Immortals (ON HOLD)

Chapter 26

Dimitri

            Today had been a mix of fun, anger, worry, content and stupidity. I drove home, my thoughts racing. What had almost happened earlier?! Had I tried to kiss her?!?! I rolled my eyes, physically brushing the thought away. “There’s no way I’d be that stupid,” I growled, shaking my head. I couldn’t help recalling the emotions running through me at that point, and I clearly remembered the feelings radiating from Ariel. She was nervous and calm at the same time. Surprised, yet waiting. It almost hurt to think of what would’ve happened had Emrick not come in. Emrick. I gripped the steering wheel in anger, making my left turn much sharper than I needed to. I can’t believe he used his light magic on her!!! What an asshole!!! She’s just a fledgling…and only a few-day-old fledgling at that. What if he would’ve really hurt her?! He must’ve scared the shit out of her, because she made herself bleed trying to create a force field. She’d never admit it, but I bet if I had been concentrating on her and her emotions, fear would’ve been pouring from her.

I pulled into the driveway, parking carelessly behind Scarlet’s car. My head felt heavy with thoughts and memories, that stupid scene in the main hall haunting me. Why in all of holy hell would I have acted that way?! Ariel wouldn’t put me under a trance unless I was telling her not to do something… Besides, she didn’t make eye contact with me until after I stupidly leaned in to…kiss her? I grunted as I shook my head, Kat whirling to face me, and what I imagined to be my slew of confusing and contradicting emotions. “What’s up with you?!” Chris asked, strolling out from his room. “Nothing,” I spat, pulling the fridge open for my thermos. “You…wanna’ talk about it?” Kat asked gently, getting up to sit with me at the table. I shook my head, deciding not to speak; I didn’t want to lash out on her…she was just trying to help.

“Is Mermaid coming over tomorrow? I definitely want to spar with her!” Chris declared, throwing his hands in the air excitedly. “She’s supposed to,” I murmured, staring down at the elegant gold napkin holder. “Seriously, what’s up your ass?!” I rolled my eyes, glaring at him. “Nothing, alright?! Leave it alone,” I growled, surprised at how angry and animal I sounded. Kat leaned backward in fear and surprise, gripping the table a little harder than necessary. I sighed, running my hands through my hair. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I have a lot on my mind…” Kat reached over and gently clasped her hand around my wrist. I looked at it for a moment and smiled weakly to her. Chris leaned against the kitchen doorframe, looking unimpressed. “What, she turn you down, or somethin’?” “No Chris,” I grumbled, glaring at him again.

He grinned, shrugging. “Well, don’t be upset if she does. She’s just waiting on me.” Kat and I rolled our eyes, and Chris frowned, flipping us off. Once he left to either annoy Scarlet or go back to his room, Kat turned to me. “Don’t. Say. Anything,” I muttered, looking down at the table. “Does this have something to do with our talk from the other day?” She asked, eyes bright. “No! You’re crazy! I just have…I…I dunno…” I admitted, trailing off into a whisper. She began to reveal that happy, giddy smile that a squeal would accompany shortly after, and I quickly stopped her. “Don’t say anything. To anyone. Not even to yourself, when you’re all alone. Not to Conwenna, not to Scarlet, Chris, Ariel -especially not Ariel- just don’t talk to anyone, okay?” She grinned and nodded, bouncing up and down like a bobble head. She always made me smile when she did that, no matter how upset I was. I laughed, shoving her shoulder back roughly.

I felt Tasha’s energy before I saw her, and she practically jumped up on my lap when she saw me. “Where have you been all day?” I asked, wrinkling my nose at her doggy scent. She panted me a big smile, and I craned my neck back so she couldn’t lick my face. Lord knows where that mouth had been today… I turned to Kat, deciding to change the subject. I told Tasha to sit beside me, which she did after a few minutes of disobeying. “How are the puppies?” I asked, remembering Eyolf, Misty and Amoux. Kat’s eyes lit up, and I finally succeeded in distracting her from my love life. “Adorable!!! They’re already getting so big! You and Ariel should visit them tomorrow!” I nodded, continuing. “Has Emrick finished naming them?” She twisted her mouth to the side, letting her green-amber eyes wander. “I dunno…I’ll have to ask,” she murmured, going into the cabinets for a handful of Doritos. After a while of small chit chat, I brushed my teeth and went to bed, Tasha following me merrily. I was surprised to feel Leikos’ calm, relaxed energy in my room, and I saw him lying on my floor even without turning on the light.

His bright yellow eyes were haunting, and glowed eerily in the darkness. He flashed his gaze to us when we entered the room, but it soon lingered back to the window. He acted as if he was caged in here, unable to roam out in the forests where he belonged. “You don’t have to stay here, ya’ know,” I muttered, Tasha bumbling over to play with him. He shook her from him, a low warning growl rising from the back of his throat. Tasha sighed, hopping on the bed with me after I changed into a pair of pajama pants and took off my shirt. I rolled my eyes when he didn’t leave, flopping down on my bed and throwing the covers over me. Tasha layed nose-to-nose with me like she did almost every night, and I stroked her as the two of us began to fall asleep. For some reason, I wanted to text Ariel.

I felt like we left off on a weird note, and I don’t know why that bothered me. Maybe I wanted to explain myself for earlier; to say that I was caught up in the moment, although nothing particularly romantic was happening between us. Maybe I just wanted to get to know her better, to where we weren’t constantly throwing insults at each other and rolling our eyes. Maybe I just wanted someone else to talk to, other than the wolves and Kat- someone who even though I didn’t know all that well, I felt knew me more than she led on. I sighed, shaking the thought as I squeezed my eyes shut. A few minutes later, one of my eyes popped open suddenly, with the instinct that something was about to happen. As if on cue, my phone went off, signaling that I had a text message. I jerked my hand out from under the sheets, grabbing it with a swift movement. I tried not to let anything run through my head when I saw the message was from Ariel, and I read it silently:

: I hope ur ready 2 meet the parentals, b/c after 2morrow, they’ll want to kno all about u..:

            I wasn’t sure what to say, if I should say anything. Maybe I should just ignore it until the morning; answer her back when I was (hopefully) thinking clearer. I reluctantly put my phone back on my nightstand, turning back over to face Tasha. She looked me dead in the eyes, knowing something that apparently I didn’t. I fell asleep wondering what Ariel’s parents were like, and if she had picked up anything from them over the years. That got me thinking about her real parents, and if she would have been different had she been raised by them. My own past whirled around in my head after that, causing me to distort my face uncomfortably. I didn’t particularly like thinking about my past, since it always seemed to leave a throbbing, numbing pain behind. I shut my eyes tightly and curled closer to Tasha, trying to repress the memories with no avail…