[BOOK TWO]
Once a deep and powerful connection between two people has been made they become a vital part in each other's lives and there is no separating them. No measure of distance or duration of silence can prevent the outbreak of smiles and laug...
AS SOON AS SIERRA GOT HOME from the track meet, her older sister pulled her into a hug. Sierra squeezed Jemma back tightly, wrapping her arms around her.
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It had been hard on the bus ride, especially after Stiles had fallen asleep on her shoulder, his mouth half-open. He had been her distraction, to keep her from thinking about what she envisioned outside the motel. Though now he was right next door in his own home, simply answering his father's questions with little to no detail. Sierra had texted Jemma on the way back after her boyfriend passed out, explaining everything except her hallucination. That was something she had to tell the young woman in person. The oldest Page sibling knew her sister was holding something back, even before she came inside.
After placing her bag in her room, Sierra jogged down the steps to find Jemma sitting on the couch with a cup of tea in her hand, another mug on the coffee table. Jemma smiled warmly in greeting, allowing Sierra to sit beside her underneath a blanket. It was silent for a couple minutes as they drank their drinks quietly, each of them breathing calmly to keep themselves together.
"I can't imagine how it felt," Jemma finally broke out softly, piercing the air. Sierra's blue eyes shifted from her tea to look at her sister. "Seeing Scott and your other friends like that, their minds tricking them into seeing what wasn't there."
"It killed me," Sierra revealed truthfully, her finger tracing the rim of the mug aimlessly. Ever since Tennessee, they had made a pact to be honest with one another. And Sierra didn't plan on breaking it any time soon. "Scott has always been the one to keep us all together, who always keeps fighting when everyone else gives up. Seeing him, standing there with a flare, saying everything bad was his fault, broke my heart. If we had gotten there any second later, he would've-"
Her voice got caught in her throat. She gulped and exhaled deeply before continuing, Jemma watching her with eyes full of sorrow. "I don't want to think of what would've happened if Stiles hadn't been there. For Scott or for me."
Jemma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, not understanding the last few words. "What do you mean, for you?"
"Isaac, Scott, Boyd, Ethan," Sierra listed off and then hesitated for a moment before going on. "They weren't the only ones hallucinating."
Jemma quickly straightened her back, leaning forward to place her tea on the small table in front of them. Turning towards her younger sister in concern, she asked, "What did you see?"
Sierra stared back at her, wondering if her next words would completely shatter everything they've ever known. "The night that changed our lives forever," she licked her lips, feeling her fingertips tremble. She looked back up at Jemma, a tear running down her cheek. "I saw Mom and Dad."
Jemma's breath hitched, feeling her heart skip a beat from shock. Did Sierra know? Sierra avoided her gaze, recollecting everything she saw. "After Stiles saved Scott, I saw Dad with his back turned towards me, walking towards the road. I-I couldn't believe it, so I followed him to be sure. The next thing I remember is feeling like I was flying and then I was next to a road I knew I had seen before. I turned my head and saw that blue sedan I used to ride in on the way to school..." Her eyes closed while her head started to shake from side to side. "Mom and Dad were laughing, in the way they always did. Kali stepped out from the bushes and made them steer off the road before he appeared."
