Entangled (Entangled Trilogy #1) (21 page)

“
I really, really love
Adri—Adonael,” I started again.

“
I know you do. You two are meant
to be together. Forever and forever,” she said, getting very edgy.
“So . . . what is it going to be, Rose?” she asked me again. I
sighed before looking up at her, holding up my head high to show no
fear.

“
I guess I will accept your
offer,” I said and she sighed in content.

“
You have to say it like a vow to
actually escape this place,” she told me and I repeated myself this
time, like a vow.

“
I, Rosemarie, accept your offer.
I will take your second chance and go back to Earth to fulfill my
purpose. I will stay by my soul mate’s side, help him and love him.
I will not fail you, Lord,” I said in a strong voice. I stated each
word as if it made a huge difference which it did.

“
Excellent, now, to finish off the
whole ritual, you must think of something back on Earth that would
make you want to live. Every time you think of it, it would make
your life worth living. Remember, I will always be watching you,
guiding you every step of the way. Don’t be afraid,” she told me. I
conjured an image of Adrian, my soul mate. I thought of his
beautiful aquamarine eyes, his angular cheekbones and those lips
that were just like mine, not full and not thin.

I reminded myself of his warmth
and his heavenly scent as if he was right next to me. I reminded
myself of all of our kisses and misunderstandings, wishing I could
go back there again and fix it all. I even felt as if I was
floating in the air. All of a sudden, I couldn’t feel anything, not
even that airy feeling. What was worst is that I couldn’t remember
a single thing about Adrian or Elliot or anyone. Panic started to
kick in when I realized that I couldn’t open my eyes
either.

I felt something very bright shine
on my face, but my eyes were closed. My whole body felt fine, no
more pain but I heard distant voices which I recognized as Adrian’s
and someone else’s. I waited for them to leave and then opened my
eyes, slowly but carefully.

It took my eyes awhile to adjust,
but once I did, I wish I hadn’t. I was in the hospital. Not just
any hospital, a private hospital. I sat up and I thought that I
would fall off or something, but I didn’t. There was no more pain
in my body, not even the slightest bit. I looked down at my wrist
and smiled. Lord had healed me, she really healed me. There was
just a faint scar along my wrist and nothing else.

I slowly got up and stretched. I
noticed that there was a mirror and I looked into it. My eyes were
full of life again, the same sparkle in them again. I looked
scrawnier than usual, but I didn’t mind at all. I noticed that I
was wearing a pale white dress now and may I say, it was beautiful.
The dress had short sleeves and flowy skirt that reached mid-thigh.
The dress also had a V-neck and an illusion neckline, revealing
enough up to the top of my cleavage. The dress was beautiful and I
loved it.

“Roza?” a voice asked and I turned
around to see Adrian by the door. We were only about twenty feet
away from each other, but those twenty feet felt like an entire
lifetime. An older man instantly came up behind him and held onto
his arms when Adrian was about to move towards me. I tried not to
let my feelings show, but it was as if that man was trying to
restrain him and I almost felt bad for not running up to Adrian to
tell him that it was me, the real me.

Slowly, Elliot, Maddie, Savvy,
James and even Lucifer came up behind Adrian and their face held
the exact same expression Adrian’s held when he saw me: shock,
fear, sadness and longing. All of them tried to enter through that
door, but guards came up behind them to restrain each of them from
getting anywhere near me.

“Adrian! You can’t! This isn’t
her!” the old doctor said, holding onto Adrian as he struggled to
get to me. I don’t even know what he would do once he came over to
me. Would he hurt me? Hold me? Kiss me? Who knows?

Nurses and doctors slowly walked
into the room, each of them took out something from their pockets
and held it out towards me. They were holding religious symbols and
I rolled my eyes at them. Seriously? Do I look like the Devil to
them? Can’t they see Lucifer standing by the door?

“Be gone, witch,” said one of the
nurses, her small voice trembling with fear.

