Amidst Crimson Kisses

Chapter Twenty Seven: A Night In The Hereafter

Asher's POV

I know how death lies beyond the countless waves, shifting in the tide, and sweeping over the gleam of the ocean, reflecting in the whirlpool of my existence. It was a split second, but I know a glimpse of what's over the horizon as the hereafter bled in the water. And with it a stream of water pumped into my lungs, and in my passing everything connected. I knew of the hurricane when it was a thunderstorm, and I remembered wrestling with the wind to avoid another unsolicited downfall. Then I understood what lies above the endless night; it was the arms of forlorn, but I never expected the sea to become our tomb.

It was a quarter past midnight when I saw an enigma surging through Persian blue ripples, casting an enchantment over the deep blue. I knew my decimation was in the heavens, but then I unearthed an abundance of stardust disentangled in my last moments of lamenting. Afterward, it wasn't long before I discovered love withering from my soul as brunette strands fell over a galaxy of freckles. It drove me insane just thinking about the infinite ways I wanted to disobey my heart. I think my perception was tainted from the moment my eyes had captured her golden-brown hair. I once had a notion I was a sleuth, but even now I can't differentiate from a past I've grown to blind to see.

"What if you were always my lighthouse and my first love?" Margo affirmed as she attempted to question a statement. "What if we were drawn to one another because fate likened our hearts unto a harbor? What if we are the best thing to blossom out of chaos? Would you deny our worlds of each other even if you know I make you feel more alive than Juliet ever could because I accept you for who you are? How could you walk away from me when our souls are one as the moon and the stars?"

"What if our betrayal is only a testament to the enduring nature of God?" I asked as her gaze faltered. "Think about the sun and the moon and how they obey the commandments of the Lord. Then there's humanity that spills blood without reason and who falls in love in every season even if their past relationship had no reason to expire. Nothing except for a wandering eye and a thirst people can't seem to quench outside of heaven. I acknowledge what we have together in each other's embrace, but I will always love, Juliet."

The bitterness behind my words formed in my Adam's apple, and suddenly I could taste my ignorance before the pungent odor even stained my nostrils with folly. The aftertaste clung to my tongue and held my stomach in knots. I can't help but think that this mere instance is we're I betrayed Juliet and my heart the most. If I were in court, I'd sentence myself to life for falling in love all over again, but this time with a phantom. I wanted to embrace reality, but Juliet was the only person I searched the cosmos to find because my soul refused to slumber.

"How can you love her when she constantly forces you to be someone you'll never be, Ash?" Margo screams as tears threaten to tip over the edge of her eyelashes. "She expects you to walk with pride, dress like you deserve to be with her, and if you even think about defying her, she'll threaten you by hinting at throwing Andre out on the streets to his abusive father. Tell me if she loves you so much, then why does she have so much leverage over you?"

"I love Juliet because she saw who I could become even when the entire world wasn't paying attention," I whispered, wondering if anything she said mattered to the stronghold Juliet possessed in my mind. "Everyone else saw a boy that belonged on the streets rooting through garbage with his brother for his next meal, but Juliet didn't see a degenerate. She saw a boy entertained with the chaos of the world, but unwilling to partake because no one wanted a child way past his expiration date. I was a fool who didn't understand the craftiness lurking in the moonlight, but Juliet understood it completely."

"Ash, do you even realize how insane it makes you too constantly follow someone that only loves the gleam of their reflection in your eyes? You have to understand Juliet only desires you because she's never witnessed your strength blooming in another man's bosom. You're the reason she's perfect! Can't you see how she acts around you or when she lets you see moments she feels will make her more authentic in your eyes? It's all an illusion, and you're Juliets last act."