Falling In Between (Falling Novels #1)

Chapter Two

A soft rainbow mixture of pastels swirled and danced around me, like stars traveling the night sky. Bright, blinding pastels, yet they didn't sting my eyes. No longer was I wet. Or numb. Or at the bottom of the pond.

Or naked. Thank God. My jeans and camisole made a sudden reappearance.

How did I get here? It must be a dream. No place like this actually existed. I must have dreamt jumping into the pond, and once the story played out, my mind sent me on to my next destination. But what was this place?

I spun in circles but all I saw was the color of pearl ivory, filled with streaks and hexagonal sparkles of even more pastel colors than I ever thought imaginable. It was so beautiful. There was a slight humming noise too. But it wasn't annoying. In fact, there was something quite soothing about the vibrato resonating within my ears. And I felt this strange sensation within me. Like every cell inside my body was in harmony, swaying happily along with the hum that surrounded me. I felt...happy, and safe.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. The air was warm and scented slightly. Like sugar. It was sweet but just mild enough to tease my senses and put a smile on my face. Mmm...the scent made my entire body feel light as air, like every breath of air I breathed actually lessened the hold gravity had on me a little.

It all felt so dreamy. And hazy. Like some drug I took was slowly starting to take effect.

"Why aren't you moving forward?" said the male voice coming from somewhere in the vastness. His tone seemed smooth, sweet, caring. I opened my eyes and turned in circles. He didn't appear until the second twirl. He was taller than me by about six inches, had a nice lean build with some muscle definition, soft hazel eyes, and adorable shaggy dirty blonde hair. Seriously adorable – I wanted to run my fingers through it.

"Am I supposed to?"

"I think so." But he didn't sound so sure either. "Do you see anything?"

Still feeling a bit dazed, I shook my head slowly. "No."

He slowly walked circles around me, visually absorbing every sparkle of light that reflected before him. He swiped at one as it passed by and it dissipated into a million little pieces, all which maintained their sparkle as they continued every which way.

"I'm Jenna."

He opened his mouth to answer, but his voice halted momentarily, and he rubbed the back of his head. "I think mine's Chance." He slowly rubbed his thumb across his fingertips, analyzing, and I wondered what kind of residue that sparkle left behind on his skin. "Maybe we're looking at this wrong. Maybe the way out is up."

My head tilted upwards like his, but the same pearly swirls filled the air there too.

"Maybe it's a riddle of sorts?" I suggested. "Maybe we can't move forward unless we ask to?"

He nodded his head in agreement but just stood there, looking around. "I kind of like it here though. It's warm." His face hardened and he seemed a bit confused.

"Where were you before this?"

"I can't remember. Can you?"

"I was swimming with my friend."

I suddenly felt moist. Tiny beads of water began to squeeze out of my pores. I shivered and flicked the water off my skin in a sweeping motion.

Chance reached out to offer his hand. "Well? Shall we try your idea and ask to move forward?" A lopsided grin slowly formed across his face and I couldn't help but smile back. Something about the warmth of his smile, the deepness of his dimple and the softness of his green and gold speckled eyes made me feel so at ease. I entwined my fingers with his and allowed my arm to wrap partially around his.

"You're wet."

"Yeah, I've noticed." I tried to wipe the water from my arm in such a way that kept him dry, but the beads of water were increasing to the point of flowing steady streams. Still, Chance didn't let go, and he lifted our hands to keep them dry.

A sharp pain jabbed my ribcage and I doubled over in pain, crying out and throwing my free hand to my chest.

"What?!" There was urgency in his voice as he bent down to grasp the side of my face.

I heaved, and a series of sharp jolts rhythmically came every second. Tears drowned my eyes and gushed down my face as fast as the water beads were streaming down my body.

"Jenna?! What is it?"

I couldn't answer. The moment I was able to draw in a quick breath, an unforeseen force drove it back out again. And something else was happening too – something weird. I felt a pull within my body. Like gravity trying to suck me downward. It started out weak but was growing in intensity. Invisible tendrils reached out and twisted around my legs like a crawling ivy winding its way up a tree. They constricted around my legs and tugged downward.

My body jolted as I tried to fight the movement. Chance felt the jerk too, and threw his second hand around mine to secure his grip.

"Jenna?!" His voice was so desperate as he tried to pull against my invisible assailant.

My chest constricted, and all I could release was a weak, "Chance?"

The invisible tendrils yanked harder than ever and we were ripped down through the makeshift ground and streamlined through the air. Streaks of pastels whipped past us and the water on my skin flew across my body, down my arm and into my hand. Our fingers began to slip and I threw my other hand into the jumble. Our fingers went into a frenzy, trying desperately to stay connected.

But he was slipping, and the invisible pull refused to relent. Our eyes locked and I saw the panic in his eyes as our fingers finally slipped and he fell from my sight. A moment later I heard a soft cry from deep within the vastness – my name.