Paige and the Lost Library of Atlantis

Paige and the Lost Library of Atlantis Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The glowing blue light in front of Billie's door faded gently. Not that she noticed. Paige slowly made her way inside the white room. She sat down on Billie's bed, leaning over to remove her restraints. Billie seemed to be asleep. She could see her face was red and swollen, tear streaks stained on her face.

"Oh, Billie, my sweet girl. I'm so sorry I wasn't here. Baby, I'm here, I'm here." Billie lay still, unmoving and unresponsive to Paige's words.

Paige let out a soft cry, and felt hot tears streaking down her face. She laid herself down next to Billie, wrapping her arms around the girl she loved.

"Please, Billie, please wake up. I'm here; I'm alive. I can't do this without you; I can't, I can't." Paige rested her head on Billie's chest and sobbed openly.

Billie stirred slowly. She began to murmur. "No, no, you're not here, you're dead. It's all my fault." Billie opened her eyes, looking down at Paige's head on her chest.

"Paige? Paige! Are you real? Is this heaven? Am I dead too?" Billie rubbed her eyes and looked at Paige again.

Paige raised her head and looked into Billie's shining eyes. "Baby, It's me, I'm here, we're ok, we're alive." She leaned closer to Billie's face and kissed her on the cheek.

Billie sat up and wrapped her arms around Paige tightly. "I thought you were dead!" She sobbed hard against Paige's shoulder. Paige cried silently as Billie's body shook against her.

"Shh.. It's ok; It's ok. Billie, I'm here now," Paige gently pushed Billie off her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Billie, my love." She said. "I'm right here."

Billie looked at her sweet Paige, here, and back from the dead. She ran her fingers through Paige's long hair.

"I just...I'm sorry, and I love you, and I can't do any of this without you." She hiccuped.

Paige gently reached up to wipe the tears from Billie's cheeks. She looked into the eyes of this sweet girl she loved, who loved her back.

"I'm scared, Billie. This place, it stirs something in me. They said I have something dark in me, hidden away with memory wards. This place, where ever we are, messes with those wards. I need you, Billie. I can feel this crushing weight, just below the surface. I just..." Paige's voice broke.

Billie threaded her fingers through Paige's. "I don't know what the future holds for us, Paige, but what I do know is that as long as we have each other, we can figure it out together. I think I think we might be from the same place, from the same world. I saw that photo you were drawn to, back in Thaddeus's cubicle. They have the same picture here, in the hall outside this room. There was another one, right next to it, that was from my world."

Something ached in Paige. A memory just out of her reach. "Billie, can you tell me about it, your world, our world, please?"

Billie took a deep breath and sighed.

"Ok." She said with tears in her voice. "The sun is low and red, casting the world in perpetual twilight. Soft pink skies hang above a purple ocean. Talking Trees stand tall with brilliant blue leaves, as blue as the Earth sky on a sunny summer day. I don't like to remember much from that time; it's too hard. Although, I remember walking along the beach, black sand between my toes. The water curling around my ankles as the tide slipped in and out. If I close my eyes, that memory feels like peace. When I try to reach through the fog of grief, that's what I remember, peace." Tears sprang from her eyes, and she tried to wipe them away.

Paige leaned in and kissed her, right there, not caring where they were. She kissed every tear off her face. They fell back against the bed as grief quickly turned into passion. It was as if every touch could stop time, like every heated moment could be kept forever in her heart. They moved together, under the blankets, doing their best to heal each other.