The Arrangement: It Led Me To Love

Chapter 30 - Laurene's POV

I cannot believe I was so foolish as to believe that the people harassing me were full of empty threats. I have only had one message since Poppy's accident, warning me that if I do not listen to them in the future worse things will happen. The broken sadness that enveloped me has begun to fade into a fiery anger, but the guilt is still clouding my feelings, making me feel helpless. I wish I could just get rid of the problem on my own, but I cannot just uproot and leave Ellison. I need him as much as he needs me. My feelings for him have rocketed to the sky with the way he has been looking after me since Poppy's accident. He treats me like a delicate piece of glass, tending to my every need and even sleeping with me when the nightmares get agonisingly awful.

However much I am falling in love with Ellison, and ache to be close to him, I have to protect my family and friends. If anything else happens to someone I love, I do not think I could bear it. The people who are threatening me could be murderers. After attacking innocent Poppy, who would not harm a fly, I cannot put anything past them. Poppy could well be an angel. She is vegetarian, loves animals more then her own life, and refused to get a mobile phone before she was sixteen out of fear of hurting bumblebees. She is also a benefactor of many Animal and Woman's rights organisations. You cannot get purer then that. What is worse is the police have not been able to identify the intruders yet, which means no justice for Poppy or peace for me.

That is why I cannot comprehend why someone would go after a girl like her. If they wanted to hurt someone then they should have come straight to me. Messing with my friends is sick and sadistic. They also must know what they are doing, as hurting my friends hurts me more mentally more then any physical pain they could inflict on me. The problem is, is that they must be experienced in blackmail, because my mind is becoming corrupted with guilt and I know that any demands they make, I will have to follow them through. I am being forced to play a dangerous game. Moreover, I am not winning.

We have had three days and nights of storms, which has cast down a solemn mood onto the household, leaving everybody feeling downhearted. To be honest, the gloomy weather reflects my emotions, and as I can hear the wind wailing and the tears of heaven sinking down to the Earth, it is an all too real reminder of my predicament. There is no distraction from my unbearable emotions. I remember when the storm first broke. The rain fell like an ocean thrown from the sky. It crashed into the town, splattered off the sidewalks, and formed instant rivers that raced along the gutters and overwhelmed the drains. It was as if it was trying to drown out the world. It scared me endlessly. Ellison stayed with me the whole night, soothing my frazzled nerves just by his soft touch and caress of his masculine voice.

Ellison and I both jumped awake with the first roar of thunder, luring us to the window like a siren. Peering outside, suddenly a fork of lightning burst, brilliant and buzzing with a magnificent electricity, flashing majestically through the groaning mountain of clouds. Whistling and shrieking, the wind raged through the night, like an angered bear. Thunder rippled; the noise enveloped the river and its surroundings and the trees nearby were sleek with torrents of rain cold rainwater. We did not go back to sleep after that.

I thought I was going to die.

Now, three days later, the tormenting, howling winds have abruptly silenced, and the slicing, cracking of the sky due to the white – gold lightning has ceased. Instead, the gentle pitter-patter of the rain taps upon my window seal with the force of a baby, and the sky is a mundane concrete grey. Wisps of fragile wind swirl the fallen leaves around, coaxing them to where they shall lie for eternity.

I am lying in bed, thinking about random things right now. The long red curtains hiding the big window have a slight gap, allowing the dusky grey light to flood in, highlighting some of the objects around my room. The rich smell of coffee has drifted into the room, along with the tantalizing smell of fried bread and eggs, calling out to my taste buds to take a bite. Begrudgingly, I haul myself out of the warmth and comfort of my plush bed, with a mountain of pillows and fluffy blankets cossetted around me, and pull on a robe to make my way to the kitchen.