by M. W. Muse
Adin walked over to her and put his hands on her arms. His breathing hitched as he continued to cry. “I’ll be at my grandma’s when you’re ready to talk.”
“I have nothing else to say,” she whispered as more tears leaked over.
He put his hands on her cheeks and lifted her head up so he could look into her eyes. “I will always love you, princess.”
Those words were like another stab to her wounded heart. Adin said the exact same line to her all season long in her dream.
So he was right. Parts of her dream were about their break up.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead with quivering lips. She inhaled a long breath, burning his scent into her memory.
He slowly stepped away from her and walked over to the trashcan. He bent over it and picked up the conch shell. “Er, since y-you don’t want this anymore, can I have it?”
She looked to the side as she started to cry. She took a deep, jagged breath and shrugged her shoulders, not looking at him.
Adin walked to the door and placed his hand on the knob as he turned back around to look at her one last time.
“I love you, Legacy. I will love you forever. Nothing will ever change that,” he whispered.
She wanted to tell him that she loved him too, that she wished their love was enough, that she didn’t want to break up, but she couldn’t tell him any of that. She just nodded as she looked at him.
Adin slowly opened the door and walked out, leaving it open. She heard him walk slowly down the stairs and out of the house. He didn’t make it to his car before she lost all control. She cried so hard that it rained suddenly and fiercely. She was so emotional that she hadn’t noticed if it had been raining all along, but if it had already, it wasn’t raining like this.
She slumped back to the floor as she sobbed. Adin’s new Porsche was much louder than his Camaro, so she had no problem hearing him start it and pulling into his grandma’s driveway. When his engine died, all she could hear was the rain pounding on the roof of the house. She wondered if he stayed in his car or if he went inside. He could be sitting in his car right now, crying just as hard as she was.
After she cried for several more minutes, she slowly stood up and walked over to the trashcan. She pulled out her broken, dead flowers and arranged them back in their vases with brittle petals scattered everywhere. Then she took the photos out and held them to her chest as she fell to the floor, crying.
And she didn’t stop crying for days.
Chapter Thirteen
The last several days were a blur to Legacy. Lissa tried comforting her, but there was nothing she could say to ease the heartache.
Legacy avoided eating because when she did, she threw it back up. She didn’t want to sleep because she’d dream that wretched dream again or worse… She’d dream about the actual break up and had to live through it again. She was a zombie.
Her phone had rung several times over the last few days, but she hadn’t even looked to see who was calling her. She knew if it was Adin, she’d want to talk to him, but she also knew that talking to him would be a mistake. She needed to stay strong, so he could stay alive. Looking at her phone was too much of a temptation to take back what had happened the other day.
Since she didn’t answer her phone, Lissa had been the one to break the news to Calli, and of course she came right over with chocolate ice cream. Legacy tried eating it as she cried, but she just threw it back up too. Chocolate wasn’t even immune to her gag reflex. Calli had stayed with her while she cried tears, and the earth rained. She hadn’t even tried to control her emotions. She figured the damage was already done, and she’d sacrificed enough by letting go of Adin.
It was hours into Calli’s second visit before she was able to even speak coherently. When Legacy calmed down, no matter how briefly, Calli used it as her opportunity to find out exactly what had happened. When Legacy told her the truth, she was utterly shocked.
“I don’t think you’d ever hurt him,” Calli said, shaking her head.
“I can’t take that risk.”
“Maybe after you ascend, you can be together again,” she whispered.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.” She cried. “I don’t want to get my hopes up for something that might not happen.”
“Adin wants to be with you, Legacy. He waited for you for all the years. I know he’d wait for you again.”
“Venus wasn’t here before. She’ll sink her claws into him the first chance she gets.” As she said that, her eyebrows furrowed.
“What are you thinking?” Calli asked suddenly.
“I’m thinking that at the Halloween party, Venus had said she would enjoy watching me suffer and that Adin would turn to her once I was gone.”
Calli gasped. “Do you think she knew this was going to happen?”
“I think it’s possible. If Medusa is the reason she’s here and Medusa put the snakes in that driver’s car to make sure he hit an ice patch, then surely she would’ve told Venus that this could happen.”
“But how would Medusa know? I mean, your destiny isn’t written. She can’t tell the future.”
“I know, but if she planned it just right, then this is exactly what would have happened. She could have just been optimistic with Venus, giving her the confidence she needed to pursue Adin.” Legacy started crying again. “And now Adin will turn to her like she said.”
Calli held her while she cried. After she cried for a few hours, Calli tried to get her to eat something. Legacy still didn’t keep it down. When she had another calm spell, Calli seized that opportunity again.
“River is really worried about you,” she whispered.
Legacy’s head shot up. “What do you mean?”
“Honey, it’s been raining for days, and you haven’t been answering your phone. He knows something’s up. When I go back home, I know he’s going to ask about you again.”
Legacy shook her head frantically as more tears streamed down her face. “You…you can’t tell him what happened! If he knows I broke up with Adin, he’ll use that to his advantage. I-I can’t deal with that right now.”
