The Elevator

Mine

If anyone ever told me, I would be stuck in an elevator with my ex-mate, I would have laughed and told them that would never happen. I keep thinking to myself, what the hell did I do to deserve this? As I looked into the eyes of the man I loved, I urged him to recount the story that I had already heard. The man who had broken me in every sense when I was a naïve child who believed in fairytales and happy endings.

He appeared distant, lost in thought, and his expression was somber. He had bags under his eyes, his shoulders slumped and the confident man that entered the elevator looked defeated - all because of the name "Louise". I should have been happy at the sight in front of me, yet I couldn't ignore the twinge of pain I felt while looking at the man before me.

"So story time. Who is Louise?" I chirped, masking the hole in my chest.

"Louise." As he spoke my name. The sensation of a shiver running down my spine was impossible to ignore. The desire bubbled inside me, a desperate need to bask in his warmth as he said my name. My fingertips twitched with an incandescent longing to reach out and touch his skin. For how many years did I wish he would speak my name with the same feverish desire I felt towards him?

"Would you believe me if I tell you she was my everything? No one else believes me." He regretfully sighed.

"What do you mean, no one else believes you?" I asked. My heart thumped at his reply.

"Let's just say I made some mistakes, some huge mistakes. I betrayed her in every way possible." He closed his eyes and his head pushed back against the elevator wall.

"Well, that's a terrible story, if that's all you're going to say." I replied.

He groaned and ran his hand down his chiselled face. "Your not going to give up, are you?"

"If you know my reputation, Mr Warner, then you already know the answer." I chuckled.

"Do you believe in soulmates, Miss Romano?" He whispered.

His questioned amused me, there was a slight twitch in my lips. I pondered his question, knowing that this was how most werewolves described a mate. I couldn't help but count my blessings that he believed I was human. It had been many years since I changed my identify in order to hide from him and the family that betrayed me. There was no way that I would allow him to foil my plans.

"Hmmm... Well, once upon a time I believed in soulmates, but life happens and it isn't all roses and daisies. When one is betrayed in the most atrocious way, it's difficult to find the silver lining." I morbidly replied.

"Well, imagine a world where soul mates exist. She is mine. She is mine to love, mine to cherish, she is my everything." He says wistfully. I could hear the longing in his voice. There was almost a tingle of hope mixed in between. If I wasn't so determined to hide my identification, I'd take full pleasure in shutting that down.

"Your confusing me, Mr Warner. You are talking as if she is still yours per-say." I mused.

"She is mine." His palm was clenching, his eyes were darkening. I could sense his wolf coming to the surface as his thoughts got darker.

"Then she must be in life still?" I hummed. "The way you speak, it sounds as if she is still with you." I questioned. "But that doesn't explain why you thought I was your Louise?" I asked in a confused tone.

"She isn't with me. But it doesn't mean she isn't mine." His tone was assertive and firm.

"Well, where is she?"

"I don't know. She ran away from me and her family. No one knows where she is. She just disappeared into thin air." He replied.

"Sounds to me she doesn't want to be found." I chuckled.

He growled and his gaze shot straight to my face. He gave me a look that could see straight past my poker face. His eyes hardened. My wolf was continuing to stir. Her restlessness was uncomfortable. I could sense her awakening after eight years and it terrified me because, as soon as she was awake, the bond that I had once pushed away would snap back into place.

"I guess you're right." He huffed, and he turned his face away. "I don't even know where to start."

"The beginning seems like a logical place to start."

"Well, in my pa- town, they did not like her. People were very judgemental. They would call her a slut or a whore. They bullied her a lot. People in our town did not like Louise. They called her a slut or a whore and bullied her a lot. Her family was ashamed of her. I remember hearing that it disappointed them in her. She gave them a poor reputation, which was poorly reflected on her family. She had a twin sister, completely identical. Her kindness and love defined her personality. Well established in the community. There wasn't a bad thing about her sister, Leanne." A heavy sense of sarcasm and anger lingered in Jacob's voice. As he spit out my sister's name, it was almost as if a heavy poison was being swirled around his mouth. There was so much disgust and hatred laced in voice. I never believed I would see a day like this. I couldn't help but revel in his words as I danced in what was a delightful tune in my ears.

"So you're telling me that this 'Louise' was your soulmate and yet you were in love with her sister?" I replied.

"I was never in love with her sister." He spat. "I thought I was in love with her, but it was all a lie."

My hands trembled at his words. I wanted to offer him the comfort that one had spared me. The Jacob I knew was exuberant and confident. A slither of pity lingered in my heart as he looked broken and defeated. It was a look that I knew too well. It was one that I wore before I became Loretta. Poetic karma really existed. It looked as if he finally realise he was warming the bed of a devil. There were so many questions wanting to spill from my lips. However, all I could do was bite my tongue. There was no way that curiosity would kill this cat.

"What exactly was the lie?" I tactfully questioned. My eyes were closed as I pushed my head back, leaning into the wall of the elevator. Leaning on the palms of my hand.

"Leanne, she lied. Everything I thought about her was a lie. The caring girl I thought she was nothing but a lie and by the time I found out, it was too late. Louise was gone and never to be found again." He whispered. I pried one of my eyes open, catching the small crystal tear that rolled down the curve of his cheek.

The silence in the elevator was thick, like a blanket. Even though Jacob had spoken at length, he left many things unsaid. I was at a loss for words, my mind racing with thoughts of how to avoid revealing my own secrets. The desire to make him spill his guts heightened. The secrets that would give me the closure that I needed to move forward with my life.

"How do you know it was too late?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer to the question, no matter how much pain it caused me, I needed him to say the final nail that killed my love for him.

"Leanne had my son." Jacob admitted, causing my heart to crack in the most devastating and heart wrenching way ever.

Edited 08/08/2023