Arogen

Chapter XX

"You probably will," assured Joel, grinning.

Suddenly feeling sick to my stomach, I rose up. "I'm going to go to sleep. I'm tired."

Star immediately rose up to assist me.

"I'm fine. You can stay Star, I'm just tired," I said smiling at her

I diverted my attention to the boys before saying, "Night Tom. Joel."

I turned and walked away, my stomach doing somersaults at the idea of the Five walking the halls. I went inside the familiar doorway with F etched above it. I went over to my closet, quickly changing into my pjs before crawling into bed. I pulled out my phone and texted Zion.

Are you ok?

He began typing back quickly and before long my phone pinged with another notification.

Yeah, are you?

I closed my eyes, hopping into his mind, needing to talk to him face to face.

He let me in immediately, waiting for me inside the room.

"Nice work with my friends," I complimented him, walking over to him.

He nodded absentmindedly, eyes distant clearly not with me.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," he replied, smiling weakly, clearly trying to put on a strong front for me.

Angrily, I snapped at him, "You don't have to protect me Zion. I can handle it. I'm tired of you hiding everything from me like I'm some fragile doll waiting to break."

"I'm sorry, Saron. I'm just worried I won't be able to protect you," he answered, regret filling his eyes.

"Look, I appreciate your concern but that's not your job," I said, sternly.

Kicking the wall in frustration, he looked back at me, waiting for me to reply. After a long moment of silence, he continued.

"Saron, you can't leave. At least for this weekend. I-I'll figure something out."

"Zion, I can't stay inside forever. What will I tell my friends? I'm sick of lying to them. I can keep a low profile and stop using my powers in the open. I'll be careful but I can't hide."

His jaw tightened as he looked at my face, realizing I wasn't going to change my mind.

"I'm not leaving you alone. If you need to leave, I'll come with you."

Touched by his concern, I cupped his face in my hands, looking up at him in adoration.

"I'll be fine, Zion. I won't leave without my friends. If I need you, I'll text you." I backed away from him, returning my hands to my side before walking out of the room before he could argue.

I closed my eyes, inviting sleep to take over.

"Please, Car you have to take her. They're coming for me!" cried out a radiant woman with dark, fair skin and short orange hair.

"I'm not putting myself in danger for a child that will bring us all to ruin," replied a younger version of Ms. Gerbin standing protectively at her doorstep with the door ajar.

The woman narrowed her eyes before replying coldly, "Have you forgotten what I did for you?"

"That child is a monster."