Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Thirty Six

     Everyone decided it was time to head to bed. Tomorrow's forecast called for gorgeous weather, the flip side of that coin less than desirable considering what was at stake. The cookout was the best option and would hold on to the last ounce of normalcy they'd known. Dinner would be around 5:30, which meant Rhett and Link would be able to duck out at a reasonable time before the lunar orb rose in the sky.

     Link struggled to brush his teeth because every time he'd look up in the mirror, he'd see Terra standing behind him with fangs poking through her upper and lower lips. Her head would be tilted to the side and her stare would be blank with a certain hunger in her eyes. To rip into his flesh and cripple him to his knees. He spit the toothpaste into the sink and gave a shudder, and he gripped the side of the sink. He wretched and nothing came up thankfully, but he was so chilled.

     His chest tightened and he could feel every pulse of his blood as it coursed like fire through his veins. If only that fire would relieve the ice that settled into his heart. This girl was a childhood friend. Someone whom he and his best friend were forced to keep from killing an actual person. None of it seemed real. It shouldn't be real.

     Christy seemed to sense that something was wrong and she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. "What's wrong?"

    "Do you want to know the truth?" He said as he caught her gaze through the mirror. Link continued to lean over the sink, his lips slightly parted. His heart thundered slightly faster in his chest. He hoped the desperation and trepidation that seeped into his bones didn't reflect in his eyes. 

     "Yes. Of course." Just by the tone of Christy's voice, Link could tell that she suspected that there was more than what met the eye. That terrified him to death. Just like Lily, just like him... she was quite perceptive. They were very open with each other always and that had never led to their downfall. Not like this instance would.

     "Well," he began as he drew in a deep breath. His heart hiccuped in his chest, and he brought a fist up to his rib cage with a shake of his head. No, he couldn't tell her. No, not now. "I'm nervous about Rhett cooking the burgers tomorrow." Another thing that scared him was how well of a liar he was becoming.

     Christy laughed out loud and unlinked her arms from his middle. She playfully hit him on the back. "That's not very nice to think of your best friend like that, Link." 

     He laughed and adjusted his glasses. Her laugh was like angelic music to his ears and poetry to his soul. "I don't know about you, but my teeth weren't designed to chew through hockey pucks." Not like a werewolf.

     Christy laughed even harder. Her cheeks flushed rosy red. Link swiveled around and took her by the hips, and he gazed into her beautiful blue eyes. At that moment, he saw his entire world. A pit of determination welled up deep inside him, and tomorrow he was going to do what it took to make sure his world stayed safe.

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     Link awoke in the middle of the night to somebody whispering his name. He opened his eyes and saw the silhouette of his daughter. He reached for his glasses and slipped them onto his face. He propped himself on his elbow. "Hey Lily, what's up," he said groggily.

     "I had a bad dream that you disappeared and never came back," she said, and he could hear her sniffle. His eyes widened and he threw the covers off of him. He threw his legs over the bed and then rose to his feet. 

     Link then offered his hand to Lily. She took his hand and together they walked back to her room. He ushered for her to climb back into bed, and then he crawled on the bed next to her. "I'm never going to leave you, okay? I promise. I'm going through a tough time right now dealing with stress from work, and it's nothing at all baby. Things will be back to normal soon." 

     He kissed her forehead and laid his head on the pillow. His eyelids grew heavy, but his heart lurched into his throat as his eyes watered. Lily turned on her side so she could face him. She knew that something was going on, but she didn't question it any further. 

     Lily read somewhere that when a person was guilty of something, they would eventually make a mistake. She had been pretty sure that her dad was guilty of hiding a big secret.

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     "Jessie! Rhett!" Christy ran down the hall toward the guest bedroom. It was 8 in the morning. Rhett and Jessie stirred in their bed, half awake.

     "What's going on?" Jessie sounded groggy. A snore escaped Rhett's mouth.

      "Link's gone again!" A cry escaped Christy's lips as she loomed in the doorway. She brought her hands up to her mouth and doubled over. Her eyes watered as she dropped her hands. "I don't know what's going on and it's really scaring me." 

     Rhett flew up on the spot. "Again?! God please, not again!" He threw the covers off of him. 

     Jessie did the same. "Oh Christy." She moved out of bed and high tailed it toward the bathroom with a wad of clean clothes in her arms. Christy was pasty like she was going to faint. She brought her hand up to her forehead. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. 

     Rhett moved past her and wandered down the hall to check on the kids. He stopped in Lincoln's room, seeing with much relief that all four boys were still passed out cold. He then wandered further down the hall to check on Lily, and when he stopped in the doorway, relief flooded his chest and penetrated his heart.

     Link was curled up in Lily's bed, fast asleep with his mouth hanging open. Coincidentally, Lily was asleep in the same fashion and Rhett couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. "Hey Christy, you might want to come see this!" 

     Christy slowly walked out of the guest bedroom and moved beside Rhett, looking into Lily's bedroom. She covered her mouth with her hands again and collapsed to the floor. Christy couldn't be any more grateful at that moment that Link hadn't actually disappeared again. 

     Rhett placed a hand on her shoulder and knelt to the ground beside her. "Hey, he's alright. Lily probably had a bad dream." 

     Christy slowly lowered her hands. A smile creased her lips. She had to admit that her husband and daughter asleep reminded her of two beautiful angels. She found the strength to rise to her feet and she moved over to them. She kissed Link on the forehead and then did the same for Lily. 

     Jessie appeared in the doorway, and her shoulders dropped with relief. "Thank god he's alright!" She sighed deeply and ran her fingers through her tousled hair.

     "Let's get the boys up and see if they want breakfast," Christy whispered, and Rhett and Jessie nodded their heads. The three of them left the room, leaving Link and Lily to sleep.