Whispering Tempest

Chapter Twenty Seven - Every Beginning Needs an End

Chapter Twenty Seven – Every Beginning Needs an End

I’ve never liked endings. It’s ironic since I’m the one who moved around a lot in the system, bouncing from one family to the next. They weren’t fresh starts and neither were they new beginnings; they were simply chapters of my bigger story. I have to remind myself that part of my life is over. If I still believe that’s who I am, then when will I open the next book on my life? Never. I am letting my past go. This is my beginning… and this is my end.

“Do not forget to visit, dear Emi— I mean, Abigail,” Lisa bids me as she wrapped her bare arms around my torso. She is the only one left standing with me at the Ledge since I needed to say our goodbye alone. I nuzzle my head into the crook of her neck. Her skin feels as soft as petals and a floral scent looms around her. She feels like life itself. I hold onto Lisa with a fear of letting go of her comforting touch.

“Why don’t you come visit me once in a while? I think Scott has tasty plant food somewhere around the house.”

Lisa chuckles and pushes a dreadlock out of my face. Both of us barely contain our tears. “Nymphs cannot leave their burial ground for long. You know this.”

I nod and embrace her again. “I’ll miss you.”

“Why should you,” she asks. “If you ever need me, you know where I am.”

Tears rush down my face from our heartbreaking goodbye. Lisa goes to ‘be one with her site’, as she put it. It must be a Nymph thing. Watching her drift away into the trees is hard. The wind picks up and my dreads fall over my eyes. By the time I fix my hair, she’s gone. I just got her back and she had to leave again. Ivette and Stephanie are a different story. They left a pit in my stomach which won’t ever heal.

I stay up at the Ledge. The morning tints the sky pinkish orange over the dark waves of the Atlantic. Out in the distant, a fish or something splashes in the water. Maybe it’s my sister. Maybe it’s Priya. Whatever or whoever it is, I hope they appreciate this sun as much as I do right now. It creates the serene atmosphere which keeps this the perfect place to cry. It’s the spot where I died, where I was reborn and the last place I have in remembrance of my sisters. Unlike before, I let myself weep over my losses. Emotions aren’t a weakness, they are a gift. They are what make us human. I need an ordinary place and my ordinary thoughts need time alone.

My heart feels emptier with part of my soul is missing, used in the spell to heal Xander. Lisa said it was normal. My best friend holds that other half, bound with me for life. I wish he were here but he was taken back to the beach house. He needed to rest on a softer bed than the grass he bled on. I glance at that spot. There’s still so much blood there. A shiver crawls up my back and I have to turn away.

As the wind kicks up again, I pull the edges of Carter’s shirt down. It’s so lucky he has a long torso otherwise I’d be more naked than I feel. My bare feet stroll over to the boulder Stephanie sat on last night, making sure the tail of the button up is tucked under my bottom. I gaze out to the ocean and sigh. This really is a beautiful place.

“Gail?”

My head circles back to find him. He watches me with shallow breaths emanating from his chest. His hair has fallen from his preferred spiky style, his cheeks are flushed and his skin is pale. A shirt too large for him lies over his torso since his other was covered in blood. Xander is standing there with the most grateful smile I’ve seen anyone wear. My heart soars from seeing him.

“Thank you,” he mutters simply.

“Xander!”

There is no feeling can match the pure thrill of seeing him alive. I can’t contain my urge to rush at him. My best friend and I find each other’s arms as if nothing else could prove they were truly there. His muscles are firm under my grasp but my fingers make their way to his cheeks, wondering how on earth he could have survived that. He lost so much blood.