The Illusion (Book Two in The Illusion of Certainty Series)

Seeing Red

He was standing there, by the window. I was standing by my door, the light casting a soft glow in the room. We stared at each other for the longest time.

“You love him.” It was a statement. Not a question.

“Yes.”

“Do you still love me?”

“How can you ask me that?”

His emotions flooded into the room. He was angry that I loved someone else. He was angry over the fact that my future would be short lived, that my time on this planet would be brief.

“Do. You. Love. Me?”

“Yes,” I said. “But you left me.”

More anger. “I had to.”

“You should’ve dealt with Jason first.”

“I realize that.”

“Sophie could have been hurt. All because you left to stroke your ego.”

“You think this is easy for me?” He strode across the room and stood in front of me. “I leave and you fall for someone else.”

“I fell for him long before you left. I just didn’t know it.”

“How could you not know?”

“Because, Michael. You’re not the only one who has to contend with their feelings. I waged a war everyday over how I felt about you. I wasn’t given a chance to figure out how I felt about Aidan. All there was was you.”

His eyes flashed at me. “How long? I know you’ve figured that part out.”

“Two weeks after I got out of the hospital.”

He pushed off the wall behind me. “And what about me?”

“You left me, Michael. I wasn’t enough to keep you here and I don’t blame you for that. You knew I was going to move on, it had to cross your mind.”

“But not with him.”

“Why not him?”

“He’s…he’s not right for you.”

“Why? Because you don’t like him? If I can’t be with you, Michael, who would you like me to be with?”

“NO ONE!” he yelled.

I was starting to get angry now. “I was with Aidan before you left…”

“Yes and I hated every minute of it. That’s why I left. You know that.”

“So you’d rather me be lonely for the rest of my short life?”

“Pick someone else. Anyone else.” Michael looked at me. “Pick me. Pick me now and I’ll come back.”

My heart stopped, I swear it did. “What?”

“Pick. Me.”

“I can’t. Michael. We’ve already been over this.”

“If you’re going to die anyways, then why does it matter what everyone else thinks? Pick me and I’ll come back.”

His sincerity was suffocating me. I was sure if I did pick him, if I said yes, he would come back. But then where would that leave Aidan? Could I do that to him? After everything? It was an easy solution. It would help him move on, move to the girl he was supposed to be with.

“I can’t choose, Michael. I love you both.”

He was on me then, pressing the length of his body up against mine. “You can choose you just don’t want to.”