by Regan Ure
He set me down on the counter.
"We need to clean up." He turned the shower on and adjusted the stream to the right temperature.
He turned to face me.
"You promise not to do anything if I leave you alone in here?" he asked as he helped me stand. The blanket that had covered me fell to the floor. I should have felt embarrassed at only being dressed in my underwear, but it was pointless to care because he'd seen it all before.
It took a moment for me to understand what he was saying.
"I won't do anything," I said in a whisper.
"Promise me," he insisted as his green eyes pierced mine.
"I promise." He believed me, because he handed me a towel and then left me alone in the bathroom to shower.
I stripped my underwear off and threw it into the sink as I climbed into the shower. Under the steady stream of water, I washed every inch of my body, trying to get rid of the memories as the blood washed away. I took off the bandage around my wrist. There was nothing. The cut was totally healed--there wasn't even a scar. I washed my hair as well. I felt so much better when I stepped out of the shower with the towel wrapped around my body.
I walked into the guest bedroom. It was a nice room decorated in a pastel green, which was a soothing color. On the bed I spotted a change of clothes for me. They were my own clothes. Next to my neatly folded clothes was my toothbrush and hairbrush. Someone must have gone back to my house and gotten all of this for me.
It was nice to be able to change into my own clothes. When I saw the bra and panties, I really hoped it was one of the girls who had fetched the clothes for me. Once I finished changing I sat on the bed. Feeling tired, I climbed onto the bed and lay down. I closed my eyes. Not long after I heard the door open, but I was too tired to look. Besides, I was pretty sure it would be Jared.
The bed dipped and I felt him lie down next to me. I opened my eyes to see Jared's familiar eyes watching me. His finger touched my cheek gently. His blood free face and the fresh smell of soap told me he'd showered as well. His touch was soft and comforting. The truth was out. I didn't have to hide it anymore. The weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.
I thought about Anne.
"Anne--"
"I got Neve to answer any message Anne sent. She has no idea what happened."
I sighed with relief. After everything I'd been through, I was exhausted and I didn't think I could keep my eyes open any longer.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"Shh," he soothed, "get some sleep. The loss of blood and healing has taken a lot out of you. We'll talk after we get some rest. No one will harm you."
I felt safe. I hadn't felt safe for a while. I drifted off to sleep.
It was early evening when I opened my eyes to find Jared watching me as he lay beside me. Unsure of what to say, I stared back at him silently.
"How did you figure out that you were changing?" he asked quietly after a few moments of silence.
"I overhead you and some of the others talking after my attack. Catherine asked if Mason had attacked me because they were trying to change humans. I felt so different afterward. It was hard to figure out if it was because I was changing into something else or just suffering from residual shock."
"What made you realize that you were changing?" he asked softly when I paused.
"I cut my finger and it healed." That had been the first sign. "Then I shocked myself trying to open a door and my eyes did that strange film thing that yours do when you guys exert power."
He never said a word. He just continued to lie across from me and listen intently to me.
"The afternoon I disappeared, I discovered I could shoot energy out of my hand."
"That was the residual Hue energy Danny discovered in the clearing?" he asked, sounding very surprised.
"Yes. That's when I realized what exactly I was changing into."
My mind went back to the day he'd kissed me for the first time. Telling him I hadn't felt the same way for him as he did for me had been my way to protect myself against him discovering my secret. Now that my secret was out, I didn't know where we went from here. He'd been getting pretty close to Felicity, so there was a chance that there was no going back and I'd lost him.
"Is that why you told me you weren't interested? Because you thought you were becoming a Hue?" he whispered. His eyes held mine. It was as if he'd been able to read my thoughts.
"Yes," I whispered back.
"So you and Andrew..." he started, still staring at me intently. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"There is nothing going on between us. He was just a friend doing another friend a favor," I admitted.
His expression was unreadable. His hand reached out and brushed my cheek softly. I held my breath at his tender touch, trying to stay calm on the outside while my heart sped up.
Everything around us ceased to exist as he moved closer. His hand glided to the back of my neck to pull me gently closer. His mouth covered mine and I felt my stomach summersault at the intimate action. Then his tongue swept against the seam of my lips. My hands were bunched in his shirt as I held onto him, the intensity of the kiss threatening to sweep me away. I gasped and his tongue pushed forward and tangled with mine. A flurry of excitement erupted inside me as his body moved closer and his arm held me tighter.
Felicity. It was like a cold bucket of water being poured over me. I broke my lips from his and pushed him away. I backed up off the bed, needing to put space between us. He just sat on the bed and ran his hand through his hair. His forehead creased in confusion.
"What's wrong?" he asked breathlessly.
"Felicity," I said as I watched his reaction. He stood up and walked to me. "You guys have been so close the past few days," I said, trying to make sense of what I'd seen and the all-consuming kiss we'd just shared.
"There is nothing going on between Felicity and me," he stated. I frowned.
