While I Was Away(71)

“I don't know,” she replied. “It's as good a place as any, though, isn't it? A nice place to spend eternity.”

He didn't want to play games. He'd never liked games. While she spoke, his eyes wandered over her form, searching for a difference from the real Adele. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, and a dark red sweater with the Penn State logo on it. Was that some sort of message? Adele hadn't gone to Penn State – she'd gone to college in Los Angeles.

Holy shit, how did I know that?

“You know a lot more than you think,” she whispered, reading his mind.

“Don't do that!” he shouted. “Stay out of my head!”

“But that's the only place I exist. Where would I go if you kicked me out?”

There was a loud thunder clap and he ducked out of reflex. A glance behind him showed that the tornado was definitely getting closer.

“We can't stay here, it'll kill us,” he warned her. She laughed once again, then finally turned her head towards him.

“You're scared of something as silly as death?”

She was Adele. He would swear on his life it was really her. Not some dream, but the real woman. Her porcelain skin, with just a hint of roses in her cheeks. Her mouth that was made to smile, and the one dimple that always appeared just to the right of it.

And of course her most startling feature was in full effect – her beautiful violet eyes. They were wide and dewy, almost luminous, and thankfully not full of tears. She'd been crying before they'd fallen asleep, and it had broken his heart in a way he hadn't thought was possible.

“I'm scared of you,” he breathed.

“I know, Jones. It's okay.”

“I've never felt something like this,” he confessed. “I don't know you, and yet ... you own me. That isn't right. It's not fair. It's ...”

“Scary,” she finished for him. “Love isn't always easy or fair, but that doesn't stop it from being true.”

He closed his eyes.

“How can I love someone I've never met?” he asked. “Someone I don't really know?”

“Just because you can't recognize me,” she started. “Doesn't mean your soul can't.”

“I don't believe in soulmates.”

“Pity. I do.”

He laughed and finally looked at her again.

“I know you do,” he sighed, then he reached out and brushed some stray hairs behind her ear. “God, I know you do. Just like I know you love me so much, you're willing to let me ruin us before we've even started.”

“I am,” she nodded her head, then leaned into his hand. He brushed his thumb over the shell of her ear.

“What if you wake up some day and you don't love me anymore?” he asked, scooting closer to her. The wind was really picking up, snatching his words away from them. “What if this is all really just a dream?”

She lifted that heavy lapis gaze to him, and there was no accusation in them. There never had been, he realized. Not once, not even when he'd been angry at her in the hospital, or furious with her in that parking lot. There'd only ever been acceptance.

“Then what a dream it is,” she breathed. “I hope we never wake up.”

Jesus, he wanted to kiss her. Wanted to crush her to him, hold her so tightly she'd become one with him. He wasn't whole, never had been, and she was his missing piece. And it had taken a dream to bring them together.

And if it really is a dream, then please, don't let me wake up. I want to feel this way forever.

“I'm not afraid of you,” he stated.

“You are, but it's okay. I'm scared of me, too. I'm scared of this place and I'm scared of you, but most of all, I'm scared of myself,” she assured him, pulling away from his touch.

“Well, I won't be from now on. Not anymore.”

“Words are easy, Jones. Actions were always more your style,” she reminded him as she stood up.

She was absolutely right. He'd always been a man of action. He climbed to his feet as well, and then she reached out and held his hand

“I'll prove it to you when I wake up,” he promised.

“When you wake up, if you wake up. What if this is awake?” she asked, gesturing across the ravine with her free hand. “What if you've been dreaming the whole time, and this is reality?”

“Then I'll prove it here,” he responded.

“You're not ready.”

“I am.”

“You're sure?” she asked, turning to fully face him, but not letting go of his hand. The tornado was now in the center of the field, tearing the poppies to shreds.

Jones thought for a long second. Thought about her beautiful eyes and the way her smile made him feel and how even in the hospital, even when she'd been unconscious, he'd felt like he'd known her from somewhere.

Because you did – you knew her in your soul.

“I'm positive.”

She dropped to the side abruptly, going over the edge of the cliff. Jones let out a shout and clung to her hand, gripping it between both of his. Her momentum swung them around so they were both facing the canyon – Adele hanging over it at an angle, her toes barely clinging to the cliff edge. Jones was leaning back, gritting his teeth with the effort it was taking to hold her up. It felt like she was made of lead.