by B C Morgan
I tossed her an old top and was met with a puzzled expression.
“I assumed you wouldn’t want to sleep naked with me, so you can shove that on if you want.” She thanked me, before scurrying into the en suite and pushing the door too.
By the time she came back out I was already under the duvet, with my head propped up on my arm. Her hair fell down in dark cascading waves and my top fell a few inches below her underwear, and I swear her legs seemed to go on forever.
I hadn’t meant to ogle her, but when my gaze met hers, it was obvious that I’d been caught red handed. She headed over and slid in next to me, ever so careful so we wouldn’t touch and then she rolled onto her other side. I presumed that was that until she quietly began to speak.
“Why were you so angered by my kiss with Malachi, you have no loyalty to Darren. So why would it affect you?”
She turned around to face me once she finished what she had need to say and patiently waited for my reply.
“Look you don’t know anything about me and I’m not about to pretend that I’m some good, holier than thou guy. To be honest I am the complete opposite, but I do believe in loyalty and when I give myself to someone, whether it’s serious or just some fun to pass the time, I am only with them. So, to hear your blazon acknowledgement of the fact that you are still very much in a relationship just irked me I guess.”
“Lawson, if loyalty is so important to you then why did you take me out and now share a bed with me, when you’re seeing someone yourself. I’m pretty sure Lilith would not approve of this in the slightest.”
“I’m guessing that Malachi shared that piece of information with you, unfortunately he is very much miss-informed. I dumped her sorry arse a few weeks back, besides she was the epitome of ‘just something to pass the time.’ So, her opinion of what I get up to now is of no relevance to me, her feelings don’t mean a damn thing.”
She looked as though she had more to say on the matter but instead, she just wished me goodnight, turned back over and then I guess she fell asleep.
Unfortunately for me, sleep did not seem to be an option, I just had too many thoughts whizzing through my mind.
I was going to kill Malachi for using his ability on Unya. He should never have been using it at all inside Venom, it was the only rule the place had, do not use your abilities while you are on the premises. It was a neutral ground for all of us, and if he got found out he would probably end up dead in a ditch somewhere, that’s if he was lucky. There are plenty of things that could happen that would be a worse fate then death, it just depends on who you cross.
The other thing that I couldn’t shake was what Unya had done, she’d been aware of the fact that the feelings weren’t her own and had managed to break away, I’ve never heard of that happening before. You’re not supposed to be able to tell that your emotions are being toyed with and manipulated, so how could she.
I could recognise that she faked the way she felt right off the bat, but maybe there was more to it than her just trying to act the way people perceived that she should. I wanted to know what she was hiding, but couldn’t think of a way that I could do it, without bringing someone else in. And if I went down that road, there would be no turning back and she and her secrets would be lost to me forever.
Z
Unya
The clouds were dark and foreboding and the lightning pierced the sky with every strike, illuminating the barren wasteland that I found myself standing in. The ground was black and soot ridden, with not a flower or single blade of grass on show. My bare arms were covered in goose bumps and even the hairs were standing to attention, the wind was howling, and it was causing my rain soaked hair to whip around my face. I found myself wondering why my hair was even wet when it wasn’t even raining, but I deemed the point an unnecessary concern. I spun around on the spot trying to make sense of my surroundings and trying to figure out where I was, but it was to no avail.
I couldn’t remember how I got there, the last thing I did remember was turning my back on Lawson and pretending to sleep until eventually I did actually drift off.
Did Lawson do this for some unknown reason, did he take me there and leave me stranded. Maybe, but it didn’t feel right, what would have been the point. Why go to all that hassle just to leave me there, besides I wasn’t even wearing his top anymore.
I was now in what appeared to be a long silk gown and my feet were bare. Maybe that’s it, maybe I had finally lost my mind and I was actually sitting in a padded room somewhere and my mind conjured this so it didn’t have to deal with the sorry truth.
I fell to the ground and the dry earth crunched under my weight, as I waited there on my hands and knees staring out into the unknown.
The lightning struck once more and I swear that I could see a figure walking purposefully towards me, I wanted to get up and meet them face to face, but I couldn’t seem to will my body to listen.
The figure came closer until their shoes were only inches away from my hands, but their face was still shrouded in mystery by the long hood attached to their cape. I mean who even wears a cape these days.
I stared into the abysmal darkness where their face should be when a wrinkled hand began to reach for me. I tried to crawl backwards to get away, but It seemed as though the dirt had become quick sand and the more I struggled to move the harder it was for me to get away.
I decided that I need to show strength to this unknown foe, as I changed my mask and ensured that I was portraying one of defiance and not a single ounce of fear. Their hood suddenly fell back and I was left to stare up into a pair of eyes that were the exact same shade of green as my own. They belonged to a woman who must have been in her early fifties, with only a hint of wrinkles surrounding the outside of her eyes. She looked as though she must have laughed often and I wondered how that must feel, to actually laugh genuinely.
