Carlina Streed wanted an eighteenth birthday. She had never had a birthday party and she thought it mighty important. However her parents Thomas and Etta Streed failed to see the reason for such extravagance - a birthday came and went once per year every year, and they didn't see why it should be so important to celebrate a birthday in such an extravagant manner just because Carlina thought being eighteen was special. However Carlina didn't want to celebrate her birthday alone, and so she begged her father Thomas to allow a birthday party where many people were invited to celebrate. Thomas grit his teeth and after a long moment of silence he finally agreed.
"Fine, I will allow for you to celebrate your birthday;" he declared.
Carlina smiled and hugged her father.
"Oh, thank-you!" she declared.
The 17th of July rose quickly. Many remarked how warm the night was and the pool outside was immediately opened for use. Guests enjoyed the pool - even with only feet dipped inside to save their clothes from getting wet! The night wandered on like a dream up until the clowns arrived.
Immediately the clowns - Carlina's cousins and step-cousins - created a loud interruption as they took to singing and dancing in an obtrusive manner. Carlina shook her head as the guests gathered to point, stare, and laugh. To erase the volume of the clowns every guest took to drinking, and soon drunken applause and dance broke out amongst the group.
"The clowns have wrecked my party!" complained Carlina as she crossed her arms and brows both at the same time. "How dare they disturb the quality of the party-room!" she steamed as foul black thoughts entered her mind.
Douglas Towers who was a friend of Carlina, and the most suitable guest for Carlina to spend her time on, smiled and shrugged.
"Never mind the change - the surprise can turn into a delight if you join the trance!" he exclaimed.
"Trance!" gasped Carlina as she shook her head. "I am not going to trance myself when I am not entranced!" she exclaimed. "I am going to go outside until this party has settled down!"
Douglas caught Carlina's arm before she was able to walk more then a step and he circled around her to stop her exit. He tried to charm Carlina with a smile, however she was in too much of a grouchy mood for his charms, and so he covered them before her rudeness turned into insult.
"Stay and dance;" he drawled as he tried to toy with her fingers to delight the skin in such a way to make it fever.
Carlina gasped at the flirtation and she quivered as she recoiled away from his hold which was gentle and weak. Douglas let Carlina's hand go and he shied away from his ideas of a dance and further flirtations. Carlina was going to appologize however a shout broke out from the crowd and Carlina and Douglas both spied Anthony Westbridge as he was pushed by the crowd and the clowns to get out of the party room.
"What is happening?" asked Carlina as she looked at the ruckus as though it were an interest.
"It seems Anthony Westbridge is being defamed!" gasped Douglas as he shook his head. "What a tragedy;" he sighed before he laughed a throaty laugh as security seized Anthony's arms before he was able to throw a punch at a clown and twisted it until the guest let out a cry of alarm.
"Are they hurting him!" gasped Carlina who shivered in recoil over the scream.
"No!" gasped Douglas as he sharply stared. "He is only being escorted outside in a loud and unwelcoming fashion;" he added. "It is the drama of being an intruder;" he added.
"An intruder?" asked Carlina as she felt desperate for answers over the rough treatment at her very own birthday party.
"He is not a favorite of your father;" hinted Douglas before he laughed and walked away to fetch some drinks.
Carlina felt a rush inside of her blood and immediately she knew she wanted to break away from the party. Carlina crept to a private wing and found an exit that led her outside to the garden that was lit so beautifully with lights that shone like diamonds.
"What a nice night!" gasped Carlina as she stepped over the lawn to the vacant dim area near the maze. "I enjoy taking a breath of the sweet nectar of Autumn's welcoming!" she gasped before she drew in a long and desirable breath that filled up her body with all the sweet scents a garden could offer.
Anthony broke Carlina's trance as he dusted off his hurt pride and stormed like a ball of fire for the fence-line. Carlina spied the injured guest as he walked by and she offered him a smile he was unable to see. Immediately Carlina took up her chance to offer Anthony an appology which would have damaged her father's brain if he had been around to listen.
"I am sorry!" told Carlina in a tone which stopped Anthony's feet as he gasped through hurt lungs which had suffered two mighty kicks before he had been able to break away.
"What did you say?" asked Anthony as he turned around to see a pale young woman who looked as though she might able to be blown away by the wind's lightweight breath.
"I said I am sorry!" told Carlina as she smiled. "It is my birthday party;" she announced. "I am sorry for you having had been treated so roughly;" she added.
Anthony sucked in his breath and waved his hand. He couldn't believe what he heard and his head ran on spiral before he was able to settle down enough to respond.
"I would say it was a set up but that would destroy your plans for a good night;" he retorted before he winced - he had been immediately rude after having had tried so hard to be polite. "I am sorry;" he muttered in quiet regret.
"No that is fine;" told Carlina as she waved off the rude to mark his response with one of concern. "What do you mean it was a set up?" she then inquired.
"I was never invited;" told Anthony as he felt his blood pulse until it burned inside of his veins. "I was grabbed, forced into a car, given a costume, told to stand around, and then beaten;" he added with a tint of sore on his breath. "It was a set up; the interruption was a set up - I was never a guest;" he told.
"I didn't know;" muttered Carlina who became confused as to why such a person as he might put up with such a night. "Should I call the police?" she asked.
