Chapter Twenty-one
I Should, but I Don’t
Onyx turned her attention to me. She stared at me, eyes wide. Onyx didn’t look as scary as Jessica did, but she didn’t look human any more either. Her pupils were slightly dilated and her smile turned evil. Her red hair flowed like fire in the wind. Onyx was strikingly beautiful. She took one step towards me.
My legs chose that moment to be clumsy. I tried to back away from them but tripped over my own foot and fell to the ground.
Nigel was at my side before I could even feel any pain. He looked in my eyes, probably measuring how scared I really was. He offered me his hand but I didn’t take it.
I jumped when someone appeared at my side. By the spiked heels, my guess was it wasn’t Sebastian.
“Take her for a walk,” the woman said.
My mind was fast enough to recognize the voice. “Ms. Avery?” I asked, standing up. I whipped my palms on my pants and I quickly examined them. There were little scraps on the heels of my palms, nothing drastic.
Ms. Avery smiled at me. Her blonde hair was loose behind her in soft blonde curls. She wore a casual navy suit. Jessica was still sobbing by Nigel’s car and Onyx was trying to comfort her.
“Hello, Genevieve.” She spoke to me so formal; I’d always heard her speak casual in the classroom. “I will watch over your dear brother while you go for your walk. Nigel will accompany you. It will be best if you leave for a bit so we can get things around here in order.”
I blinked a few times before Nigel took my hand. He led me down a path next to the house. When I tried to look back, Nigel pulled at my arm to get my attention.
We continued to walk in silence until we the house was no longer in view. He stopped walking and sat on the ground.
He sighed. “I should apologize for just bringing you here without explaining things more clearly to you.”
I fell on the ground in front of him. “What happened back there?” I asked, breathlessly.
“Jessica, like many of our kind, is special. She can feel things. Emotions and sometimes even physical pain or whatever. She usually just realizes that someone is happy or sad. Jessica rarely ever acts out like this. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to go to school or be out in public.” He shrugged. “She must have been channeling your feelings about our family and when I mentioned Jasper—”
Nigel was cut off by a scream in the distance. It must have been Jessica. He shook his head.
“I didn’t—I’m not falling apart though. I’m perfectly fine,” I said, raising my hands over my head and slapped them back down on my legs.
“She is taking the pain from you.”
“Why would she do that?”
Nigel shrugged again. “I guess she is just trying to help.”
My mouth dropped open. “That’s an amazing girl. I—I cant eve think of a way to repay her.” I laughed, which surprised me. I should be the one crying hysterically and wanting to kill someone. Jessica shouldn’t be the one to endure this. “That’s not fair to her.”
Nigel chuckled. “Trust me, she’ll love. You are a friend to her; it’s the least she can do.”
“And Ms. Avery?”
He nodded, “Yeah, she is Sebastian’s wife or companion. He didn’t make her though. She sought us out around the time I was reborn. She’s like a mother to us all. Jessica didn’t like that much, since she is one of the eldest. But she learned to cope with it.”
I was shaking my head before he finished. “Loosing him is my problem to deal with my own way. This way feels wrong.” Even as I said the words, I doubted it. Having Jessica go through pain that she doesn’t deserve wasn’t fair. However, I wasn’t feeling any pain. I didn’t feel deprived of anything.
Actually, I felt happy. That surprised me more than it should have. My shoulders felt light and I felt like skipping, something I hadn’t done since I was a little girl.
“It’s so strange,” Nigel said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “You moved here, not knowing anything about our kind and now you are so wrapped up, I don’t think you will ever go back to a normal life.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you are apart of our world now. There is no turning back. Even though you aren’t one of us, species wise. But technically you are.” He paused. He frowned at a rock on the path. He picked it up and threw it up and down, catching it in his palm. “I was thinking that it might be easier for you if you just became one of us.”
I tried laughing, but it came out in a sharp scoff. “What are you talking about?”
Nigel wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I just thought that—you know what, maybe we should be heading back.” He stood up nervously and whipped his hands on his jeans. I noticed only then that they were a little baggy. They hung low, but not completely below his butt.
“No,” I said quickly and stood up. His face was closer than I thought, we almost touched. I could feel his cool breath across my lips. His eyes were so beautiful when his pupils were slightly dilated.
Dilated?
“Nigel, are you okay?” I asked, my voice cracking. He smiled his wicked grin and moved even closer to me. I was afraid that what Onyx said last night was true, he hadn’t fed.
Nigel wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest. “I’m perfect, now.” He brought his hand to my head and slowly tilted my face to his.
For some reason, I didn’t protest. He didn’t hesitate at my lips the way Jasper use to do. He crushed his lips against mine and my mind became foggy. The scent of his breath made it impossible to think. The ground began to spin under my feet.
He ran his fingers through my hair then down my spine. I felt completely lightheaded and vulnerable in his arms. He parted his lips slightly, letting his cool breath overcome me.
Then I collapsed.
