Cardinal

Chapter 14

Julie meets me outside of Bath's office. I'm dreading my new assignment and my gaze is pointed to the damn paper, looking at my schedule in my hand. I huff and puff for a second. 

I'm allowed to have a temper tantrum about this stuff. The merc teams were fucking crazy. I'm not sure anyone is allowed to, first of all, be that trained, and allow deadly gifts to play out like that. 

She smirks at me, knowing exactly what is on my paper. 

"I'm so fucking screwed, Jules. Please tell me you've done this before." 

I look at her desperately. Taking a deep breath and sighing when obviously, she wouldn't have been in one, or else she'd be doing Merc shit instead of interior design. 

"Uhm, Lil, look at me. I am in high heels most of the time. You will not catch me do shit like that. Plus, you know, I have a low-level enhanced ability. I don't qualify. That shit's for the scary gifted. I wouldn't last two seconds in there even with my wit." 

"Which basically means, you've got a scary gift don't you?" She looks at me apprehensively. Though, I don't think she intends to have her fear show in her face. 

Monster. 

I shut my toxic inner voice down. 

"I'm not using it. End of story." I told her definitively. I refuse to live up to the expectations that everyone has around me. I don't have any moral obligation when it comes to injuring people. 

"I'm not scared of your power, Lilac. Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. We've all had our fair share of encounters with them. You don't even come close to my nightmares so no, I don't think you're a monster." 

We head back to her car and start the short drive to her house. The nice quiet hum of the radio leaves me to my thoughts and calms the irritation this day has brought. 

I do need to tell them. I gauge the danger. The fallout. Will they forgive me for making a choice for us? Is our unit irrevocably damaged?

We arrive in a nice, gated community and park in front of a mansion that definitely stands out from this million-dollar neighborhood. 

"Welcome to my humble abode," Julie announces as she exits her car. 

Humble my ass. This girl's house may not be as big as the gregarious mansion the boys live in, but I think this may be a multi-million dollar house. 

She gets out of her car and we're met by a built middle-aged man who helps gather our shopping bags from the car. 

I'm a little perturbed with the unfamiliarity of this man. He disappears quickly after gathering our things and I don't see him the rest of the way inside her house. Uh, okay. 

"Oh, that's Felix! He helps with security and other things around the house. Don't worry." 

I'm gaping at the gorgeous interior of her house. Everything is elegant yet modern and chic. We enter through the garage and I'm met with the same open floorplan and exposed beams similar to the mansion. This has a more feminine touch to it with a cream and green colored scheme. Plants were littered all around the house, giving it a more comfortable feel. 

"Wow, Jules! I love it!" I look through her house up and down. Instead of wood flooring, she has shiny white marbled flooring, with gold specks in them. 

"I know, I know. Now tell me I'm super talented and amazing!" 

I smile brilliantly at her, still proud that she found something she loved and excelled in, despite her parents' ridiculous disapproval of the gift she developed.