Chasing Eden Ch. 14 - Final

"Because you were too focused on my wounds," Irene interrupted as she placed her hands on her hips. Then, putting her finger on his chest, even though they couldn't physically touch, she continued, "And it looks like you decided to give yourself some matching wounds."

"Yeah... I was on such a rampage... I hope I didn't upset you..."

"You didn't upset me... You almost did... but of course, I had to influence you a little."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's so funny," Irene said, chuckling to herself. "You all were so concerned about who was in control. But in the end, I think I was the one who guided everyone where they needed to be."

Peter was left laughing in disbelief before shaking his head at his wife. "And just how did you guide me?"

"I feel like I convinced you to go down the wrong hallway after the Shareholders' Meeting. Maybe I convinced Camilla to go down there and stop you. She had no idea where she was going. And then, of course, you couldn't shoot yourself in front of Mrs. Hawthorne, because when you looked into her eyes, you saw mine."

"You were with us the whole time... I should have done a better job of listening for your voice."

"Well, how about you listen to me about this," Irene started as she pointed up to the sky, signaling Peter to pay attention to the piano song that was still going through his head. "You're only playing the first part of that song. You can't just play the sad part; you have to play the whole thing."

"But what if I don't want to move past the sad part?"

"Eventually, I want to hear you play the whole thing."

Though his smile looked a little bitter, Peter nodded his head and agreed. "Okay, I'll play it for you."

"You were always better than me at piano, but I still know a thing or two about music. I was better at the violin and the guitar."

"Yes, you were," Peter said, as he grinned from ear to ear.

"And I was better at the cowbell."

"No, you can't just hit it louder and say that makes you better."

Shrugging her shoulders, Irene defended herself by saying, "That's how I judge it!"

"Okay, you win," Peter replied, now laughing with his wife.

"And here's another thing! Quit messing with people so much!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You were over there acting like you were such an alcohol connoisseur," Irene pointed out, giggling. "You couldn't tell one drink from the other."

"Caught me red-handed..."

"And you totally know what a pencil skirt is. I have pencil skirts, and you've told me you like them."

"Okay, okay... Maybe I did want to play a bit of a character..."

"Speaking of characters," Irene said as her eyes lit up. "We never finished that one show, did we? The one where the kid is a psychic."

"No, we didn't! There's even a second season now, but it's weird watching it without you..."

"Well, you totally should. It was exciting enough to pique your interest, even though you thought it'd be silly at the beginning. Remember, I had to convince you to watch it?!"

"Yeah, I remember," Peter admitted, laughing to himself once again. However, as he noticed the whiteness fading away, a look of disappointment came over his face.

Noticing the sudden change in his expression, Irene asked, "Is something wrong?"

Now, with a bitter smile, Peter explained, "It's just... I don't have much more time with you, do I?"

"No... you probably don't..."

"Will I ever get to meet you like this again?"

"I really don't know," she responded, gently scratching her chin. "To be honest, I don't even know if you'll remember this when you wake up."

"I just wish... I wouldn't have wasted so much time talking about such unimportant things... when I could have been telling you how much I love and miss you."

"Don't worry, Peter; I know," Irene responded with a big, cheesy smile. "These little silly talks that we would have... they were always kind of my favorite. And to be quite frank, I just loved every minute with you, no matter what we were talking about."

Suddenly, with tears in his eyes, Peter asked, "I know I can't really touch you, but can I hold you until this dream is over?"

"I'd love that," Irene answered with a brave smile. Then, as they held each other like they did during their first dance, she whispered her last words to him. "I'll always be with you, and I'll always love you."

"I'll always love you too," Peter said as he looked down and stared at her hand being held in his for the last time. And even though he knew this was only a temporary dream, this time, he never experienced that feeling of seeing her hand disappear.

Peter held on as long as he could until his eyes opened and he noticed his head was resting against the piano. With tears still running down his face, he looked at his open palm and clutched it before picking his head back up.

After wiping his face, he resumed the song he was playing before he fell asleep. This time, however, he didn't just play the sad part at the beginning; he played the entire song over and over until his heart started to feel at peace.

