Perfect Love (A Celestra Novella)

Perfect Love

(A Celestra Novella )

Addison Moore

*This book consists of Logan’s point of view from select chapters in ELYSIAN (36-39). Bonus feature includes the first chapter of

Addison Moore’s new series, CELESTRA FOREVER AFTER.

*In no way does this book offer spoilers to Skyla’s fate at the end of the Celestra series or the fate of Logan, Gage, or Marshall. Those answers lie embedded in the final few chapters of Elysian.

Edited by: Sarah Freese

Cover Design by: Regina Wamba of
www.MaeIDesign.com

Interior design and formatting by: Amy Eye of
www.theeyesforediting.com/

Copyright © 2013 by Addison Moore

http://addisonmoorewrites.blogspot.com/

This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to peoples either living or deceased is purely coincidental. Names, places, and characters are figments of the author’s imagination. The author holds all rights to this work. It is illegal to reproduce this novel without written expressed consent from the author herself.

All Rights Reserved.

Books by Addison Moore

New Adult Romance:

Someone to Love (Someone to Love 1)

Someone Like You (January 2014)

3:AM Kisses (3:AM Kisses 1)

Winter Kisses (3:AM Kisses 2)

The Solitude of Passion

Beautiful Oblivion

Perfect Love (A Celestra Novella)

Young Adult Romance:

Ethereal (Celestra Series Book 1)

Tremble (Celestra Series Book 2)

Burn (Celestra Series Book 3)

Wicked (Celestra Series Book 4)

Vex (Celestra Series Book 5)

Expel (Celestra Series Book 6)

Toxic Part One (Celestra Series Book 7)

Toxic Part Two (Celestra Series Book 7.5)

Elysian (Celestra Series Book 8)

Ephemeral (The Countenance Trilogy 1)

Evanescent (The Countenance Trilogy 2)

Ethereal Knights (Celestra Knights)

To those who love Celestra, this is for you.

Logan

The sky over Paragon is dark and dismal like a reflection of my tortured heart—my soul just days from leaving the planet.

Barron and Emma are gone for the night. I’ve been using them as an excuse as to why I haven’t told Gage yet, but they’re not home, so it looks like it’s game over on that good time.

I make the sad trek from my bedroom to his and give a solid knock over his door.

“What?” he barks from inside. He’s been in a piss-poor mood these past few weeks—mostly because Skyla hasn’t bowed to his ebony-haired glory. I can’t blame him, though. It’s pretty easy to get used to Skyla’s special brand of idol worship, I should know. I’m sort of missing the hell out of it myself. But the reverse is true. Both Gage and I would die a thousand deaths to be with Skyla, and now I’ve already died, I’m a walking corpse just waiting to lie in a casket and have the lid sealed shut. The last thing to rain down on me will be dirt from the Paragon cemetery. And the story of who I am will be finished, every period in its final resting place—my earthly eyes closed forever.

I twist the knob and let myself in. “Just me.”

Gage lies over his bed with the TV flipped on while a Huskies game blares in the background.

“What’s up?” He switches the TV to mute and tosses the remote to the side.

“Just thought I should share a little something with you.” I take a seat at his desk and roll myself over to him. “Got some shit news, dude.”

His eyes round out. “Is this about—”

“My life, or lack thereof.” I nod into the sorry idea. He’s tried to confront me about it a few times, but I proved evasive, elusive as hell. And the truth is, at one point I didn’t want anyone to know, not even Gage. “I talked to Candace.” Skyla’s mother has been carefully walking me through each new level of pain—although, she’s the one who put me in this position to begin with. Not that I don’t appreciate what she’s already done for me by allowing me to have this chance at life with Skyla—even if the timer is up on that good deal. And now there’s nothing to look forward to with the exception of being buried under six feet of Paragon soil.

Gage sits up with his adrenaline pumping, his eyes widening with a mix of fear and anger. “What did she say?” It comes out lackluster because deep down Gage doesn’t want to hear it, just as much as I don’t want to give it.

“She zapped me to the ethereal plane—told me exactly how it was going to go down. Looks like I take off for good at the end of this weekend.”

“Shit.” He lands his feet to the floor. His face bleaches as if he might be sick.

“Don’t worry about it.” I try to brush it off as if I were good to go. “It was supposed to happen this way.” Not that I believe it for one fucking minute. Everything about my death has raised a dozen red flags from the beginning. I was supposed to be right here. I was supposed to live out a decent span of years—to be with Skyla. And now my life has burned up like a field fire right under my nose. I had no clue the end would come so quick. No more earthly charity for Logan Oliver.

Candace had better have one hell of a plot twist at the ready, or I’m going to be severely pissed for one long eternity.

“It shouldn’t go down this way. In fact, it shouldn’t go down at all.” His face glazes over. “You tell Skyla yet?” His furious eyes settle over mine like cobalt flames. I don’t have the balls to shake my head, so I press out a depleted smile instead. “Dude”—he straightens, serious as shit—“you have to tell her.”

