I went down stairs with burning cheeks and bruised lips. George and Bill were in a heated argument. Dee had been staring at them, like they were in some kind of soap opera. Greyson had come down stairs before I had to make things less awkward for everyone, but when looked around the living room, but he was nowhere in sight.
"You need to get over your guilt, George, it’s been over two years!” Bill threw his hands in the air.
I sat down next to Dee and hugged my knees to my chest. She pulled me closer to her and kissed me on the forehead while rubbing my shoulder.
"I am over it,” George crossed his arms.
"Hardly! You only talk to me when you need something, or force me to eat meals with you and pretend it’s not super awkward between us. For once, can’t you just treat me like a normal person!"
"Well, what am I supposed to do? You can’t even smell a half-breed when one is right under your nose. George finally took notice of me and quickly flicked his eyes back to Bill. "Can we not do this in front of other people please."
"Oh, you’re right. My senses are all whack, therefore I’m an invalid. So, thank you for all your help." Bill clapped sarcastically. "I am so grateful, George, you’re a huge- pain in the neck."
George let out an exacerbated sigh and looked at me once more before grabbing Bill's hand and walking out of the room.
"What the hell are you doing?" Bill said trying to get out of George’s hold.
"Would you just shut up for one second!" George grumbled and dragged Bill upstairs.
"Well, that sure was interesting don't you think?" Dee turned to face me, when Bill and George were out of sight.
"I am not of a fan of all this arguing. Have you seen Greyson?"
"Oh, the hottie potattie with eyes for guys?" Dee joked.
"Dee what hell are you saying?" I looked down at her with knitted brows.
She giggled and just shrugged.
"I don't know. When he came down stairs, he took one look at us, dialed a number on his phone, and left out the front door. "
I nodded and stood up.
"Wait!" Dee grabbed my arm.
"What?"
"Don't- don't let them take you away from me. Okay?" The blue in Dee's eyes widened and I sighed sitting back down next to her.
I pressed my forehead against her head.
"I promise. It’s you and me till the very end and no one is going to change that." I smiled at her and she mirrored my expression.
Our moment was abrupted when the front door slammed closed. Dee and I both snapped our necks toward the entrance where Greyson was now standing. His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he let out a heavy sigh. I could feel a surge of energy rush through me, he was angry and frustrated.
"So," Greyson clapped his hands together when he noticed me and Dee on the couch. "I think it would be best for you if come back home with me. And to be clear, I don't mean the apartment you were in the other night."
Greyson looked uneasy. There was something he wasn't telling me.
"Why are you saying it like that? Are you from Rochester, or something?" Dee asked skeptically.
I smiled down at her. She was always so quick to jump the gun
"What will we do about school? Or the cafe? Doug can't run that place all on his own." I pointed out.
Suddenly real-life issues became an obstacle. I couldn't just up and leave!
"Maddy, why do you always think about the boring stuff. I could use a vacation from all the chaos in the past nine years. Besides, it's not like we're going to be there forever. Just until this whole thing blows over. Right?" Dee and I both looked up at Greyson who, shifted uncomfortably.
"Um, about that. She can't come." Greyson said stiffly knowing the response he was going to get.
"What! Why the hell not? It's not like I'll freak out or anything! I already know about you guys and I will not leave Maddy alone in place he doesn't know!" Dee stood up and stepped between me and Greyson.
Great more fighting…
"You can't go because you're human. And Maddy won't be alone because he has me." Greyson pointed his thumb at his chest.
"You take care of Maddy?” Dee scoffed. “You hardly know him! Not to mention you're being super… Speciest right now!"
"Sorry, but I don’t make the rules. Where I’m from, if humans started showing up, there’d be chaos."
"Well you better make an exception because Maddy isn't going anywhere without me.” Dee grabbed my arm and walked passed Greyson. “And that’s final!”
I looked up at him with a lopsided frown.
He grunted and grabbed my other arm, causing me to be pulled apart. My limbs felt like silly putty being stretched out.
"You think I am just going to let you walk out of here and cause Maddy to be in further danger?" Greyson's grip tightened around my wrist and I had to bite my lip in order not to let out a whimper.
