Forbidden Desires (Ominis x Sharp x MC)

Chapter 14 - The Sallows

TW - Family abuse, toxic relationships.

Anne closes the door to Solomon's room and prowls into the lounge, circling Ominis as if he were her prey. She makes her way to the kitchen table and leans against it to face Ominis who is perched on the edge of the sofa rather awkwardly. "Is he ok?" Ominis croaks.

Anne's expression turns sour. "Don't pretend to care Ominis," she mutters calmly, "it isn't a good colour on you." Anne crosses her arms as she turns to look out the window towards Sebastian and Juliet who are sitting atop a nearby hill. "I've advised him to go to Black and get her expelled."

Ominis leaps to his feet, jumping to Juliet's defence more abruptly than he should have. "Anne, you can't," he protests, stumbling towards her. His hand quickly found her shoulder but just as quickly fell limp beside him as Anne avoided his touch.

"I've already made up my mind, I need to do what's right for my family," she continues sternly.

"What's right for your family?" Ominis questions. "Have you seen Sebastian lately? He's never been happier."

"Seb doesn't know what's best for him," Anne retorts. "I gave her a chance, for him, but look what good that did."

"Juliet's the only person he's opened up to since you left. This would destroy him," He pleads. Ominis senses an irreparable rift forming between them as the sound of her light footsteps retreats from him. Anne's once familiar presence was once again becoming foreign to him; the lingering smell of her hair acting as a bitter taunt. "Please Anne, I know you don't care what I think, but think about your brother."

"I need to do what's right for my family," she repeats through gritted teeth from the sofa. "I don't expect you to understand that."

A thick silence creeps between the bitter pair and Ominis bows his head, almost in shame. At one point in their relationship, the occasional shared silence had been welcomed as a symbol of how comfortable the pair were together, but now, the silence only highlighted how their relationship was crumbling before them. Ominis leans back onto the table knocking a pile of unopened letters onto the floor as his hand collides with them. Ignoring Anne's loud scoff, he silently locates his wand and bends down to pick them up, trying to ignore the lump in his throat as he realises the unread letters are all addressed to Anne from himself.

"Do you remember when you first told me you loved me?" Ominis asks, breaking the silence as he unlovingly throws the letters back on the table. Anne rolls her eyes with a sharp shudder as if the memory was a deeply painful one, but Ominis continues regardless of the cold reception.

"It was during the summer heatwave if you remember, and we snuck out to the Black Lake, just me and you. I didn't want to go in at first, but you held my hand and pulled me in with you. I was absolutely terrified," he lets out a small chuckle at the memory. "I held onto you so tightly as we swam out further, I don't think I've ever screamed so much in my life."

He brushes his hand through his hair, taking a moment to dwell in the fond memory. "And then, before I knew it, it wasn't so scary anymore. The screams turned to laughter... so much laughter." An enormous smile creeps across his face. "In fact, we almost drowned if you remember because we were laughing so hard. Then, you stopped trying to push me off you and you pulled me closer instead. You kissed me so softly, still smiling if I remember correctly and right there you finally told me that you loved me back. I have never felt happier than I did at that moment."

"What's your point?" Anne bites at him, clearly not feeling as fondly nostalgic as her sentimental boyfriend.

With a deep breath to calm himself, Ominis continues. "Well after we kissed a few more times, you noticed Sebastian standing on the shore, watching the entire thing unfold. He must have followed us down there not wanting to miss out on the fun and he was so, so mad. Mad at me for kissing his sister and mad at you for kissing his best friend. Weeks must have gone by before he started talking to us again." Ominis makes his way towards Annes scent, taking a hesitant seat next to her on the sofa. "But eventually, he stopped ignoring us and finally forgave us. Do you remember what he said to us?" Anne remains silent. "He said that he would give us both a second chance if we promised that we were doing this for the right reasons, that we were doing it because we loved each other."