"No!" told Anthony as he tasted blood in the back of his throat. "The police in this part of the world does not respond to me; I would have been taken into a car and beaten once again for having had crossed the border;" he told.
"What border?" asked Carlina alarmed to what Anthony accused.
"This side of town;" told Anthony before he sucked in a breath and swallowed the taste of blood to be able to stop his worry from reaching his eyes. "I live on the other side of town where the darkness rests;" he added. "It is where I belong;" he declared.
"I don't know what you mean;" told Carlina. "Perhaps you are in shock?" she inquired as she felt her heartbeat like a drum which seemed to beat against time.
"No!" gasped Anthony before he took his feet further away from Carlina and her image. "It is correct!" he added. "I must go!" he declared before he ran away.
Carlina watched Anthony as he ran; she wanted to chase him but he was too fast! So she stood and watch as her thoughts drummed like a hammer. She had wanted to make him stay and she had been unable to.
"What a strange story;" she sighed. "What an awful night!" she fast added before she moved to escape to her room.
Carlina spent the night in restlessness. She was unable to get Anthony and his words off her mind. He spoke in a riddle, he spoke in shock, he spoke in a manner unhinged - but every time he spoke she felt pins and needs on her skin and she began to weep as she felt imprisoned in a pyramid cell! Carlina wanted to scream, however she just sucked in her breath! She was in shock! What had Anthony meant? Had he told her the truth?
In the morning the maid Rose Everheart woke Carlina from her slumber. Carlina moaned as she wiped a hand over her brow and down her face - on the way down her finger found a tear which had dribbled out of her right eye before she had fallen asleep, and Carlina rubbed hard to erase the trail that outlined her confusion, her alarm, and her worry.
Rose ignored Carlina as she fluffed the pillows.
"Did you have an enjoyable party?" she asked.
"Oh yes!" gasped Carlina in response. "Up until the rough treatment of Anthony Westbridge it was wonderful;" she added.
"I heard he had been beaten;" scoffed Rose as she sighed. "He wasn't supposed to have come to the party;" she added.
"Why not?" asked Carlina as she narrowed her eyes.
"He is your father's enemy!" gasped Rose as she blinked. "He does not belong here, he cannot come!" she added.
"Why is he my father's enemy?" asked Carlina as she stressed over the feelings of pins and needles.
"His father is Gary Westbridge and he steals what he can however he can;" hinted Rose before a knock on the door woke Carlina and Rose from their discussion.
Etta Streed walked into the room and looked at Carlina and Rose.
"This room is still a mess Rose!" she exclaimed. "Clean faster and with less discussion!" she added before she turned her attention to Carlina. "You dear girl, your father wants to have discussion with you in his office right now!" she said.
"Why?" asked Carlina as her stress levels rose.
"Now!" told Etta before she left the room.
Carlina looked to Rose and began to chew on her anger and her confusion. Rose laughed as Carlina cried.
"Why cry?" asked Rose as she raised her brows. "Your father is nothing but a gentleman!" she added. "Why worry?" she asked.
"I don't know I just woke up stressed!" muttered Carlina before she wiped her face, slipped on her dressing gown, and wandered to her father's office.
Carlina knocked on the heavy wooden office door and then she let herself inside. Her father Thomas looked at Carlina and shrugged as she sat on a nearby chair.
"You wanted to see me?" asked Carlina as she smiled a polite smile that wavered at the edges.
"Yes I did;" told Thomas as he leaned on a finger to stare at Carlina in an interested manner.
Carlina did not like the stare and she tried her best to understand his behavior. She felt as though she were being torn apart in her father's eyes and glued back together, and her soul quivered!
"Is there something the matter?" asked Carlina as she felt a pout form on the tip of her lower lip.
Thomas shrugged.
"I noticed that you had talked to Anthony Westbridge as he had left;" told Thomas as he glared at Carlina as though she were in danger of being an insult.
"Oh yes, the beaten young man;" muttered Carlina as she tried to swallow the grains that wanted to rise from her belly.
"That was uncalled for;" told Thomas he he chewed on the red that had warned him that Carlina had wanted Anthony's attention before he had been inspired to offer it. "Why would you speak to him?" he asked as he felt spikes on his skin.
"I just wanted to appoligise for he having had been treated so roughly;" told Carlina as she grew scared over the heat that floated from her father's brain.
"Appologize?" asked Thomas he narrowed his eyes and growled through his throat. "His presence was an insult!" he gasped.
"Anthony told me he had been grabbed and forced to attend the party;" told Carlina as she quivered under her skin.
"Really?" asked Thomas as he immediately cooled down to stare at Carlina as though she were wrong. "Well with that in order let me tell you he is never to be welcomed her and you shall never talk to him again;" he added before he fiddled with a lighter which sat on the face of his desk.
"I have never seen him before;" told Carlina.
"And you shall never approach him again;" told Thomas before he lit a cigarette he had hidden under his fingers.
"Smoking? Inside?" asked Carlina as she glared at her father as he took in a breath of foul odor.
"Why not?" asked Thomas as he glared at Carlina as though she were meat to be offered for serve. "Now let us talk of Douglas Towers;" he added. "You spent some time with him last night also;" he added.