I tried to take the rest of her in but her eyes kept drawing me back to them and then I noticed that she had the exact same ebony hair as myself as well, the difference between ours was that she wore hers in a simple plait. There were so many similarities between us, that if I did not know better, I would have thought that we were actually related.
She knelt down fluidly, without a hint of struggle with the action and captured my hand within hers, she then proceeded to stand up and pulled me up along with her.
She cupped my cheek with her free hand and lightly grazed my face with the pad of her thumb. “Salve, Nipotina.”
I tried to pull away from her touch, but her friendly tone completely threw me off.
“What did you just say?” I asked as I continued to stare back into the eyes that are so similar yet completely different from my own. Hers held warmth, and I honestly believed that mine had never held that in my seventeen years on this earth.
“Perdonami, my name is Mihaela, I had hoped that you would be familiar with my native tongue, but it is fine I can speak yours just fine.”
“Who are you? I don’t understand what is going on.” I practically screamed this at her, as a pain shot its way through my skull and I fell back down to my knees clutching my head in my hands.
“You truly don’t know me dear; I am your Nonna or Great grandmother if you’d prefer.”
I shook my head in denial, as the pain spread down from skull, into my spine.
She laid her hand upon the top of my head and the pain subsided completely, she helped me back to my feet and looked at me with pity in her eyes.
“I don’t even have a nan, so how can you be my great grandmother, this doesn’t make any sense. I get that I must be dreaming for me to react the way I did just, but why would I conjure up an image of you?”
Her eyes filled with sadness, and a sheen of tears glazed over them.
“You are correct Nipotina, this is a dream but I am not of your creation. I have been searching for you for the past year, but something was keeping me away. Until tonight, I had no idea where you were, but now that I have finally reached you, you m
ust come to me. You have no idea what lies in wait for you, I have so many answers to questions that you haven’t even thought of yet, please Principessa come to me.”
I wanted to ask her what she was talking about and how I was supposed to find her, but she started to float backwards away from me until she drifted away and I was left standing by myself.
I stared out into the direction that she came from, urging for her to reappear when the agonizing pain returned and snatched the breath from my very lungs. I fell to a heap and curled my body into a ball as the pain ricocheted through me and left me howling out like a banshee.
Chapter Nine
Lawson
I finally drifted off when I was awoken to the sound of Unya’s screams, I sat up in a hurry and leaned over her and was surprised to see that she was still asleep. I honestly believed that someone had snuck into my room while we slept and tried to kill her, what could she possibly be seeing in her dreams to cause a reaction like this.
My head was screaming at me to leave her be, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself as I pulled her into my arms, so her head was resting upon my chest with one arm curving around her lower back and my free hand stroking her hair, in a gesture I hoped would soothe and comfort her.
Her screams began to die down and she seemed to snuggle even further into my side, I bit back a smile that was threatening to surface and continuously told myself that I felt nothing but pity for this strange and bewildering female. But even if that was the case my traitorous body kept reminding me of the shocks of electricity that zapped through me every time that our skin came into contact with one another.
I must have dozed back off again, but when I re-awoke, we were still in the exact same position, except from the fact that she had an arm draped across my stomach and one of her legs was twined with one of mine. Her hair had fallen into her face and I carefully brushed it out of the way, I found myself staring at her and spotted the exact moment her eyes opened and connected with mine.
I swear I saw a ghost of a smile form on her lips, before realisation dawned in her eyes and she noticed how we were now laying.
“Umm Lawson, how did this happen?” She asked, clearly confused by the situation.
“You must have had a bad dream in the night or something because you started to scream. I wasn’t sure what to do so I tried to comfort you, you stayed asleep and settled down after a little while,” I replied beginning to feel very uncomfortable. I carefully slid free of our embrace and climbed out of bed, I noticed that her eyes grew wider and realised that I only had a pair of boxers on. I knew that her eyes must have found the scars that gathered on my chest and quickly excused myself.
I hurried off into the bathroom for a boiling hot shower and some time to clear my head, with not even a backwards glance in her direction.
I heard the bedroom door open and close and gathered that she had gone to find Kat to retrieve her clothes. I sighed in relief knowing that I wouldn’t have to see her when I finally re-emerged.
Z
Unya
I found Kat in the kitchen without a single trace of a party occurring here the night before, she must have had some serious tidying skills to have managed that.
“Hey, that dress looked awesome on you last night, please tell me you had fun.” She said this with her eyes shining, but they were also red raw and had the appearance of tears.
“What’s wrong, did something happen?” I asked, hoping that I had sounded sympathetic and not bored. What can I say, faking your emotions constantly, is hard work even I screw up sometimes.
“You may recall that Lawson mentioned a Marcus last night, well we’ve been seeing each other on and off for a while. It’s been great it really has, but last night we decided to make it officially off for good this time, we had the best goodbye you could ever hope for, but it doesn’t stop it from hurting.”
