Page 92 of Retribution

Indie

I push through the glass doors and enter a garden, decorated with bonsai trees and rose bushes.

I walk slowly around the pathway, taking in the skill of the shapely bushes, passing through a hedge, stalling at the breath-taking view.

A large lake covers the land before me. A wooden pier leads out to a wooden structure in the center of the lake that’s lit up by fairy lights. I edge closer and the pathway ends, turning to grass.

Reaching down, I untie my heels, leaving them by the pathway and pressing my toes into the spongy earth. It’s been so long since I’ve felt nature like this. It feels like it’s rooting me back down, keeping my balance.

Strolling along the pier, I take my time to appreciate the freshness of the air and the sounds of wildlife.

Sometimes, you just need to stop the world and get off, to maintain your sanity. Life can be so overbearing that you lose yourself in the process. I trail my finger along the wooden railing, nearing the end of the pier. The wooden structure is completely open with several benches in a strategic order. I’m assuming that the happy couple can choose to have their ceremony here.

I saunter towards the edge of the platform to get a better visual of the moon’s reflection in the stillness of the lake. I inhale deeply, my body beginning to relax and melt away from the stresses of my life, from the haunting image of Scott towered over me.

This feels very similar to meditation, but instead of imagining myself in a better place, I’m imagining myself right here, right now, staring at the stunning landscape. I close my eyes and use the only escape my body is familiar with.

I begin to bring my arms higher above my head and stretch upwards, eventually rising up onto my toes, listening to the sounds of the crickets in the distance. Extending my leg upwards and tightening my abs, I finally form the perfect penché. I hold it, feeling steady and completely in control again.

“Indie.”

My eyes burst open as my leg falters and I’m losing control.

Oh, God.

I’m falling, my arms flail and desperately try and grasp onto something – but there’s nothing there.

I plunge headfirst into the depth of water, the sounds of nature now completely drowned out. My hair and dress float up and around me as I squeeze my eyes closed tighter. My lungs begin to burn with the intake of water from my inelegant fall. I hear the distance sound of splashing and a pair of hands seize me by my forearms and yank me upwards.

The world takes me back, everything rushing into me all at once as my lungs try and inhale a gasp of air, failing terribly with the water still inside of them. I splutter pathetically.

My soaking hair covers my face as the lake water drips into my mouth and eyes. I’m hauled up onto the embankment and someone moves my hair out of my face, revealing themselves to me.

“Jesus, Indie. Are you fucking crazy?” Reed hovers over me, his significantly darker hair leaks droplets onto my face.

His lips glimmer from the wetness and I become entranced as he licks his lips once. He peers down at me with a panicked expression, waiting for me to answer with a bated breath.

I blink twice, my brain slowly catching up with what the fuck has just happened.

“Am I crazy? Are you delusional, Reed? Who sneaks up on someone like that, huh? You could see I was preoccupied and alone. Damn, who does that?” My words jumbling over the next.

“I thought… I don’t know,” he confesses.

He peers down at me through his soaked lashes and I can’t deny he looks delicious right now.

As if the gods above felt like adding to the nightmare, the heaven’s opened. Blinking, trying to avoid the large raindrops from entering my eyes, my chest heaves from the lack of oxygen around me and the deathly stare from Reed.

“Indie.” He breathes.

He’s staring at me so intensely it’s beginning to scare me; I continue to hold his stare. He doesn’t say anything for a while as we lay with our legs intertwined, his arms holding up his weight above me, shielding me from the downpour.

“Indie,” He starts again.

“Watching the sunrise used to be one of my rituals, until something came along, that was even more breathtaking.”

“Fuck, I haven’t ever met anyone as fascinating as you, my love.” He cups my cheek as I gulp visibly.

“I go to sleep every night, thanking the gods I don’t believe in for your existence. You have this energy that I can’t explain, it’s so much more powerful than anything I’ve ever experienced. You’ve ignited the shadowed part of me that has been long forgotten. Indie, I’m falling madly and deeply in love with every inch of you.” His voice cracks as he wears his heart on his sleeve.

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