Silhouettes of America - Book 1 of The ARMOR Series [Completed]

23: Cursed | Luke

Current Time: Friday, 22:45 EST
Current Location: In the backyard of Luke's House

The skies are dark, the night is young. The moon is nowhere in sight; nothing to replace the sun tonight yet, even in the darkest of times, the stars twinkle so people may find where their heart truly resides.

There's nothing as painful as finding out the truth about your life; let alone the truth was buried for years. That night, Luke asked Avery to watch the stars with him outside. He made sure Colbie and Dino are asleep so no one would interrupt this moment he desperately longed for.

They lied on the grass facing opposite directions. He was facing North while Avery faced South. Their heads lay next to each other, so they may hear what the other person was saying.

"The stars are lovely," Avery remarked. "They remind me how vast the Universe is."

He gave out a soft laugh. "Before, a killer. Now, an astronomer. What do you really wanna be, Avery?"

"You tell me, what do you want me to be, Luke?" Avery retaliated, turning to look at him. He saw the emptiness in her two blue orbs, like she's dying inside but tried to hide it. For an 18 year-old, Avery has suffered too much. She has seen the worst and bumped into one of the most dangerous men in America's land. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He was born from a decent family; whom both parents had noble jobs. He never encountered trouble, only that he was looking for it. But the woman beside him seemed to be trouble's favorite target.

"Fine. I understand there's no way you'd want me to gnaw on other people's thoughts, singer," Avery said, making him revert to the present. He's been thinking too much. Her pain - it's tearing him on the inside. He's affected.

"You know what," Avery gasped. "Sometimes, I used to think, what does the world want of me? I've been punished, for doing nothing, only that my father is an assassin. I've been chased by people I wasn't familiar with and now they wanted me dead. Sometimes, I would think that it wasn't only Aurora who got the witch's curse from birth. It was me too. I was cursed, even before the day I was born."

"Then that makes two of you. Aurora and Avery, AA like battery," he tried to lighten up the mood.

"But she's only fiction, and she lives in books. She can't feel a single pain. But me, I'm human. I can feel the scorching heat of the fire that's trying to burn me alive."

"I'll help you get through the pain of living," he said. He gazed deep into her eyes, trying to find connection. "You see, I'm inlove with you for the short time we've been together. Won't you reconsider my feelings?"

She tried to meet his eyes, held her gaze for a moment, then looked back to the stars. "Okay. I'll think about it, Luke."

"Whoa. Anyways, there's a festival coming in the fall of Colorado Springs. It's called The Lantern Fest where thousands of people gather together to light off and fly lanterns. Would you come with me, then?"

Avery snickered. "Sure."

"Perfect. Maybe that night you can tell me if it's a yes or a no."

"What a man," Avery pinched him on the side and he groaned in pain. He striked back by tickling her and they both died of laughter.

In his peripheral vision, he saw a shadow leaving.

Colbie had been watching us in the dark.

**

Oh, do you think Colbie is jealous?
Watch out!