by C. M. Owens
The waves crash fiercely beside us, and I know they won’t be able to hold him for much longer.
He’s too strong, and he’ll only try not to hurt them for so long before he unleashes it all. My world has just shattered into tiny fragments, and the pieces have been scattered into space.
There’s nothing but emptiness chipping away at the remaining fragments of hope barely flickering before their inevitable expiration.
Chapter 5
The Tidal Storm
Devin
The dark room is only lit by the full moon casting its too chipper glow through the window. I’m almost sick as I stare down at the papers she has sent me.
Something as seemingly harmless as another document to examine has shattered me today, for these papers promise she’s done. They tell me she no longer wants to be my wife, and it’s almost impossible not to fall apart in front of everyone.
This can’t be happening. This has to be some viciously terrible joke played on me by some son of Loki. I can’t live without her, damn it.
“Devin?” Kry asks in a sigh as he walks into the room.
“What?” I growl as I push the papers into the drawer of my desk.
“Why are you sitting in the dark?”
“Because I fucking want to. What do you want?”
He frowns at my bitter attitude, but I can’t pretend to be happy right now. None of them have helped me find her. Most of them want me to just let her go. It’s as if they think this was actually my fault - as if I kissed Nina of my own free will.
“Devin, this isn’t healthy. You need to shave, shower, eat… act like a person again.”
“Find my wife, and I’ll do all of those things. Until she’s back, what’s the fucking use?”
He grumbles as he flops down in a chair, and then his arms cross over his chest.
“She’ll be at the wedding. What are you going to do?”
I almost get sick. The thought of finally seeing her has me excited and terrified at the same time. I’ve been waiting a month on this wedding, and I’ve spared no expense to ensure I got a damn invitation.
“Jake’s wedding is step one to getting her back. I’ll damn follow her home if I have to. If I can kiss her, she won’t be able to resist. Aphrodite won’t let her stop.”
The door opens to my study to an unbidden guest. Camara walks in awkwardly as she stares at us sitting in the dark. She shows up randomly all the time though.
“Um, I was just coming to see if you need anything from the store,” she hesitantly murmurs.
“Scotch, please,” I grumble.
She nods, but she doesn’t leave. Instead, she walks warily around the room.
“So, have you been out at all today?” she asks in her usual odd fashion.
“Of course not. Why?” I grouse.
“Just curious. Anything new going on?”
Does she know about the divorce papers? What is she probing for? She’s so fucking weird lately. It’s as though she’s hiding a secret, but I don’t know what.
“Nothing spectacular. Anything else?”
“No. I’ll grab you some scotch. Get a shower. You look terrible,” she adds before walking out.
“That’s random,” Kry scoffs as the door shuts to the soundproofed room.
I shake my head while leaning back.
“She does that a lot. I think she just doesn’t know what to say, so she says whatever strange thing comes to her usually unsocial mind.”
“So the wedding?” he prompts, returning to our interrupted subject.
“I’m in the wedding party now. Jake was pretty thrilled with the honeymoon I offered to pay for. I just have to get her to fall back in love with me. It won’t be easy, but eternity isn’t worth living without her.”
Kry sighs out in exasperation, but he doesn’t argue with me. He misses her just like the rest of them do. But no one misses her as much as I do. It’s killing me to be without her for so fucking long.
He walks out to leave me alone in the dark, and then I grab my phone to call the man who rarely has any good news to offer.
“Hello?” he asks warily, knowing I’ll bark at him if he still hasn’t gotten any closer to what I’m paying him to find.
“Well? Have you found my girl?” I ask while pulling the annulment papers she sent out of my desk drawer.
I shake my head as I push them through the paper shredder where they belong.
I’m not getting my marriage annulled as though it never happened. I’m not divorcing her either. She can have me. That’s her only option.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Cole, but it’s damn near impossible. The bounty hunter she’s staying with knows how to clean a fucking trail, and he knows how to lie low. Any chance you can give me some insight on her mother’s properties.”
Stupid asshole.
“If I knew where her mother’s properties were, I wouldn’t be fucking paying you to find her. Just do your damn job!” I yell before crunching the phone in my hand when my anger swells to be too much.
“Fuck!” I blare while throwing the pieces across the room.
Everything on my desk is suddenly raked off as I lose my sanity and throw the whole damn thing through the wall of the room. Gasps emerge throughout the house, and Ther walks up with a frown.
I have to find her before I go fucking crazier than I already have. I have to prove it wasn’t me. I have to make her love me again.
I drop to the ground as the tears climb free, and Ther walks away to leave me alone in my pile of grief, allowing me to try to hold onto some dignity.
I don’t care about my dignity though. I just want my wife back.
“Damn it, Devin. Why did you have to pick a fight with Jace?” Hale gripes while following me into the apartment.
“Why did I pick a fight? He did everything he could to provoke me. He couldn’t stop touching her for five fucking seconds! She’s still my wife, Hale. She’s still my fucking wife!”
