Accidental Beauty

Chapter Sixteen

♡ C a t ♡

We walked along the sidewalk in silence. I stole glances at Jake ever so often, but never initiated a conversation. I wish I had my iPhone at times like these. The awkward silence was so much to bare. If there wasn't the risk of monsters finding us by using a cell phone, I would surely be texting rather than walking in quiet.

Indiana seemed...nice. Everyone either smiled as we passed them on the sidewalks or waved, even though we clearly didn't belong here. It was almost too nice. I was prepared for anything to leap out at us any moment now.

"So, what are we looking for?" I asked. Okay, I had to say something. Just walking on nearly separate sides of the sidewalk without talking was killing me.

"Just a thing." He answered vaguely. I frowned.

"Oh." I pulled some of my hair on my shoulders and bounced the curls. Any day now the blessing should be wearing off. Then I'll go back to average me. Will my hair still be the same as the day I got claimed? I hope not. That bun suffered through a day of sword fighting.

"So you can really charmspeak." He stated randomly. Haven't we been over this before?

"Yup." I popped the p as the I said the word. Really, the ability isn't that grand. It's not like I'll use it freely. I really don't know what he's trying to get at.

"So can Kayla." He pointed out.

"Yup." I repeated, not really wanting to talk about her right now. She was a hundred miles away.

"Kayla used it a lot."

"I can imagine." I traced the hilt of my dagger, becoming more and more disconnected from this conversation.

"James said you're more powerful than her."

"Mhm." I mumbled. Maybe I can charmspeak my way out of here.

"Just...nevermind." Jake dismissed the conversation.

I began to think. There has to be a point to him bringing that up in such a sour fashion. Perhaps they had a past? But why am I element of it? Unless he's scared of me. The thought was surreal, but valid. Aphrodite's children might appear harmless, but their powers could make warriors quake in fear. Love drove you mad.

Empathy for Jake filled my heart. Kayla had probably done something horrid to him, which is nothing other than expected. She's a witch. I sucked in a breath, "I'm not like Kayla. Don't worry. I won't do whatever she did." You can trust me." The words sat on the tip of my tongue, but I never spoke them. Something held me back.

"They should have the part we need in here." He said, gesturing to a hardware store that looked family owned. I hadn't even realized we entered the town.

"Should we both go in?" I asked. No one was really roaming the streets save for us. It is still rather early in the morning.

"Yeah. I don't think anything will happen in there." I nodded and we both walked inside. A bell chimed as we walked over the threshold.

Aisles upon aisles of various hardware supplies lined the store. To the left of the door was a check out table that seemed to be deserted. Several useless materials hung from racks near the exit, calling to young kids who were fascinated by them. Soft classic music played through the speaker system overhead.

A dog laid in a peaceful slumber in front of the desk. As we walked past, he lifted his large head up and growled menacingly. I didn't mind much to the animal, dogs were always one of my favorite pets. Kate and I had a golden retriever and black lab in our youth. We would always race down the sidewalk with both dogs, trampling over other passerby's.