Blacken

  “Yes. He was upset with me; I told him the same night that I was seeing someone.”

  A wave of his writing hand, “Dating, in that sense?”

  “Yes, right, that I was dating someone. I don’t think that’s why he decided to try to kill me. I don’t think he’s actually that well.”

  “Can you explain further, Avie?” The detective tapped the ball of his pen a few times onto the paper, dark eyes watery as they looked into her own.

  “His attitude has changed since I first met him. Before I really became a resident, he was my first friend. We were trying to solve the mystery that’s in the town, like why it scientifically affects people, you know? It was something fun for both of us to do regularly. The more we got into it, more questions came up. I think he got frustrated, losing a bit of himself, caught up in it more than reality. I told him that he was changing, but he didn’t see it that way. Owen tried to spin it on me instead, saying I wasn’t dedicated enough.”

  Detective Arcand wrote a few things down throughout; he paused after scrawling more after her explanation. “Did you find him aggressive during this time?”

  She looked away. Taking a moment, she stopped herself, she wasn’t his friend anymore, he made that very clear. “Yes.”

  “Can you give an example?”

  Avie looked to her hands, “I felt very sick one night, it must have been about midnight when it was the worst. I was staying at his house, and he had the idea to look in the woods to try to find clues for the investigation we were doing. He dragged me out into the snow with him, I protested several times, asking him to take me back, but he kept going. He had a tight grip on my hand and wrist the whole time.”

  “And what about the creature in the woods?” Det. Cooper asked his first question, earning him a hard look from his partner.

  She quirked her head, “Like, an animal?”

  “Mr. Zagorski talked about a monster that hid in the woods, living in a manor. Stating it was the cause of people dying, and that you were its next target.”

  Avie laughed, wincing shortly after from the strain, “I’m sorry, that just sounds so bizarre. I haven’t heard anything from Owen about that, we looked through the house and couldn’t find anything besides remnants from squatters. There would be some sort of evidence of a person or something living there, right?”

  The young man licked his lips, “Just covering all bases. Thank you.”

  “I’m worried about him if he’s like this. I really am worried…”

  The duo closed their notebooks, collecting the tape recorder, “Thank you, Miss. Conrad, you have been a big help. We wish you a speedy recovery.” Handing her a business card, Detective Arcand tipped his hat, “In case you remember anything else.”

  She smiled while watching them head out.

  Owen’s future was uncertain, but then again, he didn’t care about hers. She at least wanted him to have the opportunity to be assessed, if there was a sliver of hope of him coming back to himself in a clearer state of mind, then she could at least give him that last parting gift. But she couldn’t be around him any longer.

  Avie had given too many chances and look where it left her.

  CHAPTER 21

  “Keep going, Avie! You’re doing great!”

  Pushing her limits, Avie worked with a physical therapist as she stood and took a few tiny steps; her body building its strength back through the motions after such a trauma. They told her it was beneficial to be walking around to help in the avoidance of developing a clot from her surgery.

  She kept pushing through the needle pinpricks of pain coursing through her, the sight of the ring Rhulle gave her filling her with strength as her hands gripped tightly. She did not want to be on an operating table ever again.

  Clutching the cold metal bars with shaking hands, Dr. Miller stood beside her, Avie found the will to take five steps, exhaustion catching up to her as she collapsed into the seat provided by the therapist who also followed her movements. She was distraught, counting the single steps aloud to keep her mind occupied on something else, yet she couldn’t even make it very far.

  “That was fantastic, Miss. Conrad! Most patients can only make it to standing their first time, make sure you’re not pushing too hard. Are you having any abnormal discomfort?”

  The news enlightened her spirits, “It’s. Good. I’m. Good,” she panted hard from the exertion, needing her strength back as soon as possible, Rhulle was waiting for her. “I’m good to go again.”

  Within a week, Avie was able to walk the length of the hallway outside of her room. She grasped the cool gel of the four-legged walker, having it warm under her palms while shuffling along, the days in passing making every step easier.

  In that time, she picked out a pair of large purple sunglasses and a feather boa from a box of props a nurse handed to her. Halloween approached in the first few days spent at the hospital, the staff trying to make it as enjoyable for everyone with candy and pieced together costumes anyone could wear while they trick or treat through the hallways.

  A parent and his child were stopped just before her room, the latter of which swished a tail while shyly asking if she was trick or treating too. Not very many people were, nor were they able to participate, but the staff had a lot of candy to give away if they wanted to go to each section. Avie was invited into the duo, excited to go along and work up the strength with her walker for support. Each door of those who wanted to participate was marked off with a plastic bat or skeleton hanging from the nob, the small group knocked on the wood and was met with a man in a wheelchair.

  “Trick or Treat!”

  “Hello! Here is some candy for...?”

  The kid beside her piped up, “I’m a lion,” they said, brandishing their drawn-on whiskers and fuzzy cat ears.

  “And I’m a farmer,” the older gentleman tipped his straw hat.

  “I’m a superstar!” She flicked the white feathers and posed for good measure, earning a giggle from the lion.

