but that’s the least of my problems. When I look in the
mirror, I see a stranger in the reflection. Eyes puffy red with black circles
under them, a frown that seems to be glued to my face, nose red as well.
Quickly, I turn away, unable to bear another glance at myself.
I open the door and Selene
is sitting on the floor across from me, her head in her hands. She’s had to be
so strong for me that I almost forget that she needs to do mourning of her own.
At the very least, she loved Jazzy as if she were her own little sister.
Yet, Selene simply wipes
her eyes on her sleeve and stands up trying her best to force a smile on her
face for my sake. This is a woman that has done so much for me, but has yet to
tell me that she loves me. It doesn’t matter, she’s proven it every step of the
way. I smile back at her as I understand that between her and D, they’re all I
have left.
“Where have you been
sleeping?” I ask Selene as I reach for her soft hands.
“In the room across the
hall from yours.”
“Well, take me there,” I
tell her.
She seems shocked at this
as if she had expected me to not want to be near her yet, but it’s just the
opposite and that’s what I say to her.
“Where else would I want
to be Selene? You’re my home now.”
For the rest of the night,
we cuddle and allow our closeness to compensate for the voids we feel in our
hearts.
◊◊◊
By the time I reach
Damien, he’s already in some meetings but he’d been so shocked to hear from me
that he cancelled the rest of his obligations for the day and drove straight to
the safe house. As I open the door for him, he rushes in, scoops me up in his
arms and refuses to let me go for at least five minutes. His broad chest heaves
up and down in sobs as he whispers over and over how glad he is that I am okay.
It takes Selene reminding
him gently about the need for people to breathe to get him to finally allow me
back my personal space. Even then, he keeps a close distance as if I’m going to
need him to come to the rescue at any second. After asking me about ten times,
he finally accepts that I’m doing fine. Next, we spend half an hour explaining
the visit we had from Diana, what an immortal is, and telling him that I will
be leaving in two more nights to learn how to possess power that humans had
long forgotten they had. He isn’t happy about that at all, but at the same
time, there is a hint of relief in his eyes that I can and will be safe.
“Is this something that
you truly want to do, especially this quickly after this whole thing? Do you
want to clear your head first, finish mourning?” Damien asks, even though he
knows me well enough to know that my mind is already made up.
“This is not an
opportunity I can wait on. If Diana is telling the truth, it has been over 200
years since someone has been marked, well at least by her. What that tells me
is that she believes I am capable. Me lying in bed for more weeks crying will
not change anything, even if I want to, and trust me, I want to so bad. I want
to give up and just waste away, but I won’t. I owe my family too much. I owe
them justice,” I answer D without a second thought. He can hear the passion in
my voice and doesn’t push. I watch as Selene goes to the other room to give us
more privacy.
“Don’t worry about your
affairs Rayne. Even though it seems as if you are dead, your father has
secretely been putting money aside for you for years in overseas accounts. You
have more than enough to never even have to work again. Plus, I was able to
transfer Jasmine’s undisclosed money into your account as well. You can do as
you wish with it. No one can touch it but you and me. As far
mirror, I see a stranger in the reflection. Eyes puffy red with black circles
under them, a frown that seems to be glued to my face, nose red as well.
Quickly, I turn away, unable to bear another glance at myself.
I open the door and Selene
is sitting on the floor across from me, her head in her hands. She’s had to be
so strong for me that I almost forget that she needs to do mourning of her own.
At the very least, she loved Jazzy as if she were her own little sister.
Yet, Selene simply wipes
her eyes on her sleeve and stands up trying her best to force a smile on her
face for my sake. This is a woman that has done so much for me, but has yet to
tell me that she loves me. It doesn’t matter, she’s proven it every step of the
way. I smile back at her as I understand that between her and D, they’re all I
have left.
“Where have you been
sleeping?” I ask Selene as I reach for her soft hands.
“In the room across the
hall from yours.”
“Well, take me there,” I
tell her.
She seems shocked at this
as if she had expected me to not want to be near her yet, but it’s just the
opposite and that’s what I say to her.
“Where else would I want
to be Selene? You’re my home now.”
For the rest of the night,
we cuddle and allow our closeness to compensate for the voids we feel in our
hearts.
◊◊◊
By the time I reach
Damien, he’s already in some meetings but he’d been so shocked to hear from me
that he cancelled the rest of his obligations for the day and drove straight to
the safe house. As I open the door for him, he rushes in, scoops me up in his
arms and refuses to let me go for at least five minutes. His broad chest heaves
up and down in sobs as he whispers over and over how glad he is that I am okay.
It takes Selene reminding
him gently about the need for people to breathe to get him to finally allow me
back my personal space. Even then, he keeps a close distance as if I’m going to
need him to come to the rescue at any second. After asking me about ten times,
he finally accepts that I’m doing fine. Next, we spend half an hour explaining
the visit we had from Diana, what an immortal is, and telling him that I will
be leaving in two more nights to learn how to possess power that humans had
long forgotten they had. He isn’t happy about that at all, but at the same
time, there is a hint of relief in his eyes that I can and will be safe.
“Is this something that
you truly want to do, especially this quickly after this whole thing? Do you
want to clear your head first, finish mourning?” Damien asks, even though he
knows me well enough to know that my mind is already made up.
“This is not an
opportunity I can wait on. If Diana is telling the truth, it has been over 200
years since someone has been marked, well at least by her. What that tells me
is that she believes I am capable. Me lying in bed for more weeks crying will
not change anything, even if I want to, and trust me, I want to so bad. I want
to give up and just waste away, but I won’t. I owe my family too much. I owe
them justice,” I answer D without a second thought. He can hear the passion in
my voice and doesn’t push. I watch as Selene goes to the other room to give us
more privacy.
“Don’t worry about your
affairs Rayne. Even though it seems as if you are dead, your father has
secretely been putting money aside for you for years in overseas accounts. You
have more than enough to never even have to work again. Plus, I was able to
transfer Jasmine’s undisclosed money into your account as well. You can do as
you wish with it. No one can touch it but you and me. As far
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