by K. C. Hamby
Placing both hands on the sink, I drop my head. I pull in a few deep breaths to collect myself before I make an appearance. If Invidia knows I’m Chosen, she’ll have to tell someone. I’m not sure if I can handle what will happen if everyone knows. I pick my head up, take one last look in the mirror at my scarred face, and leave the bathroom to face whatever—or whoever, for that matter—is waiting for me.
I walk out into the living room, heading to the kitchen for something to eat and drink. I squint at the overly bright light pouring in from the windows.
Ugh, my fucking head. It’s like someone is beating a hammer into my skull over and over again.
Once I’m able to see clearly without the sunshine stabbing my eyes, I glance around the room to find Ash and none other than the infamous Invidia staring at me.
I stop walking and stare back in silence. Her sharp, cognac eyes are staring at me with actual concern like I may fall out any second. Her long, sable hair is pulled back in a ponytail and her side-swept bangs hang over her forehead, almost hiding her perfectly shaped, scrunched eyebrows.
She stands up from the couch and slowly walks over to me. I stop myself from rolling my eyes and just watch her. She has on dark skinny jeans and a fitted, black, short sleeved V-neck shirt that shows all of her….womanly features. Her cheekbones are sharper than even mine and they set the stage for her pouty lips. All Lupi have sharp and dark features, but hers make her look almost unnaturally animalistic. Not in a bad way; she’s beautiful. But, she’s intimidating as hell and seems like she can cut glass with her chiseled bone structure.
She stands in front of me and gently wraps her arms around my waist in an awkward hug. I don’t hug her back. Instead, I stare daggers at Ash over her shoulder and his eyes grow wide, but he shrugs it off and lets it happen. I’m attacked by the fruity musk scent that’s all over the clothes I’m wearing and the bathroom. The nausea comes creeping up my throat.
She pulls back, grabbing my shoulders and stares into my eyes. “How are you feeling, Fal?” She appears genuinely concerned and the stupid guilt rushes to my stomach and pain zaps down my arm.
“Fuck, let go of my shoulder.” Invidia yanks her hand away, realizing her mistake. “I’m fine, thanks.” I want to be nice, but she hugged me and my head and wounds hurt too much. It takes hard thinking for me to be nice and I can’t think with Hades pounding on the inside of my skull.
“I’m so glad.” She squeezes my hand and let’s go. “We were so worried.” She glances back at Ash. “Well, I was. Ash said you’d be fine.” She peers back at me and rolls her eyes. I can’t help but smirk.
“Yeah, he’s never concerned about the well-being of his little sister.” I arch an eyebrow at Ash. “Shame on you,” I jokingly scold. He holds up his hands in surrender.
“Hey. This is my house. You two cannot team up on me like this.” He pretends to be hurt and it’s my turn to roll my eyes, which angers my headache. I walk to the kitchen and grab a glass of water.
“So, what happened?” I chug the water and trickles of the liquid slide down my chin from the corners of my lips.
“Well,” Ash starts with a sigh, “you decided to hide from me the fact that you got shot and stabbed.” I begin to protest. “Hey, shut up. This is my story. Anyway, you passed out on the asphalt. Sorry about your head.” He smirks. “I couldn’t catch you in time.” For some reason, I don’t believe that. “So, I brought us back to my car and then back here. I pushed my shirt into the cut on your stomach to slow the bleeding, but goddess, Fal. That was a big gash. Invidia patched you up and gave you two stitches, with a little help from me. She also gave me some of her clothes for you to change into since yours were soaked in blood. I changed you into those.” He looks at me pointedly and I relax. “Sorry for that, but I knew you would kill me if I let anyone else do it.” Invidia beams at me with a grin and Ash winks.
So, he helped me into these clothes so Invidia wouldn’t see my Chosen mark and helped her fix me up so he could make sure she wouldn’t see it then too. Best brother ever.
I smile at Ash, but it looks like I’m smiling at Invidia and her face lights up. I guess that’s good?
