Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 51

I jolt awake, my throat stinging. 

I inhale sharply, the crushing pressure of a phantom arm still lingering. I sit up grabbing for my neck as I loosely touch the skin that aches under my touch. I gasp in a few, shallow breaths before I remember where I am. 

You're okay, you're safe. They can't get you anymore. 

I take a couple more breaths, the pain fading as I slowly drop my hands. I tip forward, resting my head on my knees as I continue to calm myself down. 

I know that it's the memory of when Blaize had tried to strangle me. 

The sensation is fresher than ever as I reach up to touch the skin tentatively. But I know the bruises have faded since the fairgrounds. I know they shouldn't really hurt me anymore. Yet they still do.

It's been two days since the early morning fight in the graveyard. Since then, I've moved back into my dorm room with Astrid and Tessa. Tessa's parents had begged her to come home but she had refused, opting to stay in the dorm and visit them every other evening since they lived over in Cambridge. Astrid's parents hadn't contacted her much from what I know, what little Tessa is able to tell me. 

I glance over at Astrid now from where she lies sleeping in the other bunk across the room. The swelling on her face has begun to go down, but there are still stitches in her lip as an ugly reminder of what her uncle had done to her. 

I huff out a soft, grounding breath as I sit up. 

Today is the last day that classes will be suspended. 

Everything at the academy had come to a grinding halt when word got out about the graveyard incident. Classes, tests, labs, sports, and any other extracurricular was cancelled. It's been quiet on campus, like everyone is staying quiet enough to hear any stray word of what had really happened. It's like living in the midst of a ghost town, conversations reduced to whispers. 

Rumors have begun to fly that Clayton Hallewell was the driving force behind the murders. 

I haven't indulged in any of those conversations. 

I take my time with getting up as the others do the same in a heavy silence. 

Astrid has still been on the slow side, her movements careful and hesitant like she has broken glass packed under her skin and any sudden movements would prick her. The painkillers she had been given keeps her relatively numb to the pain that would otherwise cripple her as she heals. Time will only tell for her. The doctors had done everything they could to ensure that she'll heal from the curse. 

Tessa still has a limp from a sprained ankle as she favors her right foot and waits by the door for us.

"Hurry up," she gripes as she eyes me knowingly, "we're going to be late for the press conference."

I gnaw my lip as I pull on my coat and think about Diana's words. 

Unfamiliars are fellow witches and people need to act like it.

But what can I say to help people understand?

I shake my head as I follow Astrid and Tessa out and down the hall to the elevator to take to the ground floor. I can feel people watching us as we walk past. But I can't be afraid anymore. From here on out, people would be looking for cracks to utilize against me. This time, the murderers have been found and we survived. 

Next to us, Astrid's lioness shimmers into place as we step in the elevator. 

Indigo is descending the stairs as we step off the elevator in the lobby and we pause to wait for her. She looks tired and I fear for a moment that maybe we've come back to school too soon.