I too a deep breath for courage.
“I can’t marry you.”
As the words left my lips, the tears started to pour from my eyes uncontrollably. It was a lie in my heart. I had told Luke a lie so that we could break free.
As we stared at one another, I saw his anger and rage dissolve before my very eyes— as well as his body.
We were both dissolving, at the same time. Back through the Gate. Back to Earth.
My home. His prison...
The Alien Cursed Souls
Book #3
CHAPTER 1
Candice
Three weeks, 4 days, 14 hours, and 5 minutes. That’s how long it had been since I had seen Luke. When I was pulled through the Gate and landed back on earth, I found myself in my living room again. When I returned to the dinner, I told Iris and Winston that I found myself in the hospital with a bad fever for a few days, but I was better now. They seemed to believe my story.
Luckily, I wouldn’t have to tell them those kinds of lies anymore, because I would never find myself on Hecate again.
Luke was back with the Carnival, I imagined. I heard they had made it all the way to New Mexico, but I didn’t inquire more. I imagined that seeing him would just be too difficult to bear. I couldn’t get the image out of my mind of Luke holding that ring, standing before me, asking me to be his wife. In the weeks that followed I had a lot of time to think about how, in truth, there was nothing that I wanted more.
But I was just too afraid, and still , of the bizarre, dangerous, and heartbreaking life that would bring to us both.
Was I a coward?
“Wake up, you’re daydreaming again,” Iris said, snapping me back into reality.
“Sorry,” I reply, realizing that I had been wiping the same bottle of ketchup for maybe 15 minutes, just thinking.
“Table 2 needs to order.” She said, looking at me with concern.
“Right. I got it.” I said, and made my way over to the corner booth. “Good morning, can I take your order?” I asked the young couple.
And then it happened, the thing that had been happening to me since coming back to work. It was like people talked to me and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I couldn’t concentrate. I realized that the couple gave me their order, and I had just zoned out.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that again?” I asked. They looked at me with annoyance, but finally, I managed to write down two orders of Western omelets with whole wheat toast and a pancake on the side. Thank God for my notepad. Otherwise, I’d be useless.
“Those meds they gave you in the hospital have done something funny with your head,” Winston said, wiping grease from his hands on his apron.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You just wrote down two Webster omelets.” He said, holding up the paper.
“Oh! I’m sorry. Western omelets.” I said, blushing a little.
“I figured,” Winston said with a deadpan look.
“I think they’re really hungry, so if you can, make it fast,” I said.
“I’m not an omelet machine.” Winston huffed. I found his salty nature to be quite comforting, especially in times like this when I felt like my world made absolutely no sense.
After my parents had died and I moved to Sun Valley, getting the job at the diner was a godsend, and Winston became a kind of father figure. Now that I had lost Luke, and my heart was lost in the balance, he was here yet again, making me feel a little bit more like my feet were planted on the earth.
“Candice, there’s someone who wants to see you at the counter,” Iris said, popping her head into the kitchen.
“Who?” I asked. My heart bagan to pound. My rational mind knows that it wasn’t Luke. Why would Luke be at the diner looking for me? And yet, that was the very thing that every cell in my body was hoping and wishing for. To just see his face. To have him in front of me.
Of course, it’s not Luke.
“Christian,” Iris said with a giggle.
Now, Iris has been talking nonstop about Craig and Christian at the dinner. And of course, she kept implying that I needed to go on a date with Christian.
“You need to get over this Luke guy and give Christian a try.” She said to me days ago when we were cutting potatoes. “I know he only met you once, but he really likes you.”
Iris inevitably told me about the whole thing with Luke buying the ring from the pawn shop, but I told her that he had never proposed, that I never saw him again. This left Iris with the impression that Luke bought the ring and chickened out, leaving town to follow the Carnival. This also left Iris with the assumption that Luke was the biggest jerk that ever walked the planet. I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth, that he was the greatest man in the galaxy. If I told her that, she’d try to convince me to find him.
I was beginning to feel like the one that had the real Curse.
“Iris, I don’t think I’m ready to go on a date,” I said to her. “I’m not interested in seeing anyone.” It was the truth. I couldn’t imagine it.
“How are you ever going to move on with your life if you don’t open yourself up and put yourself out there? It’s called letting go.”
Letting go. Could I ever possibly let go of Luke and what we shared? Was it even possible to tear it from my heart? Even a Krill alien with its six-clawed hands wouldn’t have been able to rip it out.
