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CHAPTER 12
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ALICE did not know which was worse. The rolling nerves in her stomach or the fact that she had never seen Frank Longbottom's mum's backyard so crowded and packed as it had been, on the most important day of her life. Her wedding day. And they were all here to see them.
The thought alone was enough to make her stomach churn and for bile to coat the back of her throat, though she swallowed it back and kept her face set to a passive neutrality, hoping that her eyes did not at all betray what she felt. She glanced for one last time at her reflection and let out a sigh, reaching up a stray wisp of her short, chin-length wavy dark brown hair, freshly trimmed thanks to Augusta Longbottom, back behind her ear, feeling grateful that Lily had let her borrow a simple pair of white pearl stud earrings for her big day.
Her dress was quite simple and perfect for her, made of ivory chiffon, with a long A-line skirt, short, fluttery sleeves, a plunging V-neck that she was sure Frank would appreciate, her makeup natural and neat, a light foundation, setting powder, natural eyeshadow, a pale pink lip gloss on her lips, a white floral crochet headband. She was ready, though Alice didn't feel it. Far from it, in fact.
Lily, Merlin bless her friend, had graciously agreed to help her get ready and had spent the last half hour doing the final touches.
Lily noticed Alice looking at her and quickly tried to hide her pink-pained nails behind her wedding bouquet, but it was too late.
Her nails were long, almost like claws, and Lily wondered if Alice kept them like this ever since Crouch's attack to ward off unwanted advances from men that weren't Frank in the event, she couldn't reach her wand. The lines on Alice Prewitt's hands as the young brunette nervously fidgeted with her hands caught Lily Potter's attention. They swirled on the skin of her palm like an unfinished drawing, she noticed.
Alice's fingers were bone white and soft, though cold to the touch as Lily reached out what she hoped was a reassuring hand and curled her fingers over the top of Alice's and gave Prewitt a light, reassuring squeeze.
Lily's frown deepened as the young redhead took note of the miserable, forlorn expression on the brunette witch's face. "Alice?" she asked in a voice laced to the brim with concern. "What's wrong, Al?"
"How do I know it's him, Lily?" Alice whispered in such an incredibly small and meek voice, that for a moment, Lily wasn't even sure if her beloved friend had spoken at all and had to lean forward to hear.
"You don't want him, then?" Lily couldn't help but ask. "It's Frank, Al. I promise. We haven't let Crouch get anywhere near you since."
Lily clutched onto Alice's arm tightly as she realized they needed to head back towards Augusta Longbottom's backyard so Alice could walk down the aisle where her groom awaited her with the rest of their friends.
"N—no. Yes, I—I don't…this is all happening so quickly, I—I just want to be sure that it's him, Lily. I don't think I could take it if it's not."
"Frank, Alice. Do you want to marry Frank? There's still time to say no," Lily gently coaxed, wanting to get to the root of whatever was bothering her sweet friend. Lily shook her head, sending a silent prayer to Merlin above that Alice would take better care of her words uttered in the backyard of the Longbottom home, for if old Mrs. Longbottom found out that Alice was having second thoughts on marrying her son, she'd flip.
Alice bit down on her bottom lip, sticking it out in a slight pout as she looked incredulously at the young redhead, looking very much offended that Lily would ask such a question and that Lily would even think of Alice as having thoughts as to whether or not she wanted Frank.
"Of course, I love Frank, Lily, Merlin's Beard, I'm not that kind of a witch!" she squeaked. "But I…we haven't um…I haven't, ah…had the experience of…that. Like…like you and James have," Her cheeks became flushed a rosy pink with color as Alice wildly gesticulated with her hands as she tried to emphasize her point, gesturing towards Lily's stomach, who, by seven months along in her pregnancy with their first child, was well-rounded and looking like she was due any day now, despite having two more months to endure. "Does it…does it hurt?" she whispered softly.
Lily felt herself blink, momentarily surprised by this new revelation of one of her best friends and the man that she was marrying this evening.
"Y—you and Frank," Lily said slowly, as though she were speaking to a twelve-year-old child and not a woman of twenty-four. "You haven't…?" she questioned, feeling her forest green eyes go wide in shock.
Alice numbly shook her head, furrowing her dark brows in a slight frown as she glanced at Lily Potter out of the corner of her eyes where the pair of women waited around the side of Augusta Longbottom's home, poking their heads around the corner. Alice could Frank, Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter all standing around Frank, talking to him and his mum.
