Mixed Worlds

Chapter Twenty Six - So, Do You Eat Pancakes?

    I find myself walking through a field, and the sun is starting to set. I look down, and see that I am wearing a soft yellow dress and ballet flats. To my left, Alex is next to me and he’s wearing black dress pants, a white button up shirt and a skinny black tie. I look around some more, and I see a headstone in the distance. I continue to take in the scenery around me, and there are dozens of tall trees getting ready to change to their fall colours. There are daisies, lilacs and many wildflowers all around us.  Alex and I are walking hand in hand towards the grave, and I feel an intense sadness walk over me. Suddenly, it’s pitch black outside and only the light of the full moon is shining above us. 

    Something tells me to turn around, and I see a dark figure lingering in the trees. They have blood red eyes, and I can see their fangs in their evil grin. I tug on Alex, and I see that his eyes are black, and his canines are fully out. He doesn’t have the normal rows of vampire fangs, thanks to his human genes. I begin to pull Alex in the opposite direction, and he slowly backs away with me. I see the dark figure walk out of the trees, and I see a blood-soaked man walking towards us. I’m filled with anger, and the next thing I know I’m on Alex’s back and he’s running at full speed. We run into the forest, and we are just about to reach my truck when we’re knocked over, and we roll on the ground and tumble into the wheel of the truck. Alex takes a defensive stance in front of me, and the mystery villain is laughing maniacally, when all of a sudden he is thrown to the side. I look over to see who is helping us, and then I wake up.

    I shoot up straight in my bed, and I’m panting and covered in sweat. Alex wipes his eyes and sits up next to me.

    “What happened? Are you okay?” He puts an arm around me, and I jump.

    “I’m sorry, I had a bad dream. I’m okay.” I take his hand and give him a reassuring squeeze. “How was your sleep?” I ask with a smile.

    He sighs. “I had a weird dream too, but other than that, I think that was the best sleep of my life. Thanks for helping me with that.” I tilt my head, and raise an eyebrow.

    “It didn’t happen to be us walking through a field, was it?” I cross my legs and turn to face him. “Then a dark figure starts chasing us through a forest somewhere?” His eyes widen, and copies my expression.

    “Yeah, almost exactly like that. How did you know?” He ask as he wipes his face again.

    “Because I had the same dream.” I look over to the clock, and I see that it’s shortly after nine. I reach into my nightstand, grab my notebook and flick on my lamp. I quickly write down the details of my dream. “I want to make sure I remember this, in case we need it later.”  Alex rolls off of the bed, and puts on his shirt. When I’m done, I close my book and toss it onto my pillow. I stand myself on my knees, and scoot over to the edge of the bed. “I wish I didn’t have to be a Demigod for a day.” I brush my hair back, and look up at Alex. “It’s kind of exhausting.” I laugh. Alex stands in front of me, and leans over so we are inches apart. He kisses my forehead, and smiles.

    “Yeah, well I wish I wasn’t half vampire either. But something feels like I’m meant to be like this for a little longer.” I nod. 

    “Me too.” I stand up and give him a hug. “So, do you eat pancakes?” He laughs in response.

    “Only a crazy person hates pancakes. I make some pretty good strawberry cheesecake ones. Come on, I’ll make you some for breakfast.” This man just keeps chasing after my heart. I smile big and skip over to my closet to get dressed. I throw on a pair of jogging pants, and look through my closet for a sweater. Once I find one, a familiar yellow dress grabs my attention. I take it off the hanger, and walk back into my room. I show Alex my find, and I see that the tags are still on it. 

    “This is the dress I had bought for my dads birthday. I never got to wear it.” I hold it tight to my chest, and a few tears fall down my face. I take the dress by the shoulders, and rip it in half. “If the dress doesn’t exist, then I’ve already started to change the dream.” I throw it into the garbage, and wipe my eyes. Alex comes over to me and kisses the top of my head. With an arm wrapped around me, we walk out of my room towards the kitchen. “Let’s not tell anyone about our dream yet, okay?”

    “That’s probably a good idea for now.” He agrees. 

