Burned

Chapter Sixteen

"Just remember that you love me, okay?" He begged.

Despite everything my head told me, I nodded. Of course, I would never forget how much I loved him because that was never going to change. Daniel and I were meant to be. We had always been and always would be. I was sure of it.

That was what Daniel had said. Then, he made an excuse as to why today was a bad day to talk to me. He was holding something back. He had some "bad" news to tell me, but wouldn't elaborate on it. It was frustrating but more than that it was annoying. I wanted to know. 

The rest of the day had been pretty boring. I went home and thought about every type of bad news Daniel could tell me. I even made a list of things I wouldn't be able to forgive. Then, I pictured Daniel saying it and I instantly forgave it. The number of things he could say that I would forgive was astonishing, but not surprising. It was like I had said before: we were soul mates. That meant something more than I could fully grasp.

Tuesday had come and went. I was on my way home when Daniel text me that he wanted to talk. My heart skipped a beat while my fingertips type out a reply. I offered to meet him anywhere. Of course, he wanted to meet at his place. I stopped by my house, changed clothes and touched up my make up. I'm not sure why, but I wanted to look good for him. I was halfway convinced the bad news he had to tell me was that he had cheated.

In my head, I ran over all the excuses. I tried to picture myself telling him to get lost and slap him, but I couldn't. Each and every time I forgave him. It was like word vomit pouring out of me, each time I flailed my arms around his neck, saying " of course, I love you!" It was pathetic. I had never seen myself as this type of girl. It wasn't me -- not really. It was the part of me that was meant to be with Daniel.

I wore a short navy blue dress and black shoes. When I walked to second period, I half-expected him to be absent. But, there he was sitting at his desk, his left leg bobbed up and down. It was a nervous habit he had. I sighed in relief, seeing he was nervous too. All I knew was that he had bad news to tell me. It really could be anything and that was what stemmed from my anxiety. I didn't like not knowing. 

As I strode over to him, I noticed how tired he looked. He must not be sleeping either. I could count on one hand how much sleep I had gotten last night. The circles under his eyes were dark and there were red spidery veins wound tightly. They did this when he hadn't drunk blood in a while. It was both comforting and uncomforting. Daniel got hangry when he didn't drink blood. If he let himself not drink blood for too long, his body would start to shut down or the bloodlust would take him over.

I didn't say anything as I sat down. 

"Hey, Corn," was all he said. He looked like he was going to say more, but class started. The teacher stood at the front of the room and started to take roll. I droned most of it out, waiting until I heard "Melanie Miller's" name gets called. I knew I was right after her. Then, I started to let my mind wander, doodling on the edges of my lined paper. It started out just loops that weren't connected. Then, as the image started to appear, I realized it was a face. It wasn't just anyone's face it was Daniel's. His mouth open, teeth bared, reminding me of the beast-like thing Rose had turned into.

I shivered at the memory. 

Kate was trying to figure out why Rose had looked like that in the vision. As far as she knew, Cursed Ones always looked like Daniel and Giu: normal except for the red eyes and sharp teeth. She hadn't found anything yet, but that was to be expected. Daniel's family had worked hard to keep their secrets. It wasn't going to be easy finding out what really happened.

I could ask Daniel, but that would mean we were talking. After he tells me this bad news, I'll ask him about his family. Giu might know, but after the incident in the hallway, when she told me being Cursed wasn't so bad, I've tried to keep my distance. I wasn't afraid of her, but I had seen what she was capable of. Okay, maybe I was a little scared of her.