Bound to Me (9 page)

The next morning when I awoke I looked down and saw Liam sleeping next to me. Our bodies were tangled. I slowly turned toward him and watched him sleep for a few minutes. I could get use to waking up next to a man like him.

Laying there with the blankets covering his waist but leaving his chest bare made him look extremely sexy. It was too bad I had to go to work in a few. His hair was a tousled mess, and even if he didn’t comb it he would still look sexy. “Are you just going to watch me and think naughty things, or are you going to do them?” He asks never opening his eyes but smiling. I smacked his arm and he suddenly grabs me and tickles me all over. I giggled like a high school girl until I was out of breath. “Okay!...Okay. I give up.” I said and he is on top of me now.

“Thank you for everything Veronica. Last night will be the night I will never forget.” I realized his eyes were human blue and they were beautiful.

I smiled. “You don’t have to thank me Liam. It’s what happens between two people who have genuine feelings for one other.” 

“I do feel something for you, and I’m sure it’s something real.” He looked into my eyes, wanting me to help him voice his thoughts.

“I am glad you can actually tell me you do feel something.” I say smiling but inside my heart is crying. He smiles back at me and then kissed me with a fierce passion.

There was a sudden knock on the door. I pushed Liam off of me and he fell on the floor with a loud thud “Oh shit! I’m sorry. Coming mom!” I shouted, I had completely forgotten my mom came home last night. I walked towards the door getting dressed at the same time and I felt a dull little sting on my shoulder. It was getting a lot easier now.

I was as dressed as I was going to get in shorts and a cami. I look down towards my shoulder and see the tattoo there. “I guess that was one good thing about this whole situation. I wouldn’t ever have to explain you to my mother.” I said to myself as I opened the door and my mom was standing there.

“Hey Ronnie, I thought I heard someone in here with you. I guess not. Let’s go out and get some breakfast.”

“I can’t mom, so sorry but I have to work a shift at the restaurant in a little while, and I am pulling a double so I won’t even be home for dinner.” I said then walked to the bathroom to get ready for my day.

“It’s okay sweetie. What about after your shift?” She’s standing at the door with a hopeful smile on her face and I knew she wanted to spend some time with me.

“Okay mom.” I said while brushing my teeth.

“Okay then, I can’t wait. We will celebrate our freedom and my new job.” After she left, I showered and got ready for the long day that was ahead of me.

*****

I got to work on time just in the nick of time. Before I left the apartment and I was headed down the stairs, Liam took human form again and told me he had to go see Devon. His eyes were still human blue, which only meant that time for us was running out fast. I told him to try and somehow meet me later so that we could talk and he agreed.

I got to the locker room and Amber was waiting for me there. “So, what’s up with you and that Liam guy? I want details.” She had a hand on her hip and she was smirking.

“Well there’s nothing going on. We’re just friends.” I replied and I don’t even sound convincing to myself.

“Don’t give me that crap! You were both eye humping, each other the other day. That doesn’t sound like friendship to me. You and I are friends Ronnie, and we don’t look at each other like that. If you started looking at me like that I would tell you that you have issues and I don’t swing that way.”

I laughed. “He’s just a guy I really like, but there can’t ever be anything more.” I said shrugging my shoulders, hoping she would let it go.

“Nothing more? Is he married? Shit, Ronnie!” I laughed even harder because it was just like Amber to assume I would date a married man.

“Um, no. He’s not married. He’s just on vacation here, so his time is limited.” I say as close to the truth as possible. I hated lying, especially to Amber. I was never really good at it.

“I guess that is a good thing then. Long distance relationships never work out. I say screw his brains out and have some fun.” Amber said elbowing me playfully. We were dressed and ready for our shift.

After my double is up, I noticed that I haven’t heard from or seen Liam. I guess he was still over at Dominions talking to Devon. I helped Johnny and Amber close up, and I started to walk home.

I denied the offer of a ride from Amber, because I wanted some fresh air to clear my head. Walking the streets of New York City was always a new adventure. You see lots of things. You know how they say the freaks come out at night? Well that is true living here. Rats the size of kittens were eating out of the dumpster. The streets were always alive and the traffic never died down.  

As I got nearer to my apartment I was quickly grabbed from behind, and dragged into a dark alley. There is a fat plump hand covering my mouth so I couldn’t scream. I instantly bit down as hard as I could and the male screamed. I am slammed
into the side of the building.

“You little bitch. I am going to make you pay for everything you did to me. Did you know your mother went downtown and put out a restraining order against me?” He asks grabbing me by the neck and slamming my head once again against the concrete wall.

My vision goes black for a few seconds. I did the only thing I could think of before he choked the life out of me. I kneed the fucker in the balls.

“Ben…You…Are…Pathetic. She doesn’t want you anymore. Don’t you understand what that means?” I am gasping for air and he is all bent over holding his crotch, and making little pig sounds. It would actually be kind of funny if I wasn’t oxygen deprived.

“I guess the only way to make her want me back, would be to take you out of the picture.” He flicked open something and I could see the street lamp as it reflected off the metal glint. He charged towards me.

They always say you can see your life flash before your eyes. That wasn’t true at all. In that moment I knew I wanted to live regardless if Liam wasn’t going to be in my life. I wanted to live because I knew life for me was going to be so much better than what it had been before. I finally had my mother back. I wanted explore our relationship more. I wanted to go to college and I wanted to do something for myself. Maybe move out the city and live somewhere more suburban with my mother. Give her a better life.

