Cursed

Chapter Twenty One

Lex decided to stick around, which brought Leif out of his shell some. Still, he slept in his car. It was probably the most comfortable option, seeing as the other would be the two stiff chairs in front of the fire. The two ate meals and laughed together, passing the time quicker than was possible when it was just Elora and Leif.

While Leif was still quiet and sullen for the most part, Lex brought out the rare smile from him. Elora was flabbergasted when she heard a low chuckle come from the man who seemed to lack any sort of joyful emotion.

Elora liked this side of Leif. Sure, he was still reserved and brooding, responding with short, blunt sentences and grunts. But, she held on to those infrequent moments, recalling the way his smile made his eyes crinkle or the huskiness of that laugh. Cabin fever, she thought, this is cabin fever. And the sex dream. Elora was still as embarrassed as the morning after her indecent dream. To say she saw Leif in a new light would be an understatement. On more than one occasion, she found herself wondering if he was truly that muscular under those clothes. What it would be like to run her fingers through that inky hair of his. She wondered if it was as soft as it had seemed in her dream.

The days were going by in a blur. It had only taken a couple of weeks for Elora to fly through most of the books that caught her eye.

Every now and then, after Leif went to bed, Elora would tuck the old, leather-bound journal under her arm and sneak off to the bathroom to read it under the fluorescent lights. This way, Leif couldn't make any more snide remarks about her belief in soul mates.

Leif continued that hot-and-cold act all the while. Some days, he would prepare meals or coffee for Elora, bringing them to her wherever she was reading or crocheting. Of course, saying nothing as he did so. Still, despite everything, she would feel those pesky butterflies erupt in her stomach whenever he did something of that sort. Her feelings had become so confusing since she'd met Leif.

Tonight, Elora had been drawing in a notebook she'd found on the bookshelf. She had never been an artist, but the options for entertainment here were becoming more limited by the day. She'd kept her phone close by, but didn't expect to hear anything at this point. It had been weeks since they'd arrived at this place, and nothing. She tried to explain to herself that there must have been a development in things at home, and Cale was staying silent for her safety.

But today, the screen finally lit up with a phone call from an unidentified number. Elora sat up stick-straight, her breath catching in her throat as she stared. "Leif," she choked out, her voice sounding breathless.

He and Lex had been bringing in wood from outside,  and the door was wide open allowing for easy entrance and exit. He must've sensed the panic in her voice, because she heard wood tumble to the ground, then rapid footsteps in her direction. "What? Are you okay?" He looked worried as his eyes roamed over her body, like he was looking for some mysterious injury that appeared in the two minutes since he'd gone outside.

"The phone... someone's calling," Elora struggled to form those four words. She held up the burner phone in his direction, as if he needed proof.

Leif crouched next to her, staring intently at the device in her hands. "Answer it. On speaker."

Elora took a deep breath in before clicking 'accept'. "Hello?" Her voice was barely a whisper, as if the men trailing her could hear her voice from a hundred miles away.

"Elora. It's Arrow." Elora's heart sank immediately, a thick lump forming in her throat. Why was Arrow calling? Where's Cale?

"H-hi... Where's Cale?" Slowly, cracks were appearing in the floodgates holding back for her tears. She tensed, bracing herself for the worst. Leif tentatively placed a hand on Elora's knee, as if saying 'it's okay, I'm here'.