Page 75 of Called By Fate

“It’s not my time yet, assholes. Go fuck with someone else,” Ash snaps, rising from the bed. She hasn’t looked at me yet and for some reason, I’m frozen in place. The last time I saw her was when she walked in behind my uncle before Vin was killed. Minus the atrocious gray jumpsuit she’s wearing—that she somehow still looks good in—she looks about the same as the last time I saw her, maybe a little more haunted.

When her eyes find mine, they widen. “Sadie?” she breathes in disbelief like her eyes are playing tricks on her.

From my peripheral, I notice Elian, Niall, and Malachi step away to give us some privacy and to watch our backs in case any other guards get curious and come running.

I nod. “Hi, Ash.”

It’s like time between us stops as we stand there and stare at one another, both lost in our emotions. Ash’s eyes well with tears, and I feel mine do the same before we burst into action at the same time, throwing our arms around one another.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Sadie,” she wails into my shoulder, the sound muffled and broken. “He promised he wouldn’t hurt anyone… and Vin…. I got him killed. It’s all my fault.” She hiccups, the regret and guilt pour out of her. I pull back to look her in the eyes, which are definitely haunted.

Seeing her like this,my friend, my family, the anger I’ve been holding simply dissipates in this moment, leaving only the need to patch things up with my bestie. She doesn’t know that Vin is okay, and she doesn’t know about her parents and the twisted way Mickey is using them.

“We have to find my parents,” she says brokenly.

“Oh, Ash, I know how much they meant to you. But you have to know that it’s not permanent.”

She looks at me in confusion. “What do you mean? They’re back! I’ve seen them with my own two eyes, but they keep me locked in here, and I never get to see them.”

I rack my brain for the best way to describe this and decide the best course of action is to be blunt. Ash has never been one to sugarcoat things, and I won’t either.

“It’s a long ass story. One we don’t really have time for currently.” I look behind me to Elian and he nods, telling me we’re okay for the moment with his eyes. “I’ll tell you the full version as soon as we get out, but here’s the cliff notes version. I had to travel to the In-Between to rescue Vin, which is where souls go if they have unfinished business before heading to their final destination. Your parents found me while I was there and wanted me to tell you that what you’re seeing isn’t actually them.”

More tears leak down her face and she shakes her head. “They’re real. I saw them, touched them. They’re real,” she repeats. “I know it’s them, Sadie.”

“They’re real,” I agree, and she looks at me in confusion. “What you’re seeing is real, babe, but your parents truly are dead. Mickey is a necromancer and is reanimating them. Every time Mickey reanimates them, it’s causing them pain. They told me themselves.”

“But… how? Why?” she looks so devastated, it shreds my heart. “What about Vinson? I don’t understand.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I rescued Vin from the In-Between. The Goddess helped me get him back. He’s alive. That’s where I saw your parents.” I pause, searching her eyes to see if she’s understanding what I’m saying.

“You can do that?” she rushes out with a gasp. “What about my parents? You could bring them—”

I cut her off before she gets too carried away. “No, Ash, I only saw them in the In-Between. They should not have been there in the first place. They were at peace, babe, and Mickey pulled them out, using his twisted magic to make you believe they were back from the dead. But it doesn’t work that way. They want you to know they want to stay, but they can’t, and gave me a message so you would believe me. Do you remember what they were talking about before the accident? The last conversation you had with them?”

She sniffles, wiping her tears with a sleeve. I check over my shoulder again and Elian makes a speed it up motion. Right. We are running out of time.

“They told me to tell you about their debate over which brunch food is the best: pancakes or waffles. And your dad’s argument was that pancakes are better because waffles are—”

“Pancakes with abs,” Ash finishes. She gives a watery, sad chuckle and looks at me. “He always had the worst dad jokes.” She chuckles again and I join in, remembering the many times she and I rolled our eyes at his antics.

“Listen, they love you, Ash, but they want you to move on and be happy. It’s okay to want them back, but not at the cost of suffering.”

“I’ve been such an idiot,” she cries out, shoulders slumped in defeat. “Everything that happened was all my fault. I’m so sorry. Will you ever be able to forgive me?”

My heart is still hurt over her actions, but she’s also my best friend, and if the tables were turned… I don’t know if I would’ve acted differently. We’ve been through hell and back together and I think it’s worth making amends. Both of us have done things we regret. It’s a part of life.

I take a deep breath, thinking through my words carefully. “It will take a while for me to feel like I can trust you again,” I admit. “But yes, I do think I can forgive you, Ash. Recently, I’ve realized exactly how short life can be and how important forgiveness is. I love you even when you’re an idiot.”

“Hey, I take offense to that!” she says in mock outrage then grows serious again. “I love you too, Sades. I’m so sorry.”

I shoot her a look. “Next time though, come to me.” She starts nodding vehemently. “I don’t give a fuck what it’s about. I want to know. We both have a guy now,” I say with a wink, referencing our conversation at the concert when she thought my mates had hurt me.

“Yeah, in this case, the geas made it a little hard to come to you. I tried to spill everything as soon as I came back but the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.”

I think about when the trio brought her to us and remember her mouth moving, but nothing coming out and then chalking it up to whatever she went through. Dammit, I should’ve pushed harder. Not that it would have mattered, I guess.

“Still. We’ll come up with our own code word or phrase so I’ll know something is wrong, but first let’s get out of here, yeah? What did you mean earlier by ‘it’s not your time yet?’” I ask.

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