by B C Morgan
I felt frustrated by his blatant refusal and refused to concede that easily.
“Let me guess, he’s the son of a god and it’s he’s own unique ability,” I stated as I mockingly chose a few of Mihaela’s words to throw at him.
“What are you talking about?” He asked as an unknown emotion flashed across his eyes.
“Nothing, I was just messing with you,” I replied, knowing that he probably thought that I was a little unhinged due to what I had just spurted out to him.
He nodded almost solemnly before he retreated back out of the room and I was yet again left to my own devices, where I proceeded to remove myself from the bed and ran an excruciatingly hot bath to soak my aching body in.
Z
Lawson
I couldn’t believe Kat’s audacity to manhandle me out of the room, who the hell did she think she was. I had spun towards her, my fierce eyes locking onto her scornful ones.
“What the hell did you mean by that comment about the blood?” She fired the question straight at me, her gaze narrowing within her condemnation.
“When I arrived, she had been busy pummelling her aunt until she was close to death, I didn’t think she was going to stop, but I asked her too. She eventually turned away and walked towards me, by this time her aunt was completely out of it but she’d completely forgotten about the guy who was also there.
She wasn’t close enough for me to react when he bulldozed into her, they were so close to the cliff edge that I didn’t know what to do. Fortunately for me, he presented a clear opening while he straddled her legs and began to choke the life out of her. He was going to kill her Kat so I did what was necessary, I sliced my dagger across his throat and unfortunately it landed on her face.”
Kat’s razor like eyes drilled a hole right through me, as though she was searching for my very soul.
“What did she do?” She asked clearly concerned for poor little Unya.
“She didn’t do anything, there wasn’t a single reaction on her part, she didn’t even recoil from having his blood coating her. At first, I thought she was too far gone to really notice anything, but then when she awoke and clearly had a full recollection of the events and she still wasn’t fazed it made me start wondering exactly why that was. I think there is something seriously wrong with that girl and gods help us if she really is the one that the oracle had spoken of.”
Kat stood there looked completely thrown, she started to reach her hand out towards me, before she quickly pulled back and turned her back on me.
“I don’t know if I can stand back and watch you hurt this girl Lawson, whether by your actual hand or just a backlash of the choices you make, she deserves more than that and you need to stop pretending to be her friend. It’s just too damn cruel and I never thought, even after everything you have done over the years, that you were that sadistic and beyond compassion.”
With that said, she left my sight and went back to check on Unya.
Chapter Eighteen
Unya
Kat had graciously offered me some more of her clothes and even though I had wanted to say no, I was left with very little choice as she informed me that my favourite jeans had been damaged beyond repair.
For a split second I had thought that I had been angered by that news, but pushed that thought away, knowing better than to cling on to false hope of that side of me, ever starting to heal.
I had visions of Kat giving me yet another dress, that would leave absolutely nothing to the imagination, but was pleasantly surprised when I climbed out of the tub and found a pile of neatly folded clothes that had been placed on a chair just by the door.
There was a pair of black supple leather trousers, which melded to my hips like a second skin, as well as a white loose fitted blouse with a black corset that fit just beneath my breasts and finished just above my hips. I pulled my black wavy hair away from my back and pulled it up into a quick messy bun.
I found myself staring at my reflection and wondered how there wasn’t a single trace of bruising, my complexion was still blemish free and was now as pale as alabaster. My cheek bones seemed more pronounced and I wondered when that happened, I mean I had always been slim but it seemed as though I had lost some of my natural curves. I took one last look at the clothes that had been adorned to me and realised that I didn’t dislike the style, it may have even flattered me even, a lot more than the attitude style that I always favoured before.
I exited the bathroom and found Kat sitting on her freshly made bed, her eyes connecting with mine instantly.
“I knew that would suit you divinely and I have been proven right,” She stated with a clap of her hands.
I smiled slightly under her praise, as she rose to her feet and slowly made her way over to me.
“Unya I know that this is only really our second official time meeting, but I must say that I have taken quite a liking to you and I hate the idea of you befalling the same fate that led you to my door a second time.”
“I thank you dearly for your hospitality Kat and I really do appreciate it but please do not worry about me. I have no intention of going back to that hag’s house unless I am heavily protected first. The only thing is, she has access to money that was left to me and she will keep on spending it until I turn eighteen. I can’t allow her to have that luxury any longer, that’s if she even survived the onslaught that I managed to deal her in return,” I replied, forgetting to apply a mask of fake emotions as I did so.
“There is something different about you Unya, it’s almost as though you are unaffected by all the atrocities that this world has. How is that even possible, I mean are you really unaffected by it all or do you just hide it really well?”
Kat had been so nice to me that I did not want to lie to her or blatantly refuse to answer her question, but I couldn’t think of a way to answer it without revealing my secret. It had taken me many years to finally confide in Addy, how could I now possibly do that to someone that I barely even knew.
