Escaped the Night (20 page)

Layla shot me a glance
,
clearly aski
ng why I wasn’t coming
. Jayce lifted his head
and
look
ed
her in the eyes
,
and I knew
she understood
.
Jayce rec
on
nected us for a brief minute so
I
was able to pick up a hint of what
he was saying
.
‘
The parasite’s right; I’m not the keeper of everything. I couldn’t even keep the one who meant the most to me.
’

My
heart shatter
ed
as he spoke the
se words to our friend. Then
, I felt him leave
and
feared it was the last time I’d ever feel connected to him.
I didn’t want to hurt Jayce;
I
honestly loved him, but
part of me
didn’t want
to hurt Daray either.
I was supposed to have married him
,
a
hundred years ag
o of course
, but there was definitely some kind of loyalty
and love
remaining
.
He’d
never given up searching for me
;
that was
true commitment.

I watched
as
Jayce and my
dear
friends
disappear
ed
down the beach
.
I
tried calling
out to Jayce
before he was out of sight, but not one
of them stopped or
even
turned
around. I f
elt a lump rise in my throat as I wondered when
I’d
see them
again. I knew what I had to do.
For now,
I
needed
to stay
ne
utral, just
until I figured out
exactly
where I belonged. I felt safe with Daray, but not with the company he kept. I felt s
ecure
when I was with Jayce and
my friends
.
However
,
I couldn’t fight the feeling that
I owed Da
ray some form of recognition. After all,
it was
becaus
e of him that
I was still alive
.

I walked back over
and embraced
Daray’s
cold hands.
I paused for a minute; h
is hands
didn’t fit
perfectly
with mine
.
H
is skin was so
icy
. I really
did enjoy
the
Jayce’s
warmth and how perfectly our hands fit together.
“Daray, it’s almost dawn. I know you
need
to head back to you
r dwellings before daylight
arrives. I wanted to let you know
that
I’m
not going to come with you right now.
”

“Pardon?” he
said
,
clearly
agitated.

“
Please don’
t get
upset
. I just need
some
time to think
t
his through.
I
’m
feel
ing
torn
,
and
honestly
, I’m not sure what I should
do
.”

“I understand
,
my sweets.
Just know I’
ve never
…
ever
stopped loving you
.
I’ve
searched
for you every night for a hundred years. I’ll never lose track of you again. You are my love.”
He leaned in
,
kissing
me fervently. His c
ool lips breezed swiftly over mi
ne
and
moved
down towards my neck. I
fell
back into his undeniable trance
.
Garrison
intervened,
grabbed my arm and pulled
me back over towards Kaleb.

Daray hissed at my protectors in pr
otest
.
But d
aybreak was coming soon and h
e knew I wasn’t going with him, so
he and
his followers
headed
down the beach
away from us
.

I
remained
along the shoreline with
Garrison
and Kaleb
,
watching as
the sun started making
its way over the horizon. The sky
turned
marvelous shades o
f pinks, purples and oranges as the sun highlighted
the scattered clouds
.
It was stunning, watching
the new day begi
n.

Then I wondered
,
how was I going to get back home? I‘d come to the beach
with
Jayce and n
o one else drove cars
. I was immortal, but
b
eing
mostly
human
, it
would take me hours to walk home. I let out a
disappointed
sigh.

Just then, a voice I knew very well
asked
,
“Can I offer
a ride?”
I turned around
,
and
my heart fluttered when
I saw
Jayce
alone,
standing
back
on the beach
. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to get home easily if you stayed with us
day
walkers.
I mean…
I have to admit
,
I’m very happ
y
you didn’t leave with Daray
and the others
.” He muster
ed
up a smile.

I felt so asham
ed about
how
I
‘
d changed right in front of Jayce. It
wasn’t fair to him and I felt
incredibly
guilty.
We walked silently towards his car. I waited for
Garrison
or
Kaleb to get in
first,
hoping one of them would sit shotgun so I could hide out in the backseat.

Garrison
spoke reassuringly.
“You’
re no longer in
danger, so w
e won’t be coming with you now. If you need us
,
we will
be there. We
’
re always
around
for you
,
Shanntal
. W
henever
danger’
s
close
,
we will stay
by your side.
You can count on that
.”

I gave my protectors each a hug. “Thank you
,
for everything
,
” I said
,
getting
into the car.
I to
ok a long deep breath
as
Jayce got
in and
started up the
engine.
This started out as
the perfect day but
ended up
as the
complete
opposite. I
never meant to hurt him
.
However,
I
saw
that I
really
had and it
tore me up inside.

The ride back was
awkward. Jayce didn’t ho
ld
my hand like he usually did, n
or did he read my thoughts. He
was just
there,
driving me
home. It was as if there was nothing left between us.
I leaned my head against
my window, t
ears
filling
my eyes.
I didn’t want him
to know
I was crying
because
it was my fault
he was hurting.
A
tiny sob slipped
out and he grabbed my hand
.

He spoke softly.
“I
t’s not your fault
,
Shanntal. After all
, at least
we
are
now
aware of what Daray wants
. You
’ve got
a decision to make
,
but I won’t pressure
you
. You kn
ow my heart belongs to you and i
t’s yo
urs whenever you want it. O
n one condition
though
, you have to take
the whole thing
,
in exchange for yours
.”

I looked at h
im through my tear-
stained eyes.
“I’m so sorry
,
Jayce. I never
wanted
any of this. I
never knew
I was immortal
,
let alone
the fact
that
I was
engaged to Daray.” I squeezed his hand tightly. “I never thought anyth
ing could come between us.
”

We drove the rest of the way
home in silence. He still held onto my hand, but it
didn’t feel
the same as before.
We
pulled up in front
of my house and I looked over at
Jayce. “I’m truly sorry… I’
m not sur
e what I am supposed to do
.” I was going to get out
,
but had to say one more thing before it was too late. “Please know
I care for you deeply and this i
s hurting me
too
.”

He leaned over
and placed
his w
arm lingering kiss on my cheek.
I reached my arms
tightly
around his neck, hugging
him as hard as I could.
As I
pulled
away,
he moved forward
,
placing
his fiery hot kiss
directly
on my lips. I couldn’t help
but react and
kissed him back
. There was something about kissing
him
that felt so right
.

He pulled away
. “I’ll be her
e when you want me
, Shanntal. J
ust let me know when
ever
you’
re ready.”

I nod
ded and got
out of the car. I closed the
door and
watched as he drove away
, taking
a
piece of my heart
with him
. I
was left with a missing void
,
an
unbearable
pain
that made
me
almost
fall
over.
When h
e
was completely out of
sight,
I slowly walked up to the house. I stood outside the front door for a moment
,
trying
to fix whatever
make-up
was
left
around my eyes. I
f
there
was
a
ny,
it would
’ve
be
en smeared halfway down my face
and
I didn’t want Aunti
e Steph and Uncle Dane to worry
.