"He's no safer with you than he is with me!" Dee tugged.
"Guys..." I tried to grab their attention before they ripped me in half.
"Like hell he is!" Greyson nearly pulled my arm out of it’s socket.
I had enough. Enough of the fighting, and enough of being treated like I was incapable of handling my own problems.
"GUYS!" I yanked both my hands free. "I am old enough to make my own decisions!"
Both Dee and Greyson froze in awe of my sudden outburst.
"And I am sorry Greyson, but where ever I go, Dee goes too. So, if she can't come with us, then I am not going." My stomach churned as I saw Greyson's forehead wrinkled as his lips tightened in a straight line.
"Fine, have it your way." He said with a curt nod pointing toward the door.
I looked up at him confused for a beat. That's it? He's done fighting for me? Was he done with me completely? A deep frown formed on my face as questions started swimming in my head.
Dee grabbed my hand once more and we walked toward her car.
"Ugh that guy can be such a jerk! Acting like he owns you and everything. Don't you worry, Maddy, I'm sure you'll be safe with me. I just have to figure out how to hide me from my folks. Maybe if I..." Dee continued her usual babble and I nodded every now and then to let her know I was "listening."
I stared out the passenger window, my eyes darted back and forth from watching the different trees fly passed us.
When we arrived back to Dee's house, I had to stand outside until Dee could convince her parents that I wasn't some sleezy horndog trying to sleep with her. As I stood there, the cold nipped at my cheeks and bit at my fingertips. It made hard to concentrate on one thought for too long.
An uneasy feeling washed over me and I felt like I was being watched.
I tried breathing on my hands for more warmth as I turned around to see that there was nothing out of the ordinary. A few of the children in the neighborhood had gone out to play in the leaf piles before the trucks came to clean them up, someone had been jogging while walking their dog, and a nice old couple had been sitting on a bench, feeding birds. Yet, I couldn't shake off the odd feeling.
“The tree, Maddy, check the tree,” The voice in my head was back.
He had helped me before and I wasn’t going to question it anymore. Behind the old couple, had been a big oak tree. If I squinted hard enough, I could just make out a figure lingering in the shadows.
"Okay we're in the clear!" Dee's loud and abrupt voice made me jump. "C'mon Maddy! You'll catch another cold if you're out here too long!"
Dee grabbed my hand and dragged me inside. I looked over my shoulder to check if the figure was still there, but all that was by the tree was a large crow.
~*.*~
Dinner was awkward.
Dee's parents kept looking at me like I was some diseased animal that was trying to infect their only child. Dee tried several times to start a conversation, but she only received curt responses from both her parents and me. They continued to eye me for the entirety of dinner and I could still feel their eyes on me as I sat down with Dee to watch some T.V.
"I'll come check on you, first thing in the morning, okay?" Dee said putting sheets on my old bed.
I nodded and handed her the pillows I had been holding.
Dee had tried to convince her parents to let her sleep on the floor beside me, but that was a major fail. This left the both of us unhappy because it had been so long since we had any pillow talk.
"Good night, Maddy, I love you," She pecked me on the forehead and hugged me tight.
"Love you too," I wrapped my arms around her and nuzzled into the crook of her neck.
We stood there for a beat until we heard someone clear their throat. I jumped back and looked at the floor embarrassed.
"Oh, back off Dad, he's had a hard couple of days!" Dee said crossing her arms.
I kept my head down until I heard a pair of footsteps walk up the stairs.
Dee turned to me. "Don't feel bad Maddy, it's not your fault. My parents are just being insensitive."
I shrugged as crawled inside the bed.
"Sleep tight," Dee said heading toward the stairs.
"You too," I smiled and put the covers over me. I clicked on the T.V. in the room and lowered the volume, hoping the background noise would help me fall asleep. I changed the channel until I saw The Flintstones playing. It wasn't long after that I dozed off.
~*.*~
It was the sound of twigs breaking that caused me to stir. Then, it was an uncomfortable chill that ran up my spine. When my conscience started working again, I realized I was being carried.
"What the hell?!" I gasped opening my eyes to complete darkness. I tried to fight my way out of the person's hold, but it was nearly impossible.
