by Larissa Ladd
“Cherry, I know we haven’t been together long,” he stalled for time while he still tugged and yanked at his pants pocket, “but these last three days showed me how much I really don’t want to lose you—“ He finally managed to get a little black box out of his pocket, and awkwardly kneeled next to the bed. “Will you marry me?”
In a way, I knew it was coming. My body had reacted before my mind had the chance to, and I looked at him. Uncertainty was plastered on his face where the skewed grin usually was, and the air was full of his question. I didn’t know what to say. My heart was bucking wildly against my ribs and I felt lightheaded. His chocolate eyes searched mine; the box in his hand was shaking.
There were so many things flitting through my tired mind. The differences between us, our lives and how opposite they must have been while we grew up, the danger he would be in if he were involved with me. But on the other side of the scales was how I felt about him, how I felt when I was around him, what he did to me and my life, and how everything had changed since he came into the picture.
“Of course,” I said, my voice thin, and he had such a look of relief on his face, I wanted to grab him and kiss him. I was much too fragile, and he leaned over, pecking me on the mouth before slipping the ring on my finger.
I held my hand up and looked at it. It was a simple design, a golden band with a singular stone that shimmered in the dim light. Even on my bruised hand, it looked beautiful. He leaned over and kissed me again.
“I really have to go now, but I’ll see you soon.” And with that, he was gone, leaving me to think about what I’d just let myself, and him, in for.
Chapter 10
The next few days were calm. I left the hospital the next day and Devan was there as promised, helping me into my apartment. He’d arranged to have the windows fixed while I was gone, and it reminded me again why I loved him so much. He really thought of everything, and he went out of his way to be amazing, which wasn’t hard because he was already amazing.
I sat on the couch, feeling my body. My mind was strong again, and I only had a few bruises left, the rest of it was healed. I dozed off.
When I woke up again, Marlena was leaning over me, and I sat up.
“Easy, Cherry,” she said and her voice dripped with sarcasm and hate, “I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to… congratulate you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, hoping she really didn’t know what was going on, but the way she smiled at me told me differently. I didn’t have time to read her mind.
“Your recent engagement, sister. I wanted to congratulate you. We all did.”
As she spoke, the witches started filtering into the room. It was the second time in my life I felt real fear, and I was getting sick of it. I was scared because even though my mind was strong, my body still needed healing. I wasn’t nearly healthy enough to do round two. Besides that, it meant that they knew about Devan.
“Relax, little sis,” Marlena said, her voice still thick with malice, “we’re not going to hurt you. But we know how to hit you where it hurts now. Did you really think you could hide him away from us forever?”
I slumped back down and hung my head.
“That was foolish, Cherry,” Nema said. “I wish you wouldn’t make it so hard on yourself.”
“Look Sis, the facts are that if you don’t do what the coven needs you to do, and that is, take the role of high priestess, then you’ll wish you never met the guy. I don’t really care that you love him; you knew what you were doing.”
I tried to look like I didn’t care, but Marlena knew she had me now. It was apparent in the way she smiled, in the way she looked at me. She always looked at me that way when she was right and I was wrong. It didn’t happen often and she relished victory.
I vaguely wondered why she was doing all the talking, and not Nema.
“If you don’t do what we want you to do, it will be easy,” she said and the next moment they were all gone. They’d evaporated like mist in the morning sun, and I was left alone in my living room with the echo of her words ringing through my head.
I picked up the phone.
“Devan, hi,” I said, and I didn’t try to hide that I was crying.
“What is it?” he asked when he heard me.
“I… my family… I can’t do this,” I hiccupped into the phone.
“Listen to me. I thought something like this would happen. You have to remember that I am in it for the long run. I don’t want to lose you, and I’ll do anything, no matter what it takes. Okay?”
I nodded as he went on, talking all the fear away. He had a way with words, and he was kind and gentle, telling me that he didn’t want to lose me and that he would go through anything for me, do anything to spend the rest of his life with me. He told me how much he loved me and how his life had changed, and as the conversation went on, my crying subsided.
“I love you too,” I said finally, before hanging up.
It was going to be a long run, but somehow we could make it. That’s what it was about, wasn’t it? That love could conquer all?
I heard a scream echoing through my head, followed by a cackle, and I knew that voice. It was Marlena. She was still in my head, somehow.
What had I done?
*** THE END ***
To Be Continued
Cherry and Devan’s story continues in Divulged Secrets (Eye of the Coven Series #2), click here.
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About the Author
Larissa Ladd is a dreamer with insights fresh as the frost newly formed on the twig whose snap echoes through the moonlit forest. Since as a child she discovered the storybook world of ghouls and goblins, she's been a devotee of the eerie, the supernatural, and all that raises the hairs on the back of the neck. Her spine still shivers with delight when she huddles fearfully in a darkling corner, enthralled in suspenseful tales from her favorite authors Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and John Saul. Feast your eyes on the scintillating flashes of garish color dabbed forth from her pen.
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