“Calm down, Legacy. I’ll just tell him you’re sick or something.” She shrugged.
Legacy nodded and looked away. “Do you want to stay the night?”
“I was going to anyway,” she said, smiling at her.
Calli stayed up with Legacy most of the night. She fell asleep a few times, but Legacy’s crying woke her up. The next morning, she left. Thanksgiving was tomorrow, and she had to help her mom get things ready for their family dinner.
Legacy did what she had been doing the last several days—she cried. She cried in the shower; she cried over her breakfast; she cried as she vomited; she cried on her bedroom floor. It seemed like whenever she was alone in her room, she sat in the same spot where she sat after Adin walked out. She didn’t understand why she kept walking over to the same spot on the floor, but she did.
It was mid-morning when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She tried not to gasp, but her mind raced with possibilities. Her heart ached for her love to be on the other side of that door. Just looking at Adin would make her feel better. She knew it would.
She grabbed the side of her desk from where she was huddled on the floor and peeked around to the door. “Come in,” she said as her voice cracked.
When the door opened, and she saw who it was, she threw her hands over her face and sobbed. She didn’t want to see River, but he was here, standing in her doorway.
“Baby?” he barely whispered.
She heard him walk in and set something down on her nightstand before he walked over to her. River dropped to the floor beside her while she cried into her hands.
He reached up and put his hand on her back, and she jerked away from him. “D-don’t t-t-touch me-e.”
“Sorry,” he whispered.
She continued to cry while he sat beside her. He didn’t talk or touch her, but she could feel his eyes penetrating h
er. When she tried taking deep breaths, he leaned closer to her, not saying anything.
“W-what are y-you doing h-here?” she asked as her breathing hitched involuntarily.
“Checking on you. Calli said you were sick. That you, um, that you’ve been vomiting.”
She nodded, not looking at him. At least Calli didn’t tell him everything.
“I brought you some chicken broth. I think you should try to eat it.”
Her breathing was hitching so hard that her head was jerking to the side as she tried to breathe.
“Baby, take deep breaths,” River murmured.
She didn’t want him comforting her. She groaned as she starting crying again.
“Legacy, you have to calm down.” But she kept crying. “I can’t stand to see you like this. At least let me hold you,” he whispered, his tone agonized.
She looked up at River, and his eyes were filled with pain. He was suffering because she was hurting, and he didn’t even understand why. If she ate his soup, maybe he’d leave her to her misery, and she wouldn’t have to explain.
She started to stand up, and River got up, hovering over her to make sure she didn’t fall. When she struggled to get upright, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her up.
“You’re shaking,” he said.
“I-I’m just w-weak.”
River helped her to her bed and opened the soup. He handed it to her before he sat down beside her. She slowly sipped the soup while he watched her protectively.
After she took a few sips, she tried handing him back the soup.
“No. That’s not enough, baby.”
She sighed and took a few more sips before handing him the soup. Then she leaned back on her pillow and threw her arm over her face as she cried again.
“What’s wrong?” River asked, his tone still agonized.
She cried harder. Then she started to choke. She rolled over to the side of the bed where the trashcan was and hurled the chicken broth right back up.
River ran over to the side of the bed, stroked her forehead, and picked up the trashcan. He took it out of the room, and when he came back in a few minutes later, the bag had been changed.
River set the trashcan beside her and walked back over to the sack he’d brought. He pulled out a lemon-lime soda and handed it to her. “Try this,” he whispered.
She did, but a few minutes later, she got the same result. River stayed with her for hours, trying to get her to keep down the soup and soda, but it never worked. After several hours had passed and she was tired of trying, she started to get sleepy again.
She lay on her bed with River lying beside her, facing her. He stroked her hair as she started to relax.
“You’re not sick, are you?” River whispered as her eyelids drooped.
“Nooo.”
“What’s wrong?”
Her breathing started to hitch as tears leaked over again.
“Shhhh…” River scooted closer to her.
She was too exhausted and weak to think clearly. Besides, he’d find out soon enough anyway. “I broke up with Adin.”
River’s hand stopped stroking her hair, and he stopped breathing. She looked up at him, but he was looking away from her. It seemed as if he was deep in thought, and she knew exactly why. He was already contemplating what this meant for him. While she watched him, his eyes flashed over to hers.
“Sorry,” he whispered, shutting his eyes.
“You’re not sorry I broke up with him,” she said through jagged breaths.
“I’m sorry you’re in pain.”
She covered her face as she cried again.
“Why did you do it?” he asked as calmly as he could manage, she figured.
“I-I don’t want to t-t-talk about it.”
“Okay, baby.” He started stroking her hair again.
When she stopped crying again, she looked up at him. “I think I’m going to go to sleep now.”
“All right. I’ll leave after you fall asleep,” he murmured.
She shook her head. “No. You should leave now.”
“I don’t want to leave you, baby.”
“Please, River. I just want to be alone.”
He nodded as he sat up. She could tell he really didn’t want to leave, but he was trying to do the right thing for her. “Can I come by tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “It’s Thanksgiving. I’m sure you have family here.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“I just need some time,” she whispered.
