The next morning, the Doctor wakes us up. I notice the black eye on Derek's face. He doesn’t seem to mind. He smiles at me gently. Derek traces his finger around the outline of my face.
"I'm sorry I failed at protecting you. If I hadn't been so busy sulking we wouldn't have gotten separated."
"Derek don't..."
"Shhh....no don't. If I had thought about my actions, we would have been linked together and never been separated. Now, you have a black eye on your beautiful face and you've already been through enough."
"Not to interrupt but I need to check him out and Meril is wanting to see you." the doctor says.
Meril's house is about thirty minutes away. The house is a little farther north than I care for and, even though it is only fall, it’s freezing. The house itself is too big, for a couple with no children. It’s more like a mansion. I didn't think that doctors made that kind of money. It has ten bedrooms, two kitchens, seven full bathrooms, three half bathrooms, a large dining room, a small dining room, a theater room, two living rooms, a game room, a six car garage, a five in a half acre back yard with a heated pool. Every room has a walk in closet and a bathroom. The closets have shoe organizers and the attic is the length of the house. The attic is tall enough that Meril has made it into a workroom. At first, we are so
Before we are finished, we are both panting and sweaty. He took me to heights that I had never been before. I don’t know if it is because of the mutual feelings, or if he seemed to improve since the last time, but that was the best I’ve ever felt. I lay in his arms, trying to control my breathing, with a huge grin on my face while Derek is attempting to stay awake. The phone is ringing and, a few moments later, Liz knocks on the door. I groan internally. I do not want to move from this high. "Alayna, Meril is on the phone. Are you awake?" Derek and I smile at each other before I unwillingly answer.
While Liz and I wait for Derek in the truck, she apologizes again. I tell her that it’s okay, but secretly I’m really embarrassed and thankful that it didn't get much farther. The rest of the ride to the house is quiet, except for the music. I sit a little distance from Derek, but hold his hand. I’m so ambivalent with how I want to spend these last few moments that my own head is spinning. I’m not sure I have a choice anymore, emotionally, but my head keeps screaming at me. When we arrive, Liz walks straight to one of the rooms to get into her bathing suit. I laugh. I don’t think that she’s going to last long out in the sun with that burn. I ask Derek to find us a room and to put our bags up. He perks up with word ‘us&rsq
The following morning, is rainy and gloomy. Everyone is feeling just as bad as the weather, but we go back to work. I skip breakfast, which infuriates Derek, and start working on the project. I can tell that he wants to say something but he doesn’t. He just shakes his head and walks off. Meril and I finish putting it together before lunch. For some reason, Derek is upset with me and I am having trouble figuring out why. Liz believes it’s because he didn't get much sleep due to my tossing and turning all night. That makes me feel even worse because he made me breakfast and I didn't even bother to eat it. I
Derek and I spend all night pleasuring each each other. We finally pass out from exhaustion, fully spent. So, the alarm clock screaming at me jolts me awake. My head is pounding, body sore, and my muscles ache. I groan as I reach up to turn it off the annoying sound. Derek grabs a hold of my wrist before I can get out of bed. I turn to look at him. My heart plummets as I see the look in his face. He’s looking at me with sad desperation. I wrap him up, in the fiercest hug that I can manage, and wait for him to finish crying. I hold back my tears, knowing that it would only make it w
Derek and Liz are watching us intently. I turn and grab Derek’s hand. I’m so furious and he can see it in my face. When I grab his hand, he flinches. I’m too upset with Meril for sleeping with Liz and his mistake to care why Derek flinched. I have to fix my mistake and seeing my father's handwriting made it much more important. I let go of his hand, feeling frustrated and desperate. Before I make it to the machine, Derek grabs a hold of my waist. "Wait, Baby Doll! Not like this. Calm down, look at me." He whispered while into my neck.
I set the date and time, grab a hold of Derek’s waist, and wait for him to push the button. I almost fall and Derek catches me just before the blackness consumes us. This time, I don't feel like I’m falling and Derek doesn’t get sick when we land. Something isn't right, though. I remember Meril saying that he didn't land in the right spot, but we landed in my original spot. "Derek, something doesn't feel right." I whisper. "How so?" "The air smells of death and fire."
Wow, my head is pounding. What the heck happened? For that matter, where am I? With great reluctance, I open my eyes. I’m lying in a cell. Oh, great! Was my whole rescue a dream? My breath hitches. I can feel the tears spill over my eyes as I think about the wonderful dream that I had. Where I met a handsome, genuine man, and started developing real feelings for him. I heard a shuffle and looked up, wiping my eyes, afraid to find out who was with me. That's when I spot him, Derek, and he’s in chains with fresh cuts and bruises."What happened?" I ask, my voice raspy."Don't say anything, Baby Doll." He whispers back."No, I want to know what's going on?" I insist.
