AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m going to step out. I’m not sure if I’ll be back.”
She was still acting bitter toward me, and since I never gave her a real apology for snapping at her the other day, her cold shoulder was to be expected.
I nodded in understanding, but then quickly reached for her arm. She stopped and turned to look at me.
“I need to talk to you at some point.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, confused. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I assured. “Just call me sometime this week.”
She nodded, and I watched as she exited the pew. She silently made her way down the rows, and as I looked over my shoulder, my gaze fell on someone standing three pews back. He was wearing a black button-down shirt and black dress pants, with his hands clasped together in front of him.
Caius.
His dark hair fell perfectly over his forehead as he made eye contact with me, like he was waiting for me to notice him. I immediately turned back around with my heart lurching up into my throat and my pulse speeding.
What was he doing here? Was heallowedhere? Does he believe in any of this?
I swallowed my sudden nerves down and placed my hands on the frame of the pew in front of me. I gripped the polished wood, trying to balance myself and my mind.
My mom leaned over and whispered, “Are you okay?”
I made sure to keep my body still and straight, keeping Caius from reading any sort of body language. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered.
The priest called for us to sit, so we did. I tucked my dress under my legs and smoothed it out over my thighs, fiddling with the fabric nervously in hopes that Caius wasn’t watching me.
But I knew he was. I could feel his stare against my shoulders, on the back of my neck, and down my spine.
I could feel it through the rest of the service. Through the head-bowed prayers, through the mindless reciting, and through the communion that I couldn’t bring myself to partake in.
Every time I closed my eyes, I was brought right back to last night, and I could practically feel his lips in his kiss. I could feel his lingering touch on the back of my neck, his thumb on my cheek, his chest pressed up against mine. It felt like an eternity ago as I crossed my legs uncomfortably, trying to squash any wistful memory of him while sitting in achurch.
“Delight each anointment to Heaven.” The priest spoke, and the congregation echoed an “Amen” into the air. With that, mass was over. My parents shuffled out of the pew and turned to me.
“I’m going to check on Serena,” my mom said softly. “Do you want to go get lunch?”
I shook my head. “Thanks, but I have too much to do back at home. Maybe next week?”
My mom nodded, and my dad slipped back into the pew to say goodbye. He leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of my head while I remained sitting.
“Love you, baby girl.”
“Love you, too,” I responded to both of them, then watched as they turned to go. They walked down the center aisle and out of sight.
With a sigh, I looked down at my hands in my lap. The hem of my black dress was beginning to fray, and I started to pick at the seams as my mind started to wander. For some reason,I couldn’t stick to one single thought, but there was a common denominator in them all.
Caius.
As if he could read my mind, he slipped into the pew behind me, his presence unignorable. He remained silent as he sat down, the smell of his woodsy musk entering my lungs with each inhale. I kept my head down, the waves of my hair falling along the sides of my face in a curtain.
I could feel Caius lean forward, his knees hitting the prayer cushion along the bottom of the frame behind me. He was acting as if he was deep in prayer, but his demeanor said otherwise.
“Celeste,” he rasped, darkness coating the aura around us, sinking me down into his depths.
My name on his tongue created a slight hum in my body. His lips were so close to my ear, that I could feel his breath on my skin, creating instant goosebumps on every inch of me.
Reaching up, he gently brushed away the hair from my face, pushing it back over my shoulder. I could see him out of my peripherals as I kept my head and eyes down. My chest began to heave as I struggled to catch my breath.
