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Lying alone on Grace’s bed, I tried to relax. She’d insisted on giving me some privacy, and the amount of winking and nudging she’d given me before leaving the room had me in jitters. I pulled the covers tightly around me and forced my eyes shut, every muscle tight. So what if Michael came in? It’s not like you have to sleep with him. I never gone down that road and knew I wasn’t ready.
At the sound of a knock, I jumped. Michael poked his head in and smiled when he saw me. He walked in and closed the door behind him. He wore only a pair of cotton pajama bottoms, and those seemed to show off his sleek build even more. Shirtless, the tanned muscles from his abs, his chest, and his shoulders, belonged on the cover of a magazine.
He stood by the bed, an amused look on his face most likely due to me blatantly checking him out. I scooted to the far side of the bed, thankful the sheets were cool, as I’d suddenly grown warm. He hopped on top of the sheets and lay down, resting his hands behind his head as he crossed his ankles. I couldn’t stop staring; he looked like a Greek god. Change that, he made Greek gods look like poor, lowly little boys.
He sniffed the air. “You smell different.”
“I brushed my teeth.”
“No, it’s not that. I didn’t notice it earlier because of Caleb’s office but I can smell it now.”
My face burned a few degrees higher. Grace, I’m so going to beat the crap out of you. “It’s perfume,” I mumbled. Would he still like me if I murdered his sister? Mind you, it really wouldn’t be murder if she’s legally dead already.
He inhaled. “Pretty. What kind?”
How he kept a straight face was beyond me. “Grace put you up to this?” I leaned on top of his chest, tapping my finger where his heart rested. “The truth.”
He chuckled. “She may’ve mentioned to ask the name of your perfume.”
“She’s dead tomorrow. Double dead.” I rolled off him.
“Hey, get back here!” Michael pulled me back on top of him.
It knocked me breathless, and not from his strength. I could feel his rock hard chest underneath my thin pajama top. New, incredible sensations coursed through my body, through my veins, in my stomach and lower. The little electric shocks when we touched hands were nothing compared to this. I searched his face for a sign that showed if my body had given away any of its secrets.
He smiled and kissed me lightly on the lips, keeping his eyes open. “I knew there was something special about you that night in the cemetery.” He shook his head. “What kind of girl goes running around dead people?”
“Not many.”
“And you’re still doing it.”
“Sure. ‘Cept now, it’s a hundred times more interesting. Before, I just liked the peace and quiet.” I interlaced my fingers on top of his chest and rested my chin on them.
“Silly girl.” He twirled a strand of my hair around his finger.
“You know,” I swallowed and whispered, “I-I’d give you my Siorghra if I had one.”
He pulled me tight and kissed the top of my head. After a few moments, he spoke quietly, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Ask away, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” My heart stepped up its pace a few notches.
“What’s the name of the perfume you’re wearing?”
I pretended to shoot him a dirty look and slid away from him to settle on my side of the bed. “I'm going to skin Grace alive tomorrow.” I rolled back and punched him in the arm, grinning despite his uncanny ability to ruin a perfectly good moment.
“You said you’d tell me.” He snuggled against me and pushed his face under my shoulder. His hot breath fanned my back as he chuckled. He popped his head up. “Please?”
I rubbed my face. “Fine, but you can’t mention it again. Or laugh.” I ran a finger across his soft lips. “No laughing.”
“Scouts' honor.”
“You have no honor.” I sighed. “Fine. It’s...Eternity.”
He burst out laughing, shaking the entire bed. “Sorry. I-I’m much b-better now. Is this something you bought before, or after you met me?” He tried to sound serious, but the bed still trembled beneath us.
“Way before. It's going in the garbage tomorrow.” I debated about turning to the wall and pretending to go to sleep. It is kinda funny. Not that I’d admit it out loud.
“No, keep it. Please. The smell suits you. I do like it.”
I didn’t reply. It seemed like a great idea to dump the bottle over Grace’s head. “It’s my turn to ask you a question.”
“Fair is fair. Ask away.” He tucked his hands behind his head.
I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to pick the right question. Fun’s done, I want to know stuff. “What happened...the night you and Grace... you know?”
Michael lay quiet. Then he slowly sat up and leaned over to turn the light off.
