When Darkness Dawns

Old Enough To Kiss

"I know it's awful, cub, but what else are ye supposed to do?" Sylvia sighs, holding me as I cry all over again about what's happening to me. It may be dramatic, yes, but considering I'm about to be married off to some awful man I've never met by my shitty parents, I'd say it's quite justified.

"Run away and never look back," I answer, but then my chest aches even more at the thought of leaving my boyfriends. Sylvia had a fit when I told her I'm dating fourteen men at once. But when I began to tell her a little more about them, and the fact that she met them that night when Darius took her, she was more than ecstatic for me. And then I began to tell her about my betrothal, and her jolly mood morphed into a barely controlled rage.

"Ye know better than anyone that ya can't do that. They'd track ye down and hunt ye to the ends of the earth before they'd ever let ya get away. Especially since they know so many powerful people and could easily fake yer documents. Ye'd never be safe, sweet pea. And I don' know what I'd do if I lost ya," she mumbles the last part to herself, and I turn so that my head is no longer lying on her lap, and then I'm the one holding her as she cries for me and my fucked up situation.

"Shh," I say as I rub her back.

After a while, she begins to sniffle, but thankfully, the crying begins to subside. And when she lifts herself off of me, we both look at each other's tear-stained faces and let out loud, belly-aching laughs. We look ridiculous right now. And probably a little loony, too.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Vee," I give her a bittersweet smile.

She wiggles her brows and replies, "Probably get yerself killed." I giggle and nod, knowing that would actually be a big possibility. "But I feel the same way, ma little cub." Then her head tilts a little to look past me at the clock by my bed, grinning playfully when she turns back to me. "I think it's time for ye to get goin'. Ya got a date with yer boyfriends in an hour, and ye haven't even started getting ready yet." My eyes roll on their own accord.

"Yes ma'am," I grumble playfully, getting up with a smile and a skip in my step. I find it kind of funny how I was crying my eyes out just minutes ago and I've managed to sober up so quickly, just with the help of Sylvia's perfectly spoken words and the thought of my perfect boyfriends. I bury the thought of my future husband in the deep recesses of my brain, knowing that it'll ruin the day with my boyfriends if I dwell on it. Later, I tell myself, walking to the closet.

I spot a super cute, light pink dress with a thick white hem at the bottom hanging up in my closet, and I slip it on. It reaches to a couple inches above my knee, and I find a pair of cute sandals to wear with it. For some reason, I find myself actually feeling kind of pretty today. I even put on a thin layer of mascara onto my already curled lashes, bringing out the rich color in my emerald green eyes. But it still doesn't cover up the pain in them, sadly. I don't think anything ever will. Not completely.

With a kiss on Sylvia's cheek and another assurance that everything is going to be okay, I'm out the door, hopping into my car for my day with Kota, Nathan, and Victor. I'm so excited as I pull up to their house, I almost can't contain my squeals. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see someone in my life—except for maybe when I found Sylvia after Darius took her. That bastard.

I lift my hand to ring their doorbell, but the door suddenly swings open and I'm engulfed by the smell of vanilla and sugar—Luke.

"God, I missed you so much, Cupcake," he breathes into my hair, sending shivers down my spine. I giggle as I hug him back, leaning back to give him an unexpected peck on the cheek and a wink. He smirks, "Hmm, I think you missed a spot."

"Oh really?" I grin back just as mischievously. "And where would that be?"

He sets me down so he can use one of his hands to point to his plump, super soft-looking lips. "Right here."