"No," she whispered in a small voice. "Frank said…he wanted to do right by me, a—and wait until we were properly wed," she said quietly.
"And Frank hasn't mistreated you during your weeks of engagement to each other?" Lily asked, still getting the feeling that as the young brunette witch nervously eyed her groom, she still thought of Barty. Lily felt a surge of adrenaline course through her bloodstream, igniting it hotter than any dragon fire, at the thought of what he did to her.
She thought if she ever came across Barty Crouch Jr. again, she'd kill him for the emotional anguish and turmoil he put Alice through all those years ago. Lily thought it was a Merlin damned miracle the teachers hadn't expelled him for what he'd done, though Alice asked them not to.
But still. It did not change the fact that Alice was less trusting, more cautious, and always seemed rather skittish and on edge when around Frank, a fact that Lily hated and despised, but she could understand why.
"No," Alice answered immediately when she realized that she had not yet answered her maid of honor's question. "Frank hasn't, Lily. But…we both know that we want a baby, one day. And we'll have to…I'll have to…oh, god, tonight?" she squeaked. Alice blushed and looked away.
Lily smirked and pretended to keep her gaze fixated on the path at their feet, though occasionally shooting little glances at Alice out of the corner of her eye. "If it's the pain you're worried about, Al, it isn't that bad. Frank, I'm sure, will be gentle and kind and patient with you. We all see how Longbottom looks at you, Al. Frank is quite fond of you. He loves you and will do whatever he can to ensure you two have a good marriage."
Alice, however, seemed to need a little more convincing, for she was currently shooting the young redhead a look that sadly suggested she did not entirely believe Lily's words. "But what if he—"
"Al, I promise, Frank isn't going to hurt you," Lily protested, interjecting before Alice could speak any further on the matter. "Frank isn't that kind of a man and wizard, and besides, if he wanted to, he would have had plenty of chances by now, and more to the point, if we learned about it, the rest of us would have stopped him and not let him near you. I don't think Frank will ever lay a hand on you in anger, not like…"
Crouch, is what Lily wanted to say, though she would not dare utter the man's name in front of Alice. She had already suffered enough on his account. Lily swallowed down past the lump in her throat and tore her gaze away from the intimate crowd that had gathered to bear witness to Frank and Alice's union, and back to Alice, who was still waiting for Lily to finish her sentence. Lily decided a change in conversation was best.
"We're very complicated, you know, Al, us women. Pleasing us takes practice, and considering how much Frank dotes on you, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Not tonight or any other night."
Lily bit down on her tongue at the look of utter astonishment and shock in Alice Prewitt's pale blue eyes as the pair of women paused at the beginning of the walkway, the path in front of them lit with lanterns.
She could tell by the way her friend's face had rapidly paled, that Alice's mind was reeling as her brain struggled to catch up and process Lily's words of wisdom to her. "How is that you know all this?" she asked, at last, casting nervous glances towards Lily's swollen stomach. "A—about men, I mean. Did your mother teach you when you were younger?"
Lily made a muffled noise that sounded like she was about to choke on her own tongue. Her brain stuttered for several long moments as her eyes took in more fading late afternoon light as evening crept its way as Lily's mind processed sweet Alice's naivety and innocence of this topic.
Every part of Lily felt like it went on pause while her thoughts struggled to catch up, and she felt her fingers jumping rhythmically as if in a strange spasm. Words left her. Lily stared into Alice Prewitt's bright blue eyes, wide and round as a dinner plate, brimming with intrigue and pure, innocent curiosity.
"Please tell me." Alice's plea sounded desperate, though laced with something else as well, something that Lily could not quite identify. But James Potter's wife could not quite bring herself to answer, to will her lips to move to form an answer.
As if stuck underwater, everything was slow and warbled as she felt Alice's long fingernails dig into the side of her arm in a fit of nervous anxiety and anticipation, hard enough to pierce the skin and bleed. Lily visibly winced but ignored the pain. But her mind felt blank as untouched parchment paper and her eyes wide as she stared at Alice in dawning confusion. How such a creature could be so sweet and pure as this one, Lily did not know.
