The earth is somehow off kilter. Past, present and future blend and overlap. Strange people come into and out of my life. An old love shows up with a girlfriend, another with his wife. The look of fear and hate in those women's eyes when they gaze into mine. A man looks at me from across the room, our eyes lock and simultaneously lips tilt up in a smile of recognition, though we've never met, and I am sure he's in a future I can't yet fathom.
Another man fixates on me and the stalking begins. I've been here before. It feels like deja vu. I've dreamed of so many men; ones I've loved, ones who have loved and lusted after me, ones who have hated me (they all do sooner or later), ones who have been obsessed, who have stalked me, made threats...abused. I wake up in the mornings sweating...
I feel it...his eyes on me! I know he's there. I feel him watching and waiting. There's a shift in the universe and once again I'm faced with my past...a past I must make amends for, but can't. The people I've hurt are coming like mice from the sewers to pick pieces of my flesh from my living body, while the stalker waits patiently, patiently... If I run, I might rush headlong into his arms. If I stay where I am, I will surely be eaten alive. What do I do? Who do I turn to? What would you do?
Do I trust the future? Peck, peck, peck...do I feel it? Do I feel the past devouring me slowly, slowly...? My mind flashes with visions of the stranger's eyes and his smile. Do I dare jump with my arms outstretched and hope against hope that he's real and doesn't let me fall or do I allow the present to suck me into its vacuum where the past will destroy me and the stalker waits?
There is no atonement. Nothing I do can right all the wrongs, all the pain I've caused. Dare I trust the unknown and believe in the stranger? Again, what would you do?
Everything seems perfect when Ebony meets Chresanto - but is falling in love around secrets even possible?
*****
True love can be scary when you're still hurt and disappointed by past relationships. So when Ebony and Chresanto first meet, they both feel like what they have is too good to be true. But between vindictive exes and dangerous relatives threatening to pull them apart, they still can't escape the sinful feelings growing between them. Will they be able to trust each other and learn to love again - or will they give up in the face of their dark pasts, before things even get real?
« One plus one is equal to two
But me and you, we are equals to one. » - Me & U by Bracket
Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of sexual activity and violence, and mentions suicide, sexual assault and sexual abuse, which may be triggering for some readers.
[[word count: 300,000-350,000 words]]