by M. K. ROZE
you.”
I forced a smile. “Maybe.”
Constin reached out his hand to take mine. “Are you
ready for bed?” he asked softly.
“Yes.” I took his hand and pushed myself to my feet.
Sorin kissed me on my cheek. “It was a pleasure to meet
you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
Sorin walked over to the room near the fireplace,
stepped inside, and shut the door.
“Are you okay?” Constin asked.
“Yes, I’m just tired.”
“Let me get you into bed then.”
“Okay.”
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Upstairs, we walked down a short hallway to Constin’s
bedroom. He opened the door. “Ladies first.” He stepped
aside for me to enter.
“This is huge.” I inspected the king-size mahogany bed
near the window.
“It works.” He continued toward the closet.
I placed my keys on the matching nightstand.
“Would you like to change into a shirt of mine?”
I hesitated. A shirt? I need more than that. “Sure.”
Constin took a white T-shirt off the end of the bed and
handed it to me.
“Thank you.” We stared at one another, and I cleared
my throat.
“I apologize.” He turned around to respect my privacy.
As I was pulling his shirt over my head, the smell of
sandalwood was on it. It reminded me of Bain’s scent.
“All finished.” I placed my dress on the nightstand.
Constin spun around. He didn’t blink once while
scanning my exposed legs. “Lie down and relax.”
I did, and he covered me with the silk sheets. He stood
at the side of the bed, staring at me.
“I know this is a funny question, but what kind of
laundry detergent do you use?”
He smiled. “I have no clue. My father drops our clothes
off at the cleaners. Why? Does the scent remind you of
something?”
I wasn’t about to tell him his scent reminded me of my
dream lover. I patted the bed. “No, I just like the smell of
this shirt. Come lay with me?”
“I’m not tired yet.”
I sighed and curled up in a ball, trying to get warm.
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Constin reached for the blanket at the edge of the bed
and covered me.
“Aw. You’re so sweet.”
As he leaned over me to adjust the pillow beneath my
head, our eyes met. “You’re so beautiful.” He moved my hair
behind my ear.
My heart pounded. I wanted to grab Constin and kiss
him so badly. He ran his fingers down my cheek then kissed
it softly.
“Goodnight.”
“You’re leaving?” My voice cracked.
He nodded. “It’s late. You must rest.”
Without thinking, I grabbed his face, and I began kissing
him.
Constin backed away for a second, then kissed me
hungrily. He kissed me with just as much passion as Bain did
in my dream. I was happy until his body became extremely
hot through his clothes. I thought it was normal until his
breath almost scorched my neck.
I stopped abruptly, propped myself up on my elbows
and placed the back of my hand on his forehead to gauge his
temperature.
“You’re scorching hot. Are you okay?”
Constin got up and turned away from me, his shoulders
hunched. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.
As I moved closer to him, another sharp pain rushed in
my head. I squeezed my eyes shut from the pain, and I was
sitting at a table with at least twenty other people. I looked
to my right, and the same man wearing the gold tunic was
next to me, smiling as he spoke, but I couldn’t hear what he
was saying.
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⁓
“Viata!”
I gasped, and Constin’s face slowly appeared. “I’m
sorry, I—I must have passed out and had a dream.”
Constin scooted closer to me. “What did you see?”
I ignored him.
“Please tell me what you saw.” His voice was desperate.
“The room I was in was gold, and the table held a lot of
people. A man I saw before was sitting next to me talking,
but I couldn’t hear him.”
“What did this man look like?”
“Maybe forty years old. Very muscular, with jet black
hair and light green eyes. Why?”
He rushed up. “No reason. Get some rest. I’m going
downstairs.”
“Why? Is it because of what I just told you?”
“You need time alone. I’m a distraction.”
“No, you’re not. It’s probably the alcohol playing tricks
on me or something.”
I lied straight through my teeth, not wanting him to
leave me.
He walked over to the door and punched his fist
through it like the door was butter.
I flinched and rushed out of bed to look at his hand.
“Oh my God. Are you okay?” I inspected his knuckles.
“There’s no blood or marks. How is that possible?”
He shrugged and put his hand to his side.
“Why did you do that?”
He ignored me.
“I’m leaving.” I stomped toward the nightstand.
He grabbed me. “No, please stay. It’s much safer here.”
His voice was weak.
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I pushed his hand away and sat on the bed. “Safer from
what?”
He stared at the large hole in the door. “You’ve been
drinking.”