“Why end it then, clearly you’re crazy for this guy, even if Lawson isn’t,” I replied, trying to make sense of it all.
“Oh, don’t mind Lawson, he was just trying to look out for me. The minute he found out about Marcus he warned me not to get too attached, but as usual I ignored his warnings. And to answer your question, our feelings really are irrelevant in this matter. I’m away a lot and distance is a hard foe to conquer, besides we’re two completely different breeds, it could never work.”
I didn’t really understand what she meant by different breeds, but I decided not to question her on it anymore, it was obviously difficult for her to talk about.
She informed me that my clothes were sitting in her bathroom waiting for me and I practically flew up those stairs to get them.
When I came back down, I heard the distinct sound of Lawson’s bike revving, before he took off. I found Kat standing by the door with her mouth hanging open before she turned to me.
“Don’t take it personally, it was probably a lot for him to share his bed with someone again.”
“What, you mean after Lilith?” I inquired, not sure why she deemed it necessary to explain his actions to me.
“He told you about that little Empusa, I am shocked but no I do not mean her, she is of no relevance to anyone. It was only ever about sex with her, I think he told me he was bored of her after only one night. He only kept it going so no one else would make a move on him.”
“Then what’s the big significance of me sleeping in his bed, cause we most certainly did not have sex.”
Kat smiled a full tooth beaming smile at me before she shook her head.
“Of course you two didn’t, look out of respect to Lawson I cannot tell you his story. But I will tell you that he had his heart ripped out a long time ago, it’s the most tragic love story I have ever been told and I don’t think he will ever truly get over it. I only tell you this so that you won’t get too invested in him, I love the guy but you would do better to steer clear of him.”
After her warning, the air seemed to take on a more awkward and even sadder feel, but she was kind enough to make me some breakfast before she drove me to my car.
I kept trying to get her to tell me her age, but each time she would just laugh it off and bat her hand at me. She looked about 21 at least, but she spoke as though she had been around a lot longer, but acted with the air of an exuberant teenager. It was all rather mind boggling to say the least.
She pulled me in for a quick hug before she handed me my phone and drove off. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t even thought to check it once since I got to hers. I swiftly turned it on and skimmed through all the shitty messages that Jackie had sent me and then slowly sat down on the bonnet of my car when I read the most recent message from Addy.
I quickly hopped in and drove to her house, wondering if it had been some kind of sick joke, but I knew she would never do something like that. This meant only one thing, while I had been out drinking and dancing with Lawson, Darren had killed himself.
I pulled up outside hers ten minutes later and she engulfed me in a hug, I knew that I didn’t have to pretend to be sad with her, but once I spotted her sister, I made the tears start to fall.
Addy had stared at me in utter confusion until she realised that my tears were for Hannah’s benefit and I was still nothing more than an emotionless robot.
“Do you know how it happened?” I asked making my voice break half way through.
“It’s been all over the news, they are saying that he jumped off of Hooken Cliff. He didn’t even leave a note, I can’t even imagine what his parents must be going through,” Stated Hannah, as she awkwardly patted me on the back.
“I’m surprised you hadn’t heard; didn’t his parent’s even try to contact you?” asked Addy as she led me into the house and over to the couch.
“No, I haven’t had a single call from them, I didn’t even know until I got your message,” I replied while keeping my head down so that Hannah wouldn’t notice that my tears had already dried up. Luckily, she left for work soon after and Addy was left feeling guilty as she had to hea
d off for college. She offered to blow it off for the day, but I refused to let her do that, it didn’t help that my last words to Darren kept playing through my mind and how he had done exactly what I told him too. It was at that moment that I decided that I had a person to find.
Chapter Ten
Unya
I went to our local library and looked through the directory, but I couldn’t find any trace of a person named Mihaela Michaels. I kept thinking back to my dream and how she had told me to find her, so why didn’t she give me any hints as to how I was supposed to do that. I realised that her last name was probably different from my own, seeing as my grandmother had married into the Michaels name.
I tried to recall the words that she had said in her native tongue, as she had called it, and searched for the translation of Nipotina. It didn’t take long to discover that it meant Granddaughter in Italian and realised that I probably should have guessed that that was her native tongue with the word Nonna anyway.
I started looking for the name Mihaela again and discovered a Miss Mihaela Beneventi, the only problem was right next to her name was one word ‘Deceased.’
I found an obituary that was written fifty years ago, there were no loving words, just her name, the date of her death and the cemetery that her ashes were buried at. There was also a picture of her, which had me rubbing my eyes to make sure that they were clear, as the face that was staring back at me, was the exact face that had featured in my dream.
I fought myself over going to her graveside the rest of the morning, but by the time that one o’clock struck, I was in my car heading straight to the Cemetery.
It was a little out of the way and it wasn’t exactly small either. It took me nearly an hour of searching before I finally came across her gravestone.
Again, there was no loving message written, just the words ‘Here lies Mihaela Beneventi. May she Rest in Peace’
