Unrequited

Chapter Seven: Alone

Song: Hands To Myself - Selena Gomez

"Noah!" I hissed, pushing him away from me. He seemed confused.

"I thought..." He swore under his breath and left the car, slamming the door behind him. Then he came around to my door and pulled me from the car. "Meridian, it's one minute before midnight," he warned me. I pushed him away from me and ran for the front door of the house, just before a dark cloud descended upon the car. Noah barely made it inside after me before a small army of demon soldiers descended upon us. They stood on the doorstep, watching both of us menacingly, thankfully unable to enter.

I was in shock, standing petrified, watching them and wondering if the house's defenses would hold. I studied the crowd, and finally my eyes landed on a familiar face.

Josh. His eyes - filled with sorrow - were fixed upon my face.

"Meridian," he whispered. "Don't leave that house. They'll kill you. I'll kill you. I can't stop myself, Mer. The blood that runs through me, it burns, screaming at me to hurt you."

"No," I murmured. "That's not true!" I demanded, but upon glancing at the other demons, I wondered how many of them also had no control over themselves while in the presence of an angel soldier.

Josh continued. "Demon soldiers cannot love, cannot feel compassion." I met his eyes again. "The moment I gave into myself, I was able to let go of my love for you. That's why I made this decision. The pain was too much, so I let it go. I'm so sorry. Stay safe, Mer." Then he disappeared into thin air.

"No! Wait!" I cried, taking one step outside the house. Immediately, every single soldier rushed forward to attack me.

Tears streamed down my face, because I'd lost him all over again. It was my fault that he was gone.

"Just leave us alone!" I screamed at the demon soldiers. "All of you! If it weren't for you, he'd still be here!" Every single soldier froze in place as though they were under a spell, and I was shocked. I looked down at my hands and saw fire engulfing every inch of the skin on my hands and forearms. The flames emitted a golden glow, which seemed to frighten the demon soldiers into submission.

"Leave," I growled, wondering if they would truly obey my command.

Immediately, every demon soldier bolted away from the house, and I was left staring out into the dark, empty night, hoping that one single soldier would have remained, but Josh was gone.

"Meridian!" Noah pulled me back into the house, and quickly shut the front door. Then he released me, and swore. "Fuck! Put out that fire, you just burnt me." I just stared into his face, the tears still in my eyes, clouding my vision. "Meridian." I wiped away the tears, looking down at the ground.

"I can't do this," I said simply. "I hate what I made him become."

"Meridian, you're one of us, okay? He's one of them. From what I can tell, you have insanely strong powers, which are rare for our kind. Seeing Josh here tonight, him being able to disappear like he did, he must be pretty powerful. More powerful than all of those other soldiers put together. You two are even more unlikely than ever. You need to let this go."

"What happened to you 'understanding'?" I asked quickly. "I love him, Noah."

"Well, you can't!"

"This is my life, and you have no right to dictate my feelings. I love him, and that won't change no matter how much you tell me I can't." I stormed off up to my bedroom, leaving Noah behind without a second glance.

I reached my room, fuming, unable to believe how controlling Noah really was.

"Ugh!" I shouted, picking up the first thing I could reach and throwing it at the wall. A loud crash sounded, and it startled me enough that I broke out of my blind rage and looked at the object I had thrown.