"Oh yes;" muttered Carlina as she grew a little congested over the scent of cigarette smoke.
"You find him a good man?" asked Thomas as he narrowed his eyes.
"He is a dear friend;" told Carlina as she shrugged.
"He asked me if you were unclaimed and I told him 'yes!'" revealed Thomas as he smiled. "Would you like to attend a church service with him as your prospective husband?" he asked as he grew rested over the idea that Douglas had fallen in love with his most admired daughter.
"Husband?" asked Carlina as she gasped down a cry. "Service?" she asked.
"Well you turned of age last night, a wedding would be the most suitable next step;" told Thomas as he stubbed out his cigarette so that he might be able to pay Carlina more acceptable attention.
"So soon?" asked Carlina as she tried to feel her heart inside of her chest. "I am not in love!" she added.
"So?" asked Thomas as he laughed in the back of his mind.
Thomas regarded love as an ideal more then honest truth and he often ignored it to be able to exist comfortably amongst others he thought were beneath him. Thomas wanted to scold Carlina, however he gulped down his scolding as he watched tears fall from her eyes.
"What is the matter? You said Douglas was a friend;" he added as Carlina sniffled to herself.
"I know I did;" she muttered. "But I do not wish to marry him;" she added as she wiped her eyes over and again. "I thought I would be able to go to college, have time to fall in love;" she added. "Not be forced into juvenile marriage;" she declared.
"The sooner the better;" told Thomas as he stared. "Why not start early and grow comfortable in a solid marriage?" he asked.
"It is too soon!" gasped Carlina as she felt her emotions swell. "I cannot stand this surprise!" she added before she stood and turned to escape through the door.
Thomas pressed a button on his desk to locked the door and Carlina almost beat at it before she quivered and sunk onto the floor to cry. Thomas shook his head as he watched her sob like a child in the throws of misery.
"You did that only once when you were a child;" he told as he recalled the day when she had refused her wish to go to the doctor for an injection that was to treat her of chicken pox which she had harbored for one week. "It had disturbed me only that once;" he added quietly. "But twice to see you now;"
Carlina wiped her eyes and muttered an empty apology. She didn't know why Thomas wanted to give her away so soon, but she was upset that she wouldn't be able to discover her only love. Carlina sucked in a breath and slowly stood.
"I would like to go to my room;" she added.
"How about you dress and go for a walk?" asked Thomas as he looked at Carlina with care. "Visit a church to be cleansed from your guilt and your sin;" he added.
Carlina rubbed her brow and nodded.
"Yes I would like a walk very much;" she added with a nod.
"Then go, and when you come back return with a smile;" told Thomas before he unlocked the door and allowed Carlina to leave.
Carlina showered, dressed, and then she told Rose she wanted to go to church.
"Which church would you like to visit?" asked Rose as she readied her parasol.
"To a church on the other side of town!" told Carlina.
Rose opened her eyes and gasped.
"What?!" she asked. "But that is far away!" she added. "Why not go to the church down the street?" she asked.
"Because that is my father's church!" told Carlina as she grew upset that her father wanted her married before she was able to fall in love. "I wish to visit another today!" she added. "To find the holy amongst the ashes;" she added.
"Okay we shall take an adventure but then we fast return;" told Rose before she opened her parasol and took Carlina's arm to take a long stroll that would leave her with blisters.
Rose gasped as she entered the church on Willow-tree Avenue! She had been forced to endure a thirty minute walk and her feet ached to the bone. Rose quickly sat herself onto a nearby pew and fanned herself as Carlina walked closer to the front row to take a seat closest to the statue that shone under lights in golden glory.
"What a nice statue!" remarked Carlina to Rose from where she sat. "It is remarkable;" she added.
Rose snorted as she glared at the statue which had been created in Gary Westbridge's image.
"It is a faux!" she exclaimed. "Never mind the statue and pray!" she added as she chewed on the foul of having had trespassed into enemy lands.
"Faux dear woman it is not!" told Anthony as he emerged from the shadows in which he had been hidden. "This is the true image of our dear lord!" he added. "He is my closest relative!" he charged. "You shall show some respect when you enter a church on these lands!" he steamed as though cross.
Carlina chewed on her laughter as surprise filled her to the brim. Anthony was dressed in robe and looked different. He was not the holy of holy and his personality showed it.
"Are you a priest?" asked Carlina as she blinked.
"Yes I am!" told Anthony as though he were still hot on snakes venom.
"Could I attend confession?" asked Carlina as she blinked unable to believe that she would ask Anthony for a private session to confess her sins.
Rose stood up on her feet and grew a blush of rage.
"You will most certainly not!" she gasped. "This is not a holy man!" she exclaimed.
"Yes I am!" spat Anthony as he continued to ignore Carlina who was stuck under his very own shadow. "You dear woman are a crime! Now get out!" he shouted. "Now!"
Rose looked to Carlina disturbed that she should remain seated under the arm of such an animal and she quivered.
"Carlina come, we are not welcome!" she gasped.
"Not true!" charged Anthony as he stepped towards Rose in rage. "You are not welcome! Now get out!" he yelled.
