Devils Roses 04 - Witch

As always, she was clueless to his spying eye. From the moment he had met her he had known, she was his. He would never forget seeing her splash of strawberry blond hair against her father’s chest, before the accident. He remembered her mother taking her own life. He tried to block out the unhappy memories. He tried not to remember the pain on her father’s face, the tears that streamed before the rage took him.
    Sam had never suspected Marcus in the blame for her mother’s death. No one had. His advances toward her mother had been kept secret. She had never told anyone. Sam had always loved her like an aunt. She was of the few Sirens who had shown love and sisterly affections toward his mother. They had visited him and his mother on the Canadian Island many times when Hanna was tiny.
    His heart ached, watching her through the window.
    “You shouldn’t be here.”
    He looked at Lorri standing beside him. She had moved there silently.
    “I go where my heart is Lorri.”
    Lorri watched Hanna laugh and enjoy meeting the other Sirens. After a few moments she spoke, “They could come for you if they sense you.”
    He felt the grim smile cross his lips, “I would kill them all.”
    “Samuel.”
    The tone in her voice told him there was no negotiating with her.
    He watched for one more second, before flashing back to the woods in Lydia’s back yard. He felt the distance between them instantly crush his chest. He dropped to his knees, ignoring the wet moss soaking through his jeans. The extreme difference between late June in Portland Oregon and Ithaca Greece became obvious, as he felt the cold mist creep into his skin.
    He wished for a second he could shift into an animal and go kill things in the forest. He wished Ben were there. Ben would make him laugh and make snide comments about Hanna.
    He heard footsteps behind him in the moist grass. He looked back at the haunted face of Aimee walking toward him.
    “Can we talk?” Her voice cracked.
    He wanted to say no. He wanted to dislike her as much as she disliked Hanna but he couldn’t. He loved her like a sister.
    He stood and nodded.
    She sat on the bench next to the lake. He watched her eyes gloss over as she struggled with her breath.
    His chest ached again but not for Hanna. It hurt knowing the losses were fresh wounds that festered instead of healing.
    “I can’t do it anymore.” She whispered.
    “I know. I miss them too Aimes.” He felt moisture threaten his eyes, as he pushed away the thoughts of Ben and the many nights they had spent laughing and joking. He had become the brother Sam never had.
    “I made the wrong choice S-S-Sam.” Her voice broke on his name. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I knew he would be there waiting for me. I knew it wouldn’t always work with Shane. He’s human. I knew it wouldn’t last. I just loved him for so long. It felt like the choice my heart would have made before.” She broke into sobs.
    Sam dropped to his knees in front of her and encased her with his body. Her shaking cries filled his chest, as she lost the control she always struggled to maintain.
    Sam had gotten tired of her battles with which guy to love. He had always hoped she would just chose Aleksander and be done with it. He liked Shane just fine, but the whole mortal thing had been doomed from the start.
    He rubbed her back and let her wreak havoc on his t-shirt with her tears and god only knew what else.
    “I can’t face him. I can’t see him. I need to but I’m scared.”
    “I know Aims. I’m scared too.”
    She pulled back wiping her puffy cheeks, “I feel like I’m never going to get my sister back and Blake is going to kill her. I feel like everything is lost. You know?”
    “Yeah I do. You bitches have been hard on my lady and now she’s in Greece. They hate me in Greece. They hate angels. Well they hate humans too. They hate everyone. You should go there. You'd fit in.”
    She laughed and slapped his chest, “I don’t hate everyone. I like you. And we were nice to her. Very nice.” She leaned in and sniffed. She closed her eyes for a second and let it fill her. He felt almost violated by how long she lingered.
    “You smell like him.”
    Sam bit his bottom lip to stop the sarcastic shitty comments from flying from his mouth. She was vulnerable and afraid. He needed to remember that.
    She opened her grey eyes and smiled, “I’m sorry.”
    He shrugged, “I get it. We’ve been through a lot, Ari and the messing around on