Ever After

by Heather McBride

  “Are you feeling okay?” He asked as he got up, stretching his arms out.

  “I guess I’m sort of stiff.” I moved my shoulders and they felt like I had been laying there for years. “Gosh.” I whispered as I rubbed my stiff neck.

  “The doctors want to do some more tests. They can’t figure out what caused you to black out.” Concern filled his eyes. “You were really dehydrated too.” He noticed me eyeing the tubes in my arm with disgust.

  “What else is wrong with me?” I hated even to ask.

  “I was here for all of it so here it is,” he sighed. “They found four bruised ribs and of course a bad cut on your head. You got stitches in the back of your head and a cut on your left leg.”

  “I’m in bad shape then, and you said I have to have more tests to see what caused me to pass out by the river?”

  “Afraid so, they were waiting for you to wake up before they did anything more.”

  “Well, it could be worse.” I looked down at my hands, a bit embarrassed. “I could have woke up and you wouldn’t have been here.”

  “That wasn’t going to happen.” He smiled. “I knew since that day by the river that you needed me in your life. I hope that doesn’t sound weird. I don’t want to freak you out or anything.” He shook his head slightly. “I cannot explain it all really.” I could only smile and enjoy the fact that he was feeling exactly how I was.

  The same pull I felt toward him was affecting both of us. I had been afraid the feelings I was having now were merely one-sided. The intense, deep look in his eyes told me this was no game. The feelings returned seconds after I woke up. He was here and he needed me as much as I needed him. I didn’t even know his last name or where he was born, but I did know I loved him. I knew then, Gram’s vision had been right all along. Fate had definitely stepped in, and he was sitting right next to me.

  “I was afraid you’d think I was a stalker or something. I mean, your mom has been giving me some dirty looks. I get the feeling she wants’ me to leave.”

  “Oh no way she’s not my real mom.” I gasped, the thought made me sick. “She’s my stepmother; she is half crazy and so self-absorbed it’s not even funny.” I frowned. “That explains it,” he smirked. “I’ve been avoiding her, but your dad’s really cool. He’s even invited me over for supper when you get home.”

  “Wow, he must really like you. He’s never asked anyone I know over. I hope you accepted the invite?” I winked at him.

  “No way would I miss that in a million years.”

  The next week I felt like a lab rat, blood tests, and scans of all kinds. It was like some kind of modern-day torture. William was with me through it all, except the times I had my blood taken. He left in a hurry when the needles came out. The whole squeamish at the sight of blood thing again, he would say.

  William or as I now affectionately called him, “Will” spent that entire week at my side. He brought me my favorite magazines, snuck in Taco Bell (the hospital food sucked) and Dairy Queen Blizzards. The days sped by as we talked for hours and really got to know one another better. I woke up to my room filled with roses one day and get-well balloons by the dozens the next. I was never sure what he would do and I loved every minute.

  I finally was released, on the following Friday. By that time, I had learned two things. I was apparently very sick and the doctors had no idea why, and I was hopelessly in love with William Darcy. I knew I should have been more upset about not knowing what caused my headaches, but with Will there, it all just didn’t really matter to me. He made it all okay somehow. I knew the doctors would figure out what to do about my stupid headaches, so I didn’t think about it too much

  Dad was surprisingly really nice to Will; he thanked him over and over for helping me that day by the river. Sara was wary of him. She always seemed uneasy when he was around, God only knows why. It seemed to bother Sara to no end that she had not gotten to meet Will’s parents. I gathered they were not social climbers, and kept a low profile.

  Sara complained to me about it one afternoon. William’s family had not attended any community functions since they moved here she had told me (I was glad they hadn’t run into her big mouth). Lucky for them. I had to hear from her how she figured she would have run into Will’s mother at the grocery store at least. “Do they eat?” she complained. I told her they were so rich they probably had a maid do their shopping. That got her, and she shut up right away.

  I already knew they were wealthy, as Kara already told me weeks ago. Will drove a brand-new black Mercedes and only wore designer clothes, or they looked like they were. The house they bought was five times the size of mine and I had thought mine was pretty darn big (another reason Sara was probably annoyed.) If anyone had more money than Sara (or technically my dad), she was ticked off. She always tried to have the most expensive things, to show off to everyone in town.

  Chapter 7

  Feeling Alive, Finally

  I was feeling remarkably better now. It had been a month since the accident by the river. I now actually wanted to eat, wanted to get up in the mornings, and I wanted Will to be with me every minute of the day if possible. Will spent most of his time with me except when he was at school. He had a light class load this session so he was not very busy. The weeks were flying by since we met. We had grown close and an unspoken bond had formed between us.

  I had shared my painful story with him about Todd. He knew the darkest hours of my life in detail, and it felt natural to tell him. He never got weird when I told him all the dark thoughts I had at that time. It actually made me feel better in many ways. I had been afraid he would think I was a total fruit loop, but he didn’t judge me. He only held me close and promised no one would ever harm me again. He was dead serious.

