Wicked Destiny - By Tiffany Stevens Page 0,37

area. In the far off distance I could hear the tractor plowing the fields and the animals crying out because they knew it was feeding time. Most of all, I could hear my aunt singing in the garden. Without even knowing it, I was crying. Placing my face in my hands, I began to ask why.

Why was I even here on this earth? What was the purpose of my creation? I stood on the edge of the bank looking out at the moon’s reflection over my own. Things would be so much easier if I weren’t here. I wouldn’t be a disturbance in the so-called balance. Before any more disturbing thoughts came into play, I took one last look at the cabin and walked towards the red barn. I took out the key I never used and opened the front door of my old apartment. Even though I never came out here anymore, I paid a maid service to clean twice a week. If the weather was bad, I paid extra for them to ensure the place was weatherized. From the looks of it, they’d come today.

I walked around my old place and noted it smelled like peaches, as always. I loved that scent here for some reason, and then I realized why I never bought the same freshener for my loft. Declan, of course. It’s funny how a scent could trigger memories that were long forgotten, but I thought anyway. Leaving my living room where we spent long nights watching TV or studying, I ran upstairs to my room. It was just as I left it. Well, just cleaner. My pictures were still out and posters from old bands still hung on the wall. Looking at them, I wondered if I would peel off the paint if I took them down. I decided to let them stay up.

I sat on the edge of my bed wondering how things got so twisted. I wanted my aunt and I needed someone to tell me the truth. Everyone around me was being so cryptic that it was driving me crazy. Looking at my phone, I checked the time. It was four thirty in the morning. I knew I wasn’t going to make a trip home now, so I decided to make the best of it. I opened my closet door and found a bottle of aged Crown. It had never been opened, so grabbed the glass from the bathroom and washed it out. Next, I grabbed the comforter off the bed and sat on my deck just looking over the lake and the property that was given to me. It was so beautiful, but it just brought back too many memories of me growing up. I’d gladly give it all back just to have my aunt here with me.

I poured myself a glass full of Crown and sipped on it as time passed. There was no signal on my phone so I knew I couldn’t be bothered, and that’s what I wanted. Time was passing and the bottle of crown was getting lighter. I pulled out my headphones and listened to some music and sitting here was so peaceful.

Closing my eyes, I remembered to put both feet flat on the ground so the world wouldn’t spin. That was the number one rule while drinking—keep at least one foot flat on the ground while lying down. Even though all I was doing was laying my head back, I still wanted to take precautions. Evanescence’s “Everyone’s Fool” played and I smiled because it was fitting. The tears started again and I cursed myself. Damn it, why did alcohol intensify the emotions so much? I stood up slowly with my drink in my hand and downed what was left. I looked at the empty glass and I realized, in that split second, that’s how I felt. Empty, and it wasn’t fair. Wasn’t I entitled to just a little bit of happiness? I threw the glass as hard as I could and gripped the rail. Trying to breathe, I could feel every emotion rising to the top and readying to explode like a volcano. I let out a scream that felt like it shook the very foundation I stood on. Next, it was exhaustion that took over.

I felt my legs give out and I just lay there, pathetic. There I was listening to the music, hoping it would drown out the world, as I lay on the cold ground. I squeezed my eyes closed, not wanting