A Beautiful and Terrible Truth

Chapter 5

“So,” said the girl as she sat opposite me on the cushion. “Someone special live down there?” she gestured toward the Flint Manor.

I nodded. “So special, that it had to be a secret.”

“You’re in love, aren’t you?” she said in a hushed voice. She seemed a tad disappointed.

I looked over at her, tearing my eyes from the view. I heard the two boys shift around, but I didn’t look away from the girl. She really was beautiful. Her dark hair flowed down in soft waves, gently caressing her round face and bringing out her blue eyes. Her full lips seemed to glisten with just a soft touch of lip gloss, and her smile was killer. It was not, however, when it was forced. She seemed to be disappointed at the fact that I was in love. She seemed too nice, too innocent to even be there, a part of the business that could turn your soul cold. Her eyes were starting to show the effects of the mark, and she seemed like she used to be happier, much happier.

“Who are you?” I asked, not meaning to be rude.

She sighed. “I see that they haven’t told you yet…”

I looked at her oddly before looking over at the two other guys, who were sitting up and staring at the two of us. “No, but now that you say that, I have a feeling that I know.”

She nodded. “I’m Lila Selwyn.”

“And you’re my new fiancé,” I said with no feeling at all.

“You don’t sound very excited,” she looked out the window, “but you’re in love with someone else, so it’s only natural that you feel that way. I was just getting my hopes up.”

“Getting your hopes up?” I asked, not believing what I was hearing.

“She let herself believe that you could be the one,” said one of the guys loudly. I looked to see it was the one on the bed. “I tried to tell her that life wasn’t a fairy tale, and that nothing like that ever happens. You couldn’t possibly fall in love with the one you are arranged to marry. Something like this could happen. I told you, didn’t I, Lili?”

I looked back over at Lila, who looked down at the floor and bit her lip. “I just thought that something good could happen in my life for once. Is that so hard to believe?”

“How could you think that something good could happen when you’re a part of this mess, huh Lila?” the guy continued and stood as he approached her. “I told you when our parents told us that they were deatheaters, and we had to be too that nothing else good could happen to us. I thought you understood that.”

“Well,” Lila stood, wiping at her eyes. “I’m sorry for trying to have a little bit of hope. Thanks for crushing it, Micah.” With that, she stomped out of the room.

The other guy jumped up. “Look what you did, Micah. Now, I have to go put the pieces back together.”

“Somehow, I don’t see how you mind that,” Micah snapped back, but the other guy didn’t seem to hear him as he slammed my door behind him.

I looked over at him with a confused look on my face. He sighed as sat down on my bed before looking over at me. He looked like a guy who was honest at all costs. He looked like the kind of guy that was confident and cocky. He looked like a man in love. He looked like I did, only without the honest part.

“What the hell was that about?” I finally asked.

He shrugged. “She lives in a fantasy world.”

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” I accused right away.

“Can you tell? How can you tell?” he asked, not even trying to deny it.

I shrugged. “The way you were trying to protect her.”

“I can’t stand to see her get hurt, especially if it’s by me, but how else am I supposed to let her find out? By experiencing it? I don’t know if I could do that,” he shrugged.

I nodded in agreement. “So, is that other guy your brother?”

“Yea, Mitch. He’s a real pain,” he smirked.

“I’m sure,” I smirked back, “seeing that he’s in love with the same girl.”

He nodded. “I know. I realized it before him, but it doesn’t matter. We both promised that neither of us would make a move. It had to be her. She has to pick.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but a rather loud boom resounded from the bottom of the hill. I looked behind me and out the window to see Courtney’s house ablaze. My heart stopped beating. What was I supposed to do? Was I going to run down there and make sure she was alright? Or was I going to stay in my room like a good little boy? I jumped up and looked at Micah, who was shaking his head.

“Go,” was all he said.

I ran for the door and down the hall. I slid down the railing instead of running down the stairs and out the door I flew. I ran all the way down to the house, where Aunt Bellatrix, mum, and dad were standing with some others. My mum looked at me with sad eyes. What had happenened?

“Where is she?” I asked as her dad stepped out of the flames.

“She’s gone,” Michael coughed as his wife threw her arms around his neck. “She’s…gone. Both of them are gone.”

My breath caught in my throat. She was…gone?

“Gone…you mean…” I couldn’t even say the words.

Bellatrix nodded and approached me. “She’s dead,” she said emotionlessly before throwing her arms around me. “Courtney is no longer with us.”

Every bone in my body told me that I should push her away, that she was lying to me. I just couldn’t though. Instead, I wrapped my arms around my cold-hearted aunt and began to sob.