Cardinal

Chapter 20

We exit the administrative building and I immediately attempt to reach out to the link between Damian and me. 

He won't look at me and I need to resolve this now before we have to be officiated. I also need to focus on training today and I can't do that with his defeated look haunting me.

He doesn't stop walking and doesn't even take a second glance at me despite the gnawing feeling in my gut of what he was feeling. 

Keenan stops in his tracks and immediately grabs the back of Damian's shirt. 

"You and Lilac need to fix whatever it is that's going on between you. I can't have you working distracted, Damian. You're a liability this way. And Lilac, we've been giving you enough space to think. I think it's only fair that you reciprocate a little bit." His eyes pleading. 

Keenan is right, and he's got a great point. I need to fix it. 

Damian stops in his tracks and immediately looks at me. Finally, looking at me, directly into my eyes. Not the cursory glances that he has been giving me since a few days ago. 

What I see, is sadness, deep into his blue eyes. I almost feel guilty for lashing out at him and not being able to handle our conversation the other night. 

Anger aside, I pull Damian into the side of the administrative office and away from prying eyes. There was a hidden spot from the hallway that students or teachers sometimes used to take smoke breaks during school. Good thing it was empty. 

Damian sighs and looks upwards towards the sky. Anywhere other than my face. 

"Why won't you look at me?" I finally address him. 

He shakes his head. 

Why was he so adamant to not look at me?

"If I look at you, I wouldn't know what to do."

He finally looks down at me and looks into my eyes. 

"I'm an empath, Lil. Emotions are supposed to be my forte, yet when I look at you. I just feel like I can't control it. You know, I'm not supposed to be in the merc team. An empath? It's a joke, really." He laughs at his statement. 

I didn't think it was funny. I know that he had a hard time being in our unit. Keenan had his flame and heat, Steel could literally hear people's thoughts and communicate telepathically, and Will had his pestilence-like ability. We were an odd bunch that's for sure. 

I frown at him. 

"You made me feel like I belonged and made me feel so much more...even with the powers I developed...and I just missed you so much. To find out that you ran away..." Tears were welling up in his eyes and I could feel his grief of losing me, the betrayal of my running away. His emotions gripped me like a vice. 

"You're not just an empath, Damian." I smile at him. "You're more than that. You're kind, you care about what people feel, and you're always so considerate. You're not defined by your abilities. You decide what you want to do with that. Either way, you're a pretty awesome freaking person and I'm glad you're my link." I smile brightly at Damian. Wow! How did I end up with a link who looked like an angel and was actually a true-life angel? Some dick in the hallway said that he had a weak ability. He hugs me suddenly and I'm surprised by his touch. I reciprocate the action and smile widely up at him. I've been dreaming about this moment since we met a few months ago. "Thank you, Lil. Thanks for always being here and picking me up when I'm down. You're so goddamn beautiful." My heart thumped with excitement and joy. Was it possible to fall in love with a person in a span of a few months? Yes, yes it was.