Page 45 of Beneath the Starlight and Storms

My eyes land on his back, on the dark ink that runs along it and every thought before it disappears.

Long black, broken and twisted wings spread out across the top of his back and along his shoulders.

My fingertips reach out and trace the length of the wings as they break off. Some are completely broken while others are twisted and shaded darker.

Hook shudders beneath my touch, making me pause.

“Tink…” he breathes.

“Why wings?” I ask, ignoring the warm tingle beneath my fingertips.

Hook tenses up. “They’re a reminder.”

“For what?” I push, hoping he’ll answer while another part of me feels foolish for even asking.

He grows quiet, so I take the hint and start to clean his back when he starts to speak, his voice cracking.

“That nothing in this life comes without pain and sacrifice.” He slowly turns around, glancing at me with an expression full of remorse. It’s as if he’s slowly drowning in it.

“That even those who sacrifice with a selfless heart can come to regret it.” Reaching out, he softly takes my wrist and I feel the familiar warmth as he charges my bracelet. My eyes don’t leave his as his power flares to life. A dark storm full of gray clouds and thunderstorms shroud his eyes. They clear just as quickly as they had appeared before his eyes dim once more.

“And in the end, that’s all you're left with. Something broken, twisted and full of regret.” He says with a voice empty of any emotion.

The warmth from his touch soon turns cool as he gently releases my wrist. He glances at me once more, a hollow look in his eyes, before stepping around me to head out.

Something in me screams to say something to him. Anything. Before he leaves like this.

“I don’t know what giving you a chance means,” I tell him and turn to find he’s stopped at the doorway, his body stiff, his hands clenched by his side as he keeps his back to me.

“I don’t know if I can trust what we used to be,” I tell him honestly. I didn’t know if I could trust anyone after what Peter did to me.

“But... I’ll try,” I promise.

A ripple of warmth fills the room as he loses the stiffness in his body. He moves to turn back to me but stops himself before nodding a reply and leaving.

“I’ll try,” I whisper to myself as I stare at his retreating back. A promise that I hope I don’t come to regret it.

CHAPTER12

Nightmare after nightmareclashes together becoming something beyond illusion and memories as they seep out around me feeling all too real.

Pain follows screams that burn and slash across my body. Thorns coil around me, digging into my skin before slicing up my back and curling around my neck, slowly suffocating me as they tighten.

I’m choking, gasping for air when I jump up in bed and stumble toward the window. Opening the hidden window door, I rush down the small staircase and further out into the forest until I find the spot I’m drawn to each time this happens.

I lie down and let the cold seep into my bones turning them numb and hope that the turbulent thoughts racing through my mind will soon follow.

I count the stars. Once. Twice. Before doing it again. More stars appear and I start over. I repeat my little game until my heart rate slows and my mind drifts with a hazy numbness that makes everything around me seem soft and silent.

I’m so lost in the starlight that I don’t notice someone coming up beside me. I turn to look at him as he lies down, leaving a small gap between us, as he sets his gaze on the stars above.

“What are you doing?” I ask when he makes no move to say or do anything else.

Hook’s gaze doesn’t leave the stars as he raises his arms to place them behind his head. “I thought that was obvious. I’m star gazing.”

Of all the places on this island, he had to choosethisone. My spot. The spot away from everything and everyone.

I know I said I would try to give him a chance—whatever that means—but I needed something to myself.

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