“I can’t explain why, but it really doesn’t affect me Kat, I have lived through so much pain and anguish that I guess I have become a little numb to the horrors that are still around in this world.” Once I said this, I plastered on my best fake smile and pulled her into a friendly embrace.
“You need a way to protect yourself physically if you ever want any advice on self-defence, don’t hesitate to stop by. I’m familiar with a couple fighting styles and I’m sure we could find one that would suit you,” she stated with a mega-watt grin before awkwardly patting me on the back and moving out of my way, so that I could exit her room and make my way to her front door.
“Leaving already?”
I spun around and my gaze locked onto the steel grey of Lawson’s, I nodded sharply, but found that I did not have a single word to utter in response.
“Well then you should be careful, I won’t always be around to protect you,” he stated in a tone that was full of condescension.
“I have never asked for your protection, you just keep on throwing yourself in the middle of my life,” I stated, trying to act like I was pissed off by his manner.
“You may not have asked for it, but you have clearly needed it every single time. Pull your head out of your arse and realise that you are not invincible and one of these days, the grim reaper is going to be pounding on your door.”
Once he said that, he turned his back on me and slowly started to walk away. I wanted to let him go, but a little voice inside of me just kept saying ‘how dare he’ where the hell did he get off, talking to me like that. I mean it’s not as though we were even friends, to be honest I had no idea what kind of category to put us into.
I silently marched over to him, wanting to catch him off guard, when I placed my hand onto his bicep and spun him around towards me and then I came up short.
His eyes were full of fire as anger pulsed its way through him, he grabbed both of my biceps in turn and slammed me into the wall that was next to us.
He pla
ced the palms of his hands either side of my head, effectively trapping me in place as his eyes locked onto mine and held them captive.
His breathing was ragged and I could feel the warmth of it caressing my face, as he leaned his forehead against mine. The anger was still clearly raging behind his eyes and I kept quiet as the battle waged inside him.
“You really shouldn’t sneak up on me darling,” he started as his breathing began to steady out and the battle in his eyes had clearly been won.
“Yeah, I kind of gathered that, in the aftermath,” I replied, noticing that our positions had not changed.
I placed my hands on his chest, getting ready to push him away when his fingers curled around my wrists and held them in place.
“I meant what I said Unya, you do need to be more careful unless you desire your life to become forfeit.”
“I Don’t have a death wish, if that is what you are trying to insinuate, I just seem to find myself in precarious situations,” I stated this, as I glanced down at out positions.
A sly grin donned his face, but he slowly backed away as he released his hold on my wrists.
“Kat said that she would help me learn to protect myself better, do you think it would be wise of me to accept her offer.”
He made a clucking sound with his tongue, before slowly shaking his head.
“Kat can look after herself perfectly, but I don’t think her style would suit you very well,” he stated, barely meeting my gaze anymore.
“How could you know that?” I enquired, actually genuinely curious.
“Because I helped her train, when we first met, she only knew a few basic moves. Enough to keep her safe sure, but there was no flourish to it, thanks to me she can now brandish a knife like a pro.” He said this with a smug air around him.
“Would you help me then, I mean I can throw a mean left hook, but that’s about where my skill ends. If I can get to them first then I know I’ve won. But clearly after what happened with Jackie and Martin, I don’t know enough like I once thought I did.”
“Trust me Unya, even if you managed to land a few strikes with me, that would not set you for a victory. But as to your query of assistance, I don’t think it would work out very well. I’m not an easy trainer, I will throw you in at the deep end and if you were to drown, I wouldn’t be there to pull you out.”
I regarded his words, but all I heard was a challenge, and had always refused to back down to one in the past, so why should now be any different. I basically told him as much and with a dubious look he agreed to help me and with that in agreement and a date set for a week from now I headed off.
The destination, being my apparent Nonna’s cottage and hoping that I would be able to make myself sit down and listen to everything she had to say.
Chapter Nineteen
Unya
With my car still situated at Jackie’s I was drawing a blank as to how to get to Mihaela’s, at one point I was reached for my phone and then remembered that Jackie had broken it beyond recognition. I stood outside of the electric gate that adorned their property wondering what the hell I was supposed to do when Kat started to call to me. I glanced over my shoulder and watched as she walked down her driveway, heading straight for me.
She pulled me in to another hug and then grabbed hold of my fist placing a phone and a pile of cash into my palm.
I had no idea what I was supposed to do, so I just shook my head repeatedly, feeling only a little moronic.
“Kat, I can’t take this, it’s too much.”
“Look Unya, the last place I want you to go is back to your aunt’s, so let’s just call it a loan and you can pay me back once you get yourself sorted. I’ve already programmed my number into it for you, so if you need anything at all please call me, I really couldn’t bare if anything were to happen to you.”