Rose scampered out of the building as quick as she could and she raced down the street in order to get back to the Streed's major domain. Carlina wanted to feel afraid now that she had been left alone but she wasn't despite the fact that her heartbeat hammered from chest to her brain.
"So you would like confession?" muttered Anthony as he allowed steam out from under his robe as he adjusted the collar with heated fingers.
"Yes I would;" told Carlina as she looked up to Anthony and quivered at his image which was a pleasure to behold in all his foul tempered glory.
"The booth is to the side;" told Anthony as he swept his arm to the darkest corner where a hanging curtain hid confession booth from all view.
Carlina cleared her throat, stood, and walked towards the booth. She heard her footsteps and cringed - she didn't feel like a lady as she walked, she felt clumsy, uncomfortable, and ashamed that she was so heavy on her heels; however she didn't let her footsteps dampen her spirits! As soon as she made it to confession booth she let herself inside and sat as Anthony let himself into the other portion of the booth.
Anthony preached a psalm that Carlina had never heard. He needed no book, he simply orated it in initiation to the confession. Carlina listened but she could not understand what Anthony preached and she regretted her move to walk to the other side of town in order to confess that she was not in love with her father's choice of husband.
"What may the lord hear in confession?" asked Anthony after a moment of silence.
Carlina bit on her tongue and wished it was her nail as she became shy. She didn't want to tell Anthony of the scolding she had recieved that morning from her father for having had talked to him, so she moved on to her next point of confession - not being in love and unfit for marriage.
"I seem to be at war with my father to the point where I cannot respect his decision;" she muttered as her heartbeat fluttered until her eyes saw red on the peaks of her iris's.
"What has he decided?" asked Anthony as he glared at Carlina through the diamond gauze in front of him and thought he saw an image of interest. Carlina looked pretty in the dim and her features shaded in the right way to make him want to feel a heartbeat more for her - however his heart didn't move, only his eyes roamed, and he glared carefully as she spoke to him as though he were a priest and not the punished stranger she had met only one night before.
"My father has told me that I shall marry a young man named Douglas Towers;" told Carlina as she bowed her head to forget Anthony's stare. "I am not in love, I do not wish to be married;" she added.
Anthony nodded and tried to listen - however his mind turned hot over the issue of marriage; even his own mother wanted him to marry only he didn't want to! She wanted him caged when he wanted to be free, and being married to a stranger didn't suit him at all! He wanted more to life, he wanted more passion, and all the enemies that rose from having that sensation threaded through every vein inside of his body.
"I have insulted my father and shamed myself;" told Carlina as she continued to think fast over her words. "I need to be forgiven;" she added.
"You are indeed forgiven;" told Anthony as he rose his hand to commit himself to a swear. "However you mustn't fight your father's decision, you must only try to make him see how not being married should benefit you, your life, your future;" he added. "You mustn't disrespect his decision to make yourself more righteous, only speak to him in honest earnest and persuade another path of direction;"
"That sounds hard;" told Carlina as she felt a blush inside of her throat. "My father doesn't like to listen, he likes to be listened to;" she added. "He likes to be right;"
"He will listen if you are able to speak to him calmly and earnestly;" told Anthony as he glared at Carlina and thought how he didn't feel netted in a trap as he sat near her; how he felt calm and good!
"I am uncertain;" told Carlina as a bead of doubt that she would be able to fight her fathers decision crossed over her thoughts. "I will probably be forced to bless the marriage of his decision;" she added.
"That does not sound like the righteous term;" told Anthony as he pushed aside the good book he used as an arm rest. "You should talk to your father and make him see that his decision has left you unhappy;" she told. "Do it; be cleansed from your depression!" he added.
Carlina looked at Anthony for the first time and felt a stitch inside of her chest. No qualified priest would ever talk of depression; he would talk of the spirit, of the soul, of faith - not feelings! Immediately Carlina felt like a fool and she wished to escape - she had been lost in a daydream and forgotten where she was and who he was; she had wanted to believe that he was a priest not a young man who listened to her as she voiced her most intimate of thoughts!
"I have to get away!" gasped Carlina inside of her mind as she fast recoiled.
Anthony noticed Carlina's sudden change of mood and he escaped his chamber as she opened the door to her own chamber.
"What is the matter?" asked Anthony as he met Carlina by the door. "Is there something wrong?" he inquired.
"I feel a false!" gasped Carlina as she tried to step around Anthony.
Anthony blocked Carlina and smiled at her as he tried to stay calm. Carlina looked at Anthony with terrified eyes and she tried once again to step around Anthony before she screamed!
"Don't go!" told Anthony petrified that he had done something wrong. "Please, step back inside your chamber!" he gasped.
"I would like to leave!" told Carlina before she lightly shoved Anthony to the side so that she might be able to step around his figure.
"Wait!" gasped Anthony before a creak in the atmosphere alarmed him.
Anthony no longer felt polite and he grabbed Carlina and pushed her inside of the chambers with a mighty shove! Carlina wanted to scream however she gawked with her mouth open as Anthony threw his robe to the side and entered the chamber as a man. Anthony fast closed the door and he kept it closed with his own physical body.
"There! You may continue!" he told as hot rivets flared all over his senses.
"I do not wish to continue!" scolded Carlina. "Let me leave! I wish to find Rose!"