  “Yes of course, a lion, farmer, and superstar at my door, how exciting!” The man gave each a piece of candy, having the goodies hit with a clunk into the empty carriers.

  The lion, farmer, and superstar ended up collecting a decent haul, trading off chocolates and sweet treats after the night ended with each other, able to stack up their own favourites.

  “I didn’t even get your names, I’m Avie.”

  “My name is Penny, thank you for coming with us, Avie! And thank you for trading with me,” she said while scratching smudged whiskers.

  The father shook her hand, “Lance. Thank you, it really does mean a lot that you joined us, Penny was self conscious about no one else being out,” he spoke in a lower voice, the end of their conversation more private.

  “I was glad to, this was a lot of fun. Don’t eat too much candy, little lion, you’ll be up all night!”

  She smiled, revealing a large gap, “I won’t! Only most of it!”

  Making her way back to the room, Avie collapsed back onto the bed, tucking herself in for the night. She sighed, exhausted at walking for that long with only a few breaks between. Her head fell to the left, catching sight of her closed window.

  Just as soon as rounds are done…

  Within two weeks, she was walking without assistance.

  Only the doctor and therapist there at her side, just in case. Yet there she was, walking! It may have been stiff, it may have been more of a shuffle, but she was mobile! She could have cried from excitement.

  A little old lady came into her room, sitting down beside her bed with a warm hand reaching out to grasp hers. “Miss. Conrad, dear oh dear, I’m so sorry to hear what happened!”

  “Mrs. Harris?” Avie started to shift to sit up properly, a man walking through the door just seconds behind, “And Gerald? What are you two doing here?”

  He carried a bouquet with him, his face stern yet sad. “Hey, kid. Here to see how you’re holding up. Sorry to hear about what you went through, figured you ne
eded some time to recover before we could come in. These are for you.”

  Gerald handed over the flowers; purple freesia sprinkled through white lilies and even a few peonies decorated the gift, “These are beautiful, thank you! I’ll have to ask a nurse for a vase. This is such a nice surprise, thank you both for coming to see me. Anything interesting happening?”

  Vivian patted her hand, “Business is doing better, took a lot of the junk out of the store, it’s a lot more open now. Even took some of your advice, put in a coffee maker and an old arcade game for the kids to and from school, they clear out the stock in just a few days, I have to order more and more!”

  “That’s amazing news,” she replied, elated, “you have too many customers to handle by the sounds of it!”

  “Speaking of, customers miss you. They send their condolences and hope to see you back.”

  The woman looked up at her boss, happy to hear the job she struggled with in the beginning became rewarding.

  “C’mon, step aside, I gotta see my sugar!” The pair in front of her turned towards the new voice, opening a gap for Avie to see through.

  “Sandy! Oh my stars, I’m so happy you came!” Setting the flowers off to the side, she opened her arms wide to receive Sandra’s incoming hug.

  “How are you feelin’? You got the whole town a buzzin’.” They broke apart, Sandra taking the second seat, sitting beside Mrs. Harris while Gerald offered his seat and stood behind.

  “I’m much better now. I had a pretty big scare for sure, I had to learn how to re-walk with a physical therapist and I am getting better every day.”

  “Aww shit, no kidding, sugar. But I was more worried ‘bout how you were coping with… you know… Owen?”

  Hearing his name caused her heart to twang sadly.

  “Oh yeah, he was your little friend. If you ask me, he wasn’t well in the head to do that to such a sweet girl.” Vivian squeezed her hand.

  “Right, yeah… If I’m honest, I’m not doing too well accepting what happened. I saw the signs of him changing, he started to act differently, but I thought it was something he would get over.”

  “Don’t you blame yourself,” Gerald threw in his two cents, “he wasn’t that good of a person if he did this to you in the first place.”

  Light lashes blinked away a few tears, “Right, you’re probably right.”

  She chatted with her visitors for a few hours, happy to have familiar faces fill her in with their lives and entertain her. Avie always seemed to collect a distraction when things got difficult.

  Six days later, she was discharged.

  Heart knocking in her chest, she left the hospital in warm clothing Sandy gifted her, stepping from bright fluorescent bulbs and the scent of sterilization into the overcast November with crisp air meeting her lungs. Avie inhaled deeply, shuddering on the release.

  Finally, she was going to Rhulle. The desperation consumed her, coursing through every fiber of her being to reunite with him as she clutched her winter jacket, boots crunching in the pillowed snow.

  The woman could walk, and she could walk well, but she couldn’t walk the same as she did before. Taking frequent breaks on her trek past the treeline, the snow caused her to take larger steps, levels coming up to her calves in some areas. It took triple the time to finally trudge up to the manor, all circumstances working against her.

  Lugging the heavy boots, Avie reached the front door, tripping and catching herself inside of the dwelling due to the change of environment. Lungs gasped for breath, her body combing through the sitting area, dining room, and kitchen, wheezing slightly and breaking a sweat despite the cold weather. The house was cold, no signs of a fire for possibly days, and absolutely no Rhulle.

  She gulped in air, steadying her breathing, tackling the stairs to try and locate him upstairs.

