Valley Of Glamorgan (34 page)

Deciding to get some answers I asked, “So,
what happened last night, why were you at Thora’s party?”

Without answering me he turned the subject
to suit him by saying, “Yes, well I was coming to apologize about
that but that idiot guardian of yours wouldn’t let me in your room.
I don’t know why your parents keep him around, I just don’t like or
trust the guy.” All of a sudden I could hear the green-eyed,
jealous monster peeking its large annoying head out and I had to
admit to myself that green definitely isn’t a good color for
Declan.

“I don’t know why you can’t answer my
question!” I demanded, getting more and more irritated with him and
the whole situation.

Finally he chose to answer me, “I just went
over there to have a good time. I have had a hard time these past
few weeks and just needed to cut loose and have some fun like most
people our age do.”

More than anything I could understand the
need to be normal and do what normal teens do, but it was just too
much for me; he had said some horrendous things to me and even if
he was drunk I didn’t know if I could forgive him that easily.
Eventually I told him, “I just need some time,” and that was all I
could really say to him.

Surprised he questioned me snidely, “Time
away from me or time away with your guardian?”

That was it. I had had enough and turning on
him I shouted, “You know what! I have had it! I don’t have time for
this crap. I don’t know what your problem is with Lorcan but it is
about time you got over it. Do you know that you said some really
hurtful stuff to me last night, and instead of owning up to it and
coming in here to apologize, all you do is talk more crap about
Lorcan,” and I shook my head as tears of anger started rolling down
my cheeks.

His response sounded peevish, “I did come
here to apologize, but I don’t feel like I am the only one who
needs to say sorry Mina. You just stood there and let your parents
say that I wasn’t good enough to be your guardian in front of
everyone! What do you think that made me look like? I will be lucky
if I ever get a job offer in this village again.”

I couldn’t believe what he had just said. As
I ran my hands along the rough towel like fabric of the robe I felt
my hands were shaking. “You really are mad at me?” and I laughed,
not believing my ears as I told him, “There was nothing more for me
to say. It was a done deal. And I have no say over what my parents
do; after all this is their house so you cannot hold me accountable
for what they do.” Pausing I took a deep breath before continuing,
“I am sorry you feel as if I should have stood up for you; but
where were you when Thora was trying to make a fool out of me?
Instead of defending me Declan, you go to a party at her house!”
Suddenly I knew I had never, in all my life felt as angry with
someone as I did now. I wanted to kick him out of my room and my
life, but I loved him so deeply that by doing so I knew I would
hurt myself, probably more than him.

Finally Declan spoke, “So, I went to a party
Mina and drank a bit too much, that is all there is to it. Anyway I
would never touch Thora; I’ve been there once and have regretted it
ever since.”

My heart sank. What did he just say? It was
now that I really wish I could see him. All I could ask was, “You
did something with Thora; evil, crazy Thora?”

“It was a long time ago Mina, and we just
dated for a little while,” he responded matter-of-factually.

Although I didn’t want to ask I knew I had
to, “Exactly how long is a little while?”

“Maybe Six months. We broke up about a week
before you returned to the castle,” he simply stated as if it was
nothing.

Standing there I thought about all the
things he had said to me, about how I was the only one here who
understood him, that he didn’t date the girls here because he had
never found the one who made him complete but it was lies nothing
but useless meaningless lies. Now I wasn’t sure what hurt most; the
fact that he had kept all this from me or the fact that he was
actually at his ex-girlfriend’s house last night.

That was it, I had had enough and turning on
him I whispered loudly, “I can’t believe a word you say! You are no
better than my pretend, kidnapping parents!” Doing my best to calm
myself down I took in a deep breath then spoke, “I am going to ask
you this one time Declan and once only. I want you to think long
and hard before you answer because right now I am not beyond having
my guardian, whom you just enjoy being around so much, punch you in
the face again. Pausing I waited for the words to sink in before
asking him, “Did anything happen between you and Thora last
night?”

