by D.L. Miles
Chapter 14
I blink my mascara covered eyelashes at the chalkboard in math class. Cain is sitting behind me again and I feel like he’s staring at me. Does my hair look okay? I can’t remember if I straightened it or not this morning. I imagine it is frizzy again.
A pencil taps my shoulder and I turn as the teacher is talking. Cain raises his eyebrows at me. “You feeling okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say, “why?”
He shrugs and adjusts the cross around his neck. I eye it, but feel nothing. He puts it between his lips, chewing lightly on the silver chain as he speaks. “You were acting a little contradictory this morning, I thought you might be sick.”
“Right,” I murmur. I was acting hot and cold and he had no idea why. Did he? I lick my lips and I notice he’s watching them move. “I was just unsure if you really wanted to give me a ride. Considering what happened.”
“I told you I don’t blame you, right?”
“Sort of,” I whisper, noticing the other students around us have started to watch. I guess we were more interesting than the lecture on…I can’t even remember what. Cain leans in closer to me, and I feel the heat from his body. I don’t move away as he taps the silver to my lips, giving me a light kiss. The cross touches my skin…
And it doesn’t burn.
My eyes never close for our kiss, I’m too surprised. Cain leans back and drops the cross from his mouth; it lands with a light thud against his shirt. Someone behind me clears their throat.
“Since you two seem more interested in each other than my lesson, why don’t you spend some time together this afternoon? In detention.” The teacher is eyeing us, arms crossed tight.
The entire class bursts into hushed giggles. Cain shrugs them off, as if us going to detention together will just be like another date—or our first date really. I inhale sharply, wondering how I’ll ever explain this to my father. Will he start saying Cain is a bad influence on me? Because if anything, Cain is good for me in an anti-demon kind of way.
I groan under my breath and shove my head into my hands, face burning red. I try not to turn around for the rest of class and ignore all the light taps against my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” Cain says as we leave math. “I didn’t think he’d give us detention.”
I want to be mad at him, but it wasn’t really his fault. The cross dangles in a patch of sunlight as we head outside, reflecting light into my eyes. It reminds me that it didn’t burn me during our kiss, and my heart skips a beat. It didn’t burn!
Ithinara has been silenced though, and I believe it is because of Cain. I’m still worried she might try to take over again, but she doesn’t seem to be making any attempt.
“It’s not your fault,” I tell Cain. There wasn’t much else I could say. “He’s just a jerk when people don’t pay attention.”
“I know, but it kind of is my fault,” he goes on. We’re walking across the grass, a shortcut to my next class. “But he has a point; we’ll get to spend some time together.”
I stop. I want to ask him if he actually wants to spend time with me, but I’m afraid of the answer.
“I do want to get to know you better, Willa,” Cain says, and my entire world blurs away. It is only a moment, but I completely forget Ithinara is even in my head. All I can see is him until I get another flash of him covered in blood.. She wanted to make sure I don’t forget again.
“You do?” I ask stupidly.
He grins and furrows his brow. “Of course. I mean, you’re already meeting my family this Sunday, and I feel like I barely know you. Maybe we can learn more in detention.”
“Sunday?” I repeat.
“You’re still coming for dinner, I hope,” a smooth voice says. Cain and I turn to find Nico coming towards us, her pencil skirt looking far too tight for a teacher. A chill runs over me as Cain moves closer.
“I am,” I say, “I’m just a little—dazed.”
Nico nods. “I heard about my nephews little transgression. I do apologize, Willa.” As she says my name my skin crawls. “Cain has never been one to think things through.”
“I thought it through,” defends Cain. “And I decided it was a good idea. I didn’t think—”
“Exactly,” Nico interrupts, “you didn’t think.”
Cain inhales and exhales sharply through his nose. “I’m sorry.” His teeth are grinding hard against each other.
Nico’s lips turns up slightly, as if hiding a smirk. “Anyway,” Nico continues, “I wanted to ask if you were going on the trip next Friday, to the church.”
“Yup,” I say too fast. I’m desperate to show Nico just how normal I am. “I just need to get my dad to sign the paper.”
“Excellent.” She smiles, but something is missing from it. “I’m sure Beth is excited to show you the church; she told me the other day that you’ve never been. Why is that?”
I take a moment to think before answering. “I’m just not a very religious person, I guess.”
“I understand. Maybe this will change your mind.”
I shrug. “You never know.”
The bell rings. I expect Nico to turn into the stern teacher I’m certain she is, and tell us to get moving. But instead she relaxes her posture and asks, “Would you like to come to the game tomorrow during fifth period?”
“The volleyball game?” I question.
“What other game is there?” she counters. “Cain told me you wanted back on the team, but with your injury it just isn’t possible. That doesn’t mean you can’t come to the games to support the others though. What do you say?”
“Yes,” I almost shout. I blush a bit, unsure of where my eagerness was hiding. Despite being a little afraid, I can’t help but smile. “I’ll definitely go.”
“Wonderful,” Nico says. As she grins she looks a lot like Cain. “Now you two should get to class before you’re late.”
I nod and begin walking away. Cain follows me.
“Clever,” he says, “pretend to be interested to get out of class; I like your strategy.”
“It isn’t a strategy,” I argue, “or a way to skip class. I liked volleyball when I was able to play.”
“Oh, yeah?” he murmurs. “Why’d you quit then?”
I shrug. “Temporary insanity, I guess.”
I didn’t admit that the insanity was mainly because of him, because I wasn’t so sure it was temporary.
If anything, I know I am still insane for wanting to be close to Cain.
