Secret Obsessions

Chapter 4: Away

They were still yelling. She couldn't hear their exact words. But they sounded angry. As she shakily set glasses in the table, her mind raced towards the edge of a panic attack. Suddenly, something shattered in the office. Shocked, she dropped the glass and it fell towards the floor.

She closed her eyes waiting for the shattering sound that would send her spiraling into an anxiety attack.... but it never came. Opening her eyes, she saw a pale purple light shooting from her hands, suspending the cup in mid air. She stared, shocked, frozen. She looked up, seeing Ryker watching her..... then the world faded and it all went black.

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Ryker sprang into action, yelling for Gasekan to come quickly. Crouching beside her, he caught the cup as it fell and set it on the table, feeling for her pulse. Gasekan came running into the room.

Ryker never looked up from Andie's unconscious body. "She was panicking. She heard me yelling. She dropped a cup. Her powers kicked in. It scared her and she passed out. She's OK. She'll wake up in three. Two. One."

Andie groaned and opened her eyes. Her eye lids fluttered, and her eye lashes against her pale face was the most beautiful thing Ryker could think of. Then her eyes opened, and they flashed a dark, sharp purple. Her body vibrated and her eyes glowed more and more vibrantly until finally she blinked. Her eyes returned to normal and she sat up. She frantically looked at Gasekan, then Ryker. The fear on her face tore him apart, and the sudden urge to kiss her was so strong he almost forgot who she was. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and ran his hand through her hair to fix it.

"Shhh. It's ok. Drink some water." He said soothingly. He looked to the kitchen and snapped his fingers. A cup flew off the table, to the sink, and filled with water. He snapped again and the cup came to rest beside his hand in the air. He grabbed it and helped her to drink. She drank the entire cup, then she looked at him, then at Gasekan. He knew. They needed to talk now.

He stood. "I'll leave you too alone." He said. Helping Andie stand and sit on the sofa, he exited the room, shooting a glance at Gasekan. This was gonna hurt. Especially for Andie.

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Ryker left and Gasekan sat down. It was awkwardly silent for a few minutes as they processed what had just happened. Gasekan didn't know how to start. Luckily, he didn't have to. Andie jumped right in.

"Firstly," she said numbly. "Why did you tell me there were no witches left?" She looked him dead in the eyes, and the coldness he felt in them shocked him. "And SECOND," she said icily. "WHY WAS MY MAGIC PURPLE!?"

Gasekan looked at her. "Calm down Andie...." He said softly, but she interrupted him

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!!" She yelled. "YOU LIED TO ME FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS!! THE ONE THING I DREAMED OF DOING, AND I HAD IT ALL ALONG!" She started breathing quickly, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Gasekan stood quickly, staring down at her. " I WAS PROTECTING YOU!" He roared. " I HAD NO OTHER CHOICE!"

Andie stared at him, her eyes glowing brighter and brighter as her anger peaked. She stood slowly, raising herself up inches away from where Gasekan still stood. The hurt and betrayal in her eyes quickly turned to disgust as she took a step back.

"You lied to me, Gasekan. You took away the one thing my parents left for me." She stared him down. "When it comes to lying, there is ALWAYS another option."

She whirled around and ran through the door. Ryker was waiting by the door, and reached for her, but she turned, grabbed her shoulder bag from the hook on the wall, and ran up the stairs to her room. Reaching the closet, she yanked open drawers and shoved clothes into the bag. Whirling around, she grabbed a roll of parchment, and rolled it in leather straps. Grabbing a quill, her bottle of ink, and an empty flask, she bolted back down the stairs, into Gasekan's study.

Quickly pulling open drawers, she pulled out an emerald green box, with puzzle pieces on the top. Sliding the pieces together into the proper places, the lid creaked open, and she pulled out an envelope full of money. She threw the box down, and rushed out the door.

Running down to the end of the lane way, she turned the corner and saw Ryker leaning against a tree. She stopped, her eyes flashing.

"If you came to take me back then you might as well try to convince him I died. Because I refuse to go back." She stared him down, the ice in her eyes was enough to freeze a polar bear.

Ryker laughed. "Don't worry, Andie. I'm not making you go back."

Andie blinked. ¨.... Good." She said. She turned to leave.

"I want to come with you."

That stopped Andie in her tracks. Her heart sped up and she turned around. "You do?" She whispered. He straightened up and nodded.

"Yeah. I do. It's not worth it here without you." He winked. "The old man isn't quite as pretty as you. It's close, princess. But not a tie. You still win." He grabbed his bags, and walked past her, pulling hers from her grip as well.

Andie was frozen. Did he just call her pretty? 

"You coming, Raven?" She turned around quickly. She ran after him and walked beside him. "you called me Raven." She said.

"Yeah. Is that OK?" He asked nervously. "I'm sorry it just slipped out..." she grabbed his hand, cutting him off mid sentence.

"Yes." She smiled shyly. "You can call me Raven." She blushed and looked at the ground.

He watched her for a while, and smiled a content smile as they walked off into the evening light, away from the life she had always known, and towards a world she knew nothing about. And looking at her, Ryker had never been more proud of anyone in his entire life.