Abandonment is one word to describe Evelyn Ward's childhood.
Known as an orphan freak and paranoid schizophrenic, she was dragged through years of therapy after admitting to hearing whispering voices and seeing creatures and living shadows.
...
Steady, strong arms broke my fall, catching me before my head struck the ground. His soft voice pulled me back from unconsciousness. I blinked rapidly, focusing my eyes on his perfect face as the rest of the world spun.
"Whoah there." He set me upright on my feet, his hand lingering on my back to steady me as I swayed. "You nearly fainted, are you alright?"
"No." I shook my head, stumbling away from him. "No, no, no. I'm not alright. What the hell was that?" My stomach churned and I doubled over, clutching my stomach, fighting the urge to vomit all over his shiny black combat boots. The feeling wasn't just the shock of seeing that thing that sent my mind reeling, but it's lingering aura that made me physically ill.
"Okay, okay, calm down. What are you talking about?" His voice was low and soothing but had no effect on the hysteria rising inside of me.
"That, that thing! That demonic creature -- and you, you just threw that ball of light and that thing turned into the shadows!"
His eyes widened but his expression quickly settled to one of vague confusion and I wondered briefly if I had imagined it. Or possibly, he was coming to the conclusion that he was dealing with a rambling mad-woman, and didn't want to set me off any further. "Creature? Shadows?" He spoke each word slowly and inquisitively, almost as if he was asking me to reconsider what I had said.
"Yes, creature, shadows. The same shadows that skitter away from you when you walk past!"
This time, there was no mistaking the look of shock that shadowed his eyes.
"And no, I'm not crazy. Every foster parent I ever had has thought I am, but I'm not -- so don't look at me like I am. I know what I saw -- you fighting that thing was not a delusion."
"Foster parents? What happened to your actual parents?"
I stared at him, mouth gaping. Out of everything I had said, that's all he got? I was trying to figure out what the hell I just saw, and all he cared about was why I didn't have parents? "Yeah, just throw me a fucking pity party, okay? Because I'm the crazy girl whose parents abandoned her on the sidewalk as a newborn twenty-one years ago because they just knew she was a freak. Now can you please tell me what the fuck is going on?" My voice cracked at the end, after having risen to an earsplitting screech, as I caved in on myself.
Those were words I had only ever thought to myself alone in the dark, never daring to admit out loud, fearing that if I did, they would solidify into a harder truth than they already were. It was a taunt that had been lobbed at me throughout my childhood, but speaking them to a complete stranger who had no idea how damaged I was, broke something inside me.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't've asked. I just thought..." He stepped forward, closing the distance between us, while I shuffled away, raising my arms in front of myself, warding him off. His green eyes flashed as he caught sight of something and he grabbed my wrist, flipping my hand over, exposing the birthmark resting there.
Lightning tore through me as his fingers touched my marked flesh, albeit, it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. My birthmark tingled as a luscious warmth spread through my body, sparking my nerves to a blaze.
Wrenching my hand from his grip, and rubbing the tingling heel of my palm, I turned and ran. My feet stumbled slower across the wet grass than I willed them. The terror fueling me to run from his sudden intrusion into my personal space nearly overpowered by the intense desire that begged me to turn back. To crush his sculpted body against my soft curves until there wasn't an inch of space left between us.
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That was quite a reaction! What do you think might have caused it? And why was he so interested in her past and being an orphan? Does he know more about these shadows and her than he's letting on, or is it mere curiosity?
Thanks so much for all of your comments and votes! Starlight's Heir reached into the top 1000 rank for general fiction this weekend (I know that rank 973 isn't all that impressive, but it's a super awesome achievement for me and a new story of mine, so thank you so much for all of your support!)
And a special thank you to Niknokinater for following the story this far and for all of your amazing comments! It makes me so happy to see someone so engaged in my story!
