Haunted Beasts

CHAPTER 26

"What?" I touch my face and my fingers can feel the tears on my cheeks. I hadn't realized I was crying. It must have happened when I was confronting Aurora. "Oh, I didn't realize that I was crying." I tell her the one truth I probably can.

"Are you sure you are okay?"

I try to give her a smile. "Yes now go back to sleep." I say quickly before she can offer to stay the night with me.

"Okay." She wipes away my tears and kisses my cheek. "Goodnight." She says sweetly before reluctantly going back to her room.

As soon as she leaves my room I lock the door so that no one can barge in unannounced. I don't need anymore surprises tonight.

"She's lovely."

Aurora surprises me by commenting on Ronnie. Of course Ronnie is one of the sweetest people I have ever met but I'm not surprised that Aurora managed to observe that. How she made the observation is what's shocking me. I thought she could only see me, seeing as I was the only person who could see her.

"You could see her?" I ask but not as loud as earlier, I don't want to wake up anyone else tonight.

"When I'm in your presence I can see everything and everyone that you see." She moves closer to me untill she's right before me. "When I was cursed it was like I ceased to exist but then you were created and you were the first person I could see in centuries. Not only that but I could posses you, something Mistress made sure was impossible when she destroyed me."

When she talks like this it's hard to hate her. I can only imagine what it feels like to be cursed, well at this point I might as well be cursed but at least I can see people and most importantly I can touch Sky. "What happened to you?" I have heard the story but I feel the need to hear it from the horse's mouth.

My question seems to take her by surprise as she immediately steps away from me. I watch as she moves around in my room as if looking for answers.

"Didn't my sisters tell you about the disaster that is my life?" She's asks without looking at me but I don't have to see her face to know that this is a painful subject for her.

"They did but I want to hear your side of the story."

She makes a sound that sound like a laugh but I know she's far from amused.

"Why, don't you believe their version of what took place?"

I don't know what she means but I'm just trying to understand her better. There's really no need for her to be bitter especially towards me because I have never done anything to her.
"Of course I believe them." I say, a little defensively.

She turns to look at me and I almost shiver a little when I see the cold look in her eyes. She gives a chilling smile which doesn't reach her eyes.
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear."

"What does that mean?"

"Why don't you ask the Angels."

Something about the way she says 'angels' makes my heart thumb and not in a good way. I watch as she walks through my closed doors, making her way to the balcony. I immediately follow her, of course I have to open the doors as I can't walk through walls seeing as I'm alive.

She's standing on the edge and if she wasn't already dead I would think she's trying to kill herself. "Hey!" I call out, not having a care that I might wake up Ronnie again or worse my parents.

Aurora looks at me and I ask, "What did you mean when you said I shouldn't believe everything I heard?"

"Sister, do you really believe that the real reason I was cursed was because I chose to love a demon?"

I have never really thought of this. Come to think of it it does sound a little harsh but hey she did break the rules after all.

"Why would Mistress go through all this trouble to punish me? She could have just banished me. Why would she make sure I could never come in contact with anyone ever again? Have you ever wondered what the real reason was?"

"Wasn't it because of James?"

She gives me that chilling smile again. "Well, like I said don't believe everything they tell you." She moves closer to the edge. "For now, goodbye."

Without warning she jumps off the balcony. I find myself running towards the edge. "Aurora!" I shout but she's already gone. I'm breathing hard looking over the building. What exactly did she mean by what she said? Did I hear the correct story or did the Rosemont sisters just tell me their version of the love triangle gone wrong story of Aurora and James? What the hell is going on?

"Heaven?" My thoughts are interrupted by the horrified voice of my father. I turn my attention to him but he's not alone, my entire family is on my balcony and they all look petrified. For a moment I'm confused but then I realize what's going on. Oh no, I'm on the edge of the balcony, they think I want to jump.

"Heaven." My dad's voice is calm but I can see that he's trying very hard to control his emotions. "Sweetheart everything is okay just walk towards me." His eyes are pleading with me to come over to him.

But he's not the only one who's suffering, Ronnie and Alice are sobbing whilest they hold each other. Do they really think I would kill myself? Well yeah, Aurora pretty much tempered with the way people view my sanity when she had the bright idea to make me look suicidal just so she could take over my body.

"Dad I'm not going to jump." I say, hoping to put everyone at ease.

"I know you won't. You are stronger than that" He's trying to placate me like I'm some sort of a lunatic. I roll my eyes and walk towards them. My dad immediately wraps me in his arms and I feel Alice and Ronnie joining in. I feel suffocated but I know they need this. They need to know I'm alright and this is the only way I can assure them. They are all crying and I don't know how to comfort them so I decide it's best I let them cry it out.

After what feels like forever they get ahold of themselves and let me go. I tell them that I'm fine but of course they don't believe me. I don't blame them, I wouldn't believe me either with the way I have been acting. Dad and Alice eventually leave my room, though it's a little unwillingly. Ronnie on the other hand decides to stay with me. On another day I would argue with her but I'm just too exhausted and I believe I put her and the rest of my family through enough today.

Ronnie wraps her arms tightly around me in bed and she's already snoring. I'm not irritated but I can't sleep, maybe because she's holding me too tightly. I think she thinks I might run and go jump if she lets go of me. A part of me wants to laugh because I would never kill myself and leave Sky behind. I couldn't live without him I definitely wouldn't want him to move on after. Lord knows that Phoebe would just celebrate if I was out of the picture. I think my parents should understand that but I am glad that they worry about me, I just wish they wouldn't put themselves through this anguish.

Slowly I drift into sleep hoping that I dream of Sky and nothing else. Thank God this day is finally over.