A Curse Love: Bound by Shadow

Chapter 12: Aftermath

Every corner of Blackwood feels haunted, like the ghost of everything Luca and I went through lingers just out of sight, fading in and out with each passing day. I can almost see him there in the misted forest trails, in the empty library at closing hour, and in the quiet nights when the wind whispers through my open window. It’s strange, really. The curse is gone, and yet his presence is burned into every shadow, every quiet space that I wander through, as if he’s just waiting for the right moment to step back into my life.

The ritual had left me raw, exposed, like my insides had been carved out and left open to the world. I had thought that breaking the curse would mean freedom—freedom from the visions, the overwhelming emotions that had once bound us together. But instead, it feels like a strange, hollow victory, a wound that doesn’t know how to heal.

People have noticed a change in me, I can tell. Even Evelyn, the librarian who always had a knowing look in her eyes, watches me with that strange intensity now, like she’s waiting for me to break or maybe even waiting for me to find some kind of peace. I wish I could give her an answer, but every time I think I’m close to understanding, the memories pull me under again.

Jared, Damon, and Hannah have all left me to my silence, each in their own way. Jared moved on quickly, his lingering crush on me dissolving into concern for a friend he no longer knew how to reach. Damon and Hannah drifted away too, perhaps understanding, perhaps not. Maybe they got what they wanted, or maybe they were just relieved to see the curse gone, the weight of Blackwood’s secrets no longer pressing on them. They seem free, moving forward, while I remain rooted in the memories of a love that could never truly be freed.

I spend most of my time wandering through Blackwood, retracing steps, searching for something—some piece of myself that I lost along the way. My fingers brush over the bark of trees in the woods where we once shared secrets, over the dusty books at the library where I first felt that unspoken pull to him. Everything feels both familiar and foreign, as if I’m living a life that was once my own but now belongs to someone else.

One morning, as I sit by the lake, I feel a shift, a strange sensation of being watched. It’s not the suffocating intensity of the curse; it’s something quieter, softer, as if someone is waiting just beyond the trees, someone familiar. I freeze, my heart pounding in my chest as I scan the tree line, half-expecting to see Luca step out from the shadows.

Nothing. Just the stillness of the morning air, the soft ripple of water against the shore. I feel foolish, but there’s no denying the tension coiled in my chest, the feeling that he’s nearby, as if he’s become a part of Blackwood itself, a spirit woven into the landscape, always watching but never seen.

I sigh, hugging my knees to my chest as I watch the sunlight glint off the lake’s surface. “If you’re there, Luca,” I whisper into the stillness, “why don’t you just come out?”

There’s no answer, of course. Just the soft rustling of leaves in the distance, the breeze that carries a faint hint of his scent, or maybe that’s just my mind playing tricks on me. I close my eyes, feeling the familiar ache settle in my chest as memories resurface, memories of his touch, his kiss, the intensity in his eyes that always made me feel like I was the only thing anchoring him to this world.

Breaking the curse didn’t erase those memories. If anything, it only made them sharper, clearer, like fragments of a broken mirror scattered across my mind. I remember our last night together, the desperation in his touch, the way his arms held me as if he was afraid to let go. I had thought that severing the supernatural connection between us would free me, would let me breathe again without feeling like I was drowning in his pain. But instead, I feel like I’m holding my breath, waiting for something I can’t name.

Days pass in a blur, each one blending into the next. I throw myself into work at the library, trying to lose myself in the comfort of old books, in the quiet solitude of stacked shelves. But even here, I feel his presence, lingering like a shadow in the corners of my mind.

Then, one evening, as I’m shelving a few returned books, I hear a familiar voice—a low, quiet murmur that makes my heart skip a beat.

“Amelia.”

I turn, nearly dropping the book in my hands, and there he is, standing in the dim aisle between shelves, watching me with an intensity that takes my breath away. His face is shadowed, his eyes darker than I remember, but the familiar ache, the pull that I thought I’d buried, rushes back with a vengeance.

“Luca…” I breathe, my voice trembling as I stare at him, unable to move, unable to speak. My heart pounds in my chest, the same mixture of fear and longing that I’ve felt since the moment I met him rushing through me.

He steps closer, his gaze never leaving mine, and for a moment, I’m afraid to breathe, afraid that he’ll disappear if I make a single sound.

“I thought you’d left,” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

He shakes his head, a faint, almost sad smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I couldn’t leave, Amelia. Not entirely.”

His words hang in the air, heavy and unspoken, and I feel something break inside me, a barrier I’d tried so hard to keep up. “Why?” I ask, my voice catching as I look at him, at the man who’s haunted me for so long. “Why come back now?”

Luca steps closer, his hand reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair from my face. His touch is gentle, almost reverent, as if he’s afraid I’ll disappear, too. “I had to see you. To know if… if there was anything left between us.”

I swallow, my throat tight as I search his face, looking for answers, for something that will make sense of everything we’ve been through. “And what did you find?”

He doesn’t answer right away, his gaze dropping to where his hand rests on my shoulder, his fingers tracing slow, almost hesitant patterns. “I don’t know,” he admits, his voice barely more than a whisper. “But I can’t seem to let you go, no matter how hard I try.”

A shiver runs through me at his words, at the raw honesty in his voice, and I feel myself lean into his touch, the familiarity of it both comforting and terrifying. “Luca… we’re free now. The curse is gone. We don’t have to—”

“But we do,” he interrupts, his gaze intense as he looks at me, his fingers tightening on my shoulder. “I can feel it, Amelia. Even without the curse, there’s something between us. Something that no ritual can break.”

I close my eyes, feeling the weight of his words settle over me, filling the empty spaces that the curse left behind. “I don’t know if I can do this again,” I whisper, my voice choked with emotion. “The pain, the darkness… I can’t live in that shadow forever, Luca.”

He’s silent for a moment, his hand slipping down to take mine, his fingers intertwining with mine in a way that feels achingly familiar. “Then let me walk in the light with you,” he murmurs, his voice barely audible. “I don’t want to be your curse anymore, Amelia. I just want to be with you. If you’ll have me.”

My heart stutters at his words, the simplicity of them cutting through all the fear, all the doubt that’s haunted me for so long. I look up at him, at the vulnerability in his eyes, the way he’s offering himself to me without any conditions, any bindings, and I feel something shift inside me, a cautious, fragile hope taking root.

“I don’t know what happens next,” I say softly, my voice trembling as I meet his gaze, my hand tightening in his. “But… I want to find out. With you.”

A slow, relieved smile breaks across his face, and he pulls me into his arms, holding me close as if he’s afraid to let go. I close my eyes, breathing in the familiar scent of him, feeling the steady beat of his heart against mine, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I feel a sense of peace settle over me.

Whatever happens next, whatever challenges we’ll face, I know we’ll face them together, free from the shadows that once bound us, finally able to walk forward into whatever future awaits us.

And for the first time, that future feels like something I’m ready to embrace.