Three cliffs, p.28
Three Cliffs, page 28
‘Callie, what’s the matter?’
‘Get off me,’ I wept, curling into a foetal ball against the wall.
‘Why are you crying?’ she asked.
‘I’m not crying,’ I denied, but I was, soft sobs tearing from my throat as I tensed up, my stomach performing somersaults.
‘Callie, it’s okay…we can get through this. I promise you, everything’s going to be okay,’ she soothed, reaching out to lay a gentle hand on my arm, leaning closer.
A waft of scent hit my nose, and I felt it wash over me, like a calm breeze. I lifted my head and breathed again, my eyes rolling a little as my stomach began to unclench slowly. My breathing deepened and her hand softly rubbed my arm, helping me relax and making me feel okay again.
‘Callie…’
I opened my eyes, pulling my arm away, shocked. ‘Get off me.’
‘What was that?’ she asked, frowning down at me.
‘What?’ I said, moodily, avoiding her eyes.
‘One second you were charging out of here and the next you’re sliding down the wall, defeated! What’s going on?’
‘I’m in pain,’ I said, through gritted teeth.
‘You’re…what?’ she questioned.
‘I’m in pain…my stomach…head…everything hurts…’
‘Oh,’ she murmured, scanning my face. ‘And when you walked away…?’
‘It got worse,’ I said, angrily, lifting my eyes to hers. ‘You know why!’
‘Yes, I do. It’s the bond. I’ve claimed you and you’re struggling to be parted from me,’ she said, simply.
I growled at her. ‘I’d frigging love to be parted from you right now, but my body doesn’t tend to agree.’
She looked at me, eyes wide and sad. ‘Let me help you?’ she asked, tentatively reaching out.
‘How?’ I asked, suspiciously.
‘Let me hold you…it’ll make you feel better again. My scent will calm your nerves, sooth your stomach and head…trust me; I know it’ll work.’
‘I don’t want you anywhere near me,’ I said, through gritted teeth.
‘Maybe not, but you’re in pain,’ she replied, still staring at me. ‘And being close to me will help.’
‘I don’t want you close. Haven’t you done enough?’ I muttered.
‘I understand your reservations, but until we can break the bond, we’re tied. Your body will react if you stay away from me. You’ll feel pain and anguish if we try and separate.’
I huffed at her. ‘I don’t like this,’ I told her, bluntly.
‘I know you don’t, Callie, but it’s a temporary fix until we can go and sort this out. Let me hold you for a few moments and then we can go and find your mother. I think that’s the best place to start. She’ll be incandescent with rage, and that fury will incite her into action. She’ll get to the high priestess and elders faster than we can, so we use her to help us.’
I sighed. ‘Fine,’ I muttered. ‘But only because my stomach fucking hurts so much,’ I groaned.
‘Okay,’ she said, easing closer. ‘Let me hold you.’
I gave into her, because I knew it would help. Shaking my head in disgust with the situation, I let her guide me into her arms.
We both sat on the floor of the old mansion, the dusty floorboards rough and dirty. I wrapped my arms around her and let her draw me into her embrace. My head lifted slightly, to get closer to her neck and suddenly, the weight lifted from my shoulders. My body instantly calmed, my breathing slowed, and my stomach unknotted. A sense of calm washed over me, and I instinctively moved closer to the sensitive skin of her neck, breathing deeply and feeling my eyes roll back in my head as my body returned to its relaxed state. A ripple of pleasure shuddered through me, and my mind screamed ‘mate’ at full volume, pushing me move closer, to breathe her in even more. Sighing in contentment, long moments were lost just holding her close and being held so reverently.
Kash’s tense body calmed too. I could feel her muscles relax and her system slow down. It was if we were the antidote for each other, the only one who could help the other to finally sink down into restfulness.
Kash gradually moved, but I was feeling so much better that I didn’t stop her. Her mouth gently moved to my neck and then she was licking the bite mark, soothing it and making the throbbing ease as her soft tongue swept over the rough, painful swelling. I groaned, without thinking, leaning against her languidly, my mind drifting away with the pleasure of having my bite tended to; of having Kash this close once more. I didn’t want to admit it, but it felt wonderful, and in those quiet moments, I revelled in her attention and succumbed to her mouth.
