Truth Sets You Free

Chapter 42

***flashback***

I feel strong arms around my body as my eyes flutter open. I have no idea what's going on, but I look up to see the sky moving above me. Someone's carrying me. I'm able to focus in on his face, and I open my mouth.

"Harry?" I ask, my voice hoarse.

"Hey, baby." He smiles down at me, but it's not very reassuring. "Can you stand up for me?"

Even though I'm dazed and confused, I still manage to nod my head at him. Gently, he lowers my body until my feet touch the ground. He places his hands on my shoulders to help me regain my balance.

"What's going on?" I frown, wondering how we got out here.

"Bella, I need you to listen to me right now." He says firmly. "You're gonna stay here, and I'm gonna go back in there."

With those words, I become even more confused. I'm about to question him, but he doesn't let me.

"I'll be right back out, but there's something I have to do. It'll be easier for me if you stay out here. Just wait for me, okay?"

"Harry, I don't understand." I say shaking my head. I'm starting to panic about what's going to happen, but Harry quickly moves his hands from my shoulders to my face in an attempt to calm me down.

"I know, baby." He says softly, running his thumb over my cheek. "I just need you to trust me."

My eyes are filled with tears that are threating to spill, but I don't say anything. I'm starting to realize what's going on. Harry needs to end this once and for all. So I give him a nod.

It's a weak nod. It's almost unnoticeable, but it's enough for him.

Without wasting any more time, he leans forward, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead before pulling away from me. I stand there motionless as he moves back towards the door.

He takes one last look at me, and then disappears back into The Nova.

***

My entire body is frozen. My vision is beginning to blur, making it difficult to determine whether or not my eyes are deceiving me. I can't move. I can't speak. I can't even hear him when he opens his mouth.

Somehow, I'm able to notice that he's slowly moving closer to me. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I hear a muffled noise, and I watch his lips move, indicating that he's talking again. I just wish I could figure out what he's saying.

I wish I could do anything that would be able to convince me that this is real because there is no possible way that it can be.

"Har—" My voice catches in my own dry throat, and that seems to be as close as I can get to forming a full sentence.

Apparently, it's enough for him. "Yes, baby."

His words finally reach my ears, and if there was any part of my heart left, it has now melted away. His soft whisper sends shivers down my spine as he takes another gentle step.

Suddenly, reality starts catching up to me and I start realizing that there is no possible way that this is real. Harry has been dead for three years. He's not standing in front of me. This is merely a hallucination from today's exhausting flashbacks. He's gone and he's never coming back, and this is just another way that the universe is reminding me of that.

I start shaking my head, taking a step away from the ghost of a man in front of me. He's not here.

He's not here.