I'm Simply Leaving

Shane’s point of view.
South Africa
Russia

The first day after Kayla left, I spent staring at the wall of my apartment. Then I spent two days in a liquor induced haze, not really aware of anything around me. My phone’s battery eventually died which meant that the awful ringing sound died with it. Then there was pounding and screaming at my door, which I didn’t really notice after a while anymore. On day four, I threw a spectacular fit, destroying half the things in my dorm room and on day five I cried until there was nothing left to cry about.

The next day is where I decided that I loved Aiden and I would fight for us. So I ate, took a shower, packed a bag and headed for the airport. After the flight to Moscow took off, I spent a few minutes going over everything in the envelope Kayla gave me. There was about a thousand dollars’ worth in the Russian Ruble, a return flight ticket that I could redeem whenever I wanted, a card for a car service company and the directions to what was apparently a Castle. There was also a letter, written in what looked like Russian and a small note attached that told me to give this to Aiden’s butler. I didn’t really understand, but whatever.

The flight took forever and we had a layover in France, but as we neared our destination, I felt a sense of equal anticipation and dread in my gut. There were many times where I wanted to go back home, but it wasn’t as if I could ask them to turn the plane around.

Russia was beautiful. No one spoke English and everybody looked as if they belonged to the Russian mob, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The people from the car service company had been on standby for my call, so I had a car waiting to take me in less than ten minutes.

On the way, I asked the driver, Ivan, who spoke English in a thick Russian accent, how much I would owe him for the ride and he replied that he was my personal driver for the reminder of my stay in Russia and the account would be paid for by the oldest and richest Russian company with whom the car company had a long standing contract.

He went on to say that the airline I had flown with was owned by the same company, as well as the airport.

It looked to me like Kayla owned the whole bloody world. It’s probably why she thought she could get away with anything.

It was a long drive, but when I finally saw that big ass castle sitting atop a hill, I stared at it in shock. Were all vampires richer than Midas?

The nerves settled in so quickly that I could have gotten whiplash.

The driver stopped in front of a huge door and I fumbled
with the car door handle before getting out of the car and stumbling up the steps. I’d asked the driver to wait in the car, so when I looked back, I saw him settling in for a nap.

I didn’t even know if I’d be let in through the door. I slammed the brass knocker three times and waited.

After waiting for three minutes, I was about to knock again, when the door creaked open and a tiny old man in a butler suit greeted me in Russian.

I gave him the letter that Kayla had written and he slowly read it before motioning me inside and saying in very broken English that he would take me to his master.

Inside the castle it was dark and cold, with really old but expensive furniture standing everywhere.

We moved through the hallways at an increasingly slow pace and I thought the old man would die before we reached wherever it was that we were going.

I could hear heavy metal music getting louder the closer we got, making the castle seem even more sinister and dangerous. Like something out of a horror movie.

We stopped in front of a pair of double doors which the old man opened for me before he slinked away into the darkness, leaving me alone with the blaring music and whatever was inside the room.

It was a master suite, with a couple of chairs sitting in front of a roaring fireplace. From my angle, I couldn’t see anything except a hand leaning on an armrest, clutching a tumbler of what I guessed was whiskey.

Suddenly the music vanished and a cold, hard voice asked, “What is it now, ? Come to tell me again that we’re out of liquor? Or is that bitch we call a queen here again to torment me some more about how sorry she is that she ruined my life? Well she can go to hell! And so can you!”

His voice was raspy, as if he spent hours yelling every day, but just hearing his voice made me fall in love with him all over again.

I gathered my courage and walked over to him, gasping when I saw what he looked like. The man of my dreams was a mess.

He wasn’t looking at me, so I tried to get his attention, “Aiden,” I said softly.

The hand on his tumbler tightened as if he didn’t believe what he’d just heard.

Then he spoke, “You’re not real. Please just leave me alone. How much longer do you plan on tormenting me with this hallucination? Please. Please just let me be. Let me remember my love as he was. Am I not suffering enough? Please, just let me be,” his voice was barely above a whisper, but the sadness and pain etched in his words, made me heart bleed for him. And for me. Damn Kayla for doing this to us.

I put my hand on his face and tilted it upwards, so that he could see me, “Aiden, I’m here. You’re not hallucinating. Feel me. Feel my hand on your face. I’m here, I’m with you. Come out of the darkness baby. You won’t find me there.”

The tumbler fell out of his hand, crashing to the floor.
He stared at me with wide eyes and then launched himself at me, knocking me over onto the floor, where he sprawled on top of me.

He was crying hysterically and clutching me for dear life, saying over and over again how sorry he was and to forgive him and that he loved me. I just held him until the sobs stopped and he’d cried himself to sleep.

I picked him up and carried him through the suite into the bedroom, placing him onto the bed and pulling the covers up over him.

Even in sleep he didn’t look like I once knew him. Sleep had always made him look peaceful, at ease with the world.

Now he looked just as in pain as he did when he was awake.

I walked back to the car, getting a little lost on the way, and told Ivan that he could leave and I would call him if I needed him. He handed me my duffel, then took off and I made my way back inside the castle to where Aiden lay sleeping. We had a long rocky road ahead of us and there would be a lot more crying and apologising, but I would forgive Aiden. I did love him after all. We will help each other heal. And one day we will be happy, since we were, after all, made for each other, right?

I would probably even forgive Kayla at some point, but I will never forget and I will never let her come between us again. I will fight for Aiden until my last breath.

He is worth it. And so is our love.