Heart of Fire

🔥Forty-One🔥

Song: I Hold On- Dierks Bentley 

Another week passed since Theo died. Every day, I woke up, sat on my balcony, and went to sleep. It was an endless cycle, and it was all because the void of him could never be filled by anyone else. Life without Theo was just one huge black hole of never ending grief.

I was helping Tobias clean up Theo's office while he did some paperwork, and for the first time in two weeks, I was finally distracted-- not completely, but a little-- from him being gone. I handed him a folder of papers stuffed in the bookshelf, and then I went back to organizing the books. Before Tobias could say anything about the papers, Maggie busted through the doors.

"I have something to tell you two." She announced, fear set in her eyes, and Tobias stood, motioning for Maggie to go on. "You know how Melody killed Blake, and that broke the power he had over me?"

We nodded, and she sighed, biting her lip. "If you think about it, I didn't break out of the spell after she stabbed him. I never broke out of it until she got into my head."

For a minute, everything was silent. I thought about what she meant, and at first, I didn't understand. I could comprehend what she was trying to say, but then it clicked, and I gasped as I realized why she was scared.

"And? I don't understand, Maggs." Tobias said as he leaned against Theo's desk. I turned towards him, and his eyebrows raised. "Woah, Mel. Why are you so pale?"

"M-Maggie didn't break out of his spell because..." I took a deep breath, grabbing onto Theo's desk. "She didn't break out of his power because Blake isn't dead. He's still alive."

Tobias's face instantly paled, and he collapsed into Theo's chair.

I dropped my head, breathing heavily. "Which means he will be coming after me."

And that was when I realized the trouble I had gotten myself into.

***

When the news Maggie delivered finally set in Tobias's mind, he called for an immediate pack meeting. When the rest of the pack heard the news, they panicked, but then Tobias created a plan. The first matter would be extra training. All of us would be trained to an expert level like Theo was, and not one of us would be weaker than the other, but that also meant some of us wouldn't survive through training. The next thing to take place would be a couple members of the pack becoming guards of the house. We needed all the protection we could get, considering my life and everyone else's were in danger, especially with Willow and Blake back as a team. The last order of business would be mainly focused on me. I was no longer allowed to leave the pack house by myself until Blake was successfully killed, which we learned the only way to do that was to stab and burn him. Maggie wanted to be the one to do that since Blake took her away from her family.

Training started immediately. Tobias made us run at least 150 laps a day, because he said that was how many a vampire should be able to run if they were strong, and he let the newborns by with 100. After training was over and all of us were pretty much more dead than we were as vampires, we all went our separate ways. I flashed into my room and walked into my bathroom for a long, hot bath. It completely relaxed my aching muscles, and I didn't even care about how much my skin burned from the water-- all I cared about was the relief my muscles were receiving. Once I was done, I changed into some comfy clothes and walked to Theo's bedroom door. I took a deep breath before placing my hand on the cold, metallic knob, slowly opening the door.

When I entered, I noticed how his cologne and grape shampoo still lingered heavily through the air. A small smile grew on my lips when I breathed in, and it was almost as if he never left. I walked over to his dresser where the picture of me sat, and a single tear escaped my eye when I ran my finger over his handwriting at the bottom of it. Glancing around his room, I took in everything before sitting on the edge of his bed. For a couple seconds, all I could do was stare at the picture and breathe in his aroma. I felt numb. It felt like someone had flipped the switch on my emotions, and all I could feel was emptiness. I was nothing without Theo.

"I love you, princess. Only you." His words lingered in my mind, and I suddenly began to sob hysterically. That was the first time I had cried since Theo died-- besides the night his heart stopped beating-- and to hear his voice so thick in my mind saying "I love you" was enough to make my heart feel like it was breaking all over again. With Theo gone, there was a huge hole in my heart, and that hole could only be filled by someone who could never come back.

"I need you, Theo. I need you so much." I sobbed, wrapping my arms around myself and lying down on his pillows. They smelled fresh of his grape shampoo, and that only made me sob more.

I never imagined the day when I would fall so deeply in love. To me, falling in love was just something to be read about in books, because I always thought no one could ever truly fall in love with someone. I wasn't even in love with Blake. I only loved him at one point, and even when I think about it, I realized how much of a lie it was. But then I met Theo. At first, our story was rough. He didn't like the idea of a newborn who was chubby and not pretty, and that killed me. Every time I looked at him, I always wondered how it was possible for a guy to look like such a dream. In my mind, a guy like him was equivalent to an angel, which was ironic, considering he was a vampire.

I never believed in falling in love until I fell in love with Theo Rivera. He gave me a love for all eternity, never capable of fading, even if one of us was in a casket and the other was a vampire living forever. He was the first guy I truly loved, and that was when I realized that sometimes, the books were right. It was possible to fall in love. Theo made me feel that kind of love every day, and it never ceased.

"I miss you so damn much, Theo. Why did you have to leave me!?" I sobbed out, and suddenly, the room felt as if I wasn't the only one there, but I didn't have the heart to look around when it was aching.

But then my heart dropped when a deep voice spoke, "Well damn, princess. I knew you were mad, but not hysterical."

My head snapped up, and there he was, leaning against his bedroom door in all his vampire glory, the corner of his mouth quirking up. I completely froze before I blinked a couple of times and even pinched myself.

And this time, he didn't disappear.

"T-Theo?" I stuttered, and his smile broke into a full grin. Theo nodded, and tears began cascading down my face as I jumped out of his bed and ran into his arms. He held me tight, and I sobbed into his shoulder, but this time, they were tears of joy. Theo was actually there. He was actually holding me, and he was alive.

"I'm back, baby," He whispered in my ear, and I smiled into his shoulder as another sob escaped my mouth, "And I'm not going anywhere." 

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Hey, loves!

I'm currently at work and it's HELLA busy, I'm ready for a nap :)

How did y'all feel about Maggie's realization? The truth about Blake? THEO'S RETURN!?

Make sure to comment, vote, and spread the word!

Thanks for reading!

Much love,

-Abby