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Acacia/Ciarán - Age 13

The bitter taste of his residue lingers in my mouth.

I can't wash it away...I've tried with toothpaste, using almost the entire tube.

My eyes are fixated on the perfect appearance reflecting in the mirror at me. Mercury had given me his blood after taking mine for his indulgence...right after using my mouth for his pleasure.

I'd been used...not just for blood...but I feel disgusted, entirely and utterly alone.

Maybe soap can get rid of the taste...

I grasp the bar in my hand, rubbing it into my toothpaste and attempting to scrap every taste bud from my tongue in the process. It tastes horrible...but nothing will ever come close to what I've already tasted.

I'd taken a shower, Marcus running around outside my door playing doorbell ditch only with his cute little knocking. I'm ready to face my parents now...knowing this should have been the choice to make in the first place. Marcus wraps his arms around my legs when I open the door inward, his warmth lighting my heart on fire at how much he missed me.

"Cacia! Cacia! You are back!" He grins up at me and pulls me into the hallway saying, "Mommy missed you. Daddies missed you."

Nodding my head, I ask him, "Where are mama and daddies?"

"They are in the living room," Marcus grins and says, "I get ice-cream."

Like the little rascal he is, he takes off down the hallway at a breakneck pace and leaves me in the dust. I'm still trying not to shake, my body trembling at how utterly useless I felt.

It doesn't matter that Taron taught me how to fight...

...it did nothing except make my situation worse.

Perhaps that's why mama and daddies don't want me learning...because then I make stupid rash choices...he could have done a lot more than what he did, Mercury knows now everything that happened this past summer. He already toyed with my emotions, saying how Taron felt sympathetic because of how weak I am...adding to his alpha ego and boosting it by making himself believe that he could ever make me strong enough to fight on my own.

Mercury's voice still rings in my head, tears threatening to come to my eyes each time I hear another awful way he's depicted my friendship growing over the summer.

"Acacia?" Mama stands at the bottom of the stairs while Marcus zips in and out of the hallways and much to everyone's surprise...he doesn't fall. Obviously.

When I reach the bottom landing, the tears finally build once again, and I release a shaky breath. Reaching out, I wrap my arms around my mama's waist, holding onto her tightly as I bury my face into her stomach. One of her hands brushes through my hair, the other rubbing my back as I release a loud cry.

I can hear two pairs of footsteps come closer, two more hands touching my shoulders as I cry against mama. I choke out, "I-I-I'm s-s-s-so-sor-ry."

"Hunny," mama hushes me and tries to calm me down. They don't know that I'm crying for many reasons and for once, I'm able to use the one they found out about to my advantage and let everything out. When I shake my head against her, I feel an arm wrap around my lower back, the other hand pulling me gently out and away from mama.

I see daddy's green eyes staring into mine for a split second before I snap them shut. He pulls me against his chest and releases a breath, "Little love..."

"I-I-It's m-my f-fault," I admit, knowing absolutely none of what transpired from that moment till now would have happened if I'd just stayed here.

Dante kneels beside daddy as my arms are around his neck, my face buried in his chest. Dante rubs my back and whispers, hearing mama say to Marcus, "Bedtime, it's late."

"I don't wanna mommy," he cries, and she releases a sigh, hearing her footsteps fade away up the stairs as she ushers Marcus to bed.

"I-I'm s-sorry," I continue saying, my body shaking as I clutch onto my daddy as if I'm going to fall into darkness without him. Dante has an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug with daddy.

After I hiccup many sobs, daddy finally moves a little so he can pull back and look into my eyes. He sees hurt, but I'm sure he doesn't know what it's from. Daddy finally makes my heart stop in my chest when he says, "I know you like Taron."

"Little one...it's okay," Dante also grabs my attention, seeing his golden irises remind me of everything that I had just left behind. I cry harder, and his features alter, almost hearing a whimper come from the back of his throat as a whine. His wolf is that close to breaking through and taking over, his voice pained when he states, "You're allowed to like someone...you're allowed to have crushes and fall for them...that's what being human means and the beauty of not being bonded to a predetermined soulmate."

Daddy holds me tighter when I cry harder at his words. I know they are not trying to make me feel less by referring to me as human...because they are not making me out to be weak. They are telling me a straightforward fact...

...that I let my heart like someone I have no chance of being with.

I did that to myself.

Taron's a werewolf and would never once think of self-choosing his bond with a human. I broke my own heart by selfishly allowing myself to continue to daydream after someone who is already in an arranged bond...one that will help Grandpa Keir.

I let my family down by allowing my heart decide what is best for me. I could have cost them their pack merger...it would have been my fault if what I did made things worse and caused a pack war between the Silent Stars Pack and the Crusaders Pack...

