The Maestro

Chapter 11 -- The Awakening

I was surprised by his sudden confession. No, that's an understatement. I was actually...stunned. The fact that someone could find happiness by being in close proximity to me had never crossed my mind before. Especially not with someone as private and mysterious as Michael. This was new. It made my heart dare to jump through my ribcage. I sat there beside him, stupidly looking at him as his cold hand froze my own warm-blooded one. His eyes had softened so much, they almost looked as if they were made out of melted caramel.

"Irene?" He questioned, wondering if I was alright. He wondered, had he said something wrong?

For a second it felt like words were stuck in my throat and wouldn't come out no matter how much I willed them to. My body was frozen as if under a magic spell, and even my eyes couldn't blink properly. All I could do was stare at him, in his eyes. Observe every little detail of his pale, sculpted face. It suddenly dawned on me that I was very much attracted to him. This being that had every characteristic of a man yet the powers of something supernatural. I was falling for him.

And before he could say anything else, I leaned closer to him quickly, overwhelmed with an impulsive natural urge. His body stayed still, unsure of what I was doing, and right as he opened his mouth to speak again, my lips grazed his cold ones and began to dance over them gently.

I could feel him stiffen, so unsure of what to do. He held back as I turned my head to kiss him. His mouth tasted fresh, sweet and minty; and the coolness of his delicate lips made it all the better. Finally, he kissed me back slowly. It was so cautious and gentle.. so overwhelmingly perfect. The butterflies in my stomach had migrated to my head, where they flew around, making my head spin pleasantly.

He began to pull away, ending the kiss just as quickly as it had begun, and looked down at me with an unknown expression that shadowed his features completely. His eyes were no longer soft caramel, but rather returned to their almost black appearance. I immediately regretted what I'd done in that moment. I had kissed a ghost.. I was falling for an apparition. I looked down to avoid his unreadable gaze.

"Irene.. I-I think you should go home now." He said sternly, yet with an unwavering evenness to his voice. Something about the kiss had washed over him and soothed a part of his soul he didn't know was sleeping--yet he felt threatened by it. He didn't want to get too close to me; he didnt want to hurt me or hurt himself. He was a ghost..and I was a human. It couldn't work like that. Certain things just aren't meant to be.. Those were his thoughts as he got up from the park bench and turned back towards me.

"Please, leave here and don't come back, Irene." His voice grew quieter as he struggled to maintain composure, something that had never been a problem for him before. But now, in this moment, he felt weak and fragile. He wanted to run away from me and hide back where it was safe, in his lonely abode, away from anyone's eyes. He wanted to be alone.

"I-I'm sorry.." I stuttered, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt flood over me.

You're insane, you know that?

I couldn't ignore the voices in my head that told me so. They were right. I was completely, utterly insane in so many ways. I got up, hands trembling as I looked at Michael.

He was looking at me, but his face.. It was resting in the same emotionless stare that greeted me when I'd first arrived...stone cold, unfeeling, and unreadable. As if he didn't know me anymore. His eyes were blank and I couldn't make sense of them like I used to. Fear began to coarse through me.

"I said to leave!" He raised his voice at me in a way I hadn't heard before. "You know the way out, now go!" He pointed towards the path that led to the wrought iron gates I'd come in through last night. "And don't come back..." His voice trailed off as he added something in a quieter tone. "Please.."

I didn't know what to say. Tears were already running down my cheeks. I covered my mouth with my hand and ran. I ran away so fast from him. He really was a monster that belonged here, rotting away in his prison of a mansion. Whatever feelings I thought he had were obviouly an illusion. This whole thing was an illusion.

You fucking stupid girl.

He watched as I fled away from his property and pushed open the iron gates, blindly fleeing into the woods. The one person that had awakened a delicate part of his soul he had pushed away. He tried to deny emotion. He tried to deny that part of him. He tried so hard but the tears spilled over his dark eyes and onto his cheeks anyways. The feeling of them stinging his eyes and rolling down his face was unfamiliar to him, but the heavy feeling in his chest that accompanied the tears was all too familiar. He walked back into the recluse of his mansion. The whole estate shuddered as if in protest when he slammed the doors shut, never planning on opening them again. And although nobody was there to see it, the grass turned to a sickening shade of lifelessness. Bricks crumbled on the sides of staircases, and the sky grew overcast with thick grey clouds.

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Meanwhile, I was bawling my eyes out, almost unable to see where I was going due to my vision being blurred by my own tears. Eventually, I stumbled out of the forest and into the outside world again. Back to Normal Valley where I lived. I wanted to forget about everything that happened last night and this morning. I just wanted to forget it all and wake up from it like it was all a dream. I unlocked the door to my house and slammed it shut, immediately leaning back against the cold metal door and sliding down, burrying my face in my knees.

This is all your fault, everything is your fault.

You fucked everything up.

What's wrong with you?

You're better off dead, like him.

You deserve that.

All these thoughts raced in my mind as I let out everything through my cries, soaking the fabric of my jeans in salty tears. I stayed like that for a long time, feeling my heart break into pieces.

What had I done..?