Thanatos : The Red Dawn

(11)Rosy Candle Light

I blinked a few times; Death's faced remained imprinted on my mind no matter how hard I tried to erase it. I took another sip of my wine and tried to focus. The dulling effect was welcoming. Now he's driven me to drink. Wonderful.

Sonya adjusted her thick poncho as a small group of friends left the restaurant and opened the door to the outside, bringing in the icy wind. It looked like it might rain later in the evening. The weather was still deciding whether or not to turn.

The cold air was very strange for this time of the year. It was summer and yet the clouds kept tumbling in form the horizon, covering the coast with fog and mist. Back home, in Caneyville, the weather was fine. Completely normal for this time of the year, but here, in this small vacation town, things were glum.

I wondered then if Thanatos had anything to do with it. Silently I prayed he would just leave me alone for now. Hadn't he done enough for one day?

His controlling words were still fresh in my mind- 'You're mine, Aurora. Whether you like it or not.'

Another chill ran up my spine and I squirmed in my seat from the impulsive cold reflex. I moved my eyes to the large window, where the clouds continued to bubble up.

"Look, all I'm saying is, go through the notes." Sonya said as she tried to reason with Trita; "I gave them to you for a reason, Rita."

"But it's such a waste going through them when I know that stuff won't be asked in the test."

"Trita, you don't know that. Rather read the damn stuff than fail your driver's license- again."

I chuckled and piped in when Trita pulled an irritated face at Sonya; "Besides, weren't you the one who said you'd do anything to keep the invigilator off your back?"

"She's a banshee! You both know that..." Trita grabbed a small bread roll from the basket in the center of our small, intimate table.

"So are you, but we don't consider you evil." I said sarcastically and Sonya giggled. Trita contemplated giving me the finger in a crowded area, but instead of that, she just smiled and rolled her eyes, while buttering her bread. 

"You're the evil one." Trita mumbled with her sly smile.

"Am I going to regret asking why?" I asked with a small laugh. 

"Since we're talking about exes, you practically broke Dario's heart, you know that?" 

I scoffed and placed my wine back down on the table. Dario- my ex. We dated for about a year and it was fine, I guess, but he just wasn't the guy I could see myself with for much longer. He was dull and had gotten too attached. It sounded harsh of me to say, but it would be more crueler to deny the fact and lead him on than just break things off- which is exactly what I did. Some nights he still called; I tried not to answer. At first I did, but his pleading soon turned to victimization and I wasn't about to entertain him.

"Dario needs to get over himself." I said with a groan. Sonya smirked at me with a knowing look in her eyes; "I feel like you seriously need to just have a steamy make-out session. You really don't let yourself go enough."

I glanced at her from the side and grinned mischievously; "If only you knew all the wicked plans I have for this weekend." It was a lie of course.

"Well, you better act fast- the week is almost done and I have nothing to pin on you yet!" Trita leaned forward onto her elbows; her dark green eyes full of challenge.

"I have." Sonya sipped at her creamy cocktail through the bright orange straw, "Embarrassing me in front of Celine's brother! Twice!"

Sonya's expression was mortified as we laughed and tried to make it worse by reminding her of how quickly she'd frozen up when he'd started talking to her. The candlelight flickered up and down and for a few good moments I'd nearly forgotten all about Thanatos.