Sanctity

Chapter 8

Either Michael forgot or he never had the courage to remind me of my promise. Over the next three years he visited whenever he could and we would find some happy way to spend a few hours of the night together. As each evening drew to a close, I dreaded the moment we would say goodbye, imagining that before he hurried away, he would tell me it was time for him to leave me again. My heart would pound with agony as I waited for the words but surprisingly they never came.

Fate found a way to make him keep his promise, though. Michael may not have had the strength to let me go but Victor and his thirst for vengeance had no such scruples. The night he confronted Michael determined to know how and why he retained such a profound degree of his humanity was utterly surreal.

I woke up full of apprehension and fear. I heard Michael's voice or maybe it was Victor's. It was nearly impossible to distinguish one from the other. I crept down the stairs and at first I thought it was Michael looming over my parents. I cried out in disbelief and it wasn't until I saw Victor's eyes that I realized my mistake. They held an immeasurable abyss of cruelty. Somehow they bore through my thoughts and found the answers to all the questions Michael and my parents refused to answer. I couldn't keep him out! When I looked at Victor, my mind saw Michael and it refused to break the vow I made to never leave him again; to let him always be a part of me and my life.

I hardly remember what happened next. One moment I was kneeling beside my mother and father praying Victor would spare them, the next I was a thousand miles away. Confused and heartbroken I helplessly followed Michael and drifted through all the things he asked me to do without question and without any explanation why.

Everything that happened after Victor took the lives of my parents until the moment I stepped out of Margaret's shower seemed like a dream. My memories were hazy and distorted but as soon as I saw her I sensed the truth. I flopped down on the edge of her bed and a few seconds later Michael came in. He sent Margaret away then opened up and confessed it all to me. He tried to comfort me after he finished sharing the truth but it was too terrible to imagine! After he told me what happened to my family, we both realized our time together had come to an end.

I cried a storm of tears mourning the loss of my parents. I begged Michael to make forget and to stay with me, to keep me safe from all the horrors I suddenly had to face. He shook with grief, knowing it could never be the way we wanted it to be. He carefully avoided a definitive response to any of my demands. Eventually the sun went down and the room grew dark. Not long afterwards Margaret came to check on us.

"I made dinner for you," her voice was full of all the things she wanted to but couldn't say.

Michael smiled halfheartedly and helped me to my feet. "Maybe we'd better clean ourselves up first."

"Maybe you're right," I sniffled as I stepped back and turned to make my way to the bathroom.

"Elayna," he reached for my hand and held it tight as he squatted down. He looked into my eyes and spoke with the utmost sincerity. "I know I can never make up for this but I promise, I will do everything I can to give you a good life." As he said it, Michael sorted through my memories and tucked the worst of them into the farthest reaches of my mind.

I had a million questions but they suddenly seemed unimportant and I felt too disoriented to ask them. My lips trembled into a smile and I pulled my eyes away from his gaze. I leaned down and gave him the lightest of kisses before heading to the bathroom to wash the tear stains from my cheeks.

After I had freshened up Michael brought me down to the kitchen where I picked away at the dinner Margaret had made for me. I was too weak and weary from all my emotional burdens to enjoy any of it and only managed a few bites in between yawns.