Page 134 of A Curse On Black Lake
Eventually, we get to the ranch, and Eliana doesn’t wait for me as she takes off on Daisy towards the barns.
I get the truck parked, and a few minutes later she’s walking up the hill.
“Thank you,” she says.
I grab her hand as we go inside. “Of course,” I tell her.
She pulls out of my grasp and heads straight for the stairs. I leave her be while I make a quick sandwich for both of us.
When I’m done shoving mine in my face, I take Eliana’s up to her.
Her door is closed, and she could be asleep, but screw it, I knock anyway.
“Come in,” she says.
She’s standing in front of the mirror above the small dresser and brushing her hair, wearing that damn t-shirt that hits her mid-thigh.
Eliana glances at the sandwich and sets her brush down. “Oh, thank you,” she says and grabs a half off the plate while I’m still holding it. “I didn’t realize I was so hungry,” she says, with her mouth full.
I grin at her as she inhales the half.
She takes the other and stops chewing. “What?” she says with a mouth full.
“Nothing, I wanted to check on you, and figured you were hungry.”
She takes a bite. “I absolutely was.”
“Good.”
“But are you okay?” I ask her.
She lifts a shoulder, chewing. “I’m fine,” she says, avoiding eye contact.
It’s a bald face lie, but who am I to call her out on it? She’s got a lot going on in her mind, literally, so maybe she needs to tell herself that so she can sleep. I don’t know.I’m still learning.
She finishes her sandwich, and I shift on my feet, wanting to kiss her, touch her,something. I came too close to losing her today. I don’t want to let another opportunity slip past me,us.
“I’m going to hit the hay,” she says, tossing her thumb behind her.
I drag my hand through my hair. “Yeah, goodnight.”
“Night,” she says.
I force myself out of her room and close the door behind me.
By the time I shower and put myself in bed, I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about the man watching Eliana. Or the fact that my family, the people who raised me, aren’t blood. My ancestor is the one who started this wretched curse and is responsible, in my mind, for killing my parents. I can’t stop thinking about the impact of a shredded garden on Eliana. And I can’t stop thinking about how this guy is continuing to escalate.
He’s making himself known without showing his face. What will he do next? What amIgoing to do next?
My mind spins and spins. I lose track of time into the night, when I hear a cry. I jolt up wondering what it was and quickly step into the hall. I listen again, but it’s not coming from outside. It’s coming from Eliana.
Rushing to her room, I throw the door open, to find her curled up in a ball crying. I can’t tell if she’s awake or asleep. She groans in pain, and I crawl onto the empty side of the bed and clasp her face. “Eliana,” I whisper.
She opens her eyes slowly and rubs her cheek into my palm. “What’s wrong?”
“They won’t let me sleep. They’re all talking too much on top of each other, and my head hurts. I’m so tired, Killian, I need them to stop,” she cries.
There is only one way she told me that made them all stop. She told me I couldn’t before, but I can’t see her in pain like this again. Not if I can stop it.
