The House In The Forest

Chapter XXIV

Chapter Twenty Four

Marlowe woke up, and the Dae was gone. By all accounts, everything went right. But, Sasha didn't come home. Though, I guess there wasn't a home for us to return to anymore. That's what I thought. But, then I gave it some thought.

"Why did you want to come out here?" Elias asked, following after the group down the off road, as they called it.

"It's not as spooky knowing the Dae are gone at least," Amber spoke, looking around curiously.

I brought them to the house at the end of the off road. Once we got inside they sort of all went in different directions to explore. I found myself alone with Albert, walking down the hallway we first met in.

"By the way, I was told to give you an earful over the necklace," I told him, stopping to glance in the room where that table and three chairs stood. So many childhood memories there.

He chuckled awkwardly before sighing. "I am sorry about that, I didn't mean to-"

"Wait, you can't apologize til I finish," I told him, clearing my throat. "It was wrong of you not to trust me, you may say you weren't trusting yourself, but by being insecure about such things, well that's just not trusting me with extra steps. I wasn't going to run off, yes I do perhaps have a history of such behavior, but that doesn't mean I would run off forever, maybe an hour or two but I'd be back, and besides, if you had trusted and told me, we may have resolved everything much faster you know. Also it's not fair to flirt with a girl and buy her books and then start acting all insecure over her best friend. You started this, you have to carry it through."

He gave me a slightly strained smile. "And how exactly, does a guy carry such things through?"

I sighed. "Do I have to teach you everything? This is why they say not to fall in love with juniors," I spoke, before smiling, tiptoeing ever so to be tall enough to give him a peck on the lips. Just a fleeting moment, a small action, but a rather important one.

Albert grinned in a manner that made him look younger, an embarrassed but happy look I suppose. Though he wasn't embarrassed for long, seeing as he quickly wrapped his arms around my waist to lift me up and return the favor.

"Aw."

"What a show off."

"It's not showing off if we're not supposed to see it."

We stopped to glance behind us at the people who quickly gave their excuses for being present, while Albert seemed fit to lecture them, I just laughed. It was cozy, having so many guests.

"What'd the necklace look like anyway?" Amber asked, hurrying down the hallway.

Albert pulled it out of his jacket pocket, before handing it to me. It was a silver pendant. "Oh, it's a pendant, what's it in?" she asked curiously, as usual.

I opened it more curious than her though. And inside, in the oval shaped photo frame, was an old painting. One that had obviously been painted on left over parchment. Yet, one with memories so dear.

"Painted flowers?"

"Painted flowers, because they don't wilt," I spoke with a soft chuckle. Oh Beatrice, your gifts were something I could never forget, nor could Sasha.

Marlowe was sent to the actual hospital in town, and me and Amber visited everyday, Damian was there a lot too. Of course Elias and Albert too, but Dr. Beckett had Albert grounded for not telling him everything. We did tell him everything, to which he wasn't as shocked as he should have been. But I suppose when you live in this town for so long, you do get an idea that there's things that aren't quite normal here.

But, Marlowe would be fine, and so would I. I just had to adapt to a new life, and potentially actually get a cellphone, as strange as those things were.

The only problem was, Albert was only here for his junior year. He'd be going back to his hometown next September. We only had a year before we'd be apart for a year. So, we had to make that year count. Because life was short, which is kind of weird for me to say after being technically immortal for seventy years, but my life was short now, so I had to treasure it. After all, Sasha gave me this light, I wasn't going to waste it.

It was a new day, and Giselle Wren was ready to sign her name on the page for the first time in a very long time.