“How are you feeling, dove?” I swear I can see her smirk grow wider, her tone laced in seduction.
“I’m working.” I don’t mean for it to come out gruff, or maybeI did?
Tally rolls her eyes at me and moves closer. “Are we just not going to talk about it then?”
Shivers riot down my spine. No. Not going there.
Narrowing my eyes down into a glare, I remain silent. Let the silence speak for me.
Her eyes roll once more as she takes another step closer. “It’s okay, dove. You’ll be crawling to me soon.”
I watch that dangerous light in her eyes twinkle brighter. Fuck me, she’s a cunning little minx. If I’m not careful she’ll drown me. Bury me within the bricks I’ve built around myself.
She takes another step closer, leaving little to no space between us. “Well you shouldn’t let little old me stop you from your all important work. Couldn’t possibly stop you from completing your self imposed tasks.”
Oh that condescending wench.
This time I’m the one that steps forward. Our chests only a deep exhale away from one another.
“What. Do. You. Want?” I rasp out.
Suddenly her expression drops, the sparkle fizzling out. Now my chest squeezes with a sense of foreboding. A completely different sensation to how it felt when she first showed up.
“Before I came down here I checked on your Captain– she’s still unconscious.” She rushes through that last part.
My worldspins.
Tally has been at the forefront of my mind– a distraction to end all other distractions– that Amara has barely even crossed my thoughts since the battle had finished.
My Captain, my lifelong friend could very well be dying– or fuck it all– already dead.
My breathing quickens and my vision darkens, blackness creeping in from the edges. Black tendrils infiltrate my sight as my pulse races through my ears, drowning out the sound of the waves below.
How in the living fuck could I actually forget about her? How could I be so rash as to stop thinking about Amara?
She’s been the only one there for me.
From the beginning it’s been us. From watching our village and family die, to every fight, every threateningillness. To making that leap of becoming pirates and moving up the ranks together until we took over our own ship.
There’s been others in and out of my life. Those who started this mission with us, but found homes elsewhere. To those who found their lives with us on our ship.
But it’s always been Amara and I.
The one person I could always rely on.
And here I am caught up on someone else when my loyalty and heart has always been with Amara.
My breathing is shaky, lungs not operating to their full capacity. It’s the only thing I can feel. The rest of the world dulling to a buzz, and my limbs are so numb they feel like stone.
Maybe this will be the thing that finally turns me into the stone statue everyone has always called me.
I feel like I was talking to someone moments ago, but now my vision is just black. Shadows dancing around, mocking me and my choices. Reminding me that I’m the one who let her fall. I’m the one who couldn’t save her.
I’m the one that would never be enough.
My spiral tears me apart, ice dousing my veins and lungs seizing inside the prison of my rib cage.
Then suddenly a blossom of warmth opens against my skin. I can’t locate where, but the warmth sinks bone deep.
