by Ash Night
I couldn't deny it. The thought of him with another girl stung. I was foolish to think he hadn't had other girls in AngelRose, but I wanted to believe he was all mine. It was a childish act, but for an instant, I hated Elena.
Eli cleared his throat and continued. "After I'd finally calmed down, I went to look for her. I found her an hour later. She'd...she'd gone over the cliff. Her body, I saw it, floating face down. I watched it sink... It took such a long time. I stood there for what seemed like hours. Expecting her to walk up the beach. Expecting her to pout, call me an idiot, and then smile. But she didn't. She never did again." Eli looked trapped in his own head, talking more to himself now. He was pacing back and forth.
"Eli..."
"I should have done something! I should have went after her! I should have controlled my anger! I should have saved her!" He was shouting now and throwing his hands up in anger. He looked like a demonic jungle cat, pacing in its cage, wanting to get out. Thunder boomed like an explosion. I jumped. He made the creepy laugh again.
I left Eli alone after that. I couldn’t deal with him right now. The story he’d told was enough to absorb. Elena, his girlfriend, had killed herself because of whatever Eli had said. I lay on the beautiful bed in the room Eli had given me. I was shaking.
Eli could never hurt me that bad. Could he?
Chapter 8
I looked at the envelope Zoey had handed me. “You want me to mail this?”
“Can you get it to Jake? Please? I don’t want him to worry, and I know you can send stuff to the regular world. You were able to give me a necklace.” She absently rubbed the key at the hollow of her throat with her thumb and forefinger.
“I can,” I replied. “And if you so wish it, I shall.”
She hugged me tight. “Oh thank you, Eli!”
I smiled slightly as my heart was shattering. She hadn’t forgotten him. Technically she still was his girlfriend. I had no claim to her. A small part of me hoped AngelRose would work its magic quickly like it did with Elena, and make her forget the real world. I was still very happy she was here, but, at the back of my mind, I was always wondering when she would ask to go home. I could send her back, but since I still really didn't understand how she'd gotten here in the first place, I couldn't be sure she'd ever come back or if she would even want to. He would take her away to college. And in college, I feared, she would soon move on to new characters, ones to fit any assignments she might receive, and then she would forget about me. I couldn't bear the thought of that.
Her happiness was more important than my selfish desires. If she asked to go home I would take her. At least I hoped I would. The ordeal with Elena had proven I was unpredictable when I was mad. The thought of Zoey leaving to go back to another guy made me angrier than I thought. It definitely would pose a problem.
I took a deep breath. "You're welcome, Zoey. Are you hungry?"
"Yes, Eli, could you imagine up something?"
"Of course, what would you like?"
"Surprise me,"
I grinned, heading to my room to put the letter on the table beside my bed so I wouldn't forget to send it later. I loved Zoey more with each passing day. Leaving me seemed too cruel an act for her. But Zoey didn't understand what her leaving would do to me. I would go over the edge.
Sky meowed at me and I picked her up. "Don't worry, buddy. Zoey won't leave me. She loves me. I know we'll live happy together forever like a fairytale. After all, AngelRose is a perfect place for fairytales." I scratched behind Sky's ears. She jumped down and walked off, almost as if to say Yeah right.
I walked the rest of the way to my bedroom, envelope in hand. I was about to set it on the table when the voice spoke up.
Zoey wants to leave you, Eli. It's all right there in the letter. Her boyfriend will take her away to college and you'll be left alone, a distant memory at the back of her mind.
"She loves me! She'd never leave me!" I shouted. I knew full well the possibility was there, but I childishly refused to believe it until she told me herself. Until then, it was all a lie.
If you insist on acting like an insolent child and refuse to believe it, read the letter.
"But it's Zoey's," I didn't want to invade her privacy.
You're scared to know the truth, Eli. You're too stubborn to admit it might actually be true. That she might actually want to leave you. AngelRose is no place for her. She can't deal with having no one but you to talk to for the rest of eternity. The thought sickens her. Just as it did Elena.
"Leave Elena out of this!" I yelled. I hated when the voice tried to drag the past into a current problem. Elena was dead. There was no reason to bring up the past. The present was all that mattered.
Then read the letter, Eli.
I looked down at the seemingly harmless envelope. It was all that stood between me knowing how Zoey really felt, if she wanted to leave me or if she wanted to stay. I tried to will my hands to stop shaking. It was just a piece of paper. Why the hell was I so nervous?
Because you're scared of the truth, Eli.
I growled and opened the envelope. The letter was written in fancy, cursive writing. Zoey had very pretty handwriting.
Dear Jake,
I'm sorry I didn't write sooner. I had to rush across the country to take care of my dear, sick great-aunt Olivia. She's very sick and needed me to care for her. I don't know how long I'll be gone. My phone doesn't get much reception here and my parents are away all summer so you won't be able to get ahold of them either. I love you.
Love,
Zoey
I smiled. She didn't want to leave me after all!
There's a P.s, Eli.
My heart sank to my stomach as I read on.
P.s: I'll try to get back as soon as I can.
It took every ounce of willpower I had not to crush the letter and burn it. I felt for the silver metal lighter I kept in my jean pocket and flipped the top up. One little spark...