"That horrible woman?" asked Anthony as he crumpled up his features. "She is horrible!" he told. "She cannot visit this church again!" he steamed.
"Let me leave;" told Carlina as she glared at Anthony with large pleading stare.
"Let us talk;" told Anthony as he smiled. "I may not wear the uniform but I am still open ears and a friend;"
Carlina shrugged and quietly she settled down on the seat provided. She no longer wished to tell Anthony about her quarrels, she wanted only to stay quiet forced to endure his presence.
"Let me hear a prayer;" told Carlina as she began to forgive Anthony for having had shoved her back inside of the chambers. "A long one;" she added. "I have nothing more to say about my sins;" she declared.
"I shall;" told Anthony before he cleared his throat and began to talk in the same foreign tongue he had spoken when she had first entered the chambers.
Carlina listened to Anthony - she rather like the sound of his voice, it calmed her in the right way and kept her attention; however deep in her heart she knew that her attention was lined with rigidity. She had been forced to stay when she had wished to leave, and she couldn't stay as comfortable as she wished; she prayed to God to forgive her of her day's last sin.
An hour passed before police stormed the church! Carlina screamed as the chamber door was torn off its hinge, and she screamed again as Anthony was thrown to the marble floor and beaten until his blood stained its surface. Carlina was grabbed by black gloved hands and she was taken into a black car and rushed home!
At home Carlina met her father at the front door. Thomas glared at her and pointed a finger.
"What entered your head?" he scolded as his eyes turned as red as his face. "A foreign church? In enemy's lands?"
"I wanted to see a holy man!" gasped Carlina as she saw clean threat on the edge of Thomas's fingers.
"Our church is down the street!" gasped Thomas before he grabbed Carlina's face to inspect her skin.
No mark had been laid upon it but there was a dash of blood on her brow which had splat upon her face as Anthony was hit hard by one of the police men who had come to retrieve her.
"What is this?" he asked as he smudged the blood under his thumb. "Where did blood come from?"
"They hit Anthony..." told Carlina worried that her father was yet to hit the roof as he licked his fingers and tasted foreign blood.
"Get to your room, have a shower, and pray!" scolded Thomas as his face turned a queer shade.
Carlina only had to be told once! Immediately she picked up her feet and raced to her room before her father became more steamed!
Carlina sobbed at her own reflection as she sat inside of her room. Her father had grounded her for two weeks and she was to stay inside of her room night and day. Carlina felt scared of her father - he had told her she was going to marry Douglas two weeks and two days from that day! Carlina felt in despair! She still wanted a way out, but there was no one only Anthony who had been beaten to the bone during the two meetings their lives combined.
Carlina wanted to think that Anthony could be an escape, but in her heart she knew it was a foolish dream! He had only talked to her when inside of the booth and he made no mention that he was enamored at all! But he had forced her back inside of the confession booth when she had wanted to leave; Carlina wanted to dream that his actions had been a clue to his heart, but she had no proof and she had to swallow her pride.
"I will have to marry Douglas;" she told herself as gloom hung around her shoulders. "My dear friend..." she muttered before she cracked and wept at the cage she had been forced inside of.
Carlina had a restless sleep! She envision cells and dragons and she was unable to escape! She woke up with a scream in her mind which turned into a scream inside of her throat as her father Thomas glared at her from her bed-side table. He had crept inside in the early hour of the morning to inspect her and he looked like a ghost-like shadow.
"A nightmare?" he asked as he continued to nibble on his thoughts.
"You startled me!" told Carlina as she placed a hand on her chest.
Her mother Etta peeked her head through the door.
"Is anything the matter?" she asked.
"Nothing!" told Thomas before he raised a hand. "Leave;" he added.
Etta closed the door and she left Thomas and Carlina alone. Carlina fast threaded her fingers through her hair to try and appear more suitable, however she didn't feel any better with her hair hand-combed.
"Stop fidgeting;" told Thomas as he glared. "Sit;"
Carlina stopped her movements and she glared at her father who seemed troubled. His hair was messy, his tie was too tight... Carlina wondered if he was drunk despite the fact that he smelt clean.
"Did you spend the night awake?" she asked.
"Yes;" muttered Thomas as he raised his brows. "Very much so;" he added. "I had a long conversation with Gary Westbridge who had peeled his son from the floor of the church;" he added. "I have to pay him two hundred thousand dollars;" he declared as he continued to stare at Carlina as though she had snow on her hair.
"Is that much?" asked Carlina as she felt a shiver on the back of her spine.
"It could be;" told Thomas as he blinked in thought. "I need to discuss the matter with a lawyer;" he added before he allowed a firm silence to hang on the air. "What disturbed me most however was the police commisioner report - he claimed you and Anthony Westbridge had shared a confession booth;" he announced as Carlina gulped down her next breath. "And his priests robe had been thrown down onto the floor outside of it;" he added as quiet rage could be heard on his breath. "What happened there?" he asked. "I spoke to Rose who claimed that Anthony had worn the cloak as he told her to leave;" he added.
"He took it off;" told Carlina as she shrugged.
"Why?" asked Thomas as though he wanted to strike at Carlina for having had ruined herself with the wrong kind of fellow.
"I had tried to leave and he had taken it off after he had shoved me inside of the booth;" told Carlina.
