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Chapter 3

Joshua

He rolled over in bed, groaning. He sat up, completely exhausted. He looked at the clock. 5:42 AM. Fuck. He hated not sleeping. It had been three days since he had seen Lucy and 2 days since anybody else had seen her either. He had tried to reach out to her several times but she had ignored his attempts and it broke his heart every time.

He knew he had so much to make up for and he wanted to so badly. He stumbled into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. His eyes were swollen and red with dark black bags under them. He was pale and his skin along with his hair had lost its shine. His nose would forever be crooked from where Uncle Lukas had broken it when he went to Deegan’s castle the day after prom.

His mouth was swollen and cracked from the night before when he had slammed his face into the wall to feel something other than the pain of loss. He gripped the sink as a wave of dizziness passed through him from his lack of eating the last few days. He sighed as he sank to his knees and leaned his forehead against the cabinet in front of him.

“Lucy, baby, I love you,” he screamed out and slammed his head into the cabinet.

He started hitting it with his fists yelling in frustration. The cabinet door cracked in half and cut his hand open as he pulled his fist back. He slumped against the wall behind him, panting. Apollo surfaced to lift his hand. They both watched his blood drip onto the floor. Apollo sighed.

‘I guess I’m not healing this either,’ he murmured.

‘We deserve worse than this,’ Joshua replied just like he had done every time he got an injury.

He got up, wrapped a hand cloth around his hand and left the bathroom. He put his shoes on and headed out of the room. He slowed as he neared his parents’ room. The door opened and he groaned when his father stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

“Where are you going, son?,” he asked.

“I was going to walk to the castle.”

He sighed. “Listen, Josh, she hasn’t been back. You’re killing yourself. When this blows over-”

Joshua swung at him and he ducked, making Josh fall into the wall before spinning around to throw another punch.

“THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO BLOW OVER! I BETRAYED HER! IF SHE EVER FORGIVES ME, I WILL SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE TRYING TO MAKE IT UP TO HER! I DIDN’T THROW HER RAZOR AWAY FROM THE SHOWER, DAD! I CHEATED ON HER! I FUCKED HER BEST FRIEND AT PROM minutes after I proposed,” he said, finishing softly. He lowered his head to hide his tears. “What am I going to do?”

His father patted his shoulder sympathetically. “You pray to the Goddess and beg her for forgiveness and guidance.”

Josh looked up at him miserably. “I love her.”

He squeezed his shoulder. “I know. We all know. Be safe.”

He went back into his room, leaving Josh standing alone in the hallway. He sighed and hurried down the stairs to the front door. He left the house and started the 18-mile walk to the Deegan castle. He looked up at the sky.

“Goddess, I don’t know if you can hear me but I really could use your help. I messed up really badly and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know if there is anything I can do to fix it. I love her more than my own life and I would do anything to show her.” He paused to kick a rock. “Tell me what to do,” he begged.

The wind blew hard and moments later a woman appeared by his side, easily falling into step beside him. She eyed him.

“I hear you, my son.”

“Is there anything I can do to show her how sorry I am?”

“There is.”

“What is it?”

“Let her be free. She will come back on her own.”

He stared at her. “That’s it?”

“Yes.” She paused. “She will be where I need her to be. She was created to save people, Joshua. She has a task to fulfill before she will come back to you. Right now her soul is fragmented. She is not ready to listen to anybody. She will think everyone is lying to her and she will pull away.”

“So, what do I do? Just sit home and twiddle my thumbs?”

She laughed and he couldn’t help the step he took closer to her.

“Let her come back to you. In two weeks, she will come home. Be there. That will start the journey for her to return home.” She stopped and turned towards him. “This will not be easy for you or her. If you don’t want this, you need to tell me now. I will end it for you.”

He took a step back away from her. “I love Lucy. I will wait for her for eternity if I have to.”

She chuckled softly. “Just like her father. Patience, my son, and everything will be right in the end.”

He nodded and she disappeared. He tilted his head back and let out an agonized yell into the sky, followed swiftly by a blast of fire. Suddenly, pain filled his chest and his entire body locked up. Every single nerve ending exploded with excruciating pain. His legs buckled and he hit the ground. His fingers curled into the dirt in a failed attempt to distract himself from the pain. His eyes closed as the pain got stronger and blood began to ooze out of his pores. His back arched and he screamed out again before collapsing panting on the ground. He reached for Lucy’s link to check on her and she let it open. A moan flowed through it and he gritted his teeth.

“Lucy, please,” he pleaded. “Please.”

His vision started to swim and he got even dizzier. He pitched forward toward the ground and into darkness.

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