All too soon it was over though, and she lifted her mouth from my neck, mumbling an apology. ‘Sorry.’
I made a rough sound, easing away from her, hoping the dizziness coursing through my system would ease. ‘Get off,’ I murmured, but there was no venom behind the words, just the rough sound of my agonised voice as I tried to clear my head.
‘Sorry,’ she repeated. ‘I didn’t mean to do that…’
‘Just like you didn’t mean to claim me.’
‘No…I didn’t mean to do either,’ she said, very quietly. ‘I’m sorry, Callie. Can you get up? Did it help your pain?’ she wanted to know.
‘Yes, it’s gone,’ I murmured, avoiding her eyes.
‘Gone? What-completely?’
‘Your scent made me feel better,’ I told her, bitterly. ‘Which makes sense, as you’ve taken me as yours, so it makes sense that your scent would settle and calm me.’
‘I’m so sorry, Callie. I’ve ruined everything,’ she said, her voice breaking as she spoke.
‘Yeah, you have,’ I said, as I was still angry with her. ‘So, fix it.’
She nodded, resolutely. ‘Shall we go to your house? See you mother?’
‘It’s the best place to start,’ I sighed. ‘She’s going to lose her bloody mind,’ I muttered, moving to my feet. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
‘Callie-do you…I mean, do you need me to do anything to help you get through this…until we can break this bond?’
‘Yeah,’ I replied, looking at her with distaste. ‘Unfortunately, I need you to stay close-not that I want you to, but it’s the only way I feel normal right now. So, proximity is what I need.’
‘Okay…I can do that.’
‘But don’t be a dick about it, alright?’ I said, lifting a warning finger towards her.
She surprised me by laughing aloud. ‘Only you, Callie,’ she chuckled.
‘What?’
‘Calling me a dick…you’re one of a kind,’ she laughed.
‘Yeah,’ I murmured, sobering, ‘But not the one you want, clearly,’ I said, unsmiling.
Her smiled faded instantly. ‘Callie…’
‘No,’ I said, stopping her with a shake of my head. ‘We have to go. I want this over with…now.’
We left the house, walking side by side and staying close on the way back to my family home. I felt uncomfortable with the whole idea of people knowing what had happened, especially my mother, whose reaction was bound to be horrendous. That being said, I knew she would make things happen quickly, because she wouldn’t want me tied to Kash-who was an unnatural in her mind. She would be furious, incensed and angry. It would be easy to get her to help us break the bond.
When we neared the house, I felt nervousness tripping through me, and I slowed my pace as we neared the driveway.
‘You okay?’ Kash asked from my side. ‘You’ve gone tense.’
I glanced at her. ‘Have you any idea what this is going to be like?’ I asked her, staring at, eyes wide.
‘My mother hates you! She’s going to scream and shout, rage and rant! It’s going to be hell!’
‘I can deal with your mother,’ Kash told me, shaking her head. ‘She can call me whatever the hell she wants. I’m not going to let a woman like her get to me.’
‘A woman like her? What do you mean by that?’ I wanted to know.
‘She’s homophobic, Callie. The worst homophobe I think I’ve encountered. I don’t respect her views on my sexuality, so I don’t care if she wants to call me all the insults under the sun. I’m not having it. The only reason I’m here is because her annoyance over this situation is going to turn into results. She won’t be able to rest until we’re separated.’
‘Yeah,’ I murmured, drawing in a shaky breath. ‘But in the meantime, this is going to be fucking hard.’
‘It’ll be alright,’ she said, draping an arm around my shoulder lightly. ‘I’m here for you, okay. Stand up to her and don’t let her bully you. State your case and then ask for her help. She won’t deny it as she won’t want me being in your life.’
‘I guess so…fine, fuck it, let’s do this,’ I said, marching up to the front door.
We found my mother in the kitchen, preparing lunch. When we walked in, she stopped in her tracks, stunned.
‘Caliopia! Where have you…?’ she stopped. ‘What’s she doing here?’ she demanded, frowning in disgust.
‘She has a name,’ I murmured. ‘It’s Kash,’ I told her, walking towards the kitchen island where she’d been assembling a salad.
