🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠ROSES FOR RACHEL 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠
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Episode_43🔑
The man took a staggering step towards me, dragging his left leg slightly. “I hate that it had to come to this, but really, I’m probably doing you a favor.” The man’s shaking voice whispered as he looked me up and down with his striking green eyes. un-der any other circu-mtance I might have thought he was attrac-tive, but right now I was frozen in fear, waiting for Calvin to jump to my rescue, but he didn’t.
“Castro, plea-se.” Calvin said. “We can work something else out.”
Castro shook his head and took another step closer to me.
“Calvin?” I asked, my voice rising an octave, but Calvin shook his head at me. I wi-de-ned my eyes, not sure what to do, so I turned away to run. “Guards!” I shouted.
“Rachel, no!” Calvin yelled at me, but it was too late. The guards swarmed the room, overpowering Castro with ease, although he didn’t really seem to put up a fight anyway.
“Did he tell you what he did to my boy?” He shouted at me. “He was so young! We were supposed to have an eternity, and your mate r!pp£dhim away from me! Maybe you deserve to live this way!” He yelled at me as the guards drug him out of the room.
Calvin tried to protest, saying he didn’t want the man harmed, but the guards insisted that he at least be taken to the dungeons. “I’ll get you out!” Calvin promised and the man’s eyes didn’t look hopeful. “I’m so sorry about this.”
The last guard left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Calvin and I alone in the libr@ry. “What was that?” I asked softly, taking in the stress etched on Calvin’s pained face.
He crumpled his face, sitting on the red velvet couch behind him and dropping his face down into his hands while I lingered at the door. “That was Daniel’s father.” He said shaking his head, then he sat up, running his hands up and down his nice tan slacks. “He wants revenge for me killing Daniel.”
“How does he even know it was you?” I asked gently.
He shook his head at me. “Because I wrote him a letter when I returned to the castle, explaining everything that happened and apologizing. I didn’t want him to just never come home and his friends and family be left wondering, so I told him.” He explained. “He showed up here and I talked him into coming in here to talk and try to work something out, but then you c@m£ in.”
I felt like he was annoyed at me, and that only made me annoyed at him. “How was I supposed to know?” I asked. “He said he was going to hurt me and you didn’t do anything.” I said.
“Calling the guards was the only thing I could think to do.”
He stood up, walking over to me. “I told you not to come down here.” He reminded me. “It’s alright though. I will give him some time to think, and then I will get him out and try to explain everything to him again. I just nee-d to have him un-derstand what happened. I never meant to kill Daniel.” His eyes filled with tears, but he didn’t let them spill over. “I wasn’t going to let him hurt you, Rachel.” He whispered. “I don’t think he was going to anyway, he’s just hurting.”
I nodded my head, feeling a little awkward here with him now, which made my heart weigh heavy in my che-st, all the distrust and secrets were settling between us, keeping our hearts away from each other. “Hold me.” I whispered, nee-ding to feel close to him again somehow.
He tilted his head down, searching my eyes, and when I looked up to him with tears in my own eyes, he looped his arms around my b©dy, holding me ti-ghtly to him and I imagined that if he could only hold me like this for the rest of eternity, that maybe all of the little pieces of my heart would somehow morph back to the way they were before. Before all of the hurt. “Rachel?” He whispered, resting his head on t©p of mine.
“Yes.” My voice cracked around a soft sob.
“Do you know how much I love you?” He asked, ru-bbing circles on my back with his hands.
“Yes.” I said again. “Do you know that I love you?” I asked him, tilting my head back to look up at him and he leaned his forehead against mine.
“Yes.” He breathed, then sighed. “Do you think that it’s enough?”
“Enough for what?”
“To keep us together.”
I pu-ll-ed myl-ips into my mouth, b!tt!g down and trying not to cry, but seeing the pain I felt echoed on his face only made it that much ha-rder. “I want it to.” I admitted shakily.
He nodded slowly. “But you don’t think it will?” My hands tangled in the back of his shi-t and I hvgged myself to him as ti-ghtly as I could and he held my head to his che-st, k!ss!ngit over and over. “Oh, god, Rachel.” His voice shook. “I never wanted to hurt you, never.” He professed. “I’m so sorry for lying to you, and for still lying to you. I wish I could have done so much differently, but then at the same time I fear if you had known some things from the beginning, that you would have never been mine at all.” He paused. “So I can’t bring myself to totally regret my decisions, even the ones that hurt you, because having you be mine, even if it is brief, it’s worth it.”
