He's supposed to be dead.
But then again, he is.
••••••••••
When Miles turned 8, his parents got him his first bike. He was ecstatic, over the moon, filled to the brim with joy and raced over to Axel's house immediately to tell him the good news. That they could now ride their bikes to the park together, after Miles had learned to of course. Axel did not share the other boy's enthusiasm, and didn't find the idea of riding their bikes together to be any fun. But Miles was used to Axel's indifference. It never fazed him. In fact, it made 8 year old Miles even more determined to change his neighbour's mind. So when Axel shut the door in his face, Miles ran back to his front lawn, hopped onto his little bike and pedalled as fast as his little legs could. Which wasn't very far. Miles fell and cut his knee. And what became of the wound was a jagged scar.
•••••••••
The scar on his left knee is gone.
The once slightly darker skin now melds effortlessly into Miles' pale complexion. As if the scar had never been there. As if the memory of it faded itself. A distant figure in his mind. Hazy and blurry and hard to distinguish.
His skin is a smooth canvas now, no marks or scars. They all vanished from his body, the venom taking full effect. The only blemish left is where the two puncture holes in his neck were. It's like a tattoo. Permanent. With a meaning attached behind it and the fake story you tell somebody when they ask.
Miles may not be able to recall what happened after he fell, but he remembers the pain. And the silence that followed. Not the silence of the forest, but the silence within him. The loss of his heart beat. Of his humanity. Miles knows what death feels like now. And he'll know everyday after.
A gaping hole is in his chest. Not physically (that one healed) but metaphorically (although it does feel very real). He carries the universe in his chest. But there are no stars or moons or planets. Just the infinite black. The darkness that was gifted to Miles by death. It's depths unknown and unreachable. But what Miles fears the most is the weight of it. Light and buoyant. As if it were nothing. Which leads Miles to wonder what is the heaviness in him? If it isn't the darkness, what is it? What is that weight, that force, dragging him down from every inch of his being and squeezing at his chest, making it hard for him to breath?
It's hate.
Heavy and all-consuming.
It's a strong word. Hate. One Miles would avoid using all together. And yet he was able to say it so convincingly to the other boy. When Axel refused to offer Miles any more of his venom, Miles had spat the venom-laced words to Axel. The phrase I hate you corrosive and bitter on his tongue. Miles didn't really mean it then.
He means it now.
Hating someone he loves is probably one of the hardest things Miles has ever done. One of the most heartbreaking. But it's hard for Miles to feel his heart break when he can't feel it at all. It's hard for him to feel his heart break when every other part of him feels broken too.
It's like he's looking at himself through a smashed mirror. Jagged and misshapen. No, it's not like it at all. It's as if he is the smashed mirror. A fractured reflection of who he once was. And if he was to put the mirror back together again, all he would get is pierced fingers and blood on the broken shards of glass.
That's what coming back from the dead has done to him. It makes Miles feel like a shell of a person. Emptied and ghostly. Living just doesn't feel the same anymore. It's a conscious process now. Not natural or normal, it's on-going.
Miles understands why Axel did what he did, and wouldn't have hesitated to make the same choice had the roles been reversed. He understands why he hates Axel for his choice too. Miles hopes that he will be able to forgive Axel eventually. And he swears that if he had the choice to stop hating him he would. But the feeling is inevitable. It's as genuine as his love for Axel (which terrifies Miles). But Miles loves Axel despite everything. And before realising he's now immortal, probably would have said he would love Axel forever.
••••••••••
A/N
My first time writing a sequel!!!
I'm both nervous and excited. I loved writing The Missing Boy and chose that specific ending so that I would have an opportunity to write more.
So buckle up folks and get ready for round 2😉🤠
P.S I wrote this when I first wrote the chapter😂
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Infinite Miles
Teen Fiction"Because you Miles, are infinite." It was never supposed to go that way for Axel and Miles. And it was definitely not supposed to end like that too. But this is the story about what happens after the end. Follow Axel, Miles and Sydney through their...
