about you tell me about your night instead? I need something to distract me.” I wince as I move and my cracked ribs sting.
He takes my hand almost instinctively, comforting me as I deal with the pain.
“My story isn’t very interesting.”
“Just tell me. I could be dying for all you know. You could fulfill my final request.”
He laughs and strokes my face lovingly. “It would take a lot to kill a spirit like you. You’ve been hurt, but you aren’t going to die. I won’t let you.”
“My knight in shining armor will save me?”
He laughs again. “Yes, I’ll save you.”
“Good, now tell me a story, Knight.”
He smiles again. At least I can make his sadness go away, even if there is nothing that can erase my own. Even if my parents survive, I will live with the guilt forever. The pain is too much to survive.
“Ok, my pretty girl. This tale is a happy tale. It starts with a princess, who didn’t realize she was a princess, and a knight.”
I smile, liking him too much. To some he might seem like a bad boy, but not to me. I’ve met a real bad boy. The kind who hurts you to your core. Knight is just playing one with his tattoos and mischievous grin.
Knight is the kind of man I could fall for if I got rid of my purple and blue hair, risqué clothes, and heavy metal music. And most importantly, if I started behaving and playing by the rules. I think I’ve finally realized why I will always follow a plan. I’ll never risk my life, or anyone else’s again.
“This princess was locked away in a castle, surrounded with white walls,” he glances around at the walls around us.
“Every day she laid in bed alone, waiting for a prince to come and save her. And every day she was disappointed that none came.”
I bite my lip. “Go on.”
“But then after waiting for years, a knight came. This was no ordinary knight. He was tall, dark, and handsome of course, but he was better than the other knights, for he had the strength to defeat the evil dragon guarding the castle gate.
“He knew not of the prize that awaited him when he defeated the dragon, but he hoped the greatest treasure would befall him if he bested the beast. So after an arduous, vicious fight, the knight risked his life for a chance to see the beauty beyond the white castle door.
“And when he entered, he found a princess so beautiful, so smart, so sexy that he fell at her feet, unworthy of such perfection.
“In his fall, he injured his heart, and it shattered into tiny pieces. So torn was he that he knew he could never stand again.
“But the princess was strong. Even stronger than he, she found all of the tiny pieces of his heart and quickly put it back together. She saved him, as he had saved her. And then they lived happily ever after.”
His grin is contagious.
“Lame,” I half moan, half tease.
He laughs. “Sorry, I’m not the best storyteller when put on the spot.”
“And you’re taken.”
He nods.
I sigh. If only he were truly my knight.
“Who’s the lucky girl?”
His eyes don’t meet mine anymore. “Abri. Her name is Abri; she’s friends with your sister.”
I gasp. I knew Abri had a boyfriend, but I didn’t listen when she talked about him. I hardly listened to anything Abri said.
“Break up with her.”
He laughs, thinking I’m joking and teasing like we have been all night.
“I’m serious. Break up with her.”
He frowns. “I’m planning on marrying her.”
“No.”
The memories all come back. Flooding me with the entire night. But I can’t keep reliving them. I can’t go any further.
“Mila?”
Knight. My thoughts come back to the present.
I realize now why he hired me. Why he wanted me in his life. He wants me to tell him why I told him to break up with Abri that night. Was it just a hunch or did I have a valid reason? One he could have used against her in the divorce filings?
I can’t help him now. It’s too late. But it won’t stop the memories from coming back. I need it to replay more in my head, but right now, I need Knight more.
“I forgive you for not telling me,” I whisper.
Knight inhales like he’s taking in every word of my forgiveness. Then he kisses the palm of my hand.
“I thought I needed you to tell me why I shouldn’t have married Abri, but I’d