Chapter 22 of The Other Side

CHAPTER 22: JULIETTA'S ALEX.

    Instantly, at the sound of Jared, I tore myself off the seat and sprinted up the stairs, on Pix's heels the whole way. My heart beat furiously, knowing I might see Jared in just a moment.
    "In here," Pix said eagerly. "They're in here."
    Here? I thought. Weren't they in a ball? Now I was just confused.
    Pix lead us into a room, cold and dark, with a misty blue light radiating from the middle. I carefully followed Pix, trying to see into the ball. It was about as big as a beach ball, and as we got closer, the mist subsided.
    I gasped, and tears welled in my eyes as I spotted Jared in it. I stood right in front of it, and raised my hand to touch the ball.
    "NO!" Pix roared.
    I jumped, startled.
    "If you touch it, even in the slightest, you'll be sucked in."
    "But - It's Jared!" I cried, tears of joy and disappointment. "Isn't that what we want? To find them?"
    "Alice," Pix sighed. "Once you go in, you never come out. The only ones who will ever come out are witches, the beholders of the Mists."
    A tear rolled down my cheek, and I watched Jared as he paced around in a dank and dingy cell. It had a green tinge to it, and the cold reached me.
    "Jared?" I whispered.
    I watched him, but there was no reaction. He kept pacing silently.
    "Are they at the castle? In the dungeon? It's what I expected," I heard Nadia's voice gradually getting louder, and the others came through the door, Ace's eyes holding fury.
    "Can you see Sadie?" he asked unemotionally.
    I scoured around, and sure enough, in the corner sat tiny Sadie with her arms wrapped around her knees.
    "... they'll find us," she said.
    "They're speaking!" Pix almost yelled.
    "Shh!" came from everyone.
    We listened intently. The only sound from us was breathing.
    "But Sadie, that's exactly what the Redan want," Jared replied, sounding frustrated. "They want Alice and the girls, especially Pix."
    Pix shuddered beside me, but didn't make a sound.
    "They could be watching us right now," Sadie told him quietly. "You know they'll be at Nadia's by now."
    "You've said that for the last few hours, Sadie."
    "Well you don't have to believe, but I will."
    "Oh, Sadie," Ace whispered, so quietly I couldn't make out the other words he said.
    Abruptly, Sadie stood, her eyes darting around. She looked right at us, but I'm not sure she actually saw us.
    "Didn't you hear that, Jared?" she asked.
    "Hear what?"
    Sadie groaned. "You never listen. I swear I just heard Ace. I told you they were looking! They're watching us from somewhere!"
    Jared turned away from us, looking at the ground. "Sadie, no... They wouldn't be."
    "Jared! You are such freak!" she laughed, irritated. "If you would just believe for one second-!"
    "What am I supposed to believe, Sadie?!" he growled. "How is Alice ever going to make it here? Even if she had everyone in Marlequin protecting her, the Redan would still get her! Sadie, I can't believe in something that won't happen. Alice... My Alice..." his voice died out, and he sunk to the floor. "I should never have seen her in that Mist... I shouldn't have brought her back..."
    "Jared, what are you talking about?" Sadie whispered, crouching next to him. "You love her, and it's plain that she loves you. You can't pretend that this wouldn't have happenened if you let her be. You and I both know this was coming... Just when, we didn't know. That's all, Jared," she started crooning, hugging Jared. "Ace and Alice will come. I know they will."
    Jared started to sob, and Sadie wiped a tear off her cheek.
    "We have to go," Ace vowed. "It doesn't matter if I don't come back, I have to hold Sadie."
    Ace's hand was on my shoulder immediately, and I was forced back. Soon, only Ace stood in front of the mist, and his hand extended toward it.
    "NO! ARE YOU STUPID!" Min screamed. "WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR?!"
    Ace ignored her fury, and sighed, dropping his hand. "You don't understand, Min. Sadie - she's the point of my life. Look at me. Without her, I'm nothing."
    I could relate to Ace's feelings and his words. Without Jared, I was nothing special. Without Jared, I had no business here.
    "I'm going to bed, then," he muttered, and sauntered from the room.
    I sat on the floor, with my back against a wall. Julietta sat with me, her hand on my knee, and the others left with sympathetic looks. Pix hugged me, and Lita blew a kiss before they, too, disappeared.
    "I know how you feel," Julietta said quietly. "I've been through this, too."
    I didn't reply, and she pat my knee before continuing. "Alex... I was so in love with him. He..." she shook her head and smiled wistfully. "He was my life. He was beautiful, inside and out, and such a gentleman. His smile was heart-faultering, and every smile he beared had me out of breath. He did everything for me. Alex was... simply amazing. Yet, the Redan couldn't have that, could they? Never could anyone be happy. To them, happiness was a crime. Love was a death sentance."
    I wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she wiped away a tear, yet she kept going.
    "He died in a battle, a war. Between the people of Marlequin, and the Redan. He was one of the last three to survive, and he was so close to coming home," she whimpered. "He was bathed in blood, yet he smiled that breath-taking smile, and whispered my name. He was in the Mist, like Jared," she gestured toward the ball, "and I couldn't resist. I threw myself in, but I was beaten to him... by the final bullet. Everything seemed to move in slow motion... As - As I reached from him, he gasped, his eyes zoning out. He fell to the forest floor. No matter how much I screamed, or cried... he wasn't coming back. He - He never replied to my last words... He never told me that he loved me back..." Julietta broke into tears, her head falling into her hands. "He died in my arms, and there was nothing I could do."
    There was nothing I could do at that moment except imagine the horror and heartbreak it would bring me if, ever, Jared and I were in that situation. I closed my eyes to keep the tears hidden from Julietta.