I trudged through the water, looking around and wondering what it was I was doing there. How had I gotten here and why was I in the middle of the ocean? I looked around at the wide expanse of blue with no land in sight. The moon hung high and full in the sky, illuminating the dark blues of the ocean.
“What is happening?” I asked.
I looked down at my feet and realized that I was just knee-deep in the ocean even though j was at the center of it. I looked around again, there was no one in sight. Nothing. No trees, no rocks, no mountains, no land. Just water.
“Am I dreaming?” I asked myself, pinching myself.
I turned around sharply as I felt a powerful presence behind me. It was the goddess. She looked ethereal under the moonlight. Her white hair glowed under the moonlight and her blue eyes mirrored that of the ocean. Her dainty feet were adorned with pearl strings and were perched on the water. Her eyes bored into mine, as though trying to search my soul.
“We’re running out of time, Oliver…” she said her voice barely above a whisper.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We’re running out of time…” she said again.
She moved towards me and I instinctively took a few steps back.
“Bond with me, Oliver…” she said, her voice rising to a fever pitch and her ankle-length hair standing on ends around her head.
My eyes opened wide in shock at the spectacle and turned around to run but my feet were stuck in the water, and I began to sink. I looked down to see the goddess’ hand on my calf, her long nails digging into my flesh. I looked down to see her bright eyes staring up at me from the water as we slowly descended. I was extremely helpless against her strength. My mouth opened in a scream that was quickly silenced by water flooding into my mouth. My hand flailed wildly as I attempted to swim up to the surface, swim up to air, but the more I tried, the further I sank, the hand of the goddess still fastened to my calf. The moon smiled cheekily at me as I ran out of hair and water began to flood my lungs, and in that moment, Mr eyes drifted close and I could have sworn that was the end.
A firm hand on my chest forced me awake, and my eyes opened wide in fear and shock. My breaths came in hot, hard pants, and despite the air conditioning, my bed was drenched in sweat. Samantha stood next to me on the bed, her hand still on my leg. I sighed, and momentarily thought about my dream. For a while, I had thought that the goddess had laid off my case. It would seem that she hasn’t forgotten and still wants what’s owed her.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
I swore and nodded, looked out the window at the risen sun, and sighed.
“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” I asked.
Samantha lowered herself until she sat next to me on the bed, her bloodshot eyes coming into view and was a clear indication that she hadn’t gotten any sleep, and if at all she had, it was negligible.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, her silence beginning to worry me.
“When is he leaving?” She asked plainly.
My heart fell. She didn’t need to elaborate for me to know who exactly it was she was talking about. I sat up on the bed, sliding down to escape the wet spot, and ran my hand across my face.
“I…I don’t know, Samantha…I know that this is a little hard for you?”
Samantha barked out a laugh, her tone indicating that nothing was funny. “You think?”
“I promise I didn’t intend for this to be like this…”
“What is he to you?” She asked.
I opened my mouth and closed it. I could say he was a friend, but that would be dishonest, not just to Samantha, but to me as well. Gabriel was more than a friend, and after the short time that we spent apart, I knew that I couldn’t live without him.
“You love him, don’t you?” She asked, her voice cracking.
“Please…”
“But what about me, Oliver?!” She asked, tears gathering in her eyes. “I thought you loved me?!”
She was right. There was a time when I loved her. Maybe I still did? We had grown up together, our parents were friends. Maybe I did love her as a friend?
“Samantha…you know ours is a contract marriage, right?” I asked.
I saw the pain reflected in her eyes almost immediately, and I cursed myself. I just seemed to not be able to do anything right.
“I’m sorry…”
“No. You’re right. It was stupid of me to think that we were anything more…that we could be anything more…”
I watched in silence as she stood from her place on the bed, and went to stand in front of the mirror, lost in thought.
“My parents had an arranged marriage…” she started.”
My brows drew down in a frown. “Yes…I’m aware…”
“They grew to love each other. They made it work!!!”
“Samantha…”
“We can make it work! He just needs to leave!!”
“It’s deeper than that, Samantha.”
I’m his mate. I almost added.
My heart broke when her lips began to quiver and the tears fell. At that moment, I knew that our marriage wouldn’t work out.
“I’m sorry, Samantha…”
“You’ll learn to love me…I can’t lose you to him, Oliver!!!”
I lowered my head, partly in anger and shame. I wondered how long this would take, I wondered when the storm would pass. I was so lost in my thoughts that I barely registered Samantha leaving my room. I just sat there drenched in sweat and stewing in my thoughts. My thoughts and the presence of the goddess that I had come to live with.