Corruption

The lights of the city lite up the windows of the vehicle with different colors, but it did nothing to distract me. I let my tears fall down my cheeks silently, hoping they would stop soon. Crying was not something I liked to do, and all I wanted in this specific moment was for them to stop. I knew that what I did was right. No, what I did was necessary. I could hardly stand any of the Westcotts, even if they were nicest people on earth.

And Candace changing into something they were; a monster. I wouldn’t be able to handle her being cold as ice; a demon that thirsted for blood, not even her appearance would be the same. It just wasn’t how I had ever pictured her.

Now as I sat in the backseat of the limo, letting all of my frustration and hurt fall from my eyes in the form of warm drops of salt water. The door to my right swung open, making me jump.

Charles was looking in, his face showing no emotion. “We’re here.”

I wiped at my face with the back of my hand before I stepped out.

Charles went over to the back of the limo, and opened the hidden compartment in the back for me.

“Would you like some help with your bags?” a familiar voice asked. Turning in the dim light of the parking lot, I saw Gloria standing behind me with her hands clasped in front of her.

“Ah…” I tried to speak, but my lips were failing me. Had she always been this beautiful? The dim light coming from the airport behind her was making a light glowing silhouette effect against her form. Her black hair was in the same tied up bun on the top of her head like it had been, but some of her bangs had fallen out of the hair band, hanging loosely around her heart shaped face. Her skin seemed abnormally white, as smooth as marble.

What caught me off guard were the clothes she was wearing. The slinky red dress stuck to her figure as if by static. A smile inched onto her face, noticing what I was doing.

I looked away from her, grabbing one of my bags from the back of the car. “You’re all dressed up.” I stated, not really a question as I had intended it to be. I couldn’t look up from the ground, too ashamed I had been staring at Gloria that way.

She seemed to sense what I was thinking, but inched closer to me none the less. Her icy hand grasped the handle of one of my large suit cases and hoisted it out of the back like it was nothing. Her eyes met mine for a moment, no longer red and menacing.

I looked up and sure enough, the full moon was still high in the sky. Looking back at her, I cocked my head to the side.

“Contacts,” she whispered in my ear before grabbing another one of my bags from my hand.

“Thanks.” I mumbled, walking into the airport with her following.

We walked through the halls of the airport in silence. I really couldn’t hear Gloria behind me, only her even breathing as we searched for the right place. There weren’t many people left in the airport waiting for flights except for flight 814 that was going to Atlanta Georgia in an hour.

I set my bags down in one of the waiting areas close to the boarding area of 814, but away from the other people that were waiting for the same flight.

I sat down in the chair with a huff. Gloria gracefully slide into the chair next me, the bags already at my feet.

I was tempted to ask Gloria what I had done to Candace when I left, but it wasn’t my place. I was the one that had actually caused it to happen. I shouldn’t know what I did. Or did I have that backwards? Shouldn’t I know what I had done, the damage I had inflicted on Candace’s life?

“She…could be better.” Gloria whispered, her face strained. She looked as iif she was concentrating on something that took a lot of effort. Gloria’s eyes wandered up to mine, their brown color they had been little bit ago fading. “She will forgive you.”

I looked away to look out the window at the runway far out in the field. “No she won’t.”

She nodded. “But she will. Aiden may never forgive you, but Candace loves you too much to let you go this easily.”

I sighed closing my eyes, picturing her face as I had left her on the driveway, not even trying to sooth her. Who would forgive a person after that? I won’t forgive myself, that’s for sure.

“I told you that losing your temper wouldn’t help you at all. You didn’t take my advice very well. You may never forgive yourself for what you did, but you will move past it.”

I didn’t respond, my eyes still closed.

“You have such a temper…and there is a reason for it. Someone hurt you.” It wasn’t a question, but more like she was trying to tell me. “You hadn’t planned on coming up here for Candace’s birthday when Aiden called you, but you thought you would be safe here.”

I squeezed my eyelids tighter together, my hand automatically going to my shoulder. Gloria tentative fingers moved my hand away, and lifted my t-shirt sleeve up so she could see it. Her icy cold finger ran along the raised scare.

“Tell me.” Her voice persuasive in it’s light sing-song voice, and her finger still traced the two-inch long scare on my shoulder.

I thought about it, and wondered why she wanted to know so much. “She is really sorry for it.” I said, getting a little defensive without reason.

“I’m sure she is.”

I opened my eyes and caught Gloria’s hand at my shoulder. She didn’t move as I held her stone hard wrist in my hand. “Could you stop that?”

She nodded. “Sorry.”

I let her hand go, looking away from her again.

“Tell me.” She urged again, still unmoving in her seat.

“No.” I said harshly.

She changed the subject, clicking her tongue on the top of her mouth. “I know Candace better than people give me credit for. I guarantee you that she will realize why you had to leave her the way you did.”

My brows furrowed as I tried to keep quiet. I just wanted her to leave. And I wanted her to stay to keep me company.

“She will never heal. Aiden may be able to put a band-aid over it and slow down the bleeding, but you are the only one who can stitch her back up.”

I snorted. That was a dumb analogy.

“I think it was rather clever.”

I turned my head to look at her, only to back away from her an inch. Her eyes had gone completely back to red now, their glowing color startling me. My heart had quickened and my breathing had increased its tempo.

“Don’t be afraid…” she whispered, her eyes traveling to the scare that was still visible on my shoulder, then her eyes trailed down my arm to the four long scars on my forearm. “You have so many reminders…” she pointed to the scars on my arms with a steady finger.

“And those are just the physical.” I said, flexing my arm and watching the scars shine when they caught the light. I pulled my arm away form her and tucked it in between the chair and my leg.

Gloria changed the subject again. “You need to go back to her.”

“Won’t that make it worse?”

