The Key to My Hart

Chapter 17

I woke up in a cold sweat, unsure if I had just had a nightmare or flashback. The room spun for a moment, shadows clashed with one another as my eyes strained to see my surroundings. The room finally settled as I zeroed in on a smaller dresser. It's outline barely darker than the rest of the room.

Easing myself into a sitting position, I placed a hand over my chest, willing my heart to calm down. After a couple of deep breaths, the room seemed abnormally large. The doors towered over where I sat. The dresser appeared to be twenty yards away. I wasn't going to get much sleep tonight in here.

I crossed the room and quietly padded out into the hallway. I couldn't have slept more than a couple of hours. Rowan was sharing a room with Kaito. They'd both be up together for the last two lookout shifts. Chogan was more than likely already asleep but I didn't want to disturb him. He probably wouldn't welcome me anyways.

Ryder always had an insane amount of energy and that wasn't what I needed. I needed peace and calm. Azrael was the only one left. He wasn't exactly a peaceful person, but he didn't talk a lot. Azrael was most likely on watch right now. I crept down the hallway towards the front of the building, past all the country decor hanging on the walls.

Opening the door, I spotted Azrael sitting on the steps with his back to me. He just patted the ground beside him.

"How did you know?" I whispered. The door hadn't made any noise. We had disabled the bell alerting staff of customers earlier.

"Super senses, remember?" No. Actually, I had completely forgotten. I flushed with embarrassment.

"Azrael, I think we should talk more." I eased into the steps, still sore from the workout the guys had given me in the pool.

He sighed. In his hands was a knife and a thick stick. He was wilting away at the wood, delicately carving a shape at one end.

"What do you want to talk about?" His eyes never left the stick.

"Anything. Everything. We don't talk much. I think we talked more when we hated each other than we do now." I admitted, ashamed.

"I never hated you." My head jerked up to look at him, but he continued carving. After a few moments, he didn't continue.

"Are you going to elaborate on that?" I urged, eager to hear what he had to say.

"I never hated you, Hart. I found you intriguing from the moment I met you. Like I told you back at the base in Doc's lab, I'm no hero. But... I regret killing your friends the way I did. They deserved better than that cold hearted end. I deserved every hate-filled word you slung my direction. I'm honestly still shocked you want me." His movements never slowed as he concentrated on carving out a particular divot in the wood.

Benji and Pops death still stung. They both deserved so much more than what this world had offered them. "I forgave you for that awhile back. While their deaths weren't easy to heal from, they would have suffered far worse had they continued to live. Chogan, Carlos, and I might not have still been here. If Benji was given the chance to turn, I don't think any of us would have had the heart to end him, and we may have all been killed or turned into a biter ourselves."

My heart ached for the blind kid and his grandpa, but deep down I knew they weren't made for this world. Despite Benji's extraordinary hearing, he wasn't like Azrael. Him getting bitten only proved that. I laid my head on Azrael's shoulder, and he finally paused his hands.

Azrael set the items aside and drug me over to the step in front of him. He started to massage the tight muscles in my neck and shoulders. My eyes might have rolled a bit. I soaked in the silence.