I Fell In Love With A Convict

VI. Hook Line and Sinker

 

I opened my eyes and gasped as I rose from bed. I’m back? I recognized that ivory paint on the wall, that see-through lemon shaded veil swaying over that familiar rectangular iron-barred window, and the sweet fragrance of dogwood flowers standing in the porcelain vase on the bedside table. Every bit of my room’s detail surrounded me. But how can this be? Where is Lyndon? Garnet? Clio? And… Phillippe? 

 

I stepped onto the floor and glanced around me once more. Was it all just a dream? But… it can’t be… It all seemed so real. I should be glad that I’m finally back, but… why am I… so disappointed? Have they become this important to me in that short period that we’re together? No… This was my wish. I’m home at last. And I… I could ask for no more…

 

"Damn it, Lyndon. I told you to take care of her!"

 

My eyes widened. That voice! I know that voice… My heart started pounding fast against my chest. I threw my eyes around me, but… I was alone. This can’t be… This can’t be. I can hear them… 

their voices sounded distant, but…

 

"Sorry, sorry! Chill, man."

 

"I want to kill you, you know that?"

 

"Very much, yes."

 

"I’ll deal with you later, Dragonscale."

 

Could you believe this? I can feel my eyes heating up again. Why do I hear them now? I’ve got what I wanted… I was finally… home! I want nothing more than to be away from all those confusion… to be away from them…

 

"Lois. Are you alright? Speak to me." 

 

I didn’t get exactly what happened next, but I felt a sudden strong determination… an unfamiliar will… and then my eyes jerked wide open. Again. So it was just the vision of home…my most hidden desire… and now I was back to reality. 

 

And there he was. I didn’t dare blink, worrying that he might disappear again… like he was just a vision too… ‘

 

To my shock, I felt something wet fall from my eyes, and as if I wasn’t in control of my own body, I threw myself to the guy sitting on the bed before me and flung my arms around him. 

 

“Phillippe!” I cried out, only to gasp at my own behavior and feel ashamed afterwards. But the thing is, however much I try to regret my shocking involuntary reaction, I could never undo what had been done. I instantly broke away with my head down and shut my eyes. “S-Sorry! I-I was dreaming!” I tried to cover the shame, but I’m afraid that my excuse was as lame as it could ever get. Oh darn. I want to evaporate into thin air! I kept my eyes shut, waiting… trying to feel his movements… listening for his words… but as much as I wanted to avoid his eyes, his hand came unexpectedly on my face, and my eyes slowly opened.

 

“Forgive me. I’ll murder Lyndon later for you. Letting you cry was not what I told him to do.” he told me seriously, wiping the tears sliding down my face.

 

I opened my mouth to speak.

 

“B-But why are you here? How were you able to return? I thought—“