Cursed (The Devil's Roses #1)

“Have you heard how Jaime is doing?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, I have been meaning to go see her. Have you heard?”

She nodded. “Yesterday I heard that she woke up but that she doesn’t remember anything. She seems to be on the mend, I guess. Kind of creepy, huh—the whole thing?”

I nodded, watching Tommy talk to Shane. His lips were full and thick. He had crooked teeth in the front. He had a very tiny mole on his left cheek, low on his face. None of which the rapist had. Tommy was creepy enough to do a lot of things, but I could never believe him to be that creepy.

The dance was a booming success, not that I had anything to compare it to. My sister appeared to be having a great time with her friends. I worried about Blake though. At one point he made eye contact with me. He looked uncertain of his surroundings, but also of us. I smiled, hoping to reassure him that we were fine. It was a conversation that was eventually going to have to happen, but not right then.

I was starting to feel light-headed and excused myself to go to the bathroom. I couldn’t focus my eyes and I was starting to sweat a little. Shane gave me a worried look, but I shook my head at him and walked toward the bathroom.

Mr. Mac walked toward me, smiling. “Hey kid, you look a little pale. You feeling okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, just still a bit weak, I guess. Who knows how long that’s going to last."

“You’ve had quite the year, haven’t you? Well, take it easy.”

He frowned at me like my dad did sometimes. Usually when I got caught for going along with whatever bad idea my sister had convinced me of.

I walked around the corner to the girl’s bathroom. I barely made it into the bathroom when I started to pass out. I felt a warm breeze and slipped into Aleksander's arms. I couldn’t see him. My world went black.

Everything was dark and calm and then I heard a voice. “Aimee, please wake up. Please or I’m taking you back to the hospital. Please wake up.” I felt my lips curl up into a smile. I could feel his warm touch on my arm. I was safe as long as he was there.

I strained to open my eyes, but the focus took longer than I expected. “Aleks, you're here?” I knew the answer, but I needed to be sure I wasn’t dreaming.

My eyes fuzzed out and then focused on his worried face. “Yeah, I’m here baby. Just hold onto me. Did you drink anything at the dance?”

I shook my head. “Just the punch the Baptists were guarding. It was clean, trust me. Everyone else is fine. I think it’s my liver still. I've been getting sicker and sicker except when I'm with you.”

“I can’t stay any longer. I feel the pull already taking me somewhere else. But I can’t leave you sick like this. None of this should have happened.” His voice was thick with emotion. "This is all my fault. I've made such a mess."

“It's not you're fault. You always make me feel better. Just being near you is enough.” I smiled trying to reassure him.

He closed his eyes and groaned. “Nooooo. Oh no. I’ve done this to you. You’re in liver failure; that’s what’s wrong with you. I am an idiot.”

I shook my head. “No, the doctors said I was fine. My eyes aren’t yellow and my skin is only slightly yellow. I have energy, not much, but some. I would be weak and sick all the time if I was in liver failure.”

He shook his head. “As long as I’m here, you’re going to feel fine. It's only the symptoms that are being masked, not the actual problem. Like that headache you had that I took away. I never cured the headache, only made the pain go away. I’ve been touching you and near you so much that it’s masked your illness. We need to get you back now. Your liver probably was fine when you left the hospital, but it went sometime in the last couple weeks. ”

I nodded looking around. “Where are we?”

He smiled, making my heart skip a few beats. “The beach I took you to the first night.”

I looked around me and saw it all clearly now, the waves crashing and the sand beneath me. The cool ocean air was clearing my head.

I felt a tear starting to well in my eyes. "Are you really going to leave me forever?”

“I don’t know how to stay.” His words felt like swords slicing into me. I had spent so long trying not to feel anything. Then he came along and not only tore down the wall I had built, but burned the whole village down. There were no survivors. Looking at him, I knew what I wanted in life, even if my life was only going to be a few hours longer. Choosing Shane was my heart and my head. Aleks was all heart.

“I need to go back to the school for a minute. I need to say goodbye to my sister and Shane and Blake.”

He shook his head, as he bent down and picked me up. He tensed like he was about to take off again. “I need to take you to the hospital now.”

I shook my head. “I know what happens to someone who goes into liver failure. I am at least a couple hours by helicopter from a major hospital. In this small town, I will be dead by morning. I will be flown to the city the minute I get to the hospital. That means that I won't be seeing anyone else for a while. I need to tell them I’m okay. They’re going to worry if I don’t, and I can't explain how I got myself to a hospital. Not without outing you on the weird traveling thing you do. They’ll send out a search party.”