Derek gets up to leave without a word. I try to grab a hold of his hand, despite knowing that I should let him go, but he moves too fast for me. I feel the tears rolling down my face. This is what I deserve. He, however doesn’t deserve the hurt. I start to head towards Meril, to help me finish the machine, but Derek comes back before I can get halfway across the room. He has a determined look in his eyes.
"Derek said that you weren’t supposed to be here, until tomorrow." Liz says, holding my hair. "Meril and Derek are at the bar.” She helps me to stand and looks at me critically. “You look like you need to lay down." I look over at Derek’s sister, guilt eating me up from the inside out. I think that I might throw up again. Looking into her eyes, with tears forming in my own, I speak my guilt. "Liz, I don’t think that you should be so concerned about me right now. I did something bad.” I look down at my feet. “Your brothers going to hate me when he finds out.” An idea pops into my head. One that will help remove any pain that I’ve caused anyone. The only person that will carry that pain is myself. “Is the machine still working?"
I decide that I will take a bath while I wait. The bath is wonderful and relaxing. I fall asleep in the tub but this time Derek isn't there to wake me up. I wake up to the feeling of suffocation. I open my eyes immediately, realizing that I’ve submerged in the water. I jump up, take a huge inhale of air, and release the water.I think about Derek while I get dressed. There is some fruit sitting on a table when I get out. My stomach grumbles a bit. I try to satisfy it with the fruit but I need actual food. I’m too scared to walk around by myself. I’m stuck waiting on Joseph. I pace the room and wait fo
We finally make it to the dining hall. Joseph is already there waiting for us. His face falls when he notices us enter together. I frown, feeling a little guilty. I look down as I walk to the table. I sit on one side of him and Derek sits on the other side. "Good morning, Derek. Lady Gwyneth seems to be impressed by you.” Joseph winks. I scowl at the table. I know what he’s doing. “She said that she would love to join us for breakfast. Unfortunately, she has errands to run and wanted me to thank you, on her behalf, for your company last night." I clench my fists in my lap. Derek looks at me apologetically and I give him an 'it doesn't matter look'. "Thank you,
I hear Derek curse as I rush down the hall. I contemplate why I’m so angry when I had wanted to do the same thing with Joseph. It feels hypocritical but I don't get a chance to think of it for long, because Derek grabs a hold of my arm and spins me to face him. I have never seen him so angry or hurt. I back up against the wall and he follows my movements, with his own, as he glares at me. I’m not sure what he is angry about. I told him that he didn’t do anything wrong. It’s true. He didn’t. So why is he mad at me? A paige runs down the hall and Derek grabs my upper arm and le
"Geez, Derek. Why do you keep doing that?" "Why do you keep falling asleep in the tub?" "What are you doing in here?" I inquire. "Joseph sent me. You've been in here for a while and the paige was afraid to come in." "Oh. okay. Why did he send you? I mean what was his reasoning?" "He thought that maybe you were having second thoughts." he says, sounding a little hurt. "I didn't mean to sound like I didn't want to see you. I just meant, why, for the staff's sake.” I motion towards the basin. “Can you hand
Derek explains everything to Joseph and he listens like a school boy sitting in front of his favorite teacher. Watching the two of them is bittersweet. I walk behind them and watch with amusement as Derek gets more animated with every new question. He seems to be in his element. I’m glad that he is the one that explaining things. He is explaining the future better than I can even imagine. Joseph is so astonished with everything that is different in this world. Like tall buildings that reach the clouds, no animals, and flying cars. It takes a few minutes for Derek to explain what a simple car is. He asks if we thought
Joseph looks at me for a second. I can see several emotions filter through his eyes. I can’t help but continue to look at him. He nods his head as if he has made a decision. He nods towards one of the guards who then unchains Derek. I beam as I watch him stretch his arms and rub his wrist. When he notices me watching, he smiles back and walks over to me. We look over at Joseph, who has been watching me, and Joseph turns around. I excitedly give him a hug that he returns with as much enthusiasm. "This isn't helping." he whispers in my ear. I pull back and look at
I cry until I cry myself to sleep. I hear a sound that wakes me up. I open my eyes just when one of the guards bring me some food and water. Again, they do not bring any for Derek."Is he going to make me watch him starve to death?" I ask."King Joseph wishes for you to remain well.” He hesitates, deciding whether he should tell me his next information or not. He shrugs and lowers his voice. “If you are telling the truth, he plans to re-marry you in front of the country." the guard replies."And Derek?" I ask agitated."He is going to allow him to be your 'secret assistant' provided that he behaves. He is not to do anything to compris