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girl wonder. chapter twenty six
I'M surrounded by brightness. The feeling of Kory's hand gripping mine is no longer there. In fact, I feel... nothing. I'm floating. I can't tell where my body ends or where it begins. All I know is that I have to save Rachel.
I don't realise my eyes are closed until a breeze hits my face and I open them to find myself standing in a lush meadow, its grass almost too green to be real. The sky above is a picture perfect light blue, its purity stained only by the odd fluffy cloud and the gleaming sun. I glance down at my hands and kneel down to run my fingers over the dewy grass. I'm myself again.
"Natasha." A voice from behind causes me to gasp. When I turn around to greet its owner I'm back to doubting that this is reality.
Am I dead? Is this death? I don't believe in Heaven, but I do believe that death is not the end. Wherever I am right now is what comes after.
I try to speak, but it's impossible. There are no words that would fit in this moment. Before I know it, tears are flowing from my eyes.
"It's me." Her voice is just as I remember. Soft and safe. Every bad thought in my head fades away and I'm floating again.
"Hayley," I manage, but even then it's barely above a whisper.
She smiles. Her beautiful, radiant smile that I always insisted could save the world. She reaches out, taking one of my hands in hers and clasping it tenderly. Her hand is warm and sends shocks through my body.
"I don't... I don't know what to... what to say." My words tumble out of my mouth as I struggle to even look at her face. She's still wearing the mint green floral dress, the one I just about convinced her to wear, with her favourite leather jacket. The outfit she wore on the night of the explosion.
"It's okay. You don't have to say anything."
Her face is so reassuring and so real that the whole world falls away when I stare at her. Her breathtaking, golden eyes are just as warm and full of affection as they always were.
"I'm sorry," I tell her eventually. A lump forms in my throat as I force myself to not break down in front of her, but it's one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to her that night. I had so many things left to say and for the first time I have a chance to say them. Things that I've kept locked away for eight years. "I'm so sorry, Hayley."
"Nat, stop that. You have nothing to be sorry for."
"I should have... I should have saved you."
"Hey," she says gently, laying a hand on my cheek. "There was no way you could have saved me. I died happy, okay? During my favourite musical, next to the love of my life."
Then guilt hits me like a knife impaling me through the chest. I tear my eyes away from her, but she can read me like a book. She was always able to, and she was the only person who could. None of my feelings went undiscovered by Hayley.
