as he advanced on the Darkling.

The Darkling glanced around and noticed it was alone now. The others had started to come over, daring it to try anything stupid. It was annoyingly not stupid and it took off in the opposite direction of them. None of them followed it instead they all slowly turned to her. She gulped when familiar faces and eyes observed her.

"No, you don't stink," Chance told her as he walked right up to her. The others frowned at the seemingly odd statement to them but not to her. Wait! How did he...? "They can scent your blood now. They're hybrids. They're part-vampire."

Hybrids? Part-vampire? Vampires weren't real.

"Because of that, we need to head off," Liam told them, approaching the two of them. Okay so they were real to everyone but her. Got it. He looked down at Kayleigh and gently patted her arm. Great, he even felt real too. "It's good to finally meet you." He turned to Chance. "We're going to head back to her store to see if it's safe. She might want to grab some stuff there before we go."

Chance nodded. Liam started to walk off while the others attempted to protest, but he shook his head and they all fell in line. Was Liam the leader of the group then? Alessia rushed over to Liam and he put an arm around her to pull her into a one-arm hug. Kayleigh watched as he pressed a kiss to her temple before she forced her eyes to look elsewhere.

Rose gave Kayleigh a smile and a quick wave before Eli chuckled and dragged her off to join the group. She realized all of them were paired off. There were six pairs. When they disappeared from sight, there was only Chance left and Kayleigh glanced up at him after a few moments of silence.

"I know you have questions--"

"I want to go back to my grandma's cottage," she blurted out, cutting him off. She blushed at the surprised look on his face. "I-I was visiting her grave before I was attacked. T-Today's the anniversary of her death."

His eyes widened in surprise before they softened. He nodded his head in understanding. He slowly reached out, covered her hand with his, and squeezed. She swallowed, strangely comforted by his action. Her fears and anxiety slowly melting away. He wasn't going to hurt her. She knew deep down he'd never hurt her, but she still didn't understand any of this.

Instead of pushing him back or putting space between them, she launched herself at him and burrowed into his body as she wrapped her arms around him. Tears she didn't realize she was holding back finally fell when his arms curled around her like a blanket of safety and comfort.

~

"Sorry about that," Kayleigh whispered as she and Chance walked back to her grandma's cottage.

Guilt seeped inside of her body. She had just cried her heart out to someone who was only offering a tiny bit of comfort. She was pathetic. Weak. She was such a weakling. Even now, when a stranger, she felt comforted by the fact she wasn't alone, but that was the coward in her speaking.

This was all an elaborate hallucination to help her cope with her grandma's death. She was quite sure of it now. These strangers that helped her when she was escaping from the... Darklings that was what they called them. With her grandma appearing to her, this just had to be, because she couldn't come to terms with everything.

"You still think this isn't real, huh?" Chance asked her to her surprise. Her eyes shifted to him and he chuckled softly at her reaction. There was no humor in his tone only sadness. "I can hear your thoughts, Kayleigh." Her eyes widened in shock. Wait, did he just hear her entire inner dialogue then? "Every word of it."

She shook her head in disbelief. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't real. He wasn't real. "You'll all be gone when I take my medication."

"And if we're not. What will you do then?" His icy blue eyes pinned her in place.

She chewed her bottom lip before she sighed. "You'll be gone. All of you. I'll be left here alone like I've always been."

She watched him suck in a breath. His eyes searched hers for a moment before he offered her a sad smile. He tipped his head and jerked it to the side. His eyes slid to something to the right and she followed his line of the ruins of her grandma's cottage. It was truly now beyond recognizable.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she slowly moved forward. Her entire body trembled at the emotions swirling within her. Unshed tears blurred her eyesight as she took it all in. She walked through the cottage that used to be an actual home. Walls were crumpled in piles before her feet. Gaping holes blown through.

"There-There used to be a fireplace right over there," she whispered to Chance. She could feels his eyes on her as she scanned her surroundings. "There was a reading nook over there. I used to sit and read there for hours and hours since I was a child."

She shook her head at the shattered glass of a window and the bookshelves around the nook were thrown about.

"She used to make stews in that huge pot," she muttered, glancing at the huge cast iron pot on the ground in front of what was left of the fireplace.

When she made it outside to her grave and what was left of her grandma's garden, her heart sank at how this place had been so magical and enchanting to this. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that her grandma's cottage would be forever left in this condition. The magic was all gone. The only saving grace was that the darkness had lifted. That was the only good thing that came out of all this.

"What do you want, Kayleigh?" His voice echoed in both her ears and mind.

Tears escaped and she couldn't stop them even if she tried. "I wish you could see it in all its glory. I wish the world would remember my grandma's cottage was truly the heart of this forest."

She felt him approach her. She felt his warmth surround her. Even through her tears, she could see the outline of his form in front of her. He placed his hands on her cheeks like he did in that dream. She felt the instant connection and the strange wonderfulness buzzing around her.

"Close your eyes," he whispered to her. Her eyes drifted shut. "Now imagine how it was before. Don't focus on the pain and the loss. Focus on the magic and warmth of this place. Focus on your grandma and the beautiful memories you had here."

She did as he instructed. In her mind, the details of the cottage came to life. The memories that she had burned through her. Her grandma's love made her feel full and whole again. She missed her so much. She missed her kitchen and cooking. She missed the beautiful garden full of flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables. She missed her bedroom there before she bought the store and apartment above it.

"Open your eyes."

She didn't want to do that. She wanted to stay in her mind where her heart was right now. She felt the delicate touch of skin brush against her left eye then her right eye. It tingled there where she was certain soft lips made contact with.