"Why did you want to leave?" asked Thomas as he raised his brows.
"I felt as though he were a boy and I had come to talk to a priest;" told Carlina as she felt her skin quiver.
"Why did he want you to stay?" asked Thomas just as fast.
"I don't know;" muttered Carlina. "He wanted to talk;" she told. "We talked for an hour or so;" she added.
Thomas looked at Carlina hard and narrowed his eyes as he stitched Carlina's words together.
"Just talked?" he asked. "Nothing more?"
"We just talked;" confirmed Carlina as she shrugged once again.
Thomas stopped his chatter to think, and then he leaned closer to Carlina who felt cold under his shadow.
"So I can marry you in honesty?" he asked. "You are not a ruined prospective?"
"No;" told Carlina embarrassed that her father had asked her if she was pure and virginal.
Thomas nodded and stepped towards the door.
"Good;" he told Carlina. "That helps;" he added before he stepped out of the room.
Carlina sucked in a breath! Thomas's plans gathered together fast - within one day he would have a chapel booked, within one week he would have a guest-list planned, and then he would get all of his associates to organized the rest until two days before the wedding, that was when he would present to her a wedding dress and the there would be no turning back!
"I am as good as a married bride!" told Carlina in wail as she sobbed.
Carlina spend days imprisoned inside of her room. She was unable to go anywhere, and so cried and prayed that she would recover from the lapse she had discovered inside of her heart. Her father had visited her only once in order to give her one harsh blow on the cheek for having had lost him one million dollars.
"It was the pool of blood that left he jury in recoil;" told Thomas as he brushed his stinging fingers on the cloth of his pants. "If I were not such a loving father I would have broken your neck!" he told before exited the room.
Carlina sobbed for days and nights - her father had hit her cheek hard and it felt soft even with the skin firm. Carlina couldn't stop her upset! At every moment of the day she checked her reflection to see pure skin which was unable to show the hurt she felt on the inside, and it made her miserable! Her own reflection told her she lied.
A week flew by and Carlina still felt miserable. She sulked by window at night and by bed during the day. Often she told Rose she was unable to eat and soon her figure appeared starved.
Rose one day informed Ella that Carlina had not eaten and Ella told Thomas who barged into Carlina's room and ordered her to eat a meal he brought her. When Carlina refused Thomas flew into a rage and beat and pulled her hair. Carlina threw a fit and broke a glass vase she had thrown out of the window. A gardener called the security guard who entered Carlina's room and ordered Thomas away! Thomas refused and pressed a button on his watch to call in his own security guards who took the security guard away. Then at last Thomas threw up his head before he slipped a gun out of his back pocket and ordered Carlina onto the floor with one shot on its laser!
Carlina shivered as cold sweat ran over her heated face. She had been given an electric shock at high exposure and the electric current continued to race around her body. Her blood felt as though it had been burned and she cursed under her breath - a swear that granted her another hit!
"My war with you is more then what you eat and don't eat;" told Thomas as he towered over Carlina. "You want to be disobedient when there is a straight road before you;" he said. "I said you would be married, you ran to a church to be with Anthony Westbridge, your meeting cost me one million dollars, and now you refuse food to try and starve yourself before defying me with violence;" he added as he narrowed his eyes once more. "You are making a simple marriage difficult!" told Thomas as he glared at Carlina a fragmented mess as she shivered from electrical assault. "Don't make things difficult;" he told. "Smile, smell the roses, and be grateful someone has your best interests on hand;" he advised as the nature to run his fingers through Carlina's hair raced under his skin. "I am giving you your world in which you will live long and remain safe;" told Thomas as he finally pressed a finger against Carlina's hair and got a sharp shock that was a strain of electricity to his wedding ring!
Thomas took back his hand and sucked on his finger a moment before he glared at Carlina who wouldn't looked at him. Thomas sighed and picked up a towel. He wrapped it around Carlina and rubbed her body until her shivers stopped. By that time his hairs stood on end and he was able to shiver himself a little. He had used too much electrical current and he felt some guilt - however he would not say sorry.
"Be good;" told Thomas after a moment. "Very good;" he added before he took the plate he had brought into the room and urged Carlina to eat.
Carlina ate as tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn't want to do anything but poison herself as she fought emotions that told her to spit the food at her father's face to have him hit her down with his lethal poison - anger! However the food tasted too good and Carlina wanted it inside of her instead of on her father's tempered face, and so she ate the whole meal until a healthy blush formed on her cheeks.
"Now you look a sight!" told Thomas as he touched Carlina's face with the back of his fingers. "You look a bride!" he added.
Carlina swallowed her sour as her face turned from glowing to upset. She sobbed once again inside of her brain until tears formed inside of her eyes.
"I don't feel like a bride;" she added.
Thomas rubbed Carlina's hair as though she were a child who had scraped their knee and placed a band-aid on their own skin.
"You look wonderful!" told Thomas before he offered a kiss upon Carlina's brow and left her alone.
In the dark Carlina looked out of her bedroom window; she was alone and the whole house was asleep - she felt she could escape! Carlina put on a coat and moved to her balcony; a terrace rested on the wall beside her balcony and she knew she would have to climb down to escape! So Carlina placed one leg over the rail - however a whispered cry stopped her.
