Every Rose Has It's Thorn

Every Rose Has It's Thorn Pt 14

Word Count 1,289

My bare feet padded against the cold tiles as I walked towards the kitchen. I had done my best to make myself look almost presentable but laziness had gotten the best of me. I was bone-tired, every inch of my body throbbed with the imminence of Colson’s departure.

  I made my way down to the basement, where the holding cells were kept. A strange air of déjà vu consumed me as I walked down the narrow corridor. Colson had been removed from my room early this morning whilst I was still sleeping. I presumed it had been Rook that had collected him – given how quiet he’d been. Now, Colson had been moved to a supposedly secure cell beneath Slim's tower. I held my hand in front of the keypad to my left and allowed a short burst of energy to swell from my fingertips. I flinched as the lights above me exploded in a flash and glanced around to see if there was anyone nearby that would have noticed.

“Suppose I’ll try that again,” I muttered, raising my hands once again and closing my eyes. I tried my best to focus my energy purely on the security keypad and as the power slipped from me, gentler this time, the keypad sparked and the door opened. I went inside, closing the door behind me as quietly as I could.

The cell Colson was in was almost identical to the glass one he’d been in last time – yet it looked sturdier, whether that was my imagination or not, I wasn’t sure. He was sitting in the far corner, his legs spread in front of him, his eyes shielded by his heavy lids.

“I shouldn’t be surprised you up and left before I woke up this morning, you are a so-called villain but hey, give a girl a goodbye kiss will you?” I said as I reached the glass, leaning against it as I watched him turn his face and open his eyes. Colson’s lips lifted into that mischievous smirk I was all too familiar with and I felt as if I could melt then and there.

“You were exhausted,” He mused, standing up and walking towards me. For a moment, as Colson’s eyes met mine, it felt as if the glass between us didn’t even exist. We were just two normal people, having a normal conversation, wishing we could touch the other.

“So, just in case you think I’m some crazy stalker or something, I just want to let you know that what I’m about to tell you was absolutely, 100%, not my idea,” I babbled and Colson’s face twisted in confusion. I took a deep breath and tried to stop the words from spilling out of me at 100 miles per hour.

“They’re sending me to Cleveland with Rook. And you.” Colson’s face didn’t change – at all. He looked just as confused and curious as he had done a few moments ago. Until he didn’t. His brows lowered and his mouth tightened into a sharp, straight line. He spun on his heel and began pacing.

“Why would they send you to Cleveland?” He asked, turning to look at me once again. I suddenly felt insecure – which was ridiculous considering what I had managed to live through the last few months. But Colson’s expression was different to usual, I felt significantly smaller, weaker.

“They said I’m on the radar now, that I’m not safe here. Rook thinks he knows someone who can help me learn to control my power and teach me about where I come from. I tried to say it was too late but…I can’t help but wonder if they’re right. Maybe I never belonged here, maybe I could actually be useful somewhere like Cleveland.”

Colson laughed, a low, trembling sound that filled me with dread. He wasn’t happy about this, at all.

“You think it’s a bad idea?” I asked cautiously, instinctively folding my arms across my stomach as if I were preparing for a blow.

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Colson snapped.

“Can I ask why?” I questioned, managing to find some strand of courage. At that moment I felt as if Colson’s eyes were about to rip me apart; shred me into tiny pieces with just a single look.

“You are happy about this decision, this choice that has been made for you because you think there’s a chance you’ll be with me,” He yelled, his voice echoing off the glass as he moved closer – so close in fact that his cool breath misted it slightly.

“I’m not an idiot, I know there’s a chance you won’t be there.”

“A chance?” Colson hissed. “You foolish girl, I am to be executed. Don’t you understand?”

I blinked desperately as I tried to halt the tears in my eyes, “You don’t know that yet, Colson.” My voice was so quiet and steady I was sure it would be enough to calm him and to an extent, I was right. His face softened as he shook his head.

“A prison, then? That is no life,” He whispered.

“What do you want me to say?”

Colson let out a long breath as he leaned his forehead against his glass barricade, “There is nothing to be said, Y/N.”

“You know what this is?” My voice surprised him, anger dripped from each word. “This is nothing but your pride. You fucked up, Colson and now you have to deal with the consequences, just like me. But you’re not worried about that, are you? You’re more concerned about me seeing you killed or imprisoned, you’re scared that I’ll think you’re weak. But this is the real weakness, the true fragility. After everything that’s happened between us, you’ll be damned before you let me see you as anything less than a God.”

With Colson left standing astounded behind the walls of the glass cell, I turned and made my way towards the door. Every inch of my being prayed that his voice would bellow out behind me – stop me from storming out of the room in haste. Yet he remained silent and I could feel him as he buried himself inside my head but for the first time, as the metal door slammed shut behind me, so did the door to my mind.

*************************

“You were always mine, you know that,” Colson stated, his voice as hard and confident as ever. His words caught me off guard and I stuttered over how I was supposed to answer that.

“I would never change what I did that night, I would change how I handled things following that night but…bringing you into my home, it was the best goddamn decision I ever made.”

Without thinking about it, I threw my arms around him, my moistened eyes clenched shut in an effort to halt the tears from falling. Slim patted me lightly on the back before moving me away from Colson.

“You let anything happen to her, I’ll ram that hammer so far up your ass you’ll taste metal.” I concealed a giggle as Rook nodded in reply.

“As always, it’s been a pleasure,” Rook smiled and I made my way over to the two of them, my eyes briefly locking with Colson's.

“Suits you, the whole silent thing,” I quipped in his direction.

“Careful, little bird,” Colson’s voice echoed against my skull and I did my best to keep it from showing on my face.

“I may be shackled but I can still make you scream,” I cleared my throat and turned my attention to Rook.

“Shall we go?” I asked, my voice a few octaves higher than it had been moments earlier, causing Colson to grunt with laughter.