US (Formerly The After Effect - Book 2)

2 3 - R E V E L A T I O N

It was astonishing to see how comfortable Jada seemed with me. After all, she did makeout with my boyfriend while I was gone. I thought maybe there would be some awkwardness. Maybe it was lost in translation.

"What's going on?" she asks me as I saunter over and kneel at her side. The cold is really starting to sink through my clothing, so I don't know how long I'll be able to talk with her before I really do freeze my ass off. Still, it helped that there was little wind tonight and that we were in a thick of dense pines.

"Would it be okay if we talked a little? Or are you ready to go to bed for the night?"

I can't help but catch Travis peeking over at us through the corner of my eye. He's definitely concerned she'll spill something, or that I'll ask.

"Um, I'm tired, but what did you want to ask me?"

"I was just wondering if you knew much about Damon. You know so much about Kai, so we thought you knew more about Damon's history. Did him and Kai ever work together?"

She nods. "Yes. Tons. I don't know much though. I was never on the inside in that way. But they certainly worked together. Damon's job was to get you. All five of you. And kind of a second command for Kai. But then he was banished to Frost. Wasteland. I think he wasn't doing the job quick enough. So I guess Damon went to look for all of you anyway. Maybe now he's trying to get all the power and be stronger than Kai. That is what I hear."

So they were working together.

"Who?" Brink replies. Only now do so realize I shared that thought to him directly.

"Damon and Kai. I'm talking with Jada. She said Kai exiled Damon because he wasn't working fast enough to get us."

"Is that all you wanted to know?" Jada wonders, her eyes alert and ready to keep the conversation going if need be.

"One more thing. Do you think Travis is a good kisser?"

Her alertness transforms to dread, but I don't heckle her. The words came out of me before I could smack on the filter and keep quiet about it.

She leans in closer and lowers her voice. "Between you and me, I've had better. We must kiss differently on my planet."

Her response almost makes me laugh, and I would have if we weren't discussing my boyfriend. "You don't say..."

"Still good, though. I would do it again."

I clench my jaw. "Well, you might have a chance to."

She pulls her arm around and pats my shoulder. Then she drags me in toward her. I find the gesture a little too...intimate for me, but I'm assuming it's just her way of communication. "He's said some things about you to me," she admits quietly.

I grimace. "Yeah? Like what?"

She glances at the fire for a second before answering. "Ah, well, he says...the distance is nice. He hopes you're okay but he feels less stress."

"That makes two of us," I mumble.

"He says...maybe she will stay with them and him and me can travel a little while."

I scoff, more annoyed than straight up angry. Half of that being because I sort of knew something like this had gone down between them.

"He says...she is a superhuman. I feel comfortable about regular people."

Okay, maybe I want this chat to end now. I didn't think she'd come so clean. And be unfazed at the effect it would have on me especially. Props to her for being able to come out and say everything and leave nothing. She must not care about pursuing a relationship with him like I half expected. Given the moment, I decide to ask.

"Do you like him?"

She purses her lips before, "Yeah, I like him. He's strong. Leader. Passion. Lot like me."

When I'm silent for a few seconds, she must recognize my lack of response, and chooses to add.

"We are good together, like good partners. He just likes to have extra fun, I think. I think it's more to distract him, you know?"

I grimace. "What do you mean?"

"Like he wants to be happy even if he's not. So he do things like kiss and stuff to make himself feel good. But really it means not much. It's to trick his mind."

Sometimes her translation is hard to follow, but I think I'm grasping the idea; it's much like my presumptions. I've figured his love ploy was due to a missing feeling inside of him that needed to be filled. She saw it as a needed distraction because he's not truly happy. She came to this conclusion after only knowing him a couple months.

It made sense in the beginning. Both of us sort of knew we just wanted each other in order to feel good again. I was missing my family, he was missing his. He had just gotten over the event with Caleb. He had a lot of baggage. Him and I both yearned for more. Something to give us a reason to smile again. So we accepted each other for what we were then. Maybe I thought we were more than we are. Maybe that's all Travis has seen me as, to this day. Not more. He calls me his girlfriend and protects me, but isn't that just instinct when you care about someone in general?

Where do we stand?

I don't bother asking Travis anything, at least not tonight. So I end the conversation with Jada, she pats my back and offers the spot beside her to me, and I accept.

//i know this is a shortie, and I may add to this in the future. (probs will) but I didn't want to give you guys nothing this week. next chap is a biggie ^.^ see you then. please comment your thoughts//