The Runes Curse

Chapter 4

Quinn watched as Cecily hugged the older looking boy, squeezing with such effort that he made a gasp. Cecily’s arms pinned down his. Quinn felt a wave of confusion as Cecily did a final squeeze and let go, making the boy smile as he looked down at her. Quinn wondered who he was and how he ended up at her bedroom of all places, but she didn’t press it. He obviously made Cecily happy.

Quinn decided to look at the boy; messy, slightly curly, sandy hair was a mop on his head. His eyes were a light green that was a wave of different shades, and it made Quinn want to stare into his eyes for ages. His build wasn’t muscular like most Shadowhunters, but he also wasn’t scrawny; he was toned. When he opened his palm to give Cecily a high-five, Quinn noticed he had a long scar running down to his wrist. It looked like the gash must’ve been painful when it was made, but Quinn didn’t want to live that. Neither did he, Quinn guessed.

Quinn uncrossed her arms and shifted her weight, not sure where to go or how to stand. She got annoyed of being out-of-the-loop and finally said, “Who is he?” She knew it had come out as snobby, but she didn’t like not knowing who this boy was. They both looked at her and it struck Quinn that he was Cecily’s older brother.

He had the same curls as Cecily, the same jaw, the same eye shape. It was obvious to her that he was her brother, and Cecily must’ve thought that Quinn was joking.

“Are you serious, Quinn?” Cecily said, putting her hands in her pockets. “It’s Theo.”

Theo smiled, obviously happy to be back home. His name was familiar and it was a wave of different memories of her childhood; he used to be a scrawny kid, gangly. He used to not know how or where or what to do on a normal basis, but it was clear now that he was confident and knew what he wanted. Quinn was green with envy over that. She didn’t know what she wanted to do or how or where to go. Should she stay in London? Or go to another Institute?

Theo reached out and gave Quinn an awkward hug, and Quinn didn’t know where to put her arms so she stood there, motionless. Cecily made a clapping noise, making the both of them jump. Theo took the chance to break away, giving Quinn a final look of their awkward-greeting. She felt happy that it was over.

Cecily pushed her brother out of the room, waving a good-bye to Quinn as she exited the door, too.

. . .

Quinn had finally gotten herself cleaned up and was ready to drift off and dream of normal teenage girl stuff. Like unicorns or boybands. But sleep never came; she lay awake, closing her eyes and hoping, dying to get into a sleep-state. Nothing came. She would toss and turn, trying to get comfortable, but she couldn’t. She thought of different things, hoping that something would bore her and she would eventually fall asleep.

Nothing worked.

She ripped off her covers, her sleep-shorts-clad legs shivering from the abrupt change. She felt her bare feet hit the hardwood. It was neither cold nor warm, but a mixture. Quinn padded to her door and gently opened it, careful not to wake anyone. She looked both ways before turning right and making her way to the Institute’s library. Quinn looked across the hall at her brother’s door. It was still shut. She hadn’t seen him in over a day, but she would soon. Quinn took a final breath before tip-toeing in the dark, old hallway.

Mahogany siding up to 4 ft was on the walls, with a dark, floral wallpaper. The Institute might have been updated to fix modern culture, but some of it was still the same as it used to be. It was like living 100 years before, but still knowing that it was the appropriate year. There was also different rugs here and there for decoration.