But Iris was right about one thing - I needed to put one foot in front of the other, without knowing what the future held. Maybe I needed to get out of my comfort zone and perhaps take my mind off of things with the company of others. I would think of it as a positive distraction.
“Okay, I’ll go talk to him,” I said begrudgingly. I walked out of the kitchen and towards the counter with caution. Would I be giving Christian the wrong idea? At the same time, I was at my job, and he was a customer, so I had to talk to him. How could that be giving the wrong impression?
“Good morning, Christian,” I said with a polite smile, pouring hot coffee on him.
“Good morning, Candice. You look nice today.” He said. I had to admit that seeing a man in slacks and a nice buttoned-up shirt was appealing.
“Thanks. Is there something that I can get you?” I asked, pulling out my pencil and paper.
“Well, it’s going to be a long day so I could use a breakfast skillet.” He said, looking up at me. I found myself trying not to make too much eye contact.
“Sure thing. White, wheat, or rye toast?” I asked, feeling him still gazing up at me.
“Wheat.” He said, handing his menu to me. “I heard you were sick. Why didn’t you come to my office?” He asked.
“Oh, it was the middle of the night, so I had to drive to the next town over,” I explained, trying to keep my colossal lie alive.
“You could have woken me up.” He added.
“Oh, there was no reason for that. I’m all better now!” I said, hoping we should change the subject soon.
“Well, you look great.” Then he laughed. “Sorry, I guess I already said that.”
Even though I was not interested in Christian, there was something really charming about him, I had to admit. He was very kind and seemed genuinely concerned about me, which did feel good.
“That’s very sweet, thank you,” I replied.
“Can I ask you something?” He said, leaning into the counter.
“Sure, what?”
“This sounds stupid, but can I walk you home tonight?” He asked, looking into my eyes.
“Um…”
“It’s not a date or anything. I know you’re still trying to get over that other guy. The carnie.” He said. Damn it. Iris had told him everything. “I just think you’re such a sweet woman. All I do is work all day and go home. I still don’t know that many people here in town. It would be nice to just enjoy a little conversation in the fresh air. And besides, it’s dark so early now that it’s not completely safe for you to be walking home alone every night.” He added.
>
Ok, so it wouldn’t be a date. Just a little conversation. I could justify that to myself. It would mean one less night where I walked home in silence, gazed up at the stars and thought about Luke. Or looked off onto the horizon and thought about where he was, how many miles away, and what he was doing. Whether or not he might be thinking about me…….
“Okay, that sounds nice,” I replied. We smiled at one another. “I’m going to go place this order,” I said hoping to break the little bit of tension.
“I appreciate it.” He replied.
“You forgot about the damn Western omelets,” Winston said as he passed me on my way to the kitchen. Apparently, he was taking them to the young couple himself because I had proved to be incompetent.
“How did it go?” Iris asked with anticipation in the kitchen.
“Fine. He’s a nice guy. And he wants a breakfast skillet.” I said, wearing my best poker face and placing the order on the carousel.
Winston entered huffing and puffing.
“I’ll make a breakfast skillet only if you plan on taking it out before it is cold as death.” He said, wiping his brow.
“I’m sorry about that, Winston.”
“She was talking with Christian!” Iris said excitedly.
Winston looked pleased.
“That’s a good man. Nice head on his shoulders. I was in his office last week.” Winston said, flipping some bacon.
“They’re going on a date,” Iris said.
“No, we’re not. He’s just walking me home tonight.” I said as I placed the whole wheat toast in the toaster oven.
“That’s good,” Winston said. “There’s been some crime since the Carnival moved-on. It must have attracted some shady figures, and they’ve set up camp in Sun Valley. I knew that Carnival was from the devil.”
My blood went cold. Even the word ‘Carnival’ made my heart pound with longing and regret.
“I’m perfectly safe walking home alone,” I said. “I think he just wanted some company.”
“Well, everyone gets back to work. Someone’s gotta run this dinner, and we’re all in here gossiping.” Winston said, clapping his hands together.
I started to make my way to the door.
“And Candice?” Winston added. I turned around towards him.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Give that doctor a chance. I’m serious.” He said with fatherly command.
I didn’t reply but rolled my eyes and took the exit.
Great. Now I’m getting pressure from Winston as well. This is a disaster.
Christian’s skillet eventually went out, and I could still feel him watching me. We decided to meet outside on Main Street at 6 pm.
When I stepped out of the diner that night and locked the door, I shook a little. It was colder than it has been, and I wrapped my arms around myself. Christian was already standing on the street, leaning against a pole and holding his doctor’s coat in his hands.