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.” I look at her when I say it, but really my thanks are for Ash. I suppose I mean it to Invidia too. I’m just not comfortable with her yet. “Oh!” I exclaim as a thought occurs to me. “Did you grab the Proof?” I can’t screw this up. Sure, I killed the guy, but if I don’t have Proof, Cosma will have my pelt mounted on her wall.
“It’s in your bag with everything else,” Ash answers with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Thank you.” I groan in relief and run back to my room to grab my backpack.
Where the hell is my backpack? And my weapons? I trudge back to the living room and find Ash leaning against the front door waiting for me.
“Uh, where is my stuff?”
“Out here.” He gestures to the door with his head and I squint at him in confusion. Invidia skips over to the door from the kitchen, pulling my attention to her.
“I’m so glad you’re feeling better, Fal,” she cheers in a way that sounds like she wants to be my best friend. She touches my shoulder and I turn in her direction to slap her hand away from my wound. Obviously, this means I want another hug from her, right? She embraces me and I reluctantly return the hug so I don’t come off as a bitch. I mean, I am grateful for her help after all, but goddammit, if she touches my shoulder one more time, I’ll rip her head off. “Don’t be a stranger,” she sings as she pulls back from the hug. She pushes something into my hand and trots off to Ash’s room. I look down and find a bagged sandwich in my hand. My stomach growls and I immediately pull the peanut butter and jelly out of the plastic and shove it in my mouth.
Well, that was nice of her.
I turn to Ash and find him staring after Invidia in a way that appears familiar, but I can’t quite place it. I shove it to the back of my mind to think on later and follow Ash out of the front door. I glance up to the driveway as I’m walking down the porch steps and nearly tumble down them.
“What the hell is that?” I can’t seem to stop my mouth from hanging open. Ash stands beside me, pushes my mouth closed, and laughs.
“It looks like a car.” I push his arm hard, but he doesn’t budge.
“Okay smart ass, but it looks like a new car,” I chide, trying to make him explain, “and you don’t like small cars.”
“Well, it’s not mine,” he declares like I’ve offended him. “It’s yours.”
Sitting in his driveway is a black 2018 Corvette z06 and it looks fully loaded.
“Shut up, are you serious?” I have lusted after this car ever since it came out. I’ve never even thought about getting it, though. I’m always working and I get Voítheia to pick me up and drop me off places. But I’m always stuck at the Complex on days off. I’ll be able to actually go out.
“Yes, I’m serious. The Pack pays me well enough without helping with jobs. Most of the jobs I go on are with you and I saved up the extra money from those and got you this. It’s kind of a thank you for including me.” He pauses and a flash of regret reflects in his eyes but disappears faster than it came. “Besides, if you keep gracing me with your presence, that’s good enough payment for me.” He smirks and winks.
I stride up to the car and slowly circle the beautiful vehicle. The inside is fully black as well. And leather. It’s so sleek. I want to live in it.
“Goddess, this is sexy,” I whisper.
“Well, I wasn’t going to give you the SUV you stole last night, even though I know how much you loved it,” he laughs at himself. That SUV was disgusting.
I run over to him in a flash and tackle him in a giant hug. “Whoa, Fal.” He catches me and hugs me back. “Be careful. I might start to think you might actually like me.”
“Thank you,” I tell him. He grins widely at me.
“You’re welcome.”
“No, seriously. Thank you for everything,”
I whimper, hoping he understands I mean earlier too.
“No problem.” He places something in my hand. “Now, go enjoy the car before I do it for you.”
In my hand are the keys. I smile and run to the car.
“Oh, your bags and everything are in the trunk!” he yells right before I slam the door shut. I nod in acknowledgment and wave.
I gaze around my new car. My new car. It has 8” touchscreen and navigation and I can pair it with my phone and listen to my music. I look down at the gear shift and nearly squeak with elation. He got the stick shift option instead of the paddle shifts. I may marry this car.
I pair my phone and turn my music on shuffle. I push the ignition button and it roars to life under my fingers. An uncharacteristic giggle escapes from my lips.
Holy shit holy shit holy shit.