I let him hold me, the numb feeling spre-ading throu-ghout all my lim-bs. My heart beat seemed to slow to ha-rd ly existent and I wondered if I would ever feel normal again. I knew that whatever he still nee-ded to tell me was bad…and I knew that between it, and all the other things that had wedged themselves between us, we ha-rd ly stand a chance anymore. I clung to him like a lifeline and I prayed over and over that somehow time could be rewound, that somehow we could start over, not ma-king the same mistakes, or wasting our time. The thought of wasted time really put it all into perspective for me, and I took a step back, taking Calvin by the icy hand and leading him out of the libr@ry, and down to the elevator.
As the doors slid shut in front of us, Calvin drew me close again, looking down at my face like he was trying to memorize every inch of it, and I did the same. When the doors opened we walked across the hall and into our mess of a room. Without speaking, we dropped our hands from each other and began cleaning everything up, until the sheets, comforter, and pillows were all back in their place.
I stood beside the be-d on my side, facing across the be-d where Calvin stood, facing me. Our eyes locked onto each other and I slowly climbe-d onto the be-d, crawling over to him, sitting up on my knees to wra-p my arms around his n£¢k and he held my h!ps. He leaned forward, putting his head against mine and staring into my eyes. “I never want to forget this.” He whispered, and despite the heartbreak I felt, I smiled at him.
“I’m not going anywhere, Calvin.” I whispered back to him, but something about the look on his face told me that it wasn’t true, so I sighed. “I’m not going to ever forget this,” I told him, moving my hands to the sides of his face. “Because I’m not going anywhere.” Then I pressed myl-ips gently to his. “I won’t lie, I’m hurting, Calvin, so much more than I ever believed was possible, but I love you, and nothing you can say will change that.”
“Let’s get re-ady for be-d.” He said softly, backing out of my reach, walking over to the dresser to take off his shi-t and his p@n-ts, pu-lling on a pair a grey sweats, then leaning over on the dresser, keeping his head down.
I gave him some space, going into the bathroom to change into my own blue silk pajamas. When I c@m£ back out, he was standing by the be-d again, holding the blanket up and waiting for me. I tried to smile at him, but it felt strained. “I nee-d to hold you.” He told me as I got close and crawled beneath the blankets. He cu-mddled up beside me, resting his hand on one side of my face while his eyes stared into mine. “I love you.” He whispered.
I grinned at him. “I love you, Cal.”
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He sighed, a soft smile crossing his face too, and his dimples finally ma-king an appearance, but they quic-kly disappeared. “I nee-d to tell you the truth, but I really just want to hold you while you sleep just one more night.”
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I rested my hand on the side of his n£¢k. “No.” I whispered, feeling determined. I can feel the pain in the air, looming over our heads, but if Pedro is right, if this secret is something that will take me away from him, I don’t want to know it. “I don’t want you to tell me.” I said firmly, looking into his eyes evenly. “I want you, Calvin, always…no matter what that means, I want to be with you. plea-se don’t tell me if it is going to end us.”
“Rachel, you know how much I love you, but I can’t keep it from you forever, you’ll find out one way or another, and I’d rather you hear it from me.”
“No.” I said again and he sighed.
“You are so frustrating.” He chuckled sadly. “You don’t un-derstand what you’re giving up.”
I sat up quic-kly, pushing him over onto his back and I leaned over him, my face inches from his. “I’m telling you, I don’t want to know.” I said. “There is no life for me that doesn’t include you.”
He furrowed his brows. “You only say that because yo-.” I put my f!ngersto hisl-ips.
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“Calvin, if you love me, then you won’t tell me.” I said quic-kly.
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“Don’t ruin it.” I told him, echoing Pedro’s words. “plea-se, don’t hurt me anymore.” I knew it was low to say it that way, but I couldn’t ba-re thinking about losing him anymore, and it was the only way I knew I could make him give me my way. He looked so desperately torn, and he whispered my name, but I brou-ght myl-ips down on his, sliding my b©dy on t©p of his, to keep him from saying anything else.
“Make love to me, Calvin.” I whispered lowly, and he gr@bb£d the hair at the back of my head and sighed, pu-lling me back down to him.
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Story_Continues✔