The Devil's Bride (Book 1)

Chapter 32- Nose Bleed

THIRD PERSON

There hadn't been many visitors to her bedside since she had returned to her apartment from a hospital trip that left her refusing to even speak a word. Reyna often stops by to try and pry words from her memory but she doesn't reply. She only gently caresses the pillowcase covering her thick pillow and flutters her eyelids at the visitor. Generally, they understand and move on, leaving her lifeless figure clutching the clean sheets or occasionally rising to fetch herself something to eat. Most of the time her new roommate helps her, but there are some days she spends alone in the home, cluttering up the already compact rooms. On the rarest of occasions when she feels energetic and lively, she ventured into the office to continue working, but that rare opportunity ends shortly after it begins. She rushes home and is back in bed before too many can notice her pottering away in her small office. She still remains the boss of the magazine, but she struggles to run the company when she coups herself up inside these four walls. It doesn't help that she lost one of the best writers in the company and that their intern is still missing after the year that has gone by.

Marie barely manages to scrape herself out of the comfortable bed as the doorbell rings. She opens her mouth but closes it firmly shortly afterwards. No words escape her lips. She reaches for the door handle, biting her lip as her hand braces against the silver handle. She opens the door, clutching her stomach as she eyes the other woman. She cannot even bear to speak one word, but the other girl speaks for her, stepping into the living room.

"Hey, Marie. I don't expect you to talk to me, but I need to talk to you," she begins, sitting down on the sofa. She unzips her dark purple jacket and tosses it onto the coffee table in front of her. "I needed to talk to someone about everything in my life right now, so please listen to me." Elise sighs as Marie moves closer towards the sofa, shrugging and collapsing beside her. The air is stiff between them as only silence and the eerie twitter of birds fill their ears. Elise site awkwardly staring at her former lawyer with disbelief in her eyes. "I have no clue what happened to you," she begins, "but you've changed too much. I miss the old Marie, the woman who scolded me for speaking in court and the woman who screamed at anyone who even threatened to take her down even one step in court. I miss her." She frowns, tapping her heels against the wood of the living room floor.

To say that Elise's life changed dramatically after the time she spent in prison last year is a definite understatement for her. Her whole life changed from a single moment. One singular thing changed her entire world; the death of the now-famed Luke Tepp. While she never meant to cause his fateful death- and while she never meant to harm any of her customers- he was a different case. He flipped her life into the sea of misguidance and danger and she saw in his eyes the threat of her death rising over her back. After the release from prison and the successful trial which sorted her crime as what it had naturally been- an accident caused by his guilty presence- she finally could breathe the clean air of the world once more. She'd never return to the strip club again. She tossed the cheap and tasteless outfits in the trash and moved forward rather than backwards. The shady cover of the dimly lit rooms faded in memory and she cleaned herself up. It helped that Marie had agreed to provide funds for her assistance, so Elise could safely return to her studies and move towards her degree. Sadly, her social life has struggled ever since.

"Marie, I know you can hear me," she continues, awaiting some response from the other woman. Nothing returns, so Elise continues, "I...I need this clarity in my life. I need you...in my life, and though it kills and...though it hurts, I need to talk to you only," she finishes, resting her hand on the shoulder of Marie. She flinches, but moves back so her shoulder connects with Elise's hand. Elise smiles. "I'll continue talking and pretend you're listening," she begins once more, "because I know you are in there, waiting to break free and tell me everything. I know it kills you to hear anything about that day, but I only want to help you." Neither move in the stillness, but Elise's lip quivers. Deep inside, she loathes the silent treatment and she'd turn and run away if none of this matters, but it does. Someone needs to help her.