19. THE TRUTH
Abby was sitting at the fountain again having lunch with Adam. He always brought her the most exciting new foods to try. She loved them every time.
"I want to take you to China." Adam mused. "The food there is amazing!"
Abby laughed. "China! I've never even dreamt of going there. That all seems so impossible."
"Not if you're with me. We could just hop on one of my ships and sail all over the world. Africa, Asia, South America. We could have the time of our lives." Adam was grinning at the idea of it.
"We can't just up and leave." Abby contended.
"Why not?"
"We have responsibilities. I have responsibilities. I can't leave the twins." Abby was beginning to feel sad.
"We can take them with us! I'm sure they'd love to see all these places as well." Adam tried to cheer her up.
She couldn't believe how wonderful he was. He loved her so much that he'd even let two children he'd never met tag along on his dream journey. Then she began to consider it. Obviously she couldn't take the twins with her but she could run away with Adam. She could leave Volterra forever and not have to become a vampire. Abby remembered the promise she made to Sarah. Sarah had asked Abby to watch over them until they could take care of themselves. Now that they had changed into vampires they were more than capable of fending for themselves. They no longer needed her so Abby was free from her contract. Also, if she went with Adam, she wouldn't have her nightmares anymore since he seemed to be the antidote. She could ask Aro for permission to leave and promise to keep their secret.
Abby smiled at Adam. "I'll consider it."
"You will? That's great!" Adam grabbed Abby into a tight hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You don't know how happy that would make me, Abby."
When they were through with their lunch he walked her to the front steps of the Volturi Castle. He hugged her again and kissed her goodbye. Abby was feeling good. She felt happy. Heidi had already brought people through that day so she decided to spend the afternoon in the courtyard. Abby walked down the garden paths and admired the angels that Corin had created. She tried to suppress the memory of the angel from her nightmare that cried tears of blood. Abby found her way to the hammock again and laid herself into it, rocking back and forth under the cover of the trees. Then a voice interrupted the silence.
"Now there's an idea, an angel swinging in a hammock."
Abby looked up. "Corin!" She clumsily scrambled out of the hammock and ran towards him. He was smiling with open arms and she rushed into them. "Corin, you're back!"
Corin happily embraced her and deeply inhaled the scent of her hair. She smelled just slightly different from the last time but it was still her and he loved that. "Yes I am." He whispered.
"I've missed you so much!" Abby said as she pressed her body against his.
The words brought so much joy and excitement to him. This was going exactly the way he'd imagined it. She must have read his letter and now feels the same way about him. Nothing could have made Corin happier, to love someone, and be loved in return. He guided her back over to the hammock where they sat down together. The sides of the hammock pushed them into the middle so that their sides were pressed against each other.
Abby was so happy to have her friend back. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, needed to tell him. "Corin, I have to tell you something."
This is it, Corin told himself. She's finally going to tell me how she feels. "I have some great news to tell you too but you go first." He smiled down at her beautiful face. He was so happy to be able to look at her again and not have to rely on memory when he wanted to think about her.
With her brightest smile she looked up at him and spoke the words. "I've met someone. His name is Adam and he is so wonderful! I really think you'll like him, Corin. He's sweet, kind, charming, handsome- and he loves me! I'm just so happy, Corin. And now that you've returned I'm even happier!" She wrapped him into another tight hug and rested her head against his chest.
Corin felt the pricks of a thousand knives enter his heart. He couldn't breathe; he couldn't make his lungs work. A tightness gripped his chest as he felt the world crashing down around him. What had just happened? How did everything go so horribly wrong? Why was she telling him this after everything he confessed in the letter to her? Didn't she care at all? How could she do this to him? Corin tried to say something, anything, but no sounds came out. His mouth hung open and he himself wondered if this is how his victims felt when he paralyzed them.
Abby pulled back to look at his face. "Corin, are you alright?" She asked with concern.
He had to use every ounce of strength he had left to return her gaze and say "Yes. Congratulations. I'm so happy for you." Then he did the hardest thing of all. He smiled for her.
Abby felt assured and hugged him again. "I really want you to meet him, Corin. He makes me so happy."
Corin reached a hand up and gently touched her hair. He breathed her in again so deeply. That must be why she smells different, He was on her. Corin pulled away and stood up from the hammock. He didn't know how much longer he could keep it together. "We'll I'd better go check in with Aro," was his excuse.
"Wait, didn't you want to tell me something?" She looked up at him with her innocent blue eyes, she truly had no idea how much she had just hurt him.
Corin's mind went back to the bit of information about Abby's gift. That was what he had originally wanted to tell her. "Oh, yeah. Um, I just wanted to tell you that Eleazar and Carmen have adopted the lifestyle of feeding on animals. So it's possible to survive without having to kill humans."
Abby smiled. "Well that's really great. I'm really happy for them."
