A Window To A Soul

Chapter 23: Della

I walked through the hallway of Elliott's mansion. I had a knife in hand. I knew what I had to do. I opened the door to Elliott's bedroom and saw him sleeping peacefully. I walked up to him and put the knife to his throat.

I smiled as I thought about the life I could live if the Great Ones are gone. I thought about the difference we could make without this corrupt society. I smiled wider as I thought about how Cal will finally be free. I dug the knife into the skin of his throat, cutting some skin, as I heard footsteps next to me.

I looked over and saw Cal standing there, horrified. My eyes widened and I dropped the knife. "C-Cal!"

He backed up slightly, shaking his head. "Yo-... You're insane!"

I felt so much pain when I heard him. I was just trying to help him. I shook my head, tears rushing to my eyes. "N-NO! This was all for you! I want you to be free! Don't you understand?"

He shook his head, still backing up. "No! Not like this. This isn't the way to do it. It won't work. And even if it does, for what price? Murder? You..." His eyes widened as he stopped in his tracks. He lifted his shaky arm up to his mouth and covered it in horror. "You're a rebel!"

I stopped trying to walk toward him and wondered if he was right. Was I a rebel? But I just wanted to be free! Is this what they felt like? Is this what that one bodyguard that tried to kill Elliott felt like? I JUST WANT TO BE FREE!

I felt tears running down my face. I fell to my knees, sobbing. "I'm sorry, Cal! I want us to be free together!"

I looked up at him. His face showed disgust and hatred. "You're a monster"

He backed up, but then his eyes widened and his face went pale. I felt a lump in my throat. What happened? I got up and slowly walked toward him. But then Cal stumbled forward. He slowly turned to look behind him and I saw blood soaking the back of his shirt. Behind him was Elliott. I looked back at the bed only to see it was empty. The blood was still dripping from his neck.

Elliott was holding a bloody knife. He stabbed Cal. "No. No! NO! NOT CAL!" I ran to Cal and tried to cover up the wound and keep the blood inside, but it was no use. He fell, blood spilling onto the floor. I screamed in sadness and horror.

I jolted awake, sitting up in bed. The room was lit up now. I looked around. Cal wasn't there. As I thought that, the door opened, as if on cue. Cal was standing there with a tray of food. He looked at me in surprise, but it was a lot different than the way he looked at me in the dream. I breathed a sigh of relief. He's alive.

Cal quickly walked up to me, setting the food down at the foot of the bed, and then walking to my side. He kneeled down and reached his hand to my cheek. I blushed as he did so, unable to help but think about what would happen if he kissed me.

But then he wiped my cheeks. "You're crying."

His words surprised me. I reached my own hand up to feel my cheeks. Sure enough, they were wet with tears. I didn't realize I had actually been crying. Without thinking though, I pulled Cal into a hug, digging my face into his chest. Surprised, he hugged me back. "Another nightmare?"

I nodded my head. Cal didn't ask what it was about. I was thankful for that. All he did was hug me. We sat there for a few minutes before I pulled away. I looked at the tray of food. I heard Cal chuckle next to me. "I was gonna surprise you with breakfast in bed but now it's getting cold."

I fixed my sitting position and my blanket. Cal gave me the tray and I looked at the food. It all looked so good. I was so thankful for him. I smiled, unable to hide a blush as well.

I looked at Cal. "You can sit down."

He smiled and sat down in the chair he fell asleep in last night. He smiled down at his lap as I ate some of my food. He looked at my bookshelf next to him and grabbed one of the books. My eyes widened when he grabbed A Pea In A Pod. I almost choked on my food as I saw him open it.

Without thinking, I reached forward quickly and snatched it from him, not able to stop the tray of food falling on the floor. Cal's eyes widened as I almost fell off the bed but caught myself. I didn't hesitate to quickly move the book to the other side of the bed. The hot tea had spilled on Cal's pants. He quickly stood up, letting it drip on to the carpet and meet up with the broken porcelain cup and plate. He looked back at me, the book, and the mess silently.

I felt my cheeks get really hot. I had to find an explanation. Yesterday I had written some annotations in the book and I was comparing the Great One's love for her bodyguard to me and Cal. There were a few loose papers that I doodled pictures of Cal on as well. I never considered that he would grab that book specifically to read.

My heart was beating fast and I had to find something to say. "I-I um... wrote something in my annotations... that I... don't want you... or anyone to see."

Cal didn't say anything. He just looked shocked. Then he smiled and started laughing. He covered his face with his hand as he did so. "O-" He kept laughing. "Oh! You could have just said so!"

I smiled a bit too. Cal then got down into a crouching position and put the broken pieces of the plate and cup on the tray along with the loose food. He left the room with them. I flopped down on my bed. Why did I do that?

I looked at the book next to me. Why was I like this? And then I thought about what Cal looked and sounded like laughing. He sounded so cute. And he looked so handsome. I love his smile.

I sat back up and felt my cheeks. They were really hot. I fanned myself, trying to cool them down before Cal came back in to clean the carpet. I hate this! I hate having feelings for my bodyguard. And I don't want it to turn out like it did in A Pea In A Pod.

I groaned. Why did I have to like him so much? And why couldn't we just be free to like who we want without being judged?

My eyes widened a bit. I thought about what Cal told me about Chloe's plan. I liked it a lot. I did have a grudge against Elliott. So maybe it was a good thing. A good plan too. Then maybe that could be the first step to living in a good world.