"Don't!" muttered a voice. "Stay on your balcony!"
"Who is there?" asked Carlina. "The gardener?"
"No!" told the voice. "It is I, Anthony!"
"Anthony?" asked Carlina as her eyes grew diamonds large and wide. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I feel guilt!" told Anthony as he sighed relief that Carlina was not going to try and climb down the terrace. "I broke in!" he added.
"You should leave then!" told Carlina as she pressed her head through the balcony's safety bars which felt like prison bars beside her head and shoulders.
"I would but I feel urged to climb!" gasped Anthony before he made an impressive dart up the terrace which made even Carlina raise her brows.
Carlina stood as Anthony jumped onto the balcony.
"That was easy!" he sighed as he breathed out heated effort.
"It looked easy!" told Carlina.
"No it was hard!" gasped Anthony before he slipped inside of Carlina's room seconds before a bright light hit Carlina's face.
The light made Carlina feel naked and she knew it had come from the security guard tower. Carlina wiped at her eyes and took her feet inside of her room which felt different now that she had let another person inside.
"What makes you think you can climb our garden wall?" asked Carlina as she sat on the edge of her bed.
"I was feeling brave!" told Anthony as he glared at Carlina and saw a person who was unable to sit without showing stiff shoulders. "I have been on drugs since my near death experience;" he added. "And I have been taking them too;" he added before he showed Carlina a vial of white pills which had little red dots on them.
"Why are there red dots on the pills?" she asked.
"For decoration;" told Anthony as he smiled. "Anyway on my mental trip I decided to visit here where my million dollar money packet has come from;" he added. "I was thinking about killing myself;" he declared.
"Why?" asked Carlina as she narrowed her eyes.
"I think I had given you the wrong advice to talk to your father;" told Anthony. "Rose came to me and told me you were being beaten;" he added. "She blamed me and I lost my robe;" he declared.
Carlina felt hatred for Rose for having had been head-strong enough to visit Anthony and inform him of her prison.
"My priesthood was my life;" told Anthony before he shrugged and promptly swallowed a pill.
"Well don't kill yourself here!" gasped Carlina as she snatched the vial from Anthony's fingers.
Two seconds later security busted through the bedroom door and after an argument Anthony was escorted out of the building. Carlina sighed and she looked at the open door. Soon her father walked past her door.
"Go to bed;" is all he said before he closed the door.
Carlina smiled as she looked at the vial of pills she had grabbed off Anthony. She then pushed every pill inside of her mouth before she swallowed water from the nearby vase. The ice cool water tasted sweet and cool and Carlina smiled as she settled into bed.
Carlina closed her eyes and prepared herself to dream; however after she fell asleep she failed to wake and by morning she was found dead and blue!
"What has happened!" exclaimed Rose as she approached the bed. "What has happened?" she asked again before she screamed loud enough to wake the whole household.
Thomas and Etta Streed hung their heads low as they gazed at Carlina inside of her coffin. Her skin was blue, swollen, and she looked unlike herself in death. They had wanted to call her beauty but all they could see was a monster; their beautiful daughter had turned into a demon and they wanted to scream and run away! However their heels stood firm on the marble floor of the church and they continued to nibble on their daughters image as wanderers from all over the state visited to pay their respects one at a time. It was a most lonesome procession and many left the coffin with tears inside of their eyes. Thomas lifted his eyes only to Douglas who held a rose to his chest before he muttered a prayer and sent the rose sail into the coffin for Carlina to hold. Thomas wanted to say 'thank-you' to Douglas, however all he could do was grow anger towards himself - he had turned into a monster during the last days of Carlina's life, and now she taunted him with her own image of a monster which he could see with his own eyes.
"Service is over!" commented the nearby priest.
Thomas looked to his wife as she wept.
"Would you like to return home or sleep the night?" he asked.
"Let us leave;" told Etta as she stifled her last sniffle. "Let us leave;" she repeated.
Thomas and Etta left the building with the flock. On his way out Thomas rubbed shoulder with one lonesome strange who seemed to want to take one last peek at his beloved daughter before the doors locked. Thomas didn't think as he turned his eyes to the car and headed for its door; he didn't think who the visitor could be or if he should stay to watch the visitor stare at dear Carlina; Thomas and Etta packed themselves into their black car and left as everyone else left until the church was empty of all except two people.
"The service has ended;" the priest muttered to Anthony who had fast approached Carlina with a head of ideas packed inside of his brain.
"Leave me for five minutes priest and then I shall be on my way;" told Anthony as he fingered a vial of antidote inside of his pocket.
The priest bowed and left to clean his cups and bowls as Anthony paid his last respects. Anthony took out his vial, opened it, and pressed the top of the vial against Carlina's lips before he gently poured. The liquid warmed Carlina's tongue, then her teeth, then her lips, then her skin, and then her blood. As her body warmed Carlina was able to breath again, and her heart-beat was able to pulse. After a few more minutes Carlina was even able to open her eyes, and she saw Anthony with love on her eyes.
"Awake at last!" cheered Anthony greatly relieved. "Thank-god! As soon as I heard the news of your death I knew I had to come! I had given you only mild poison enough to put you inside of a coma;" he declared. "I knew you couldn't be dead and came to rescue you from your dire fate!"
