Endeverafter: The Series Presents The Cursed One

Chapter Twenty-Four

When Virek woke up, he was surprised to see Drue lying across his chest. She was cuddled up under him, fast asleep. He looked around and wondered when the hell did this happen? Looking down, he studied her face. Even asleep with her messy eyebrows and monolid shaped eyes, she looked serene, almost angelic like. It was times like this when he had to remind himself that she was still a Hybrid and still wanted by everyone in the Fae community. But he also had to remind himself that she was still only twenty one years old and way in over her head in terms of who and what she was up against. As the first Hybrid in over one hundred years, there was still so much that he didn't know about her, so much that should have made him want to stay away from her but that was becoming harder to do whenever they were around each other. Shifting slightly, he pushed a strand of her brown hair out of her face and smiled when she crinkled her nose. How could someone so tiny cause so much trouble?

On cue, Drue's eyes blinked open. With that sleepy look in her eyes, she smiled at him. "What time is it?" she whispered.

"I reckon it's morning."

"Mm." She rubbed her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes again. She started to get comfortable again until her eyes popped open. "Wait, you said it's the morning?!"

"Yes."

Drue's head jerked up and she immediately sat up. "Oh my God! I'm gonna be late!" Jumping to her feet, she ran into her bedroom.

Virek narrowed his eyebrows and then rested his arm up under his head. "Late for what exactly?"

"Work!"

"Work? You have a job?!"

"Yes!" she called out from the bedroom. "Well, if I don't get there in less than two hours, I won't!" She ran out of her bedroom and looked around the livingroom. "Fuck! Where's my charger?!" She swiped through all of her notebooks that were on the coffee table and cursed to herself. She turned towards Virek and then walked up to him, digging her hand up under his back to feel around on the couch. "Do you mind?"

"Actually I do."

"Dammit, it's not here! Ugh, nevermind! I have to get in the shower."

"You know, I hardly see the purpose of going to work or school, when there's much more pressing matters at hand."

"That's exactly why I need to go," Drue said. "I may not have control over the fae part of my life, but the other part of my life matters too."

"Not if you're dead, it won't."

Drue stopped looking around and frowned. "Thanks for the support."

"I'm just being honest with you. Pretending like your life will ever be the same is useless, so why bother?"

"What's the alternative? Huh? What am I supposed to do? Just drop everything I've ever known to become lonely and isolated like you?"

"It's never done me any problems," Virek replied, tilting his head backwards.

"Right, because not having any friends or no one to care about me is the perfect life." Drue scoffed and shook her head. "Thanks but no thanks. I've lost too much already."

"Oh, fuck off, Drue. You haven't lost a thing, so miss me with the 'woe is me' sob story."

"It's not a story, Virek. It's the truth. My life is a shitshow. When I'm not fearing for my own safety or running off to save your life, I'm trying to keep my head above water. So, no, I will not apologize for keeping up certain appearances. Like my job or going to school, because those things matter."

"Saving my life? Is that what you just said?" Virek asked, sitting forward.

"Yes, because that's exactly what I did," she replied, sternly. "If you hadn't gone to the Deviant on your own, you could've been killed. You're lucky to be alive. We all are."