Dragons Trust Book 1 - The Start

Smells

I woke up on the couch. Micah, Marcus, and Tommy were all asleep still. My head was still laid on Micah's lap.

My eyelids were heavy but there was no other indication I had cried. I stood carefully as to not wake them up. The kitchen hadn't been used yet. Maybe it was a good time for it. I started to make breakfast

Not having anything better to do and the boys having massive stomachs, I made a variety of things. Pancakes, waffles, toast fried on a pan in a mixture, eggs, bacon, sausage. It took me hours to finish. I hadn't even noticed the sun wasn't up until it blinded me through the window.

Marcus reached over and pulled the curtains closed. I threw the spatula I was holding at him. A shout of surprise leaving both of our mouths.

"What the fuck Birdy," Marcus whined tiredly. He rubbed the spot that the spatula had hit him.

"You scared the shit out of me!" I cried in defense. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

"Make up to me by letting me try stuff?" He asked cheekily.

"I will throw it at you again if you so much as touch it," I pointed my finger at him. He pouted but sat down at the bar while I kept cooking.

I could feel the question hanging in the air. I knew he did too. He would want to know where I had been. Why I came back them with Clinton instead of alone. Silently, I begged that he didn't say anything. Didn't ask so I wouldn't have to lie to him.

"How long have you been up?" He asked. My heart stopped and then started at the beginning of the question.

Truth be told I didn't know how long I had been awake. Cooking this much took hours, and the sun was just starting to rise. Our house was in a position that let us see over the mountains down below.

"I'm not sure," I told him. I wasn't lying so there was nothing wrong with the answer. We didn't speak again until the other two woke up and came in begging to eat. At one point I skillfully twisted a somewhat wet rag and whipped it at Tommy's hand. He shrieked and jumped back, not touching the food again.

After a few more minutes I let them grab whatever they wanted. Like I expected, over half of the food was gone by the time they were done. Marcus and Micah told me and Tommy stories of them with their dragons. We all knew they were actively trying not to utter a letter of Noah's name.

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I sat in the grass. Tommy, Sunny, and Eric ran. Clinton hadn't allowed me to join in on the exercise. He didn't even so much as give me any indication of what happened yesterday. Part of me was thankful for it. Another really wanted to know what exactly happened.

All I could remember was my magic not working then Clinton being there and me crying. I didn't remember getting home or laying down on the couch with the boys.

"Pick it up Eric!" Clinton scolded. Eric tended to think he was better than us didn't need to do the workouts. One of his friends stood on the other side of Clinton. He hadn't said a word and wasn't paying attention.

"Why does she get to be lazy?" Eric muttered as he past. I knew Clinton heard it. He had better hearing than all of us.

"That is none of your concern," Clinton barked. He added another three laps for Eric to complete.

My knees pulled themselves to my chest and I rested my head on them. Continuing to watch the boys run until Tommy and Sunny finished and came to sit with me. Both of them were drenched in sweat and needed a shower.

"You know, it's really not fair that you never smell bad," Sunny complained. His clean freak was showing. I would argue not liking to get dirty was a personality trait and a skill set he was very good at.

Since being here I had gone to extra measures to make sure I didn't smell bad. That was one of my biggest fears. Being bullied was something I had dealt with for so long. It only got worse as our group was split.

It seemed like I could never get away from it. No matter where I went people had a problem with me. I had tried everything to fix it. Eventually I got to the point I didn't care. At least not outwardly.

There was very few ways I had found to help with all of it. The bullying, missing the boys, my dads anger and drinking. Even my own self loathing.

Running was one of them. I would run and run and run until I physically couldn't anymore. I had also slowed down and lowered my food in take. But I still looked in the mirror and saw what others did. To myself I wasn't skinny. To some others, I wasn't skinny.

When Noah had been with us, I ate more. He was sneaky and was always giving me small snacks. I knew he noticed the lack of food on my plate when we ate. He saw the way I would recoil at the smell.

So he gave me things that I wouldn't notice. Always telling me to try this one or that thing. If I liked he would buy more and keep something on himself at all times.

And I always fell for it. He would open a bag or package and I would steal bits and pieces of it. He wouldn't even eat it himself. Just hold it and offer me the bag to take something every few minutes. I never noticed while he did it, only afterwards and days later.

I had put on a healthy weight. One that I still hated but it was healthy. I didn't look sick all the time anymore. He was so gradual and nonchalant about the way he did things. You would never notice until way later.

"I don't let myself get to that point," I pointed out. Sunny huffed and flopped the rest of the way down. Alfredo waddled over to him and sniffed at his rider curiously.

He was a sandy white color. Perfect for hiding in the desert and not attracting too much heat. A barb at the end of his tail, like a scorpions, twitched. When he fought, he would raise it like a scorpion as well. The poison inside the barb was lethal and could kill you within minutes.

"I shower every morning and every night. And yet you still smell better than me," Sunny huffed.