“I can’t.” I drop my elbows to my knees and stare at the hardwood floor because sometimes there are no words. “She knows it’s coming. I don’t see why I need to drill it home for her. ”

“Drill it home for her?” His voice sinks low, pissed as hell, all for Skyla. “You don’t think she’s going to be upset when she finds out you never gave her the chance to say goodbye?”

“I won’t be here, so I guess that’s for you to know.” I meet his pissed off gaze. Who the hell is he to judge me? It’s mighty easy to see what’s right and wrong until death is on the other foot.

“What do you mean that’s for me to know?” Gage gets wild-eyed and squirrely like he does just before a fight. “Take care of this tonight. Go find her and tell her. If it’s only days, she’s going to want to spend every last minute with you. I know she will.” His voice rises to its upper register like he’s about to start a riot—like he’s in the mood to snap every one of my weary bones, and I bet he is.

“Settle the fuck
down
.” I bark it out far more animated than I wanted. “Don’t you think I’ve thought about it? This is
my
business and this is how
I
want to deal with it. It’s only going to make her miserable knowing there’s a countdown taking place. That’s why God doesn’t stamp an expiration date on people, genius,” I roar. “It’s too fucking painful to deal with.”

A strangled silence clots up the air as Gage bears into me, refining his rage as if he were ready and willing to catapult me into the afterlife just a little bit sooner.

“So that’s it?” He huffs a dull laugh. “You tell me, and you expect me to keep it quiet. Did you tell my dad?”

“No. Just you—one and done. I’m not telling anyone else and neither are you.” It never even occurred to me that Gage would go against my wishes and run around yapping to anyone let alone, Skyla. In my mind I thought we’d be hugging it out right about now—that he’d respect the fact I want him to be there for Skyla. But it’s becoming obvious I need to spell it out for him. “You’re going to help her get through this, dude. I want you to.” My voice drops off. “I want things to work out between the two of you.”

A growl of a laugh rumbles from him, but his narrowed eyes let me know he’s still pissed to hell.

“You want this to be some kind of
bonding
exercise between Skyla and me? You’re sick—you know that?” He kicks the chair I’m sitting in, and I float back a few feet. “She’s going to hate both
you
and
me
if she finds out we knew and let her go about her day like it was no big deal. You know she’s busy with practice. She’s got a fucking paper due in Lit, that’s why she’s not around. You need to go to her, tell her what’s happening right now. You can’t just let her spend all that precious time away from you.” He pauses, pulling back, stunned by some big epiphany he’s having. “Wait.” He holds out a hand. “You piece of shit.” He huffs an incredulous laugh. “She’s not going to hate you, and you know it. She’s going to hate
me
.” He leans in as if he’s onto my big bad plan of deception.

Crap. Nothing could be further from the truth, and he’s wrong. Skyla would never hate Gage. I’ve seen the way she looks at him. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what the hell is. Besides, he’s the one fate determined would marry Skyla, not me.

“Swear to God it’s not what I’m doing. I just thought—”

“You didn’t think!” He charges at me, and I bounce to my feet to meet him until we’re chest to chest. “You fucking
never
think. That’s why we’re in this mess to begin with.” He sends me sailing into his desk, and his trophies rain down over me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Gage yanks me in by the T-shirt with the fire of vengeance brewing in his eyes. “That means you’re talking to the wrong fucking person you idiot. You should be with Skyla right now, pouring your heart out—not hoping I’ll translate how much I think you cared about her when she’s broken and dying inside because you left her without so much as a goodbye.” He pushes me back into his desk, good and hard, and a stack of paperbacks fall over my chest like literary precision missiles.

I get up and pat my palms over my jeans because if I don’t find something to keep my hands busy, God knows I’m going to deck him.

Oh, what the hell.

I give a good swing and clock him square in the jaw.

“Shit.” He holds his fingers over his mouth and inspects for blood. “You think I’m going to let you get away with that crap just because you’re checking out?”

Gage needles into me with that death stare of his, and I can’t tell if he’s genuinely pissed or already grieving me on some level. I suppose my ego wants to believe the latter. Hell, I know Gage is hurting, too. I know I am.

“Give it to me.” I flick my fingers at him like a dare. “Go ahead. Kick the shit out of me one last time—you can’t kill me, I’m already dead. I get all the pain and none of the pleasure—story of my life.”

“You think this is all about you, huh?” He tilts his head, mocking me. “Poor little Logan—and what about Skyla? Dude, you say you love her. She’s the only thing that has ever come between us, and you’d rather take a beating from me than drive the hell to her house and tell her everything she deserves to know? You ever hear of a thing called closure? Because she’s going to need it, from
you
, not me,” he roars the words in my face so loud I can’t see straight.