What if I Was a Worm? - Chapter 1 (Lia)

“Will you marry me?”

“YeAHHH—“ Lia’s words were lost in a scream as the ride lurched forward, dropping from its precarious pinnacle and careening down the tracks in a breakneck pace. It whipped around a corner, throwing her body back against Cyrus.

Her mind reeled, high on adrenaline from the coaster and his question, but in an effort to not crush her boyfriend— No. Fiance . . . she grinned at the thought as she wrapped her hands around the safety bar, pulling against the force of the ride. But after managing no more than an inch of space, his hand slipped around her waist, yanking her back into his body. Needing no further persuasion, Lia relaxed into the hold.

It was exhilarating—the speed, the wind, the feel of his fingers flexing against her stomach with every drop and flip. She was a veritable ball of endorphins when they pulled to a stop and she spun in place, climbing up his body to answer his question.

“Of course—“ She said, molding her mouth against his in a fiery kiss, closing her eyes at the feel of his burly arms wrapping around her back, holding her secure to his thick frame. “I— will— marry— you,” she finished as she peppered kisses to his lips, pulling back to grin down at him. And the way he stared back up at her, like she was the answer to everything he needed in life, it made her feel on top of the world.

Until the ride attendant cleared his throat.

“Dudes,” the spiky-haired kid said. “There are, like, families here.”

Lia laughed, standing and pulling a pink-cheeked Cyrus from their cart, laughing only harder when he ducked his head as they passed the unamused crowd waiting their turn.

She sidled closer, slipping her hand into his and relishing the way he pulled her in tight to his body as they re-joined the throng of people moving about the fairgrounds.

All of the rides were lit up brightly, beacons of laughter and excitement, but the paths were lined with fairy lights, hung between booths and lending a soft, otherworldly air to the space around them.

It was Lia’s absolute favorite time of the year—when the fair came to town. There was something about the frivolous nature of it that spoke to her—the sticky candies and rigged games and rickety old rides, there was just something about it that made her feel alive.

She came every night she was able, and Cyrus always indulged her. For three years, he’d joined her, and now, he’d given her something even more precious—a perfect memory to celebrate. A new way for him to be connected with her in these loud, muggy, glorious nights.

He stepped to the side, pulling her off the pathway and into the shadowed space between two tents as he tunneled his hands through her hair and pulled her back in to finish the kiss they’d started on the coaster.

But he broke away as quickly as he’d started and dropped to a knee, lifting a band between them with a solitary diamond in the center, glittering brightly in their darkened corner.

“Cyrus—“ Lia mumbled, stretching a shaky hand between them as she eyed the brilliant stone. They didn’t have the means for this.

She met him in his senior year of college, when he’d been working to finish his teaching degree and living in his car to be able to afford the tuition. She’d been in a stagnant phase of life at the time. Having taken a ‘gap year’ after high school, which turned into a ‘gap half-decade’ while she worked as a bank teller and collected books like her life depended on it—she’d felt lost. Which she imagined was why she been so drawn to his dedication, and his passion, in those early days.

He’d been embarrassed by his state of living, but she’d worn him down and convinced him to move in within a matter of weeks. And since then, things had fallen into place like they were meant to be.

She’d gone through a lengthy interview process, which he spent endless hours helping her prepare for—leading to her taking on the role of Lead Teller and the hefty pay bump that came with it. And Cyrus graduated with honors, finding a job at a school so close that they didn’t even have to relocate. It was slow going, but they lived below their means and were simply happy to have one another.

But now, Lia battled against herself as she eyed the rock between them. For three years, they’d only had one another as they built this life from the ground up. They always talked through financial decisions, no matter how small. And she didn’t want to overreact, not in such a happy moment, but this could not have been cheap.

“Cyrus,” she breathed, wincing at the weight of the ring as he slid it onto her finger. “This is too much.”

“No,” he answered, rising back to his feet and backing her up against the taut tent behind her. “It’s not. I’ve been saving every spare penny for this ring since that day you marched out and dragged me from my car and told me to get my ass inside your apartment. Nothing would be too much for you. I love you, Lia. And I’ll love you forever, no matter what.”

“No matter what?” She repeated, biting her lip with a teasing glint to her eye as his lips returned to her skin, kissing a trail down her neck. “What if we both lost our jobs?”

“Then we’d move back into my car and travel the country as aimless wanderers.”

She laughed, running her nails along his scalp as his mouth stretched into a smile against her collar bone.

“What if we wrecked the car and I had to have my arms and legs cut off?”

“Jeez, Lia, what the hell?” His breath was hot against her inflamed skin as he huffed a laugh. “Then I guess I’d wear you like a backpack as we hiked our way around the country.”

“Good answer,” she said, smiling when he found her lips once more. But as soon as he broke away, breathing hard, she was ready. “And what if—“ She paused for him to groan. “What if I was a worm?”

“Uhh . . .”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re hesitating.”

“Well . . .”

His mouth dropped open at her exaggerated gasp.

“Oh c’mon, Lia, worms are gross.”

“Hmm,” she grumbled, giving him a pass for being willing to tote her limbless body around the countryside. “I think I’d make a cute worm.”

He smiled down at her, but she didn’t notice as she looped her arm through his and pulled him back toward the fair and all its splendor, her eyes marveling at the way the fairy lights made the diamond on her finger dance with color.

And she most certainly didn’t notice the woman with the devious little grin, who brushed past her as they exited the shadowed alley. Nor did she feel the single hair plucked from her scalp, before the cloaked woman slipped back into her tent and settled down before a cauldron which rested directly opposite the wall Lia had just been pressed against.