Infected

Chapter 23

Feel free to call me Little Flower. I'd love to talk to you more. Adora.

I sit on the edge of my bed, still wrapped in a towel from the shower I took an hour ago. I've read the note a hundred times since I found it resting on the duvet. There was nothing else to it, just a phone number and Adora's signature.

I trace my fingers along the delicate ink written on the creamy stationery a final time then lay it on the nightstand.

Is she aware that Nathaniel was holding back on me? She could give me the crash course I was seeking, an unfiltered layout of purebloods. But that leads me to the real problem- I couldn't even call her if I wanted to. I haven't been able to find my cell phone among my belongings, which meant Nathaniel had it, and there are no landlines in the house that I could use to conveniently avoid asking him for it. It would spark another battle between what I should and should not know if he knew what I needed it for. He trusts Adora, she's his family, but that doesn't mean he'd approve of her spilling all the details of their kind.

I change into pajamas then brush my hair and teeth. After I turn off all of the lights, I crawl under the covers of my bed and lay on my side, resting my head on the bend of my arm. I'm just about to drift off when a soft knock comes at my door. I ignore it and roll away from the sound, but they knock again. And again. And again.

I leave my warm cocoon of sleep when it's clear the visitor wanted my presence but won't enter without my permission.

"I wanted to tell you good night," Nathaniel says, sheepishly grinning.

My sleepy eyes narrow, "You banged on my door for twenty minutes to give me sweet dreams?"

The lie falls away and he reveals why he really woke me up. From his pants pocket, he pulls out a sleek black device. My cell phone.

"Addy left you a note earlier. She thinks I didn't notice, but that's just the childish nature she tends to take on around me. Unsurprisingly, she's taken quite a liking to you and wants to help." He offers it to me, but before I can take it from his hands he moves it away, "But don't think that her version of helping is what's best for either of you. If you take her offer, you're digging yourself deeper into our world, and it'll be more difficult to leave behind later. She has far more at risk if she lets you walk through her door to satisfy your curiosity. I want you to consider that more than anything."

My brows string together at his assumption, and fly over his idea that I don't care what happens to his loved ones, "What makes you think I'd be ready to abandon all of this?"

"Yesterday, you were very open about obliterating us from your memories. I just assumed you were still in that frame of mind."

"It's like you said, I'm in too deep, with or without Adora. And I don't want to use mind blanking as a way to run from my problems, they'll still be there."

He nods, "Very true."

"I also don't want anyone to be hurt because they are helping me," I add.

It was obvious that Adora was precious to Nathaniel, and no doubt Quin as well. I couldn't face them if something happened to her because I had a simple curiosity. "But you're bound by a promise with Quin and I'm lost. She's willing to clarify everything. I'm sure she wouldn't offer it if she didn't have her own plan of keeping herself safe."

He sighs and hands me the phone. I take it but refrain from turning it on.

"Sleep on it. Then tomorrow morning, if you still want to talk with her, I'll take you to her house myself."

"What about the trace?"

"I'll make a few calls and see what I can do, but no promises. You could end up walking into a lion's den tomorrow. So there's another thing to think about. Good night, Elle." He turns and goes down the hall, where his bedroom is two doors down from mine.