Every Broken Part (Series)

Chapter Twenty Four.

                                                         D E V I N 

I awoke with a start. My whole body felt as if I had run through a fire. I unwrapped my arm from the bandage, as I gasped. My arm was completely healed. Graizen. I only remember him cleaning up my wound. He must've used something to heal it. My heart was beating faster than normal as I started my morning routine. I don't remember him healing my arm. What if he came in here while I was sleeping? No. He isn't that weird. Is he? My whole body ached as I slowly got up from my bed. As the blanket fell from my body, I erupted in shivers. The whole room felt as if it had shifted below freezing. The door slammed open, causing me to jump back. Graizen was at the door, his eyes wide.

"You were here the whole time, what the hell?"

I looked around the room, completely oblivious to the situation. It was still dark outside. It must be the middle of the night.

"Why are you in here? What time is it?" My voice was hoarse as I said this. You could clearly hear the exhaustion in it.

"It's 8pm. You just woke up?" Graizen had worry in his voice as he came up to me. He put the back of his hand to my forehead. I was so exhausted my mind barely registered that his hand was there. His eyes fell on me, they were filled with concern.

"You're burning up." He stated, his voice serious.

"That's ironic." I let out a laugh. "It's actually freezing in here."

Graizen noticed my shivering as I said this. He immediately grabbed the blanket from the floor and sat me down onto the bed. His warm arms went around me, as he engulfed us into the blanket. The coldness suddenly went away as his body was completely around mine. My heart was practically beating out of my chest as I became flustered.

"W-What are you doing?" I choked out.

"Body heat." He stated. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I can leave."

"No," I quickly said. "Stay, please."

His arms tightened around me as I felt completely relaxed. Memories of Jax keeping me warm flashed through my mind, but this feeling was completely different. My whole body felt as if it were brought to life. All my exhaustion went away as I let my eyes gently close.

~*~

"Devin!"

My eyes snapped open as they fell on Jax. He was standing in front of me, gently shaking my shoulders.

"Wake up, sleepy head."

I looked around the room. There was no sign of Graizen. "Where is he?"

"Who? You've been alone in here all day." Jax had no idea what I was talking about. I shrugged it off. Was I that out of it, I imagined the whole thing with Graizen? My heart sunk. I didn't realize how much I wanted that to be real. I don't know why. I wish he didn't have such an effect on me. It infuriates me to no end. He infuriates me. I heard music blaring above me as I raised my eyebrow at Jax.

"It's Henrick's funeral." Jax stated.

I grew even more confused. It sounded like a huge party above me. "Funeral?"

"Well, we like to call them celebrations of life." Jax smiled as he made his way out the door. "Get out of your lazy clothes, come join the party."

My eyes widened as he disappeared down the hall. I quickly threw on some clothes and freshened up as I followed the direction of the music. Instead of taking the elevator, I quickly ran up the stairs. Sure enough, the floor above me was filled with bodies all around. Everyone was drinking, dancing, and partying. It looked like a regular college party.

But it wasn't.

Everyone here was gifted with these incredible powers. Except for me. No matter what, I was always going to be the oddball out. I may have found my family here, but I'm never truly going to be like them. An arm pulled me out of my thoughts as Aphelia dragged me into the crowd of bodies. I could tell she was quite drunk as she thrashed a drink into my hands. I instantly took it, wincing back as I sniffed it. I had no idea what type of alcohol this is. I shrugged as I took a sip from my drink. My eyes widened as the drink burned all the way down my throat. I let myself slowly dance next to Aphelia as I felt my nervousness go away. She quickly handed me another drink, as I sipped it down. I got used to the burn as I let my hips sway to the music. Aphelia was quickly taken away by Ryker as he pulled her into a corner. They locked lips with eachother, tuning out the world around them. I lightly smiled as I continued to dance to the music without a care in the world.

"Hey, stranger." Locke was suddenly behind me. His face was blurry as I turned around to face him. Whatever they drink here, it goes straight to my head. I can barely even think straight. Locke's hands were on my waist as I struggled to stand. These drinks were hitting me really fast.

"Your hands are on my waist." I laughed as I took another sip from my drink. I frowned as I found it empty. The cup fell to the floor as I focused my attention back to Locke. His arms were still around me. My brain felt cloudy as I felt my body falling forward. Locke supported my weight, steading me in his arms. It felt like I was simply floating in thin air, as light as I feather.

"They are." He smiled down to me. "You seem a little drunk."

"You seem a little sober, my friend."

Locke only raised his eyes as he pulled my body against his. He leaned his lips down to my ear as my eyes widened. He seems to forget about personal space quite a lot. I couldn't help how uncomfortable I felt as the alcohol continued to hit me.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier." I could feel his breath on my neck as he whispered in my ear. I simply nodded, trying to focus on his words as much as I can. "I was an ass, running off like that."

"An ass." I repeated the words. "That's a donkey, you know."

I felt myself burst out laughing as I almost fell over once again. Locke quickly picked me up from the ground as I was completely in his arms. Woah. The floor was gone from under my feet as I felt his arms around my body. It was an entirely different feeling than Graizen's touch. Anything was repulsive compared to Graizen.

"You're carrying me now."

"I am." He simply stated as he began to walk in the direction of the stairs. I sure hope he doesn't fall down these stairs. That would be a mess.

"You're not Graizen. Graizen. It rhymes with raisin; did you know that?" I whispered. He stopped in his tracks. His arms clenched tighter around me, as I began to feel even dizzier than before.

"What?" Locke's face was serious, it almost looked annoyed.

"Where are you going with her?" An angry voice asked. I tried to follow where the voice came from, but I only grew dizzier as I shut my eyes. I suddenly noticed we were at the bottom of the stairs. The whole party was gone, you could only hear the faint sound of music above us. As I opened my eyes I noticed Rayner. He had his arms crossed, standing in front of my room.

"Rayner!" I reached in his direction, my entire face lighting up. "Come join the party!"

I could feel Locke's arms tense even more as he was holding me.

"Aphelia accidently let her drink our alcohol. She's way too drunk, I'm just bringing her to her room." I heard Locke explain from behind me. Even drunk me could sense the nervousness in his voice. Or could I? I don't know, my head is a fuzzy mess.

"No way in hell you are."

I had never heard Rayner this serious before. This feels like a dream. Locke gently set me down as I felt Rayner guide me to my room. I sat down on my bed, suddenly not feeling so great anymore. I held my stomach in my hands. The world around me was dizzy as I tried to focus on reality.

"I'm sorry, Aphelia was drunk. We all have insanely high tolerances, so we don't mix our alcohol with anything. You were drinking like four shots of liquor per cup." Rayner's voice was filled with sympathy as he stared down at me.

"I don't feel too hot." I mumbled as my hands went to my stomach.