Leave {z.m.}

Forty Six

"You don't know a thing about true sacrifice, Gemma! Throughout your whole life, you've only made sacrifices that affect other people in awful ways. You've never sacrificed something that meant anything at all to you personally!" Adelaide shouted at her, and Gemma seemed to lose her train of thought. "So?" She fired back in a snide manner.

Adelaide was close to exploding, but she held back, breathed in and out, and calmly stated, "You shouldn't use words that you know nothing about." Gemma rolled her eyes and turned to Xavier. His body was suddenly whisked towards her; he was standing directly in front of her now.

"Don't do this, Gem," he held eye contact with her for a minute straight. Not saying another word. He knew that he could not convince her of attaining a different perspective, but he would try to distract her for as long as he could. Maybe he was trying to help me, but it would not work. I could not move; Gemma was keeping me in place. Again, I felt powerless. Weak. Too human.

Adelaide fidgeted where she stood; she could not move either. Gemma had locked her in place as well, although she could probably break free if she focused and tried. Everything has been rushing around, constantly moving. I have never had a true break from anything. If I try to think about even one thing, my head spins and aches.

Adelaide did not seem to know what our fate was, though maybe it was better that way. If she knew the truth, she might do something rash. She must never turn dark; I do not need her trying to use darker magic and stress herself because of an ignorant desire to save me. 

Gemma smiled smugly as she brought her lips to Xavier's ear and whispered something that I could not quite catch. Her mouth moved in an odd way; her lips forming words so quickly that it must be in a foreign language. The black pupils within her green eyes minimized to slits, like a dangerous snake.

I struggled against the magic that bound me. I have to do something; I have not done anything at all. I am a failure. I need to redeem myself before...before..."STOP!" Adelaide screamed as she thrashed around, rebelling against the spell. The room closed in on us, and a noise rang throughout. It was an irregular beating, pounding on the walls.

I covered my ears with the palms of my hands; the noise was straining against my eardrums. It was a sporadic heartbeat that seemed to grow louder with every pump of more blood that the heart controlled. I knew it was not my own heart; mine had not been beating that irregularly. Who's was it then?

"Xavier," Adelaide shot me a worried glance, but she also seemed to be startled and utterly stunned. Had she..."Yes," she whispered from beside me. She was reading my mind. I imagined myself creating a clean slate. Nothing to think about. Nothing to reveal. She could not know the truth. 

"Zayn," her eyebrows scrunched together as she demanded to know what I had meant. How was she doing this anyway? "Maybe it's the powers' strength?" She wondered and I nodded. Gemma's head cocked to one side as she faced me. Her eyes were frightening, and I wanted to look away but I could not. Firstly, because she would not allow me to physically, and secondly, I did not want to turn away.

I needed to stare her in the eyes. Make her see everything. All that I was expressing and feeling as a living, breathing person. I could not back down. Adelaide's fingernails raked against her cheeks as she groaned in pain. She was forcing herself against the spell. As Xavier's heartbeat was changing speed and intensity, his complexion drained into a pale blue colour.

His skin began to shrivel against his bones, and his teeth fell out one by one, the process of his hair growth expedited and then all of it fell out onto the floor. It was horrifying. The room's temperature declined and I began to shiver. Flakes of ice formed on the walls surrounding us and the air was frosty against my skin.