“Tyler, I can’t leave like this! I can’t leave them!”
“Cee, let me get back to them.”
I nod and nod as he pulls me to him in a tight embrace before releasing me.
“Go. Now.”
In a blink, I’m thrust behind the wheel of my Jeep, and in the next, Tyler disappears behind the trees. Shaking uncontrollably, I turn the engine over and put it into gear, the sight of the car I pass as I floor the gas has me releasing a guttural cry.
The road begins to rapidly blur as the sun climbs into the morning sky, shedding light on a day I know I won’t survive. It’s all I can do to keep the wheel straight.
Dominic is gone. Gone.
There’s no coming back from this. From losing him. Not ever.
“God, please,” I bang my hands against the wheel as agony rips through me while I re-live the last minutes of his life.
I did nothing.
I stood frozen with fear as I watched them fight for me. I watched Dominic die to protect me, and I did nothing, nothing at all to help them, nothing to help myself. I just stood idly by and screamed. I reacted like a coward.
We both know I was never going to make it to thirty, brother. Take care of her.
“P-p-lease, G-G-od, p-p-please don’t take them! Please!” I race away with the taste of Dominic’s blood on my lips, coating my hands as I drive past the county line and exit onto the highway toward a future I no longer want.
In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed—
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.—A Dream, Edgar Allen Poe
Cecelia age 26
Nine hours ago…
“To the Bride and Groom.” Champagne glasses rise around the small restaurant as I clink flutes with Collin. A serene smile graces his handsome face as he squeezes my hand while covered plates are ceremoniously set before us.
When the cloche is lifted, I glance down to see lamb chops with mint sauce and rosemary potatoes. Just as I start to voice my protest, a familiar, masculine scent invades my nose. My breath catches as I inhale deeply while my eyes drift to the sun-drenched forearm in front of me. Beneath the rolled-up sleeve of a crisp white button-down, an unmistakable dark ink pattern lay etched into his golden skin. My gaze lifts to meet recognizable hazel eyes, but the face, it’s all wrong.
“Congratulations,” the waiter drawls, his voice covering me in warmth. My eyes gaze back to the tattoo just as he pulls away. I call out to him, and he hesitates at the kitchen door and turns to me, his muted features becoming more recognizable as the seconds tick past. I know this man, intimately.
“Wait,” I croak out, chest tightening unbearably when the chatter around me drowns out my pleas as he disappears through the service door.
And that’s when I feel him.
Slowly, I stand and take inventory of our guests who all seem to be oblivious to the shadow that’s entered the room, casting a dark hue over the rich, warm light from the dripping chandeliers. I’m thankful they’re all ignorant to it, because if they notice the shift, they’ll be afraid, but I’m not. And I want nothing more than to see the source.
Collin rattles on to my left in conversation, and I know he can’t sense my reaction. I’m safe. My secrets are safe in this cool cocoon. My eyes scan the party. Everyone is here, our coworkers and friends, Mom and Timothy, Christy and her husband, Josh, and their two boys, one of which my mother holds tightly to her while keeping Christy busy in conversation. My attention shifts to the double doors on the other side of the room. Tiny sparks of light flash behind the sheer curtains in a dizzying pattern. I know I should be afraid, but I feel nothing but safe alongside the cool shadow who beckons me, covering me in goosebumps while urging me toward the door, toward him. Anxiously, I scan the room once more for any reaction and am relieved when I find none. These people don’t know. They can never know.
Slowly, so as not to alert anyone, I walk through the division of round tables and the back doors just as a breeze sweeps up the leaves at my feet, creating a wind tunnel that envelops me. I can see the veins running along the center of the foliage as they dance and sway at arms-length, and a giggle bursts from my lips. Mingled scents grow thicker in the air, engulfing me in sheer happiness.
They’re here. They came for me.
The doors close behind me with the next gust of wind, and I step into the clearing as a swarm of lightning bugs comes into view. They glow around me, lighting my skin in a green-yellow hue. I reach out for them and capture one in my hand. Its wings buzzing against my palm before it sets off again, leaving neon residue on my skin. I swipe it with my thumb, but it remains. For these few seconds, I feel a peace I haven’t in years—the sensation a lot like coming home.