Courting Tragedy

Courting Tragedy (8)

8

I woke up alone, snuggled under a blanket. I could hear Gage talking in the kitchen in a low voice, sounding agitated. I stretched, feeling my joints pop and crack, and then stood up.

Following his voice, I made my way into the kitchen. He had his back to me and he was gesturing wildly with his hand. He slammed his phone shut and dropped his head onto his hands. I walked over to him, strangely drawn to comfort him.

I slid my arms around his waist, and he jumped. I rested my head against his back and felt him slide his hands over mine.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

He sighed and nodded.

I pulled away. "You're not talking, therefore I assume you're lying."

He sat down on a stool at the bar and I hopped up onto the counter next to him.

"Spill." I demanded after he didn't say anything.

He ran his hands through his hair, then looked at the clock, before hopping off the chair and tidying the cupboards. I grabbed his hand and forcibly dragged him into the living room. I shoved the pillow and blanket aside before pulling him down next to me on the sofa.

"Tell me now." I said, enunciating every word slowly, so he knew I was serious.

He had been looking at the ground, but he looked up and met my eyes steadily when I finished talking.

"You have to promise me not to flip out on me." He said unhurriedly.

"Ok," I said.

"No. Promise me." He repeated.

I blew out a breath. "Fine. I, Emory VanWelden, promise not to flip out on you."

"Ok. Well, I was just on the phone with my, um, supervisor, if you will. I was trying to get you assigned to a certain team. It would seem that I don't have as much say in the matter as I thought I did..." He trailed off, his gaze turned inward for a moment before giving me a sad smile. "It's nothing serious, Princess."

I thought for a second. "Then why did I have to promise?" I asked.

"That's not what you promised about. I made you promise because when we leave tomorrow, we'll be separated."

His eyes pleaded with me to understand, to know that this wasn't his doing.

My vision clouded. I was basically just told that tomorrow I'd be alone, left in the care of some people I didn't know. My hands started shaking, more from anger than fear this time. I was surprised; usually when I get angry I start crying, but here I am, about to kick some ass.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to even look at Gage right then. He was abandoning me, leaving me to go train to be a 'protector', or whatever it is he said I am.

I felt him take my hand, and my eyes snapped open. His jaw dropped and he moved to back away, but he couldn't.

I felt a tingle, spreading down my body, and as I looked down, I saw something new. My skin seemed to be glowing, a pure white light emitting from my very pores. With a jolt, a blue burst of light shot outwards from me, forming an unbroken bubble around me. as it spread out, Gage went flying into the wall across the room and slid down to the floor. Blood ran down his face from a cut on his forehead, and I gasped. What did I just do?

As I started crying, my shield or bubble, or whatever it was, began fading in and out before disappearing completely. I collapsed to the ground in front of the couch and sobbed.