Dark Redemption - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,20

been working late and we've had a little bit too much roommate time.

Despite how much I like Allison, I do need some space to think, to just be by myself, and she is always very chatty. Whenever a thought pops into her head, she has to share it. It gets a little tiresome after a while.

I walk down a couple streets, tree lined, absolutely beautiful. It's summer days like this that I live for. Even if you do have something to worry about, you can forget all of that in this kind of summer afternoon.

I walk for a while and then realize that it’s the wrong way. I look at the map on my phone and find the nearest walkway toward the beach. There are only a few places from where you can access the shore from here and I follow a little path in the swaying grasses, finally stepping onto the bright white beach, surprisingly unpopulated and uncrowded given the time of year.

Water sloshes against my feet, warm and welcoming. It's deep blue in color with just a little bit of white caps coming in. A breeze comes off the ocean, but it's pleasant and it relaxes me like few things can.

There are kids playing out into the distance and a few adults sunbathing nearby next to a tent.

I wade into the water. I'm wearing a bathing suit underneath a long summer dress, which I pull up to my waist to prevent it from getting wet.

My skin is alabaster white and I hadn't put on any sunscreen yet. I wonder how red I'm going to get this weekend, if I keep this up.

I don't have a towel with me, but it hardly matters.

Somewhere in the distance, the sun begins to set and light dances off the waves. I turn my eyes away from the horizon and see someone who has a similar build to someone I had lost.

He sits in the sand, looking out at the water.

I'm still a bit away, but it’s uncanny how similar he looks to Dante.

I take a few more steps forward and I lift up my sunglasses to get a closer look.

And then I realize it's him.

He gets up and starts to head toward the dunes.

I can run now, I can just turn around and walk away and it's like it never happened. It's like we never met.

But something stops me.

“Dante!” The words escape my lips. I want to take them back.

I hesitate. I want to talk to him again.

I want to figure out what happened, find out the truth. And then the memory of running into that pregnant woman and the way he helped her up stops me in my tracks.

I turn to walk away.

"Jacqueline?" Dante says, turning around. I take a step back. "Jacqueline?"

Dressed only in his swim suit, his body glistens in the setting sun. Every muscle stands out beautiful and toned. He has somehow gotten more attractive since the last time I've seen him.

I take another step back, but he takes three forward and suddenly he's right in front of me.

"Don't leave," he says, tossing his hair. It's wet, and a few droplets fall onto my face.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

I shake my head no.

I swallow hard, bringing my arm to my forehead. I shift my weight nervously from one side to another.

"It's so good to see you." I nod. "How are you?"

“I'm good."

The tension between us can be cut with a knife.

I wait for him to break it, to tell me something along the lines it’s nice to see you, but I'm married now, but he doesn't.

"That day in the park?" I say, "I'm really sorry about that.”

I can't handle waiting anymore. I need to get to the bottom of this. I need to know who she is.

“Don’t worry about it. It was an accident," Dante says. "Marguerite is okay."

"Marguerite?" I say her name, feeling it around in my mouth. It’s uncomfortable, foreign, strange, the kind of name that belongs to a villain.

"I'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to talk…then.”

I notice that he's being careful with his words. He doesn't bring up the fact that I just ran away.

"But I wanted to reach out and talk to you again,” Dante adds.

"Okay.” I nod.

A seagull squawks overhead.

"I'm staying right over there.” He points at the pristine white mansion on the other side of the swaying grasses. "Do you want to come in for a drink, or just get out of the sun so we can talk?"

I