Alice's cobalt blue eyes desperately searched hers…waiting. Alice was a delicate little flower immune to the ways of the cruel world, somehow having managed to maintain her innocence this long even as an Auror and an Order member was astonishing to Lily.
Sex was the anticipation of being together in a way that was more than words, in a way that was so completely tangible, and Lily did not know what to say to put her mind at ease, but she had thought of something.
She had to say something! Lily quickly wracked her mind and searched it for something reasonable to say, but to her great surprise, her heart answered for her.
As she turned back around to face Frank Longbottom's bride, she felt her lips lift upward and the way her one dimple crinkled. The way her white teeth were perfectly aligned, the warm glow that she hoped her happiness gave off. Anything to alleviate Alice's concerns of this night. Lily Potter's smile was a ray of sunshine, and everybody else, the sunburns.
"Yes, sweet, sweet girl. My mother taught me," she laughed in delight, tossing her hair back over her shoulders and relinquishing her grip upon Alice's arm as they reached the end of the aisle alighted with lanterns, where her husband waited under the shade of a large elm tree. The girls' giggling fit as Alice joined Lily in laughter was immediately diminished as the sound of sharp footfalls echoed behind the pair of women, and Alice Prewitt and Lily Potter let out a tense exhale as a man's voice, deep and baritone interrupted their laughter.
"Alice." Frank's father stood at the end of the aisle waiting to escort the bride down the woodland path to where her future husband waited patiently alongside the rest of the Marauders in their dress robes.
Lily shot Alice one last reassuring smile before slipping out of Alice Prewitt's ironclad grip and moving to join the rest of her bridesmaids, Hestia Jones, Emmeline Vance, and Marlene McKinnon.
Alice intertwined her arm around Mr. Longbottom as she looked up along the aisle where a small, intimate gathering of people had converged, their closest family and friends, marked with burning lanterns, clad in the darkness of the fading twilight as night fell on them.
Her eyes followed it until they reached the elm tree, the thundering of her heart against her chest and pounding of blood in her ears too loud to hear anything else. There he was, under the tree. He was waiting for her. Her future husband. Former Gryffindor. Auror. Frank Longbottom. Frank's eyes were fixated on her, and solely her, as if the entire world had become devoid of witches and she was the only one left.
The dark grey of his dress robes looked almost virtuous on Frank, his dark brown eyes rich like umber, and Alice swore she saw a faint speckling of blush momentarily appear high on his cheeks before he looked away towards the warlock she had found last minute to officiate, though she focused on nothing else, save for Frank's dark brown eyes.
He was all that mattered.
Alice didn't remember much of the ceremony that followed as she followed her new husband up the stairwell to the second floor of Frank Longbottom's cottage and upon setting foot on the top level of the second floor, the first thing she noticed was it was surprisingly warm and the smell of spiced wine greeted her like an old, long-lost friend.
Shadows danced, flickering in the light, playing hide and seek among the lit fire that someone (probably Lily or Remus had snuck up here following the ceremony's end if she had to hazard a guess) had lit for the pair of newlyweds. The fire was her and Frank's tiny sun for the evening, as was the tête-à-tête. The flames cast long shadows throughout the living section of the bedroom. The flames curled and swayed, flicking this way and that, crackling as they burned the dry wood.
It was good to feel their warmth at last, even if it was only from one direction, Alice thought. The cinders glowed near the cushions, a five-pronged candle was lit on the man's carving table, which had been cleared away.
A slice of cake and a tin flagon of what smelled like the spiced wine and a chalice of water rested on the table next to the candle holder, dark as night, and her gaze caught sight of the bed behind her.
At this, her insides coiled, and she repressed a shiver of anticipated frustration and desire that traveled down her spine, feeling beads of sweat form and start to gather on her temples.
Lily had said the act was pleasurable. Was she ready for this? The love of a good man?
She knew deep down in the recesses of her heart that Frank would never harm her, never betray her trust, or force her to do something that she was not ready or comfortable for or with.
Just this simple thought plastered a quiet vibration that prickled and crawled under Alice's flesh. She had confided in Lily her worries, about how Crouch's' attack all those years ago had instilled in her a sense of paranoia that even old Broody Moody would be probably proud of.