“Umm, how about Friday?”
She sighed and nodded. Friday felt too soon, but she knew he’d keep pressing her until she agreed to a day when he could come over. She just didn’t have the energy to come up with reasons for him not to.
He nodded back. “Okay, I’ll be here Friday morning.”
She fell asleep right after River left, but she still didn’t sleep well. She was getting used to lack of sleep and lack of food.
When she got up the next morning, she smelled food cooking. She wasn’t sure why Lissa was going through the trouble of cooking Thanksgiving dinner for just the two of them, but it wasn’t as if there was anything else she could do. Cooking gave Lissa something to focus on since she was of no help to Legacy in her state of despair.
She took a shower and got dressed, crying most of the time. It was almost noon before she even came downstairs. Lissa was so busy in the kitchen that she didn’t hear her walk in.
“Hi,” she whispered.
Lissa twirled around. “Legacy, you’re just in time.” She was putting lids on the side dishes, and the desserts were in carrying cases.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re going to Thanksgiving dinner.”
What? Her eyes got big. “Going?”
“Yes. Since it’s just the two of us, we were invited to spend Thanksgiving next door.”
She gasped, shaking her head. They knew all of their neighbors, but they only visited with one, and she wasn’t ready to face Adin and his family.
Lissa sighed as she stepped over to her. “I know this is going to be hard for you, but you can’t spend the rest of your life crying in your bedroom.”
“He is going to be there, though,” she whispered.
“I know,” she said sincerely. “Now, grab the cheesecake,” she said matter-of-factly as she walked over to the counter and picked up the dishes she’d prepared.
Legacy slowly walked over and picked up the desserts, following Lissa out of the kitchen. As they walked out of the house and toward Rose’s, each step was more difficult than the last. She felt her breathing hitch as she fought back the tears, but some leaked over anyway. When they got to the door, she tried breathing slowly, but she was shaking all over.
Lissa knocked, and Rose opened the door.
“Happy Thanksgiving! I’m so happy you could make it,” she said as Lissa walked in and Rose hugged her.
When Lissa walked away, Rose looked at Legacy with a half-smile. Then she put her arms around her. “Thank you for coming,” she whispered.
When she pulled away, Legacy nodded at her. She knew if she opened her mouth, she’d cry.
She followed Lissa into the kitchen to put up the food. Myrha was in there finishing the other dishes. She turned to Lissa and hugged her as she took the food from her hands. Then she turned to Legacy and walked over, putting her arms around her. “I’m glad you’re here. Adin is in his room if you want to go see him,” she whispered.
She shook her head faintly, and Myrha frowned, but nodded in understanding. At least she wasn’t throwing daggers at her for breaking her son’s heart.
“We’re eating in the dining room if you want to take your seat,” Rose said.
“Okay,” Legacy mumbled.
She walked into the dining room and sat in the corner. It was a round table, but she wanted to be facing the door when Adin walked in.
Rose, Myrha, and Lissa put the food on the table. Then Lissa took a seat
by her, and Myrha took a seat by Lissa. Rose didn’t come right in, so she figured she went to get Adin.
When she heard two sets of footsteps coming down the hall, her heart raced, and she looked down, taking a deep breath.
“You’ll be fine,” Lissa whispered to her.
But she couldn’t look at her. Hers eyes flashed to the door, waiting. Gods, she was such a masochist.
Rose walked in first and immediately took the seat next to Myrha. That only left one empty seat—the one right beside her.
Chapter Fourteen
When Adin walked into view, silent tears streamed down Legacy’s cheeks. He was looking down, but she could see the expression on his face. He looked tormented, and she knew it was her fault. She wiped her tears away and stared at him. He glanced up quickly to find his seat, and his eyes went straight to the empty seat beside her. He looked back down as he took a step, but then he stopped. His head shot back up, immediately making eye contact with her.
She stared at him for a second, and then she looked down. She was trying to breathe slowly, but the air felt very shallow. After several seconds had passed, Adin was still frozen. She was sure his eyes were still locked onto her, but she couldn’t look at him.
“Sit down, Dinny, so we can eat,” Rose said.
“Er…yes, ma’am,” he said softly.
Oh gods! The sound of his voice was heart-wrenching. She took a jagged breath and glanced toward Lissa.
She reached over, patted Legacy’s knee, and she half-smiled at her.
When Adin walked over to his seat, Legacy’s heart was crashing in her chest. It was so loud she just knew everyone in this room could hear it, including him.
As Adin pulled out his chair and took his seat, he leaned over to her. “Hi,” he whispered slowly.
Oh, the sound of his voice and the smell of his breath were much sweeter than she remembered. “Hi,” she said quickly, tilting her head in his direction, but not looking at him.
After he was seated, they said grace and passed the food around. She didn’t put much on her plate because she knew it’d be wasted anyway. Even if she could keep food down, she was too nervous to really eat. She could hear Adin’s heavy breaths beside her, so that wasn’t helping her emotional state either.
