HER

CHAPTER 2 Marble and Honey ( LANA)

The first time I met her I was wearing a one piece swimsuit. Not my finest hour I'll admit. It was the first day of summer. Beads of sweat rolled down my back as I sipped a cold beer. The new neighbours pulled into their drive. I smiled. She was breathtaking. Even on a hot day like this she wore a gorgeous summer dress, her makeup completely untouched by the blistering heat.

Frowning in the sun she attempted to come up to me and introduce herself, her voice was soft and sweet. Like marble and honey. Her husband followed suit, I noticed how he tugged harshly at her wrist cutting the conversation short. I saw a flicker of pain cross her eyes as she gritted her teeth. She gave me a small sigh as she walked away.

She hid so much behind that beautiful smile.

I had never seen someone quite like her, a Greek goddess, with a figure to die for and eyes that would melt you. I laughed, she was a heartbreaker.

That night I heard a terrible fight, I could hear muffled screams faintly in the black night. I promised myself that if it happened again. I would go and investigate.

It had been days since I last saw her, I began to worry. I picked around the skin of my fingers until they bled. When she finally did emerge she was littered in faint bruises. I felt my stomach turn as guilt hung heavy on my shoulders.

Although she covered her body in conservative clothing, there was no denying the bruises, you could tell just by the way she walked that it must've been bad.

When I approached her she looked at me so sadly, I felt my heart ache. I asked her if she wanted to come inside for a drink. She very hesitantly agreed.

We sat outside by the pool, agreeing it was too hot to stay indoors. The suns reflection on the blue water bounced off of her face. Creating a siren like tinge to her skin. Her lips were pursed as she let her feet dangle in the cool water, almost child-like. How could anyone hurt her. When I asked her to take her sunglasses off I was shocked. Her eyes were red from crying, the makeup barely hiding the dark bruise and cut cheek. I felt my hand rise touching the outline. Her skin, although broken was soft and ample. Like a battered piece of fruit.

When I finally felt her become comfortable in my presence I asked about the bruises. She lied. I felt so sorry for her that I pretended to believe her. Pretended not to hear the crack in her voice as she spoke or the sharp wince as she moved her legs. I noted that she wouldn't  be wearing her short summer dress for a while.

Before this uncomfortable question she had revealed so much, that she moved here from Britain, that she was born in Greece. That explained the accent. Her husband was originally from here. I smirked as she grew more open and friendly.  She told me her dreams and goals blushing as she did so. After an hour or so of small talk I felt as though we had known each other for years. Old friends or even lovers. I chuckled at this silly thought.

When she got up to leave I wove my fingers into her dark hair, stroking her battered cheek. She leaned into my hand as if she hadn't felt such a gentle touch in years.

"Why don't you leave him?"

"... I can't" She shifted her gaze to the floor.

"Why?!"

Suddenly she stepped back and stuttered that she had to go. Once I had watched her race back to her house I nodded as she gave me a weak smile.

She was so different from Larry.

He had died three years ago. Heart attack. I was a widower at 22.

Larry was so kind, but so much older. My mother had warned me not to marry him, my siblings even begged me. I was so head strong back then. I didn't know what love was. I still don't, not really. I wasn't the type of girl the boys noticed, but I was the girl that he noticed and to me that meant the world. I'll always remember his last words "Glow bright, my darling". He had left me everything. The neighbours gossiped behind my back and avoided me. For good reason. To them I was this poor little girl marrying a millionaire. But the last thing I wanted was sympathy.

After the funeral I lost my mind, that's what the doctors told me. I would lie awake at night, frightened that I was going insane. Listening. Straining to hear voices, scratches in the walls, footsteps... anything.

Only a fool would fall in love with someone as unstable as me.

I'm haunted by his memory.

I see him everywhere. Every minute of everyday. People say to search for the silver lining but all I see are dull grey clouds. Until I met Marina. She was the rainbow that peaked through the clouds. She was the sugar in tea. She was everything. I was falling for her. I was falling for all the little things she did without even noticing. Simple things, like the way she played nervously with a strand of hair, twirling and twisting it between her fingers. Or even the way her eyes lit up as she talked about her ambitions, her cheeks flushed with maybes and what ifs.

What if I had met the right person but at the wrong time I wondered as sleep creeped upon me.

As I slept that night I dreamed of her. I pulled her inside and traced her lips with my finger. She bit her lower lip as I kissed her neck ever so lightly. She let a moan escape as she gripped my waist to steady herself. We stayed like this for a moment. Then she flinched away in realisation.

And just like that she was gone.

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