Healing Slowly But Surely By R. Joseph novel Chapter 266

266 The plan.

Leilani.

I didn’t know what to think or feel when I saw the words staring back at me as if in mockery.

I thought about Gavin, about how this could’ve been from him, but upon reminding myself that he would’ve given it directly to me and not place it on my porch where anyone could possibly take it if it were to come from him, I took a step back and returned it to the floor, my heart racing in my chest as I began to fish through my pockets for my phone.

I got it out after a few seconds of blind searching and immediately dialed Gavin’s phone.

And goddess, my heart was racing so fast. My palms were clammy too. I swallowed over and over again as I waited for Gavin to pick up his phone. It rang for a moment too long and I was already beginning to think that he would never pick up until…

“Hello sister,” he suddenly drawled, causing my heart to leap in my chest.

I was so excited that I forgot how to say hello. So I simply blurted the first thing I could think of. I asked; “Did you come to my house earlier?”

Silence. That was why I was greeted with for the next five seconds and I could almost imagine him frowning at the phone, his lips pressed together into a thin line while his eyebrows were scrunched together in such a way that it took a w-shape.

Then he sighed; “I didn’t, Lani. Is something the matter?”

“Did you send anyone over? Did you bring me a package?”

“No, I didn’t! What’s happening?”

When his voice fleeted through the receiver dripping with worry, I froze. And

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266 The plan.

hell, I couldn’t lie that I hadn’t suspected him to say this earlier. If anything, I had already known from the onset that it wasn’t from him.

I also knew that it couldn’t be from Darius either seeing as he’s always told me that Moonveil draught doesn’t have an antidote.

“Lani, are you still there? Is something the matter?” Gavin called out, snapping me out of my reverie.

I was already shaking my head before realizing that he couldn’t see me through the phone. So I cleared my throat and said; “Yes, something is the

matter.”

I didn’t bother to lie or cover up. I was too worried to do any of that. “I just got a parcel… I found it on my porch this morning.”

“What does it contain?” He asked calmly, his voice warming me in a way that I couldn’t quite comprehend.

“A bottle of a strange clear liquid. It has a note too addressed to me stating that it is the antidote of the Moonveil draught elixir.”

He gasped or squeaked. But I knew that I had heard him make a weird sound and then he asked; “But.. but I thought that that thing doesn’t exist? I

thought it was impossible to get it?”

“I thought so too!”

“Do you think it is real?” He asked, and when I didn’t respond right away, he added; “Leilani please wait. Do not take it yet. Wait please! I beg of you!” (2

The desperation in his voice had me momentarily freezing in shock. My hand holding the phone shook too. But managing to speak despite how patched my throat felt, I said; “Okay.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay.” Then in a smaller voice, I added; “come quickly!”

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“I will.”

And with that, I dropped the phone and went back into the house, ignoring the urge to pick up the bottle.

I had however just gone into the house when a sudden panic began to creep up my spine.

I feared that someone else might pick it up. That my neighbors may accidentally find it and pour it out or something. This fear was what

compelled me to rush back out of the house, and in my desperation, I picked up the bottle and went back in.

Goddess, maybe I wasn’t thinking. Maybe I couldn’t bring myself to think, especially when there was a high chance that the thing I’ve always needed to become a better version of me was right here, in front of me.

And I was about to lose it.

And maybe this thought was what pushed me, but I found myself taking a sip before I could stop myself and that sip turned into a gulp and another gulp… and before I knew it, I was emptying the contents of the bottle into my mouth and throwing my head back when the effect immediately began to creep up on me.

Unknown.

As the cool morning breeze blew against my face, ruffling my hair and blowing some into my mouth, I stood by a far corner of the quiet street, staking my prey.

She was a beautiful thing to look at. A precious woman if I must say. But her beauty wasn’t the only reason I’d woken up this early in the morning and driven so many miles just to stand here now, watching her scrutinize the envelope in her hands like it was a cursed object.

Her beautiful face was scrunched up into a frown as she read and reread the

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contents of the letter over and over again. And I almost laughed when she dropped it on the floor and took a step back, as if waiting for it to explode.

It didn’t.

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