Chapter 3

 

Chapter 3

 

 

            In an instant I realized why I’d felt so good about things, he’d been there close to me all this time, watching me and waiting for the perfect moment to make his move. I felt like nothing in the world could bring me down from the high I was experiencing now just being in his presence. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his as he stepped a little closer and then swept me into his arms, his lips crushing mine, so familiar and warm.

            When he finally let go and took a small step back without removing his arms from my waist, I tried to search my mind for a reason why that shouldn’t have happened, but couldn’t come up with anything.

            “Why are you here?” I asked, still dazed by his presence and the kiss.

            He scratched the back of his head and looked at the ground, the way he did when he was nervous, while he got his thoughts together.

            “I can’t stay away from you Saydie, It’s just too hard, I know you want us to have time away from each other to think and you want me to be okay with everything about you but I cannot handle being away from you for another day. This last year has been absolute torture.” He replied with so much passion that I couldn’t help but believe him.

            “Please Saydie, let’s at least be friends, I know It’s going to take time before you believe that I can accept all of you but I need you in my life, please…” he begged, kissing me gently again, “Please, I love you.”

            I found that I couldn’t say no and I didn’t want to. This was exactly why I had told him we needed to stay away from each other. I knew that if I didn’t do it then, I’d never be able to walk away, every second in his presence had weakened my resolve and it had taken everything I had to do what I felt was the right thing.

            Right now I didn’t care what my reasons had been for staying away from him, or that he hadn’t fully accepted that I was a demon yet; I was never going to be away from him again. I’d worry about the rest later.

            “I love you too.” I said quietly before he pulled me into his arms again and crushed his lips on mine.

 

            “You look absolutely irresistible in that suit.” He whispered seductively into my ear a little later while we were dancing. People around us were staring in disbelief and I was sure that Rhys and I looked like we’d never been apart. That was certainly how I felt, like everything was right with the world and nothing had ever gone wrong. My heart had found its way back into my chest and was pounding with excitement, pushing the blood up to my face as we danced the night away.

            “It was Flan’s idea.” I replied smiling up at him.

            “She should dress you more often then.” He suggested, running his fingertips up and down my spine, causing me to shiver delicately.

            “You have no idea how much I missed you.” He said, suddenly sounding a little hoarse.

            “I missed you too, but let’s just enjoy the night and talk about this tomorrow; I’m not so sure that I’ll be this reasonable about you being around once I’m sober.”

            “Then I’ll say this while you’re drunk so that you don’t argue. I love you more than my own life Saydie Mason; I will never, ever let you walk away from me again. I will fight my way through the depths of hell to keep you by my side and I will-” he lifted my chin with his finger so that he was looking directly into my eyes, “accept you, just the way you are. You and I are forever, we both know that and I’m never going to give that up, I’m going to marry you Saydie, just like I promised, the second you’re ready.”

            I had no argument and only nodded my agreement before resting my head against his chest and closing my eyes; enjoying the feeling of having him in my arms while I wasn’t sober enough to consider how much of my resolve I’d just given up. I’d always known that he would fight for me and now that he was here I couldn’t tell him to leave my side, let alone to leave my life. I was happy again, almost unbearably so, and even I wasn’t dumb enough to try to force myself through the separation again.

            He was mine and I was his, I finally did believe that he would eventually come to accept me; he wouldn’t have shown up and declared himself to me otherwise. We never let go of each other the rest of the night, we swam, danced, ate and drank side by side, always holding hands if we weren’t wrapped in each other’s arms. Despite the confusion, our friends seemed just as happy as we were that things were working out.

            The only people who knew the real reason for the breakup were Rhys, Flan and I, everyone else just thought that we’d had some irreconcilable differences, leaving them all abashed over the sudden breakup.

            As the party carried on into the wee hours of the morning, people began to slowly filter out, saying their goodbyes and heading home. Those who were unable to drive were offered a place to sleep in the house and a few people had even brought sleeping bags and just laid them out on the expansive lawn beyond the pool.

            Overall the party had been a great success in more ways than one. I eventually caught up with Flan who looked genuinely surprised to see Rhys by my side.

            “Hey there witchy woman.” He said to her and she raised an eyebrow at him.

            “Not that I’m complaining, since Saydie appears to be happier than she’s ever been in her life, but what are you doing here?”

            “You’re the psychic, you don’t know?” he retorted.

