Darkest Desires → Caliban [CAOS]

xiii. the void

THE VOID
CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Dahlia's head was in a bundle of thoughts, tugging her attention from one thing to another as if the troubles she already had weren't enough. Her mind was a wild place, a jungle of questions that she desired to have the answers to. Her own brain seemed against her, working together with her heart and emotions to trap her entirely in an entanglement of confusion and anxiety that nothing, not even a long night's sleep, or Caliban's kiss, could wash away. Caliban was perhaps one of the main causes of her brain's restlessness, making Dahlia's heart flutter but triggering the screws of confusion in her brain to spin.

As her feet padded lightly along with the cold floors of Pandemonium, the only thing clear in Dahlia's mind was the library. The millennia-old stories and the enthralling myths within the thick-covered books were perhaps the only things that would ease the churning in her stomach. So as she pressed her fingers against the door to lead herself into the library, she hoped that just the scent of the old paper would put her mind at ease.

"Dee."

Dahlia's attention was instantly brought to Caliban's head peeking out from behind one of the shelves. She gulped, unsure of how to act around him now. She loved last night; the warmth he filled her with was unforgettable, and the feelings she had for him now were undeniable... but it was Caliban, someone she was supposed to loathe– someone she did loath just days ago. Someone who made her feel like all she was to him was a sidekick or a slave. But now, they had kissed, and it made Dahlia's heart flutter and do somersaults in ways it had never before. She wanted to keep feeling that way, but she didn't know how to speak to him or look at him after the night before. "Caliban... What are you doing here?" She walked closer to him to see a heavy book in his hand.

"I was reading about the pagans," he explained, subconsciously placing his big hand on the small of her back. At his gentle touch, her heart began to beat like the pounding of a horse's hooves on the ground in a race. "... to try to find out what your visions might mean." Dahlia tried not to act surprised by his consideration. He had gone out of his way to try to solve something for someone else rather than for himself. A soft smile crept on Dahlia's face. "What?" he asked in confusion when he saw the growing upward curve of her lips.

"Nothing." The small smile turned into a shy toothy grin.

"Why are you smiling?" He laughed.

"Nothing, it's just sweet." She shrugged, trying to force the smile on her lips away. "The old Caliban would never do that for me."

"You make it sound like things have changed because of that kiss," Caliban said. The fluttering in Dahlia's chest started to fade at his words, replaced by a coldness that she tried to ignore and a frown of disappointment on her face that she tried to hide.

"Good." Her tone was sharper, its softness disappearing along with her joy. "That kiss meant nothing to me either," she muttered, embarrassed that she had thought differently. She tried to mask her sadness with indifference, holding her chin up and shoulders back as she turned to walk out of the library before the hot tears in her eyes could begin to spill. She couldn't believe she thought for even one second that last night could have meant anything to a Prince of Hell.