Cursed (36 page)

I walked up to the old house at the end of the
road and opened the unlocked front door. In a city as busy as
Portland I had always told her she should lock the door but the old
bat couldn’t be bothered, she knew nothing in its right mind would
ever attempt her front door. Except me but I wasn’t in my right
mind and we both knew that.

She sat in the old rocking chair looking
millions of years old smiling, “Taunting your brothers again?” She
cackled as only an old witch could.

I nodded, “Yeah. I cant help myself, a girls
gotta eat, you know?”

Lydia smiled her old lady smile, “You could have
some fruit like a normal girl. Maybe a steak.”

I made a face, “Ewwww Lydia you know I’m a
vegetarian. Steak, yuck.”

She laughed again as I walked to my bedroom.

I lay back on my bed reliving the instant I
pulled the soul from Peter and imagined the freedom he felt. I
imagined he flew away like a bird to discover whatever his
imagination could muster. He had been a man before he became a
monster and with his death the man was truly free of the monster. I
knew I had made the right choice, he had made the mistake of being
with that woman and her kids. He would never have been able to
control himself. I knew I was justifying my actions but I needed
to. For slightly longer than one of my slow heartbeats I envied him
letting a single tear drop from my left eye onto the bed. I looked
over at the window and wondered where Shane was at that exact
moment? I smiled and blew him a kiss.

The dream was the same every time, the city
stunk of decay and ruin all around me and people were crying in
agony searching for their loved ones. A disaster had hit and
destroyed it all in a moment. I searched for the one I’d missed,
the one who snuck through our system and had made the mess of it
all. I looked everyway but through all the pain and suffering all I
saw was his face, Shane’s. He stood so near to me, breathing me in.
I wanted to touch him so badly. My dad’s hands reached out to me in
the way the man on the subway had done, a knight in shining armor
to save me by pulling me away from Shane. I stuck my out to take
his hand. I looked back at Shane and realized my dad was sticking
his hand out to save Shane and not me at all. I stepped closer to
the Shane smiling at him as my mom screamed in torture and the
world shattered into a million pieces but I felt the warmth and
realness of his face so close to mine. I knew then I had caused the
disaster, again.

“Aimee you have to wake up before something in
all of this becomes a reality, don’t show them your fear baby
girl,” the soft voice I knew so well, it was my mom who whispered
to me.

I woke startled feeling my own embrace and the
glisten of the beads of sweat that soaked me. I had fallen asleep
in my clothes again. I sat upright for a moment pulling my sweater
off feeling the night air brush me softly. I looked around dazed
expecting to see someone, as I had been certain voices had woken
me. Perhaps it had been my mom finally trying to talk to me.
Something about the dream always haunted me. I wished it would go
away but at least it allowed me to see his face, all their
faces.

I rolled on my back as I slipped off my jeans
and pulled the blankets around me. The enveloping darkness was a
warm comfort inside my bed.

I fell back to sleep dreaming of him again but
this time instead floated staring at my parents’ smiles. I was
unable to touch the ground and unable to fly. I sat in limbo
watching them waving to me while they sat on a swing with
Shane.

The End, or rather the beginning…

###

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tara Brown is a geographical transplant
victim originally from the West Coast of Canada surviving the East
Coast by writing. In between her time as a mom, wife and the
intense crossfit workouts with the girls she writes young adult
fantasy and is guilty of a few romance novels. She has also started
a series of children's novels. The second novel in The Devils Roses
series is due to be released in the early spring of 2012.

Connect with Me Online:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TaraBrown22

My Blog: http://TaraBrown22.blogspot.com/

Also by Tara Brown

Bane - Book #2 of The Devils Roses

Hyde - Book #3 of The Devils Roses