Midnight Shades

Chapter 66

Unedited, will start editing them once it's finished.

I wake up from the hard knocking sound on the door of my house. Opening one eyes, I see Esme's body rolled in the duvet next to me and get up. As the knocking starts again, much harder this time, I yell out, "I'm coming!"

Unlocking the door, I open it and find a very furious Ed standing in front of me. Immediately, I remember when Aaliyah and Lauren both told me that they will go back to the village. Fuck, he must have known.

"Did you know?" He asks angrily, eyes red with tears and anger.

I blink and gulp. "What?"

He steps inside and I take a step back. "Did you know that Aaliyah is alive?" He asks, clenching his jaw.

"I..." I trail off, not knowing what to do or say. "Yes, I... I knew."

"Since when?" He breathes heavily as he asks.

"Just recently," I reply before sighing and taking a step closer to him. "I was just as angry as you are. I couldn't believe it, and we had a fight, but it's not my place to tell you. She didn't want anyone to know, and I wasn't going to take that away from her."

He stares at me for a while, his red hair wild and skin dirty with the mud and sweat. His eyes grow redder before a tear rolls down his cheek, and without a second of hesitation, I wrap my arms around his body and hug him, making sure that he feels how sorry I am.

"I'm so angry, Tallulah," He cries quietly. "So angry and hurt."

"I know you are," I whisper soothingly, rubbing my hands up and down his back. "You have every right to be."

He tightens his arm around me and whispers, "I still love her."

I feel my own eyes burning with tears as I sniffle and say, "Of course you do, silly boy."

He takes in a deep breath before pulling away, wiping the tears from his eyes before he says, "I don't know what to do."

Smiling a little, I softly ask, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to keep her by my side," He asks in a heartbeat, then his eyebrows furrows and he adds, "But I also don't want to forgive her or talk to her, not now."

I bite down on my lip before I sigh and smile widely. "I think you just need some time."

"A lot of it." He adds, with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Go get cleaned up, we have a long day ahead." I tell him, making him nod with a deep breath.

"By the way, Conall's father is locked up." He informs me and I nod.

"We'll keep him that way," I say. "Which reminds me, where's my father?"

"He's out there helping us, haven't said a word at all," Ed tells me, with a slight frown. "Ragnar is recovering, too."

I feel my heart giving a heavy thud as I ask, "Is it bad that I have the urge to kill him?"

He shrugs. "It's bad when you have it and don't do it, but shit happens."

"You're not helping."

"I know, sorry," He chuckles lightly. "It's all for Wren's sake."

"I'll go get Esme, and then we'll catch you guys." I say, to which he nods before giving me a wink and leaving.

I go and wake Esme up, we both have a little eleven in the morning breakfast before I put on clothes and we head out. The village looks different now, not just because it looks completely disastrous, but because the people look different. Everyone is cleaning, looking happy and brighter than ever.