The Infinity Trilogy

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The news broke later that morning. 

Baltimore had been attacked in the night.

No one had any video footage of what happened.  They only had video of everyone trying to clean everything up and getting ways to get all of the bodies of people back to their families. 

Thirty-four hundred people died, over a thousand fighting for their lives in multiple hospitals in a couple of states, over two thousand missing, and everyone else trying to pick up the pieces.

It didn’t surprise us when we saw the black SUVs driving toward the house and Secretary Duke was at our door, his men behind him.

“We’ve got some things to discuss,” he said once Anne invited him in. 

We all headed toward the dining room and sat down at the table.  Secretary Duke’s eyes went straight to Owen.

“So I heard you’ve gotten your memory back,” he said.

Owen’s hand found mine under the table and squeezed.  “Yes,” he answered simply.

“Well, that’s good, since we’ve now lost my son to Alex’s side.”

All of us were in silence.  My eyes filled up with tears.

“What are you talking about?” I choked out.  “He didn’t…”

One of Secretary Duke’s men handed him a file.  He opened it, pulling out a couple of photos and slid them down the table so all of us could see.

And there was Adrian, right beside Alex.

“Oh, God,” I said, covering my mouth with my hands.  “How could he do this?”

Secretary Duke sighed.  “He told me a week ago that Alex had gotten in contact with him.  Apparently Alex had invited him to join, knowing that he would never really belong here,” he said with a pointed look at me. 

I knew just what he was talking about.

“So he went to him because of me,” I stated. 

“Unfortunately, yes,” he said.

I closed my eyes and Owen squeezed my hand under the table. 

“We’ve got a feeling that they’re heading to D.C. next,” he said, changing the subject.  “We’re going to start evacuating tomorrow.  We don’t want any more lives being lost…”

I kind of zoned out after that and stood up to leave.  I didn’t feel anyone follow me as I went upstairs and toward the balcony that my room shared with Owen’s.

It was my fault that Adrian had gone to Alex.  It was because I was choosing Owen over him.  How could I not, though?  Yes, I loved Adrian as more that a friend, but I loved Owen a thousand times more than that.  With Adrian, it was like I kind of had to force myself to try and see what a future would have been like with him.  With Owen, it was just there like it had always been. 

And now always would be.

An arm wrapped around my waist, startling me, before I realized just who it was.

“Are you okay?” Owen asked softly in my ear as he rested his head against mine. 

I nodded, turning around under his hold to face him.

“As okay as I can be right now.”

“Is this about Adrian?” he asked.  His eyes narrowed just the slightest at the name.

I just looked at him.  “Sort of,” I said. 

Owen looked hurt as he tried to move away from me.  I held on tight, though.

“No, it’s not like that,” I said.  “Yes, Adrian’s special to me, but you…you mean more to me than anything else in this entire world.”

Owen moved toward me again, leaning down to kiss me slowly.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to have you back,” I said once we pulled apart.  “And I’m talking about you, not just you.  It’s been so hard for you not to remember.  I think I was having just a hard enough time as you were.”

“No, I don’t think you were,” he said, laughing.  “I couldn’t remember a thing.  But then I opened my eyes and saw you.  It was the day of the mall attack.  Yeah, I couldn’t remember anything, but I knew that I knew you.”

My eyes widened.  “So you still remember what happened after you lost your memory?” I asked. 

“Yeah,” he said, nodding.  “Lola, stop worrying now.  I’m fine, just like I was before.  We’ve got big things to be thankful for and even bigger things to worry about.  But once it’s all over, it can just be us.  We’ll have normal lives.  Well, that is, if the truth about us doesn’t get out.  If it does, I don’t know how we’re going to deal with that.”  He smiled, caressing my cheek with his thumb.  “But there is one thing that I’m sure is going to happen.”

“What’s that?”

Owen tightened his hold on me and leaned down to rest his forehead against mine.  “It might not be for a few years, but I’m marrying you,” he said softly.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at him.  “Owen…”

He shook his head.  “No, don’t say that I’m crazy.  Yeah, I just got all of my memories back a few hours again, but I know what I want.  I want to be with you for the rest of my life.  We’re going to have lots of kids together, watch them grow up.  I’m going to grow old with you, holding your hand the entire time and never letting go.”

I closed my eyes as my tears started falling down my cheeks, wrapping my arms around his neck.  “I wasn’t going to say no,” I said, quietly. 

I heard him sigh and then his lips pressed softly against mine. 

But when I pulled back and opened my eyes, I didn’t see him anymore.

It was night, the moon hanging in the sky above.  And when I looked down from the high point I was standing, all I saw was D.C. completely destroyed. 

It was deathly quiet, something that was so unnatural for it.  I could smell smoke in the air and see fires burning randomly down on the streets. 

The front page of the newspaper fluttered by on the breeze.  It seemed to slow as it passed me, allowing me to see just what date was on it.

And it was today.

Apparently I’d fallen because when I came to, Owen was holding me up in his arms, looking down at me with concern clear on his face. 

“What happened?” he asked hurriedly.  “You had a vision, didn’t you?  What happened?”

I shook my head, leaning more against him.  “It’s tonight,” I said.  “Tonight is when they’re attacking D.C.”