Wrong question. Instantly I regretted opening my mouth. Me and my great mood killers.
He took one of my hands in his and spoke in a quiet voice. "It was eighteen seventy. I remember the exact date because Congress amended the constitution so African-Americans would be allowed to vote. During dinner, my father was ecstatic as he had always believed in equal rights. He told my mother he believed women would have their right to vote shortly as well. They were so amazing, my parents. You’ve never seen loyalty and love like theirs. No Siorghra could ever come close.
“It was early summer, the strawberries had just come into season and their smell hung in the air around the house. It was my mother’s favorite time of year and after cleaning the dishes, she went to sit on the front porch to watch the fireflies dance. My father sat in the living room reading and journaling. Grace and I were in the back of the house in the kitchen, playing cards, and if you ask her, she’ll tell you she was beating me.”
He chuckled, but it sounded forced. I lay without moving, afraid to hear what happened next, but yearning to know more.
“I didn’t hear them come to the house. You know animals when they hunt, quiet and cunning as they stalk. Only, I have no idea if they were hunting us, or if our plantation sat in the wrong spot at the wrong time. If only they’d just passed us by. They must’ve smelled mother. She barely screamed before it got cut off.” Michael shuddered. “It was an awful sound. My father jumped up and ran to the front door. I was halfway out of my seat when the door flew open and three enormous monsters jumped in. Awful, devil-sent beasts. They killed him like he was nothing.
“Four more came in through the front with, you aren’t going to believe this, a man. I was too shocked to even move. Grace whimpered and the beasts heads p-popped up at the s-sound.”
The break in his voice tore at my heart. I transported back in time, watching the horror like a fly on the wall.
Michael continued, his eyes shining. “I scrambled in front of her, not sure if I would be able to protect her, but was not going to fall without a fight. There was a knife on the counter I picked up. The man spoke in some weird language, and... and the Grollics all dropped to their haunches, as if waiting.
“I’ve somehow blanked out what happened next. For years I’ve tried to recall but it’s a blur. I remember his movements were fast like ours are now, but he led the Grollics like he was one of them. I was human, no match against him. He wrestled the knife away before I could even use it. He turned and stabbed me.”
Michael swallowed, loud against the quiet of the room. “It was a fatal wound to my chest, one blow and I was lying on the floor, bleeding. I could feel my life fading. I begged him to leave Grace. He laughed viciously and taunted me – telling me I would get to watch him rape and kill my sister before I died. Then he grabbed and flung her to the floor like a rag doll, holding the knife so it stabbed her in her back as she fell, paralyzed.” Michael sighed, a long shaky one. “Grace never said a word, or had a single tear in her eye. She smiled at me before spitting in the man’s face and closed her eyes. I shut mine as well and gave in as death would be better than watching her die.”
Tears ran silently down my face. What a horrible, horrible memory.
Michael shifted slightly. “I don’t know what exactly happened next. All I know is I heard Sarah’s sweet voice. My first coherent thought: I’m in heaven and that’s the voice of an angel. That thought quickly changed when she said the woman out front, my mother, had been attacked by the Grollics, and killed my father. She grabbed my hand, and promised to protect us. She’d explain what we could not understand.”
He lay quiet, a shaky finger trailing down my arm.
I pulled free, put my arms around his shoulders and hugged him. “What a terrible story,” I whispered.
“I haven’t talked about it in forever. It no longer seems real. It...It feels like someone else’s life now. Thank goodness we had Sarah there to explain the, you know, after.” He shrugged. “It was about fifteen years later when Caleb found us.”
“Did you ever find the man who killed...” I couldn’t complete the sentence. “Or the Grollics who attacked the house?”
“I tried for years. Grace begged me to let it go and move forward. Eventually I stopped searching.” He pulled me tight against him and kissed the top of my head. “I did find out my mother had been raped the day of her wedding. It didn’t lead me any closer to the beasts or the man. They had nothing to do with her rape or our birth. I never dug deeper.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Pardon?”
I could feel his head lift to try and see my face. “I’m sorry you and Grace had to suffer before you died.”
“You’re a silly-soft little girl. Don’t be sorry. It’s in the past and it brought me to you.” His head dropped back onto the pillow. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
I didn’t believe him. It still did matter and, one day, Michael was going to hunt down the truth.
