49. I'm sorry
After crying for over an hour, I went to my room and cleaned myself up, then prepared dinner for when Arc would return from the funeral. Arc plodded in, sleeping Hunter in his arms, head on his shoulder. Arc looked terrible, even more than I did. His hair was scattered, his eyes swollen and black like he was punched a couple of hundred times. His lips were burst, and I could see some self-installed injuries on his shoulders and hands, ones he refused to let heal.
He had emaciated, more than I did. I felt bad for making him feel neglected after losing our daughter, he was blaming himself too. Fear gripped my heart, Judith's dead caused me so much pain, but I would have committed suicide if my husband was to be the one to face death. I couldn't let him kill himself, I would kill myself too.
"Arc," I called, forcing a smile. He raised his head from his feet, which he had been staring at. His eyes widened when he saw me, I didn't look that bad. "I made dinner, wanna join me?"
"Jue…"
"It's okay, just drop Hunter in his room, clean up and come join me for dinner, I can't eat alone."
"I'll be back quick." He said with a sincere smile. I was the center of his world, without me, he felt like nothing. Arc might have loved his daughter, but his love for me was unchallenged, he was more than a mate to me.
He rushed inside to clean up, bouncing like a five years old boy who just got a bicycle. When he returned, he looked cleaner and less of an eyesore to me. I sat him down in the living room, sat on his laps and fed him as I ate, not bothering to tell him that Judith died for his sake, that would break him completely. I, however, told him about Tori coming, excluding the Judith part.
"I know where the phoenix lives, it's in Hawaii somewhere, but the phoenix isn't a friendly creature. Maybe I should go with you, so he won't roast you." Arc suggested worriedly.
"No, I must do this alone, you must go touch your powers up. Eva will stay with Hunter and make sure the pack security is at it best, Drew will be here too…" I looked at Eva, who nodded in agreement. "If you are that worried, I could go with Kisa…"
"No use, don't bother. Let's talk about this tomorrow, my mind is crowded at the moment"
"Eva, please return to electro form and check on everyone, you must check on the perimeters more constantly now."
"I will love that," she giggled, "see you in the morning." With that, she returned to her bodyless form.
"I'm sorry," Arc said all of a sudden, "I'm sorry for not being able to protect our daughter, for failing you. I should have been there to protect her, I should have been there to make sure our daughter…"
"Believe it or not, it is no fault of yours, it is not mine either. We would get through this together, we would survive this, one way or the other. I'm alive right? We would have more children and this time, we would take good… better care of them. Okay?" He nodded and shoved his face into my chest.
"Thank you, thank you for not hating me, thank you for not leaving…"
"I will never leave you, Arc, we are in this together, forever and always." He didn't say anything, just cried into my chest. I remained on his laps, stroking his head and patting his back. Maybe the hugging wasn't much of a comfort.
"Arc, do you want us to go to the bedroom? You can make love to me if that would make you feel any better," I suggested. He raised his head, glistening eyes twinkling at me.
"You really won't mind?"
I beamed, "since when have I ever mind?"
"Now Judith isn't around to stop me any more," he said bitterly, "I will give anything to make her stop me again."
"And I will give my life to get you to smile at me again, to feel your hands around my body. Arc, I love you, and we will get through this, at least we still have each other. Would you have been better if I was the one to die?"
"No! No, no, you can't leave me, you can't." He cried.
"Now let's go, okay?" I slowly pried his hand away from my waist, stood up and teleported us to our bedroom. I made him sit on the side of the bed while I stood, watching his panic-stricken gaze melt into mine. "I'm not going anywhere, Arc, trust me."
"Don't leave, I won't survive it." He whispered, almost inaudibly.
"Then be brave and let us finish this bitch once and for all," I grinned, at least I was feeling better. I tugged at the hem of his shirt – which I wore – and pulled it over my head. His sad eyes changed as he watched me undress before him. "Don't think of anything else, just think about you and me tonight, just us."
"Just us," he repeated slowly. It just had to be, tomorrow was uncertain for us.
• Narrative •
Esme screamed as she thrashed her entire place, the pain from the bite the small pup gave her did more damage than she thought it would. She didn't just lose her barrier, her powers weakened, she needed more souls to strengthen herself and place the world in darkness before her time runs out. Yes, that little imp had placed her life on the edge. She stopped screaming and pulled her hair, still couldn't place her finger on whom the child was.
"Mistress, if it will make you feel better, I have good news for you." Her servant announced. She turned on her… Well, spidery legs and hissed at the happy servant.
"What…(hiss)…news?"
"I just got the report that Juno's daughter is dead, the pup you killed was your enemy's daughter…"
"What! No w…(hiss)…onder she was able to hurt m…(hiss)…e this bad! That little imp g…(hiss)…ot what she de…(hiss)…serves. Now what is the second news?"
"The perfect opportunity to destroy Willow Spring is here," the servant said ecstatically. Esme rolled her eyes. "Look mistress," she waved her hand over a mirror to show a meteor rushing towards earth. "Normally, that meteor would burn up before it get close to the earth's atmosphere, but with a little magic, that meteor could pass and land right in the middle of Willow Spring, destroying the town to nothingness."
"Brilliant, Ava!" Esme shrieked with a clap of her hand, "absolutely brilliant! This is why I trust you with my work, you are clever, very clever for a spirit I conjured up. Any other news?"