“What just happened?” Cade yells out but I still can’t speak to him or anyone but Sebastian so I just lay there in pain.
“He must have compelled her so she can’t leave the room.” Luca spits out angrily and I roll my eyes his way and glare at the fucking hypocrite. Finn’s concerned face comes into view as he leans down and helps me to a seated position. My fingers stroke over his jaw. It’s so good to see him. I missed him and Cade so much. He looks different, harder somehow and I try and tell him how sorry I am for coming back with just my eyes.
“Is that true, Eden? Did Bas compel you to stay in the room?” He asks so I nod my head tiredly. He looks deeper in eyes and cups my face using his thumb to brush away some of my tears. “There’s more, isn’t there? What else did he make you do?”
I sigh and lean against him even as Cade drops to my other side and takes my hand. “Tell us, lass.” I make a face at him and mime speaking while shaking my head that I can’t. It’s such a fucking relief to be able to think clearly now. They pull me to my feet and make sure I’m steady before letting go and turning to Luca.
“She can’t speak either? Can you not fix it? Override it somehow? Compel her to leave? We need to get her the fuck out of here!” Cade growls at him.
I shake my head violently from side to side. No more fucking compelling! That’s what got me into this mess to start with. Luca’s eyes narrow slightly at me and then he shakes his head angrily.
“No, I cannot. Sebastian is more powerful than me. He can override my orders but I can’t change his.”
I make a muffled groan and stab my finger his way. When Bas gets back here I’m going to make sure he fucking does exactly that. I move toward Luca with a furious expression, jabbing my finger at him over and over again and forcing him to step back. I think I see a flash of shame cross his expression but then he’s knocking me to the side with an angry roar.
“She is released.”
Everything slows right down as my body twists from the shove and I step back. My feet catch in the clothing Finn dropped and my arms windmill to try and find my balance. I catch sight of Luca slamming into Sebastian who is standing in the doorway as I go down and my feet fly up. I hear the snap when the back of my neck connects with the edge of the tub filled with cold water but strangely feel no pain from the hit as my body jackknives in half and I hear the thump of it hitting the floor but I still don’t feel it. That familiar rushing of wind fills my ears and the last thing I see is Cade trying to pull Luca off of a horrified Sebastian and Finn reaching out for me with the saddest look on his face and then I’m tumbling over and over and hitting the floor of the turret in front of the mirror again.
When the heaving stops I start to scream and scream and scream. I need to go back. I need to go back to Luca!
Eden
There’s a ringing that won’t stop. It goes on and on and finally breaks me from my stare down with the mirror, waiting for it to come to life so I can go back. I try and swat it away but it just rings again, causing me to snarl and spin on my knees to find it. The pain knocks me onto my face and it only gets worse when I try and straighten my legs. I grunt and moan and wail from it until I can focus enough to send my hands to the source, my knees. I manage to sit up and my bathrobe falls open showing me the swollen purple and angry red knobs my knees have become. The ringing noise sounds again and the pain from my legs clears my head enough that I finally recognize it as the doorbell. I try to yell that I’m coming but my mouth is so dry that my throat almost closes up on me and I gag. I don’t know how long I’ve been in front of that mirror but I do know if I don’t find a way to stop myself from doing it again, I will die before it ever recharges and that will stop me from getting back to Luca.
It takes a while for me to massage my legs back into working order enough that I can pull myself up onto my feet. When I sway from dizziness I have a flash of a memory of this happening before. My need for food and water, and judging by the smell coming off of me, a shower needs to be addressed if I want to be well enough to go back to Luca. I make my way down the stairs and into the kitchen desperate for a drink of water. I drink too much too fast and end up throwing most of it back up in the sink so I fill the cup back up and force myself to take smaller sips with time in between each one. I catch sight of my phone on the window sill with the back cover off exposing the small solar panel to charge in the sun. I have no memory of putting it there at all. I reach for it and see way too many notifications to deal with in my current state. The date means nothing to me. I have no idea how long I’ve been home this time.
