Love Hurts: The Killing of Rose

by Holly Hood

  The night air had a chill, one that kept her wrapped up in her white down comforter. Once she finished the bottle of wine she sat the glass and bottle beside the chair and dropped back onto the lounge chair. She stared up at the stars, speckled across the glorious backdrop. Barely a sliver of moon showing anymore, the scent of rainwater in the air. There had been a downpour at one point. But she hadn’t had the strength to care, so there she sat damp, and sad.

  Her body physically ached from the sobbing. Endless amounts of tears fell before she finally gave up on crying. And now there she sat, staring at the water of the apartment pool, watching the insignificant ripple that seemed to never go away. It was as if imaginary creatures were always swimming, perfectly silent, not revealing themselves.

  Delaney sighed, closing her eyes, just wishing the night away, wishing for relief from all the pain that was in her chest. From the hurt brought on by the one person she thought loved her more than anyone.

  “He does love you,” Frankie said. Delaney barely flinched as he approached. He pushed her feet off the end of the lounge chair, taking a seat. “For whatever crazy reason he does.”

  She sat up, shaking the blanket from her shoulders, her soft brown hair falling forward against her skin. “I can’t say that I agree with you anymore.”

  “He’s a human being.” Frankie shrugged, secretly knowing that was an understatement.

  Delaney pulled her cell from the tightly wrapped comforter. “I have been sitting here all night debating on telling my friend how pitiful my life is.”

  Frankie leaned forward, getting a look at her cell phone, wondering if she had. “And did you?”

  Delaney shook her head. “I didn’t have it in me.”

  “Why do you care what people think? What does it matter if somebody else thinks you’re pitiful?” Frankie asked.

  Delaney chewed at her thumbnail. Frankie took in the bottle of wine resting neatly next to her. She was intoxicated and he knew how easy it would be to just take advantage of the situation before things spiraled out of control.

  Frankie leaned in. Delaney studied his calming blue eyes, her pupils growing large. “I can’t get over your eyes,” She said, her gaze locked on them, she barely blinked as she looked at him. Frankie smirked, his faint crimson lips curving into a smile. And Delaney noticed them for once. How perfectly kissable they were, his strong jaw line, the perfect hair. She wondered why she had been so oblivious to it before. And why now she noticed everything about him.

  She was under his spell. The unexplained pull he had on women, she was under it. And she hadn’t the faintest idea.

  “You love my brother. And I think you should just go on over there and talk to him.” He avoided her frivolous flattery and went straight for the kill, using his power of manipulation in his favor. He literally could make a girl bend when he wanted to.

  Delaney shook her head, her eyes were still glued to Frankie’s but the allure wasn’t working. He blinked, baffled. Trying again he moved in, bringing the back of his hand to her cheekbone. He brushed his finger against her skin, slowly and very calculating. “Your brother lied to me. There’s nothing left to say.”

  Frankie sighed, rolling his eyes, he was sick of hearing all the lame excuses why the human race never did what they knew was right. Or what they wanted. Instead they wanted to continue down this moral path of righteousness and live in a world of complete misery. Frankie stared up at the night sky, beckoning the gods for an answer other than the one he had. When none came as he predicted they wouldn’t, he grabbed the end of Delaney’s down comforter.

  She barely saw it coming—his hands that is. Frankie covered her mouth, pressing her head down into the lounge chair, stifling her screams as she struggled to get air. He squeezed tightly, just enough to make her lose consciousness, not to kill her. As soon her body went limp he gathered her in the down comforter and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  A little help

  Sam quickly jumped from the couch at the relentless ringing of his doorbell. He wiped his clammy palms against his jeans, peering out the window at the bright sunlight of the morning, he hadn’t slept a wink. And now the one person he really wished would stay far away was at his door. It was Frankie.

  “Good morning,” Frankie said, sauntering into the house with two coffees in his hands. Sam took one reluctantly, wondering what the cause for his brother’s bouncy behavior was.

  Frankie took a seat. “I come baring gifts.”

  Sam scratched his head, thinking the gift was a simple cup of coffee. “Coffee, the breakfast of champs.” He raised his Styrofoam cup toward Frankie.

  Frankie shook his head. “That’s not what I mean at all.” He pointed at the large windows on either side of Frankie’s front door.

  Sam followed his motion to the windows. He went there, pulling back the curtain and peered out. The only thing in his driveway was two vehicles and a fresh newspaper.

  “Sometimes you got to look a little closer,” Frankie said getting up. He opened the door, heading down the walkway. Sam followed. He knew he had to play along with Frankie if he wanted any kind of answer.

  Frankie tossed his keys to Sam. Sam caught them without any effort at all. He looked Frankie over trying to decipher his words. What exactly was it he wanted him to see? Sam slowly rounded the car, stopping at the trunk. He placed his hand palm down on it, eyeing Frankie.