"But you have re-awakened me!" gasped Carlina. "My dire fate is my life with Douglas Towers and my evil marriage which has turned my father into a monster!" she declared. "How can I live and return to such a prison?"
"I have thought of your situation and have come up with a sollution;" told Anthony who felt jitters under his skin. "Marry me, come live with me!" he declared. "We can be together and you can be safe from your father and the world!"
Carlina laughed! She hardly knew Anthony however she knew that he was a kind person who had charm. He offered her a life away from her prison and she almost wanted to say 'yes' like a silly school girl offered a lift home for the first time. She wanted to tell Anthony that she would like to run away with him, however the priest caught her awake from her death and he scared Anthony away with a couple of gun-shots!
Anthony ran like the wind away from the coffin and Carlina cried inside of her mind as the priest called for an ambulance and security. Soon Carlina was escorted to the hospital where she would meet her parents and return home just one day before the expected marriage.
Carlina couldn't be more upset! However she hid her upset with a smile as her parents gave her hugs and kisses on the brow in return! She was to return home where she would be told to sit. Carlina turned depressed and she wondered if she had enough brave to jump off the balcony to escape her fate one last time!
Thomas smiled at Carlina as she brooded. He didn't want to slap at Carlina anymore, he just wanted to give her away. Etta could feel Thomas's stiffness and she rubbed at his neck-line before she turned to the window to escape. The funeral had been tough on her and she had thought that she might have life to end the pain of having had lost her daughter to suicide. However now that Carlina had recovered she was able to start her life again and erase her worry as she regained her self-esteem.
"Let us be a happy family once again!" told Etta as she looked to Thomas and waited for his approval.
"Yes indeed;" retorted Thomas before he took a brief peek at Carlina. "How about it? Will you be a happy family with us once again?"
"Sure;" muttered Carlina as she began to cry.
Thomas turned his head seconds before the first of Carlina's tears rolled down her face and he didn't pay anymore attention to her until their car was parked in their garage.
Carlina was escorted to her bedroom with Etta by her side. Once inside Etta left her alone and Carlina shuddered as she sat.
"I am still unhappy;" told Carlina as she looked at the mirror and saw her faded reflection. "I would still like to leave;" she muttered as thoughts made her jump through the curtain and off the balcony.
However a knock on the door broke Carlina from her thoughts and Douglas Towers stepped inside of the room. Douglas had waited in the foyer ever since he had been told that Carlina had woken from her grave. Douglas glared at Carlina and smiled.
"I cried at your funeral;" he announced. "You looked dead;" he declared. "I feel guilt knowing that you could have been awakened and I had just stood there and stared at you;" he added.
"There is no need to feel any guilt;" told Carlina as she felt a tint of strain that came from the fact the he was who she was to marry within one day. "I hadn't known I had only been asleep myself;" she added.
"Well now you are awake I would like to tell you how fond I am of our marriage!" told Douglas in outburst.
"Oh yes our marriage;" muttered Carlina as she stepped back a little.
"I have ordered flowers of all kinds, graffiti, marble stools;" told Douglas as he grinned. "It is going to be the most wonderful of times!" he added.
"Is it?" asked Carlina as she felt a weaking once again.
"Why yes!" gasped Douglas as he took Carlina's hands so that she could feel his warmth. "Yes it will be wonderful because our life will have you and I!" he told.
Carlina wanted to recoil however she stood firm as her hands fevered. Carlina looked to Douglas as a friend and tried her best to fall in love - the effort almost broke her heart, and immediately she wanted to cry.
"It should be great!" she gasped as her teeth tasted like iron.
"Indeed!" told Douglas as he grinned. "Please let me share your bed and keep you safe from harm;" he added.
Carlina wanted to break away as a murmur pulsed inside of her chest!
"I shall take a shower and offer you a blanket to sleep on the floor with;" she told.
Douglas laughed and nodded as Carlina moved into the private bathroom. There she sobbed as she ran warm water and she shivered.
With the lights turned onto low Carlina slipped into her bed and nestled down on the pillows as Douglas settled upon the carpet. Carlina felt weak - her prospective was going to stay by her side night and day until they were married! She would never be able to break away!
"Never mind!" muttered Carlina to herself as she hugged at her pillow. "Let us marry as my heart turns cold, what do I care!" she scoffed as she closed her eyes to sleep.
Within one day Carlina was dressed into her wedding dress. She still felt a prisoner, however Douglas had stayed by her side and kept her warm and she felt closer to him more then ever! She almost felt as though she could make it through wedding without crying - however when escorted to the altar she felt so weak almost fainted! There were flowers where her coffin had once rested and she felt spooked that she would have been buried if Anthony had not rescued her from her sleep. Thomas placed an arm around Carlina's back and helped her stand strong. He was there to help her make it through the wedding, and to ensure that she would not run away.
Douglas lifted Carlina's veil and smiled at her face. There were shivers on her lips and tears inside of her eyes - however she still looked lovely, and he was happy that she was there. He hadn't wanted anyone else and he was glad that she was able to return to life to marry him. Her life was going to soon be their life, and he was going to make sure she lived it every day she remained alive as he stood beside her.