She'll never forgive you. Think, Eli! If the letter never arrives and she goes home and asks him about it, he'll say he never got any letters. She'll hate you.
"No! She can't! She wouldn't! She loves me!" My voice came out sounding as if I were pleading with the voice. I hated that it sounded so weak.
As much as she loves Jake? If that were true, she'd forget all about him! The reason Elena was able to forget the real world so fast was because she had no one! Zoey has someone, someone she'll always love more than you! The voice was angry now.
"No! That's not true! She thought about it! There are times when she loves me more than him!"
Times, Eli, times! You think fleeting moments are going to be enough to make her stay?! What have you to offer her? A few songs and a cat! That's all you have! She has no future with you!
"Shut up!" I yelled. Thunder boomed, loud as a thousand fireworks. I dropped to my knees, breathing heavy in anger. The voice yelling inside my head was starting to give me a dizzying headache and the anger wasn't helping. Thunder continued to boom across the sky.
Zoey screamed. I mustered up the energy to stand up and rushed to her. Sky pounced on my leg, digging her claws deep into my skin. At this rate I was going to need new jeans. Sky's black fur was standing straight up.
I couldn’t help it and laughed. Sky and Zoey looked too funny. If Zoey had been a cat, she probably would’ve looked exactly the same as Sky. “What are you two so scared of?”
“Did you not hear the storm going on outside? It’s like the freakin’ end of the world!” Zoey exclaimed.
I chuckled, pulling Sky off my leg. “The end of AngelRose? I don’t think so. Typical women overreacting…” I shook my head.
“It is not funny!” She replied. She and Sky walked off down the hall. I had a feeling they were both mad.
See? You keep making her mad like that and she’ll ask soon enough.
I growled at the voice. “No, she won’t. She’ll forgive me.” I didn’t have the energy to yell anymore. It wasn’t long before my anger returne
d and thunder paraded across the sky again. I heard Zoey run to her room from where I sat at my desk. I’d locked myself in my stage room. I took out my lighter and held up the play presently sitting on my desk. The one Zoey and I had performed. What once was truth was now a lie.
Zoey and I would never be together.
Chapter 9
It was hard to find food in the castle. I guessed that was because Eli usually imagined his food, but I didn’t have that luxury. That power seemed to belong solely to Eli. I’d eventually found some ingredients to make toast with peanut butter. I set it all on a tray and walked to Eli’s stage room. I produced a small silver key from my pocket that I’d found in Eli’s room earlier when I went to wake him up and found him not there.
Opening the door quietly, I saw Eli asleep at his piano, the side of his face resting on a few of the keys. I went to set the tray down on his desk when I spied a new pile of papers. Setting the tray down, I picked up the papers and began to read the top page.
GUNMAN
Alexis never loved you. She was planning to leave you. Just like you suspected. She is planning to leave her kingdom tonight with another man.
Ari puts a handgun to his heart and pulls the trigger without a second thought. He falls dead. The gunman goes back to his horse and rides off.
INT. ALEXIS’S CHAMBERS- NIGHT
Alexis’s maid rushes into the room, awaking Alexis from her peaceful slumber. She is gravely serious. We see tears in her eyes. Despite her hatred for Ari, she was still saddened by the young prince’s demise.
MAID
Princess, I have terrible news.
ALEXIS
(bolts upright)
What’s wrong?
MAID
(wrings her hands on her white apron. Takes a deep breath)
Prince Ari…that poor boy…
ALEXIS
(shaking)
What? What happened to Ari?
Maid
(composes herself)
Ari is dead, dear child. He shot himself.
Alexis
(in shock)
Why? Why would he…why?
Maid
(pulls out a letter from the pocket of her apron. Hands it to ALEXIS.)
ALEXIS:
(tears open letter. Re: to herself)
Dear Alexis,
I've been expecting something was wrong with the way your maid kept trying to keep us apart. I now know you will never love me. Not the way I love you. Goodbye forever.
Love,
Ari
ALEXIS
(falls to the floor. Crying.)
Ari, no...No! He couldn't! He wouldn't leave me!
MAID
(moves toward ALEXIS to hug her)
My dear child...
Alexis smashes the mirror on her dresser. She stabs herself in the chest with a broken shard of glass. She smiles as she slowly starts to die. With tears in her eyes, she utters her bitter last words.
ALEXIS
I hope you're happy, Ari.
I let out a soft gasp, feeling tears in my own eyes. This wasn't the beautiful, perfect play Eli and I had performed that night in front of the audience of zombies. It was tragic and horrible and bloody. Ari and Alexis loved each other, didn't they? Why did Eli change that? He had seemed so happy with it. He'd been happy.
I looked at Eli, still calmly asleep at the piano, the soft thrum of the keys under his cheek a mere background noise. I left as quietly as I'd come in. I needed some air. Slipping my shoes and a dark red hoodie I found in a closet on, I walked into the forest.