  “I don’t get it,” Sam said finally, removing his hand from the trunk. Frankie brought his knuckles down against the sleek metal. Sam finally caved and inserted the key. He turned the lock, the trunk slowly rising. “And what’s so great about a white comforter?”

  Frankie pushed into Sam’s forearm. “Look closer.”

  Sam poked at the comforter. Frankie crossed his arms, completely amused with what Sam was about to find out. But Sam wasn’t. All of a sudden Sam jerked the comforter open, his head shot in the Frankie’s direction. His mouth dropped in shock.

  “What were you thinking?” He exclaimed. He backed away. Not sure if she was even alive. She was in his brother’s trunk and that was not a good sign.

  “She’s not dead. And she hasn’t talked to Rose.” He quickly pulled Delaney from the trunk tossing her back over his shoulder and letting Sam lead the way back into his house. Before they looked like two strange miscreants hanging around with bodies out in the open. “I think you owe me a thank you.”

  Sam shut the door, locking all three locks before he allowed Frankie access to his living room. Where he dropped Delaney like an old blanket on his couch.

  “Why would I thank you for abducting a girl who wants nothing to do with me?” Sam asked, completely flabbergasted by the audacity of his brother. “What do you think this solves?”

  Frankie took a seat. “Now is the time to come clean. Here’s your chance. If she loves you she will accept whatever it is you want to say to her.”

  Sam studied his brother. At one time he thought Frankie had a good head on his shoulders. Sure, he had a temper. And he was conceited. But he always used common sense. But now he wasn’t so sure if that were true. He had brought him his lifeless fiancé. Like a dog dragging in a dead rabbit looking for praise.

  “Tell me what you would do,” Sam insisted.

  Frankie ran a hand down the back of his neck. “I would take control and make her stick around and hear what I have to say. It’s the one thing about us that for once isn’t a bad thing. You can control her long enough to accept the news.”

  Sam could take over Delaney’s conscious for a short amount of time. Make her see past her morals. Let her use her heart and not her head. But soon as the effects wore off she would have the common sense to hate him again.

  “Telling Delaney about me isn’t going to fix anything. It’s going to make it worse.” Sam exhaled, staring at her. She looked so perfect even after such a brutal night. He remembered the first time he saw her. He was at the bar alone. She was at the bar with her friends from school, including h
er boyfriend. Sam hadn’t planned on what happened next.

  Delaney stood beside him with her wallet in hand, waiting on the bar tender so she could order her drink. Her hair was soft and flowing, draping her shoulders beautifully. She wore jean shorts and a soft pink camisole. Her lips held a sheen from her frosty pink lip gloss. Sam was completely drawn in the moment she smiled shyly at him and tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing a diamond earring. Their eyes met for seconds but that was enough for him. He was drawn to her. She was beautiful and he was dying to know more.

  He watched her every move as she waited for her drink. Her feet fidgeting below as she patiently waited. As soon as she had her drink she thanked the bartender and laughed. It might have been effortless, but to Sam it was music to his ears. Her voice was everything he ever imagined she would sound like. He had to say something to her before she went back to her table of friends.

  “You have amazing eyes,” he said, dragging his beer closer. He felt a bit silly complimenting a stranger, but he had to let her know he noticed her. He never anticipated her response. Delaney’s green eyes grew dark, and there was a sadness that swept over her. Her smile turned down and she lost the energy she had.

  Sam touched her arm. “I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just, you’re beautiful, and I had to say something before you walked away and I lost my chance to.”

  And in that moment her smile returned. She bit her lip. “You’re the only one who’s ever made me feel so special with such a simple compliment. Thanks for that.” She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, her floral scent flooding his senses, making his heart crash around in his chest. And she left, looking back and catching his mesmerized stare.

  Frankie stood, he was out of answers. “I brought her. You do as you wish. I’m out of here.”

  Sam relocked the door. And when he turned back around there she lay, awake, staring up at him. Sam hesitated.

  Delaney sat up, clutching her head. She had a headache and her neck was terribly achy. She wasn’t even sure how she got to Sam’s or if maybe she had been there for some time. It only took a couple seconds before anger found her all over again. Reminding her she was upset.

  “Can we please talk?” Sam asked, watching her rise to her feet. She pushed her untidy hair from her eyes, stumbling, still a bit unsteady from hours before.

  “What is there to say?”

  Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t know. But he had to think of something before she took off and he never seen her again. “What you saw, what you think I did, it wasn’t like that at all.”

  Delaney sat down, she felt a bit nauseous. She ran her hand through her hair trying to pull herself together. She looked down at her feet, she had no shoes on. She would figure that out later. “Did you sleep with that girl?”

  Sam nodded.

  “Then it is the way I think it is. You lied to me. You cheated on me and you are not the person I thought you were.” She laced her hands together, hoping that was enough to keep from exploding.

  She could barely bring herself to look at him. To her he was no longer the same person. He wasn’t Vance anymore. He was Sam. Just like Frankie had told her. She remembered their first kiss.