            “I guess I should have expected that you’d hear about the party since I invited all of your friends.” She smiled at him. “I don’t see everything though, last minute decisions are hard to see coming.” She raised an eyebrow at him before walking away to join Hadley in a sleeping bag.

            “Do you want to sleep in my room?” I asked and he nodded silently, allowing me to lead the way upstairs. I left his side only to change out of my suit and take a quick shower before pulling on some shorts and a tank top and sliding into bed beside him.

            “Thanks for taking me back.” He whispered in the darkness.

            “Thank me if I still feel the same way when I wake up.” I replied honestly and he chuckled.

            “You’re not going to get rid of me even if you don’t feel the same way.” I didn’t answer at first, I didn’t know what to say.

            Before I finally drifted off, I remembered mumbling, “Thanks for coming back.” Slipping off the edge of consciousness and sleeping peacefully in his arms again.

 

            I woke to the sun shining brightly through the curtains that I’d forgotten to close when I went to bed. I groaned and turned away from the light, rolling into something very solid that spoke.

            “Hung over?” he asked, smiling as my mouth fell open and I stopped dead.

For a moment all I could do was stare at him in disbelief, sorting through my memories of last night to remember what he was doing here.

            “This is a dream isn’t it? I’m still sleeping?” I asked and he chuckled.

            “No you’re not asleep, I wouldn’t be surprised if your head hurt so bad you couldn’t see straight though.”

            “I don’t get hangovers except from wine.” I said, not even sure why I was explaining it to him. “You’re not supposed to be here.” I said pointedly.

            “Actually, yes I am, you invited me to sleep with you and here I am.” I struggled to remember what had happened but only got bits and pieces.

            While I sorted my thoughts, I realized that he looked different. His face was thinner, he looked tired and worn out, as I took in the rest of him I realized that all of him was thinner, his muscles didn’t look quite right under his skin, like he’d been working out but still lost weight at the same time.

            I reached out and touched his face, hardly daring to believe that he was really there. I hadn’t noticed the night before but our separation had clearly taken its toll on him.

            “You look…” I struggled to find a word that wouldn’t be insulting. “Tired.” I finished weakly and he smiled at me.

            “You don’t have to lie Saydie, I’m more than aware that I look like hell, I told you that I couldn’t stay away from you anymore. I felt like it was killing me, I honestly don’t know how I made it this long before breaking down and begging you to take me back.” I cringed away from the pained look in his eyes, knowing that I’d put it there.

            “I really thought I was doing the best thing for us both.” I said lamely.

            “I know you did and that’s why I waited until I couldn’t stand it anymore to come to you. Looks like I picked a good time to show up, you’re easily convinced of things when you’re drunk.”

            I blushed a vivid red, “I’m sure you were more than happy to take advantage of my inebriation.” I accused.

            He brushed the back of his fingers across my cheek lovingly, “It certainly made things easier.”

            “This doesn’t change the fact that I need certain things if I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you.” I said firmly, pulling away and trying to get a grip on myself.

            He sighed, “I know and I’m working on it but living without you isn’t an option Say, no matter what comes along with you, I need you here with me. That makes me believe that no matter what, I can be ok with all of you because being without you is not an option. I have to be okay with who you are because I’d die without you.” He spoke so vehemently, like he was doing everything he could to force me to believe him.

            Every fiber in my being did believe him and I was surprised to find that I wasn’t surprised at this. Flan had been telling me all along that it would work out, I was the one who hadn’t believed enough to just let things go the way they were intended to go. In hindsight I saw every mistake I’d made now that I was looking at him and I felt heartbreakingly sorry for all the time we’d wasted.

            Then he counteracted my thoughts, “You needed what you needed though, something that I couldn’t give at the time and I don’t blame you, I just hope that now you can start to see that I’ll really get there, it’ll take a little time but I’ll find a way to be good with everything.”

            When I finally got myself together again all I could say was, “I’m sorry.” and I found myself wrapped in his arms.

            “Never apologize for doing what you felt was right Saydie, not to me, you don’t need to.” He said, pressing his lips to my hair.

            “I just feel like this is all my fault, I was so ready for you to say you wouldn’t leave and I was too stubborn to just wait things out. We could have still been happy all this time-” I was cut off by his hand pressed gently to my mouth.

            “You did what you needed to do, there’s no fault and no blame. We love each other and we’re both here now, that’s all that matters.”

            “You’re way too understanding, this would be easier if you yelled at me.” I said feeling even more guilty about how gracious he was being, I’d nearly destroyed him with my selfishness, yet here he was declaring his love for me.