“Leave us alone, you are supposed
to be dead. That‘s why you’re wearing white dress. You became an
angel,” another one of them said. Great, I was a witch and an angel
to them. I grabbed a cross out of one of their hands and they all
retreated. I twirled it around my fingers, smiling at them. Adrian
was struggling so hard to get out of their hold, all my friends
were struggling. I hated seeing that.

“Really? You think these are going
to kill me? And I am supposed to be dead?” I scoffed and they all
retreated back to the door, their eyes widening with each step they
took. Adrian broke free from the stupid guard’s hold and ran across
the room, over to me. He didn’t even hesitate to pick me up in his
arms and twirl me around, my face buried in his shoulder while his
face was buried in my hair. He put me down on my feet and looked at
me for a long time before unexpectedly kissing me, hard on the
lips, in front of everyone.

My cheeks became very warm, but I
kissed him back anyways, wanting to be held by him. Adrian kept
kissing me and I was running out of oxygen. He got the hint and
pulled away, only to kiss me again. We kissed for a while and then,
he let go of me, his hands on my shoulders as he got a good look at
me. His eyes were filled with tears, waiting to break out. I hugged
him and he instantly melted into my embrace.

“Why’d you leave me, Roza? You
left me for the second time this lifetime,” Adrian cried and I felt
myself crying along with him.

“Adrian, get away from her. She’s
not real,” Maddie and Elliot cried, but their eyes told me a whole
different story. They wanted to believe it, but they
didn’t.

“NO, she is real and she’s MINE,”
Adrian yelled out across the room, pulling me closer to him and
holding me tightly, showing everyone that no one can lay a single
finger on me. He sent death glares at those who dared to take a
step closer to us.

“Adrian, please calm down,” I told
him soothingly.

“NO, Roza, I can’t calm down. Do
you know what they were doing? They were trying to take you away
from me. I hate them. I love you, Roza. I don’t know if you’ll
believe me or not, but I do love you,” he cried, tucking away the
loose strands behind my ear. I noticed how hoarse his voice sounded
and on top of that, every time he said “I love you” to me, his
voice cracked. I couldn’t help but hold onto him tighter than
before. I wish I could make it all better, but I am not a
magician.

“I love you too, Prince Charming,”
I smiled, trying to lighten up the mood. He smiled too, sending my
heart into overdrive. Oh, how I longed for that heart-melting smile
of his.

“Can you give us a minute?” Adrian
asked lightly and they all obeyed, clearing out of the room and
closing the door behind them. I can’t believe it; I was able to
calm him down with just a few words and a smile. I led him over to
the bed and he sat down, pulling me on top of his lap. Adrian
smiled and kissed me again as I wrapped my arms around his
neck.

“Roza, where were you? Was this
some sort of a joke?” Adrian asked me, breaking the
kiss.

“I was in the middle of nowhere,
meeting your mother. She’s very nice,” I smiled and he groaned,
burying his face in my neck as I laughed.

“You mean . . . that place? Oh,
mother. Did she say anything bad about me?” Adrian asked
me.

“Nope. So, Adonael, tell me
everything I need to know about soul mates and how to be a good
soul mate,” I laughed as he groaned louder this time, muttering
something incoherent under his breath.

“
I swear, the next time I see her,
I’m going to teach her how to handle her son’s girlfriends. She
messed it up for most of my brothers,” Adrian and I smiled at the
same time.

“Adrian, how did you know it was
the real me when everyone else looked like they wanted to get rid
of me?” I asked and his hold on me tightened, both of us suddenly
pokerfaced now.

“I’m your soul mate. I know that
it was you from the second I sensed your presence. It’s part of the
bond we share. Don’t worry, you’ll learn how to develop the bond
and then, we can do all sorts of cool things,” he
smiled.

“Adrian—,” I started, but he cut
me off.