  “Have I told you how amazing you look right now?” he asked staring at her with the biggest most fulfilled smile on his face. She had caved and agreed to a date. And he took her to the best Italian restaurant in the state and after they walked the boardwalk by the water. She couldn’t stop smiling. Everything he did made her smile. The way he looked at her, the way he talked to her, the way he touched her. He was all about her and made her feel like the center of his universe. For once she felt important. She felt confident that she was the most important, even if it was only for a few hours.

  They sat on the bench near the water. She felt the butterflies swirling in the pit of her stomach, her nagging conscience begging him to kiss her. She wanted to know how it felt to have his lips pressed against hers, more than anything that’s all she wanted.

  “What are you smiling about?” he asked her, his eyes lighting up as he stared into hers. He didn’t allow her to answer because he wanted the same thing she did. She touched her fingertips to his cheek, happy to be near him. But she was afraid if he made her wait any longer she would go mad.

  His fingers grazed her jaw line so carefully it took her breath away. He guided her mouth to his and she felt instant fireworks. It was a moment she couldn’t explain, but the moment that her lips connected with his she knew the answers to every question she had about love. She knew she found her love.

  “What I did, I did it for you. And before you tell me how full of shit I am let me explain.” Sam sat down next to Delaney. He picked up her hand, squeezing it tightly as he began. “This thing you have been trying to understand, it’s a lot more complex then I have ever let on.”

  “I don’t have sex with woman because I am afraid I will hurt them.” Sam swallowed, watching Delaney’s reaction. Her eye stayed connected to his and for the first time he felt like it was time to be honest with her. She had been waiting for the truth for a long time.

  “I was afraid of hurting you. So I made up excuses. I knew eventually it would have to be explained but I was too afraid of losing you to be truthful.”

  Delaney scanned Sam’s eyes. She didn’t understand. But in his eyes she could see the genuineness. “And you didn’t think this would hurt me?”

  “I mean physically,” Sam confessed, his heart picking up beats, thudding in his chest a mile a minute. “I never wanted to harm you. I care too much about you to let sex destroy what I think we have. So, I did what I needed to.” Sam knew Delaney didn’t understand. “My mother is human. But my father is… he’s an evil man. Some might say a demon. I know it sounds really ridiculous. But it’s the truth.” Sam looked away.

  Delaney digested his words, closing her eyes and letting them swim around in her head.

  “You’re sitting here telling me that demons exist?” Delaney asked.

  Sam nodded. “I’m telling you my father is an incubus.”

  “A demon that thrives off of women, Frankie told me this the other day at school. I thought he was joking!” Delaney’s breath hitched in her chest. She couldn’t believe how the pieces were falling into place. And worse—they were making sense.

  “Well yeah. I wasn’t aware he brought this up to you. Or why you would hear this and not mention it to me.” Sam was a bit perplexed.

  “I guess the realist in me thought it was too crazy to be the truth.” She touched his face. “You were running around behind my back with another girl.”

  “I talked to my mother a few days ago. She told me that I could control it, that I didn’t have to be like my father, that I wasn’t my father. But before I gave it a try with you I wanted to be sure that I could. I didn’t want to hurt you.” Sam leaned in, kissing her cheek, his hands finding her face on impulse.

  Delaney sighed, unable to accept what Sam was offering. It didn’t make sense. It proved a lot. And it was a lot better than the other reason—that he was simply a cheating jerk that broke her heart. But in Delaney’s ordinary life these sorts of things didn’t happen. And she didn’t know how to believe it.

  “It’s more the fact that you lied to me then it is the bizarre aspect of this. As crazy as that sounds, I would rather believe you’re a demon then that you lied to me.” She could get past genetics, she couldn’t get past deceitfulness.

  Sam dropped his hands from her face. “Then I don’t think there is anymore I need to say to try and win you back.” He stood up, moving across the room. His guard was down. He knew all he needed to know about Delaney. “Because of who I am I have done a lot of bad things in my life, things that would make you afraid of me. Things you would think classify me as a monster.”

  “Maybe I am a monster. But I tried hard to be the total opposite of that because of you. I wanted to be with you. I didn’t want this way of life for me anymore. I was worried you wouldn’t accept m
e, and I was right.”

  Sam took a long inhale of air, holding it in until his insides felt like they were burning. He exhaled. “I knew Rose before I met you. Back when I lived in Arizona. I was the one who attacked her. I lied to you since the engagement party. And I probably was never going to tell you because I don’t see the person back then as who I am now.”

  Delaney felt the air escaping her lungs. She couldn’t speak. It was as if someone had sucker punched her. Her whole body tingled. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from Sam. Suddenly her brain kicked back into gear, and she was now aware her hands were mid air trembling.

  “I can’t believe you.” She forced out. “I can’t believe you’re sitting here telling me this, that you hurt Rose. And you’re not upset!”

  “I am upset. I have been for some time now,” Sam argued.