In that moment I knew I wanted to live because death wasn’t an option. I had a place in life and I wanted to live up to my full potential. I could see Ben standing there talking but I don’t hear anything coming out of his mouth. He had so much rage in him. He was drenched in sweat. I saw him wipe a hand across his forehead and he left a red smear behind. He looked down at my body and I felt something warm trickle down and I went to reach for it and I felt something weird. It didn’t belong there.

When I looked down I saw a knife handle sticking out of my stomach. Ben turned to run. I grew faint and I dropped to the floor on my knees, then my back. I laid there looking up at the night sky. There were hardly any stars in the sky. The pollution had covered up the stars. The last thing I saw before I passed out was a big black dragon flying above in the night sky, and he looked enraged.

Chapter 10

Waking up in the hospital was no walk in the park. I was so sleepy. It felt like I got hit by the New York City MTA bus. My body ached all over. At first I did not know where I was, but then I saw the IV hooked up to me and the machines. I automatically put two and two together. I was here because of Ben…BEN!

“He…Ben…Ben had stabbed me.” I sat up so fast that I forgot I was injured, and I felt a sharp pain in my abdominal area. Hands gently pushed me back down. I didn’t expect to find him here, and with ruby red dragon eyes on top of that.

He was angry. “Liam, I…Ben stabbed me.” It was the only response I could get to come out of my tangled mind.

“I know, and you won’t ever have to worry about him again. Ben is long gone.” I was too exhausted to find out what he meant by that. So I just let it go. I brushed my hand across his cheeks and stared into his beautiful dragon eyes. Eyes I knew I will never see again after today. For some reason, I knew today was goodbye.

“I am going to miss these beautiful red dragon eyes.” I whispered. He smiled a sad smile and brought his forehead to mine. “Where is my mother?” I asked

“She went home to get you some stuff. I was just coming from Dominion’s after talking to Devon about my lesson being learned in all of this, and I just had a feeling. I don’t know what it was. I never feel Veronica,
but I knew I had to come and check on you. As I got closer I could hear you in my thoughts and I knew you were in trouble. I knew in here.” He touched his chest exactly where his heart was. “I knew I had come too late when I saw you laying there. I thought I had lost you.” He was upset and it was evident in his eyes.

“I healed you as much as I could with my dragon smoke and brought you back but you were still injured. I love you Veronica and I know this is goodbye but you
deserve a place in this world.”

I smiled through the tears because I knew he was right. “It took so long for me to know that but, because of you I know what it feels like to finally be loved. I will always love you, and because of you I know now that even with all my flaws I am deserving of love. Thank you for choosing me Liam. Thank you for everything. I am alive again because of you.” I was crying by this point and I see that Liam is crying to.

We kiss like it is our last breath, even though it is our last kiss. “Remember Ronnie. I am never far. I will always have you in my heart and every time it beats, I will think of you. I want you to have this” He gave me a small ruby on a sliver chain. “Since you love my dragon eyes so much I figured I would give you something to remind you of me.” I put on the necklace and it was exactly the color of his dragon eyes. The eyes that I would forever love, eyes I would never forget, eyes that would haunt me, for the rest of my life.

I knew he heard my thoughts because he was blushing. He brought his head back up and fiercely kissed me again and I closed my eyes so that I could savor the moment. I felt heat surround me and as I opened my eyes again, I could see lots of smoke and flames. Liam began to disappear. He smiled and then he was gone.

This time there was no pain. I looked down at my shoulder and saw the beautiful dragon tattoo sitting there. But there was something different about it. The dragon eyes had red coloring in it. I laughed out loud just as my mother walked in with a bag full of my stuff. “There goes my beautiful daughter, what is so funny?” She came over and gave me a tight hug.

“Nothing mom, just happy to be alive.” I said.

“Well I am happy you are too. I think it’s time to start somewhere fresh and get out of the city. I was thinking maybe moving upstate. How does Syracuse sound? Especially, since the Police can’t seem to find Ben. We are finally free.” I smiled the widest smile ever.

“Mom, I was thinking we should move to, and you don’t ever have to worry about Ben again. I don’t think we will be seeing him ever again.”

She cocked an eyebrow suspiciously at me. “Really? And what makes you think that?” She asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. Just call it a hunch.”

She laughed out loud and hugged me again. “I am just glad you are really okay. Want something to eat from the cafeteria?” She asked.

In that instant my stomach began to growl. “Oh my God, yes! I was starved.” Realizing I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday at work.

“Okay I’ll be right back in just a few sweetie, then we can talk more about our new life.” She got up and left.

Just then there was a knock on the door and Amber and Johnny walked in holding flowers. Amber was crying. “Oh my God, I’m so happy you’re ok. When your mom called us, we thought the worst.” She came over and hugged what little bit
of life I had left, out of me.

“Hey Johnny, I hope you are not mad I missed work.” I joked and he smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m just glad my favorite waitress is alive.” He winked and Amber elbowed him in the ribs.

“Hey! I thought I was your favorite.” She giggled at me. Amber and Johnny weren’t able to spend that much time with me since the restaurant needed to actually have the cook and waitress, in order for it to be in business. I said my goodbyes to them and thanked them for my beautiful pink roses. They left and my mom still didn’t come back, so I figured I would use to the time to let everything process.

I laid there for a few minutes and just cried. I cried until there was nothing left in me to cry.

Even though I was happy that the bad things were finally over in my life, I was sad because the only man I had ever loved was gone. My heart was literally broken. I won’t ever see those beautiful eyes again. How many girls can say that they rode on the back of a dragon and saw New York City from the sky? Not many. That is one experience I will keep with me forever. I wondered if someone could eventually die from being broken hearted. He just left and even though he was sitting right on my shoulder
, I missed him. It was like all of this had been a dream. “You left, and it was like we never existed.” I said out loud into the room knowing that for some reason he did hear me.