Chapter 12- How To Ruin Everything
“Home?” Caleb scoffed, jerking me closer to him.
His breath on my neck felt toxic. Like it was burning my skin. Eating away at the surface. Searing, scorching, baking, blistering. Every time he exhaled, the venom bore deeper into my body, contaminating me. He leant closer to me and with one hand on my chin, he tipped my head back so my face was parallel with his.
I held my breath and gritted my teeth. My lime green eyes locked onto his slate blue ones. His hand didn’t leave my jaw.
“Caleb.” I said through clenched teeth. “Let. Go. Of. Me”
He dropped his hand and sniggered as I wrenched my head away from his and staggered away from him.
“Alright, Alice.” He sighed. “Where exactly is your home?”
I blinked at him. My jaw tightened. He smirked and took a step towards me.
“What are you gonna do?” He leered, “Go crawling back to Jason?”
My heart clenched at the mention of his name.
“No way Elnora will let that happen.” He drawled, taking another step closer to me.
I backed up against the tree, narrowing my eyes.
“Since when have you and Elnora been on a first name basis?” I spat.
Caleb faltered mid-step. He stumbled slightly to the side as if I had caught him by surprise.
His powder blue eyes widened in surprise for a second before he regained his composure. The usual smug smile returned to his face.
“You know what?” he sneered, snatching my wrist and pulling me away from the silver-birch. “I think it’s time I let you in on a little secret.”
I tucked a loose, blonde curl behind my ear and clenched my jaw even tighter. Could this day get any worse?
“What?” I hissed. I didn’t even care what he had to say. I was done.
“Not here.” He nodded towards the derelict house. “Let’s take this inside.”
Without waiting for my answer, he strode towards the house, dragging me behind him.
He kicked the door open and walked inside.
The air, was dank and heavy. Like it had been trapped inside for years. It was pitch-black.
Caleb shuffled around until he found the light. He flicked a switch and the room was lit with dim yellow luster.
The walls were lined with peeling, blue wallpaper. The floorboards, dirty and faded. The furniture, stained and coated with dust. I don’t know how Caleb found this place. Or who it previously belonged to. And I didn’t care. All I wanted was to get out of it.
I perched on the edge of a lumpy brown sofa, and raked my fingers through my hair.
“Well?” I snapped, “Am I going to sit here all night or are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Caleb slumped down into a grungy, red armchair, opposite me.
“Look...” he started, hunching forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “When we first found out about the whole.. ‘old-family-contract-first-born-daughter-has-to-marry-family-heir’ etcetera... I thought it would end differently. But... Obviously... It didn’t. After you married that guy... Well, I was furious.”
I rolled my eyes. These were things I already knew.
“Are we nearly up to the part of the story where you get to the point?” I interjected sarcastically.
“So I went and spoke to that old bitch, Elnora” He continued, ignoring my interruption. “And it turned out, she wasn’t so ‘over the moon’, about the whole thing either!”
He paused to give me a sickening smile.
“And we made a deal...” he simpered.
My breath caught in my throat and I struggled to cover it up. To keep my face neutral. Calm.
“I think you’ll like this bit...” Caleb mocked, obviously picking up on the fleeting expression of fear on my face. “She agreed to pay me a... Fairly large, sum of money, on the condition that I would... Come back and convince you to run away with me. If they couldn’t find you... Then that would render the marriage contract null and void.”
I processed what he was saying.
Elnora sold me.
She payed him to do this.
All of it was a lie.
And now I had lost Jason.
And I never even had Caleb to begin with.
He was using me.
All along...
“Yeah, yeah save yourself the sob story” he said, reading my thoughts. “It wouldn’t have worked between you and Jason anyway.”
My bottom lip betrayed me, by beginning to tremble. I hated myself for it. I didn’t want to cry.
“What?” Caleb snapped, expelling a loud, mocking laugh, “You didn’t seriously think you were gonna live ‘happily ever after’?”
I flushed red.
“You don’t know anything, Caleb!” I snarled.
Confusion crossed the man’s face. His brow furrowed. Then slowly, as if it was all coming together in his mind, his expression changed from one of ignorance, to one of joy. Foul, loathsome, repulsive joy.
He leapt of from his seat and brandished his index finger, inches from my nose.
“You love him!” he cackled, “You’re in love with Jason!”
I slapped his hand away from my face as he dissolved into a fit of laughter.
“SHUT UP CALEB!” I shouted, tears streaming down my cheeks. “YOUV’E RUINED EVERYTHING!”
Caleb stopped laughing. His mouth twisted into a grimace.
Tears continued to pour over my sun-kissed features, but I didn’t stop screaming at him between sobs. I was hysterical.
“WHY COULDN’T YOU HAVE JUST ACCEPTED WHAT HAD TO HAPPEN AND MOVED ON WITH YOUR LIFE?” I shrieked. “I WAS THE ONE THAT HAD TO MARRY A STRANGER! I WAS THE ONE THAT DIDN’T GET ANOTHER CHANCE!”
Caleb clenched his hands into fists. His eyes bore into me. I didn’t even bother to figure out what the emotion was. Anger? No. I didn’t care anymore.
“YOU COULD HAVE MOVED ON FOR CHRIST’S SAKE! YOU STILL HAD A CHANCE TO FALL IN LOVE AND GET MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS! I WAS THE ONE...” And then I was overcome with tears. My voice was hoarse. My head was pounding. My eyes ached. My heart ached...
Caleb grabbed my forearms and jerked me towards his torso. I grappled with him. I tried to pull away. To wrench my limbs from his grasp. He tightened his grip and I fought even harder.
“STOP IT!” I wailed, wrestling his clutch. “LET GO OF ME!”
A wordless scream ripped up my throat and Caleb finally released me. He clamped his hands over his ears.
“Calm down!” he shouted, almost pleadingly.
I stopped screaming. My hair had come loose and become savage. My eyes felt sore and puffy. They stung from the recent flood of tears. I rubbed them with my knuckles and tried to steady my breathing.
“I’m leaving.” I announced, reaching for my bag. As I extended my arm I noticed the swollen bruises that were forming thick, dark, red bands around my wrists.
“NO!”
I recoiled at the volume of his shout. His yell was at least twice as loud as mine. And much more authoritative.
“You can’t just leave.” Caleb snapped.
I turned on him. The top of my head only just reached his nose. I looked up at him, my eyes blazing.
“What Caleb?” I sneered, “You thought I would just accept that you've been using me for money this whole time? That I would just forgive and forget? And live with you? In this... This pathetic excuse of a cabin? For how long? Forever? Is that what you thought? Hmmm?”
Caleb didn’t answer. He just stared at me. His mouth opened and closed soundlessly.
“Well I’d rather die.” I whispered, loud enough for him to hear the venom in my voice.
I turned on my heels and went to stride from the room.
But just before I could emerge into the moonlight. Before the pale, silver gleam could glaze my skin. Before the crisp summer air could fill my lungs. Before I could run into the night and be swallowed by the darkness.
I felt something, thick and hard, strike the back of my skull.
Then everything went black.
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