What if your favorite characters needed your help?
Sunset has always been in love with books, although after the death of her mother, she has stopped believing in happy endings. When she starts working in a library located at the basement of Stard...
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Prisons, Wishes, Revelations, and Farewell to the Fictional World
Flicking the lighter off, I drop the book on the coffee table. "I would never burn a book, no matter what a jerk the main character may be."
"Jesus, you're fucked up!" Hardin wheezes as he bends, clutching his knees.
"You're one to talk." I scoff, folding my arms.
My eyes turn to Tessa now, her hand is clenched on her chest, her face devoid of colors. Elizabeth's eyes are big in shock, words failing her. Katniss' burning gaze is set on me while Peeta looks away, avoiding eye contact with me. And Darcy, well, he's turned his back on me, his eyes lost somewhere among the bookcases.
The sound of whimper brings my attention back to Tessa, and I find Hardin hugging her, as she sobs against his chest.
God. I'm such a horrible person.
"I'm so sorry, Tessa, I admit. "I would never do that." I gulp, walking toward her.
She doesn't reply, and silence showers like acid rain around me.
"Why are you all mad at me?" I demand. "He ran away from his story and I was sick-worried about him." My index finger points at Hardin. "I had to drive all around Toronto, on my own, at two in the morning, and on the brink of a freaking panic attack, for crying out loud!" I pull at the roots of my hair.
Expecting all of them to give me different answers, they all go quiet again.
"What am I missing here?" I insist when they don't reply, my eyes flickering among all of them.
"We all want a break from our story," Katniss voices hoarsely. "I can't really blame him for doing something like that," she adds, shrugging her shoulder.
"All of you?" I ask in disbelief. Are they so unhappy with their stories?
Mr. Darcy clears his throat, joining us again. "It's a difficult life, lady Sunset, the life of those who are trapped in a narrative—even if the ending is beneficial for all the subjects involved. One is forced to repeat the story with the same mistakes and regrets."
Wow. "So you all want out?" I ask them while the wheels in my brain work extra hard to reason this situation. These are my favorite stories, why would they want to escape from them?
Wiping away the tears under her eyes, Tessa smiles sadly at me. "Being inside these stories can get very physically and mentally draining. And, trust me, we got the best part, we are the lucky ones," Tessa comments.
Letting the information sink in, I sit down again on the sofa. Tessa sits on one of the book stools to my left.
"Open this one, and see for yourself," Hardin challenges me as he drops a book on the coffee table. It lands tilted on top of the copy of After.
