“Hello?” I ask.
“You’re not okay,” my mom announces.
“I told you I was having pains. I’m not okay,” I whisper.
She hums, though doesn’t say anything right away. “I think one of my friend’s friends can help.”
“That sounds promising,” I state sarcastically.
There’s a long moment of silence and I hear my mom let out an annoyed sigh. “She lives in the area. She’ll be over tomorrow at ten. Let her inside. Her name is Valeria.”
“Mom?” I call out. She doesn’t say anything and I know that she’s just waiting for me to speak. “Thank you for trying to help. Even if it doesn’t work, thank you.”
“And if it does?” she snaps.
“I love you forever and I’ll miss you always.”
I hear her sniffle, then her voice comes out on a whisper. “I will always love you, my little Cilla. I want you to go and be happy, don’t worry about me, I’ll see you in my dreams.”
“Mom,” I whisper.
She doesn’t allow any more tears or sadness, instead she just ends the call. If I called her back, I know without a doubt that she wouldn’t answer.
This was her final goodbye and maybe it should be upsetting, because it wasn’t hearts and flowers, it wasn’t tears and memories, but it was my mom and I’m not mad about it at all.
When I’m able to breathe again, when the pain is just a heavy ache in my belly and no longer debilitating, that is when I stand. Smoothing my hands down the front of my skirt, I decide to call in sick for today and tomorrow.
I don’t have any sick time. I don’t have any vacation either, but I don’t care. My job doesn’t mean what it used to anymore—nothing does. The only thing that I can think about is finding my way back to a magical, mystical world—finding my way back to Tiberius.
My front door opens and I spin around, letting out a squeal as Chad walks through the door. I look down at the lock, silently wondering how the hell it wasn’t locked. I’m usually really anal about locking doors, there’s no way that I left it unlocked.
“I knocked,” he lies as he walks into the room and closes the door behind him.
Blinking, I take a step back. I’m confused, I was standing right here and while I’ve been a bit lost in my own head, I don’t think that I would’ve missed hearing a knock on the door. There’s no way I just didn’t hear. And looking at him, a feeling of dread slides down my spine. Something is wrong—he is wrong.
“Why are you here?” I hesitantly ask.
“I have called you every day for almost three weeks,” he announces. “If this is you playing hard to get, consider me intrigued.”
“I’m not playing anything, Chad. I don’t want to date you. I don’t want anything to do with you,” I state as I take a step backward.
He smirks, taking another step toward me, then another and another until I’m backed up against the wall. Lifting my head, I look up into his eyes and I shrink back against the wall as much as I can, but there’s nowhere for me to go and I can’t get any smaller.
“You do want me, Dru. I just didn’t realize how much I’d missed you and want you, too.”
His words, the way he says them, they send a chill down my spine. Then there is the way his eyes are watching me. They’re sharp, too sharp. He is not just watching me, he is watching his prey.
“Please leave me alone, Chad. I don’t want you. I’m married.”
“I don’t see him anywhere, and I’m married, too. It’ll be fun, you and me again, knowing that nobody will get hurt this time.”
He lifts his hand and slides his thumb across my jawline. “Baby,” he coos. I hate it, immediately.
My stomach cramps and I try to shift away from him, but he has me pinned. I don’t want his touch, it causes me to feel sick and I want nothing to do with him or his touch. I try telling him again that I don’t want him, that I’m married, happily. He doesn’t buy it, at least doesn’t want to, anyway.
When Chad leans his face down, his lips brushing mine, I put my hands between us and try to push him away, but he’s too strong. When his tongue slides across the seam of my lips, I whimper in pain. When he tries to force his tongue into my mouth, I sink my teeth down and I bite him.
Chad pulls away instantly, anger burning bright in his pretty eyes. “You fucking cunt,” he snaps, his eyes igniting with something that I can’t read.
Then just when I think he’s going to step away from me and walk out of my apartment, he lifts his hand. It slices through the air and lands on my cheek. My entire body shifts to the side and I land on the floor.
Chad bends down in front of me, crouching until his face is inches from my own. “You think that I’m just going to walk away from you? I’ll be back, bitch,” he growls. He reaches out, wrapping his hand around my throat and squeezes. “When you least expect it. You’re not getting away from me, Dru. Not again.”
Lifting my hands, I claw at him, trying to release his fingers from my throat as my breath leaves my body. I’m trying to gasp for air, but nothing comes. I try to make noise, but nothing happens, then darkness starts to creep around the edges of my eyes.
I try to shake the darkness away, it doesn’t work, it just creeps farther in, then everything goes completely black.
TIBERIUS
“Your messenger was here, but even if I hadn’t seen him riding up, I knew you were coming,” the maga announces from her front door, shrouded in darkness.
I’m sure that she can say that considering the messenger has already come and gone.
