Page 65

“I’m coming, Mom.”

One foot in front of the other, I stare ahead. The bare trees stand at rest, a promise of what’s to come. Candles flicker in the townhouse windows like fireflies frozen in time. It’s beautiful, like a painting. I always loved landscapes.

It’s everything I need.

My foot lands halfway off the cliff, my breath hitches, and a tear breaks through.

One last step.

I breathe in, I breathe out.

I go.

“Ah!” I scream. My arm burns, the air knocked out of me as I am thrown down, my body skidding and scraping against the dirt. Back to where I was at the top of the cliff. “No… No. No. No.” My fingers tremble, my arms tremble. I’m a quivering heap on the ground. My breathing cracks, sucking in and out too quickly. Then he’s on me.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Dean yells as he comes crashing down on top of me, his arms and legs on either side of me, caging me against the ground.

“D-D-Dean N-No…” I suck in air, and it sputters back out.

Dean grabs my face in both of his hands and slams his lips to mine. Again, again, and again, his thick, full lips sucking mine in with each kiss. I clutch the sides of his hoodie and open my mouth to speak, but he shoves his tongue inside my mouth and swirls it with my own. Then he bites my lower lip, dragging it between his teeth, before kissing me again. I let out a whimper as tears fall down my cheek and I tremble in his hold.

He’s not supposed to be here.

Dean pulls back a fraction, then kisses all over my face. My cheek, my forehead, my nose, my lips again, then down to my neck, where he nuzzles against me as he wraps his arms around me.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” I let out in a shaky breath.

“You’re not supposed to be here. If I hadn’t seen you out my window… Violet, what the hell was that?” Dean pulls back and meets my gaze, gently brushing the tears beneath my eyes away with his thumbs.

“Th-they all declined… The suitors.” I suck in a breath through my teeth. Dean’s brows pinch together.

“You were going to kill yourself because of that?” His voice is soft.

“No. They all declined, and now I have to live with my Uncle…” Dean’s expression softens, and he wipes away the tears that are now flowing down my cheek. “He’s the reason my mother was in the hospital. He poisoned her… Dean… He had two pills with him that day. He was going to poison me, too.” I grip his sides as if holding onto him will keep me from trembling into pieces. “I can’t go back with him, I just can’t…”

“Shh, take a breath with me,” Dean says, grazing his nose up and down along mine. I try to follow his deep inhale, but my breath sputters back out before I even really take it in. Moving one hand up along my back, Dean grabs the nape of my neck and presses his lips to mine. And this time, I kiss him too. His full lips brush along mine before claiming them again. Slow and soft. Until I’m breathing again. “Why not ask Cain? You shouldn’t have to, but when the situation calls for it.”

I swallow and wipe my eyes.

“I did ask him…” The physical ache in my chest at the memory has no business being there. Dean’s brow furrows, but he doesn’t say anything. He watches me with his dark brown eyes. “Cain doesn’t want to be with me in that way. You know, publicly.” I swallow. The frog in my throat is nearly choking me. “He has his reasons.

“Whatever they are, they aren’t good enough… Marry me.”

My eyes widen a fraction. I place my palms on Dean’s chest, my fingers lightly clutching at the material.

“Don’t be silly. I would never hold you to that deal. Dahlia wouldn’t want that.” I smile, but I can feel the corners tugging downward.

“Do you think I would rather you die than get married? We don’t live in a world where I can’t have you both.” He brushes his lips over mine. “Marry me, Violet.”

“What about Dahlia?” I swallow again, the ache dulling under the glow of hope.

“We’ll figure out how to make it work… I know she’d rather that than the apparent alternatives.” Pulling me by the nape, Dean kisses my forehead. “Let’s go home.” With his arms wrapped around me, Dean rocks back, pulling me up to stand with him.

We walk in step together. His arm wrapped around my shoulder like a vice, gripping me to his side, and holding my hands with his free one. My legs buckle at the knee beneath me, my body still trembling, and my mind foggy as I crash from the adrenaline. Without him right now, I would truly crumble.

Our walk through the woods becomes a blur. Before I even realize it, we are at the top of the steps to Dean’s apartment. I wrap my arms around my middle as he unlocks and opens the door. Dean grabs my shoulder, gluing me to his side again, and we walk in.

“Is everything okay?” Dahlia’s brow is furrowed, her arms crossed over her chest. She stands by the window in one of Dean’s shirts that drops nearly to her knees, her white hair braided for the night. She looks at me like she knows that I am, in fact, not okay.