Temptation [A Young Writer's Prize Submission]

I trust you

Chapter Forty Four

And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 12:7

Lucien was more cautious now, wary of shadows, as we walked back to his car. As he’d said, he didn’t venture to touch me, which I was partly grateful for. It gave me time to think clearly, to assess the past… however long we’d been out here, and decide what to do next.

“So you’re no longer going to touch me,” I said suddenly.

Lucien glanced at me, his jaw tense; “Not for the moment, no.”

I pursed my lips, glancing sideways at him. “I wonder what it would take to tempt you.”

A smile grew on Lucien’s face; “For you, it probably wouldn’t be too difficult.”

I smirked. “Do you doubt your willpower?”

He shook his head. “Normally I have very good control of it, but you’ve thrown a spanner in the works. I can’t say what I would do to you, or how much it would take to stop me.”

“I’m willing to test it,” I teased.

“Please don’t,” Lucien was suddenly serious. “There is still a threat out there, Mercy. Until that’s taken care of, I won’t be doing anything to put you in danger – that is a promise.”

I shuddered at the thought that I might be encountering more near-death experiences, but I felt reassured that Lucien was at my side, defending me.

“How exactly do you propose to ‘take care’ of this threat?” I asked. “Bearing in mind I’ve almost been killed twice now, and don’t want to go through that again.”

Lucien glanced around as if expecting to find an assailant in the bushes. “Well, I have an idea of how to stop it, but I’m afraid it’s mostly down to your decisions now.”

“Me?” I was astonished. “What do I have to do?”

Lucien paused, and I stopped in my tracks too. “I think this is a discussion we need to have at a later time, Mercy.”

“Why is ‘now’ not a good time?” I asked him.

He turned to me, taking a determined step into my personal space. I was aware of his strength of will, flowing off him in waves. He wanted to touch me, I knew, but he held back. I remained still, watching him fight his inner desire.

“There are still things you don’t know, Mercy,” he spoke through clenched teeth. “I’ll be able to tell you everything when you’re ready. For the moment, though, just…”

“Trust you,” I finished for him. “I trust you.”

He smiled, and we continued walking, more closely together, but still not touching. The wind was beginning to get to me, and I pulled my jacket more tightly around me. Lucien looked over at me, concerned, but he still didn’t move towards me.

“Are you alright?”

“Just cold,” I said, but was prevented from entering further conversation by the beeping of my phone. I fished it out, expecting it to be a call from Cain; or Vanessa, asking me where I was, but the number surprised me. Unfortunately, it went through to voicemail before I could answer it.

“What is it?” Lucien asked, curious. There was an edge to his voice; like me, he must have thought it was Cain.

“Susana called me,” my tone was light with surprise; “My foster sister.”

“Are you going to call her back?” the edge was gone, instead there was nothing but concern.

“It’s probably about her dad,” I suggested. “I’ll just check voicemail… do you mind?”

“Not at all.”

A fierce wind assaulted me, making my hair blow about madly as I pressed the number for voicemail and placed the phone to my ear.

“One new message,” the robotic voice rang out: “Two… fifteen… pm… on the… 20th of April.”

“Hi, Mercy,” Susana’s voice sent a jolt of shock and guilt through my body. She sounded hoarse, and I instantly anticipated bad news.

“I thought I should let you know that…” she sounded like she was holding back tears. “Dad passed away this morning. His and Pip’s funeral will be on Wednesday. We don’t know if you want to come but… I wanted to let you know you’d be welcome. If I don’t see you there, I hope you have a good life… okay, bye.” She hung up, as did I, tears pricking behind my eyes, but I would never let them fall, even when I was alone. The Isaacs deserved far more than my tears.

We had almost reached the car now, and Lucien helped me inside, somehow knowing my distress. Only when we were both inside did he pull me into his arms, whispering soothing murmurs designed to make me feel better. I didn’t hear half of them over the thrumming of blood in my ears, but I heard: “It’s alright, I’m here for you.”

“Susana was saying…” disoriented and dazed, I tried to explain to him, but I don’t think I did very well. “The fire… her dad and brother…” despite my efforts, I couldn’t hold back the torrent of tears that accompanied my words. Lucien simply held me, letting me stain his shirt with my tears. He didn’t tell me to calm down, he didn’t tell me he couldn’t touch me, he just held me while the sobs diminished into broken sighs, until I stopped crying.

“I’m sorry,” I apologised, wiping my eyes with the tissue he handed me. I was grateful I hadn’t chosen to wear make up this morning, or it would have been all over my face.

“It’s alright, sweetness,” Lucien gave a sympathetic smile, taking the tissue from me when I’d finished with it.

“Susana told me her dad didn’t make it,” I spoke slowly, trying to force my mouth to shape the words properly. “The hospital couldn’t save him.”

“I’m so sorry, Mercy.” Lucien was quiet. I glanced at him, and he was pensive, as though searching his mind for something. “He was a good man,” he said finally. “I’m sure his soul is in heaven.”

I nodded. I still couldn’t say whether I believed in any gods, but my faith in hospitals had been utterly damaged.

“The funeral is on Wednesday,” I managed to grind out. “She wanted me to come, but she said I didn’t have to.”

“Do you want to?” Lucien asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe… yes… I don’t know if I should. I wasn’t family – I was the foster kid.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, Mercy,” he assured me. “You could be doing yourself, and them, a world of good. At the end of the day, you’re going to celebrate somebody’s life.”

I took a deep breath, and a final, unwilling tear managed to escape my eyelashes. Lucien wiped it away with a gentle finger.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Lucien stared at me for a long moment, deliberating something. “I’ll go with you,” he decided.

I stared at him. “No, really, I can handle this by myself, Lucien.”

He gave a half smile. “I don’t doubt it, but I told you’d I needed to protect you,” he reminded me. “Do you really think I’m going to let you out of my sight?”

I bit my lip. “It’s a long journey, and I’m probably going to need to stay overnight…”

“Mercy, I’ll drive you there,” he insisted. “I’ll tell Haithwaite tonight – we’ll both go and you can introduce me to your family.”

In spite of it all, I couldn’t hold back my laugh. It just sounded so normal – to introduce a boy I liked to my family. Even though it was probably under the worst circumstances, the idea tempted me; the thought of proving to Debra that I was better than Cain, to see the expression on Susana’s face.

“Okay,” I said finally. “We’ll go.”