Paige and the Lost Library of Atlantis

Paige and the Lost Library of Atlantis Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Paige heard the sound of machines beeping. Light shone from above, making her eyes ache. She tried to get up, but leather straps held her in place. She wasn't sure what was happening, and her breath was coming faster and faster. A panicked scream escaped from her lips.

Billie stirred from her slumped position in the chair next to Paige's bed. She rushed over to her bedside and started to undo the straps.

"Paige, shhh, hun, it's me," Billie said, brushing her hair out of her face.

Paige was in a panic. "What ...what happened? Where am I"?

"Hey, calm down. You're ok. You got stuck inside your mind during the ward removal. I had to go in and rescue you."

Marcus came over to the bedside, checking Paige's pulse. "You are a lucky lady. If I had my way, Miss Turner certainly would not have risked her life to save you."

Billie reached for Paige's other arm, to release her bindings, but Paige pulled away from her. She went to try again but stopped when she saw the fear in Paige's eyes.

Overwhelmed, Paige began to lose her temper. "You risked your life? You could have died, Billie! Come here." She tried to lean forward, but one of her arms was still strapped down. She reached over and hastily undid the buckle, reaching down to free her feet as well.

"Paige?" Billie hesitantly stepped forward.

Paige reached out and grabbed Billie's hand, pulling her towards the bed. Billie climbed up into the bed, tears falling down her already swollen face. They held onto each other tightly, both afraid to let go, afraid to face what the other had learned.

Billie was the first to break their embrace. She looked up into Paige's eyes.

"Paige, I couldn't do this without you. You can be angry all you want, but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. I would still come and rescue you. I will always rescue you, every time Paige, every time."

Paige held on tighter to her sweet girl, grateful that Billie seemed to love all her broken pieces.

"Billie, I'm not angry with you, not really. I don't ever want to lose you, ok? I can't do this without you either. Especially now." Tears filled her eyes, and she angrily swiped them away.

"My heart hurts so much," She whispered. "I don't know if I can ever put all my broken pieces back together again, Billie. I've lost everyone; what are we even doing? Why do any of us exist at all? What the hell is the point if we're all going to die anyway?" Paige buried her face in Billie's shoulder, taking deep breaths, trying to get ahold of herself.

Billie held Paige close, stroking the back of her neck gently.

"I don't know what the point is, Paige. Life has dealt me more love and more loss than I ever could have imagined. What I do know, however, is that you have to keep going. Whatever we do, we can't give up. We take it one day at a time hun, and if all you do with today is survive it, then that's perfectly ok."

She put her hands on either side of Paige's face and kissed her. She kissed her on the lips, right in front of Marcus and The Curator. Paige kissed her back, biting Billie's lower lip, and letting it go slowly.

Tears leaked out of Billie's eyes as she broke away from Paige's embrace.

"I'm so glad I have you back, I thought I'd lost you there for a minute. You're my person, and I can't save the universe without you. I'm here for you, Paige; I'm right here." She hugged Paige tightly as if she was about to float away.