My tears threaten to fall, but I hold them back as I drop to the couch. Deacon keeps his lips sealed as he proffers me a glass of scotch, and I shakily take it while trying to inhale its toxin.
“It’s been a week since the wedding fiasco, just drop it,” Camara says in my defense.
“He’s been hiding for a damn week,” Hale counters with exasperation.
“I haven’t been hiding; I’ve been trying to find my damn wife. I don’t know how in the fuck they got away.”
The drink sloshes across my pants when my hands jerk to express my fury, and I roll my eyes at the amber stain seeping into the fabric.
Gemma walks in, and I growl in distaste the second her eyes find mine.
“Don’t fucking speak to me,” I caution.
Her eyes water, but she drops her head before rebelling.
“It’s not my fault, Devin. Be mad at Nina or yourself. This had nothing to do with me.”
Fucking bitch. She’s probably loving this.
“I never want to see Nina again. I’ll kill her if I do.”
“Devin!” Ther gripes. “This wasn’t her fault. Both of you did this.”
The glass in my hand spirals through the air and shatters against the wall behind Ther’s head. The pieces clank against the tile as they scatter to the floor, and Ther swallows hard.
“For the last fucking time, it wasn’t me! I would never have cheated on Adisia. Never! Do you hear me?” I blare.
They all look away, unable to hide their betraying glares. They really do think it was me.
With exhausted defeat, Hale drops to the chair in front of me as I lower myself back down to my own seat.
“We don’t know what to say around you right now. Look, Adisia just needs some time,” the foolish sun releases.
“Time? She’s had too much time, and I know she’s only going to distance herself from me more if I don’t find a way to make amends.”
They all just sit there silently, staring at me as if I’m that man on the ledge. Then they disperse whe
n they can’t think of anything else to say.
Camara’s phone rings just before she escapes and her eyes drop as she glances at her screen.
“Hey, give me just a minute,” she says to the silent other half of the phone.
I just watch her disappear into the padded room. I can’t help but hope it’s Adisia calling to tell Camara she’s coming back. I pray she’s telling her she wants to surprise me.
I know it’s a waste of time to wish such a thing though. The way she ran away from me… I worry I’ll never have her back again.
Everyone is huddled around laughing and drinking, and for the first time since Adisia left me, I join in with them - though I listen to the conversations rather than engage. I’m sure they’re tired of me bringing them down.
Camara and Deacon hold each other in a smoldering embrace that makes me sick with envy to see.
I miss Adisia so terribly it physically hurts. Seeing another happy couple only pushes me to the brink of losing all control and flooding the whole damn city. I hold it back though.
I’ll get her back.
Kry laughs with Ther, and Gemma flirts lightly with the man she has no idea is in love with her. It only pisses me off to see everyone else so happy when I’m desperate to find my girl.
“Let’s head out to the bars. We need a night of peace before we go looking for the next attack,” Ther says too obviously while tugging at Gemma’s hand.
“Sounds good. Kry? Deacon? Camara? Hale?” she asks hopefully.
She knows better than to fucking invite me after our earlier spat when Camara randomly inserted herself once again.
“I’m game,” Kry chirps.
“Me too,” Hale murmurs before patting my shoulder.
“Not us. We’ll see you guys later,” Deacon says while swirling Camara around.
I almost smile when Camara gives in and lets her hair toss around, but my envy stirs again instead. I only miss my wife more by the second.
Camara giggles wildly as Deacon tosses her over his shoulder, and they disappear from the room.
Her phone buzzes on the counter as soon as the door to their room shuts, and I pick it up to see the letter A and the picture of a dove flashing across the screen.
I get sick, and I freeze rather than answer it like I should. I just stare blankly, my hope forming and begging not to be ripped free from my grasp.
If it’s not her, it’ll shatter me. If it is, I don’t know if I can speak without falling apart.
The buzzing stops and I just stare at the inanimate device in my hand as I try not to crush it. I take several deep breaths, and I try to plan out what I’ll say if it’s her. I have no idea if I can do this without pushing her farther away, but I have to try.
This is the first time I’ve caught a break since she disappeared - other than the wedding that proved to be a disaster rather than a chance for redemption.
Fucking Jace. I swear I hate that son of a bitch.
I steady my breaths, and I slide the screen to show the dove once more before selecting the call option. My breath hitches as I listen anxiously, and my whole body tenses as I await an answer.
“Thank you for calling back. I’m so sorry, but I have to hear his voice right now,” the girl I love says through a heap of tears falling.
It’s her. It’s really her. She has to hear my voice? Oh thank God.
“Adisia?” I ask while choking back the emotion that tries to spring free.
I’m almost worried this is a dream when she doesn’t answer back. It’s possible I’m delusional at this point after being so desperate to hear her voice.
“You’re calling Camara to hear my voice, but you won’t speak to me,” I murmur softly, doing my best not to spook her. “I want to hear your voice too.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I need to go,” she sobs out, and I feel more knots forming in the pit of my stomach as fear strikes me.
“Please don’t hang up. Tell me why you’re crying. Did Jace do something?” I demand.
Give me a reason to kill that electric bastard, please.