“Roza, I’m really, really sorry. I
didn’t mean a word I said during our . . . breakup. Will you take
me back? Will you give me a second chance? Please? I just want you
back; I never want to lose you ever again,” Adrian asked me and in
response, I kissed him. At first, he tensed, but sluggishly
liquefied into the kiss, getting my message clearly. We immediately
pulled away when we heard someone coughing behind us. I turned
around and saw that Elliot was looking down at his feet. I blushed
and hastily got up from Adrian’s embrace who, reluctantly, let me
go.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” he
said awkwardly and left. The second Adrian closed the door, Elliot
hugged me, crying. Yay! More crying! This just couldn’t get any
better.

“Ells, don’t worry, I’m here now,”
I said and he pulled away, looking down at me with depressing eyes.
He pouted a bit, pulling me closer to him.

“You weren’t here five days ago,”
he said and my eyes widened in shock. I was dead for five days and
then came back. No wonder why they were all so
surprised.

“Well, I’m here now,” I smiled and
he lightly punched me on the shoulder. When I fake-pouted, he just
ruffled my hair, just like old times.

“Don’t ever do that again. I hate
the thought of truly losing you,” Elliot smiled as Maddie appeared
in the doorway, approaching me for a hug.

“Alice, don’t you dare do that
again,” she warned me in a playful tone, but I knew that she was
serious.

“Wow, you must’ve really missed
me. I mean, look at your face. You were crying like crazy,” I said
as she hastily wiped away her tears.

“This is all emotional bullshit,”
she muttered and we all laughed. Elliot and Maddie pulled me in for
a hug and told me to rest.

I sat down on my bed and yawned. I
stopped halfway when I heard that similar musical voice in my head
again.

Rosemarie, I’ve provided you with
a protecting amulet. Don’t lose it. Sweet dreams.

I smiled and lightly touched the
necklace that was resting on my collarbone. It just appeared out of
thin air. But I frowned when I realized that this looked very
familiar. I just couldn’t pinpoint it with that usual ten-month
cavity in my memory. I looked down at it again and felt the bed dip
beside me. I looked up and saw Adrian smiling down at
me.

“Let me guess, my mother gave it
to you?” he asked and I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder as
he wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me in that sweet scent of
his. He sighed and I looked up, concerned.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, searching
his eyes for some clue but I got none.

“Can-can I-I . . . Ummm,” Adrian
hesitated and I rolled my eyes again. His weird habit of scratching
the back of his neck whenever he felt nervous or awkward was cute,
but not after all of this.

“Don’t be afraid, Adrian. You can
ask me anything,” I told him, lightly touching his cheeks and
turning his face so that he was facing me.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” he
blurted out and my eyes widened. His eyes widened as he understood
the double entendre and quickly shook his head. Adrian actually
blushed again and his hold on me tightened, afraid that I might
slip away from his embrace and reject him.

“I meant sleep with you. I’m just
going to hold you the whole night. I promise you I won’t try
anything, I swear,” Adrian said solemnly and I giggled.

“Of course you can, Adrian,” I
said, getting my laughter under control as he breathed out in
relief. He kissed me again, pulling me closer to him so that I was
straddling his waist. Once we pulled away, he rested his forehead
against mine, smiling.

“I love you, Roza. I love you so
much that it hurts me sometimes. I’m afraid that I might lose you
again,” he smiled lugubriously.

“I love you too, Adrian. I’ll be
with you forever. I won’t ever leave you, I promise,” I smiled,
wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Unconditionally, forever and
always,” we both alleged before he leaned down to kiss me again,
fastening that undertaking of ours that was absolutely resilient.
Nothing in this world can change that. We loved each other
unconditionally, forever and always. I think.

CHAPTER 22

BOUND AND EMPTY

The next couple of days went by in
a blur. I had to spend a few days in the hospital despite my
protests. Adrian came to visit every day, helping me along the way.
Now, here we were, sitting on my bed with me on his lap, my head
resting on his chest, listening to the rhythmic heartbeat of
his.