Another chapter and another twist. Hope you enjoy it =]
Happy Reading!
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
The boy seemed just as startled as I was, his eyes probing mine, brow scrunched as if he was thinking hard. I struggled to come up with a name to match the face. I hadn’t thought that I would ever see him again, but here he was, standing conspicuously in front of me.
I couldn’t help but notice that he was clothed in average attire: a light blue polo and dark jeans. His skin was a dark tan, as if he had been painted with the bronze color of the afternoon sun. His mouth crinkled upwards in a friendly smile, and I noticed slight indentations in both of his cheeks that emphasized his surprisingly… appealing countenance.
I also couldn’t ignore that at his sudden appearance, my senses were screaming at me to run. I tried to disregard them but it was hard when they were practically yelling in one’s ear. Something about his soft eyes, something in those arched brows, and ingenuous smile that made me take a step back.
Nate brought both of our attentions back to him. “Isaac, I’m glad you’re here to see me off.”
Isaac’s smile grew and he faced Nate. That’s when I noticed that he had a few magazines in hand along with a fresh water bottle. “I just came up to give you these,”—he outstretched his hands to show him his pile of goods—“But I see that you don’t need these anymore.” Dumping them onto the counter, Isaac eyes fleetingly rested on me before returning back to Nate.
“Sorry about that. If I could have, I would have warned you.”
“I know.” Isaac’s gaze landed on his arm, free of the cast. My eyes widened and I glanced frantically at Nate, but he didn’t seem to notice and shrugged.
“Miracle, doctor said. Completely healed. I don’t know what schooling these guys get, but it was obvious my arm wasn’t broken.”
Isaac nodded in agreement, as if they had discussed items on this topic before, and I suddenly felt cut off from them. That was partly why I moved pointedly towards the door, hoping to speed up this rather uncomfortable meeting—for me at least.
Nate narrowed his eyes at me while Isaac twisted to face me. “Isaac, this is my—“
“Cousin. Sophia Hunt,” I cut in, saving Nate from saying something stupid. I held out my hand, and Isaac grasped it.
I would have been obtuse not to acknowledge the sharp shocks of warmth that swathed my hand and forearm or the volts of electricity that perforated my skin. Isaac must have felt it too for he quickly pulled away from me, rubbing his hand with an inquisitive, momentary look my way.
This event frightened me.
That had never happened, not once, to me. I had never touched a human and had been forced away by the feel of his skin. Alarms went off in my head as I recalled the feel of his skin. It hadn’t felt… human. It was like layers of silk were covering it. It was the softest texture I had ever felt, making me feel even more edgy. I didn’t have time to sit and dwell on it, though, for the boy’s next question was directed at me.
“I’m sorry, but, you look strangely familiar. Do I know you?” I could hear it in his tone—he was testing me. I should have known that he wouldn’t have forgotten our last encounter, however confusing it had been. I knew that my answer solely relied on how we would leave here. If I said no, he would challenge me on it, pointing out to Nate that I was a liar. If I said yes, it would bring up questions that I wouldn’t be afraid to answer, but not in front of him, which I knew he would make me do.
“It would seem so,” I said enigmatically, making the boy smile softly, as if he knew what I was aiming for. I knew that I had been imperceptible in my answer, leaving it open for further discussion if he should have pursued it, which I hoped he wouldn’t.
“I guess so,” he finally murmured after a moments pause, making me sigh with relief. Our eyes locked.
With so many other humans before him, I had easily overpowered them with a bat of my lashes and a coaxing smile. Their guard was weak, their armor thin. It was just too easy.
But with this boy—this annoying, overly curious boy—I didn’t.
Instead, we just met gazes, as though meeting for the first time. His eyes were so soft, I knew that with one powerful shove, I could enter his mind. And yet I held back. Instead, I just enjoyed his eyes, their gentle blue fading to an ocean green near the pupil on closer inspection. The boy laughed softly, as if we where sharing some secret joke between the two of us. My ears picked up the sound with unintentional stimulation. It was a sound that brought a smile to my lips, a lightness to my stomach. It was a buoyant, tranquil resonance, as if the boy had no worries. His mouth opened with unguarded ease, his eyes sparkled. It seemed to brighten up his whole face.
And then it faded and so did the smile around my lips and the weightlessness in my stomach. It was almost like it was never there.
“Well, we better go, aye, coz?” Nate bumped me with his elbow, the end digging sharply into my sore ribs, jerking me back with a wince.
“Yeah, right,” I mumbled, eyes locked on my shoes. I was so stupid to even let this human boy catch my attention. What would he be to me? Nothing but a distraction that I certainly didn’t need. I had enough trouble with humans and my blood lust to be too interested in one individually.
Then, yet another disturbance entered the room by means of a motherly voice and a stern hand. “Nathan! Heavens, what are you doing out of bed! And with your cast off?”
The three of us rotated around to meet a woman barely five-feet tall with a robust figure and light blonde hair pulled back into a loose pony. Her eyes were identical to Isaac’s.
“Mrs. Ligaroti,” Nate greeted, smiling sheepishly. “I’m being released.”
“By whose orders?” The woman was instantly dubious.
“My cousin, Sophia, has sprung me.” Nate winked, and the woman’s anger appeared to vanish. She smiled at him, and the way it lit up her whole face reminded me of her son’s.
“Well, I’m glad someone has come for you.” She spun then to face me. “And you must be Sophia.”
I nodded in confirmation, and the woman shook my hand, her clammy palm making me grimace. “I’m sorry that I didn’t inform anyone sooner, but Nate must come home today. We’ve been terribly worried,” I told her, thinking quickly as I spoke. Nate peeked over at me with amusement.
“I bet you have. This boy’s been through a lot.” Mrs. Ligaroti patted Nate affectionately on the cheek.
“But I understand that we have to get permission from a doctor…”
“Oh, posh!” She waved her hand. “I’ll handle those doctors. You just take good care of him, you hear?”
“Of course, ma’am.” I felt like jumping. We were getting Nate out of the hospital, out of the humans’ hands.
He was coming home.
“Thank you again, Mrs. Ligaroti and Isaac. You both have been such good company for me.”
“Don’t mention it, dear.” Mrs. Ligaroti beamed at us.
Isaac just shrugged off the comment with a modest smile. “No problem, Nate.”
“If you hadn’t found me in that snow bank, Isaac, I don’t know what I would have done.”
Isaac shrugged again, and I found myself openly staring at him. Isaac had been the one to find Nate? Questions were bouncing wildly off of the walls of my mind and I struggled to think clearly. “Please, seek us out if you ever wanna talk,” Isaac continued, his eyes landing on my form again. “Nice to meet you, Sophia.” The way he said my name made me think that this wasn’t over. I had a feeling I would meet Isaac again, and in the most unusual way.
Finally, we were able to escape the stuffy hospital room, Nate fully dressed and ready to depart. We weren’t bothered as we left and when Nate stepped through doors, he was engulfed by Randy who hugged him tightly. The rest patted him on the back and welcomed him zealously.
I was too busy staring at the hospital, something nagging at the back of my mind. I struggled to bring it to the surface but when it did, I shivered with unease.
Isaac had had pointed teeth.
Just kidding. 