‘Kash,’ my mother repeated. ‘It would sound far better to use your full name, Akashi. So much more suitable,’ she sniffed.
‘I’ll take that into consideration,’ Kash nodded, trying to remain polite.
‘What is she doing here?’ my mother repeated rudely.
‘Well, we’ve got some bad news, I’m afraid,’ I told her, deciding to come out with it straight away, seeing as there was no point delaying the bombshell I was about to implode all around her.
‘Bad news?’ she questioned.
‘Yeah,’ I nodded, ‘You see, I was plastered last night, Mum…drunk out of my skull,’ I added, for effect. ‘Anyway, I don’t remember any of it, and neither does Kash, but the thing is…well, the thing is, I woke up this morning and found this…’ I said, tugging my jacket away and displaying my neck for her to see.
Her gasp was immediate, her horror clear to see. ‘What on ear…!’
‘Yeah, she claimed me…and we’re both freaking out,’ I rambled, ‘Because we don’t want this, and it’s not something we can do,’ I told her. ‘We need your help going to the elders…getting the high priestess out here. We need to break this claim,’ I continued, ‘Because I’m not being tied to her and she sure as hell doesn’t want to be tied to me.’
‘Goodness me, no! How on earth did this happen! How absolutely disgusting!’ she bellowed. ‘No daughter of mine is going to be tied to an unnatural! I simply won’t have it! Did you…’ she almost gagged, ‘I seriously hope you didn’t do anything to shame the family, Caliopia! I couldn’t live with the idea that you let yourself…that you did something…shameful…’
‘Mum; stop talking and do something! Do you want me to be tied to Kash?’ I demanded, standing up to her and ignoring the hate spilling from her lips.
‘No, of course not! I’ll make some calls straight away. Go nowhere-both of you! I will be back with answers to this problem quickly. Don’t go anywhere!’ she ordered, and then marched off.
I was left with Kash in the kitchen, alone and uncertain. Turning to her, I met her gaze. ‘Sorry about my mother.’
She shrugged. ‘I’ve come to expect it now.’
‘But her words are cruel. I’m sorry she’s so vile about you.’
‘It’s fine, Callie. Don’t be concerned, let’s just focus on ending this.’
I felt a wave of an emotion I didn’t care to identify flood through me. ‘Yeah…ending this…right. Fine. Fucking hope it’s soon,’ I muttered, before turning to stomp off to the lounge to sit down.
Chapter 13
Kash followed me and came to sit next to me on the sofa. Turning to her, I huffed. ‘There’s three other sofas in this room!’ I objected.
‘I thought you needed me close,’ she frowned.
‘Not this close!’ I exclaimed.
‘Oh…shall I move away then?’ she asked.
‘Do what you like…you’re here now so I guess you might as well stay,’ I muttered, not wanting to reveal that I did actually want and need her close by. Her scent made me feel safe, settled and content-and when she wasn’t, the pain and anguish was almost unbearable.
‘It’s not like it’s going to be forever, anyway,’ she said, quietly. ‘I’m sure your mother is making demands as we speak…ranting at the elders to request a meeting to break the bond.’
‘I’ve never heard of a couple actually breaking a bond of claiming before. How does it happen?’ I asked her.
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know…the high priestess’s magic, I suppose. She’ll surely grant it when she sees our mistake, right?’ she questioned.
‘Yeah, of course! No way will she leave us like this! She’s a wise, old woman-she’ll see this is an awful mistake,’ I told her.
‘Mmm,’ she murmured, eyes scanning my gaze. ‘You know I’m sorry, right? I’m so sorry I did this…that we have to go through this now.’
‘Stop saying that,’ I huffed. ‘What’s done is done. Now we just need to find a way out of it, okay?’
‘Okay,’ she sighed. ‘God, I can hear your mother from here…she’s ranting something rotten, isn’t she?’
Our hearing was acute, and when I tuned in, I too could hear my mother. She was rambling away on the phone sounding annoyed and full of hate. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she got results before the day’s end, she was such a force of nature.
Kash and I sat in silence, listening and contemplating. It felt good to have her near, but I felt uncomfortable as well. Things between us were now strained, and I felt awkward and unsure of myself.