            “I would never yell at you.” He replied sounding a little insulted.

            I sighed, “I know.”

            We were quiet for a moment before he pulled my hands up where he could see them, “You took the ring off?”

            I looked down at our hands, anything to avoid looking at his face. “I felt it was time to move on, I just took it off a few days ago. I guess I was right, it was time to move on and be with you again.” I tried to smile but it didn’t work very well.           

            “It’s just a ring Saydie, it’s not like you removed your love for me from your heart.” I shook my head, “No it’s not, I could never do that. I felt like I’d removed my heart from my chest when I took it off though.” I said sadly.

            “It’s okay, I’m here now.” And I knew that he was right this time. “How’s your heart?”

I smiled genuinely this time, “It’s perfect, how’s yours?”

            “It’s in your hands, where it’s always been, so you tell me.” He replied and I laid my head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat for a moment.

            “I think it’s good.” I finally said.

            “Just good? I think it’s more like great or phenomenal or outstanding, unparalleled even.” I laughed at the list of synonyms, “Okay it’s all of those things, it’s a sensational heart.”

            He smiled, seemingly happy with my response. “I missed you so much.”

            “I missed you too.” I said pressing my lips to his…

 

            “Saydie? Wake up we need to get ready for the party.” I heard Flan’s voice coming from the doorway and rolled over to look at her.

            “The party? Isn’t it over? Where’s Rhys?” I sat up and stared at her, hardly daring to believe that I’d just dreamed the entire party.

            Flan came to sit beside me, “You had the dream didn’t you?”

            I stared at her, “The dream?”

            She sighed, “I’ve been waiting for you to have a dream that would change your heart. You need him Saydie.” She looked at me apologetically, I knew she didn’t want to push the issue but she couldn’t help what she saw. “He’ll come back to you, all you have to do is ask.”

            “But, I need him to accept me…” I replied lamely, knowing she was right, I couldn’t do this anymore, I felt like it was eating me alive from the inside.

            “He will accept you Saydie, you just have to accept that it will come in his own time. The supernatural isn’t easy for any person to accept but the fact that he still wants to be with you says a lot, don’t you think?”

            “Lucky for you to say, the love of your life is supernatural too.” I said grudgingly and she laughed.

            “You made that happen though, who knows what might have happened if you hadn’t told us about each other. Can’t you let me make this happen for you? Just trust me Saydie, please.”

            I had very little will to argue, that dream had seemed so real and now I wanted it to be real so badly.

            “What do I need to do?” I asked, finally giving in.

            “Just go talk to him, your heart will do the rest.”

            I smiled at her, “You’re so cheesy Flan.” She smiled back and patted my hand.

            “But I’m also right.” She gave me a knowing look and stood up.

            “Any chance you could give me a hint on his whereabouts?” I asked, giving her a sly smile.

She shook her head at me as if to scold me but closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. “He’s at home.” She said almost as if she was bored.

I jumped up from the bed and threw my arms around her, “Thank you Flan, I appreciate it.”

            “Thank me when you prove me right.” She replied wryly.

I was already headed out the door, I didn’t even care about changing out of my pajamas, when I stopped.

            “Do you need help with anything? Or are Hadley and Jessie going to be here in a few hours to make the fruit cocktail?”

            She stared at me in disbelief, “How did you know that Hadley and Jessie are coming?”

            “It was in my dream, apparently you’re not the only one who sees things.” I laughed and skipped to the stairs. “Oh and thanks for the stuff to make Jager Bombs, to help me feel better!” I called behind me, catching a glimpse of her standing there open mouthed as I raced down the stairs.

            I grabbed my purse and keys and just happened to look up to see lights and decorations sitting out while I was sliding on my flip flops, they were just waiting to be put up. I figured I could do her one favor after the one she was doing for me. I hurried to the back patio, concentrated for a moment and the decorations were up, trays were out and covered, all she had to do was wait for the cocktail and the food Julie was bringing, the meat would wait until the party started so my work here was done.

            As I climbed into my car, I heard the sound of Flans feet on the stairs, crossing the house to the patio door, opening it and seeing everything exactly where she wanted it.

            “Thank you!” she called, knowing that I could hear her.

            You’re welcome I thought, knowing she’d hear that better than if I responded aloud. I sped down the driveway and into the street, knowing good and well that I should slow down but I needed to get to him as quickly as I could. I felt like my life depended on seeing him again immediately, and I felt something that I hadn’t felt in a long time as I sped toward his apartment.