“No,” she whimpers. “I’m hanging up now.”
“Please don’t. I’m begging you. Just talk to me,” I plead.
“Bye, Devin,” she murmurs in a near whisper, and the line is dead in that instant.
Without thinking, I throw Camara’s phone against the wall, and the pieces fall to the ground with a trembling jolt.
“Fuck!”
I grab my phone from my pocket and then I dial the number I’ve already memorized after seeing it only once. It goes directly to voicemail, and I grip my head as I try again.
I jump when my damn phone buzzes in my hand, and I answer without even noticing who’s calling.
“Please talk to me,” I blurt out.
“That’s kind of why I called,” Kry says with a bit of a naïve chuckle.
“Hey,” I sigh out in disappointment.
“You’re on speaker. We’ve got a problem with hellhounds now. I suppose it might be a good idea to call in some electrical powers. What do you think?” he leads, and a hopeful rush of air enters my lungs.
“I think it’s the perfect excuse to bring her back. Does this mean you finally believe me?”
“This means we know Adisia and you are not meant to be apart. Whatever happened, we’ll all help you find a way to move past it. I know you love her, we all do. Hale’s going to call her in the morning.”
“Call her now. I can’t wait that long,” I bumble out like a pitiful, eager teen.
“We can hit the jets and be there within a few hours,” Hale murmurs softly.
“You know where she is?” I accidentally bark.
“No, but Camara does. She’s already told us we needed to find a way to draw Adisia back in. She’ll tell us. Just tell the jets to get ready. We’ll ambush your girl before she has time to hesitate.”
My heart finally beats again, and I nod to the phone even though they can’t see me.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll call the jets right now. Just get back so we can head out.”
“Done,” Kry says with a happy tone.
Finally.
I start dialing her again, but the phone doesn’t even ring before going to voicemail this time.
I start sending her texts. Each one tells her I love her, and I have to be with her, but she doesn’t respond. It doesn’t matter though.
She won’t refuse to lend her help, and in time, she won’t refuse me anymore either. It all makes sense now.
Camara was constantly showing up at random and fishing for me to converse with her. Now I know it was only so Adisia could hear my voice. She’s been trying to get over me, but she can’t.
For the first time in months, I have hope, and I’m not going to waste my opportunity.
Chapter 6
Filling in the Blanks.
“So, your brother’s wedding is in two days, and it looks like you’ll need a date,” Jace chirps.
“I can’t believe he’s getting married right now. He’s barely known Jane for five months, and I’m really not into the whole idea of leaving the house,” I grumble.
“It’s been four months since you and Devin called it quits. I think at some point you have to make the first step.”
“I smell terrible,” I gripe while motioning to the invisible fumes radiating from my tired body.
“On the contrary, you smell incredible, almost erotically intoxicating, which is a real problem,” Jace seduces while giving me his best devilish smirk.
“You promised,” I growl.
“I promised I wouldn’t badger you. I’m just being suggestive, and I’ve done good considering we’ve been living together for four months,” he playfully exasperates.
“That doesn’t give you a free pass,” I chuckle.
With a light laugh and a casual shrug, he stands to his feet and walks toward me.
“Well, I’ve got some stuff to do. I’ll call Camara and see if she has any suggest
ions on how to contain your scent,” he murmurs softly while kissing my forehead.
“Tell her-”
“Yeah, yeah, I know the routine. Tell her not to tell Devin she spoke to either of us,” he rattles out sardonically while repeating my words as if in mantra.
I half smile to keep from crying as I pull out the ice cream. I feel a little dizzy, and I fight a stagger. Considering it’s been weeks since I indulged in anything substantial, I’m sure that’s normal.
My phone buzzes, and I smile when I see Hale’s name flash across the screen with a sun rising from the horizon as his backdrop picture.
“Hey,” I murmur sweetly.
“Hey, gorgeous. How are things?”
“About the same. How are things on your end?”
“Devin is still calling your old number just to hear your voice on the voicemail, and everyone is growing tired of his relentless search for you,” he mutters in exhaustion.
“How are you?” I sincerely request.
“I miss our little Aphrodite. I wish you’d work things out with him,” he requests with hesitance.
“He cheated, Hale. They’ve yet to find any supernatural occurrence. Devin just wasn’t ready. He did it a day before we were supposed to be bonded together. You know as well as I do he was just too scared to go through with it, and this was his way out. For some reason, he just didn’t think he’d lose me all together,” I exasperate.
“I don’t know. He’s still holding firm to the fact it couldn’t have been him,” he counters.
“Did he know what he was doing?”
“Yes,” Hale sighs.
“Did he feel like a puppet?”
“No.”
“Did Theia find any sign of supernatural activity or divine intervention?” I whimper.
“No,” he grumbles.
“Then it was all him,” I huff. “I don’t like it either, but I also know the taste of betrayal.”
“Has Jace made a move on you?” Hale pries.
“Several, but he’s not getting anywhere. He knows he and I aren’t going to be together. As bad as I hate Devin, I still love him too.”
