For a beat, Meadow’s heart warmed, and she wished it were true.
But then she pushed the hope aside. “No. It’s a dream, just a dream. Please just leave me to die.”
Joseph leaned down, cupped her cheek, and kissed her. Gently at first, but then it turned fierce. When he broke it, they both breathed heavily. He murmured, “We’re alive, love. We all are. Thanks to you.”
“No, I didn’t save anyone.”
“You did. And if you wake up, you’ll see, Emmy. But you have to fight because only you can end this nightmare.”
Laurie turned her head toward him and laid his forehead against hers. His hot breath against her lips made her yearn for him to be still alive. For him and Joseph to hold her, want her, and love her.
But they were gone. Forever. And even dreaming about them made her heart ache.
Before she found the strength to tell them to leave her alone, Laurie whispered, “I love you, Meadow Vale. Please believe us and fight to wake up. You’re burned out, and this is all a hallucination determined to make you lose hope. And deep down, I think you know I speak the truth. Remember what happened to your mother.”
Images of her mother being unconscious for days flashed through her mind. And even when her mom eventually woke up because of an experimental treatment—used to shock fae witches awake—she’d walked around like a ghost.
Not long after, she’d jumped off a building.
Could she be experiencing the same thing?
Joseph whispered into her ear, “I love you as well, Meadow Vale. Please fight and wake up. Everyone’s waiting to see you again. You helped save the day, and so many want to say thank you.”
Doubt crept into her mind. Could it be true? Was this a burnout hallucination meant to make her feel hopeless?
Or were Laurie and Joseph the hallucination, one she’d conjured to make her feel less defeated?
Laurie and Joseph lay down on either side of her, and laid their arms across her body, holding her tight.
They were warm and familiar, and they made her feel safe and wanted.
Maybe it was all fake. But for now, for however long they were here, she desperately wanted to believe them.
“Love you too.”
Their arms tightened a little across her, and they each kissed a cheek.
And even if she were wrong and woke up later to discover her vampires had been a dream, Meadow snuggled into their warmth and willed for them to be speaking the truth. That she’d wake up and find everyone still alive.
She drifted off into nothingness.
“Meadow. Open your eyes, Meadow. You can do it.”
The voice sounded like…River.
“Did she just move a hand?”
“I think so.”
“Come on, Emmy. Just a little more and you’ll be back with us.”
And now Laurie, Joseph, and Nora had just spoken to her?
All the people she’d thought she’d killed?
Determined to see if she were imagining things, Meadow struggled to open her eyes. However, her eyelids weighed a ton, and she couldn’t do it.
Then she felt someone—or two someones—squeezing her hands.
