Forbidden Knots (Shadow Duet #1)

8. EIGHT

EIGHT

Shadow

I saw her sad blue eyes looking at me like I was her only hope. As she stood in front of me, all I wanted to do was hug her, to tell her that I am that Shadow who protects her, and I will always protect her. She is carved into my brain like a nerve cell, and to carve her out would only leave me paralyzed. She is on my mind day and night, and now Lotta has brought her to my doorstep.

As Lotta walked in front, Thalia was walking slowly behind her. I couldn't help myself; I gently touched her hand, instantly realizing what I had done, so I let go immediately. I whispered, "You good?"

She just nodded, sniffing, turning around to follow Lotta. Chiara noticed and, as if I were transparent, clicked her tongue and raised her nose, walking upstairs towards the bedroom. All I wanted was for her to be gone. I guess I dug my grave deep with her, and now I can't break free to breathe. I know it's my fault.

As I walked into the living room, Thalia was sitting on my old sofa. She looked chained like she didn't want to be here, and that just made me angry. My tone raised as I spoke, "What's going on?"

"This is my granddaughter, Thalia," Lotta spoke. She was her grandmother, and suddenly it all made sense why she was in the house across the street.

Lotta took a paper out of her pocket and handed it to me. I knew this paper; I knew what it contained. As I looked at her, confused, my heartbeat was so fast that I could hear its rhapsody in my ears. Just as I was about to explain, thinking I had been discovered, Lotta spoke.

"Thalia found this on her nightstand. We need to find out who left this," she said, looking at Thalia.

I cleared my throat, and opened the paper, pretending that I didn't know the meaning of these words. As I whispered, " Shadow, " Thalia raised her head, recognizing my voice. I cleared my throat again, deepening my voice as much as I could, saying, "Who is this Shadow?"

"Isn't it obvious, a stalker!" Lotta raised her voice. "He somehow broke in, left her a flower and a letter like he's obsessed or something."

I chuckled, mumbling to myself, "You have no idea."

"What?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Do you have any idea who it is?" I cleared my throat again, coughing to cover my slip.

"We hoped maybe you could watch over her window since your bedroom is just across, or maybe we can order a security system you could help us set up around the house or something?" She barely breathed, coughing as she spoke. "Your father owned a security company, right?"

"Yes," I smiled, looking at Thalia. "I can watch her through my window. The view is just perfect for that." I squinted my eyes towards her. Her cheeks blushed, and her gaze fell to the floor as her feet crossed.

"For security, I mean," I added, looking towards Lotta.

"Thank you, Tristan, I mean it," Lotta said, taking my hand. Then she turned towards Thalia, "Go home, child."

She nodded and stood up, walking outside. I could hear Sophie saying her name, and then there was silence as she closed the door behind her.

"There is something else," Lotta said. "Thalia is not well."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my mind racing with thousands of reasons why.

"Her mother called and said she can get depressed. Her parents recently divorced, and this guy sneaking in is not good for her mental health," she said. "Between us, I think she is imagining it."

Wait, what?!

My mouth parted as she said it. "Are you saying Shadow is not real?"

"She wouldn't be the first in the family to see things," Lotta said. "I blame those damn flowers around this town; they make people do crazy things," she added, her thick Italian accent making her words even sharper.

" Ciao, ragazzi, " she said before she went through the door.

I sat down, my fingers on my chin, scratching nervously as I looked at the note I had written to her. I never wanted to break her; it was never my intention to hurt her, just to watch her, just so she could be mine. Maybe Lotta was right; maybe those damn flowers had poisoned our minds.

I heard screams coming from upstairs, and immediately I thought Sophie had done something to herself again. I crunched the note, stuffed it into my pocket, and ran upstairs as fast as I could. Sophie was in tears, and Thalia was sitting on the bed frame, her palms on her cheeks as tears streamed down her face.

Chiara turned towards me, her hair messy like someone had pulled it. She was on the brink of tears as well. The hormones in this room were so wild I wanted to escape, but assuming it was all my fault, I had to ask, "What the hell is going on?"

"Why is she looking at you, Tristan?" Sophie whispered. "Why do you let her?"

"What are you talking about?" I questioned.

"She is stalking you! She was watching us last night, she even confessed," Chiara shouted at me, pointing her finger at Thalia.

"I..." Thalia opened her mouth, trying to speak, but they didn't let her.

"You're a fucking liar! I thought you were my friend," Sophie said. "I can't believe Chiara was right all along. You are just a pathological liar. Is anything you said true?"

"Yes," Thalia whispered, "Sophie..." She tried to reach out her hand, but Sophie pulled away, the betrayal and hurt evident in her eyes.

Sophie had been wounded by so many people that she had become naive, and easily manipulated, falling into Chiara's trap. Chiara knew exactly what she was doing, and I knew all she wanted was to see Thalia gone so I could be hers. She knew the moment she saw me jump after Thalia in the choppy sea that I cared for her. And she wanted to break me as well. She was mean, and she knew I was using her, but she was also strong and determined.

I took Chiara's hand, pulling her out of the room. "What the fuck are you doing, huh?"

"I don't like her," she said, bringing her face close to mine.

"You don't like Sophie either, and now you want to be her friend?" I pushed her face away with my palm. "If this is your sick way of thinking you'll get through to me, congratulations. I don't want to see you again." My words struck her like poison, and she started to cry, her mascara melting with each tear.

"You're such a jerk, Tristan. All you want is to fuck, fuck, and fuck. I have feelings too," she said, pushing me.

"Nah," I said, tilting my head, and leaning against the wall. "You're a heartless bitch."

She shouted something in Italian, showing me her middle finger as she stormed down the stairs. "Fuck you, Tristan," she shouted just before the door slammed.

My phone buzzed again, and it was Amber calling again. Somehow, I drove them crazy, and in the end, I ended up as the crazy one. I smashed the phone against the wall, shouting, "FUCK!!" just before I re-entered Sophie's bedroom.

"You two good?" I asked, looking like a madman with my hair all over my face, mixed with anger and sweat. I looked at Thalia; she now had a scratch on her face.

As I wanted to come closer, Sophie threw a pillow at me, shouting, "Get the fuck out."

I raised my hands in surrender, not wanting more drama, and walked out of the bedroom, hearing them shout at each other.