Devils Roses 01 - Cursed

touched his arm and woke him gently. “Mr. James, I need to speak to you.”
    I watched as my dad stirred slowly, finally waking up. He looked up at Dorian and frowned. “Who are you?”
    Dorian looked deeply into my dad's eyes.
    “ I’m your daughter's specialist, we are transferring her to another hospital. She’s going to be fine, but she needs to go and heal alone in this hospital. You need to go home and tell everyone she is going to be fine. She just needs some rest. The hospital is in California, it’s a secret celebrity hospital.” I rolled my eyes at Dorian and waited for my dad to laugh in his face.
    My dad nodded like a zombie. “Oh, okay. That’s great news. Thank you doctor.”
    My chin hit the floor, as Dorian closed my dad's eyes. “Go back to sleep.” My dad fell back into a deep sleep in his chair. Dorian's powers were scary, there was no doubt about it.
    He turned around and held his arms out. “See, that’s how it’s done. So easy to mess with their tiny brains.”
    I frowned. “My dad's a genius.”
    He nodded. “Neat. Even with his brain power he doesn’t stand a chance against me, watch this one with the doctor.” He smiled like a kid showing off his new toy. He stepped out of the room and into the hall and tapped my doctor on the shoulder as he was walking past. “Doctor, I am a specialist from California. I am taking the lovely Miss James to my hospital, where she will recover. Tell everyone it’s fine she left with me. She is going somewhere to heal and be okay. Get rid of any records and fill in the blanks you need to, so that no questions are asked. If anyone ever calls and asks about her, tell them you have received word she is doing better everyday.”
    The doctor nodded, as my dad had. “That’s fantastic. I will tell everyone.”
    Dorian laughed. “Go jerk off in the supply cupboard, thinking about me.”
    The doctor walked away smiling a dirty smile.
    I grimaced. “You’re the devil aren’t you?”
    He gave me a serious look, I knew it was phony. “Does it really matter at this point? I’m your only salvation.”
    "Can you ever just be serious?"
    "I'm always serious, Aimee."
    I shook my head and climbed off the bed. I walked to Shane. I bent down and inhaled the sea air on his skin and kissed his cheek. “I love you Shane.” It was true. With the option of being with him removed from the table, I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do, except leave him a note. He had never lied to me, he had never wanted anything but to be with me, and he had never done anything but love me.
    I wrote quickly,
    “ Shane,
    I’ve been taken to a special hospital that is offering me the best treatment. It’s exactly what I need to heal. I am excited for you to join the police force and become a police officer. You’re an amazing person and I will love you forever. No matter how this ends, know that I too have loved you since grade two.
    I loved you when you started to bring an extra-huge lunch. Everyday you brought it to share with Nathan Anders. You knew he was poor and never had food and you conned your mom into bigger lunches, so you could feed him. You pretended she just packed big lunches and you couldn’t eat it all.
    I loved you in grade eight, when you were riding your bike past my mom, and she had a flat tire, and you changed it. She had no clue how to do it, she told me you did it. You never told anyone that you had done it.
    I loved you in eleventh grade, when the Smith girl got sick with cancer, and you started that change jar at your parents’ store to raise money. It was to help pay for the medical bills. You acted like it was your parents’ idea, but your mom told my mom it was your idea. I know you raised twenty-five thousand dollars for them and never even asked for recognition for the deed.
    You’re the most amazing man in the world and you will be the most amazing police officer and I can’t wait to see it.
    I’ll call you when I’m strong enough.
    Love always, and by that I mean—I love you Shane Bagley,
    Aimee xoxo”

    It broke my heart to write the letter. I folded it and put it in his pocket. He needed to know how I felt. I walked out of the hospital room, looking at my dad one last time. I left my cell phone on his lap and kissed his cheek. I didn’t know what kind of danger, I could become to my family. I felt like my heart was left in the room as I followed Dorian's darkness down the hall.
    I stopped, only to look in on Giselle. She