Craft II (The Craft Saga)

27 - Frozen Heart

'It's all gonna' be okay, everything will be just fine; if he figures it out I will just come clean and apologise! He will forgive me...I can wait until Miles comes up with the money and give it right back to him...' I stopped talking to myself and looked into my own panicked eyes in the reflection of my bedroom mirror and willed myself to calm. The guilt was building up now that we were on good terms again and the deep regret was filling me rapidly over stealing that cocaine and trying to do my own business behind Ollie's back. He was risking everything for me and I was dealing drugs!

'Cece?' He called up the stairs to me and I flinched, jumping back from my mirror and hurriedly pulling on my slippers.

'Coming!' I'd showered very quickly, not wanting to linger and be alone with my thoughts but when I'd gotten to my bedroom and thrown some pyjamas on, I'd caught sight of my reflection and immediately felt shame wash over me. Talking myself down wasn't working but it gave me a plan of what to do if he found out. Confess and hope he didn't throw me to the streets and hate me forever.

Leaving my bedroom, I ignored the anxieties in my mind and tried to allow myself to just enjoy a night in with him. I'd missed him so much even though I'd been mad at him for avoiding me. I understood his concerns about things going further between us but I just didn't like hearing it out loud. I had feelings for the man and they weren't going away anytime soon.

'Enchiladas okay for you?' he asked me, as I entered the smoky kitchen and smelled the delicious food cooking away in the oven.

Leaning against the island, I took in his charming smile as he washed a pot and I grinned back. 'I love enchiladas.'

'They shan't be long!' he sang, making me giggle and I moved to the fridge to grab us both a drink. 'Oh, there's some beers in there. I just bought 'em.'

'Awesome.' I grabbed the cans and took them through to the lounge where I noticed a movie was already paused and waiting for us. These tiny, little things...they were just things - cooking dinner and setting up a movie. To anyone else in the world, it likely wasn't anything deep enough to receive anything more than a simple appreciation. To me, it was everything. All of the little gestures he did, they were my love language. They made me feel special. They made me feel at home.

'They should be ready in like ten minutes.' Ollie entered the room and sat down, cracking open his beer and taking a large swig before he gestured at the TV. 'It's Scream, is that alright?'

'Perfect,' I replied, joining him on the sofa as I opened my own and took a sip. It wasn't my whisky, but it was an Ollie thing and it was good.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and flicked through his messages, not noticing me as I watched his beautifully, angled profile. I could make out his long eyelashes as his eyes flickered across the screen and his tongue swept out subtly as he concentrated. He suddenly planted the phone onto the coffee table and turned to me, making me jump and look away.

'What's up?' he asked. 'You're quiet.'

'I'm just a little tired, I guess,' I lied, saying the first thing that spun off my tongue.

'You wanna' do this tomorrow night instead?' he questioned.

I immediately shook my head. 'Of course not! I wanna' eat enchiladas, drink beer and watch Scream!'

He cackled triumphantly and clapped his hands as the timer pinged in the kitchen. 'Oh, they're ready!'

'That was quicker than ten minutes,' I chuckled, relaxing on the sofa as he got up.

'I calculated my cooking time in line with what I have observed your shower and pyjama timing to usually be,' he informed me, as he crossed the room to the door.