It was said to be so pleasurable that men would pay women for it, hand over their hard-earned Galleons and Knuts alike, for the 'pit' between a woman's thighs. Alice had no mother figure in her life to discuss with her the nature of these things growing up. Alice's gaze drifted towards that of her new husband, whose back was facing away from her and he had taken a seat on one of the cushions of the tête-à-tête.
His face was not necessarily princely, she observed. Not in the classic way that she enjoyed reading about in her precious books when she immersed herself in the fictional world to escape the harsh reality of her own for that precious while. No. But Frank had the build of a man she once imagined embracing.
A brilliant dark brown, but suspicious as he regarded his new wife as Alice moved slowly to join him by his side and sit. His eyes were like fire trying to be extinguished without a prayer's hope in the world of doing so. He seemed so innocent and pure, and the poor man practically jumped out of his skin with a mis founded skittishness as her left hand drifted over his and settled there, and she studied the glinting yellow gold of their wedding rings as the light from the ember flames of the fire reflected the material.
"Do you like it, Alice? My…our house…your…your new home, Alice." His soft, tenor-like voice startled Alice out of her swirl of confusing thoughts which were raging like a screaming vortex in her mind. Alice could not help but to swivel her head slowly to the side and blink owlishly at her new husband.
She did not know how long Frank had been staring at her like this, while had seemingly allowed her mind to wander while she stared into the flames of the fire. There was no hint of a hopeful smile on his face. No amusement, no excitement, just a strange sense of trepidation and apprehension for his new wife.
It alarmed Alice if she was being honest with herself. She looked around to the left and right, and bolted from her feet and grabbed the slice of grain cake and the tin flagon of spiced wine and scurried back to her husband's side, cutting the cake in half and pouring Frank a chalice of wine and some for herself as well.
She nodded mutely, swallowing hard past the lump in her throat, and silently handed him the plate with the slice of grain cake.
"Good," was all he answered, his voice echoing and warbling slightly, which she thought rather strange. "I—I want you to be happy, Alice." He raised the flagon of wine to his lips and drank.
Frank rose to stand and wobbled slightly but immediately corrected himself and stood up taller, prouder.
"I…" His voice trailed off and Alice did not even have to follow his gaze to determine where he was looking like his gaze lingered and settled upon his bed. "I will not force you to…to do anything you don't want to," he confessed, his voice sounding pained as he slammed the chalice of wine down on the carving table, his knuckles bone white with the effort to steady himself as he clutched onto the wooden surface for support to right himself.
Alice furrowed her brows into a frown. "Frank, are you all right?" she asked, but her new husband waved her off instead and slowly turned around to face her.
"What do you think of me, Alice? Please. I…I have to know," he said.
Alice blinked owlishly at the sudden shift in Frank's mood, shivering slightly at his query, at the unfamiliar harsh and coldness of his words, before she came to the realization that he believed that for whatever reason, that she hated him because he reminded her of what Crouch had done to her. It could not have been further from the truth.
Alice pursed her lips into a thin line and strode over to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, intent on making him see the truth, and still, she saw Frank unmoved, stiff, and rigid.
Though she emanated a tense exhale of relief, her shoulders sagging slightly as she felt his arms come up and encircle hers, his chin resting on the top of her head. At this moment, he found the young woman in his ironclad embrace to be the most beautiful, delectable creature he'd ever had the wonder to behold.
The smooth skin of her prominent collarbones was truly delish against his scarred and slightly calloused palms, but he craved it. Frank swallowed thickly with a sudden craving for his wife in front of him.
His wife. Just even thinking that word felt surreal. Something that he never thought he would have.
"Beautiful," Frank heard himself whisper against her hair, his chin resting on top of her head, yearning to speak the words that lingered in his heart.
"Mmm?" Alice inquired, sounding slightly sleepy, still nestled comfortably in the comfort of his embrace.
"You, Al."
"Really?" Her voice sounded muffled, far away, and slightly startled at the honesty of his one-worded response. Alice shifted slightly in his arms, pulling back slightly to study his face, and Frank was relieved to see a little color had returned to her face.
Frank nodded mutely, not needing to say a word, smiling gently, and reaching out a careful hand to caress her cheek and tuck a stray strand of her hair back where it belonged.
"Yes." The thought and mere sight of her this beautifully confused at his confession, needing validation from him surged a power that began to fill in the confines of his wretched chest and between his legs, one the monster that lay dormant within his chest could not ignore, and he heard himself give a low, guttural growl of wanton restraint and desire.
