Cursed Love (2 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Tomas uncrumpled the note once again and sighed quietly. He was standing outside Ramona’s home and was contemplating whether he should knock on the door and help the beautiful woman. There was something about her that was drawing him to her, his mind was focused on her, his only goal while in this town was to make sure that she was happy and found the answers she was so desperately searching for.

He took a deep breath before knocking quickly on the door. The door opened a few moments later and Tomas couldn’t help but stare at the goddess standing in front of him. Ramona was dressed in a pair of blue cotton shorts and a strappy shirt, her skin on display. Tomas knew he was staring but couldn’t help it, as he walked into the house.

“I was right; his journal was in one of the boxes I keep in the attic.”

Ramona sat on the couch and smiled at him. Tomas felt himself smile back as he took a seat beside her and inspected the thick leather bound book. Its dark material was cracked from excessive use, the ribbon that held the place in the book was frayed and nearly all gone.

“You said he kept it with him at all times?”

“Well, as far as I can remember he always had it with him. Even when we went to the shop for food.” Ramona shrugged and stood up. “Do you want something to drink, coffee, water?”

“A coffee would be lovely, thank you.” Tomas watched as Ramona retreated to the kitchen. He realised how long it had been since he’d had any intimate touching of any sort when he felt himself press against the zipper of his jeans, the metal teeth digging in painfully. He took a deep breath in hopes that it would calm things down.

He shook his head before reaching out, taking the heavy journal into his hands and resting it on his lap. He flipped through the first few pages, which indicated the family tree, and found the first entry.

July 22
nd
1967

I told Jason that it was a bad idea to steal from the crazy old bat down the road. I knew that stealing from her would get us into more trouble than we needed, that she was going to punish us in some way. She had muttered something about cursing us and about how we would get what we deserved. We just laughed in her face and ran off with the jewels. She was blind anyway, why would she care if some of her jewellery went missing? It wasn’t like she could actually see it.

Tomas frowned at the scribbled writing. Something worse must have happened at the old woman’s house if Ramona’s father had decided to keep a journal about it. Ramona stepped back into the living room and placed a cup of coffee in front of him. He handed the journal over without a word and waited until she had read the first entry.

“So that’s why he got cursed?”

“I’m not sure; I doubt someone would put a curse on another because of some jewellery. Let’s keep reading.” Tomas read the next journal entry out loud so they could both hear.

July 28
th
1967

Jason took the jewels to a pawn brokers and found out they were worth at least fifty thousand. I now understood why the old lady was so angry with us for taking them. I tried to take them from Jason to return them but he got angry at me. Said I ruined his life. He was the one who decided to steal from the old woman. I decided to do some research on the jewels to see why they’re so valuable. Apparently they were from Egyptian times and when handled they caused the person to become greedy and want everything to themselves. The more I read about the stones the more I felt the need to return them to the rightful owner, to stop Jason from becoming mad with greed.

I read that the colour of the jewellery was very important to the Egyptians as it provided protection against evil and also provided good luck. The more I researched the more certain I was that this certain jewel was something called the Hope Diamond. It was supposed to be one of the rarest diamonds in the world and was cursed. The curse was to bring misfortune and tragedy to any person who owns it or wears it. Many people who had the diamond either died or suffered miserably. In my research I had found that the pawn broker had been off by millions on its worth and I believed that Jason must have found out the true value and refused to give it back.

I wasn’t sure if this was true or if this was the actual jewel, but I was determined to get it back to the rightful owner and away from Jason.

Tomas couldn’t believe what he had just read. The Hope Diamond was one of the rarest, if not the rarest diamond in the world and was currently in a museum under heavy security.

“So what you’re saying is my dad and this Jason boy stole a diamond from an old lady that was worth millions?” Ramona leaned back on the sofa and curled her knees to her chest, a frown on her pretty face.

“It would appear that way. If it was the Hope Diamond that your father stole then it’s quite possible that it could have cursed him.”

“The diamond is in a museum now though; shouldn’t the curse be with the person who placed it in there?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s keep reading and we might be able to find out when and how your father got cursed.” Tomas reached for the book and flipped a few pages to the next journal entry before taking a sip of his coffee. “Do you want me to read it again?”

“You have a lovely voice and I’d like to hear it. Read it.” Ramona nodded and Tomas felt a blush creep up his cheeks and cleared his throat.

July 30
th
1967

I did more research over the past day into this diamond. The diamond was given to Smithsonian Institution in 1958. Obviously this couldn’t be the diamond if it was in a museum. I decided to head over to the old lady’s house and talk to her about it. She was angry at first and refused to talk to me but I tried explaining to her that my friend had it and I wanted to get it back to her, after almost twenty minutes I managed to get inside the home.

The woman told me that it was indeed the Hope Diamond that we had taken and it was needed back. She explained to me how it was a fake in the Institution. She didn’t say how she had acquired the diamond only that it needed to be recovered. She gave me this potion mix to give Jason and it would force him to bring the stone back. She asked me to come back the next day with it.

