Shattered Soul

Chapter Twenty Six

Cora took my hand. After a while of me just hiccupping/sobbing, I had started the whole process of snotting and crying my eyes out again. Only then did Cora take my hand.

She squeezed it gently, letting me know she was there but not saying anything, just listening to me cry.

I didn't squeeze it back I just stared in front me and kept crying, like the weak person my brother said I was. I was still mad at her too. But more than anything I still wanted her. I missed her. But I wasn't about to give in to that.

All of a sudden, I felt the bed dip. Cora had climbed on to the bed and sat next to me. She started to rub my back. It was something she would do to calm me down whenever I was upset. And it always worked, my sobbing minimized to the little hiccups, and I had stopped tearing up.

"Rey, look at me" she said very softly. I was tempted but didn't give in.

"Rey. I said look at me" I still didn't look at her. And that's when I felt her hand under my chin and turn it towards her. Did I ever mention that it broke my heart every time I saw how sad she was? Well, this was ten times worse...I've seen her cry before and the after effects of it but the way she looked now, was tearing me apart. It was torture to see her in pain, but this the look in her eyes made a little of part of me die inside. If I ever had to see it again, I probably would.

She was in pain, so much pain that it showed in every inch of her face. Her eyes were red, brimmed with tears. Her nose was also red. Her million-watt smile was turned down into a painful frown, and those eyes...the eyes are what got me...It was...was so so sad. It took all my will power to not give her a hug, to not comfort her.

"Rheya, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." She pulled me into a hug and held me tight. It felt good. Really good...maybe too good. Oops. But she was warm, and I don't know why but all her hugs put me at ease. But this one was different, it made me feel weird. Well weird in a good way. It felt...right. I held her close to me, letting her know I knew she was sorry but..."Yo-you li-lied to me" I choked out.

"We're fr-friends, best friends...w-ww-we're supposed to tell each other everything."

"Yeah we are" is all she said

"You u-used me t-tt-o, used me and then left...and now your alive but not alive? C-CORA IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME??"

She was silent while I started to cry again.

"I didn't know, I didn't know it would be this hard for you, I didn't know me leaving would hurt you...I thought you knew what was going on, I thought you knew what you were... What all of us are" She whispered. I could tell she was holding back tears.

"But I didn't...and you...you showed up and I've been thinking I've gone crazy.... your dead, you were buried. And now...." I trailed off lost and having no clue what else to say.

I heard her sigh. "Rey, when we die, we go to this place, like a court room...there you are judged. They judge how you lived the good and the bad ever since you were born. It's a harsh process...but what happens is you get sent somewhere after that, but it depends...I don't want to go into all the details. But let's just say that there is a special kind of race that lives among humans...and when they 'die' we evolve, whether we kill ourselves or not. Basically, though is that we become our true selves, what we were born to do...protect others, fight for peace, and guard the earth, but in our true form...we can't do that in our human bodies, they are not compatible like that. So we are sent here-"

"Olympus?" I interrupted.

"What? No... it's just called Base. It's a training camp. After we're judged...we have no choice but to come here. It's a lot to take in but trust me, I'm still getting used to it"

"I don't think I ever will..." I said sleepily.

"Rey?"

"Yea?" I said snuggling a bit closer.

"I should've told you...I-I-I should've told you everything."

I heard what she said, but I blurted out, "I thought you hated me; it seems that everyone hates me...my brother, I let him down. And you. Causing you unnecessary stress...putting you in a place you shouldn't be, this isn't your fault...and I've been blaming you the whole time...I can't believe...I mean it's not fair. I was so unfair to you and-and I didn't even realize that you were suffering just as much...we were both pawns in some sick game...I don't know" I had stopped crying, (thank God) and now was resting my head in the crook of her neck, while she rubbed her hand up and down my shoulder...I was feeling a lot better.

"You've been through a lot more than I have these past few weeks...it's been worse than-"

"You. Died. For. Me. It doesn't get any more extreme than that."

All of a sudden, she burst out in tears. Her face wet, shoulders shaking, short breaths, and the moaning, everything that completed her crying...

I bolted straight up, causing us to break apart our hug. I immediately regretted that because it made her cry even harder than she was. I winced at how I saw her crying...I wanted to hug her again and tell her everything would be alright, even though we both knew it wouldn't...but she has her arms wrapped around her tightly, and she started to rock back and forth, it was something she did whenever she was panicked, having an anxiety attack.

"Rr-rh-rheya? I love you...always have always will. But I didn't realize that I loved you until after I had died...I wanted you more than anything else, I don't want to protect the fucking world cuz you are my world. We've done everything together, and I thought that I lost that cu-cuz I had a du-duty to fu-ful-fill....I missed you every single fucking day...I watched how everything just seemed to fall apart for you, and I hate it. I hate seeing you hurt. I hate seeing so far away and distant...and when when we had that argument, the day of test. And after all those things you said...I th-th-thought you'd be better off without me. I saw how I got you into this mess, I saw how bad it tore you apart...I saw that it saw was my fault...if I hadn't died you could still be happy...we could still be together, but I ruined it I ruined everything, and I-I...." She trailed off and we both stared at each other. She still had tears running down her cheek, and I felt some start to sting my eyes God, this is probably the most I've ever cried in my entire life)

I looked at her, like really looked at her. There was something beautiful about the way she cried, I don't know what really but there was something. I saw everything about her, from her flawless skin to her face...and I got this tingly feeling. This warm sensation taking over as she said that she loved me.

After she started to cool down, I gave her a tight but welcoming hug.

"I love you Rheya," she whispered to me in my hair. And in that moment, I did something...something terrifyingly scary and risky but I went for it...I kissed her. I kissed her smack on the lips.

And the surprising thing is she kissed me back.