Forbidden

Chapter 53

-VALERIE'S P.O.V-

    I don't want this. Not again. It's not real.
"Such strange dreams your mind has created for you, mutt."
"It was real..."
"Then why are you here?" His cocky grin makes me sick.
    She was real.. She ..Ni..Nin..Ninfa.. she was real. Is. She is real.
"You make a place in your mind to get away from me. So cute."
   My heart is breaking. It's breaking. It hurts worse than anything he could ever do to me.
"She is real."
"Oh, she is, yes. But whatever your sick mind created wasn't."
"It was real."
"No one loves you, Valerie. It's in your head. Literally."
"Why do you care?"
"I don't. I just like to see your pain. And tapping into your mind to the sickly love moments just wasn't enough heartache. You had to wake up. It's a happy birthday. You should be glad I woke you up. You were pretty deep in a coma."
   He throws the hounds teeth at me and they stab before they dig further into me. The venom spreading quickly but I keep my cries for pain to myself. His laugh... just haunts me.
"See you next year, mutt."
    He skips off and slams the door.
    I feel tears fall. Fall. And fall. And fall.
    She's real. She's real. I know she is.
    This isn't real. This is a dream. It has to be.
    ..My home is in her arms. My home is in her arms...
   It's.. It's not working... I.. it was a dream. She.. is a dream.
    Ninfa wasn't real. The love wasn't real. The freedom... none of it.
    It was one of those dreams you prayed you'd never wake from. And I was woken rudely. It hurts to breathe.
   It hurts worse than anything. I haven't cried in so long... But I'm in tears. Streaming like rivers.
    I can hear my own screams of pain. I haven't cried out in pain in over a thousand years.. But I'm screaming to the pain.
    She ..wasn't real. None of it. None of it.
"Your home is in my arms."
"You're not real."

