I jumped away from Nick, instantly
recognizing the voice. I could have sworn my heart stopped two
beats too long. Moving was probably my greatest mistake; Drei went straight for
Nick.
“You have no right to be here,” Drei said,
his voice deep and sending tremors through my skin.
Nick was shaking, but his jaw was set
in defiance. “I have just as much right to be here as you do;” he held Drei’s
harsh gaze steadily.
“Not with her;” Drei’s hand jerked in
my direction.
“She likes to be here with me.” Nick
stood, falling just short of Drei’s height. I felt horrible he was in such a
position, but even worse they were fighting. My two favorite people in the
world—so similar, and so different—were fighting because of me. “Which makes
sense since I don’t go around bullying everyone and scaring the kids shitless,”
Nick continued, his green eyes seeming to darken.
“I at least know better than to take
advantage of a girl,” Drei growled. “You have no idea what she has been
through. You are both poor judges of what is right for her.”
My sense of injustice had stirred and
overcome my fear of Drei’s anger; Nick wasn’t some mindless hooligan. But Nick
jumped in before I could.
“From the sound of it, you don’t know
her at all.”
“I know her better than you,” Drei
countered; something in the way he held himself changed, as though he became taller and more hunched; he emitted a threatening
hiss, advancing on Nick. I didn’t know what to do, let alone how to help; I
couldn’t even comprehend what was happening.
Nick backed away from Drei, his eyes
wide in horror. When they had circled around, Nick took off running just as
Drei lunged for him. The leaves and flowers jostled noisily
in their sleep, protesting at being disturbed in such a manner.
Seeing Nick chased off like a lout
awoke such a vivid passion I couldn’t see for a moment. Whatever was happening, it wasn't right.
“What was that?” I demanded, standing
and rising to my full five feet six inches.
“It is for your own protection,” he
whispered, turning quickly away from me.
“Don’t you dare;” I spun him around,
adrenaline pumping through my veins so quickly I feared if I stopped I’d fall
down. “Why don’t you want me to be happy?”
“You do not know what will make you
happy. As I said, you are not capable of judging such things currently.”
“You don’t know that!” The night
replayed in my mind from the peaceful chatter to the abrupt interruption and
ensuing madness.
“What would make you happy, Abriel?”
he asked, quickly adding, “Besides Nick.”
For a moment I wanted to say Drei,
but immediately felt guilty. Valetta had been kind to me the last month or so;
she was really making an effort to be friendly. She knew about Nick, though I
never admitted anything; and I knew about Drei, though she kept equally quiet.
Being forced to think allowed
the anger to blow over. I felt exhausted and weak in the knees, but
he wouldn’t have the satisfaction of my needing him now.
“You should just be happy for me,” I said
softly, feeling tears close at hand. “Nothing I do will ever be enough to repay you for what you've done for me, but that doesn't give you the right to make my decisions. I will not give him up just because you
don’t like him.”
Drei stiffened and in the next
instant his face contorted, amplifying every crease in his frowning visage as
he loomed over me, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. “You will
not see him,” he seethed, but I wasn’t afraid after the initial shock of the
change; I had almost forgotten he was a vampire, but now the truth was before
me and I couldn’t imagine ever choosing him over Nick; Nick wouldn’t try
scaring me into submission, let alone threaten me.
“If you want me to be happy,” I
stated calmly, turning away from him, “leave me alone.”
I felt the air thicken in his
disappointment, whether it was directed at himself or me, I couldn’t be sure,
but I wasn’t sticking around to find out.
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