Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

***ARCHIE***

F elicity kept her distance, the dress clutched to her chest as they made their way across the island to Max's cabin, and he didn't blame her. In her shoes, he would have felt the same, and his face flamed with embarrassment when he remembered how he'd behaved. He'd thrown out all his inhibitions and let his instinct and the creature inside him take over, something he never would have done in real life. It had only been a dream; at least he'd thought it was only a dream; now, looking down at his clothes, he wasn't sure, and that only confused him more.

One thing he knew for certain, he had to get this cleared up with Felicity. It was killing him, having her think he was some kind of creep, and Max was his only hope. He waited for her to catch up before he knocked on the door, then stood stealing glances over at her. The dream was still fresh in his mind, the emotions filling him again, and it was all he could do not to pull Felicity into his arms and kiss her until she wasn't mad at him anymore.

But this wasn't the dream. A kiss wasn't going to fix things. "We've got a big problem, and you'd better have the answer," he said when Max opened the door. "If you don't, Felicity is going to have me arrested."

"Hey, hold on, what's this about arresting someone?" Max asked, his eyes still blurry from sleep. "I haven't even had my coffee yet. Can we just put a pause on calling the cops?"

Ten minutes later, Max set the coffee pot down on the table with a thunk, then looked back and forth between them for several long seconds. "Damn, I can't believe this is happening again," he finally said, then took a long drink of his coffee. "You can forget about calling the cops, Felicity. Archie didn't do anything to you, well, not directly."

"What does that mean?" Felicity demanded. "You'd better not be covering for him. I know he's your friend, but you won't get away with it."

Max lifted his hand to stop her. "I think we'd better have some breakfast before I explain," he said, then took another swig of his coffee. "You'll take the news better on a full stomach."

"You'd better start talking, and now." Felicity said. "I don't want anything to eat. I want to know what's going on."

"Fine, I'll talk while I cook." Max said. "But first, I have to make a quick phone call."

Max left the room, and silence fell between them. "Felicity, please believe me, I don't know what's going on either," he said, but she turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. "If I'd known……I thought it was a dream……my dream……"

She looked over her shoulder, glared at him again, then turned away, and he gave up, hoping that Max would clear everything up. They sat listening to the clock on the wall tick for several long minutes. Then there was a knock on the door, and he heard the murmur of voices by the front door.

Max walked into the kitchen with another man. "Archie, Felicity, I'd like you to meet Mateo. He's the guardian of the island, for lack of a better title," he said. "I called him because he might be able to help us. I probably should have asked you, but well……he has some experience with these things."

"What things?" Felicity asked. "What does that mean?"

"Before I answer that, maybe you could tell me what happened." Mateo said, taking the cup of coffee Max offered him. "Start at the beginning, and don't leave anything out."

He looked over at Felicity, who gave him a warning look. "Well, okay, but it's going to sound crazy," Archie said. "Felicity and I have been having the same dream, but it's not really like a dream, it's like real life. I don't know how to describe it exactly."

"I see," Mateo said. "What are these dreams about?"

He hesitated, not sure he wanted to expose his life to a total stranger, then looked over at Felicity. Her eyes were filled with understanding, giving him the courage he needed, and he started to explain. When he was finished, Mateo sat back, shaking his head, but didn't say anything right away, and he began to get worried.

"Do you know what's happening to us?" He asked impatiently. "Where is this coming from?"

Mateo looked over at Max, who was slumped against the counter. "It's really very simple. The island is teaching you a lesson," he said, looking back over at them. "Archie, what were you doing before the dreams started?"

"I was sitting on the beach telling myself that I was fine alone, that I didn't need friends or family in my life," he said. "I was mad at Max and afraid of my feelings for Felicity."

"Yes, that makes sense," Mateo said, then shrugged. "Just the kind of thing that gets the island all worked up."

"Wait, you said the island." Felicity spoke up for the first time. "Are you trying to say the island did this to us so it could teach Archie a lesson? Even if I believed that, which I don't, what do I have to do with this? Why am I in these dreams?"

"My dear, you triggered the whole thing," Mateo said, smiling at her. "The island is called Heart of the Ocean for a reason. You two are clearly meant for each other, but that was never going to happen the way you were before."

"Wait, hold on a second," he said, a feeling of panic slowly descending on him. "What do you mean, perfect for each other?"

"Yeah, how does some stupid island know that?" Felicity demanded.

"Oh, it's not the island who decides," Mateo said. "It's fate, and you know you can't fight fate. It's better to just accept it; maybe this will be over sooner when you do."

