The Monster In Me

Chapter Nineteen

Zaiden

This is weird.

We spent twenty minutes arguing about who knows our shared mate the most. I know it was childish, but the sound of us arguing eased the weird aura taking space in the room.

I have no idea what it is.

Usually, the color of an aura would tell me what I needed to know, but this? It was a mixture of colors. It bounced along the walls and around the space.

Not being able to sense what emotion it is, I couldn't help but feel irritated. Why do I suddenly want a power that's been nothing but a pain in my ass to suddenly work again?

"I don't trust you," I tell him. He looks up from his phone, a smile lining his face.
"You'd be stupid if you did," he shrugs. I'm not sure if I should be offended by that statement or not.

Small talk isn't exactly my thing. Should I ask questions? Do I want to know how his day was? No. But we're under strict orders from our bossy mate.

  "So how'd you meet Nalea?" he asks, breaking the silence, and interrupting my trail of thoughts. There's a hint of curiosity in his question. Interesting.

"She fell for me on her first day on campus," I answered. 

"Aren't you cocky," he states, a slight glare in his gaze.

Funny?

She quite literally fell after bumping into me. Or almost fell. I suppose I should redirect the question now. "How'd you meet her?"

"She crashed my birthday, the 20th of September in case you were wondering the date too."

The same day I met her. "I wasn't wandering." 

"Asshole," he said rolling his eyes. Is he smiling? Now, why would he do that?

"I'm not going to deny the truth," I shrug. Well fuck me, this conversation feels like some kind of weird foreplay. To avoid it, I reach into the little end table draw and pick out the game of cards Nal and I played the last time I was here. "You play?" I ask, setting up a basic game of cards.

"Not really," he shrugs, "But I'm game."

Perfect.

I quickly share the cards and the game begins.

What's missing here? Conversation. I think. What do I even say? How's your mom? Is that an insult?

"You don't go to the university, so... what do you do?" I ask, playing.

"Took over my family's company, what about you? Have any family here?" he asks, laser-focused on the game.

"No, my father's back home in France and my mom's dead," I deadpan.

"Well shit. If it makes you feel any better, my mother's dead too."

"Oddly enough, that does make me feel better." We both look up at each other, trying our best not to laugh. We both failed. At least he shares my dark humor. "That's not funny," I tell him.

"You laughed first." I nod accepting defeat, I did in fact laugh first.

Wait a minute. Something's not right here. How the fuck am I losing the game? "I thought you said you didn't know how to play."

"Did I?" he shrugs. I glare at him for the obvious sarcasm. My efforts are futile, his stupid smug smile just grows.

I'm about to reply with something witty and sarcastic, but a shock in my chest has me pausing and gripping the cards for dear life. This isn't my pain. It's Nalea's.