    A cry of pain wakes me... wakes... it..
    It was my scream.. how did I..
"Your home is in my arms, Val."
   Her soft hands cup my cheeks and she wipes my tears. My world is disoriented. I'm confused if I'm awake or asleep.
"Will you show me?"
    It confuses me on what she's asking.. But I catch on quickly.
    I take a deep breath and turn to kiss her palm. It takes a bit of energy to give her my dream.. or.. my wake? I'm so confused. I'm so confused.
    By the second she reaches the end of it, she's in tears.
"If this.. if this is the dream.. I'm so sorry.. if.." I feel myself becoming panicky. "I'm so confused."
"It's real, Valerie. I promise. I am real. My love for you is real. Don't be sorry.."
   I hold my knees and try to breathe bit it's so hard. It's hard. I don't know what's real and what's not.
    Joel. Joel. He walks in the room. The place looks so weird from my cage.
"What's going on?"
"She had a dream. I'm guessing he had something to do with it. He's trying to mess with her. About this being her dream and she never got out. That I was just a way her mind got away."
    The tears keep coming but I don't know how.
"Valerie.." Joel walks over and hugs me.
    A headbutts from my side makes me jump. Misty? It's just Misty.
"I want him dead." I look to Ninfa. Her words hold a poison. Her eyes grow a blackish teal.
"I haven't seen her like this."
"She can't tell which is real. His plan."
    I feel paralyzed. I can't speak. I can't move. I just can't. I can't figure out if this is real or if that was.
    I'm so confused. My mind. I grow a headache.
"Val, my love, my wife. I need you back."
    Wife.. wife.. is that real? Just more of his tricks.
   She leans in and kisses my forehead. My headache goes away. My heartache lowers and it calms my anxiety.
    I feel myself fall into her arms. She's so warm. It's real.. It's real...
"It's real..."
"Yeah, Valerie. We're all real." Joel says with worry.
   I wrap my arms around Ninfa tightly and hold her as close to me as I possible can. She holds me as tightly.
"I will let you rest now." Joel leaves.
   Misty climbs on the bed and lays beside me.
"We're real. I'm real, Valerie. And you know I won't be going anywhere."
"I'll deny I ever said this. I love you, Valerie you is a good master."
    I look over to the big kitty. She purrs. It's shocking.
"Why don't we shower, Val? Let the hot water help a bit."
"Okay..."
    It's all shocking. Like for how I have no idea how I got in the bathroom. Why I'm drenched in sweat. It's all so weird.
    The hot water does feel good. She was right. She holds me and I hold her.
"We've been married a week. And it was the best week of my life. The moments you'd giggle and smile. The moments you were completely adorable by pretending to hide your face and stuff. It was the thing that made my heart be overwhelmed with joy."
"I do not mean to be like this. I am sorry."
"It's not your fault. And I promise you, when given the chance we will destroy him. You deserve so much better than you were given."
"I just wanted to be perfect for you. But I'm here crying. Here in heartache because I can't tell if you're the dream."
"How would I convince you otherwise?"
"I have no idea. I have no idea. I don't want to wake up if so."
"Baby. I promise. I'm real. I'm real. I promise. I waited while you were healing for 9 months. I'm the one who said I do. I'm the one who says I love you like a million times a day. I'm the one who you make love to. I'm real. Please see that."
    Her words do nothing but make my heart race. A race that reminds me I have a heart beat. When I was there, I didn't. It's real.
"I love you so much, Ninfa."
"Do you believe me?"
"I do."
    She pulls back enough and claims my lips as hers. My heart feels whole ahain. Feels happy. I find myself smiling against her lips before it parts.
"There you are."
    She kisses my forehead. She tries her best to get me to smile and I do. I smile to her beauty.
"You should marry me."
"But we're already married?"
"We'll redo vows every... 50 years."
    She laughs at me and nods. "Yeah. We can do that."
"Will you forgive my emotional mess? I didn't mean to let him get to me. I didn't mean to mix my worlds."
"Val, my love, it's okay. I understand. As long as you know where you belong in the end."
   I breathe in the steam of the water before answering. "Right here. In your arms. Your arms are my home."
"Yes. Yes they are."
"Hopefully forever?"
"Definitely forever."
     I laugh out. "I knew it. You heard me."
"Oh yeah. The whole thingy."
    I hide my face in her embrace. "Oh fuck me."
"I could do that. But not right now. Right now I just want to hold you."
"Thank you."
    She lightly squeezes me. "How about we get out, eat a bit and get some real sleep? I'll hold you the whole time."
"I'm ... I don't want to go back there."
"Being an angel, I can alter dreams."
"Sometimes you scare me."
    She laughs to me. "Been helpful. I've taken quite a few dreams away from you as they start."
"Really?" I look to her.
"I would do anything for you, Valerie. I can't protect you in all ways but I try my hardest to."
"You're so damn beautiful."
"And you're my everything."
    I hug her tighter. Her arms.. so warm. If I weren't standing. If I weren't dripping from the showers water, I would fall asleep.
    It's like the next half hour didn't really happen. Like it all went fast. I'm back in bed with her.
   I'm laying on top of her, her arms so warm around me. Plus Misty and her paw laying in my back.
   I reach over and scratch behind her ear. "You have become such a wonderful friend."
   She only purrs in response but that's fine. Ninfa squeezes me lightly and I can't help but smile. I feel better. So much better. I'm out of this fog, or somewhat and now I know that this is real. I'm no longer there. I'm here right now and I'm finally home.
    Her hand lightly cups my cheek. I lean into it. She smiles to me and my heart races.
"I want you to understand that you're no longer alone, Valerie. Since the first time I saw you, you've never been alone."
"I know, love. I know. I thank you for all you do. You're what makes me light." I turn my head and lightly kiss her palm.
"Sleep, Val."
    I rest my head down and almost immediately but I manage to mumble out. "I love you, Nin." And hear her "I love you too, baby."
   I fall asleep to her. A dreamless sleep. A good rest. Because of her.