“Do you think he got it?” Ramona moved closer to him on the couch and wrapped a blanket around herself as she looked over his shoulder at the journal.

“I’m guessing not because of the curse. Let’s see.”

July 31
st
1967

I didn’t do it. I gave Jason the potion but he had already sold the diamond. Jason hadn’t been feeling well for almost a week now, since he took the diamond. I had to return to the old lady and tell her the bad news. She didn’t take it too well. She yelled at me and muttered something that sounded like Latin. She grabbed me by the hair and screamed in my face before telling me to leave. I think she might have accidently pulled some of my hair out. I told my parents about the diamond and they weren’t happy in the slightest. They’re making us move away, away from this town and Jason.

“I believe this is where he may have gotten cursed.” Tomas ran his finger across the line which said
I think she might have accidently pulled some of my hair out.

“Why?”

“In ancient curses like the one put on your father the witch would need to have a part of that person in the mix to make sure it cursed the right person and not just a random one.”

“What do you mean witch? You think this old lady was a witch?”

“Shifters aren’t the only thing in this world, Ramona.”

“What else is there?”

“I think that is for another time to discuss. Do you want to know about your father?”

“Keep going, please.” Ramona sighed quietly and leaned her head on his shoulder. Tomas took a deep breath and inhaled the woodsy aroma that surrounded Ramona. Her natural scent wasn’t clouded with perfume, unlike most women.

August 4
th
1967

I haven’t been feeling well in the slightest. I don’t want to point blame and say it was the old lady but ever since my visit with her I have been feeling terrible. It must be exhaustion or something I must have eaten because I could swear that my scent and sight are getting better. I haven’t needed to wear my glasses since the visit. I must be going mad here. I haven’t heard from Jason since that day either. I hope he’s okay.

Whenever I try and eat something I bring it back up. I’m sure it’s just a flu bug really. I’ll recover from it soon hopefully, and this whole ordeal with the old lady and the supposedly cursed diamond will be a bad memory to look back on.

“Don’t stop reading.” Ramona sipped her coffee before she leaned her head back on Tomas’s shoulder.

August 10
th
1967

It’s been a while that I’ve been unwell. It’s become more than a flu-like feeling now. My bones feel like they are trying to outgrow my body, my muscles feel like they are tearing each time I move in the slightest and my head feels like I’ve bashed it against a wall a million and one times. The worse and worse I become the more certain I am of that old lady is doing something to me.

“From the sounds of it your father was experiencing what most teenage shifters do before their first shift. The way he is describing how he was feeling sound exactly like what happened to me a week before I shifted for the first time.”

“Why does shifting hurt so much?” she whispered and Tomas could hear the pain in her voice. It was obvious that Ramona hated being what she was, and because it was a result of a curse she was burdened with the inability to control her shifts or her bear.

“It doesn’t hurt for me. The only reason your shifting is painful is because you’ve gained your abilities through a curse and weren’t born into it. If you were born into it like myself then your body would willingly accept the change each full moon.” Tomas rubbed Ramona’s bare shoulder and stayed silent as he felt tears seep through his shirt and onto his skin. Once her tears had slowed Tomas returned to reading the journal.

August 25
th
1967

I’m not sure how to explain what happened to me the previous night without sounding like a lunatic. All I know is that I need to write this down to try and make sense of what did happen to me. I was getting progressively worse through the weeks. I had decided to go outside and get some fresh air when my skin began to feel like it was on fire. Not regular heat, it felt like someone was holding a flame to my skin. I vaguely remember crying out and dropping to my knees. I didn’t want my mother to worry so I ran from the garden and out my back gate to the forest that was by our home.

The rest is a blur. All I can remember is tremendous pain. My skin felt like it was being torn from my bones, my muscles ripping apart as my body morphed into something different. I couldn’t remember anything else from that night. I woke up in the middle of the forest, naked, covered in dirt and blood over my hands. I wasn’t sure where my clothes were so I had to sneak into my bedroom through the window, with my mother finding me and getting worried about the mess I was in.

Once I had slept for the rest of the day I started to research what could have possibly happened to me. I didn’t want to believe what I had read over the few hours. There was no way that that could physically be possible. I decided to confront the old lady. She confirmed my suspicions. She told me that she cursed me because I was part of the reason why her precious diamond went missing and she decided that I needed to be punished for my crimes. I was destined to turn into this savage beast once every full moon.

“Well now at least we know how he got cursed.” Ramona yawned and Tomas placed the ribbon to bookmark where they were in the journal and put it on the table.

“I think it’s time for you to get some sleep.” Tomas stood up slowly and watched as Ramona nodded and stood too, stretching her back and revealing a thin strip of dark flesh between her shorts and shirt. Tomas took a deep breath to calm the desire inside himself at the sight of Ramona’s beautiful body.

“You don’t look as sick today.” Ramona reached out and gently touched his cheek. He felt colour blossom in his skin and smiled slightly at her. He didn’t want to say it was because he was around another shifter and his body was slowly accepting Ramona as part of his own clan.