Leave {z.m.}

Forty Five

I hurried over to her and pulled her close to me. "How...do we...know..if it...worked?" she struggled to say. "Just wait," Gemma smirked.

At first, it felt like we were waiting forever for nothing to happen. Adelaide carefully caught her breath, Gemma's tapping foot echoed throughout the room, Xavier's eyes flickered back and forth between Gemma and Adelaide, and I was focused on helping Adelaide steady herself.

Then it hit me. Hard. It was as though a gust of sharp wind cut me in half; I was awakened. My lungs restarted with a burst, and soon I was stricken; I fell to the floor in a single moment and I was wheezing. It felt like the oxygen was trying to seep inside of me once again, but then it would escape back out. I was choking, gasping and panting for air. I suddenly needed it.

I needed air. I needed to breathe. I placed the palm of my hand over my chest, shocked to feel something. Literally feel something moving. The movement was subtle, but it was there. Beating. A faint heart beat. After all of this time, I'd finally caught the breath I'd been waiting for ever since I drowned those years ago.

"Zayn, what's happening?" Adelaide shook my arm and I focused on her, and only her. "I don't know," I whispered. For the first time since I'd been alive, I felt true fear. It was pounding in my head, but something else was pounding too. Has my heart actually restarted? Am I actually breathing?

"By breaking the curse...," Xavier struggled to speak as he experienced what I was going through, "you brought us to life, Addie." She covered her open mouth with her hands as she stared at me and Xavier in surprise. I was...alive. I was physically living and breathing once again.

I am no longer a part of the supernatural world. I am alive. Alive. Out of nowhere, Adelaide threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly as if I were going to disappear spontaneously. I guess I should expect the unexpected always though.

Adelaide had brought my feelings and emotions back. She had brought my memories of the past back. She had now also brought me back to life. I have been very grateful for all that she has done. I have become who I really am; who I was before. I had lived my life before though. Is it fair that I have been given another chance at life? It goes against nature; there could be consequences.

"I cannot believe it," I told her with awe present within my deep voice. She pressed her hand against my chest and felt the smooth, steady beating of my heart as it began to pump blood into my veins once again. "Your skin," she commented softly, caressing my face with her fingers.

"What about it?" I wondered gently. "You're not so pale anymore," she smiled to herself and I glanced down to my arms. She was right; the colour had returned to my body. My skin was glowing as though it was relieved to be filled with rushing blood and oxygen. "You are linked to it now, and I am not."

"What?" She stared quizzically and I explained, "The supernatural world." She nodded, "I was linked before you were though," she reminded me with a light laugh, and I nodded with a slowly growing smile. "This is unbelievable. Just wow," Adelaide's eyes lit up with excitement.

She looked over to Gemma, and I could sense that she wanted Gemma to be excited too. They had broken a curse together; they had brought us to life together. Would that mean anything at all to her? I observed Gemma's facial expressions and body language. She was not excited...because she had been expecting this to happen. 

I wish that I could ignore her. I am living; I am human. I could run away from here, and Adelaide and I...we could finally be together. I finally feel as though we have a chance. I am so out of it; do I ask her to be my girlfriend? I have been trapped in the dark for so long, and now the light is coming at me with full force, not hesitating for a moment to pull me into its embrace.

Am I ready for this? Will I actually be able to live normally, or will the past forever watch over me? "Gemma," Xavier muttered with suspecting eyes. "What?" She replied with a taunting voice. She believed that whatever she had planned would do a fair amount of damage. Sadly, I believed it too. Why should I not believe it?

"I know you all too well, darling," Xavier stepped slowly towards Gemma, as if he were calculating the slightest of movements. "Do you?" She raised an eyebrow and flicked a piece of her white, long, straight hair off her pale shoulder. "What sort of game are you playing now? What is there left that you still desire?" He tried to remain cool and composed, but I knew that he was heated.

"Game? You think this is only a game?" She questioned with a sly smile as her illuminated, emerald eyes sparkled with humour. "Yes, in fact, I do," he snapped suddenly; her smile grew wider. "You're still aging, Xavier. Both of you are," she reminded us without explaining why.

"I don't think we needed the reminder, Gem. What are you saying?" This time she grinned wickedly like the cheshire cat. "You are long past your time. You have lived longer than most," she stated simply. "I know," Xavier sighed in frustration. She was stalling.

"You know, I remember a time when you had asked, no, begged me perpetually to end your pain. I was never able to do so," she started, brushing away bits of dirt from her silky, navy blue, button-up blouse that stood out against her colourless skin. "I can now though," she added with her impish behaviour.

"Gemma, just stop. Haven't you done enough already?" Adelaide's voice cracked as she stared, disappointedly at her elder sister. "You are blind, my innocent little sister. Sacrifices must be made for the greater good. You will understand someday."

And that was her plan; it was her plan all along. Ever since she had known that Adelaide had met me. Ever since she first began to watch all of us. Her game was falling into place exactly how she wanted it to. There should be something to prevent the outcome she desperately wants, but there may not be one. Fate is fate; it cannot be changed.

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So...WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!?? 

Will Gemma's plan work? Is fate actually involved in this?

~Izzy