Meredith's sister

48

Mia's POV

The transition wasn't like I had expected. It wasn't a flash of light or an overwhelming sense of peace. It wasn't even a feeling of floating or soaring through some celestial space. It was simply... quiet. A stillness that settled around me like a blanket, warm and familiar, though I hadn't expected it to feel this way. The world I had known, the people I had loved, seemed so distant now. But here, in this place, I felt whole again. Not sick, not broken, but... just me.

And then I saw them.

First, it was Lexi. My sister, my best friend, the person I had shared everything with. The one who always made me laugh, who could lift my spirits even when I didn't feel like being lifted. She had a way of seeing through the layers of my façade, of cutting through all the nonsense and getting straight to the heart of me.

She stood a little ways off, her long dark hair cascading down her shoulders, that mischievous smile of hers lighting up her face. For a moment, I thought I imagined it—my heart skipped, my chest tightened, as if the universe itself was playing a trick on me.

But then she was there, her arms open, her laughter ringing out like it used to.

"Mia?" Lexi whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "Is it really you?"

I couldn't hold back the tears as I ran into her arms, just like I used to when she was alive, when the world seemed so much simpler, so much easier. She held me tightly, the weight of her embrace grounding me, and for the first time in so long, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be.

"I missed you," I whispered through my tears. "I didn't think I'd see you again."

Lexi pulled back slightly, wiping my tears with the sleeve of her shirt. "I never left you, Mia. I've always been here. I've always been waiting for you."

Before I could say anything else, I heard a voice behind me, soft and familiar, filled with the kind of warmth that only comes from years of knowing someone, of sharing your soul with them.

"Mia?"

I turned and saw Addison. My Addison. My ex. My friend. My soulmate. The person who had once been the love of my life but had always felt like so much more than just a lover. She was everything to me—my confidante, my shoulder to cry on, the one person who understood me in ways no one else could.

Her smile was bittersweet, but it was a smile I had always adored, one that made everything else feel right in the world. She stepped toward me, her eyes filled with a mixture of love and sadness.

"You..." I choked out, my voice barely a whisper. "You came for me?"

Addison reached out, taking my hand in hers. The warmth of her touch was the same as it had always been, the comfort that had once soothed me in my darkest moments. "I never left you, Mia. I've always been here. I've always loved you."

Her words washed over me like a wave, pulling me in, and I didn't fight it. I couldn't. It was too much, too overwhelming. But I felt safe. I felt like everything was as it was meant to be. The world had taken us on separate paths in life, but now, in this place, it didn't matter. What mattered was that we were together again.

Just as I was about to speak, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. A deep, steady voice that made me feel like I was home, like I had never truly been alone.

"Mia?"

Derek. My friend. My protector. The person who had always been there when I needed him, who had shown me kindness in a world that could sometimes feel so harsh. He was there, standing with that knowing smile of his, his eyes glinting with a mixture of love and something deeper—something unspoken.