He smirked at me and I tried to think back to all the interactions I'd seen between the two of them. Then I realized that although they'd seemed close, not once had I seen them kiss or anything that would shout to the outside world that it was more than friends.
"You were jealous," he said, as if he'd just figured it out. "Felicity and I have a history, but there is nothing going on between us now."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I was stunned. He smiled as he took my hand into his.
"I couldn't understand how you went from kissing me to telling me you didn't feel the same way in such a short space of time. It made no sense," he began to explain. His hand tugged me closer before I responded.
"I've been experiencing times when I don't feel any emotions, like all my emotions have evaporated. When I told you I didn't feel the same about the kiss, I was having one of them," I told him honestly. There was a moment of concern in his expression at the mention of the change before it disappeared.
The small action reminded me that no matter what was happening between us we still had far more urgent things to think about, like me changing into a Hue.
"Why didn't you tell me when you first figured it out?" he whispered, brushing my cheek gently with his hand.
"The Hue are ruthless psychopaths and I'm turning into one of them. I had no idea how you guys would react. For all I knew you would view me as the enemy that needed to be removed."
He hugged me close to him and laid my head against his chest, taking a deep breath and letting it out.
"I would never hurt you and neither would any of the other Archaic," he explained as his arms tightened around me protectively.
He cared about me and I cared about him, but that wouldn't stop what was happening to me.
I pulled away from him.
"I'm changing into a monster," I reminded him in a tired voice. I'd been thinking about this nonstop since discovering what I was becoming. "I don't know how much longer I have before I won't have any feelings or emotions left. I don't want to become a monster that is capable of m
urdering innocent people in cold blood. What if I hurt someone I care about?" I said with despair.
"Is that why you tried to kill yourself?" he said softly. He hadn't made a move to touch me again.
"I wasn't trying to kill myself when you found me."
He frowned.
"I was scared that I wouldn't have the courage to do the right thing when the time came so I did what I did to prove to myself that I could do it."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was struggling with what I said.
I touched his hand and he opened his eyes to find mine.
"Nothing has changed. I'm becoming one of them," I stated to him, but he didn't understand what I was saying immediately. I took his hands in my hands and held them. I looked at our hands and then I looked back at him. A fierceness in his eyes appeared when he realized what I was saying.
"I won't let you hurt yourself," he vowed as his green eyes darkened with the intensity of his emotion.
It was hard to understand that was the only way to stop what was happening to me, but I couldn't see another way out.
"You can't stop me," I reminded him, pulling my hands free of his. This was my life and my conscience. I wouldn't have the blood of victims on my hands.
Over time, I had wavered slightly in what I knew was the right thing to do, but then I had I forced myself to remember the way Mason had looked at me. That cold, cruel look as he'd inflicted the unbearable pain on me.
"Yes, I can. I will watch you every second of every day. Do you understand?" he said forcefully, with a determined look on his face. He meant every word he said.
"You can't let me become a monster," I told him, my voice hoarse with emotion as my eyes pleaded with his.
He held my gaze before he pulled a hand through his hair.
"There's still time for us to try and find a way to save you," he argued. His hands held my arms. I tried to look away, but his fingers caught my chin and tilted my face so that his eyes held mine.
"You owe me time. I need time to try and save you, you owe me that." The last part came out as a whisper. The heartbreak of this whole situation nearly overwhelmed me at that moment.
We were lucky if we had a week, and if I delayed what I had to do, I would no longer have the conscience to do the right thing.
"If I give you time, I might not be able to kill myself, because I won't care anymore."
My despair dripped out of my voice. He needed to understand that I was running out of time.
He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead, resting it on mine. I closed my eyes. We stood like that for a few minutes. He pulled away slightly. I opened my eyes and he was staring at me.
"If you give me time and I can't save you, I will make sure you don't become a monster. I give you my word," he promised me.
His dark eyes held mine. I knew what that meant. If he couldn't help save me, he would make sure I didn't live long enough to turn totally in a Hue and become a psychopath.
"You promise?" I whispered to him as I gripped his arms. I trusted him with my life, but could I trust him to take it when I needed him to? It was asking a lot of him. Could he do it? My eyes searched his.
"I promise." He said it with such conviction that I knew he would keep his word, even if it killed him to do it.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him close.
"Then I promise to give you time," I whispered back. His arms wrapped around me and hold me tightly against him. I felt his lips press a gentle kiss to my forehead. We stood there, just the two of us, holding each other like we never wanted to let go.
He broke away first. "Come," he said, pulling me toward the door. "We need to call everyone and get them here. I'm hoping someone will have an idea. If not, we can start contacting some of the nearby Archaic groups and asking them. We're already running out of time."
I followed him into his room. It had been tidied. There was no evidence of what had happened here before. His bed had clean linen and my bloodied sheet was gone. He let go of my hand and reached for his phone on his desk. I stood and watched as he phoned all the Archaic. They were on their way.
I felt hungry. It was probably from all the healing. I looked up and saw Jared studying me.