"Would you calm down? It's just me!" Two strong arms pulled me closer into a chest and I was fully submerged in the scent of strawberries.
"Greyson? What the hell are you doing? Put me down. Where am I? Furthermore, where are we going? Are we alone? Where's Dee?" I kept spitting out questions and all I got in response was a chuckle.
"No need to freak out, we're going home."
"Home? You mean like back to your place?"
If we are going back to his apartment, why were we outside?
"No, doofus I mean Nellz. That's where our kind is from."
"What the hell Greyson?! I told you I wasn't going there! Where is Dee? And I already told you to put me down!"
I started kicking my feet up and down to get free.
"I'll only put you down if you listen to me." Greyson said squeezing me tighter.
"Deal, I am not a child I don't need to be carried." I huffed.
Greyson gently put me back on my feet and I crossed my arms.
"Where is Dee?"
"Back at her place." He said casually.
I clenched my fist at his response.
"Great, now I know why you just let me go with her. This was your plan all along wasn't it."
Greyson didn't say anything and I tried to search for his gaze, but it was completely useless with the darkness that surrounded us.
"You're ridiculous you know that? I thought you were done with me or something..." I turned my head toward the ground.
"Now, that's a stupid thing to think." Greyson joked.
I furrowed my brows and turned my heel away from the other boy. I started striding away from him. I could hear him calling after me, but I kept walking faster and faster until, I broke into a run.
"Screw you!” I shouted back at him. “You're stupid to think that I will just follow you, happily to some hellish world with ugly monsters and blood sucking demons, like you."
I froze.
I shouldn't have said that last part.
Greyson stopped calling after me. I knew he was right behind me when I said that.
"Crap, Greyson I'm-"
I turned around expecting to see the other boy, but instead I was met with a pair of dark red orbs.
You know the thing that goes bump in the night? You know the one that hides under your bed or in your closet. Well, I was staring right at it.
It was weird. I couldn't see its body, but for some strange reason it gave me the chills. I watched the blood red eyes intently. They seemed to hypnotize me. I wanted to run away, but my feet felt stuck to the ground with super glue. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs. I had never felt so much terror in my life.
Then when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it moved.
The red orbs got bigger and bigger as the thing slithered toward me. Whether I wanted to or not, I could hear hundreds of legs crawl along the dirt as the thing moved. As it came closer, I noted, it had the torso and head of a human. It also had a set of large hands with long and sharp fingertips.
I know this because one of its nails caressed the side of my face.
I could feel tears well up and roll down my cheek. This thing, this monster, had the nerve to wipe my tears and lick them. Somehow, I knew that I was going to die and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
Suddenly, I was pulled into a broad chest. Never in all my life was I this happy to smell strawberries. My knees buckled and I collapsed into Greyson. The horrific hypnosis was over.
I let out the scream I had been holding in.
"Leave him alone Owlin, he's with me." Greyson gripped me tighter.
I could feel his heart beating. it was a lot faster than usual. And his shirt was slightly wet, which could have been from him running around to find me, or because I of my tears.
"You better keep your things in check, young Vasiliev," The creature clicked its tongue. What surprised me the most was its voice. It sounded like a girl. "He would have been quite a delicious late-night snack if you hadn't come along."
"I'll repay you in the morning, now leave us alone," Greyson said sounding assertive.
I started to feel strange.
"You're in my woods, remember." The thing snapped.
I didn't whether I wanted to throw up or pass out.
"Let's not forget were your woods are located, Owlin."
I could feel Greyson's entire body stiffen.
"No need to get angry, young Vasiliev. I'll be off and I'll also be expecting." Without another word, the thing slithered away.
I didn't realize I was shaking until Greyson gripped my shoulders and put me back on my feet.
"It's okay, it's over now." Greyson cupped my face and wiped my tears with his thumbs.
I wanted to believe him I really did. But amongst all the darkness I could still feel a pair of red eyes stalking me. I could see them too. In the corners of my eyes. Watching and waiting to devour me.
It was all too much for me. And the next thing I knew, I was feeling drowsy and crashing into Greyson's chest.
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