I pull out of the driveway and head to the Complex. A chill runs down my spine at the revving of the engine. I push down on the gas and shoot forward fast enough to make my head slap back onto the head rest. I shift quickly, whooping at how badass I feel when my music shuffles, landing on a song..
“Need to get devils out of me.
Turning into a monster, you’ve gotta see.
Killing my demons so finally.
Releasing the shadows, they’re killing me..”
The lyrics of Friend’s and Smore’s “Hazard” make me smile darkly at the road. I wonder what Nina would think of this…
No, dammit. Leave her alone.
And yet, without realizing what I’m doing, I turn and head in the direction of The Bean. I have to see her. I know I said I need to stay away from her, but I don’t seem to want to pay attention to the rational part of my brain right now. Maybe I just need one more fix of this Nina drug I’m on that makes me crazy.
I push down on the clutch, shifting into fourth gear with a devilish smile. I press my foot harder on the gas pedal, lift my foot off the clutch and laugh darkly as my car glides forward. My lips stay in a smile as I listen to the roar of the engine.
After twenty or so minutes, I can see The Bean and…..
Damn.
There’s Nina. She’s sitting at the table we’ve sat at for our past two conversations. Her hair is down and wavy. She’s wearing flared jeans and a forest green sweater with a burgundy scarf and beanie. I think she’s writing in a journal.
Okay, I’ve seen her. Now I need to go the hell home. Thankfully, she hasn’t seen me. I’m almost out of her sight.
Ah, hell. Just when I think the coast is clear, she looks up and directly into my soul. We make eye contact and sadness floods her features. My heart aches at the pain clearly present in her eyes. It hurts me more than it should; more than I want it to. I pull my eyes away and try to focus on the road, but I find myself flicking my gaze to the rearview mirror. Nina stares after me until I can no longer see her. The guilt comes back and becomes lodged in my throat. I try to swallow it down, but it doesn’t seem to want to go away this time. Great.
I speed back to the Complex to get this mess over with. I pull up to the gate and push my Paw card up to the sensor. It beeps and opens the gate. I get an appreciative head nod from the guard as he stares at my car. My lips tilt up slightly and I speed through the gate. I grab my backpack, rifle, and weapons bag from the trunk of the car and head across the Complex with Cosma’s office in mind. Again, most Lupi stay away from me and some don’t even acknowledge my existence. The ones that accidently come too close nod respectfully and keep walking with their heads down.
After I’ve been walking for a few minutes, the clap of shoes running across the ground behind me catches my attention.
“Hello, Nathan,” I say without turning around or stopping.
“Ughhhhh. Come on, Fal.” The kid groans at me. I keep on walking, but he catches up. “How do you catch me every single time?” I snort.
“You should be sneakier.”
“Well, what am I doing wrong?” I still don’t stop to look at him.
“Nathan, I don’t have time for this.”
Everyone knows I like to be left alone. I definitely don’t like to be bothered by kids. I especially don’t like to be bothered by eight-year-old kids named Nathan, but apparently he doesn’t know that. Or, if he does, he doesn’t care. “I have to turn in a Proof.”
“Woah.” I finally glance over at him and his misty gray eyes are wide. He’s grown into his high cheekbones more since I last saw him. His dark and short brown hair and tanned, sepia skin make him look just like his mom. The only difference between them is that Nathan actually smiles. “Did you just finish a job?” he inquires in awe and pulls me back to the present. Even if it’s right back into my annoyance.
I must try to keep my patience with him. He’s not like other Lupi I know. He shows emotion and doesn’t care. I don’t really know how to explain it because I can’t grasp the concept. He doesn’t want to turn them off. I huff.
“Yes.” I keep walking, albeit a little faster so he can maybe get the hint. Unfortunately, he doesn’t.
“Was the person bad?”
I stop in my tracks and glare at him.
“Of course he was bad!” I yell and immediately regret it. He flinches. I soften my voice only a little. “Everyone we have to kill is bad, Nathan,” I answer him in confusion.
“No, I mean…were they really bad?” he asks again, this time his voice is a whisper.
