Free Michael (The Curse) (The Airel Saga, Book 3: Part 5-6) by Aaron Patterson, Chris White Page B

him where you were. But when he left to go after you, I knew that I couldn’t allow him to do what he wanted to do anymore. I had to resist him. On some level, I knew that it would require force. I knew that there would be consequences. I just never knew how deep it would go.”
    It was hard to hear him talk about it, but I needed to process. “Well, I’m … I’m sorry you had to kill him.”
    “He was dead already, really.” Michael’s eyes were narrow, piercing the darkness as it came at us over the hood, smacking the windshield, rushing around the doors and swirling into and through the wheels as we sped on through it. “The Bloodstone took over his mind. It will eat you from the inside out. It’s just too much. Too much power.”
    I reached out and found his hand. He interlaced his fingers with mine and everything felt right again. I could feel my pulse quicken with his heartbeat through his hand, as if we had the same heart.
    I thought about asking how many people he had killed before me. But I didn’t. I wasn’t ready for what he might say, I decided. I didn’t know if I would ever be ready to hear that. “This is all so much. I don’t understand even what I am. I mean, I have pieces of the puzzle. But so much is dark. Hidden somewhere. I don’t know where to look.”
    “Maybe it’s not important right now. I wish I had the answers. But I’m looking for my own answers too.” He was quiet for a moment. “Just remember that you’re special.” He squeezed my hand.
    “It’s funny. I always wanted that, looking back. Though I never would have admitted it. I would have said to anyone who asked me that I only wanted to be real, normal, find my own way to fit into the world. And now that I am special, different, there’s no going back. And that’s real clear. It feels like all I want is whatever I can’t have. I just feel so unsafe.”
    “I know exactly what you mean.”
    “Really?”
    “Totally,” he said.
    “I guess I can see that. I mean, I see how you could. You’ve been through a lot. We both have. You, probably more than me.”
    He was silent for a moment. “I know that sometimes life makes you break your word. No one can say what they will or won’t do. Not with any guarantees.” He was silent again for a moment. “If I know anything, I know that most of the crap we’ve been fed is a total lie. You know, like you were talking about.”
    “Like what? I bet you really want to tell me.” I smiled at him. I could tell he was getting riled up, that side of his personality I had seen so briefly on our first date.
    “Well, okay, I know you well enough to know that you’ll appreciate this. Let’s just look at our cultural obsession with fame. That whole American Idol thing. I mean, the minute anyone shows the slightest talent for singing, and this is just a little for-instance here, but people always just assume if they have talent, that automatically means they should be rich and famous. But that’s stupid. There’s all this pressure to do the impossible. I mean, whatever happened to singing a song just because you want to express a feeling, tell a story, enjoy doing something well?” He took a breath. “People just don’t think. They don’t realize what they give up to chase after stupid stuff.”
    “How about you sing me a song right now, then?”
    Michael grimaced.
    “No?” I was enjoying making him squirm.
    “Um, nope. I just love you. Do you believe me?” He looked at me with those eyes and I melted a little.
    “I believe you. I do.” I was overwhelmed by my feelings again. “I mean, I tried so hard to turn my back on you, to force myself to stop caring about you, but I just couldn’t. And I don’t care if …”
    “If what?” he asked.
    “What is it about you?”
    “Airel.”
    “Okay, here it is. I don’t care if … if in the end, it doesn’t work out like we planned.”
    We were both quiet then.
    “I mean, I just want to be with you, get to know you