I swear that her eyes began to water up as she spoke, but as quickly as she could blink, the water seemed to dry up instantly. She gave me a weak smile before she slowly walked back up to her house and I started to head for town.
Luckily for me I knew Addy’s number by heart and quickly called her.
She answered on the fourth ring and the moment she heard my voice, hers broke out into sobs.
She explained how she had been terrified for me after the phone had disconnected so suddenly after she heard Jackie’s voice, she wanted to call the police but her sister had prevented her from doing so.
Her sister wasn’t aware of my history with Jackie and always presumed the black eyes, fat lips and numerous other bruises were a result of me throwing myself into yet another altercation.
I told her not to be mad at her sister and that I was perfectly fine, but that Jackie destroyed my phone and I only just managed to get a replacement. She ordered me to go over to hers to see her and I promised I would, once I finished what I needed to do. That seemed to placate her for the moment, but not without getting my solemn oath that I would not return to that death trap of a house.
Once I had finally managed to end the call, I reached the outskirts of town. I wasn’t really sure what my next step was going to be, other than finding my way to Mihaela’s before the night set in. It was nearly four in the afternoon and I knew that the only way I could really get to hers was to get a taxi ride to the cemetery and then continue on foot.
By the time I got to my destination it was close to half four and I was starting to doubt my decision to just show up at her place, I sat down on a wooden bench that was close to her grave stone when someone sat down next to me.
I looked over towards the unknown person and was met with a familiar set of blue eyes.
“If it isn’t little Luna, I thought it may have been you but the hair colour threw me off for a moment,” He stated as he drew a lock of my hair through his fingers.
I slightly moved away from him, but he just moved even closer than he had been before.
“What can I say, I felt like a change!” I exclaimed, wondering why he would strike up a conversation with me.
“It definitely suits you more than that blonde ever did and such a luxurious feel, must have been a very expensive hair dye dear unless this is your true colour.”
His eyes dared me to lie to him and luckily, he hadn’t yet made skin on skin contact with me, so I found myself agreeing that it had been.
“I don’t believe that for a moment, but it does beg the question, as to why you would want to alter anything on yourself, you are truly exquisite.”
“Maybe I didn’t want to be recognised by creeps like you,” I replied fiercely, my eyes blazing into his.
He reached out for me, but I quickly stood up, not that it did much as he quickly followed the action, but didn’t try to reach for me again.
“Don’t even think about it, the last time you made contact with me I felt things that I had no right in feeling, like I wasn’t in control of myself anymore.”
His eyes widened in shock at my revelation and I wondered if I should have kept my mouth shut.
“You knew. That is quite a trick that you possess, but now it makes me want to know what you are even more, you have piqued my curiosity love and I have to know.”
With that said he grabbed hold of my arm and used his free hand to cup my cheek. I suddenly felt as though I was drunk as I began to sway unwittingly close towards him. I was hit with an overwhelming sense of euphoria and I felt as if I was floating on a cloud and knew that he was definitely doing something to me.
“Please, just stop,” I pleaded, hating the desperation that came out in my voice.
“How can you tell that it is me, it is unheard of,” He stated, completely bewildered.
I had no idea where it came from, but I found myself agreeing to tell him if he would just let go, which he eagerly agreed too, and we resumed our previous seated positions.
His eyes burned into me, as he waited for me to explain but all I could think about was how I could get out of this situation without him grabbing hold of me again. It was like
his touch could intoxicate me, and I didn’t want to discover what else it could do.
“I’m not going to go into too much details, as to how it happened but when I was fourteen an event occurred in my life that change me for the worse, I guess. Sometimes I believe that it was a blessing in disguise, but I always find myself wishing that I could just be like everyone else. But ignore my digress, what I am trying to say is that since that day, I have been emotionally numb. I can feel physical pain, but it doesn’t bother me, I could have a broken leg and I would still walk on it. So, when you touched me and made me feel lust and a sense of euphoria, I just knew that it hadn’t come from me. The only conclusion that I could muster, was that you must have been responsible.”
“That’s amazing, it’s refreshing to meet someone who can tell when they are being influenced. It’s aggravating, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also quite uplifting,” He stated his intent gaze never once wavering.
“How do you do it?” I inquired, genuinely curious.
“You really don’t know, I just assumed with your association with Lawson, that you would have been familiar with my kind or at least have some knowledge of us.”
I laughed at his choice of words, it was mirthless and his eyes narrowed as I did so.
“Sorry it’s a reflex to fake my emotions around people, I’ve only ever told one person about my greatest flaw, but I guess I have told two now.”
“You do not need to fake anything around me, I know the struggles that you have faced trying to fit in. Don’t get me wrong, I have never been without someone glued to my side but it’s all pretend. They only want me for the things that I can make them feel, It’s a rather lonely existence.”
“What did you mean by your kind, you almost make it sound as if you’re not human,” I stated, trying to say it jokingly, but his face turned ashen and his eyes darkened.
