Evils ✓

Chapter XVII

The roses filled the air with a soothing aroma. The breeze lifted the candlelights upwards, lighting the room up with smoke and warmth. My shirt lifted upwards to the wind of the ceiling fan, leaving my skin bare. My feet trembled underneath him, his warmth pressing against my skin. I leaned forwards, puckering my lips, ready to press my lips against his...

"Penelope."

I shook, launched upwards, and knocked my head on a gentle hand, making the impact less painful than it would have been.

"Are you okay?"

"Uhm..." I stuggled to view where I was. I took a second, practiced breathing, and understood my surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Sydneys room."

My heart pounded, hitting my skull repeatedly. He held my face securely, reassuring me that everything was fine.

"Look, I know what happened earlier was bad, but she's a nice person."

I looked at him, disgusted by his tone. "No she isn't, what are you talking about?"

He glanced around the room, and held his mouth next to my ear.

"They captured my home. I ran here to find you when I found out. I can't go home- I don't have one anymore. I shouldn't have brought you here, I should have brought you back to Salem." He stopped, caught his breath, checked the doors, and opened his mouth. "She has us here because I'm hurt. I want you to leave- now. You need to go back to Salem."

"I can't go back. I can't leave you here to suffer. I don't have anywhere to go back to. I just can't do what you want me to do and I'm sorry. I can't do it because I can't leave this place. I can't because I love you."

I stared at him as softly as I could. I felt my eyes begin to water, and I snuffled the liquid back in. I struggled to lift my lips away from each other, and as I breathed in, I couldn't talk. The air around me blew away. My body felt numb. My eyes stopped blinking. My nose couldn't function. I felt hands cup my cheeks and pull me closer to happiness. My mouth shaped around anothers. My mind's gears broke. I struggled to picture what was actually taking place. I tried gesturing my hands to break me away from this feeling, but all I could do was follow the heat.

Daniel is kissing me.

"Go."

I listened to him. I knew that it was my only option. I jumped out the window, landed on a tree branch, scraped my knee deeper than before, and limped away from him. It might have hurt my feelings, but true love comes at a cost. And that's a cost I was willing to pay.