His expression clouds, the muscle in his jaw spasms uncontrollably, fists clench and unclench in time with his breathing.
Rigidly, he is standing his ground.
" Ava and I will be getting married. The engagement will be announced in less than a month. The wedding will take place six months from then," He says coldly and I feel the world around me fade and disappear at his words. I find myself in complete darkness, I feel my blood slowly freeze, and the pin-needle sharp flakes of ice flay me from the inside out. My heart has completely stopped beating and find that I'm numb and cold. I'm dead. I must be dead. Because he didn't say what I just think he said. Getting married to Ava. Another woman that is not me. He has moved on. My brain struggles to piece everything together but fails miserably just like I had.
" Lily," His voice echoes from far away but at the same time next to me.
He calls for me once more, and I snap out of it and look back at him. He hasn't moved and I find that I'm sitting on the edge of the bed. I have no words to express how distraught I am. If moments ago, I was a bundle of nerves and emotions, in that moment I felt nothing. And I wanted to feel something, anything.
Slowly I rise to my feet and make my way to the French doors that lead to the patio. I unlock them and step outside. I know it's cold because it's almost November, and winters in Morston are akin to the artic. Temperatures plummet and by mid-December, everything is blanketed with snow.
My thoughts are all over the place. I focus on random, pointless things to keep myself anchored. I notice the thicket in the corner of the garden. Counting the cobblestones that lead to the front gate. Five hundred and thirty-seven in total. The way the gate is rusted over, and the paint is chipping away. The even spacing of the street lamps. Fifteen feet between each street lamp. The buzz of electricity fills the quiet night air.
A few people are passing by on the other side of the street. A car drives by sporting a mustard colour that I think it should be illegal.
Anything to keep myself from spinning out of control.
I don't even notice when I'm tackled until I hit the ground. The man looming over me is wearing a sinister sneer on his face and I don't have to ask who he is, I already know.
With one swift knee in the stomach, he hunches over, on one knee, and looks up at me. He doesn't get a chance to retaliate, because my kick sends him sprawling on the ground like an old mat.
He grunts and tries to push himself up, but I kick him again and he flips on his back, groaning.
Pressing my foot on his throat enough to cut his air supply," I have a message for Micah. If he wants me so badly. Tell him to come and get me himself. Because if anyone else comes after me he will find himself commanding a pile of corpses. Your corpses. Until then, I don't want to see any of you in Morston. Understand?" He chokes and I press harder. He is turning blue and I don't give a shit if he dies. I'll give the same message to the next one. Finally, he passes out and I take my foot off his throat. If he lives, I expect Micah will make an appearance soon enough and it won't be pretty.
I needed to start planning. Mason was right. I was alone like I wanted to be. I couldn't ask him to get entangled once more in the mess called my life.
Micah wasn't after Mason. He was after me. So perhaps him moving on with his life was for the best.
Staying as far away from me was in his and Enid's best interest.
I got what I wanted. I was out of their lives and that guaranteed their safety.
I hoped it did anyway. I wouldn't put it past Micah, to drag Mason or Enid into it.
He is getting married.
I didn't even realise that I'd already made it to the roof of the academy when that thought finally took root in my mind and spread like a weed, poisoning my heart and whatever was left of my soul.
The lights were off. The show was over. The fat lady has sung her final song.
I plop myself on the roof without even bothering to go inside. What was the point?
I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay still.
The skies were heavy with dark clouds, allowing Morston to shine in all its glory. My gaze stays glued to Northenhay, unblinking.
He is getting married.
That thought bounced inside my head creating the loudest racket I've ever heard in my life.
It's over Lily. Accept it. No other way around it. We were doomed from the beginning.