The Pawn; The Traitor

Chapter Five

Mom and Patrick were ready to leave at eleven. I was not ready to leave. I had just dried off and Nox and I were talking about some meaningless subject, but it made me happy to see him opening up to me the way he was. "Leave your window open tonight." Nox whispers in my ear as he embraces me before I leave. "I'll be by in half an hour."

Due to the conditions I lived in in Nevada, I never had a "rebellious" phase where I snuck out or let boys in my house and partied until the early hours in the morning. So leaving my window open for Nox to come in was a stretch for me. I showered and changed into my pajamas, wrapping my hair up in a towel. Patrick and my mom were in an argument about something trivial and so I went into my room and locked the door.

10 minutes later, I hear the window opening further and Nox comes in. He had changed into a tank top and sweatpants. I could see the dark ink contrasting with his skin as it ran down his arms. "Told you I would be here."

"You changed." I note, and he smiles. I was sitting on my mattress, legs crossed and looking up at him.

"I also had to convince my parents that I was going to bed." He laughs, "May I sit?"

"Yeah, but we need to be quiet. My mom and Patrick are fighting and I don't want them getting even madder because I have a boy in my room."

"I don't count as a boy, Skye." He says in a serious tone, but I could see the humor in his eyes. "I'm 19."

I lie down on my bed, staring at the white ceiling, "Still a boy." I cover my face with my hair, shielding my face.

"I am not." He sits on the bed, near my feet.

"Have I ever told you how I think everyone here, besides us, is actually insane?" I sit up, pulling my damp hair back. "Like... I actually think it's true."

"It's probably not." He shakes his head slightly, and I know he's hiding something.

"Well, they monitor the gates always, they won't let my brother in to come live with us. Whoever was the guard on the day we came was concerned because I was so pale- like he was worried I was a vampire. And nobody is outside walking around, walking their dogs, and going on a run, ever. Then on my first day of school, some girl threatened to tear my throat out because I was a vampire, which I'm not because they don't exist, and the kids I used to sit with at lunch never really talked but looked like they were communicating in their heads. Then, after I met you, after the dreams, every guy at school avoided me like the plague. And none of it makes sense."

Nox was staring at the sheets and how they were shoved down to the end of the mattress, "You're probably over thinking all of this." He says finally.

"But I'm not!" I cry out, collapsing back against my pillows. "And you're hiding something from me. I don't know how I know, but I do. I can feel it."

"Skye, calm down." He says softly and I turn to my side. "I can't tell you much because of the Old Laws. But-" He stops himself, thinking about what he is going to say next. I feel his hand rest against the bed right next to my body, and I feel heat spread through me. "But we're trying our best to keep people like you safe."

"That..." I roll onto my back, hitting his arm, but he moves it away quickly, "Doesn't make any sense. That is so vague, and now I'm even more confused in the first place."

"Don't question it." He assures me, and I stare at the ink running up his arms. It looks like black flames snaking up his forearms and onto his back.

"What are your tattoos?" I stifle a yawn, and contemplate sitting up, so I can look at them easier.

Nox sighs, collapsing onto the mattress, "Most of its fire." He holds out his arm closest to me, so I can look at it. It was fire. "I was terrified of fire when I was younger. And what's better than putting what's scared of you on your body, so you and the fear are one?"