Vain (The Seven Deadly 1)

“I...”

“Don’t you dare, Soph,” he said. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I swear to God, Sophie Price.”

“Ian,” I said, the unshed tears giving way.

He edged closer but I stepped back, unable to handle his touch without breaking down completely. He recognized this and grabbed me by the upper arms, bringing me close to him. “You owe me,” he gritted. “Why?”

“I- I’ve been given an opportunity to go home and I decided it was for the best.”

“Bullshit,” he said, shaking me a little in his frustration. “You’re lying. I know you and you’re lying.”

I avoided eye contact, focusing in on the tips of my worn boots. The same boots that worked tirelessly with me day after day caring for Masego. The same boots I wore while falling in love with him.

“Look at me, damn it!”

I raised my gaze toward him.

“Answer me,” he demanded. “Why?”

“I- I told you already. My answer won’t change. I think it’s for the best,” I lied.

He shook his head back and forth.“You can’t go,” he begged, hugging me to him like he could hold me there forever.

“Why?” I whispered in his ear.

“Because I’m in love with you.”

I clenched my lids and kissed his tanned cheek. “I love you, too,” I confessed...and walked away.

“Soph,” I heard behind me.

“Sophie,” he pleaded, softer.

“Soph,” he barely whispered.

But I didn’t answer. I just kept on walking, the tears cascading forth in a sea of excruciating pain.

“Sophie Price,” he yelled, agony and animosity lacing each word. I turned to face him. “You leave me like this, alone here, and I’ll never be able to forgive you. Don’t bother trying to come back. You get on that plane and I’m done with you!”

My breath hitched in my throat, warm tears spilling anew. I nodded, choking back another sob, and stealed myself. For him. For him. For him, I kept chanting. A large bellowing roar rumbled behind me, shattering my heart into a million pieces. I gulped back my own cry, placing one heavy foot in front of the other, refusing to turn back around. I knew if I saw him, took even a second to gaze on him, I’d forego all threats and ruin any future he may have had if he ever left Masego.

For him, I breathed internally, shutting the hatch behind me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

My cell phone buzzed and woke me.

Disoriented, I surveyed my surroundings. My room. In L.A. It was quiet and cold. Quiet, cold and empty. No sweet, baby voices woke me. I would never wake to the sight of Mandisa’s angelic face or the stalwart baobab tree, never eat the odd dinner with Charles or Karina again. My heart thudded harder in pain.

Karina.

The sing-song voice of my gorgeous Karina would never greet my ears again. I would never stand in line at lunch with Ian and talk to our students, teasing or playing with them.

Ian. Ian. Ian.

My heart sputtered with exceptional misery. I’d never known such sorrow before, never would be able to convey fully just how badly I was willing to be stretched and torn into pieces if it meant it would stop the heart ache, just keep me from never knowing the pangs of missing Ian again.

I rolled onto my side and my cell buzzed once more. My hand stretched before me and I picked it up.