Falling For The Fallen

Chapter 4 - Broken

This story is inspired by the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick, which I absolutely love! There are a few similarities but the storyline is completely different. If you enjoy reading this I can guarantee these books are for you. I love the relationships between characters and love triangles and the fantasy element. I found Hush, Hush fascinating and I could not put the books down all throughout the series. Please go check them out!

___________________________________________________________________________________

I hit the ground with a painful thud. I opened my eyes. Brendon was holding me to him. I felt instantly safe. Then I felt a burning sensation in my neck. I tried to pull away, but my body was weak. The effort made my head spin.

“S...s...stop...Br...Brend...en...” I managed to slur out. Then he pulled away, dropping me to the ground again. His blue eyes electrified with terror. He hugged me close, breathing hard.

“I’m so sorry! Sorry, Cara!” And I believed him. His voice shook as he whined ‘sorry’ over and over. I winced when he took me up in his arms and carried me further into the forest. What could only be blood trickled down my neck. The burning had stopped immediately and became a faint sting. Brendon lay me down on a wide fallen tree trunk and made a pillow of fern leaves to rest my head on. I had to keep closing my eyes. They were so heavy all of a sudden. He held my hand for a while, then placed it on my stomach and paced up and down. I heard him talking to himself, saying he was an idiot; he should have eaten this morning. We both jumped at the sound of another person running this way. Before I could see who was coming, a blur collided with Brendon and smacked him against a tree. I whimpered for him. The blur came into focus the instant it stood still. I didn’t recognise the figure but it had broad shoulders and looked unbelievably tall, I guessed it was male. Both males turned their heads to me and I was surprised to see Damien was the visitor. I tried to stand, but my legs protested and my arms felt like weights. So again I had to resort to my voice.

“Let go of him. Don’t hurt him. Please, just stop.” Damien let go and Brendon rushed to me.

He tried to calm me and stroked my forehead. “Shh. Shh. Everything will be fine.”

Damien chuckled at the other side of me. “Nothing will be fine. You know what will happen. You’ll both be killed.” I flinched at his cruel words. Suddenly my arms found their strength and I pushed myself onto my front. The movement made me pant, my lungs felt tight. “Get away!” I warned Damien. They both took a step back. “What happened?”

Both boys shared a look. Neither said a word. I waited in silence. Finally, Brendon tried to speak.

“Don’t you dare say a word!” Damien shouted. He thrust his arm in front of Brendon.

“I want to know!” I shot back at him. Tears brimming. “You can’t keep me in the dark after what just happened! Please, tell me.” I turned back to Brendon. His eyebrows were pushed up in worry.

“I’m so so sorry.” He said, exhausted. “I honestly wasn’t thinking.”

I gasped, “You tried to eat me? You were going to eat me like food? Ohmigod.” I shook my head in realisation.

“Do it! Now!” Damien yelled shoving my back down on the trunk. He effortlessly pinned me down. I writhed and flailed my arms. Hoping to punch him, but always missing.

“Get off me! Get off!” I screamed and he clamped a hand over my mouth.

“Do it now! Just do it!” I bit hard on his fingers and he flinched, letting go.

“HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!” I shrieked into the trees.

My legs found their feeling again and I tried to stand and get away. Damien swore and leaped after me. He caught my ankle and I tumbled. I clawed the ground, screeching for help. I kicked him in what I hope was his head and he grunted. Brendon gripped my wrists and tugged me from Damien’s solid grasp. He pulled me up to standing and steadied me, putting an arm around my waist and guiding my arm around his shoulder. “Thanks.” I whispered my voice hoarse with fear and pain. I turned around. Damien was leaping forward again and we picked up our pace out of the forest. Brendon taking the lead and steering me in the right directions.

“My legs, they hurt so much.” I said and he swept me up, still running as he did so. I looked back again. The passing trees were merged together creating a long dark tunnel. The wind whipped my hair back. I saw the blur again, this time heading straight for us. It didn’t seem to come any closer because, I realised, we had matched its speed. I wondered if we were also just a blur whizzing through the forest. Brendon was carrying me and sprinting toward the school. The courtyard came into view. He stopped abruptly and spun around, releasing me and pushing me behind him. The blur slowed and became Damien again. He was even more furious now. Lowering his head, he snarled at Brendon. “Why are you doing this? She is safer not to know. If you do this eventually they’ll find out that she knows too much. She’ll end up worse off than not remembering.” Not remembering? What did he mean?

“She isn't harmful. I won’t do it if she doesn’t want me to.” Brendon sounded unemotional, but I was sure he was feeling annoyed at Damien for insisting. I didn't like the sound of it either.

“No way. You can’t just tamper with my memory. I don’t even know what I saw. How can I put it into words to tell someone else. What would I say? That Brendon tried to eat me and Damien moves so fast he’s a blur? And how would I tell them you were gonna do something to make me forget! I’d sound crazy.” I threw my hands up. I was trying to pretend I was cool about it all, but I wanted to scream and run to lock myself away and never come out.

“Fine. If you won’t wipe her memory then don’t give them anymore reason to kill her.” His tone wasn’t angry, frustrated but not angry. Wipe my memory? Could they do that? This was all to much to process. Damien was insane.

“By that you mean don’t tell her anything else.” Brendon ran his hands through his hair. Then placed them on my shoulders and looked my in the eye with sincerity. “What do you think you saw?” When I hesitated he added, “This can mean the difference between life and death. Please answer me.” My eyes flickered to Damien who was waiting for an answer, too.

“You bit me. I bled. Then I felt faint and woozy. It was a big effort to move. Then Damien shoved you against a tree. You know the rest.” I shut my mouth tight to stop from pulling away from both of them.

Brendon was hoping for a more specific answer, “And what do you make of it?”

I didn’t know. “I'm not sure what to make of it, but he wants me dead.” I nodded toward Damien whose eyebrows shot up immediately.

“Want you d....I’m trying to fricking protect you! From morons like him and other weirdos!” He let out an irritated sigh that I was sure had been building up since we left the forest. He put his hands up in surrender. “You know what, you don’t want to be saved? So be it. You just walk right into trouble with open arms and then expect to be helped. I’m done working my butt off to keep you from yourself. I don’t know why I even started to try. It’s you’re fate, for God’s sake, it’s gonna happen anyway.”

I gasped in shock. What was he talking about? “Saved? You think you saved me back there? I was a little surprised at being bitten, and I still don’t understand why you did that by the way, - I said to Brendon – “But the only real danger was you! I don’t know what you think you save me from or that you think you know anything to do with me at all, but you are no help whatsoever!"

I was trembling. "I also don’t walk into trouble. My life is normal. With normal people, normal things happening. The only thing unusual is meeting you. I’ve only just met you today and now you think you’re suddenly part of my life. Constantly saving me from trouble and dangerous people, apparently knowing my fate! We’ve just met, for God’s sake; you don’t know anything about me!”

I’d screamed out all I wanted to say, then Damien made a remark in monotone that completely overthrew me. "Oh yeah? Normal things happening? You have no clue where your dad went and that is ranked as normal?"

 Turning on my heels, I sprinted for the main building, too hurt to breakdown.

“Cara!” Brendon called after me. I just wanted to sleep and forget that all this ever happened. Maybe Brendon and I could go back to just being the friends that we had been this morning and Damien could just go to hell. I hadn’t a second to register the footsteps behind me before a firm hand caught my elbow and pulled me back. I was out of breath. Damien wasn’t.