"I…want you, Alice. If you will have me." And, not giving his new wife a chance to respond, he silently moved towards the woman who held his heart and gently pulled her shoulder forward so that Alice was now facing him. His hands landed on the cloth draped above her shoulder, feeling the smooth silkiness of her simple ivory wedding dress.
She looked almost ethereal, pale skin cut from pearls, the fabric of her dress almost glowing in the dark, white against a pitch-black as the only source of light came from a beam of moonlight that streamed in through the window from behind a cloud. Frank frowned, biting down on his tongue hard enough to bleed, wondering why his new wife looked so…
So melancholy. He had been about to open his mouth to speak but did not get a chance as Alice beat him to it and spoke up first.
"Why…why do you love me, Frank?" Alice whispered desperately, her hands reaching up for his and tracing over the self-inflicted bites and scratches, connecting them all with invisible lines like scattered points on an old map.
She gazed up at Frank with those hauntingly eerie eyes, her serene expression forever drenching his memory, and he felt himself drowning then.
"How could I not?" Frank heard himself reply quietly, cutting her cheek in his hand and forcing her head upwards, forcing Alice to meet his hard gaze. He took the opportunity to study his wife's eyes. Frank was struck by their coldness, like a stab of ice. Every detail in her iris so clear, so concise.
For his lack of words, Alice was like a piece of art that nobody could understand. And how could Merlin do justice to a masterpiece like Alice that was already, in his eyes, perfect? How?!
Alice frowned at the answer he gave and looked away. Frank dropped his hand from her cheek, and he thought for a moment he would hear himself roar in frustration at the lack of skin-to-skin contact, his fingers gave a twitch, his hands urging him to explore every inch. There were many things he loved about the young woman in front of him.
He loved the fading sunset behind those brown orbs. The light that danced through her soft chocolate hair, the sadness from a hard life nestled in the creases of her milky white palms.
Frank loved all of Alice. Not just the parts that made sense, not just the parts she'd shown him during the months of their partnership and then their relationship. Frank loved all parts of his wife that he did not yet understand, the parts that weighed on her shoulders, the parts that only Frank noticed when he stole glances at Alice during the silences that befell them both when he thought she didn't see.
"How could I not like you, Alice?" Frank inhaled a sharp breath of air and wrapped his arms around her waist, and the softness and gentle touch of his arm against her neck made her back tingle through the material of her dress.
They did not speak, because, in their own way, they were already communicating. There was so much in Frank's silence, so much that Frank just would not say to Alice. Alice could see by his expression there was a lot ruminating through his mind, but if she were to ask him, he would most likely just tell her how her beauty had bewitched him, ensnared him somehow. But somehow, Alice knew that she would always be safe with Frank, even if he did keep his secrets.
Loving him did not give Alice the right to know every single one of his pains and doubts, to rummage through the wreckage of the man's mind. Some scars were invisible.
She knew he carried his share, as did she. Alice said nothing at first, opting instead to slip her hand into his and stood in silence, just the two of them, connected. Alice moved her head closer to Frank.
He stood frozen, both from intense fear and exhilaration. She leaned in, so her forehead rested against his. She closed her eyes and he followed suit, content to just bask in the newfound moment. "Thank you," she breathed, her voice barely more than a whisper. "For everything you've done for me, Frank."
"For what?" he asked, his voice low and husky, and heavy with desire for his wife, she who had stolen his heart before he'd even known that it was gone, and it made them about even. "I've done nothing. I haven't."
Alice scoffed and smiled at him, her soft smile sending his heart reeling against the confines of his chest. "For being you." Her voice wavered, exhilarated from the almost unbearable tension between them. She reached up and intertwined their fingers together.
He startled a little at the sudden jolt of warmth that seemed to pass through his body, but he liked the heat she gave off.
"You have done what no one else in this world seemed capable of doing around me. You have accepted me for who I am, Frank," Alice explained. "Not for who you or anybody else wanted me to be."
At her last comment, her voice cracked and broke, and she swallowed hard past the lump forming in her throat, looking away.
It broke Frank's heart, to see Alice this way. It hurt like hell. He shook his head in disbelief gently and caressed her cheek with the pads of his thumb. Frank hesitated and bit his bottom lip in a fit of angst.