His jaw tensed and the warm wind came. I leaned into him as much as I could, taking as much of the painkiller off of his skin as I could. I didn’t understand the science behind a person giving off a soothing pheromone that stopped pain, but in that moment I didn’t care. I didn’t try to understand; I was too tired. My skin felt like it was in a cold fire, and my head was starting to pound so much, my eyes burned.

I took in deep breaths of him. I needed every drop of him, before he was gone forever. I couldn’t think about it just yet. All I wanted was to enjoy every last second. When I was with him, it was like I didn’t pick Shane. Like that while with him, I had no choice but to love him.

He walked in through the back door of the school at the gymnasium entrance and put me down outside of the bathroom. “No one but you can see me right now, okay? So don’t talk to me. I will walk with you and keep a hand on you at all times.”

I nodded, wanting to look up into his blue eyes and get lost. Maybe press myself up against him and kiss him until I died peacefully. I would give up my forever to be with him for that last day. Something about him made my body come alive.

As we walked from the hallway, he held a hand on my shoulder, making me feel weird. I knew it was essential to have him touching me if I wanted to stay upright.

I saw Shane looking at me oddly. He stood from the table and walked over frowning. “Hey, you okay? You look sick.” He reached down and picked up my hands. I felt awkward with him touching my hands and Aleks holding my shoulder, like my love triangle had come to its head.

I nodded. “I’m getting my dad to come get me. I feel sick again. I need to go back to the hospital. Thanks for bringing me here.”

He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Thanks for coming with me, Aimee. You’ve made this the best night of my life. I’ll walk you out and come with you.”

I felt dirty and panicked. “No, that’s okay. Stay and enjoy. He’s waiting for me outside. Seriously, don’t worry. Tell my sister and Blake I went with my dad, okay? I need you to stay and make sure my sister is okay, you know—the rapist.”

He looked at me and frowned. “I should come with you; your dad won't mind.”

I nodded. “Yeah, but he wants me to go with him, just me. He said he wants to talk about something.” I seriously was the worst liar ever; four-year-olds could be more convincing.

I felt my stomach twisting with the guilt and lies as Shane’s face filled with disappointment. “Okay. Well, let me walk you out.”

I didn’t know what else to say, so I turned and started to walk out. The music was at a quiet moment in between songs. Then somewhere in the crowd I heard it.

The bird squawk ringtone.

It happened once and then again, just like in the woods. I turned, looking around to see Mr. Mac pick his phone out of his pocket as he answered it. I looked at his mouth as he was talking, his thin lips moving quietly into the phone. How had I missed how thin his lips were?

His eyes shot over to me, seeing the look of recognition on my face. He turned to leave the gym quickly.

“Shane—it’s Mr. Mac. It’s him! He’s the rapist,” I shouted, pointing. The room began to spin in confusion as Shane ran and tackled the fleeing teacher.

“You son of a bitch.” He held him facedown on the hard floor and sat on his shoulders, pinning him to the ground.

Mr. Mac was a strong-looking man, but Shane was very imposing standing next to him. Sprawled out on top of him, it was clear Mr. Mac didn’t stand a chance. Shane played football and weight lifted. Mr. Mac was a nerd, a fit nerd, but a nerd nonetheless.

I watched Blake come running over, looking outraged at Shane. I shook my head. “No Blake, it’s him. He did this to me. He is the rapist.”

Blake shook his head in disbelief as his mentor was held on the ground. My sister was already calling for the police officers in the corridors, as were a few others, no doubt. Mrs. Sinclair, our principal, was trying to break up the fight. Everyone was attempting to explain the struggle to her, before she helped free the pervert.

Mr. Mac turned his face and looked at me. His thin lips curled up into a smile. His always-friendly eyes turned merciless as he watched me. I felt dirty knowing what his intentions had been in the woods that day. His face would haunt my dreams forever. His look sent a shiver down my spine.

I felt the warm air fill the space around me and I knew, that no matter what, in that moment I was at least safe from the stalker. Shane looked back at me to see if I was okay, his worried face ripping my heart out. I hated that I had betrayed his trust and love for me. I didn’t know my own heart. Somehow I couldn’t stop myself from loving them both. I knew I should have been honest about it.