"Come," he said and led me downstairs to the kitchen. He made me a quick sandwich and set it down in front of me.
"Thank you," I said as I took a bite.
Catherine joined us in the kitchen.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she walked into the room. She touched my arm gently.
"Yes," I replied with a nervous nod.
I was worried she wouldn't be able to be around me because I was turning into a monster, the same type of monster who had hurt her. I wouldn't have blamed her if she'd wanted to keep her distance from me but to my surprise she hugged me like a mother hugged her child.
"We will find a way," she assured softly and then released me. I didn't know what to say so I nodded instead.
Jared sat down next to me by the kitchen counter. I finished my food and I began to feel better.
While Jared and his mom racked their brains trying to come up with ways to save me, I quietly sat back and watched them. His hand crept over mine and held it. I still couldn't believe he felt the same. I squeezed his hand. He glanced at me and flashed me a knowing smile, it was like he could tell I was thinking of him. I blushed.
He was still watching me when I felt the change take over. He continued to watch as he noticed the slight changes in my expression as my emotions slipped away. I looked at his hand holding mine with curiosity before I pulled my hand out of his.
"Ava?" he asked as I glanced around the kitchen.
"I'm fine," I replied stiffly. Jared and his mother looked at each other. I had no doubt they knew I'd just entered an emotionless state.
The doorbell rang.
"You stay with her," Jared instructed to his mom when he left to answer the front door. I stared blankly ahead as Catherine remained in the kitchen with me. She gave me a friendly smile, but I didn't smile back.
Faint voices could be heard coming from outside the kitchen. A few minutes later, Jared walked into the kitchen. I could see from the indecision on his face--he was unsure of how to handle me.
"They're waiting for us," he informed me. I rose to my feet and followed Jared as he led the way to the living room, making sure not to touch him.
I walked into a room full of Archaic, not feeling my usual nervousness. They were all sitting in their usual seats. Jared pulled up a chair for me and I sat down. I felt their eyes on me as Jared stood next to me. Catherine walked past me and sat down in her usual spot, the single chair next to a non-smiling Jennifer.
So many Archaic in one room would normally be daunting, but with no emotions I simply felt indifferent. I looked at all of them directly, waiting for the conversation to start. They all seemed to be watching me with fascination, but I remained stone-like under their eyes.
Tyler and Danny watched me closely, their eyes sharp, missing nothing. They'd seen what I was changing into and they had seen what I was capable of but, unlike Jared, they didn't trust me.
Catherine was the first to speak.
"When Ava was attacked by Mason, we had no idea why. It looks like he attacked her with the intention of changing her."
Everyone was silent, their eyes still fixed on me.
"What exactly is she changing into?" Nathaniel asked, his eyes not leaving me.
"A Hue," Jared answered as he stood by my side.
"A Hue," Jennifer said angrily as she stood up. Jared stepped protectively in front of me. His hands opened toward her, determined to protect me.
"Don't even think about it," he warned with an underlying note of ruthless power. He wasn't afraid of her. "I told you all before, no one lays a finger on her," he calmly reminded her.
I watched Jennifer shake her head in disbelief, but she sat back down. She wasn't strong enough to take Jared on. He was a Descendant. Even though Jennifer wasn't
a threat anymore, Jared remained in front of me.
"I know we all hate the Hue, and rightly so. We've all been affected by them and I understand that," Jared said. They all nodded their heads in agreement. "But Ava hasn't done anything to anyone. She hasn't chosen this."
Wide eyes now studied me. I still felt nothing as I held their gazes.
"She doesn't want to become a Hue. She knows that once she loses her emotions, she will become like Mason," he informed them. I picked up the emotion in his voice when he spoke the words. Like Mason.
"What happens if we can't find a way to stop it?" Jennifer asked the question that I was sure everyone wanted the answer to.
Jared turned to look at me. I lifted my eyes to meet his and stared blankly back at him.
"I'll make sure she doesn't change totally," he whispered. He turned back to look at the others.
"What does that mean?" Sarah asked quietly with a frown.
"It means that if we can't find a way to stop Ava from completing the change, I'll end it for her. I promised her I won't let her turn into one of them," he revealed. Nathaniel nodded his head while the others seemed to be still taking it all in.
"How long do you think we have?" Tyler asked in a contemplative voice as he rubbed his chin.
"I don't know," Jared answered honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe a week, maybe less."
They looked around among themselves. They understood what a dire situation this was, because the chances of them finding a way to save me were very slim. I could see from their faces that they didn't believe they would find a way to save me.
"How can we trust that you'll do what needs to be done when the time comes?" asked Jennifer. "We can see you care for her. How do we know you will be able to do it?"
Everyone turned and watched Jared's response to the question.
"It's because I care for her that you can trust me to do what needs to be done. I don't want her to become one of them," he answered them. They didn't question him further.
I continued to sit there in silence. Neve was the next one to ask a question that everyone wanted to ask. "Why is she acting so strangely?"
