Cinderella: A Fractured Fairytale

Eighteen

Chapter 18

Ana's POV

***

"Eric, wake up." I demanded, shaking his shoulder again. "Open your eyes!" The tears gathered in my own eyes and blurred my vision. I felt them falling to the cold stone floor and disappearing

Like my dying hope.

"Please," I sobbed, feeling for a pulse. A heartbeat. Anything.

But there was nothing.

He was gone.

The tears flowed faster, and I clasped his no longer warm hand in mine, unable to cope with the reality staring me in the face.

I had promised him we would talk about our feelings after the plan was completed.

Now there was no after.

I stroked the curve of his jaw. "Come back." I pleaded to his motionless form. "Come back. I have to tell you, Eric." Tears slid down my cheeks as I continued, sobbing. "It's too late." I choked out. "It's too late, but I need to say it." I sucked in a shaky breath, dissolving into tears again. "I've always felt useless. Worthless. Uncared for." My voice wavered. "It seemed e-everyone was better than me in practically every way. But you - you make me feel different. Valued." I choked on the next word. "Happy. And I just want to be the reason for your happiness."

He twitched slightly. Or was it my imagination?

"Eric, I need you. I can't... I can't go on the way I am without you. All my life I've hidden behind walls and tried not to be noticed, but you broke the walls holding me and now I'm free. And it's because of you." My voice broke. "Because of you. Eric, I'm not afraid when I'm with you. If you leave me, then-" I broke down and sobbed, unable to finish. My face crumpled and my whole body shook, the sobs wracking it as hopelessness overtook me. He would never wake up. "I need you," I whispered. My voice cracked.

Wait.

This time I knew it wasn't my imagination when I saw a faint smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. A dimple appeared on his cheek, and I gasped as his eyelids fluttered.

"Eric!" I breathed, tears still running silently down my cheeks.

He opened his eyes slowly. His smile grew. "Why, Ana. You're certainly good at making speeches that would raise the dead." he said softly.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I settled on both. "Eric!"

I attacked him with an embrace that practically knocked him over from trying to sit up. He caught me in his arms, laughing softly.

"Did you really mean all that?" he asked, holding me tight.

"Every word." I whispered back. "But there was one thing I didn't say."

"And what's that?" He let go and held me at arm's length, studying my tear-streaked face.

"I love you."

The words felt sweet on my tongue, like honey. Upon hearing them, Eric froze. His intense green eyes bored into mine.

"Say that again." he whispered, never moving.

A tear streaked down my cheek, left over from his near death. "I love you, Eric. I love you."

His face relaxed and he drew in a shaky breath, reaching out to touch my cheek. I smiled through my thickening tears. His fingertips made me tingle.

"Don't cry, Ana." Eric whispered. The words sent a shiver and a thrill through me. "Why are you crying?" His voice was tender. I'd never heard him speak that way before.

You almost died!" I choked out.

Eric bent in closer and stroked my hair. His green eyes were bright and soft. "Shh, Ana. Don't cry, love. I'm here; see? I'm okay. I'm alive." He shivered lightly. "And I've never felt so alive."

He wrapped me in a tight embrace. His light flared.

The movement jarred my injured arm, and I flinched slightly. He noticed, and his face twisted in pain. "Oh, Ana...." Eric trailed off. He closed his eyes, stone getting brighter, then dimming at an alarming rate. I felt my arm mending and gasped.

"Eric, no!"

He opened his eyes again, breathing hard.

I was crying softly again. "I could lose you, Eric. Your death would put me through more pain than any fractured arm."

He brushed away my tears. "I know my limits."

The words gave me pause. I stared at him for a moment, then buried my head in his chest. "Don't leave me." My voice was muffled.

He held me for a moment, stroking my hair and rubbing my back. Then he turned my chin up with his fingertip, whispering gently as he leaned in. "Ana..." - his breath was soft and warm on my face - "Ana..."

His lips brushed mine in the barest whisper of a kiss.

His eyes opened just a fraction and he whispered against my lips gently.

"I will never leave you."