***

A year later, Camilla found herself in an airport, waiting in the baggage claim area. After reading one of the monitors, she took a seat in the sitting area and let out a sigh.

"Is everything okay?" a soft voice asked from behind her.

As Camilla turned around, she noticed a woman with a smaller frame sitting behind her, facing the opposite direction. "Were you talking to me?" she asked, sounding a bit confused.

The woman barely turned her head, but affirmed, "Yeah... I heard you take a deep breath. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah! It's just... my bags are running late. But it's not a big deal at all. I'm just slightly inconvenienced if I'm being completely honest."

"Don't worry; I totally get it," the woman said with a little chuckle. "So, what brings you to this city?"

"Some former co-workers of mine started a business out here recently. And even though I'm kind of out of my league in the financial sector, they want me to be a part of their group. So, I'm just kind of checking everything out before I make my decision."

"Don't say you're out of your league. I'm sure you'll do great! You look really smart and professional to me."

"Oh, thank you... I appreciate that..."

"Do you know anyone else here?"

"Not really, but I have a couple of girlfriends that are going to meet me here later. They're thinking about moving as well, and I figured we could all check this place out together."

"That sounds like a lot of fun! I'm sure all of you will love it here."

"Yeah, I think we will," Camilla agreed, suddenly feeling a sense of calmness over her heart. "How about you? Are your bags late as well?"

"No, I don't have any bags," the woman answered with a light chuckle. "I'm not here to travel."

"Oh, then what are you here for? To pick someone up?"

"No... I just came to say.... thank you."

Suddenly, a confused expression came over Camilla's face. "Thank you for what?" she asked as she turned her body to get a full look at the woman. However, as soon as she turned her head back for the final time, she noticed there was only an empty seat behind her.

Camilla quickly got up to her feet and looked around, but couldn't find the woman she thought she was talking to. Then, as she took her seat again, she whispered to herself, "That was weird... Maybe she got up and ran off quickly..."

After sitting there confused for a couple minutes, Eddie and Peter came walking in to find her, which left her with a big smile. She did her best to contain herself, but when she met with her former co-workers, she couldn't help but give Eddie a big hug.

As her eyes moved towards Peter, she collected herself once again extended her hand to him. "Hi, Peter," she said, waiting in anticipation for him to shake her hand. However, as she looked into his eyes, she suddenly noticed there was something different about them. They looked soft and full of life again.

In that moment, Peter gave a subtle smile before extending his arm for a side hug. Camilla suddenly grinned from ear to ear as she put her arm around his lower back and rested her head against his shoulder for a second.

It wasn't the biggest hug in the world, but after everything Peter had been through, nothing made her happier than seeing progress in his life. And though neither of them had actually found what they would call Eden, they both knew they at least had a chance now that everything was behind them.

The end

***

Author's Note

Thank you for reading my first ever non-erotic story. I have to admit, though I'll always love writing erotica, this was probably my favorite thing I've ever written.

Camilla was always my favorite, and I thought she deserved a more serious story to match her inner turmoil. But in doing this, I fell in love with so many other characters, and so many parts of writing in general.

Honestly, I didn't even know where I was going with this when I first started. But throughout the process, I almost felt guided as I was thinking through all the scenarios.

There were several months when I just couldn't get this story out of my head. I'd go on long walks and listen to music, but the entire time, my mind was consumed with this story.

Twice, I almost cried while writing this. That's something that has never happened to me before! And then, as I was writing the final chapter, I actually went outside at night to get some fresh air, and I saw a shooting star. It's almost as if I were in Irene's shoes as she looked to the stars. No lie!

This whole process was uplifting for me, even if it was the most depressing story I've written. I tried a lot of different things, and I think I've learned more from this experience than I have from all my other stories combined.

Like I said, I will always be an erotica writer. However, this has inspired me to take on more serious stories if my heart feels tempted to do so.

Thank you so much for reading this story! It meant so much to me, and I'm so glad you came along on this journey with me!

Until next time,

Amy Ocean