Chapter 6
A week later…
This is wrong…it’s wrong…it’ can’t be happening….but then why did if feel so good? Why was it that if his touch was so horrible that when he did touch her, it sent a sensation down her spine unlike anything she’d ever known. She looked to the clock and realized she’d been sitting there for the past half hour…analyzing the consequences and fears she had of going into the house before her. It was nothing knew…she’d been doing it since she broke up with AJ. Almost every day she could go there…she would. Then she’d go home, feeling guilty, she’d check her messages on her phone to find it was filled with AJ's voice. He'd been begging for so long for forgiveness...but she couldn't give it. Not that she couldn't. If the circumstances were different...she would have forgiven him long ago. But they weren't. They were...they were what they were. She sighed, then grabbed her purse and got out of the car. She stood up and walked toward the house.
She was coming. He'd heard her pull up half an hour ago, and he knew she was sitting in her car, contemplating, analyzing the situation they had gotten themselves into. And he knew why, he knew because he was doing the same thing. He felt guilty. This was the woman one of his best friends loved, every time he had seen him, he'd be crying or saying how much he missed her, and how stupid he'd been to take another woman over her. He sighed, this was getting bad, yet the guilt that had been plaguing his mind had melted away with her simple touch. A caress of her fingers, the sent of her body, the touch of her lips to his...it was perfect. Nothing else mattered when she was near, and they held each other. He looked to the door when he heard the slam of the car door. She was coming, and the moment she walked in everything, every guilt, every consiquence, every thought of AJ would melt away in her presents...he only hoped she felt the same way.
She stood at the door and took a breath, then lifted her hand. The door swung open and she gasped in surprise. There he stood, his sky blue eyes swimming around and hypnotizing her. He was so beautiful.
‘It’s not that bad’ she thought, ‘not as bad as I thought it would be. But I guess that was just the fear.’ She’d been walking around outside for all morning and had been noticing little things about the place. It was actually a very nice place to be. It looked so terrifying from the front, but now it actually looked…cool. The gargoyles were looking at her with menacing eyes, and suspicions postures, almost as if they were waiting to attack her, but she knew they wouldn’t. She’d quickly learned that only the furniture seemed to talk…everything inside, not outside. She walked along the rusty fountains and dead gardens, trying to find something in color besides the blacks and grays that surrounded the dingy palace. She’d cried herself to sleep the night before and awoke that morning a hundred times more tired with eyes so puffy she almost couldn’t see through them. So she went back to sleep before getting up a few hours later and feeling better so she got up and didn’t bother going to breakfast knowing she’d most likely break down in front of Nick. Walking further and further her hopes of certain color diminished quickly, she was about to turn back when a light caught her eye, on the other side of a wall made of dead plants she saw a…bright red light, she then began to follow the wall, trying to find a way through…when suddenly…she heard it. A voice, a soft, beautiful voice, with a guitar…coming from the other side…close. She stopped, and then leaned forward, it was getting clearer, louder.
Let’s hold hands on the porch swing,
You might be hundreds,
Let’s hold hands on the porch swing,
You’ll feel the passion,
We can dance to the radio,
He looked out into the brilliant colors that covered the ground. Violet reds, fuchsia, yellow, blue, white, orange…colors he once knew…that he once felt within himself, a warmth that his heart longed to feel again…feel. He’d forgotten that word, it was buried deep in him and it was trying to break free…he knew it. From the moment Tala had appeared. Tala, she brought emotions he’d let go of come out in him that he’d forgotten he had. Emotions that he didn’t like coming out of him, it made him nervous. Made him weak. He sighed and shook his head, ‘I’ll get rid of her at the first chance’ he thought to himself ‘Hopefully she won’t tell anyone what she saw…and no one will come…the sooner I get rid of her…the better…’ he thought about that last bit over again “The sooner…the better” he said aloud “The sooner…the better.”
'What was he talking about?’ She thought to herself as she watched him there…talking to himself, strumming the guitar unconsciously. She leaned forward to see if she could get a better look, when the branch she had been leaning on snapped and she went crashing down. She closed her eyes, and refused to open them in fear, ‘Maybe if I close my eyes and let the darkness take me…I’ll realize that I’m not in the garden…I’m actually still in the house fantasizing about a deranged man.’ She slowly and cautiously opened her eyes and much to her dismay…she was still in the garden…lying on the other side of the wall…looking up into two very angry blue eyes.
These past days with Griffin had been amazing, they walked around the castle and talked of many things, music, plays, movies, things she didn’t know he ever knew about. They and talked like they were old friends reconciling after many years, it made Tala’s heart lift…in more ways than one. For some reason, she found herself looking forward to seeing him every morning at breakfast, and talking with him every day, and she also found herself lately getting ready to see him, fixing herself up for him. She could feel it…she was falling…hard.
As for Griffin it had been a long time since he felt at such peace. Since he felt this good this…human. He’d been smiling, talking…laughing. It had been years since he’d had something to purely laugh at and since Tala had shown up he found himself laughing more and more. She was a true savior in his eyes. And he was also looking forward to seeing her every morning and day, some nights he couldn’t even sleep because he couldn’t wait until the next morning, he felt it, he felt his heart melting and his face beaming…he felt…love.
Tala was walking by the fountain in the back of the castle, but not going into the gardens…she would do that another day. She looked up at the castle and noticed Griffin looking down at her from one of the balconies. She smiled and waved. Griffin straightened in surprised before waving back with a small smile.
“Well it looks like you have an admirer if you don’t mind me saying Master” Pierre walked up.
Griffin looked down at him “Yes” he said “I mean…no…I meant me…I mean…”
“It’s a good sign to stumble over your words after hearing about her” Louise said “I can see it in her eyes, she likes you.”