“Fine. I’ll stay.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that. Go to sleep.” He stormed
out.
I sighed and laid down, angry that I told him what had
happened to me. I think it scared him off. I wanted to leave
because of the way he was acting, but he was right. I was
buzzed and was way too far into the woods to go anywhere.
Silence filled the house, and the room began to spin like
I was on a ride. I closed my eyes, hoping it would subside,
but that made it worse. My stomach bubbled, ready to puke.
I sat up for a while until the dizziness passed, then eventually
fell asleep.
Animals fighting woke me up. It sounded like they were
smashing each other against the house. I felt around the bed,
hoping Constin came back, but he wasn’t there, so I passed
out.
The sun peeking through the blinds woke me up. I took
my phone off the nightstand and squinted at the time. It was
10:30 in the morning.
“Great, another day missed of school.” I got up and
zigzagged over to the side of the bed, holding my throbbing
head. I changed into my dress and grabbed my keys.
Downstairs, I called out for Constin, but he didn’t answer.
I locked the door on my way out and continued to my
car. A loud thump came from the house. I turned to see what
it was, but there was nothing there, so I got in my car and
took off.
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⁓
n the way home from Constin’s house, I had
mixed emotions. I knew I liked him but th
ought
he was rude for not waking me up or leaving me
a note.
When I arrived home, I sat out front for a while still
thinking about how he acted, then went inside when I got
sick of trying to figure him out.
Kaylee greeted me at the door when I entered the house.
“Hey, I’m glad I’m not the only one who isn’t going to school
today.”
I walked past her. “I forgot to set my alarm.”
Kaylee followed me. “Your hair looks like a rat’s nest.
Did you do the nasty last night?”
I plopped on the couch and sighed. “No, not even
close.”
A door squeaked, and the same man she was dancing
with at her aunt’s wedding came walking out of her room.
Kaylee went over to him and hugged him. “Viata, this is
Sebastian.”
“Hi.” I put my hair into a ponytail.
“Hello,” he said with a Spanish accent. He kissed Kaylee
on her lips. “I’ll call you later.”
Kaylee walked him to the door. He kissed her again and
left.
“I can’t believe you brought a man here you just met.”
“He’s harmless. I’m in love.” She hugged herself.
“You just met him. Why would you bring a stranger into
our house? He could’ve killed you.”
She slapped her forehead. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking
right last night. And we didn’t do anything. I promise.”
I rolled my eyes at her sarcasm. “Right.”
“What about you? Did you kiss?”
“Yes, but that’s it.”
She sat next to me. “Well, what happened?”
I told her about meeting his father and how Constin was
acting weird during our heated moment, but I left out the
part about me seeing things because I didn’t want her to
freak out on me.
Her forehead creased. “Constin’s dad seems like a
weirdo. And maybe your new lover boy had the flu or
something.”
I forcefully rubbed my face. “Kaylee, Constin’s been
sweating since I met him. Something isn’t right. And he
keeps acting weird.”
She lowered her head.
“How did Constin know I was there?”
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Kaylee readjusted herself to face me. “Constin came to
the house a few days ago while you were at work. He told me
he missed you, and he was sorry for how he treated you. I
felt sorry for him, so I told him where you were going to be.”
She sighed and continued. “I was hoping it would be a great
birthday surprise. I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
She cleared her throat. “I think you should break it off
with him. And for good this time. He gives me the creeps.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. Look how rude he’s been to you.”
There was a long pause.
Memories, good and bad, flooded my brain. Mostly
good ones. I shook my head. “No, I can’t. I’ll give him
another chance.”
She jumped up. “Viata, you’re going to get hurt if you
don’t get rid of him now.”
“But I just met his father.”
“Who gives a damn?”
There was another long pause.
“No, I can’t. I like him too much.”
Kaylee rolled her eyes. “Okay, but don’t say I never
warned you.”
I received a text and grabbed my phone off the coffee
table, hoping it was Constin.
Honey, how was the wedding? Did you have
fun?
I sighed and texted Mom back.
It was great. I’m still sleepy.
She responded right away.
Okay, I love you! Get some rest and call
me later.
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I will. I love you too!
Kaylee chewed her cereal with her mouth open.
“That’s nasty.”
She showed me her food. “You want some?”
“Gross. I’m not hungry, especially after seeing that. I’m
going to take a shower and go to bed.”
“What? It’s only 11:00 in the morning.”
“I know, but I’m tired.” I walked into my room.
