Out of the Black - Lee Doty [111]
"So we are dating!" Alex made the male triumph gesture with his fist clenched and elbow cocked, "Yes!"
"Never marry a poor tipper, honey." The waitress said, walking away.
Three weeks later, Smack and Angel were married in a big ceremony in a castle near the Cliffs of Echoes. Even some Avatars from rival clans came. Proving that even virtual gift registries do work, Angel received the Black Cloak of Aragoth from a very thoughtful immortal.
Alex got her a wedding ring that allowed her to levitate.
Unfortunately, she lost them both a week later in an unfortunate eaten-by-dragon incident.
***
"It's not a lie!" He was angry, and that realization had an odd effect on her- she couldn't remember ever seeing him mad before. His anger had a crystallizing effect on her rage, like an ice pack applied to her broken heart. Well, at least now they're beyond the glib banter, even if it's only at the end.
She'd known it at some level- knew that she'd only be burned by love... would ever be its refugee. She didn't need him to tell her she wasn't pretty; that was something she'd always known.
The scale of her rage was an uncomfortable indicator of just how much she'd let her guard down. Well, she wasn't going to make that mistake again.
The cameo lay on the floor where she'd thrown it.
Oh no, here come the tears, she thought bitterly. Her eyes blurred, and her lips began to twist... what's next?
Uncontrolled sobs. Dammit. She turned to the door, intending flight, just needing to get out. His hand clamped around her elbow, stopping her. "NO!" He yelled.
She was walking a tightrope between rage and sorrow, and she was going to fall. She couldn't look at him.
"I love you!" he shouted, shaking her arm slightly.
She snorted, hope reasserting itself in the most infuriating way. But she knew that couldn't be true. "It's over." Her gaze fell on the fallen cameo, ashamed of how much she wished what she saw...
His tight grip on her arm stopped her second retreat. "This the part where I knock you out?" she said though clenched teeth without turning back.
"Do what you have to do... I'm not letting go."
"Why not?" she shouted, whirling about on him. She had to give him credit for only flinching slightly- he really wasn't the physical type. "You can give your Stepford Action Barbie necklace to someone who would hit you a lot less for it."
"It's not about me."
"Really." Her eyes rose to meet his. "So it's someone else who you want to see me like I was pretty..." her voice faltered on 'pretty'.
His expression softened with empathy. This wasn't what she wanted- pity. This was the bottom of the deepest well in hell. The muscles of her right arm tensed... yep she was actually going to hit him.
"It's for someone else." He said, looking directly into her eyes.
Her arm didn't relax, but it didn't slam into his head either. She paused briefly, off balance.
"It's for you."
That got him a bitter bark of laughter, and she was still reserving judgment on the punch. "You're so full of sweet."
"Rae... listen to me... trust me for just a sec here." He said, looking earnest. Maybe he actually believed the crap he was shoveling here. "I just wanted you to see yourself the way I do... I wanted you to believe."
"By giving me a mask? A mask!" Her voice caught, her fist unwound; she sobbed. "I thought maybe you..."
"It's not a mask."
"It's a paper bag." She moaned.
"It's you, Rae."
"That isn't me!" her eyes moved to the cameo on the floor.
"No, Rae." He put a hand on her face- she flinched away. "This is, Rae..." He put his hand on her shoulder, "This is you... That's all the necklace shows you... what I see every day. It shows you who I see, how I see."
"Hooray. And with your little gift, I can be your dream girl." There was hope in her voice, hiding behind the fear and rage. The pe burned, by far the weakest and most dangerous of the emotions. She wished it would just die. Yet here she stood, listening with one ear and a reluctant heart.
"Rae, please. Please