Page 16 of Darkest Fantasies

“Matt and his family. There was a fire, and they got trapped inside the haunted house.” A sudden heaviness expands over my chest causing me to feel slightly dizzy. That was

his plan all along. That’s why he was pushing me to leave. He planned all of that. He gave me the opportunity to get payback and covered my tracks.

“The news said an animatronic malfunctioned and caught fire,” she says through a sob. I feel an unexpected release of tension. I got away with murder.

“What is wrong with you?” she yells, grabbing my arms and shaking me. “Your boyfriend just died and you’re acting like you don’t give a shit.”

I want to scream at her and tell her I don’t give a shit because even if he wouldn’t have died by my hands, the news of his death would have brought me happiness.

“You have more to feel about his death than I do,” I say nonchalantly.

Her eyes narrowed into slits. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”

I pull my arms from her grasp. “I suggest you leave me the fuck alone, not one glare or a

single word will be uttered from you if you don’t want me to plant the seed in my father’s head that the baby you're carrying may belong to a dead man.”

“You bitch,” she yells, lifting her hand as if to hit but the blow never comes. Instead, there’s a hand holding her wrist tightly.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he growls. “Lay one more finger on her if you want to find yourself buried next to your lover.” His voice is dark and dangerous, sending a chill down my spine.

She looks at him, then back at me with a shocked look on her face. She pulls her arms from him and walks away bitching under her breath. I sigh, closing my eyes, my shoulder relaxing when the sound of the lock clicks.

Calloused hands grab my face gently. “Are you alright?” Am I alright? I look deep down. I nod, “Yes.”

He pulls me towards him, wrapping his arms around me, and hugging me tightly. I inhale his earthy scent and I feel safe again, as if I finally found my home. “No one will ever hurt you again, my little shadow. You’re safe with me.”

I squeeze him tighter, tears staining his black shirt. “Shhh.” He caresses the top of my head. “Don’t waste your tears on the people who hurt you. They don’t matter.”

“I'm not crying because of them. I’m crying happy tears,” I sniffle, cleaning my tears with the back of my hand. “For the first time in my fucked up life, I feel safe, I feel cared for. All my life my father put himself and his wife first even if they were together for a short time. Even my mom chose herself first when she killed herself, leaving alone a ten-year-old girl to fend for herself.”

“I will make it my life’s mission to never let you feel that again. All I want is for you to feel happy, loved, and protected for the rest of our lives.”

Our lives.

Those two words echo inside my head. My mind slowly starts to knock some sense into me. I don’t even know who this man is and he is talking about our lives. What is wrong with me?One act of kindness and I’m already putting aside that he is a murderer.

Aren’t you one, too?

My subconscious has a point. As much as I want to blame him for Matt, it was all me. The darkness I’ve always tried to suppress erupted like a volcano that finally woke up from its slumber. He gave me the opportunity. I could have easily said no, but I didn't. I snapped.

“Will you tell me who you are now?”

He nods and guides me towards my favorite place in this room, the window nook. Before I can sit, I notice a dozen black tulips. I hesitate with a flutter in my stomach. When did those get here? I think back to when I got home, they weren’t there, and when I got out of the bathroom, I would have noticed if it was left there while I was showering.

“Do you like them?” he says, wrapping his arms around my waist from my back.

“Yes. Those are my-.” Wait, something dawns on me. “Those are my favorite flowers, but you already knew that?”

“Yes,” he whispers into my hair.

My heart thunders in my chest. My suspicions were true. “It’s you,” I whisper. I can feel his smile.

“Good girl.”

Chapter 12

Epilogue Draven

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