Moment of Truth
Tanith's heart raced and butterflies swarmed in her stomach. Her big, hazel eyes gazed up at Ghastly, blinking uncontrollably as her brain tried to register what Ghastly had just said. Tanith's mouth moved but no words seemed to escape her lips. She tried to move but her body was frozen solid. She could see how his eyes were full of hope and happiness, but she watched it drain away as she remained silent; unable to speak, unable to move. Ghastly's gaze lowered and his hands dropped from her waist to his side. He nodded his head slowly as he looked back at Tanith, his eyes now full of regret. He turned away from her and Tanith longed to reach out and grab him, but her body wouldn't move.
Come on. What the hell are you doing? Move for Christ sakes!
The voice in her heard urged her to move, but all she could do was stand in Ghastly's bedroom, in a white towel, and watch him walk away. After a few moments, the shop door was opened and forcefully closed, and masses of oxygen rushed into Tanith's lungs, causing her to choke. She fell to her knees on the ground, her head in her hands. Her heart was racing and her breathing had become rapid as she was sucking in mouthfuls of air. Shaking, Tanith wearily got to her feet, unwrapping the towel from around her and pulling on her clothes. She grabbed her phone and dialled Valkyrie's number, biting her lip and pacing around the room as she waited for her to answer.
"Val?" Tanith asked. "Are you home? Okay, okay, I'm coming over." She hung up and raced down the stairs. Her bike was in a parking lot a few short steps away and Tanith ran over to it, swinging her leg over and starting it up. The engine roared as it came to life, and Tanith sped away, the back tyre squealing. The wind hit her face and blew through her hair and she smiled as she sped up.
Valkyrie's car was the only one on the drive and the bike tyres screeched as Tanith skidded to a halt. She swung her leg over from the bike and pulled her coat around, hiding the sword in it's sheath. She lightly knocked twice on the door and Valkyrie soon opened it. Baby Alice was sleeping upstairs in her cot, so Tanith hunkered down in one of the arm chairs as Valkyrie brought two cups of tea through into the living room. Valkyrie took a seat on the sofa and looked over at Tanith, who was staring into her cup.
"He asked me to marry him." Tanith said quietly, her hands running over the cup. Valkyrie's eyes widened and her frown turned into a huge grin.
"Wow? Really? Tanith, that's great." She exclaimed, but Tanith's dreary eyes glanced at her and Valkyrie's smile dropped. "You said no?" Tanith shook her head.
"I didn't say anything to him. It was like all the words in my head just vanished. He didn't say anything either he just, left. He looked so hurt, Val. I just wanted to reach out and grab him but I couldn't move." Tears sparkled in Tanith's eyes and Valkyrie remained silent. "What should I do?"
Valkyrie was silent for a moment. "Tell him how you feel."
"I tried calling him a bunch of times before I left, I even rung up Erskine and he isn't at the sanctuary. You don't think he's gone to see Skulduggery, do you?" Valkyrie shrugged.
"Maybe. I'll call him." Valkyrie wandered off to get the phone and Tanith went back to looking at her tea. Tanith heard small cries coming from upstairs and she put the cup down on the coffee table. She could hear Valkyrie talking on the phone, so she left the living room and headed upstairs into Alice's bedroom. Tanith leaned over Alice's cot and her big eyes glanced up at Tanith, as Alice chewed on her blanket. Tanith scooped Alice up into her arms, and rocked her back and forth slightly, tickling her chin with her finger.
"Hey sweetie." Tanith whispered. "My name's Tanith. Your older sister is my best friend. Val's a good girl, she's lovely. You're very lucky to have a sister like her. Yes you are. Look at you. So sweet and so pretty, so young with no problems at all. Mine however just seem to keep piling up, but I don't want to bore you with those." Alice began to drift off in Tanith's arms, and Tanith's eyes glittered with tears. The door to Alice's bedroom opened and Valkyrie stepped in. Tanith turned and looked up at her, and Valkyrie grinned.
"She's beautiful, Val." Tanith whispered, gently putting Alice back down in her cot, pulling her blanket over her. She followed Valkyrie out the room and back down the stairs.
"Skulduggery hasn't heard from him. No one has." Valkyrie eventually said. Tanith sighed heavily, pulling her coat back on.
"Well, as much as I'd love to stay here, sitting here isn't doing me much good. I'll go back to his place and wait for him to come back. He has to sooner or later." Valkyrie hugged Tanith and she left, speeding all the way back to the tailors.
Tanith was sat, curled up on the sofa when the shop door opened. She sprang to her feet and headed into the shop, to see Ghastly taking off his coat and hanging it up. He turned and froze when he saw her, his eyes hardening on hers. She couldn't help but smile as relief washed over her, but the moment soon passed when she noticed Ghastly wasn't smiling himself. In fact, he was showing no sense of emotion whatsoever.
"Ghastly, I'm—" Tanith began.
"Sorry?" he finished. "Yeah, me too. I'm sorry that I made myself look like a complete idiot in front of you. But I guess since I was asking the woman, who told me she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me, to marry me, I didn't think I'd end up making myself look so stupid. But I guess you can't judge book by how well you know it, can you?" Tanith straightened up and forced herself not to cry.
"Ghastly, I realise how bad you must feel and how hurt you are but—"
"Oh you do, do you? So then when you ask the love of your life to marry you, and they don't say anything to you, you'll know exactly how it feels, how I feel, right now." Tanith couldn't help it. Tears spilled out from her eyes, drenching her face. "I guess I was too in love with you to ever think you'd say anything other than yes to when I asked you to marry me, but it appears I was wrong." Tanith stayed silent as the tears rolled down her face, and her eyes glanced to Ghastly's fists, as they were clenched by his side.
"Still nothing to say then, huh?" Ghastly continued.
"Look, I was scared." Tanith managed to say through the tears. "No one has ever asked me to marry them before, okay, I never even thought of the idea marrying someone. I never thought I'd be in love with anyone, ever, but then I met you and my whole idea of that completely changed. Okay, when I was nailed to that chair Sanguine had put me in, all I could think of was how I was never going to see you again. When I was possessed by that remnant, there was a part of me that still cared for you and now that's gone, all I care about is you. So don't stand there, and try and tell me that I don't know how you feel, because I do." Ghastly stayed quiet and Tanith wiped her tears away.
"Those nightmares you've been having, do you want to know the name I keep hearing you say? It's not mine, it's not Sanguine's, it's Erskine's." Tanith's heart stopped and she began to cry again. "So when you're lying next to me, in nothing but my bed covers, mumbling his name, how do you think I feel?"
"It's not my fault Sanguine nailed me to a chair and the only face I keep seeing next to him is Erskine's." Tanith snapped, raising her voice. "Is that what this is about? Erskine? Because if you think you've got some competition against him then you're wrong, because you haven't. Sure, I liked Erskine for a little while, he can be charming, but he is nothing, compared to what you are to me. You're everything to me. He doesn't mean what you mean to me anymore." Tanith stepped forward and Ghastly pressed his lips together and nodded his head, turning away. Tanith didn't know what to do. She was going to loose him, she could feel it.
"Ghastly!" she screamed, and he stopped and turned back around to face her. Tanith's heart raced and the swarm of butterflies returned to her stomach. Everything was silent but the heavy and fast breathing coming from Tanith as she looked Ghastly dead in the eyes. She nodded her head and Ghastly frowned. A smile found Tanith's lips and she stepped forward again. "Marry me."