Page 61 of Phoenix
“Robert needs to die,” I declare, “otherwise, Niamh will never feel safe again.”
“Good,” her father says out of the blue. His wife looks at him, no doubt as shocked as we are over his one-word response. “When you kill him, do it for Niamh, your family, and for us.”
“Paul!” her mother gasps.
“I mean it, Maggie,” he says resolutely, “not only does he deserve it, but so does our little girl. She deserves the life he stole from her; the life he’s still stealing from her if we let him live.”
“Dad,” Niamh whimpers as she reaches out for his hand. He takes her offering and lets the tears fall over his cheeks without any shame or fear of it; he’s just earned my utmost respect.
“You’ll protect her though, won’t you?” her mother practically begs. “You’ll do what we couldn’t?”
“You have my word,” I promise.
“Then, you have my blessing,” she says and takes hold of Niamh’s other hand as she reaches out for her mother.
This was good; a happy moment to come out of everything.
_____
Niamh
“Ouch!” I gasp after having my toes trodden on for about the tenth time but still end up laughing. It doesn’t matter if I have bruised toes, so long as I’m with Warren, who cares?
“Ah, shit, I’m sorry,” he mutters as he continues to watch his feet going all over the place, mainly on my toes. “Though, in all fairness, I did warn you. You wanna stop?”
“No,” I tell him softly, cupping his face with my hand; how did I get so lucky to find him? He smiles at me goofily, a look I doubt anyone else has ever seen on him. My soft, once upon a time assassin; the man who is going to save me by killing another. The thought makes me shiver, though I try not to show him.
“Stop thinking about him, baby,” he whispers as he brings me in close so we’re standing cheek to cheek. “It’s just you and me.”
“I know, Warren,” I reply with as much conviction as I can.
We fall into silence again, just swaying on the spot, if only to lessen the number of broken toes I’m going to have if he continues standing on them. Thinking about it puts my own goofy smile on my face. How can he make me feel both safe and needed at the same time?
“You know what I did the other day?” he begins, resting his head on top of mine.
“Shout at somebody?” I tease, and we laugh gently against each other.
“Well, that too, but no, that’s not what I was talking about,” he says in a proud tone of voice. Before I can say anything, he spins me out and back again, catching me inside of his arms so I am looking up at his beautiful face, his soulful eyes, and his floppy black hair. I grin, waiting for him to say the mysterious thing he’s dying to tell me. From the smirk on his face, it can only be good.
“I went and bought you this,” he says, digging something out of his pocket. I frown with curiosity as he pulls it out and holds it between us. My brain is trying to make sense of what it is that I’m seeing but he doesn’t elaborate. He just maintains a nervous smile and what looks like hope in his eyes.
“Is that…?” I whisper, staring at the red velvet ring box with wide eyes and a lump of emotion lodged inside of my throat. I never thought I’d find someone who would want me as much as I want them. I thought I was much too tainted; much too damaged.
“It is,” he confirms, popping open the box to reveal a simple white gold band with the most beautiful ruby sitting in the middle. “I wanted something different, something that reminded me of you. I had this idea that a ruby might have been the color of your dragon, Stanley. Or at least, his fire.”
“Does anyone else know how deep you run, Warren?” I whisper as I stare at him in awe. “But I thought fire was a bad memory for you?”
“It is,” he begins thoughtfully, “but I guess it also means new beginnings. The chance to take something awful and turn it into something new.”
“Huh,” I murmur contemplatively to myself, “I guess you’re right.”
“So, er, is this the new beginning I was hoping for?” he asks, and I laugh over the fact I’ve been keeping him hanging.
“Yes,” I reply before reaching up on my tiptoes to kiss his beautiful lips, “it is.”
“Holy shit,” he whispers, sounding shocked, but pleasantly so. “You have no idea how happy you make me, Niamh, happier than I’ve felt since I was seven years old. I love you so much.”
“I love you too; you gave me back a family, you gave me you.”