The Girl Who Found The Darkness

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty Three

You know how people say that you get over the ones you lose? That, with time, the wounds will heal? They lie.

On the outside, it might seem like you're okay, that you've moved on. But on the inside you never really move on or forget. You'll never truly let go, not if they really meant that much to you.

I have done absolutely nothing for the past month. I just lay in my bed and cry. I lost the will to live the moment Chloe closed her eyes for the last time. Life isn't worth it anymore. We were almost there. We almost escaped. And then David came took it all away again. He took away my last glimmer of hope. And I will never recover.

David tries to get me to eat, but I refuse every time. It's gotten so bad David and Marsa literally have to shove food down my throat so I won't starve to death. I've lost a lot of weight. I don't bathe, either. I just lay in my bed in my grubby, nasty clothes that are now two sizes too big for me and hope to die. I sleep a lot. I guess I'm hoping that one day, I won't wake up. But, unfortunately, I always do.

Eventually, David has enough. He forces me out of my bed and orders me to shower and gives me a fancy light blue dress to put on. As if I'm going anywhere.

I half heartedly take a shower and put the dress on. Marsa combs out my hair, as I'm too numb to even care what I look like at this point. I walk out of my room and down the stairs. I go into the dining room, where there is a small feast before me.

"Isn't it lovely?" a voice says behind me. I turn around and see David in an expensive looking suit. I must say, David sure can clean up.

"David, what is this?" I ask quietly.

"I've decided that since we never got to celebrate Easter, we'd celebrate it today. After lunch, we'll have an Easter egg hunt in the courtyard." I fake a smile and nod.

"That sounds lovely." We sit down and start to eat. Since it's only David and I, and I barely eat anything, we don't eat all of the food. In fact, I wouldn't have eaten anything, but I knew that if I didn't, David would get mad at me.

Eventually, we (meaning David) decide to start the Easter egg hunt. We go to the courtyard and start looking. We look all over the garden and find a bunch of colorful plastic eggs. They all had a candy or chocolate in them and it was almost kind of fun. Almost.

Eventually, we had looked everywhere in the garden and couldn't find anymore.

"I think we got them all." I say, but David shakes his head.

"There's one more." He says.

"Check near the pool." I look at David suspiciously before turning around and heading for the pool.

As I'm walking towards the pool, I notice something floating in the water. It's a small white toy boat. The boat is floating near the edge of the pool, so I reach down and pick it up. I take out the final egg from the boat and study it. The egg is a creamy white color with a band of pearls wrapped around the center.

"Well?" David says behind me, making me jump. I turn around and see David trying to hide a grin.

"Open it." I take off the band of pearls and put it on my wrist so I won't lose it. I slowly open the egg and peer inside it. I gasp and almost drop the egg because of the contents. Inside, there is a simple but beautiful diamond ring.

David gently takes the egg case and gets down on one knee.

"Juliette, I've known you for seven years. I knew the moment I met you that you were special. You helped me through the hardest time in my life. I was falling into a deep dark hole with no escape. But you were the light that brought me back. You saved me. And then, I met you again in London and I knew. I knew you were the one. We have come so far since we first met. You are beautiful. You are the only woman I could ever dream of being with. I love you, Juliette Noelle Stevenson. Will you marry me?"

I knew this was coming. David had said back on New Years that he planned to marry me soon, but I never imagined it to be this soon. Especially since he just killed my best friend like a month ago. Not very good timing, David.

But it's not like I can say no. I mean, I really don't have a choice. If I say no, I can't just leave. I'm stuck here forever. This is going to happen eventually. So what's the point in resisting?

"Yes." I say. David smiles brightly as he slips the ring on my finger. He then hugs me, twirling me around. Then he looks into my eyes and kisses me.

We walk around the garden for a while, talking and kissing. Eventually, we get tired and travel upstairs. We go into my room and settle in my bed.

David wraps his arms around my waist, and I pretend to fall asleep. David leans down slightly, assuming I'm asleep, and whispers in my ear.

"I love you, Juliette. I always have, and I always will." And then he falls asleep.

And, right in that moment, I swear to myself that I will never love or marry David. And, more importantly, I swear to avenge Chloe, no matter the cost.

A/N: Alright, I really like this chapter, because it sets up some pretty cool stuff. AND ALSO!!!!! I'm going to try to finish this by the end of summer, because during the school year, I have like no time to update, as shown by my like 6 month hiatus *nervous laughter*. And yeah. Thank you for the continued support. <3 Julie