  I was sitting on the couch in the living room with Will one evening. He had come over to help me study. (I was still doing correspondence classes). We started watching a movie, some crazy horror flick about vampires and zombies stalking people. I hardly noticed, but Will seemed amused. “Myths,” he laughed. I was about to ask him what he meant but he snuggled closer to me and my mind went blank. I put my head on his chest as he gently stroked my hair. I felt a tingle down my spine; his touch was electric to me. I sighed as he lifted my chin up to meet his face, his eyes on mine.

  “Are you okay? This doesn’t bother you, me being so close?” I couldn’t find words. I simply smiled and shook my head no. He leaned in closer softly kissing me. I felt like I was floating. He was so gentle but I could feel he was holding himself back. I felt like my head was spinning, his kiss intoxicated me.

  “Will,” I whispered. He pulled back immediately. “I didn’t scare you, did I?” I smiled.

  “You could never scare me.” I had never felt more safe and more loved than in that exact moment.

  I knew why he stopped. He asked if I was okay. He feared being close to him might bring back memories of Todd. I had told him not long after we met how terrified I was that night Todd attacked me. He was the only person who knew how close I had come to killing myself shortly after all of that. Will’s soulful eyes eased my fears as he stroked my cheek tenderly. He had a way of soothing me. I couldn’t explain it and really, I didn’t care how. I just knew he was what I needed to finally heal and to live again.

  Will leaned in again running one finger along my throat. He moved closer, kissed my ear, and then kissed my neck deeply. I had never felt anything like it. He paused, his lips still on my neck. “You smell delicious,” he whispered seductively into my hair. He moved to the other side of my neck so swiftly I didn’t realize it until his lips were there, kissing me again. I was like a rag doll, unable and unwilling to tell him to stop. I sure as heck didn’t want him to.

  “Will,” I whispered, lost in feelings I had never experienced until now. I pulled him closer if that was even possible without realizing it. I felt him pull away suddenly. I was still attached to his shirt. My eyes were closed. I was breathless.

  “We have to stop,” he sa
id as he sighed, running his hand through his hair. I could see it was taking a lot of effort on his part to say that as he clenched his jaw.

  “No we don’t.” I protested.

  Confusion washed over his face or was it anguish and frustration? All three if I had to guess.

  “Please don’t say that. I mean let’s slow it down.” He shook his head, closing his eyes. That was pure frustration. I knew that look. He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to pressure you, and I don’t want to lose control either.” He rubbed his forehead, irritated. “You don’t need that right now. I won’t do that.”

  “You didn’t hurt me or scare me Will. I’m a big girl and we aren’t kids here. I am not that fragile, okay?”

  He shook his head. “Oh but you are love, very much so… in my arms anyway.” His eyes were dark and cold, not warm and loving like normal. He was extremely serious. I had to admit the way he was looking at me was scaring me a little. I scooted back from him. He wasn’t moving.

  “I love you Corrine, very much it’s been centr—” He froze as if he said something bad. I patted his hand.

  “Go on Will, please what’s wrong?” He seemed relieved I had just said that, why I had no idea. He didn’t say anything bad.

  “It’s just … been a long time since I’ve felt like this.” He paused, thinking. “Well… actually I’ve never felt this way ever about anyone before.” He sighed again. “I don’t want to screw it all up. I can’t take that chance you need more time. You’ve been through so much. I want you to be sure, before we…” He looked at me. I saw a slight blush on his cheeks. “Get really serious.” I was in shock I guess. He was just so damn honorable and he even blushed. I had never seen a guy so unafraid of his emotions. I was speechless, he cared more about how it would affect me, when most guys would have had their clothes half off by now.

  I sat back and took a deep breath myself. I wasn’t ever letting him go. He was a rare find among the normally barbaric, sex- crazed guys my age.

  “Wow” I grinned at him. “You’re not like any guy I have ever met.” He frowned slightly. He muttered something under his breath. It sounded like, “If you only knew.” I ignored it though. “Most guys, well, you know.” I smiled, embarrassed now.

  “Yes I know.” He laughed.

  I relaxed and put my head on his shoulder again. I could see he was not as tense now.

  “I’ve never been in love till now.” I whispered softly, feeling all emotional. “This is all new to me. I’ve never known the touch of a guy who truly loves me and isn’t just trying to please himself.” I looked away. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. “I need to be close to you Will. It’s like I can’t breathe if you’re not here.” He ran his hand softly along my cheek again, wiping my tears away with his thumb.

  “Then I will never leave you. I will be yours forever if you want me.” He gave me that damn smile that melted my heart every time.

  “Forever it is and no exceptions, Mr. Darcy.” I curled up next to him as he put his arms around me.

  “It’s agreed then.” He kissed the top of my head. “But let’s not rush into anything you’re not positively ready for.”

