Ayvah's POV:
After dismissing Aaron, I finally had a moment of reprieve. The thoughts swirling in my head were a constant menace, the weather outside representing my turmoil.
The calm weather had a hint of storm to it, allowing people to let their guards down and moving about as they would on a regular sunny day. The only difference, the breeze was starting to pick up, the only indication of the severe storm that was to come.
Yet all these thoughts couldn't distract me enough, the headache increasing an octave higher making me feel like I was back in those days. The thought itself was enough to send a shiver down my back. I was thankfully rescued from further delving in my memories due to the knock at my door.
Aaron came inside bearing two cups of coffee. Although his face was still pale with fear, it didn't tame his stupidity enough. I wasn't in the frame of mind to reprimand him so I just motioned with my hands for him to take a seat. He was a good enough distraction.
"You were quite scary back there. I almost bought your bluff." He said with a nervous smile.
"What makes you think that it was a bluff?" My question was asked in a matter of fact tone, my mind working tirelessly to maintain the emotionless mask. A raised eyebrow and amused eyes was enough to make it seem like I was wondering how much he knew.
He gave another nervous laugh before saying," What else could it be. You wouldn't or rather can't kill a person.....right? " The slight hesitance in his voice would've been amusing if the incessant pounding in my head didn't increase yet again. The slight scrunch in my eyebrows didn't seem to go unnoticed by him.
All the better for me.
"Of course you wouldn't. What a stupid question. I sho..." I cut him off with a glare, not in the mood to listen to his ramblings. Sweat pooled at my nape, the headache increasing with every passing second, as if that small reprieve had indeed been nothing but a taunt, a reminder.
"Of course it's a stupid question, not because I can't kill someone but because even if I could, I wouldn't tell you." The scathing glare I sent along with my words seemed to do the task as he placed my cup of coffee on the glass top and turned away, as if to hide the paleness of his face but all it did was emphasize the shiver which ran down his spine.
" I uh.... of course you are, I mean why would you.... " The bored look on my face seemed to finally give him the much needed push to finally say whatever was in his mind. "I just wanted to see if I could be of any help. I'll just leave." If he expected me to stop him or show any other reaction, he was sorely disappointed, which could be seen in the way he barged out of my cabin. Barged out.
The headache was a constant menace for the rest of the day so much so that I left early. The issue regarding Aaron left for another day. I barely managed to hold onto myself during the ride home, my mind swirling with the memories that surfaced today, ones which were kept under a lock since a long, long time.
I drove straight into my garage, not bothering to reply to the various greetings thrown my way. The car parked perfectly despite my nearly fading consciousness, I walked a brisk march towards my room, ignoring, or rather not being able to register her calling after me. The first thing I did as soon as entering the room was lock the door, heaving a sigh as I did so. I didn't like feeling vulnerable, this was as much vulnerability as I would allow myself to feel.
The banging on the door ceased the moment I heard another set of footsteps reaching by door. Whatever Cohen said to Cressida, she stopped the incessant pounding but not before promising a sound tongue thrashing for getting her worried.
It was the least of my worries.
Not when the storm outside began increasing by the minute and certainly not when the sky darkened, not because of the cloud cover but because of a full-solar eclipse. Not when despite it all the curtains all around the room were snapped shut.
The lights overhead flickered, the effect of the storm brewing. The silent solitude of my room was not even pierced by the roiling thunder outside. Despite the closed windows, my hair moved in a phantom breeze, as if each strand had a mind of its own.
The soft glow in the room made it appear all the more eerie, and the mirror shattered, as if it couldn't bare the image, terrifying as it was in its mysterious beauty. It was as if the shattering of the mirror triggered something, the shards appeared as if racing towards me the same way as those memories of long away were, their cacophony a siren's call. And I surrendered to it, letting it drown me in its depthless darkness.
From the time before:
The unending darkness beckoned to me, offering me salvation from the blinding light. The lullaby it sang was sweeter than honey.
I stretched out my hand, wanting to run into the awaiting arms of darkness, wanting to lose myself into the dreamless sleep, away from pain and the harsh reality.
But it seemed that fate was in no mood to lose her evening's entertainment for I was harshly dragged away from darkness's soothing embrace and into the starkness of the room.
The pain returned along with the sound of footsteps. The chain holding me snapped and I fell on my knees. I didn't try to run, didn't try to reach for the door which presented such a tantalising view of freedom. It was all meant to be a taunt, a reminder of what I had lost. For trying to escape was futile. It always was.
I could only squint against the light as the footsteps approached, the effortless grace and the trûente were the only signs that made it different from the countless others.
I tried to stand, only to be forced on my knees again by the tight grip on my face. She leaned against the pole, forcing my head up, sneering at my face, disgust dripping from her amber eyes, so similar to mine, yet so different.
"It seems you learnt your lesson my dearest daughter." She spat out the words as if it hurt to say it out loud, yet that smirk which graced her lips spoke volumes about the satisfaction which she got upon seeing the hurt flash in my eyes.
That was all the warning I got before-
I opened my eyes, scanning the room, the shards of mirror lying all around me, as much to asses for the non-existent threat as to remind myself that I was here, that it was me who had walked away from that carnage and not her.
Yet those memories shook me enough that I had to take a few calming breaths to prevent myself from shattering like the mirror.
I wasn't weak, and I wouldn't start now.
Not when I had worked so hard, when I had so much to consider. Those few moments were all that I would grant myself, today was the last time that this would happen. I left the room, going towards the hallway, not at all eager for the argument which would surely ensue.
They weren't there, in fact the room was deserted and so were the others on the floor. I was about to call in the security when I heard some noise in the theatre room.
There they were, huddled in front of the television, blissfully unaware of the chaos that had just happened, there attention fixed on the news headlines.
"The solar-eclipse that shouldn't have been."
Also there is an edit which I would love to share but it's only available on Wattpad (and it's free)
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And the book is named Shadows
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