Full Moon Fiancé

The Family

She awoke some time later, and by the light filtering into the room she could see that it was past noon. She stretched and sat up, and the memory of the night before flooded over her. She glanced around the room. It was the same as it always had been, with pretty blue walls and crisp white linens. The white curtains billowed even though the windows were closed. She thought perhaps the heat from the vents was blowing them gently.

She strode toward the door, opening it with no clear idea of where she was planning to go. She turned to the left to head to the guest staircase, but she immediately ran into a strange man she didn’t recognize.

“Oh,” Diana said. The man was standing just to the left of her door. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she apologized. He had barely moved when she had crashed into him, standing with his feet planted and his arms crossed.

“It’s fine,” he replied. He said nothing else. He also didn’t move.

“Excuse me,” she said, gesturing to the hallway behind him. He looked at her and remained still. After a few tense moments, she asked, “can I get by?”

He eyed her for a moment. Then he stepped to the side. Diana walked past him, feeling uncomfortable, and he continued to stare without emotion.

She kept walking, but heavy footfalls behind her told her that the man was following. She turned on her heel.

“Can I help you?” she asked him.

“No,” he replied. He had turned to follow her, his face unreadable.

“Why are you following me?” Diana asked, trying to project confidence and not show the mild fear she felt shoot through her.

“I am Trevor. I’m–” he hesitated for a moment, then said, “security for the Westerly family.”

“How long have you been working for them?” she asked, her brow furrowing.

“Years,” he said, shrugging.

“Well that can’t be right because I grew up with Joshua, and I’ve never seen you.”

“We’ve never been introduced. I only recently took on a more… direct role with the Westerlys. I know you. Diana Tremaine, former fiance of Joshua Westerly.”

“I’m not his former fiance,” Diana protested. “He died. I was his fiance when he died! That isn’t the same… it isn’t like we broke up.”

“Right. Of course,” Trevor said. He nodded. His face remained inscrutable. Still wary, Diana turned back toward the guest staircase and headed down. The stairs were narrow and made of a pretty, antique looking dark wood. When she reached the bottom, she turned toward the kitchen.

She heard a murmur of voices. She turned into the kitchen, still trailed by Trevor, the emotionless bodyguard.

And there, among the modern black and white tiling and state of the art appliances, all shiny and sleek, with a charcuterie board sitting under a glass dome, waiting for someone to need a snack, there stood Joshua.

In the light of day, there was no mistake. He stood by a counter, a glass of orange juice in front of him on the counter. Thomas and Anna Westerly sat on the other side of the counter. All three looked worried.

“Joshua?” Diana asked, feeling her breath catch in her throat. Her voice cracked and broke as she stared at her fiance, impossibly alive, vibrant, and right in front of her. His head snapped up, and for a moment, they stared at each other.

Then Diana ran to him. Shooting past Thomas and Anna, she practically tackled Joshua, who wrapped his arms around her and absorbed the shock of her body weight hitting his.

“What is happening? Joshua, what are you doing here? How… how?” Diana pulled back, staring at him. “They never found a body but– they told me– they said… I thought… Where have you been? It’s been a year!” the thoughts that swirled in her head all rushed out of her mouth before she had time to stop and sort through them.

“Diana–” Joshua said. Diana felt herself tear up at the sound of her name out of his mouth. Impulsively, she leaned up and kissed him. He returned the kiss for a moment, until his mother made a quiet noise of impatience. At that, Joshua withdrew from her embrace, looking embarrassed.

“What is going on?” Diana asked once again. This time, she asked it more insistently. Her fingers curled into fists on Joshua’s shirt. She felt tears forming in her eyes and this time, she couldn’t stop them from splashing out over her eyelids. Before she knew it, little rivulets of tears were running down her cheeks with abandon. “What’s going on?” this time, it was a whisper.

“Hey,” said Joshua softly. His hands were still around her waist. His gray eyes were trained on her. It could almost be a normal morning. But it wasn’t.

“Diana, dear,” Anna Westerly said, and Diana whipped around.

“How long have you known?” Diana said, her voice rising, betrayal causing heat to prick her eyes again.

“Diana–”

“Stop saying my name! Just tell me,” she shouted the first half of her statement, but whispered the second half.

“We’ve always known,” Thomas said quietly from beside his wife. Thomas was a no nonsense man, with perfectly styled gray hair and dark glasses. He rarely smiled. He was a nice enough, though quiet, person, He had always intimidated Diana with his impassive stoicism.

“What?” Diana felt dizzy again.

“It’s very complicated,” Anna said. Her voice was low, gentle, and patient again. It made Diana feel like smashing the glass of orange juice next to Joshua.

“Clearly,” said Diana. Her voice was fading. She had no idea what to do. “What’s going on?”

She felt like she had asked this a dozen times or more. Anna looked over at Joshua, who mouthed something Diana couldn’t make out. Thomas shook his head.

Diana felt the blood rushing in her ears. She could hear it distinctly, it was all she could hear.

“Tell me!” she shouted. She could hardly believe the force of her own voice, loud and forceful. Her arms moved, suddenly, as if of their own accord, shaking her fiance because her hands were still balled into fists against his chest. She felt as if her body was numb, yet on fire. She could hardly believe she was standing in the Westerly kitchen, again, as if nothing had ever happened. It was as if she was watching a movie, but it was also horrifyingly, painfully real. “Tell me!” she insisted again. “Now!”

Her voice reached a fevered tenor and she could no longer feel her face. Only because they streamed into her mouth as she shouted did Diana know she was still crying.

“Sit down, dear,” said Anna.

“No! You sit down!” Diana roared. She whirled around to face the middle aged woman, and when her eyes landed on her once-future mother in law, she felt fury rise up like bile once again from her gut. “You sit down and you tell me what–tell me how–JOSHUA!” She was sputtering incoherently. She felt a strange sort of pleasure at seeing Anna’s shocked look displacing her usual hard to read exterior.

Diana felt herself take a step toward Anna, but suddenly the floor slipped out from under her. She felt a sharp, searing pain at her temple where, she was vaguely aware, she hit her head on the counter.

Then she felt nothing at all.