    We walk into the kitchen, and everyone is sitting at the table. Anna is eating a bagel and sipping on her tea while looking at her laptop. Jack is eating a bowl of cereal and watching the news. Lucas is seriously focused on his waffles, which are smothered in chocolate sauce. I laugh, and everyone looks up. 

    “Morning sleepy heads.” Anna looks up from her laptop and sets down her mug. “How was your sleep?” She leans forward and rests her elbows on the table. 

    “It was a really good sleep actually. Last night I couldn’t calm down, so Ally put her hand on my head and hummed me to sleep.” He looks down at me. “I hope I didn’t snore too loud.” We all laugh. 

    “No, you were fine.” I look over at Jack, and he looks like the withdrawal is finally setting in. “How are you feeling?” I ask him.

    “I’m fine. A little iffy but I’ll be alright. I’m glad you’re feeling better Alex. I’m sorry to hear about your mom.” We all give Jack a look, and we’re all surprised. 

    “Uh, thanks Jack. I appreciate it.” Jack stands up and walks over to Alex, and reaches out his hand.

    “I’m also sorry for being a massive douche. I’d blame it on the demon blood, but I know I would’ve acted the same either way.” Alex shakes his hand, and nods.

    “What’s done is done. Let’s just move forward from it.” I look at the exchange between them, and I can’t help but smile at Jack. He looks at me, and clears his throat. He picks up his bowl and rinses it off in the sink.

    “Well, I’m gonna go for a run, so I’ll catch up with you guys later. If anything happens just call me.” They all say bye to him, and I sigh. 

    “Okay, time for you to show me how good your pancake skills are.” I walk over to the kitchen and pull out everything he needs, and explain where everything else is.

    “Oh s**t, someone’s challenging Ally’s pancakes? This is gonna be good.” Lucas laughs. “I’ll take two please.” He gives us a big goofy smile, and Alex laughs.

    “Didn’t you just have waffles?” He says.

    Lucas leans back and pats his stomach like a kid. “I will ALWAYS, have room for pancakes.” We all laugh, and its almost as if we’re just a normal family. I sit at the table next to Anna, and smile to myself. 

    “What’re you thinkin’ about sweets?” She says quietly.

    “I just wish things didn’t have to be so complicated. I wish we could start off all our mornings like this.” I look over at her and wrap my arm around her shoulder. “I also wish that you, Tyler and Marie didn’t live so far away. I can’t wait to meet her someday.” I squeeze her.

    “Actually, Tyler got a job offer in Nebraska, and we’ve been thinking about moving there. It’s a lot closer than New York.  That way, we can visit more often, and you can hangout with Marie as much as you want.” She smiles. I imagine living a simple life, and it’s getting harder to see that happening. I frown.

    “Sadly, I don’t think our lives will be any thing close to normal. At least not mine anyways. You’ll all age at a normal rate, and I’ll look the same in another fifty years. When I was asleep, Athena told me that the oldest demigod lived to be over a thousand years old.” I lean my head against hers. “That’s a lot of time to spend alone.”

    “But you won’t be.” She nudges her head towards Alex, who’s whisking away at the pancake mix as he makes me breakfast. Lucas is sitting at the island sneaking strawberries and they’re talking about the game they watched yesterday. “If all goes well, which I believe it will, you two could live a long life together. You could be badass immortal hunters, or spend your lives seeing the world. Buy a house in the countryside and have some horses. Use that degree of yours and start your own landscaping company. You can do anything you set your heart to. Even when I’m old and grey, you’ll always be my family. You’ll get to watch Marie grow up, and her kids too. She’s starting to understand a bit about monsters, but Tyler and I are waiting till she’s older to explain it all. I’m sure she’d love to have her super-cool-goddess of an aunt in her life too. Everything will work out eventually. I believe it.” She kisses the top of my head, and pulls back. 

    I didn’t even realize I was crying until she wiped a tear from my cheek. “I hope you’re right Anna. I really hope you are.” I sigh. I want to tell her about my dream, but I don’t want Lucas to hear it yet. He’ll worry much more than she will, and I don’t need to stress him out any more than he already is.