  “Okay, but I’m getting pretty positive it won’t be very long till I am ready for a more serious relationship.” I sighed.

  “That’s a very good thing.” He laughed softly. “A very very good thing.”

  Chapter 8

  “Weird How?”

  William came over every day when he was done with classes. I was struggling with my history course and I had a major test coming up. Will was a whiz at history. He seemed to know everything, often stuff not even in our books, much to my amazement. This afternoon he was going over my test prep.

  “Do you want Coke or Pepsi?” I asked him as I headed to the kitchen to get us something to eat.

  “None for me. I’m good.” He was shuffling through my papers. “I’m not hungry, but you go ahead and eat.” He didn’t look up from the jumble of history papers on the coffee table we had in the living room. He was holding a pen with his teeth, engrossed in his work.

  “You can eat here; ya know we do have food here.” I snapped feeling slightly annoyed. He never seemed hungry and if he did eat, he just nibbled.

  “Oh no I can’t,” he mumbled, thinking I couldn’t hear him.

  “What is it with you Will? You won’t come to dinner; you seem to eat very little when you are here. When the hell do you eat?” I was kind of mad at him. I had baked cookies from scratch last week and believe me I don’t do the whole baking thing. I thought I’d do something nice for him. I was pissed he never even tried one cookie. He said he ate them when he got home, but I wondered if he was lying to me.

  “I eat. I… just have a sensitive stomach.” He winked at me. It was hard to be angry with him, giving me that gorgeous smile of his. It was getting late now and we had to finish up. Dad was due home, so we wrapped up our study time. Will headed home, since he had an early class the next morning.

  Later that night I sat up in bed, my mind was rolling with thoughts and questions. I couldn’t stop thinking. I feared my medication would be needed if I started thinking too much. I thought of something better and grabbed a notebook to get all the nutty thoughts out of my head. I flipped to a blank page, got a pen and began to scribble down the questionable information in my head. I sat thinking hard of all the things I knew about William. The things that seemed a bit… odd.

  *STRANGE THINGS*

  Hardly ever eats around me. Apparently doesn’t sleep much either.

  Doesn’t like going outside for long on sunny days.

  Very honorable and well behaved (you know what area!)

  Absolutely hates the sight of blood (more than normal if you ask me.)

  Has not told me anything about his childhood.

  Changes subject when I mention meeting his parents or family.

  Speech is articulate, not like typical guys. (I love the English accent!)

  Wears sunglasses all the time even on cloudy days (maybe he is trying to be ultra cool but it is a bit weird).

  *KIND OF NORMAL* (or stuff I just love)

  Does eat a little. - He ate a Big Mac at McDonalds the other day…and he seems to like Taco Bell?

  Extremely good at kissing (too good)…. no complaints on that!

  Always there for me (I can call him at 2 a.m. and he’s awake). He always seems to be awake.

  Respects me. A LOT!

  Very in tune with his emotions (cool but not like regular guys).

  His touch drives me crazy.

  His eyes are amazing. (I’m hoping he doesn’t wear tinted contacts because I love the deep blue color they are!)

  Did I say his eyes were amazing? (Oops I did) Adorable hair. Cool car. Cool clothes.

  Just too cute! (sigh!)

  I sat looking over the list; I wasn’t stupid. I grew up hearing Gran’s stories about mythical creatures and even monsters. I never paid much attention to them really. She said that very often we never knew when they were around since they were masters of disguise. I always thought she was just trying to tease me. I knew she had books on all kinds of stuff like that, but honestly, I didn’t have the guts to go looking for one of them. I preferred not to think weird stuff like fairies and monsters existed. I believed in angels…of course but not the other things.

  I didn’t care really, Will could be a total weirdo, and I would still love him. I closed my eyes thinking of him, smiling to myself. Could he be something other than just a plain old teenage boy? Was he something special, an angel maybe? Will was an angel to me, a guardian angel. I sighed, closing the notebook. Whatever or whoever he was did not matter. I loved him regardless. I had to stop over thinking things; it wasn’t doing me any good.

  Chapter 9

  Back to School

  I felt 100% better; it was mid-winter now. Will and I had been together for a few months and things were going great. I made plans to finish my sophomore year attending classes on ca
mpus, trying hard to regain a normal life. Will’s schedule was similar to mine so he was going to pick me up for class this morning. I had gotten up early, showered, dressed, and ate a quick breakfast. Will was waiting for me on the front porch. He had on his black coat and hat and of course his sunglasses.

  “You look stunning this morning.” He smiled as I walked out the front door. My heart leaped as he smoothed out my slightly damp hair tenderly. He studied my face. “Are you okay with all this?” He could see I was very tense about going back to school. I knew it was something I had to do though, to regain some sense of normalcy.

  “Yeah. I’m okay; it’s just been a long time since I’ve been on campus.” I shook my head; he leaned over and kissed my cheek gently.