Aide Me

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Fight Me

Emaia woke up in the middle of the night, when her hands found the other side of the bed empty. Her eyes flickered open and saw it was indeed so.

A movement by the foot of the bed then caught her eye, and she saw Aide sitting on the edge, pulling on his boot. He was leaving.

"Aide?" She whispered and sat up. The shadows contoured his frame, and she saw him glance over his shoulder.

"Go back to sleep, Emaia," He replied. He reached for his other boot.

Emaia sat up and pulled the blanket over her exposed chest. "Don't go. Stay."

Aide's movements faltered. "I can't."

"Why not?" Emaia pouted. "Last night..."

"Last night was last night. I'm done here," Aide stood up and grabbed his cloak. Emaia could just see the features on his face look as lifeless as a corpse.

"Done?" Emaia asked confused. "What are you talking about? Aide, what's going on?"

Aide stopped up, his back facing her. "I gave you what you wanted. That means I'm done."

Emaia felt a cold sensation form in her chest. He had to be joking. And if he wasn't... "Aide, what the hell do you mean 'you're done'?"

Aide took a moment before he then turned around and looked at her. His face was hard. "I'm saying, you wanted me to love you, so I did. I was tired of fighting your wish, so I just gave it to you. And now I have. So I'm leaving."

Emaia's chest constricted. Her airways blocked and it felt like her heart stopped beating. It wasn't true. "Why are you saying this? It's not true, you're lying... Last night—"

"Emaia, I told you months ago, this is what I do," Aide snapped. "I enchant women. I make them believe they could have me. I tell them what they want to hear. You were a virgin, so you were easier. I'm sorry you didn't realize sooner."

It was like an invisible steel fist punched her in her heart, stomach and head. Everything, every ounce of her love ran cold and left her body. Humiliation washed over her. She had been such a fool.

"You played me." She whispered, anger shaking her voice.

"You didn't listen to me," Aide calmly replied. "I told you; sleeping with me would only start a shitload of new problems. I tried telling you, but you were so consumed with your idea that I could fall for you. Last night I just gave up. I figured; 'why not? – Just let her have it'."

Emaia clenched her fists in rage. This wasn't him. This wasn't Aide. Whoever this person was, it was someone she didn't know. "You're soulless," She snarled. "So what, you just decided to give up and just play me, right before the big battle?"

"I actually considered waiting until after the battle, but then I realized there was a chance that I wouldn't survive," He shrugged emotionlessly. "You were so easy. I knew if I came tonight and acted all heroically, you would pull me to you, like a moth to a flame."

Emaia felt irked by his words and felt a numbness form in her chest. "So one last lay before you die?"

"Did you really think it was that easy to change my mind last night? After everything, did you really honestly believe I could change, just because one red-headed human thought I could love? If that's true, I'm disappointed in you, Emaia."

Emaia was shaking so badly, she couldn't control herself. His words cut like knives, everything culminated in that second. She reached for the gold bracelet on her nightstand and hurled it after him. "You pathetic, heartless coward!!!"