Tempest

Twelve

[ad lucem / to the light]

Every nerve in Tessa's body felt like it had turned into magma, coursing through her veins and arteries like a volcanic flow about to become an eruption. She choked on her own sobs, on her screams, until her throat hurt. She wanted nothing more than to give up the quest, give up everything, and race back to the shrapnel of her home and pulverize every single monster that had been a part of her mother's death.

            Her friends still pulled her along until they were a couple of blocks away. Once they stopped outside of a playground abandoned for the summer, Tessa looked through her tears and felt another pang rush through her. What were they doing at her old elementary school?

            Tessa yanked her grip from Kaden and Dale, who were lugging her along the way with vice-like grips. She stalked over to the hill of the playground, sitting down atop one of the steps leading up to the slide. She didn't dare cry or scream, she just stared off into the distance.

            No one dared come up to her, which was just as well. If anyone tried to reason with her in this mood, she probably wouldn't have thought twice about skewering them. She wasn't in a mood to compromise.

            However, her senses picked up the conversation of her friends at the foot of the small hill.

            "Alright, Reese, where's our ride? Are they done lighting up the monsters?" Mark panted, his hands on his hips.

            Reese looked up at the sky, as if his ride could fly. "He said he'd meet me at the school parking lot. I hope I got the right school." He scanned the perimeter of the school's small campus. "There he is."

            Tessa didn't look to see who their ride was or where, but she stood from her seat. She stretched a bit, trying to return her nerves to some sense of normalcy. She cantered down the hill, a hard look in her sea-green eyes.

            "Shall we get going?" She asked, her voice scratchy. She cursed at herself mentally. No one would take her seriously as the leader of this quest if she continued to burst into tears, no matter how badly she wanted to.

            Her friends watched her cautiously, giving her enough space to breath. They must've gotten the message; don't question Tessa or bad things will happen.

            Kaden bit his lip. "Yeah, of course. But, Tess...are you sure you're—"

            "I'm fine," Tessa snapped, cutting him off. She gave a calculating look to the others, but seeing the concern in their eyes was enough to make the pompous attitude she wore to make up for her breakdown dissolve. "Just...we've gotta focus. I appreciate you guys worrying, but you don't need to. I'm sure everything will be alright." Her voice cracked, and she winced.

            She hastily blinked away tears, sniffling. "Come on, let's just go." She tried to turn, but someone caught her wrist and whirled her back around. Before she knew it, she was wrapped in Kaden's arms.

            "Tessa, you're the strongest person I've ever met. You don't need to prove that strength to any of us," Kaden said soothingly.

            Tessa tried to protest, attempting to pull away, but Kaden's grip was too tight. "Nope, you need a therapeutic hug right now. Sorry, not sorry." 

Tessa grumbled a curse, but her voice was muffled by her nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck as she hugged him back. She took a long inhale through her nose, clearing her head with the subtle scent of Kaden's cologne and the oxygen around them.