A/N: OH MY SWEET STRAWBERRIES I AM SO FREAKING SORRY I TOTALLY DID NOT MEAN TO ABANDON THIS OH MY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON!
: Glad you think it's an awesome story.
cutie5lexis: OH MY GOSH I AM SO SORRY I DIDNT MEAN TO ABANDON YOU AGAIN AAAAAAAAAAAAH! I am seriously so so so sorry words cannot describe. Please don't hate me!
ON WITH THE STORY!
Chapter 29: Never Again
Upon our return to the house, Loki and I were confronted by my brother. " Where on earth have you two been? I've been worried sick! I woke up to find Carly reading a book on the couch, and my corvette, sister, and soon-to-be-brother-in-law missing!" he yelled, his slender face flushed red with anger.
I glanced up at Loki and smiled. " We were just visiting Mom, brother dear. Nothing to worry about. Where's Carly?" I asked, bouncing on the balls of my feet.
" Sleeping. Why?" Nick stated, narrowing his blue eyes at me in suspicion.
" I was just curious. What's her middle name?"
" Rosalie. Why?" Nick asked, looking extremely confused.
" Your mother said something about the children of the flower and the tree. Sky thought it may be referring to you and Carly," Loki explained," And, as it turns out, your darling sister was correct."
I felt Loki staring at me, and a light blush creeped onto my cheeks. " Loki, she hates people staring at her," my brother stated, pinching me," Where are the keys?"
I frowned and dug the keys out of my pocket. " Stupid twin," I grumbled," This is why I was the favorite! I wasn't overly protective of my possessions."
" No, you were overly protective of your personal space and slapped any boy who got within three inches of your face," Nick corrected, snatching the keys out of my hands and stomping into the living room.
" Why exactly is he so protective of his things?" Loki asked quietly, obviously lost.
" I always stole his lightsabers, portal gun, and video games when we were younger," I chuckled, leaning into my fiancé's side and inhaling the strong smell of leather and ice, which always clung to him.
" And why is he so protective of you?" Loki inquired, wrapping an arm around my waist.
" That's a painful story and sad memory that I would gladly forget," I murmured, swallowing hard as I felt my chest and throat tighten. I blinked hard and fought to control my breathing as tears stung my eyes.
" Tell me anyway. It isn't healthy to keep pain and sadness locked away in your heart, Sky," he whispered, stroking my hair gently and brushing stray strands out of my face. " Please, darling, I want to know. Let me carry your burden," he pleaded softly, pressing his lips to my forehead.
I bit down hard on my lip as a tear rolled down my cheek. " Okay, I give. You have a right to know," I breathed shakily, clutching the front of his shirt for support. " When Nick and I turned thirteen, my Aunt Jay invited the two of us to visit her in New York. We were out in the countryside, way up north near the Canadian border when Nick and I decided to wander off and go on an adventure."
I paused and took a moment to reclaim control of my emotions and breathing before continuing. " We found ourselves up on a cliff face, and I, being the stupid daredevil I am, decided to see how far up we were and got too close to the edge. The stone began to crumble under me, and I fell a good ten feet before landing on a boulder jutting out of the side of the cliff," I explained, choking up slightly," I had broken several ribs and twisted my ankle in the fall, and Nick had gone, after much screaming and yelling on my part, to go find our aunt."
I felt tears rolling down my cheeks, and Loki gently wiped them away and kissed my forehead. " Keep going, love," he prodded gently.
" It was raining, and the sun had set before I could be reached by emergency rescue services, and I had to be flown to the nearest hospital with Nick as a blood donor while Aunt Jay had to drive on the ground. After a few hours of unconsciousness, I woke up to learn that I had lost serious amounts of blood, including some Nick had given to keep me alive, and that my beloved aunt had been killed in a car crash on her way to the hospital by a truck driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel."
Loki pulled me close to his chest and held me tightly as I broke down into sobs and cried uncontrollably for a few minutes. " That's why you hate heights, isn't it?" my prince asked quietly.
" Yes," I whimpered in response," And also why Nick never lets a woman he cares about drive herself anywhere if he can help it. The whole experience was traumatizing for him more so than it was for me. My poor twin was never the same after what the incident, and he never forgave himself for how badly I was injured."
Loki squeezed me softly and kissed my forehead as he rocked me back and forth in his arms. " Just cry on me, Sky. I will always be here for you, my darling," he whispered, and I began to cry even harder as though my heart was being torn apart and put back together.
After I was finished crying, Loki stroked my hair and rubbed my back softly. " Why do you not like people staring at you?" Loki asked, wiping the last few tears off my cheeks with his thumb.
" I had to wear really geeky glasses in third grade, and I was picked on because of it, and I feel like people stare at me because I'm not pretty enough, or I don't fit in, or I don't look normal," I explained, blushing lightly as Loki stared all the more intently into my eyes.
" You aren't pretty enough, or fit in, or look normal," he stated," You are beyond pretty enough. You are more gorgeous than all the stars in the night sky. You don't fit in. You make your own path and follow your heart," he stated, forcing me to look into his eyes. " And you are not normal. You are the most wonderful, unique, beautiful, funny, intelligent, and perfect woman I have ever had the honor of knowing," he stated proudly, holding me close to his chest," And don't let anyone tell you otherwise ever again."