The trees, full of dead leaves, extended their branches like fingers wanting to grab me. A lone wolf howled in the distance and was quickly answered by a cluster of howls that seemed eerily close to me. I ran, heart pounding in my ears, as I thought I heard paws hitting the ground. They were coming for me. I glanced back and saw gray fur and sharp teeth. The wolves were quickly bridging the gap. They would be tearing into me any second now.
Suddenly, I was falling. I hit the ground a few moments later. The wind was knocked out of me for several long seconds, but I was thankful. It reminded me I was still alive. When I could finally stand, I saw that I'd fallen into a grave. I was short so I couldn't see over the top but I could hear the wolves yelping and whining. Someone was fighting them off. A bigger creature? What if it was one of the demons in the paintings in the stone angel room?
I huddled in the farthest corner of the grave, hoping whatever was attacking the wolves would kill me quickly. I was already in a grave, the perfect place to die. Less work for Eli...
Eli! I couldn't believe my eyes. He was grinning at me, peering into the grave. "Need a hand? You look scared out of your mind."
"Eli...you're here.." I stuttered in shock. Eli laughed and single-handedly pulled me out of the grave.
"Who were you expecting?"
I blushed, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. I must've looked so embarrassing huddled in the corner like that. I couldn't speak. The embarrassment was too great.
Eli grinned wider. "Big, scary monsters? Ghouls? Demons?" I couldn't even be mad at his teasing. The way he was grinning, he actually looked like a normal guy. Okay, so he was much hotter than a normal guy, but he looked happier than he had in two days.
I shivered. My hoodie was torn at the shoulder from the fall. A jacket was placed around my shoulders and Eli stood in his dark jeans and long-sleeved tye-dyed dark red shirt with a huge black pentagram on the front, a similar, smaller symbol hanging on a chain around his neck. A different kind of shiver ran through me.
"Th-thanks, Eli." I said, glancing back at the grave. I noticed a small, flat, square granite tombstone placed in the ground at the base. I inspected it closer. The words inscribed on it made my heart break:
Eli Cross
1994-
Then there was quote by the famous poet John Milton at the bottom that chilled me to the bone.
"He that has light within his own clear breast may sit in the centre, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself his own dungeon."
I turned to Eli. He wasn't looking at me. His hair hid his expression. "Why?" I asked "Why is there a grave here, and why does it have your name on the gravestone?"
"I was in a bad place before."
"That doesn't answer my question." I tried to turn my head so I could meet his eyes. "Is this because of Elena?"
"No, it is not because of her!" Eli's face was shadowed as if the darkness of AngelRose had touched him. His eyes were hard and glaring at me. I got the distinct feeling he was looking into my soul. It terrified me. "The past does not matter!" Before I had even seen him move, he was hugging me. "I love you, Zoey. I always have. You are the only thing keeping me from falling apart. I need to show you something. The only beauty AngelRose has."
Besides you, I thought. As Eli moved away, I wanted to cry out for him to hug me again. No one had ever held me the way he had, not even Jake. His hold, gentle, but not too gentle like he thought I might break, was like the ultimate drug. I craved more.
Eli was clearly all business now though, hug forgotten. He was walking but it felt like I had to run to keep up. Either he was just a fast-paced walker or he was really eager to get to whatever he wanted to show me. I enjoyed being in the forest with him. With him the trees didn't seem to want to grab me. The wolves stayed away. Shadows didn't appear to want to harm me. It was as if the night was afraid of him.
"Close your eyes, Zoey." Eli had stopped and appeared right beside me so suddenly it was all I could do not to jump right out of my skin. He smirked, as if knowing that was what I wanted to do. I couldn't help but smile. Once again, his boyish grin that could scare the devil made him seem so human.
"Okay," I closed my eyes, trusting him completely as he grabbed my hand. His skin felt cool against mine, not too warm, not too cold, just the perfect temperature. I tried not to shiver. Eli was acting so...so romantic. I didn't
want it to end.
When he stopped and dropped my hand, I wanted to scream at the unfairness of it. That ended the moment I opened my eyes. I was too distracted. I never would have guessed AngelRose could have produced something so beautiful. I was in awe.
Red roses growing on vines adorned the metal trellis that opened up to a garden full of color in this dark, dreary dream. Hidden by the long grass were roses. Red, pink, and blue roses were scattered throughout the cove. In the moonlight it looked so pretty.
"Wanna see something really cool?" Eli grinned, looking more like a little kid than ever. I nodded. Eli, picking up a stick, walked into the garden of roses and to the edge where the grass was taller than him. He then ran, letting the stick gently upset the grass. I watched in amazement.
Thousands upon thousands of fireflies flew up into the night sky like thousands of little earth-bound stars. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. It was almost like I'd walked into a magical world where anything I wanted could come true and all I had to do was ask Eli to make it happen.
"Want to dance, princess?" Eli asked, extending his hand. He took it and he held me against his chest. I was never much of a dancer, but dancing with Eli seemed effortless. My body knew exactly where to move in correlation with his. He moved like water, his body moving gracefully like a paintbrush gliding across a smooth canvas, not an inch of energy wasted. He was perfection in its truest form. It seemed unreal that he wanted someone like me to spend the rest of eternity with.
But at that moment logic didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the two of us, moving as one, as the shimmering veil of fireflies danced around us.