Chapter Thirty-Four: Deja-vu

Song recommended: Track 9 by Alexander 23

Enjoy!

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The sun rays warmed the atmosphere as easily as they provided sunlight and at that moment it was welcomed as the sound of my mother's heartbeat reminded me that she was alive and fighting to stay with the living.

Confusion settled in Aria's mind as this felt like déjà vu, as though she hadn't just run outside and tried to jump off the cliff. She looked around the room and noticed that Harry sat beside her mother's bed but James wasn't in the room. She watched the color that settled on her mother's cheek seem to seep back in as though life had been given back to her, as though not just moments ago there weren't pale and death wasn't just here.

Aria basked in the little happiness and wondered how long she would have until the doctor came back in here and delivered the bad news. She wondered how long she would have until the stranger would come and use the deal to their advantage. She wondered how long she would have until everything came crashing back down and everything went back to going against her true heart's desires.

The door opened and in walked in James, an expression of confusion settled onto his face as he looked around confused. He walked towards me and held my face in his hands. Seemingly looking for something on me, my face mirrored his expression as I wondered what on earth was he doing.

"James…" she whispered slowly, now thinking that her friend had become a retard, "What. Are. You. Doing?"

"I swear we weren't here moments ago, I swear, I just need rest or something because I would have sworn we weren't just here," he whispered at her, waiting to see if her face would sink into realization but she stared at him with a dumb look and James wondered if he had truly lost his mind.

But it couldn't be.

He remembered having spoken to Harry about possibly looking for a new hospital. Harry had said he some connections and he would do whatever he could to save Aria's mother. He wasn't angry at what Aria had said or done, in fact, he had said he understood.

James remembered walking out to find Aria so he could speak to her and maybe come down to some resolution but when he couldn't find her anywhere, he got worried and hurried out of the hospital to look for her. He raced outside when he caught sight of her scarf on the grass outside and it had led him to race into the forest close to the hospital.

He remembered screaming her name and trying to see if she was anyway close by, he remembered tripping several times as he ran and looked around like a mad man. His heart nearly bursting at the fear and adrenaline that raced through his body. He prayed to whatever God that she was alright and hadn't done anything stupid because of the overwhelming emotions.

He was nearly mad that she hadn't come to him to find comfort but had gone out without knowing which direction would be the safest. And that thought scared him more, more because nobody knew if the forest was safe from wild animals or if there was a crazy person in the forest that would kill her.

Or if she would kill herself.

He remembered stopping where he heard her voice and ran towards it but when he was close, he caught sight of two strangers in black cloaks facing her. Speaking to her about something and it scared him. What if they were murders and cult leaders and they would use her.

Yet as soon as he tried to reach her, there was a force field that separated them and he couldn't hear anything anymore. He saw her step back but she didn't fall to her death. No, she stood on air, he could see the shock on her face and how she hadn't expected it.

But when he tried again to reach her, it still wasn't possible and he saw the one stranger head towards her. James had never felt so possessive and so scared in his life, until that very moment. He banged on the force and punched with his entire life, but still, nothing happened. Except for his fists that were bleeding, he screamed and screamed, feeling his throat burning but he didn't care.

James feared that he would lose the one person who he cared about and who cared about him but all of a sudden here she was, standing in front of him, unharmed, he could see how she stared at him as though he lost his mind but he didn't care.

As long as she was right in front of him and okay, as long as she was in his arms and breathing. As long as her heart was beating, he didn't care.

But that moment ended too soon as soon as the doctor walked in with a frown.

Here we go.