The Degenerate (Mythics Book One)

4

 Completely dry and dressed in an oversized t-shirt and shorts, I flopped on the bed. A curtain of long brown hair obscured my vision and I buried my face in my blanket. The television was still broadcasting white noise and I was thankful that it wasn't silent. It was times like these, in the evening especially, where I felt condensed, suffocated. I wanted a different life, any life. Anything but my current reality.

My heart pounded harshly in my chest and I clenched my teeth to prevent tears from escaping.

The bed creaked and Theo swan-dived right beside me and sent me bouncing. He flicked my hair out of my face.

"You know the rules," he said. "No hair on my side."

I huffed. "That's a bit picky, don't you think?"

"No, it's fair," he insisted. "It's all over the place! And you shed a lot. I'll wake up looking like I'm the proud owner of a large dog."

I sat up, tucking said hair behind my ears, and changed the subject. "Have you heard from Hailee recently?"

Now lying on his back, Theo stared up at the ceiling. "No. She's been silent for the past week."

"What? Why didn't you tell me? She could be in danger."

He let out a breath. "I didn't want to worry you. She's probably fine." He smiled at me. "We all know she can take care of herself."

Well, he was definitely right on that count. I had seen Hailee in action before and it had given me nightmares for weeks. She was bloody and brutal, quick to go for the killing blow. Sometimes, I thought she might have lived for the pain. "She's your sister," I pointed out. "You must be a little worried."

Theo was silent, and I knew I was right. Hailee was the only thing left he could really claim as family, no matter how distant they had become. They were bonded by blood and DNA and not even Hailee's hot and cold moods could change that. They had been on a pretty good stint these past couple of months and we had helped each other out more than once. Going silent so suddenly when she used to check in every other day couldn't mean anything good.

"Let's give it a little while longer," Theo finally said.

I nodded. In the fading evening light, his skin looked like a marble statue, ashen. His mouth was pressed into a determined line. If I hadn't known any better, I would say he showed all the emotion of a rock. I could see through the exterior, through the tension in his jaw, the tightness around his eyes. However, I knew he was right. In the meantime, the real challenge would be keeping myself from worrying so much. A fruitless cause, certainly.

I stretched back on the bed and immediately felt Theo's warm presence beside me. I was letting the day's excitement catch up with me at last. The tarp underneath us crumpled as I shifted to cover myself with my blanket.

A weight still pressed heavily on my chest. Stress was still my constant companion. You would think I'd have grown to expect its gifts by now, find some familiarity in it. Yet I still didn't want to give in to the images waiting just beneath my eyelids, the sensations that followed me everywhere I went and pounced every time I let my guard down.

I shouldn't have been surprised when Theo shifted, turned, and pulled me closer. His arm around my shoulders was strong and steady and soothed me in a way it probably shouldn't have. His eyes collided with mine. I unconsciously turned toward him, caved closer like he held some sort of magnetic thrall. We were close enough that I could smell him, a mix of spice and mint and that faint undertone of acrylic paints.

He flicked my forehead. "You're pretty cool, you know," he said.

My cheeks flamed. "I guess you're alright."

He smirked and turned his gaze away, up at the ceiling. A soft sigh escaped him. "We'll be okay." Something about the words pierced me. "We'll be okay."