"There are so many who would be lucky to have your heart," daddy whispers where Dante left off. He's calm when he says, "Someone is waiting for you...little love, someone who deserves you and all the love you have to give in this world."

Dante moves closer and also whispers, "I'm so sorry your heart got broken."

Daddy shifts his arms while Dante stands back, my daddy lifting me into his arms off the floor and walks me into the living room. Both of my daddies sit on either side of me once I'm set on the couch, hardly able to see discerning figures, just shadows of my daddies. I curl up into a ball into Dante's side when he wraps an arm around me, daddy standing for a moment and crossing the room.

Dante holds me close and continues to whisper to me, "Your so strong little one...don't let this be what breaks you."

"I..." I hiccup a sob as I close my eyelids, feeling a blanket cover myself and Dante while daddy sits down once again at my side. He runs his fingers through my hair, kissing the top of my head while gently holding me as well.

Mama is back quite a bit later, but all I've been doing is crying and my daddies being strong for me to do so. I smell cheese and pepperoni, turning my head slightly against Dante's chest and seeing her set down and open three pizza boxes. She also sets down some desserts along with picking up the remote for the TV and asking, "Any specific movie you want to watch?"

Mama...tears begin to dry as I slowly pull up from Dante's chest, sitting between my daddies while I see mama standing there with a sad smile on her face. Shrugging my shoulders, I hear Marcus come trampling down the stairs saying, "PJ Masks!"

"Bedtime mister!" Mama releases a sigh while pointing up back at the stairs. He whines and complains, pointing at the cookies on the table while she walks toward him.

"Mama...can Marcus stay up?" I ask through a whisper, my little brother's eyes widening at my save and attempt to sway mama.

She glances at daddies before they come to the decision this is a family night. Mama nods and sighs, "Okay Marcus...just not too many swee-"

"Yay!" He excitedly runs across to the table, picking up two chocolate chip cookies before turning around and grinning at me, "Cacia you are the best!"

"What did your mother just try to tell you about sweets?" Daddy chuckles while Marcus glances at him and then back to me.

With his eyes wide he shakes his head, outstretching his tiny hand for me and states, "This cookie is for Cacia."

He grins while I take it from him, smelling the chocolate before taking a bite. Mama puts on his favorite TV show while we all settle in together, daddy grabbing a slice of pizza before eating it over Marcus' head. My little brother sits on daddy's lap, pointing and talking to Dante while explaining something he found terrific the other day.

Mama's eyes seem to trail back onto me now and then as she sits on the chair a little closer to the fireplace. She withdraws something from her pant pocket, but I can't catch what it is before she shakes her head and releases a sigh.

"Rose?" Dante asks in return as he'd seen something similar like I had.

Before she can respond, I hear the front door open and my mama questions, "Ciarán?"

"Yes?" He responds while halting for a moment in the archway. His eyes trail the entire room and mine avert from his, pain clutching at my chest...

"There's pizza and dessert if you'd lik-"

"I already ate," he interrupts her while nodding to his room, "I'm going to go to bed...if that's alright."

"Of course," she glances at him and then to me, but I say nothing. It's been made apparent that my place is shifting...

I can't help every so often glancing around the room, wondering how Mercury was able to get people inside without my parents' knowledge and using their own covens members. The show plays on, Ciarán having already left up to the stairs and his room. Marcus tries to worm his way down between daddy and me, slipping right next to me while grinning from ear to ear. He moves closer to me, and I shift inward so that my arms wrap around him.

Marcus glances up at me with sleepy eyes as I know he's not going to last much longer when he smiles, "Love you Cacia."

"I love you too," I breathe out while I feel the stinging sensation at the bridge of my nose once again, my heart beating in an even rhythm. I want to hold him close and tight, his face snuggling under my chin as daddy adjusts the blanket up to over the two of us. I'm sleepy myself, the exhaustion of my emotions weighing down on my mind has me so tired...

Marcus drifts off to sleep very quickly while I also allow my eyelids to close. Daddy whispers to me, "Are you ready for bed little love?"

"Yes...can we sleep here tonight?" I murmur while I feel Marcus holding me close to him like a stuffed animal. Daddy rubs my back while replacing pillows beneath Marcus and I's heads. We lay on the couch, the warm light of the fire still casting its glow while mama and daddies leave the room.

I'm still trying to drift off to sleep, hearing Marcus' breathing as his little fingers grip onto my shirt. Breathing out, I snuggle him closer to me and whisper, "I won't let him hurt you...whatever I have to do...you won't get hurt."

💫--To Be Continued--💫

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