Immortal Lovers {Run 2}

23. Betrayal

"Rosie, take a deep breath and try to stay calm," Grace insisted, her eyes following me as I paced up and down in her living room. "Tell me what happened again."

"Samuel, he...was there, right in front of me. It was only a dark figure, but every inch of me knew it was him. I don't know how, but it was him. Definitely."

"What about Luke? Did he see him?"

"I-I don't know. Maybe. I was too busy trying to stop my daughter from getting anywhere near that monster."

Grace thought for a moment. "And you said Luke was being attacked?"

I nodded as my pacing slowed down a little. "He was all curled up and in pain, but nothing was there. He's been acting strange and distant for a little while now." I paused. "It didn't stop him from using his power on me though."

"Power?"

"Luke has this power. He can control people...with his mind."

Grace looked stunned. "Really?"

I nodded and finally stood still. "He looked me in the eye and it was as though he was the most important person in the room. I just had to listen to what he was about to say, and as soon as he told me to go, my body moved before I could even think about it. It was hypnotising."

"Wow," she murmured, leaning back into the sofa. "I never knew that."

"He told us that he had control of it now," I said. "I think he was trying to protect me and Kayla. He demanded that we leave and that was suddenly all I wanted to do and I knew I would put up a fight if anyone tried to stop me."

"How is he now?" Grace asked.

I shrugged and sat down on the sofa next to her. "I haven't had the courage to go back there. Clearly whatever that figure was is linked to Luke in some way. I have to protect my daughter at all costs."

Grace nodded. "Well you can both stay here as long as you need to."

"Thank you," I murmured.

She smiled and we hugged for a few moments. My eyes drifted over her shoulder to a sleeping Kayla in her cot. She had worn herself out last night, crying and fighting against my hold consistently. It was as though she had forgotten who I was. All she wanted to do was get away from me. I ran here last night with a few bags I had packed and a screaming Kayla in her pushchair. Grace opened the door confused and half-asleep. She let us in and set up a bed and brought down the foldable cot she had in case she needed to have Kayla overnight. I spent much of last night trying to calm Kayla down, but all she did was push me away and try walking towards the front door. In the end I had to shut all the doors and just wait until she exhausted herself. It took hours, but eventually she fell asleep and had been having short naps throughout today. She really had worn herself out. I was exhausted too and before I knew it, I had tears in my eyes. I scrunched up my face to try and stop myself from crying, but my tiredness got the better of me. I had to move out of my home in case Samuel was able to reach us there and my husband had been missing for days. No texts or voicemails explaining where he was or why he acted in that way. I knew he was a stubborn man, but I never believed he would abandon his family. I now had to think about what I would do if Samuel somehow tried to get a hold of Kayla again. Only a few months ago he was telling me how lucky Kayla was for having two parents who could raise her unlike ourselves, but they were just words. Nothing more.

I sobbed quietly and Grace held me tighter. All the pent-up emotions inside of me finally let themselves out. My body shook as I cried and cried into Grace's shoulder. It took the weight off of my chest for a few moments, but it didn't make Samuel disappear and my husband come back to his family. I knew I had to fight for those things myself.