She put her finger to her lip like she was thinking it through. “Maybe so, but like I said, only you can fully heal her wounds.

“I’m the one that made them!” I said a little too loudly.

Gloria patted my closet fist to try and calm me. “That may be so.”

I sighed frustrated with myself. I held in my anger, pushing in down into my stomach and locking it up there. My fist relaxed, but didn’t undo themselves. It was one thing to accuse myself of hurting Candace so much, but Gloria doing the same had been too much.

“No…” Gloria said shaking her head. “That wasn’t what I had meant.” She struggled for the words that would describe her thoughts to me. I waited for her to speak, trying to understand why she was here with me and why I was so comfortable around her.

“You had to do it for your own good. When it comes to Candace, you are selfless and only think of her; the same as she does about you That may sound…right but in reality it isn’t. Your own mental health should come before others in a relationship.”

I was about to protest, but she stopped me with a flick of her finger. “Yes it sounds wrong, but it is true. So in doing what you thought was right for you; that was the right thing to do.”

Wait… “What I thought was right?”

Gloria shrugged, her red eyes boring into mine. “In time you will know if you made the right choice.

I decoded to ask even though I really don’t want to know the answer. “How is Candace doing?”

Gloria’s eyes were still as she watched for my reaction. “She could be better.”

I turned in my seat so I could see her face clearly. “Why don’t you tell me how she really is? What happened when I left?”

Her expression changed, but I really wasn’t sure how. Maybe it was her lips slightly turned down, or maybe it was her eyes wide with wonder and pity. “I really don’t think you need to know.”

I cursed at her in my mind. I hated that people always tried to shelter me from the world. I was old enough to take care of myself.

Gloria scowled, crossing her arms across her chest. “You don’t need to be mean about it. I was just trying to help.”

I was confused now. I really didn’t know what I had said to make her upset.

She answered my unvoiced question. “You want me to go to hell, huh? Fine, I’ll leave you to sulk.” She got p with a huff, turning away from me.

I jumped to my feet and grabbed her elbow. Her cold skin didn’t bother me this time, but my warm skin startled Gloria. She jumped back, stepping away from me. She composed herself, tucking her bangs behind her ear.

It was my turn to apologize. “I’m sorry.” I put my hands into my pockets, then took them out again. “I just want to know about Candace, need to know what I am leaving behind for everyone to deal with.”

Gloria sighed. “Truthfully?”

I swallowed hard, my throat beginning to close. “Yes.”

She swayed a little where she stood, trying to find the words. “In the best way put, there is a lot of pieces spread in a large amount of space that will take a really long time to stitch back up. “ she paused, thinking again. And since the needle doesn’t have any thread as it is trying to stitch the pieces back together, all he will really be doing is poking holes. You see?”

“You mean to say that Aden is the needle and I’m the thread?”

She nodded. “You have to have both.”

I slumped back into my seat, covering my face with my hands. Boy was I really a jackass. And that was the nicest name I could come up with for myself.

Gloria grabbed my jacket from the ground and pulled a pen out of the breast pocket. Her delicate fingers lightly peeled one of my hands off of my face, and she began to scribble something on it. “You call me when you want to have an update on Candace. I’ll answer.”

I opened my eyes and stared at the girlish script on my palm. I was going to protest, but she was already sauntering away. The way she carried herself, the way she moved, it seemed like she was so sure of herself.

A loud whistle came from my right, alerting me to someone’s presence. A guy maybe twenty years old stood with a large bag over his shoulder, next to me. “You got a number from her?”

I almost wanted yell at him for looking at her like she was something to be won, but I held back. “It wasn’t like that.”

He laughed, clapping me on the back. “Sure it was. No need to try and hide it.” He gave me his hand to shake. “Ray

His pale white skin reminded me of Aiden, but why I shook his hand, his palm was warm. “Mike.”

I cold already tell that this was the kind of person in high school that got whoever and whatever he wanted; no matter what it was. It was because he had good looks, large muscles, and a white smile that anyone would be jealous of. I hated people like that…

The guy sat down in the chair Gloria had just vacated, slumping his bag on the ground next to his feet.

“So where in Georgia are you headed?”

“Atlanta.”

“Same here. I just bought a house there and I’m happy to be finally leaving this state. Too many weird things go one here.”

I sighed. “Tell me about it.”

“I’m moving in with pop down there in Georgia. He’s gotten sick and I am the only willing family member to help him out for the next few months.”

It was strange that this guy felt compelled to tell me his story. Did he really think I cared? Hadn’t he learned in any part of his lifetime that every single person on this earth had their secrets and problems that they kept? Did he really need to burden me with his?

Had his best friend fallen in love with someone that he despises? Or had he watched her fall in love with something that wasn’t human when he was standing right there, already madly in love with her? Of course not! Had his father got up and left him with his crazy mother? Had his mother taken a knife and…

My thoughts trailed off as Ray asked me a question.

“So what’s your story?”

“I was just visiting a friend.”

His eyebrows rose. “A girly friend?”

“Yes.”

He nudged me with his shoulder. “Good catch man!”

“Yeah,” I agreed, thinking entirely of a different person than he was.

A lady’s voice over the income altered me and I jumped to my feet. I grabbed my three bags of luggage and went onto the plane. My bags were a little larger than normal peoples, getting me a few stares as I passed the staff at the airport, but they didn’t say anything. My bags already stuffed in the compartments above my head, I sat down in my seat and buckled up.

The voice I heard next was not welcoming. “Hey Mike!” Ray yelled, sitting down two seats away form me. “Looks like we get to carry on our conversation.”

I ignored the guy, looking out the window at the open sky. The full moon was still glowing brilliantly, glaring down at me. I now understood why Candace hated full moons so much. All it ever did was ruin people’s lives.