After my long hot shower, Kaylee knocked on my door.
“Hey, I’m leaving. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“No, thanks,” I shouted over the blow dryer.
“Okay, see ya later.”
“Wait,” I yelled out.
She opened the door and peeked her head in. “What’s
up?”
I turned the blow dryer off. “Before I took a shower, I
smelled a woman’s perfume on my pillow. Were you in here
last night?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
She thought about it. “Crap, I forgot. I let Liam come
over while we were at the wedding.”
“Oh, my God. He was probably making out with some
chick on my bed.”
She giggled. “Sorry. You do have a bigger room.”
“Not funny.”
“At least she has good taste. It smells sexy in here.”
I tossed my towel at her. She flashed her tongue at me
and closed the door.
After I finished blow drying my hair, I slipped into my
satin pajamas. The bed needed clean sheets, so I laid on the
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⁓
couch and snuggled up with my velvet throw, rubbing it
gently across my cheek.
The afternoon sun was shining brightly, so I covered my
eyes with the blanket. While in a deep sleep, a loud sound
woke me up. I sat up and grabbed my chest.
“What the heck was that?” I looked out the window to
see if the noise came from there.
I glanced at the time on the cable box. It was 3:00 in the
morning. Did I sleep that long? I walked to Kaylee’s bedroom
and stepped inside. She wasn’t there. I continued to the
kitchen and looked in the cabinet for something to eat.
Crackers were the only thing that seemed appealing.
As I gobbled down the entire package, a door slammed,
causing my heart to skip a beat. When I walked down the
hallway to investigate, my bedroom door was shut.
“Kaylee?” I called out.
When she didn’t reply, I ran back into the kitchen and
grabbed the biggest knife. I clutched the knife in my hand.
“Kaylee, stop playing games.”
I tiptoed to my room and listened with my ear up against
the door. It was silent. I eased the door open, and a sudden
gust of wind blew my hair back. I dropped the knife, almost
stabbing myself in the foot.
“Kaylee, this isn’t funny anymore!” I turned on the light.
What the hell? I looked at the open bedroom window.
I ran over and shut it. “Stop playing games.”
I rushed toward the bathroom to see if Kaylee was in
there. When I saw my pill bottle on the bed, I stopped and
smirked. “I’m going to kick your ass for this one.”
I ran into the bathroom and ripped the shower curtain
open. She wasn’t there. As I stood there wondering what the
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hell was going on, a cold draft came from beh
ind me. I
whipped around but nothing was there. I wasn’t sure if I was
dreaming or what. Not taking a chance, I ran out of the
bathroom and grabbed my pill bottle on the way out.
“No!” Bain yelled.
I dropped the pill bottle and froze. “Hello?” My voice
trembled.
I slowly leaned over and picked the bottle back up. After
a few minutes of hearing cars go by, I twisted it open, took
two pills out, and swallowed them.
Grabbing the knife off the floor, I walked around the
house, telling myself it was all in my head. I checked every
room. There wasn’t anyone there. Still creeped out, I
sprinted back to my room and slammed the door. I took my
phone off the desk and leaped into bed. Under my
bedspread, I turned on my phone and saw I had a couple of
missed calls and two unread messages, one from Constin and
the other from my mom.
I opened Mom’s first.
Viata, why aren’t you answering your
phone?
I sighed and scrolled down to Constin’s.
Are you okay? I miss you. Call me.
It was too late to text anyone back, so I lay down and
covered up, still thinking that Kaylee was messing with me.
“I know it’s you, Kaylee Ashfield. I’m going back to bed.
Have fun scaring yourself.”
A loud bang from outside caused me to flinch. Too
afraid to look, I squeezed my eyes shut. “Stop your crap!”
Growling and something banging against the house
started and suddenly stopped. Clutching my chest, I put on
some music and fell asleep.
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My phone rang nonstop. “Hello, Dad. What time is it?”
“It’s 9:30. Why did you miss school yesterday and again
today?”
“Oh, shit. The wedding lasted all night. That’s why I
didn’t go in yesterday.”
“What’s your excuse for today? And since when do you
swear?”
“Sorry, Dad. Kaylee’s mouth is rubbing off on me.”
“That’s no excuse. Your school called here asking where
you’ve been. Are you going to school?”
“Yes.”
“No more missing school, Viata.”
“I know. I’ll go every day from here on out.”
“I’ll speak to you later.”
“Okay.”
I sighed and went into Kaylee’s room, but she wasn’t