  “Rhulle?! Where-wh-where are you?” She was in his room, borderline hysterical at not finding him yet. That was until he swooped down from the rafters, capturing her in a flurry of his arms and wings.

  “Avie… Oh, darling, I thought you were the officers again,” his voice shook, relief filling his tone.

  “Rhulle, I’m so sorry, I wanted to see you so badly, I wanted to tell you what happened, but I… I just… I couldn’t…” her voice broke, letting out the welling tears while her hand came to cover the distraught sounds.

  She wondered how he must have felt this whole time in the unknown.

  “Shh, it is alright, you are safe, you are alive. That is all that matters now. Oh, stars above, I could smell your blood, it was everywhere in that building. I have been so worried!”

  “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay…” She kept repeating the words, face buried in his chest as they sank to the floor, wrapped together in each other, Rhulle stroking her hair as she held on tightly. They were together in the assurance that they were both alright after everything, reunited once again after all the pain and worry.

  They sat in the other’s hold through endless minutes, each needing the contact.

  “I-I am sorry, Avie. I held it off as long as I could, but I needed to feed while you were gone.”

  Her eyes opened at his words, turning up to face him, “I didn’t even feel it… I have different blood running through my veins. There was nothing else that could have been done. But I… I told him, I told him this didn’t need to happen again but he—!” The sentence dropped into a disgusted grunt.

  “… This all happened because of Owen, correct?” his voice was dark.

  “He-he’s really gone, not even close to the same person I befriended. He tried to kill me that night,” she felt Rhulle tense, his grip tight on her arm. Avie continued calmly, “The police were asking me questions, I told them what he did. He will be locked up in no time; punished for his crime.”

  “How are you not angry at him?”

  “I had a lot of time to think about it, and I feel sad instead of anger. I keep thinking that there was something different I could have done, situations I should have handled better. If I kept my temper under control… Would it have even mattered? Or would it have happened regardless of what I did?”

  “It should not have happened in the first place! He put you in the worst situation imaginable, it is amazing you survived. I was losing my mind thinking I may have lost you, not knowing if I would ever get that answer. And he gets to, what? Sit in a cell for a few years of his life?”

  Rhulle was, understandably, pissed. Owen had been a constant annoyance with him and now he tried to do the unforgivable.

  “Yes, he will, I’m sure of it, and it will be hell on him. But he may also get some help and reorganize his mind. Right now, he sees himself as doing nothing wrong, Owen may eventually come to terms with what he’s done, how he’s acted. His old self may resurface with that knowledge. That will weigh heavily on him, that knowledge in his clarity. That will be his true punishment.”

  Rhulle looked at her in a puzzling manner, looking to possibly understand her logic.

  Avie explained further, “What if… How would you feel if you found out you tried to kill me when you weren’t aware of your own actions?”

  His eyes lowered, thinking over the example, “I would be devastated.”

  “Owen will have an awful long time to think about it. I think that’s a suitable punishment.”

  “You still want what is best for him, even after what he did,” Rhulle’s voice was soft, contemplative over her reasoning.

  “I don’t want him to be lost anymore, but I still want justice.”

  He brought her hand to his face, kissing it, “You will, most certainly.”

  They talk over events of their time separated, over her surgery; lifting her shirt to show the bandages, two long gauze pads taped down over her stitches to aid in healing. She stated how the doctor found her very lucky—all things considered. Avie went on to explain the process of re-learning to stand and walk after the trauma, why it took so long for her to come to him.

  “I wanted to com
e sooner, I gave it my all, pushing to walk as much as I could, trying to get better faster. I had no idea what you must have been going through.”

  “I tried to distract myself, with reading mostly. Most of the time, all I could do was sit in silence and stare at the hospital. There was a window that was always open at night. I half thought it may have been you, it gave me hope.”

  “That was! I’m sure of it. I wanted you to see it so badly, and maybe you would know it was me and that I was okay. I tried to look for you, every evening, all of the time—I hoped I could see you in the distance. I’m happy you at least noticed my small signal.”

  The police were brought up again, they were prodding around his house during the few weeks she spent in the hospital. Rhulle had the ability to see them coming, able to hide all of the items Avie brought over up inside the plaster of the roof before they reached his dwelling. Owen spoke of his existence to them, that was evident by the question Detective Cooper asked. But since they couldn’t find any evidence of Rhulle, it further didn’t look good for the blond’s mental health.

  “I trusted you with my life, and you have kept me secret all this time. Darling, I do not think I can let you be alone tonight.”

  “I can’t be alone tonight, I need to be with you, I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much.”

  He ran his hands through her hair, cradling her close and enveloping her in his wings. Avie felt his chest stutter on an inhale, before crooning in a bittersweet warble, his heart strung words making her own chest ache at the emotion behind them.

  “Stars above, oh how I have missed you.”

  They kissed, the first one in weeks.

  She was encompassed in the comfort of Rhulle, even after they broke from kissing, they still stayed close to the other's face, taking in all details, memorizing all features. She gently caressed the feathers at his jaw once more.

  “Delahara incu.”

  Rhulle let out a shaky breath at her words, having his eyes fall closed, “Say that again.”

  “Delahara incu, Rhulle.”