The Clepsydra

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

I take a deep breath in through my nose, unwrapping myself from my personal bubble as I reluctantly bring myself back down to earth to my present realization. Before standing, I pick up the pieces of paper, tracing each with gentle fingers before making my way to my room to put them somewhere where I can go through them later. My head is slowly clearing from its previous fogginess, my feet going from a slow walk to a jog towards my room when I finally come back to reality.

After carefully putting the documents and letter in my bedside table, where I know they'll be safe, I jog back to a waiting Aidan standing outside my door. I open up for him, grabbing my bag from its spot on the floor and head back over to him.

"Sorry that took so long...I just ran into something unexpected while getting ready." I mildly shove past him, plonking my backpack on the front porch while I lock the door behind me and put the keys in my bag.

As I'm picking up my bag again, I feel Aidan's strong large hands gently being placed on my shoulder, preventing me from walking off my porch and towards his truck.

"Elena, what's going on? You forget that you give off vibes to all those attuned to them now that you're part of the Clepsydra. What did you find while getting ready? Did something happen while you were out with Anna?" His voice sounds concerned, his hands gently turning me around to look at my face.

How do you pull the wool over someone's inner eye when they're like a sniffer hound for my unrelenting and uncontrollable emotions?

His green-bronze eyes soften, the corners crinkling as he bows his head to look at me closer and takes my chin in his hand. "Come on Elena, what happened? Was there someone there? Did they try and get too you? Speak to me, please..."

I turn my head, lightly moving it out of his grasp as I walk towards the truck with him right on my tail.

"Aidan, I don't want to talk about it. You were just right is all." I climb into the truck, the door slamming shut as he climbs in next to me.

He sits there, remaining silent and not moving an inch for a few moments, nothing else to be heard except both of us breathing while I look out the window and try to avoid eye contact.

"Come on Aidan, we have training soon. We need to get going-"

He cuts me off, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. "We're not going anywhere until you promise to start talking. Elena, you're not helping anyone by keeping things to yourself. The Clepsydra are stronger as a unit...it's easy to rip a single page in half, but bind many together into a thick book and there's no ways a single person can break it. The truck doesn't start moving unless your mouth does."

I huff out a large breath, releasing it slowly as I straighten myself and lean back against the seats head rest.

"Fine. I found the adoption certificate okay? You were right, my parents aren't my real parents. Its sucks ass that they didn't feel they could tell me and it sucks ass even more that I had to find out after rifling through some old documents in my storage cupboard after maybe being stalked at a book shop. Are you happy with that explanation or are we going to have to build a fire, hold hands and sing Kumbayah?"