“Mina….,” and he sounded as if I had just
hurt him, “How could you think that; I love you.”

The trouble was I didn’t believe him so I
demanded, “Tell me the truth Declan, please, for once tell me the
truth.”

He hesitated then finally stated, “She
kissed me. Fine, there I said it, are you happy now. Is that what
you wanted to hear; that I’m a horrible guy who got drunk and
kissed my ex? Because I did, and I feel so damn stupid as I have
never loved anyone the way I love you. I see the way Lorcan looks
at you and it makes me so mad that you are spending endless hours
alone with him. I got jealous and I messed up, so what did you
expect! Can you not forgive me?”

I didn’t and couldn’t at that moment reply
so I sat down on the edge of my bed, letting it all sink in. He had
lied, kissed another girl, not mentioning that it just so happened
to be the one person I couldn’t stand, and here he was expecting me
to forgive him. What was I to do?

The minutes slipped by then I answered him.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “Can you please leave?”

Surprised Declan began, “But Mina, listen to
me please. I’ve said I’m sorry.”

I knew I couldn’t take anymore so I just
yelled, “Leave! Now!”

Quickly following that I heard the door open
and someone step into the room, “I do believe the Princess has
asked you to leave,” requested Lorcan calmly.

“You stay out of this,” Declan warned, “I am
not in the mood for you.”

But Lorcan was not to be messed with me and
he quietly but firmly told Declan, “I don’t care what kind of mood
you are in, she has asked you to leave and you will go, either
willingly or by force.” Strangely I had never wanted to hug someone
so much in my life as I did Lorcan at that moment. Declan didn’t
speak he just turned and walked out the room and down the stairs,
slam the front door shut as he left.

Strangely it felt as if a weight had been
lifted from off my shoulders, it felt odd hearing Declan speak the
truth, no matter how painful it was, it was still liberating. I now
knew that he wasn’t the man I thought he was. Lying back against
the pillows I began to cry; not loud sobs or ugly crying as my
pretend mother used to; no, it was quiet and as my tears flowed I
released the hope of ever knowing who someone truly was. It always
seemed to me that no matter how much you think you know someone,
they always surprise you rather in a disappointing way or a good
way; either way you never truly know the people around you or what
they are capable of. I knew it should have taken the actions of my
pretend parents to make me realize that yet despite myself I still
wanted to give Declan the benefit of the doubt.

Remembering his beautiful smile and
breath-taking eyes, he had captured my heart the moment he had said
‘hello.’ I was so sure that he was my happily-ever-after; he still
could be I reminded myself, but things would never be the same.
Yes, I could forgive him, but the memory would always be there in
the back of my mind and every time he was gone too long or he
forgot to call me I would find myself assuming the worst, because
as hard as we try to forgive someone we never forget their
betrayal. I didn’t have all of the answers and I didn’t know if I
could ever put myself in a position to be lied to again.

Having spent enough time thinking over the
problem I sluggishly walked to my closet and thanks to Maggie’s
wonderful color coding system found a t-shirt and jeans, quickly
throwing them on before making my way downstairs. Moping in my room
all day wasn’t going to make it any easier for me to decide what to
do about Declan. I wouldn’t put a time limit on myself but once I
figured it out I would tell him, until then I wanted nothing more
to do with him.

As I reached the hallway I sensed that the
house was nearly empty. It seemed as if everything was back to
normal. My parents were off doing God only knows what and I was
left alone, with Lorcan.

A cough near the kitchen door heralded his
arrival. “Mina, may I come in?” he asked as he stood in the
doorway.

Although I really wanted to be alone I
invited him in anyway, handing him the box of cereal.

Gently he said, “I am sorry for what has
happened with you and Declan; it is never easy to put your trust in
anyone.”

“Yeah,” I agreed sighing between bites of my
cereal. I wasn’t up much for talking today, and eventually Lorcan
was quiet; the only noises coming from us crunching on the
cereal.

