In Damien's Keeping

Chapter 18

"Mark?" I asked and he smiled back.

He smiled... And my heart soared, a sob escaping my lips, simultaneously. The lapels of his jacket in my fists, I buried my face into his chest but my knees gave up, making me slide to the ground. His scent was different than before, his body felt different than before but my desperation got the better of me and I kept clutching to him.

Looking up at his face, I wondered if he wasn't my husband anymore, if he had forgotten me. Moments passed with me staring blankly at his face and the events of past running in front of my eyes.

"I am sorry, we couldn't save him."   The doctor's words about my husband.

 "I never wanted to kill your husband," the murderer said and his laughter echoed in the silence.

The energy on which my body was feeding on, seemed to run out. I felt my knees buckle in time when my eyes closed, ears still hearing the shouts of my name but gave up later.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Voices of people arguing around me were heard when I gained consciousness. I curled myself against the pillow I was supplied with. It was soft and comforting but not enough to distract me from the world.

"Lia?" Someone breathed near me. 

Someone shook me by my shoulders and I dragged my eyes to the person, realizing that it was Damien who was staring worriedly at me.

"How are you feeling, Lia? Is your head still in pain?" he asked, lightly caressing my head with his warm hand.

A shake of my head, a nod from him and the conversation was over. He sat silently staring at me and just waited.

"Where is Mark?" I asked after a while when I got my senses back.

Damien sat still for a while then sighed and averted his eyes from mine, setting them on the ground.

"If you think you can hide the truth from me, you're wrong. I know he is alive!" I said and sat up, all the while glaring at him. He was always hiding something from me, I would not be fooled this time.

Damien closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair which messed them up totally. Shame, they were styled perfectly but his hair still suited him even after being messed up. Wait a second, why was I paying attention to his hair when I had an urgent issue at hand?

"Lia, he is not Mark."

A simple statement from him made me gape at him, my eyes blinking in rapid motions.

"You haven't seen him," I said and shook my head, not believing him.

Surely, he didn't know that was why he was denying. He gave me a stern stare and sat beside me.

"I have seen the person you saw at the shop and I know him. He's not Mark."

He must have realized something because his face softened and he placed his hand on my cheek and whispered,

"I know its hard for you but you have to believe me."

"Why should I? You have been hiding things from me, since..." I hiccuped between sobs and continued, "Since the moment you met me. How can I believe you?"

"You have to... I care about you, I wouldn't lie about this. He was my best friend, too. I can't do this with him," he said.

Not wanting to hear anything from him, I placed my hands on my ear. My lips and hands were trembling but I kept them stuck on my ears. I wouldn't listen to his nonsense or he would continue to feed me lies. But his previous words continued to echo inside my head, telling me to believe him.