Hard to Hate You // Michael Langdon

Part XXIII - Trust Issues

He scoffs as he walks towards the door.  "I have some bodies to dispose of, and I cannot trust you, as you have proven."

"Why the hell do you have to dispose of the bodies?" I ask.  "It's not like we're staying here."

He rolls his eyes from the doorway.  "I am not taking any chances of somebody supernatural stumbling upon their bodies and resurrecting them."

"I'm still looking for an answer as to why you casually keep handcuffs laying around!" I call after him.

He attempts to contain his smirk, but I still see the slight twitch in his lips.  I lean back smugly as he exits the room, choosing to ignore my question again.

As soon as his footsteps have faded down the hallway, I begin working at the handcuff on my wrist.  I slide it open with a simple incantation.  I scoff to myself; the best that Michael could do was place a weak ass spell on it.  

I quickly transmutate to my room and head straight for my bed, careful to not make any noise.  I drop to the floor beside the bed and reach under it until my hand touches the spine of a book.  I pull it out and look it over; it's a collection of the most rare and complicated spells recorded in the history of witchcraft.

I quickly flip to the page I'm looking for and read it over, making sure to memorize every word while a plan forms in my head.

After I've finished, I put the book back where I hid it and turn to the door.  As I'm grabbing the handle, I hear footsteps in the hallway.

Shit.  Michael's coming.

I quickly transmutate back to Michael's bedroom, landing in the chair.  I snap the handcuff back on my wrist and attempt to get into a casual position as the door flies open.

Michael storms into the room and stops short upon seeing me sprawled across the chair, picking at my nails out of boredom.

"Back so soon?" I ask mockingly.

He looks around in confusion.  "I...sensed magic up here."  He sends me a suspicious look.  "What are you up to?"

I chuckle as I turn around in the chair to sit up straight.  "Perhaps I was attempting to conjure up some food, considering that you left me starving."  I sigh as I lean back in the chair.  "Seems that the 'matter cannot be created or destroyed' law applies to witchcraft."

He chuckles as he picks up a pen.  "Yes, but you can alter that matter to whatever you want it to be," he states smugly.  He opens his palm and the pen turns into a dinner roll.

It takes everything in me to not cry at the sight of the roll; it's been almost two years since I've eaten something outside of gelatin cubes.  

Michael notices and sympathetically throws the roll to me.  I catch it with my free hand and send him a skeptical yet grateful look.  "Thanks... That was surprisingly nice of you," I add on.

He smiles as he approaches me.  His desk chair rolls across the room into his waiting hand, and he gracefully sits in it.  "Am I not usually this nice?" he asks mockingly.

I raise my wrist and shake it for dramatic effect, the handcuffs making a clinking sound.  "Does that answer your question?"

He chuckles as he reaches forward and takes my wrist, undoing the handcuff.  "Try anything and it goes back on," he threatens as he drops it.

"Hm, you're two for two right now," I observe, leaning back again as I begin to eat the dinner roll.  "Any reason for your sudden change of heart?"

He shrugs.  "I began cleaning up the witches' bodies when I began thinking about how you had betrayed me and all, then I reflected back on our conversation.  I realized how genuinely thankful I was that you still loved me.  Of course, I was thinking 'why the hell am I happy that this girl who betrayed me and seemingly hates me loves me?'  Then it hit me; I'm still in love with you, and I was hoping that you felt the same."

"And it took your beginning to clean up the witches' bodies to realize this?" I ask sarcastically.

He rolls his eyes.  "I'm giving you some vulnerability here and you still can't take it seriously."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I shake my head, attempting to hide my smile.  I lean forward and take his hands in mine.  "Truthfully, I agree with you.  I'm sorry for betraying you back there.  It was stupid and foolish of me.  I love you, Michael, and I want to live out the rest of my life with you."

He smiles as he takes my face into his hands.  "Really?" he asks, not entirely convinced of my words.

I smile as I pull him into me and press my lips to his.  As soon as our lips connect, I utter one word.  "No."  I release him, placing a spell on him to render him unconscious.

He gasps as he begins falling backward, the betrayal clearly written across his face.  

I stand up and look down at him smugly while he's losing consciousness.  I crouch next to his body and slip the large black ring off his finger, him being too weak to fight back.  "Oh, you poor fool," I tsk.  

He barely registers what I say before his head falls back and his body goes slack.

Part 1 of the plan is complete.