I nearly bit my tongue when Lorcan reminded
me that tomorrow was my animal ritual. How could I have forgotten!
One thing I knew was that I was glad I opted out of the usual party
before the ceremony; it didn’t seem like a good idea seeing that
there were people still out there who wanted to kidnap me and all.
That meant I only had one day until everything changed. Deciding I
wanted to spend it having fun, so I could put all my worries to the
back of my mind I sat contemplating what I could do that would be
fun.

With no hesitation I asked Lorcan, “What do
you do for fun?” hoping he would have an idea.

“I don’t usually do fun,” he replied
laughing although he sounded a little sad at the thought.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who needed to have a good time
today.

“Well, that is going to change right now,” I
announced, making my mind up, “We are going to have some fun
today.”

He didn’t answer immediately but finally
asked me, “And what do you think we should do?”

“Mmmm. I’m not sure,” I admitted thinking
about the options. “Let’s go swimming. I haven’t been once since I
got here and I really love it!”

“Sounds like a good idea Princes, sorry,” he
said quickly correcting himself, “I mean Mina.”

With a decision made and breakfast over with
I made my way up the stairs, careful not to fall. Once in my room I
found the drawer with the blue marker on. Opening it I pulled out
the bathing suit I had picked out before losing my sight; it was a
two piece which I was now regretting buying as it was a dark orange
and the bottoms tied on the sides. Smiling I remembered how Liam
had nearly had a heart attack when Eleanor showed it to him; well
he would have to get over it. I was going to have fun today, even
if it killed me. With my track record as of lately, it might not be
that impossible. For a moment I thought I could see the headlines:
Carmina, died having fun. The universe just wouldn’t allow that
kind of nonsense to go on in her life. The idea caused me to
giggle.

Once ready I made my way down the stairs
with my towel over my arm. Lorcan was already waiting. And clearing
his throat he asked, “Do you think it’s wise to wear that costume
around me? I may be your guardian but I am still a man and that is
very eye catching.”

Laughing nervously I knew he was probably
right and maybe I should have changed, but it was getting late and
if we didn’t hurry then everyone would have taken all the good
spots at the creek.

By the time we reached the creek everyone
was starting to make their way home for lunch which meant they left
the area deserted and all ours. Approaching the creek’s edge I
stuck my toes in the water and smiled. It felt as if it was going
to be a good day. Lorcan, surprisingly, was the first one to jump
in and as he did the water came up and splashed me in my face.

It was a bit too cold out for swimming but I
wasn’t ready to admit that summer was over, so taking a quick
breath I jumped in and let the icy water engulf me. Floating on my
back I began picturing what the creek looked like even though I had
only seen it a few times since I had lost my sight. It was
beautiful with crystal clear water you could see through all the
way to the bottom. And there was also a small run-off with a
waterfall as part of it; by no means was it big, but it was still
breath-taking to look at. Large green plants ran along the bank
which was also littered with bright red and yellow roses. I
remembered walking past here on my way home at night from Willows
and seeing the stars and moon beaming off the water as it mirrored
the sky. I had always wanted to swim in it, but never got the
chance, and even though I could feel the heat from the sun on my
face I pretended it was night time, and I was swimming in the sky,
because that is what I thought it would feel like to swim here at
night, with the light from the stars glittering all around me.
These thoughts, strangely enough, were helping me to cope with the
forever darkness I was now stuck in.

Suddenly I felt a splash of water in my face
and gasped I planted my feet firmly on the sandy bottom of the
creek. Then water hit me again but this time from the side.
“Lorcan!” I joked, knowing he was swimming in circles around me,
laughing when he managed to splash me with the water.

“This is a wonderful place,” he said, more
to himself than me.

“Don’t you have places like this on the Isle
of Fire,” I asked him, thinking how it always sounded so strange
calling the island that.

“No,” he said, his voice in a more serious
tone, “Sadly, we don’t have anything on the Isle that is as
beautiful as this.”

Despite myself I wanted to pry as every time
his home town was mentioned he acted peculiar, but I reminded
myself that I didn’t like to talk about the home I came from,
either.