She giggled, shrugging her shoulders. It was still one of the sweetest fucking sounds I’d ever heard. I leaned back, stretching out my legs. Patting my thigh for her to come rest her head on me. She crawled over, lying down immediately.
“Okay, give me a second. I need to find them.” She narrowed her eyes, sucking in her bottom lip. Something she did when she was deep in thought. “Alright, found them,” she exclaimed, pointing toward a cluster of stars, trying to connect the dots with her index finger so I could follow. “That’s Princess Andromeda and that’s her husband, Perseus. Do you see how they unite in the middle? You can’t tell where one star ends and the other begins, kind of like they’re holding hands.”
I nodded, waiting to see where she was going with this.
“After consulting an oracle, the King and Queen chained Princess Andromeda to a rock, in order to be sacrificed to the monster.”
I grinned and she did too.
“But the hero, Perseus, was nearby and heard of the imminent death of Andromeda. He came to her rescue and saved her from the monster. She returned to Greece and they got married, having nine kids. After Princess Andromeda died, the Goddess of love, Athena, placed her in the sky as a constellation, nearby her beloved husband Perseus. They were two soul mates who were destined to be together forever, so she made them constellations so they would be.”
“Where did you learn that?”
“Charo, she’s teaching me Greek Mythology.”
“And what about that legend made you want to tell me their story?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
We locked eyes.
“I need you to promise me something,” I addressed in a serious tone, unable to hold back any longer.
We needed to get going, but that wasn’t the only reason. Her fucking story. There was a similarity to it, almost like it had been written for us.
The princess.
The hero.
The monster…
It was just too much to take. I wasn’t a fucking idiot, these last few months Amira had started to find ways to touch me, or to have my hands on her. Excessively teasing me, conscious of the fact that I would tickle her. Not to mention the not-so-subtle ways of making me lay with her at night because she was scared of her dreams. When I knew damn well there weren’t any currently haunting her. Just so I’d rub her back. The random items she’d leave me became more personal. She continually started showing up more and more at my apartment unannounced, with some bullshit excuse I never believed.
More needs.
More wants.
More… more… more…
I quickly realized after hearing that story, how deep Amira’s feelings had turned for me. It was something I had to put an end to, now.
“Okay…”
“I mean it, Mu?eca. In all these years, I’ve never asked you for a damn thing, but I need you to do something for me.”
She sat up, never taking her eyes off mine. “You’re scaring me.”
“I need you to trust me when I say that everything is going to be alright.”
“Damien, what’s—”
“Promise me!” I ordered in a rough, demanding voice.
She jerked back, shaking her head. “No. Not until you tell me why.”
“Goddamn it, Amira!” I roared, abruptly standing up. “Why can’t you ever just do what you’re fucking told?”
She followed suit, getting right in my face. “Stop it! Don’t do that. Don’t turn on me. Just tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m going to do more than tell you. Let’s go.” I turned and left before she could reply.
The entire walk toward the dock, I could feel her anxiety searing its way into my skin. Leaving scars that would never fucking heal. She followed closely behind as if she needed to feel the warmth radiating of my back. Giving her a false sense of security. We stopped just under the pier sign, where I had just been standing six hours ago. The loud rev of an engine sounded in the distance, getting closer and closer.
From the second the speedboat came into our sight, I knew I was fucked.
Right when I heard her loudly gasp, “No…”
I simultaneously spun around, ready to grab her and throw her over my fucking shoulder if she tried to run. Her terrified gaze went from the boat, to me, back to the boat, so many fucking times I could barely keep up. She couldn’t decide what she wanted to look at more.
The boat that was going to take her away.
Or the man who was making her leave on it.
“Mu?eca—”
“Please don’t do this,” she bellowed, her eyes welling up with fresh tears. “Please, Damien, I’m begging you. Please don’t do this.” She sounded like the panicked little girl I first met almost six years ago.
Breaking my fucking dark, soulless heart.
“I promise I will listen to everything you say and order me to do. I swear I’ll stop teasing you. I’ll stop waking you up in the middle of the night. I will do whatever it takes to make you not send me away,” she pleaded, her voice breaking profusely.
I was surprised she managed to get it all out. Tears escaped her eyes, falling down the sides of her shattered face. Fueling the war between what was right and what was wrong. My heart battling my mind, when all I wanted to do was protect her.
“Jesus Christ, Amira. That has nothing to do with it.”
“Then why? Why are you doing this? Is it because your father knows about me? He’s not going to tell. And if he did, it doesn’t matter. I’ll hide! That’s what I’m good at, you said it yourself! I won’t leave the house. I’ll stay in my room. I don’t care!”
“What kind of life would that be for you?”
“One that’s with you! And Rosarío! The only life I know!”
Her words were like taking bullet after bullet to my motherfucking heart. Inflicting pain, far worse than I have ever experienced before. I had to push through. I had to stay strong, this wasn’t about me.
It was about Amira.
I needed to get her the fuck out of Cuba.
Right. Fucking. Now.
I stepped toward her, touching the end of her nose causing her to grimace. For the first time the sentiment I had been doing for years, tormented and agonized us both in different ways. I placed my hand on her cheek, hoping she wouldn’t recoil away again. I knew what I was about to tell her was going to break her.
“Listen to me. I need you to listen to what I have to say because regardless, Mu?eca, I’m placing you on that fucking boat with or without your consent. Do you understand me?”
And she did. She broke. Her chest heaved, her body shook under my touch, and so many goddamn tears fell in between us. I could no longer see her bright, big brown eyes.
“I’m not making you go away, Amira. I’m just following through on my promise to always keep you safe, no matter what. It’s not safe for you here anymore. It never has been. If anything were to happen to you, because of me…” I didn’t have to continue with what I had to say.
She knew it as much as I did.
“No one’s safe here! Especially not you, and if that’s the case then you have to come with me. As long as Emilio is alive, you’re in danger too. Please Damien! I can’t do this without you! I can’t live without you!” she repeated until it made itself home within my core.