The Unknown

Chapter 12

I looked over my journal. I hated that I didn't get the chance to see the spectre so I could sketch it beside my notes. I'm still alive and if we don't do something to keep the world from going tp hell, I'll most likely encounter another one. By then, I pray I overcome my fears. I looked up from it when Alister came into the living room. Lately he's been moody and temperamental, not towards me though. Towards the guys because they haven't been able to find Madeline and they can't get Chad to talk about where she is. He is beyond loyal to her. 

He walked past me, his hand brushing gently against my cheek, his eyes looking down at me as he does. It was his way of asking me if I was okay. Me leaning into his touch was me telling him I was. Ever since the incident with the spectre, that's been our only form of contact. He hasn't said anything to me. I think it's because he feels he doesn't have that right because he is blaming himself for what happened. It's not his fault. None of them knew the runes that were protecting us had been rewritten. It's Madeline's fault, plain and simple. I haven't made the effort to talk to him though either. What am I going to say that I haven't already? Alister won't rest until Madeline was captured, and as each day passes I see it as wasted effort. We need to find The Prince. 

I would go out and hunt for him, but anytime I leave, I have Nik following me. He doesn't know I know he is there, and honestly I'm getting tired of it. I had plans to run some errands for some much needed things, and I plan on catching him then. I hate being tailed. After having Chad follow me from the club to Drac's bar to clinging outside the window as I slept, I've put more effort into paying attention to my surroundings. I already noticed many things others tend to miss. I'm determined to miss nothing now. 

"I'm running to the store," I yelled out to Alister who was tinkering away in the work shop. He poked his head out and narrowed his eyes at me, but he didn't say anything. I waved my whip as I left, I got my weapon, my wave said as I left. 

I had noticed Nik's motorcycle not long after I pulled out of the drive way. I gripped the steering wheel and drove to the warehouse not far from my true destination. I got out and leaned against the car, waiting for him. I crossed my arms as he pulled up. "How long have you known," He asked, turning off the bike. "Since you started doing it," I told him. "I honestly find it annoying. Just tag along for Christ sake." "Alister didn't think it wise," He said, arms crossing. "There's no point if I know you're there," I told him. "I get he wants to give me a sense of space and not suffocate me by being a mother hen, but I would rather have a body guard over a stalker." He choked on a laugh at me calling Alister a mother hen. 

"He just worries after what happened. What he really wants to do is lock you in your bedroom where he knows you'll stay safe, but he also wants you to be happy since it seems what little happiness you are gaining, keeps getting ripped away from you," He shared with me. I nodded, "I'm well aware of Alister's feelings and I am doing my best to keep them in mind. However, I feel everyone's efforts on finding Madeline are wasted. We only have two months to keep the veil from falling. Meaning we have a finite window of time to find The Prince and stop whatever plans he has." "We are all on a one track mind right now," Nik told me. "We know what happened to you, and Madeline letting that spectre in, made you nearly relive it. That is unforgivable." "I get it," I told him. "But the reality is, I won't be able to rest easy until we change the future. I am tired of waking up every morning, nearly having a heart attack because it ends with me getting stabbed by someone I have yet to meet. I was much better off with it ending with the world going to hell. We need to find The Prince. Madeline may just come out of hiding on her own when you guys stop looking for her. I want her to get what's coming to her just as much as you all do, but I have the end of the world as my main priority, and you need to do the same." 

I checked my watch and saw I needed to hurry up to the store before they closed, "Now then, I need to get to the store before they close. Stop following me and just tag along." I got into the car and drove off. I was in the feminine hygiene aisle seeing Nik out of the corner of my eye. He seemed extremely uncomfortable being near this aisle and it made me laugh on the inside. I grabbed what I needed then made my way towards him. 

"If you can't handle being in this aisle, then you have no right fucking a woman," I told him. "And why do you say that," He asked, stuffing his hands into his pocket as we walked to the chocolate aisle. "Because the vagina is for more than just giving  a man pleasure. We get pleasure and we understand the enjoyment of sex just as much as you guys, but we also have to deal with the nasty reality that it's also used to bring life into this world, and the least you men can do is assist instead of being disgusted," I said while grabbing a bag of M&Ms. "Is that why your brother keeps whatever those things are called in his glove box," He asked while gesturing to thing of pads with his chin. 

I nodded, "Yeah. Our mother had threatened to beat him black and blue if he ever acted disgusted around a woman's monthly cycle. Claimed it was disrespectful to every woman on the planet by doing so, including the women in our family that he declared he loved. Love is more than happiness and roses. It's full of disgusting things too. Can't have one without the other." "And what would you say is between you and Alister," He asked, catching me out of nowhere. 

I sighed, "I honestly don't know. We once had lines carved in cement. Then that cement turned into sand and a breeze blew, distorting it. Since the incident at Drac's, he hasn't spoken to me. He let's me know he cares in his own ways though." "And what are your feelings towards him," He asked next. I sighed, "Honestly, I don't know. I care about him, and so far that's all I've figured out." Feelings weren't easy to decipher. Especially when you don't know what you're supposed to feel. 

"Right now my feelings have been something not so easy to figure out as a whole," I told him. "I went through hell, and then relived it barely a month later. Most in my shoes may cry, throw a tantrum, refuse to accept it, have a pity party, or lock themselves away from the world. I just stood up, brushed off the blood, and kept going forward. I accept that it happened, and I fear it happening again, but I'm not paranoid. I didn't cry when it happened the first time instead, I fought everyday. I knew that if I gave up, it would win, and then that would be it for me. So I kept fighting, and I keep fighting because I refuse to let it win." I shrugged, "I know Mikal thinks it broke me, and maybe it did, but I'm still here, giving it my best, and to me that's what matter." 

He didn't say anything after that, just silently followed me around until I got back to Alister's. He was in the kitchen looking through some book. He noticed the bags in my hands, then looked back at me. "You could've told me you knew he was following you," he told me softly. I shrugged, "You weren't really in the talking mood." As I went to pass him, I gave his cheek a soft kiss, "And I knew you did it because you were worried." I then took my stuff up to my room.