"Of course, I care for you, just as you are, and nothing more. I...do...I... I just…I just want you to be happy," he whispered into the shell of her ear and was given virtually no time to react as Alice had practically to reach up on her tiptoes in order to gently lean in and kiss his warm lips, surprising Frank.
She pulled apart first, taking shallow, shaky breaths. She bit her bottom lip in that way she always did whenever she was nervous, but if only Alice knew just how much it drove his mind insane with lust. He drew in a breath and traced the outline of her lips with a single finger that was shaking slightly.
"How could I not?" Alice echoed, a wry little smile on her lips as she stepped back.
He gazed at the woman he was now married to, his glistening eyes fierce yet not with anger or rage, but with something else Alice could not identify, though it was familiar. Frank's hands moved from her shoulder blades to the top of her shoulders, holding her firmly in place.
"I…I care about you, Alice. With everything that I am, though I know that I am nothing at all." Merlin's Beard, how he wanted to say those three magical words, but he could not bring himself to say it to her yet. They carried much weight and intensity and were three precious words that should not be uttered lightly, without any meaning.
His arms wrapped around her back and in one gentle pull, she felt her right shoulder become exposed as their skin touched. Alice felt Frank's hand in the back of her hair, how he lofted the softness as his fingers raked through it.
Then his hand moved down her cheekbones to her lips and he kissed her. Alice hesitantly looked up as he pulled back, and the swirls of mixed emotions she saw within the man's darkening eyes made her frown.
Dear Merlin, he couldn't fight against the thoughts that were going through him.
Her very smell was flooding his senses now... But before she could pull away and head back to bed, and insist he did the same and rest, before she could ponder it further, Frank yanked Alice to him and covered her mouth with his in a hungry, possessive kiss before she could so much as protest or ask him what he was doing to her.
He broke it off first and pulled back to study her reaction, shooting her a soft smile at how flushed her face was, reaching up a hand to brush her bangs out of her eyes tenderly, his eyes sparkling with a new intensity she'd not seen. Alice's face was flushed and pink, her lips parted open slightly in shock.
"Did you…did you like it….?" But her sentence was cut off as Frank did not give her a chance to finish her thought, as she heard him growl in frustration as his eye twitched in ire. Lust had clouded his mind and Frank cursed himself when he got like this, she knew it. He caught her head in his hands and kissed her, startling Alice, and nearly knocking all the wind from her lungs. Her hands worked their way around his body, feeling each crevasse of his perfect physique. At first, their kiss was delicate and gentle. To her, it felt like she was walking on air.
It was magic, the way his lips connected with hers. Her heart was pounding. One hand was buried in her hair, pressing in softly, his other hand briefly skimmed her cheeks and down to her collarbones, leaving a trail of hot sparks in their wake. She shivered. Alice gripped his shoulders as she accidentally bowled him over, laughing as she kissed him again as they fell, fighting her urge to break out into delighted laughter.
To his surprise, he reached out for a chair to steady himself but wound up overturning it, the chair falling to the floor with a loud crash. As they fell, his thigh brushed against her leg through the skirt of her gown, sending a jolt of ecstasy down her spine. She began to understand.
It was turning into something she recognized, though had never experienced it for herself, having only heard about what it was like from Lily.
I…really do love him, Alice thought wildly. Frank let out a groan as she shifted in his lap and her leg brushed against his thigh. His body was hot and burned against hers as his hands wandered, feeling every crevice.
His hands came up, gripping almost painfully tight on her waist.
He kissed her hungrily, in that place of desire to move his hands underneath her skirts of the wedding gown Alice had helped make for her, to feel her smooth skin and its perfect softness. Drunk on her kiss, his only desire in the movement was to feel her, to love her. Gingerly, she shoved him back, her face flushed.
When they broke apart, he pulled back to study her face. Her face was pink, her cheeks high with color, her hair disheveled, and her dark brown eyes were on fire, burning hotter than a thousand suns. She could hear Frank's deep loathing sighs as he allowed the baser urges within to take control, knowing by this point, it was futile to resist and try to fight. Not that she wanted to.
"Love me, Frank?"
His response was a deep, slow kiss.
"Until the end of the world."
A short chapter, but hopefully a good one! The next chapter is, you guessed it, back to Crouch as we take a peek into his vile, wicked black heart and what he's been up to these last few years.
