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Blaze Within 42
I paced back and forth in my room while a million thoughts raced around my mind. What in the world was I thinking? I couldn’t just start over. I couldn’t be Stephanie Tompkins again. With Alaric close by, I had a false sense of security. As though somehow, I could take on the entire world and make this all work. Without him near, reality crept in on me and reminded me who I was running from and why I had to remain Stella. A knock on the bedroom door snapped me from my thoughts. I walked over and opened the door to find Alaric standing in the doorway. “You alright?” he asked as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back. I stood unable to answer for a moment. “I’m fine” I finally breathed out as I walked over to the bed and sat down. “May I?” he asked as he waved a hand toward the room. My eyebrows crushed down in confusion. This was his condo and yet he was asking permission to enter a room? “This is your home.” He stood unmoving as he smirked lightly. “This is your room, S
Blaze Within 43
I wandered downstairs a short time later and found Alaric out on the back patio. He had steaks on the grill which emitted a mouth-watering aroma into the air. I slowly stepped outside as he had his back turned toward me. I closed the door and the sound brought him around to look at me. “Hey you,” he smiled his gorgeous smile at me. “Hi,” I replied back with a lame wave. “Do you like steaks?” he questioned as he turned back to his grill. I nodded and then realized he wasn’t looking at me. “Yeah,” I said softly as the sun shone upon my exposed wrists. I stared sadly at the marks Ace had left behind. I pulled the sleeve down and over them as though if they were out of sight, they somehow magically didn’t exist. “Why don’t you sit down?” he asked as he pointed toward a patio chair with his grill tongs as he glanced back at me. “Make yourself comfortable.” I followed his order, but guilt weighed me down in my seat as he worked. “I feel bad you doing everything. I am capable of helping
Blaze Within 44
I screamed, sitting straight up in bed as I gasped for breaths. It was just a nightmare, I assured myself as I looked around my rented room in Alaric’s condo. It seemed despite my physical escape from Ace abuse, my unconscious mind was still trapped. I was haunted my nightmares every time I slept, and they were becoming more and more vivid. I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and slowly got up. My body was still sore, and the bruises seemed to darken each day. I knew from experience they would peak in a couple days before slowly beginning to fade over the next couple weeks. It was never fast, but the mental trauma would last the rest of my life. I wandered downstairs and almost expected to find Alaric dancing around in the kitchen like he so often did. Instead, I found an eerie and quiet home. I grabbed some orange juice from the refrigerator and a glass from the cupboard. I set them on the counter and poured my cup when I noticed a note. Steph- I got called overnight to the
Blaze Within 45
Alaric had the next two days off. Our first task was to go to the cellphone carrier which Alaric used and he added me to his plan. His joyful, happy demeanor had returned and I was so happy to see it, I didn't even protest when he insisted on the newest phone for me. I simply smiled and agreed, making sure to thank him throughout. Back at the condo, we began our new normal. Alaric made some of his crazy bread concoctions and made me try each one to noisy protests from me. I laughed until my stomach hurt and tears streamed from my eyes. In the end, I had to admit they didn't taste near as bad as they sounded, and Alaric found this a huge achievement. We went on walks together around his community, and though we walked side by side, I found a piece of myself disappointed he never took my hand into his. I told Alaric all about my research into getting my GED, and after he insisted on paying for the test, I began studying like crazy. I sat for hours on his laptop taking pretests and st
Blaze Within 46
I woke up alone in Alaric’s bed. I laid there for several minutes, soaking in the feeling of being in his bed once more as I knew it would be the last. Last night had awaken me to that fact. Someone was definitely after me. They hadn’t forgotten, like I had deluded myself into believing. I wouldn’t let them hurt Alaric. I would obtain my GED, and then I would escape this town. I would take myself and my problems far away from here so they couldn’t hurt Alaric. I found a note from Alaric informing me he had left for work. I took the opportunity to take a long, hot soak in his jacuzzi tub. My body still ached, but not as it once had. I got out, showered, and dressed for the day. I made lunch before studying and then welcoming Alaric home shortly before dinner. As the days moved forward, a comfortableness developed between us. Being around Alaric felt natural. It came so easily being around him. I found myself waking with an optimistic outlook on life that I haven’t had in years. I smil
Blaze Within 47
The days began to pass faster and faster with the date for my test for my GED quickly approaching. I was nervous, yet anxious to finally get it over with. I was determined to pass, both for myself and for Alaric. I had to prove I could be more to both him and I. In the little spare time we had, Alaric insisted on taking me to the gym several times to teach me some basic self-defense. It wasn’t easy having him as my supposed attacker. The last thing I wanted to do was try to beat him up or imagine him as ever hurting me. Not to mention he was far too gentle with me to ever be taken seriously. He acted as though I was a fragile glass doll he was afraid of breaking. On the morning of my test, I was a disastrous ball of nerves. Alaric kept telling me to breathe on the drive to the test, assuring me over and over again that I was going to be fine. I entered the test room and quickly took a seat. I fiddled nervously with my pencils as I waited for the start. After instructions and packets
Blaze Within 48
The doorbell chime woke me up. I groggily opened my eyes and looked around the pitch-black condo. I slowly sat up from the couch; my mind slower than my body as it started to question who would be ringing the doorbell at this time of night. My heart began to thud in my chests as I rose unsteadily to my feet. I pulled Alaric’s suit jacket tight around me as I walked toward the front door. I flipped the light on inside first and squinted as it blinded me. Once my eyes adjusted, I peeked out the spyhole into the dark night. No one was there, and the security light outside clicked off. It would have been activated by movement that was now gone. Hesitantly, I punched in the code to turn off the alarm and slowly cracked the door open. I peeked out, my eyes searching frantically for any movement but saw nothing. I opened the door further and slowly stepped out, glancing around in all directions. Nothing but silence. I took a couple steps out, wrapping my arms around myself as I stood in the
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Brock turned out to be a very avid talker. He rambled on and on all during breakfast. Of course, Alaric seemed to join in nearly just as much. They laughed and reminisced over memories that I had no knowledge of. They had some crazy concoction atop their bread that I declined to join them in. I opted for simply jelly atop my toast. Alaric drove me to my shift at Kiki's, but I opted not to tell him in the car. It was too much to unload during our short drive. It didn't matter anyway, Alaric spent the time telling me he and Brock were planning to have a few friends over for a poker night, if that was okay with me, of course. I had no problem and he assured me again and again that he wouldn't forget to pick me up. I ran about during my shift, my body in Kiki's but my mind on Alaric. I desperately needed to tell him how I felt. Every second that passed seemed like agony now that I had decided to reveal my feelings to him. I was so distracted I hadn't seen him walk in to get seated, nor
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