A strange silence settled over us and was only broken when my mother reappeared, five minutes later.
‘Right,’ she began, all business like and formal, ‘The appointment is arranged for 4pm today. I’ve managed to ensure the elders and high priestess will be there, and I’ve told them it is of the utmost importance that we deal with this…mistake…presently. You are to be at the town hall for that time-and we will convince them to break the bond immediately. By nightfall, this should all be just a bad memory which we can quickly forget.’
‘Thank you,’ I nodded, appreciative of how quickly plans had been set in motion.
She frowned at me. ‘And you will stay here until that time…I want no shenanigans whilst you are still bound to her,’ she said, glancing distastefully at Kash.
‘I can’t do that,’ I muttered, cheeks colouring with embarrassment.
‘What? Of course you can. She can go off to her residence for a while and you can stay home, safe and sound.’
‘No, I mean, I can’t be parted from her right now,’ I explained. ‘It causes real, physical pain…almost unbearable.’
‘Don’t be so ridiculous. You’ll stay here and she can leave.’
‘It’s not happening,’ I told her. ‘I wouldn’t cope.’
‘Caliopia! Can you hear yourself? Pull yourself together! It’s four hours!’
‘You don’t understand,’ I said, angrily. ‘It’s real, physical pain. We’re bonded right now, whether we want to be or not. I can’t be parted from her. I’ll go back to the old mansion until four, and then meet you there.’
‘Not a good idea,’ my mother decided. ‘It’s a risk to leave you two alone together. If you have to, you’ll stay here, where I can keep an eye on you both.’
I huffed at her. ‘Nothing untoward is going to happen, mother-we’re both as damn miserable about this as you are, you don’t need to worry about any fucking, for God’s sake!’
‘Caliopia, wash your mouth out! I will not have such words in this house! How rude!’ she cried.
‘Oh, I’m rude,’ I laughed, mirthlessly. ‘I wonder where I learnt it from.’
She scowled at me. ‘I can’t even talk to you these days. You’re so obtuse, child!’
‘I’m not a child, in case you haven’t noticed,’ I scowled.
‘Then stop acting like one,’ she snarled.
‘Alright; I’ve had enough of this,’ Kash said, standing. ‘I’m not listening to her speak to you like that,’ she continued, looking furious. ‘I’m glad she’s booked the meeting with the elders but I’m not hanging around while you two bitch and moan at each other. I’m going back to the house. Come with me, don’t come with me-your choice-but I’m not sticking around to listen to your mother upsetting you.’
I stared at her, watching as she stormed out, the door slamming behind her. My stomach immediately contracted, and the pain began. My head started throbbing and my tension grew, making me anxious and restless. ‘I’ll be there at four,’ I said, before getting to my feet and heading after her.
‘Caliopia; don’t you dare!’ my mother called. ‘Come back here, child!’
I ignored her and rushed for the door, my stomach tensing wildly and tears streaming down my face as I felt abandoned and hurt.
Kash had only made her way as far as the end of the driveway, so I caught up with her easily. As my footsteps sounded behind her, she turned, frowning deeply. ‘Callie?’
‘Wait!’ I cried, slamming into her, grabbing her close.
‘God, Callie…I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have walked away.’
‘I need you,’ I murmured, face buried in her shoulder.
‘What?’ she asked.
My voice was so muffled, it was clear she hadn’t heard me. ‘I need you,’ I told her, lifting my stormy eyes to hers, seeing the troubled look in her gaze turning softer.
‘Okay…you’re okay…I need you too…I just couldn’t bear listening to that…’ she told me, holding me supportively.
‘I need to come with you,’ I told her, tears beginning to stream down my face.
‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘It’s okay…come…you don’t need to hear that either. She’s vile to you, anyway,’ she said, emotionally.
I nodded, jerkily. Her arm wrapped around my shoulders, and we headed off together, despite my mother continuing to call me from the front door, her annoyed tone just confirmation that walking away was the right thing in this moment.
The walk grew easier as her proximity registered. Slowly but surely, I straightened up, walked more easily and then wiped my face, breathing in the fresh air that the wind provided.
