Amaranthine

Chapter Twenty Seven

© Copyright 2011
All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.

 

Corollary: (kawr-uh-ler-ee)

an immediate consequence or easily drawn conclusion

a natural consequence or result

I was still trembling when he wrapped his arms around me. “You’re okay,” he whispered and kissed my forehead. “It’s okay.”

“I can’t ever see him again, Orion. I can’t do that again. Ever.”

“I know, but he’s gone.”

“He’s only gone temporarily. He’ll be back. He even suggested a trip to the island this weekend.”

Orion pushed my shoulders back and his eyes fixed on my neck. He saw the chain and wrapped his index finger around it. He tugged it gently, but even when Orion was being tender he had abnormal strength. The links on the small chain didn’t stand a chance. I could feel the necklace break and fall into his hand. He looked at it. “He gave you an angel?” He asked, shocked. I don’t know why Damien’s boorish offering surprised him.

“Yes.”

“He’s ignorant,” he said, walking over to the nearest trashcan, intent on throwing it away.

“Don’t.” I held my hand up in protest. “What if he comes back and expects to see it?”

Orion’s mood had changed. He was angry. “He won’t be seeing you again, Ireland.  If he comes near you, his face will be so swollen he’s not going to be able to see it anyway.”

I wasn’t a fan of Orion’s temper, so I tried to change the subject. “In the cafeteria, you almost wrecked the whole thing. I was sure I was going to burst out laughing when you gave him the finger.” The image recall I had of Orion doing this made me smile.

“You liked that, did you?” 

“Very much.”

“I’m glad I can make you laugh. It’s the least I could do.” He seemed distracted from being mad about the necklace and for that, I was grateful.

“You do more than that for me. It’s one of your many redeeming qualities.”

“Uh huh, well, I’m glad I still have some. You know, my occupation kind of puts a damper on any desirable traits I may have.”

“Everyone has flaws. Yours is just…a big one.”

He found this amusing. “Yeah, I suppose it is.” He grabbed my hand. “Walk with me?”

***

Now that Damien had come and gone, I was able to relax. I just wished he was gone for good. I wanted him to disappear like a cloud of smoke, to erase him and stay on this plane of existence forever.

Luke picked me up after school. The paranoia from this morning had vanished. The thoughts that Damien was waiting to pounce were gone. I felt like I had been convincing enough today that he wouldn’t suddenly be stalking me. Regardless, it had been determined that my brother would come and drive me every day, just in case. Orion would meet us at our destination. It was like having my own personal bodyguard. As I got into the Civic, Luke looked at me. “So?”