Predestined (18+)

Elucidating

"I'm sorry."

It kept resonating in my skull. I had fallen silent the entire car ride home. Damion apologized countless times, and my lack of words became the only thing stilling my calm.

Imagine, if you will, your spouse apologizing for marrying you. That's how it felt in the moment. I was sure no other human would carry the understanding, but I couldn't block out my own perception.

Damion however, couldn't seem to loosen himself from the idea of my humanity being tortured from the experience. I'm sure it seemed reasonable. Placate. Appease. Mollification. That was his goal. It wasn't working in his favor.

When he parked my car in front of the house, I drew in a sigh of relief. It was exactly how I remembered it. The stone walls. The shuttered windows. The size. Everything was exactly how I had left it, or how it had always been. The mansion was hundreds of years old. I knew the family. The home wasn't built for frivolity, but the owners hadn't been hard pressed for the funds to construct it either.

I hurried myself out of my car. Damion didn't even have time to make it to my door, not at a normal pace anyway. I don't believe he was prepared for my eagerness. Of course, he wasn't prepared for anything that day. As I silently followed him to the entrance, my insides overflowed with emotion. I was about to assert the validity of my dreams.

"Are you going to talk to me?" He had thrown out the question, so suddenly, my eyes shot in his direction. My head was still waiting for him to open the door, but a set of keys dangled in my face. My car keys.

I shook my head and snatched then from his grasp, moving to open the front door myself at the same time. It was all exactly how I remembered. The door hit the table as it flew open. The table that held the small glass bowl I always dropped my keys into. I made my way around the door as he followed me in, and I dropped my keys in their acquired home. He didn't respond. I would need to be more specific.

As I walked the marble tile floors, my eyes shifted around the foyer. I knew he was still talking, but in all honesty, I have no description of the words that were refracting as they entered my ears. My focus was on the staircase, and my next destination.

My shadow continued following me up the steps. The cold metal railing traced my hand as I glided up the familiar path. I made my way down the hall and opened the mahogany entrance of the room I had missed.

"Jo, just talk to me!" I heard, along with the door slamming behind us once we were both inside.

The bed, the dresser, the bookshelves, they were all in their exact intended placement. At least, the way I had anticipated their presence to be. I hurried to the dresser and opened the top drawer, pulling out one of Damion's shirts as he closed in behind me.

"Jo." His hand was on my arm. The jacket still separating us, and I waited to see if he had caught on. "Just stop and say something. I can't take the silence."

No. He wasn't paying attention yet.

I was coming unhinged at this point. What more did he need to open his eyes? I didn't want to just blurt out the truth. He needed to question it first. I needed to question it. How true was my knowledge of what we had signified?

"I need to shower. I'm covered in blood." I abruptly shook my arm and earned my release. My body followed with the removal of the jacket and I tossed it into his waiting hands.

I hurried into the adjoining bathroom. The towels would be in the closet at the far wall. The walk in shower was made of the same stone that lined the outside of the home. The vanity, trimmed in ivory, and the cold tile floors felt brisk like they always had when I stepped out of my sandals and scurried over them.