Corin paused for a moment. "Do you think that you would want to try that out when you become a vampire?"
Abby hesitated. "Corin… I don't think I want to be one anymore. My only two reasons to become one in the first place were so that I could look after the twins and to escape the horrible nightmares that I have. Now that the twins can take care of themselves they don't need me anymore. Also, when I sleep with Adam the nightmares don't come."
Corin felt as if he were a human that had just been hit in the gut with a sledge hammer. "You've slept with him?" He felt utterly sick now.
Abby smiled, "No, not like that. We didn't do anything. We just slept." She shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal.
He truly couldn't take any more. The thought of her, the only person he ever loved, in the arms of another. It was too much. "I'm sorry Abby, I have to go." He instantly disappeared and left her alone in the garden.
He didn't know where to go but he didn't want to be here. Just as he was about to go out the front door, Heidi stopped him.
"You can't leave yet. Aro is waiting for you." She was very cautious; she knew how badly he was hurting right now.
Corin slammed a fist into one of the stone walls. It crumpled into dust under his touch. "Fine." He spoke the words through gritted teeth and started to head upstairs towards the turret.
"Corin," Heidi started, as she kept up alongside him.
"What?" He snapped back.
"Corin, she never got the letter."
He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. "What?"
"The letter came and I kept it. She was already in love with Adam. I didn't want to make things harder for you two." Heidi pulled the letter out from a pocket and handed it to him.
Corin looked at it in disbelief. So she had never known how Corin felt about her. His heart hadn't been exposed to her after all. Corin looked up at Heidi and she looked scared. "Thank you." He whispered.
She had not been expecting that reaction. Corin was grateful that Abby never knew how much he cared for her. In a way, he was glad she never got the letter. He had felt like he had lost control over everything, but by Heidi handing him the letter, he just got back a small portion of that control. He finished climbing the stairs to the turret and entered into the room. Aro was sitting there patiently with Marcus and Caius seated on either side of him.
"Hello Corin, happy return!" Aro smiled.
"Hello." Corin said blankly.
"What news do you bring us from Denali?" Aro asked.
"The Denali coven lives in peace. They no longer hunt humans, though they do have the occasional slip up. Their succubus ways sometimes get the best of them. They have survived off the blood of animals and Eleazar and Carmen have taken kindly to this new way of life. I had the opportunity to sample this lifestyle myself and while I say that it is not for me, it is not impossible either. The chase of large game can be quite fun but the taste is hardly desirable. Eleazar and Carmen plan to keep up a permanent residence with them." Corin finished. He was amazed that he had somehow managed to deliver the information without falling apart.
Aro had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Interesting. Thank you for your report. Is there anything else?"
Again Corin thought about the new information on Abby and her gift. "No, my lord."
Aro nodded. "Very well then, off you go."
Corin bolted out of the room and headed for the front entrance. Luckily the day was overcast so he left the castle. He had to slow down his speed so that others wouldn't be suspicious of his moving blur. His insides felt like they were about to explode. Finally, he made it past the city limits into an open field where he fell to his knees and gave into the overwhelming sadness that was his.
His body shook with hard sobs but no tears came out. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and toppled over to the ground. It hurt so much. He, who was an immortal that could feel virtually no pain, was now left beaten and broken by a mere mortal girl. Not only had she fallen for another, she now had no intentions of becoming a vampire. Her two reasons for even considering it had nothing to do with him. How had he been so blind? So foolish? How did he make himself believe these things that were not real?
He continued to berate himself for his stupidity. He hated himself. He now realized that he wasn't angry with her at all. It wasn't her fault. So why had he withheld the information that would ultimately save her life from Aro? He didn't know the answer to that. Eventually, he would tell the truth. For now, he just wanted to die.
Abby was lying in her bed staring at the ceiling. It was already night but she wasn't tired. She wanted to see Corin again. She didn't understand why he had run off so suddenly. He didn't even come back for her after his report to Aro. She had spent all this time missing him and now that he was back she still had to miss him.
She shifted onto her side and looked at the two books sitting at her bed table. She still hadn't returned Hamlet or Natura Defero. A part of her was afraid to go back to the library after what had happened with Sulpicia. The longer she was here in the Volturi castle, the less she wanted to be here. She closed her eyes and began to fantasize about getting away with Adam, going on his ship and seeing the world. Then she thought of Corin. She cared for him so much that she didn't want to leave him behind. She wondered if Corin ever thought about leaving the Volturi the way Eleazar had. She wondered if he could come with them.
Then there was a gentle tap at her door. She climbed out of bed to answer it. Her hand gripped the knob and turned it, when the door had opened she saw a familiar face.
"Corin!" She threw the door open the rest of the way and tightly wrapped her arms around his waist.
His did not hug her back. "Abby, we need to talk."