Griffin looked down at her. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone…I wish I could do something for her…but what?”
As they made suggestions Tala realized she was board of the back yard so the walked into the castle, knowing the candle and clock would take up his time she ran quickly up to his wing. It had been killing her all week not knowing what was in there, and she had a feeling she’s want to know. Once getting up there she began quickly looking around for something…anything that would give an indication of what had happened to him and why.
“What about a beautiful bouquet?” Louise asked “Women love flowers.”
“No…that’s not good enough it has to be something very special” Griffin told them.
“Well sire we do live in a castle, with a fairy…not that you’d…sire?” Pierre had turned to find Griffin gone “Um…sire?”
She had given up…there was nothing. Suddenly something hit her shoe, she kneeled down and looked under his bed, then saw a small box. She reached for it and placed it in front of her.
Griffin’s anger was at a complete high when he walked long strides down the hall.
She opened it and began to search through it thoroughly, on the top was two necklaces. One was a gold chain, obviously real, the second was a silver chain, she looked to the pendant, it read ‘BSB’ she gasped…this chain belonged to Nick Carter!
Griffin got to the stairs and began stomping up them.
She then looked down into the box again and picked up a stack of upside down pictures. She turned them over and gasped. Pictures of the Backstreet Boys, beautifully drawn pictures of each boy. She then stopped when she finally got to the last two, one was of Nick, the second was of Griffin. She put the necklaces and the pictures in the box before beginning to study them, there was something…something very strange…yet familiar about the two.
Suddenly she heard the door being opened. She quickly closed the box and crawled with it under the bed.
Griffin stomped to his bed and straight to the mirror. “Show yourself Fairy!” he demanded.
Her figure showed up in the mirror smiling “Hi Nick…what’s wrong?”
‘Nick!’ her mind screamed ‘His name is Nick! Nick CARTER!’ She looked to the two pictures in her hands then saw it…the eyes…they were the exact same… ‘Oh my god! Griffin if Nick Carter!’ “You know what’s wrong” Nick exclaimed “Tell me what games you’ve been playing. What spells you’ve been making.”
“As a fairy I’m not allowed to affect free will” she told him.
“Don’t bullshit!” he said “I know you’ve been making spells so that Tala and I would…that we would…we would…”
“Fall in love?” she asked “Sorry Carter, but that’s your doing…not mine.”
“No…no it’s you…you’re…”
“Nick…you’re falling in love with her if you haven’t already. I see you two together and I can see that you care about her as much as she does you.”
Tala’s heart fluttered in surprise happiness as she heard those words.
“Please…she in love with me?” Nick asked “Girls that look like that don’t fall in love with ugly guys like me. She…she’s just a tease, just someone who wants to use me and then leave.”
Tears fell down her face in pain of his words, cruel words of what he truly thinks of her. She held in the cries that lingered in her throat.
“She doesn’t mean anything to me” Nick finished.
The woman in the mirror shook her head “Poor Nick” she said “You’ve been here for so long and still haven’t learned anything yet.”
Nick sneered at her before walking out.
When she heard him walk out she let out the cries she’d been holding in. She crawled out from the bed and stood up “Tala” the woman in the mirror started but she wouldn’t have it.
She ran out as the mirror called for her. She ran down the hall, towards her room, once in there she threw herself on the bed and let out the sobs she’d been holding in. She lay there as she let out all her frustrations in tears fall to the bed until she fell asleep into a disturbing dream that went along with her broken heart.
"You've been here for awhile" he told her.
"I was thinking" she replied.
He reached out and took her hand then led her into the house. He closed the door then turned and captured her lips with his.
A shiver went up her spine and goosebumps ran down her arms, she could feel them begin to spread across her body. She sighed against his lips and let her bag drop to the floor before running her hands up his chest and to the back of his neck. He groaned against her lips when he felt her hands run up his chest, it sent a sensation throughout his body in a dangerous wash. He pulled her close to him, he couldn't get close enough, couldn't get her close enough to him. He reached down and picked her up, not letting up on the passion that flowed through their lips. He then walked toward the stairs and up them.
She peaked through to see…Nick! Kneeling down in front of a patch of beautiful roses and flowers, singing…and he was good. She’d never guess such a cold hearted man could sing so…amazing.
“As I sit here surrounded,
By people and lies,
Along with my drink at the bar,
You've been here forever,
So clear in my mind,
I just don’t know where you are,
But I know I’ll find you,
But girl till I do,
This is my love song for you,
Under the moon,
While the wind thought the willows
Plays us a tune,
We can lay on a blanket,
Out back in the yard,
And wish for our future
On a far away star,
You’ll feel the passion,
As time after time,
I’ll press your sweet lips to mine,
We can dance to the radio,
Right up till dawn,
Till you drift off to dream in my arms,
Or more miles away,
Or you might be just down the street,
But they’ll be a hunger,
Deep in your eyes,
I’ll recognize when we meet,
It might take hours,
Or it might take years,
But this is the song you will hear,
Under the moon,
While the wind thought the willows,
Plays us a tune,
We can lay on a blanket,
Out back in the yard,
And wish for our future
On a far away star,
You’ll feel the passion,
As time after time,
I’ll press your sweet lips to mine,
We can dance to the radio,
Right up till dawn,
Till you drift off to dream in my arms,
As time after time,
I’ll press your sweet lips to mine,
Right up till dawn,
Till you drift off to dream in my arms.”
Drift Off To Dream-Travis Tritt
She resisted clapping, or calling out…all she could do was stand there in shock at the amazing voice he’d had. She watched as he set down his guitar in a case then looked out onto the flowers, silent, and deep in thought…she couldn’t help but ask herself. What was he thinking?