***Felicity***

Felicity saw the panicked look on Archie's face and didn't blame him. Her head was spinning, and the rational part of her brain rejected everything Mateo was saying. "This is crazy," she said, getting to her feet. "You can't expect me to believe this, it's just not……possible. It would take magic or something."

"I don't know if it's magic or not, but this island has mysterious powers, it always has," Mateo said. "I warned Max, but he wouldn't listen. This isn't the first time something like this happened. You might want to ask him about it."

They both looked over at Max, who shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't think anything would happen, I thought Archie was happy," he said, then let out a long sigh. "When Theo came to visit, he and Eden got……I don't know, transported to another time on the island, and Simon turned ugly when he was here, but that doesn't mean…… "

Archie stared at his friend, his mouth hanging open, then he narrowed his eyes at Max, "Didn't Theo get married while he was here?" He asked, but didn't wait for Max to answer. "And Simon turned his back on his parents and moved to Denver with someone, right?"

Max shrugged, "Something like that," he said. "But we don't know for sure it was the island. There could be another explanation."

"This is getting to be just a bit too much for me," she said, getting carefully to her feet, not sure her legs would hold her. I think I need some fresh air. Will you all excuse me?"

"Can't you make it stop?" Archie asked. "Now that we know, it should stop, right?"

Mateo shook his head, "Now that it's started, you have to finish it," he said. "If you don't, you'll both be miserable for the rest of your lives."

"This is crazy. I don't believe it. No island is going to tell me how to live my life," she said, then ran for the door, overwhelmed by all the emotions flooding her system. "Stay out of my dreams, Archie. Leave me alone."

She was sweating and panting when she got back to the cabin, "What happened?" Brittany asked, jumping to her feet. "Did you have to go to Max?"

"Oh, yeah, we went to Max. He went to some guy named Mateo who's the guardian of the island or something weird like that," she said, then shook her head. "It sounds so crazy; I don't think I can tell you."

Brittany pulled her over to the couch and made her sit down. "Felicity, take a deep breath, you're white as a sheet," her sister said. "Now, slow down and start over again."

"Mateo thinks the island is trying to teach Archie a lesson because he was trying to convince himself that he was fine being alone for the rest of his life," she said, then took a deep breath. "He thinks I'm involved because fate decided we're perfect for each other, but we needed to change to be together."

She let out a long sigh and looked over at her sister, "You're completely serious, aren't you?" Brittany asked. "Don't get me wrong, but it does sound a little crazy to me."

"Yeah, that's what I kept thinking until I found out weird things like this have happened here before," she said." Both of Max's other friends had experiences while they were here. One is married now, and the other just moved in with someone."

Brittany was silent for a second. "Felicity, you don't really believe this, do you?" she finally asked." I don't know what these guys are up to, but I don't think it's good. I think we should call Mary Beth. She sent us here, and she can help us get away."

"Mateo says that if we don't finish this, we'll both be miserable for the rest of our lives," she said. "I don't know if I should leave."

"We're getting out of here," Brittany said, grabbing her phone and punching in the number. "Mary Beth, I'm sorry to call in the middle of the night, but we've got a problem here, and I think you might be the only one to help us."

Brittany put the phone down on the table and hit the speaker button. "I've got Felicity here with me. I'll let her explain," she said. "But you'd better start figuring out how to get us home. We want off this island."

"Slow down," Mary Beth said. "Tell me what's going on."

She explained as quickly as she could, leaving out a few of the more embarrassing details, then sat back in her chair. "Brittany thinks I've lost my mind, and I'm not so sure that she's wrong," she said. "Mary Beth, I thought Max was your friend; I don't understand why he would do this to me."

There was a long silence before Mary Beth came on the line, "I guess I should have warned you, but I really didn't think anything would happen to you guys," she finally said. "I didn't think you would go to the island and fall in love, Felicity. I'm sorry, I guess I messed up. Don't blame Max for this, that island is tricky, but if it's any consolation, there's always been a happy ending."

"Mary Beth, are you telling me that they're telling the truth?" she asked. "Do you really expect me to believe this?"

"Felicity, I'm afraid your journey discovering the secrets of the world has just begun," Mary Beth said. "You've still got a long way to go. My best advice would be to keep an open mind and remember that just because we can't see something doesn't mean that it's not real. Fate has chosen you. Don't turn your back on something wonderful just because you're scared. Don't let Joe have that kind of power over you."

The line went dead. She looked over at Brittany, then back down at the phone. "I don't know what to think," she finally said. "Mary Beth is the most together woman I know, but I think she just told me to believe in magic."