“You’re cold.” He said, walking towards me. “Put this on.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t.” I said. There was something funny about wearing a doctor’s coat in the middle of the street.
“Come on. It will keep you warm.” He said.
“Okay,” I said. I couldn’t turn him down because I really was seriously cold.
“Did your breakfast skillet get you through the day?” I asked as we began our slow walk towards my house.
“I can still feel it.” He said with a laugh, patting his stomach. I couldn’t imagine where that skillet went because Christian really didn’t have a belly whatsoever. He wasa very trim guy. “Can I buy you dinner?” He asked.
Damn. This was supposed to be a little walk, and now he was already trying to make it a date.
“Oh, I have something at home in the fridge that I was planning on having.” I made this excuse knowing full well there was nothing in my fridge.
“A drink, then?” He asked. Christian was very persistent, and motioned to the Main Street Dive that was just to our left. I had only been in that little bar once, and it was the night that Pearl, the bartender, had a premonition that I’d go home, and Luke would be there. And he was.
“Okay, just one,” I said. Maybe Pearl would have some new kind of advice for me. I could sure use it.
“This place is classic,” Christian said as we stood out front of the neon signs in the window.
“Yes, I always walk by…….” I lost the ability to talk. I just stared.
“Are you alright?” Christian said, seeing the change.
I couldn’t reply. I just read over and over again the sign that I saw posted in the window.
The Carnival of Cursed Souls, returning to Sun Valley for a second engagement. Come one, come all!
Luke
“Take it easy, Luke. You’re nearly killing those poor guys today.” Merv said after I took down yet another defenseless man.
“My sincerest apologies,” I reply flatly, lifting my brow. In truth, I was not sorry. The last man wanted to make a show of it for his girlfriend who was in the audience, and I gave him a show, alright. What was happening was that I used to have a better sense of my own strength. Before, I was always sure to only use about 25% of it so that no one would get hurt, but lately, my mind had been elsewhere, and my focus had been poor.
My wandering mind made me a bit uncensored in the wrestling ring, and unfortunately, this was not good for the safety of those who had decided to challenge me.
There were two thoughts that occupied my brain most days:
What is the current state of the battle on Hecate?
Is she safe?
Regarding the first question, I needed to find a way to return to the battle to know where we stood. When I last left the planet, Grim was losing large quantities of blood from the blows of my sword, but I had no doubt that he lived on, and perhaps was engaging in battle with even more force. His troops were now equipped with nano armor, and it was my hope that when I returned - and I had full confidence that I would find a way - the Corin would have fully developed the ionic radio technology so that we could still defeat the Krill aliens - nano armor or no nano armor.
In regards to the second question, this was the one that was more pressing. If I knew that she was safe on Earth, then I would at least be partly satisfied. But the problem went much deeper than that. She needed to be with me.
I had not returned to Sun Valley yet because when I was pulled through the Gate, I landed back at the Carnival. I knew, when I asked Candice to be mine, that she was in pain, and I couldn’t bear to see it. I feared that I had caused this pain and that my Curse had finally begun to affect her life in a way that I could not possibly stand any longer.
But I still had to have her near me. It was my fate and hers.
“The humans are not like us.” Leona had advised me one evening shortly after my return. My contortionist friend suffered from her own intergalactic Curse, as we all did, but hers was similar to mine.
“Thanks for the tip,” I replied. Tell me something I didn’t know.
“If you love that girl, you need to let her go.” She had said, taking a sip from her flask and smoking a cigarette.
“I’m here, aren’t I? She’s back in Sun Valley.” I said, trying to get her off my back.
“But she’s in here.” She put the finger on my forehead. “And she’s here.” And then the hand over my heart. “As long as she is in there, you’re never going to set her free.”
I considered Leona’s words for many days. Did it make me a tyrant that I refused to let her go? I made no apologies for my behavior - my thoughts and my desires. I could no sooner let Candice go than I could give up my need for air.
“You need to watch yourself, Luke,” Merv said, chomping on his cigar. “You’re losing control of yourself. I actually think that guy needs to go to a hospital.”
“It’s a minor injury to the left shoulder. He will recover.”
“I think you dislocated it,” Merv said.
“Well, these folks in New Mexico might tolerate it. They like a little blood. But just watch yourself when we tour back through Arizona. Those desert folks don’t need to see any more desolation. They need to smile.”
I stopped and stared at Merv, not giving away what I was thinking with any expression on my face.
“Did you say Arizona?” I asked.
Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Former: Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Books 1-5) Page 114