Once my water is finished, I refill the cup and open the fridge to address the next pressing need but find it empty. I brace myself on the counter and spot an open cracker box on its side. There’s only a handful left but food is food right now so I stuff them into my mouth one by one and try not to gag on the stale taste of them. It won’t be enough calories to see me very far so I swipe open my phone, open the delivery app and place an order for like half the menu. I can reheat what I don’t eat over the next few days before the mirror is ready to take me back to Luca. Luca! I have to go back to him. He needs me to go back! I turn to race back to the mirror and slam one of my damaged knees into the cupboard, sending a shocking jolt of pain through me. It hurts so much I almost throw up the crackers I managed to force down but it also knocks me out of my need to go back to the mirror.
Fuck! What was I doing? Right, right, food. I need food. Takeout is coming but I should get more so I place another order at the local market and just add my entire favorites list to the order and send it. I need to keep it together if I want to go back healthy and whole. I pull out the junk drawer and find some elastics and wrap them around my wrist. I swallow down my trepidation and see if it will work.
Luca…Luca…I need to get back to Luca! As soon as my feet turn to go to the mirror I snap the elastics…hard. Ouch! Fuck, okay maybe I don’t need to snap them that hard but it works so there’s that. Alright, what’s next? Water, check. Foods on the way so…shower, right! I stink…badly. I limp to my bedroom and manage to stand in the hot water without falling and breaking anything so I scrub my skin and hair clean and only have to snap my wrist three times to stay on task. I search for my favorite comfortable clothing but most of it is missing so end up in an old pair of sweat pants and a black slouchy sweater. I don’t know where all my yoga pants and leggings have gone to and most of my hoodies are gone too.
The doorbell rings just as I’m done combing out my wet hair and I pray it’s my take-out because my stomach has woken up and it’s growling like a beast. I head to the front door but when I pass the stairs I have to snap my wrist twice to keep myself from running up them to the mirror. When I pull the door open a box tumbles down to my feet and the delivery driver is waiting with his hands full of bags to hand me. I practically snatch them from his hands as the glorious smells hit me. I have already pre-paid his tip on the app so I nudge the box further into the house and with a half-smile close the door on him.
I carry everything into the living room using my feet to push the box ahead of me, limping the whole way. I dump the food bags on the coffee table and ease my sore body down onto the couch and then my butt down to the floor so I can straighten my legs out underneath the table. I spread the food out and open every carton after finding the plastic utensils that came with the order and dig in. Spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccini alfredo with chicken, chicken parmesan, cheesy garlic bread, and a few other dishes all get sampled. I moan and groan at how good everything tastes. All too soon my shrunken stomach protests even one more bite so I close all the covers and stack them to one side to make room for the box that had been left against my door.
When I flip it over and spot that the return address label belongs to my lawyer’s firm, my heart speeds up. This could be from my aunt. It could be something that will help me get back to Luca sooner. Luca! I need to get back to him. Oh god, he needs me to come back. SNAP! Fuck! I need to change those elastics to my other wrist or I will have some major welts by the time the mirror has recharged. Speaking of that, how much longer do I have to wait?
“Siri, when is the next full moon?”
Somewhere underneath the discarded plastic bags, my phone answers me.
“The next full moon is on September third, twenty twenty-eight.”
Panic and an overwhelming feeling of urgency start to bubble up in my mind when I figure out that’s still three weeks away. I can’t wait that long. Luca needs me. Luca! I have to snap my wrist twice when I push the table away and leverage myself up to go to the mirror. I sink back down on the couch when the pain knocks it back and then switch the elastics to my other arm for the next go-round. I have to keep it together if I want to make it for three whole weeks without slipping into the fog. My body can’t take going that long without food or water.
I pull the box back over to me and rip the tape off and open the flaps. It’s filled with Styrofoam peanuts that I have to dig through to get to a shiny square wooden box about six inches by six inches. Tied to it with a ribbon is an envelope that I recognize from my aunt’s stationery set and it has my name on it. I pull it off and set the box in my lap and slowly open the envelope and pull out the folded note inside.
My dearest Eden,
I hope this finds you well. I do wish I could be with you to guide you on your journeys.
As I am not, I hope this gift will be the compass you need in finding your way.
A caution and a warning.
Love can be an epic tale or a dark tragedy.