I hesitate. Either he’s really confused or I don’t understand the question. “Yes. He won’t be hurting anyone again.” I have a moment of weakness and squeeze his shoulder in an act of something close to compassion. He’s up to my shoulder in height now. He’s a little shorter than a Lupi his age should be, but he isn’t like most of us. I turn and keep walking. Nathan doesn’t follow.
“You’re pretty cool, Fal.” I jerk to a stop, but don’t turn around. My chest aches in a way that’s becoming too familiar for my liking. “I hope I can be half the assassin that you are one day.” I hear him turn to walk off.
I duck my head, wanting to shake off the ache. He struck a nerve somewhere inside of me and my new-found friend, guilt, is threatening to dislodge itself from my throat and come pouring out of my mouth.
“Nathan,” I call to him and turn around. He quirks his head slightly so he can see me. “You’re running too heavily. As soon as one foot even taps the ground, the other should come off. Pretend you’re running on a cloud. If your feet stay on the cloud too long, you’ll fall through.” A grin spreads across his face and he nods in excitement. He moves to run off. “And Nathan,” I call to him again and he looks at me. “That tip is only for you.” I attempt a wink that I learned from watching Ash. He makes a big deal about pretending to zip his lips and throw away the key before running off, pulling his feet way too high off the ground. I snort at the sight and continue on to his mom’s office.
I make it up the stairs of death. My boot thuds echo in the hallway and I pass a pissed off looking Lupi leaving Cosma’s office. I blow out a laughing breath.
She really has that effect on people.
I walk in with my shoulders rolled back and slap the Proof on her desk. I take a giant step back and wait. She flicks her eyes up from the file she’s writing in and gives me an annoyed once over.
“Well well.” She clicks her tongue. “Look at you, finishing the job several days before your deadline.” She rolls her gray eyes. “I’m assuming you got the girls out as well?” she asks with an evil, knowing smile and a raise of her eyebrows.
“Yes, and I took them to the hospital for their…injuries,” I stutter. I almost slap myself. Showing emotion in front of Cosma is not okay.
“Good,” she clucks, ignoring my slip. She pulls out a file and slips the proof inside. “Did you call on any Voítheia to assist you?” I nod my head once. “I’m assuming it was Ash?” I nod again and she chuckles. I’ve never heard that sound come from her. I’m surprised dust didn’t fly out of her mouth with it.
“All right then.” She laces her
fingers together, places them on her desk, and examines me. “Take a few days off.”
“Uh, what?” I’ve had a day off, but a few?
“You heard me. I’ll call you when I need you again. Have a break and I’ll see you soon.” And with that, she picks up another file and begins writing. I guess that means I’m dismissed?
After walking all the way to my apartment, I still can’t wrap my head around having more than one day off. At the same time, I’m relieved. Time off will help me fix whatever emotion switch was flipped on inside of me.
I throw my bags on the light brown hardwood floor of my apartment. I open my book bag to pull out my favorite leather jacket to assess the damage, but instead I find a brand spanking new one with a note:
Fal,
Your other jacket was ruined. This one is on me. Get back in tip top, ass kicking shape.
Xo,
Invidia
Oh. Oh.
I pick the jacket up and hold it out in front of me. It’s even nicer than my other one. I slide my arms in the sleeves. It’s a perfect fit and easy to move in. It took weeks for my other one to be comfortable enough to wear. I give the air a few punches and the jacket doesn’t restrict my movements.
Yes. It’s perfect. This was so nice of her and I’m officially the worst person ever. I’m going to make it my goal to be nicer to her.
And maybe to other people too. I don’t know, I don’t want to be too irrational.
I hang the jacket in my closet and run my hand over the smooth, black sleeve one more time before I go get in the shower.
After removing the stitch from my already healed shoulder and gently cleaning the wound on my side—which, I’ll be able to pull the stitches out of it tomorrow; tonight if I’m feeling like a rebel—I brush out my wet hair, braid it, and throw on some boxer briefs and a black sports bra. I fall into my bed with a groan. My body needs rest to heal. I am so sore.
I slip into a deep, dreamless sleep. Maybe I’ll wake up and this will have all been a dream.
Chapter 14
Nope. Not a dream.
