Chapter 17
Seventeen
I let my heart pound steadily as I round the bend of the path and come back to the tree line. I can see the side of my dorm building as I slow my pace and keep my breathing deep and even. Rumors by NEFFEX is blasting through my ears and I smile when the techno bass hits.
After the encounter with the professors about a month and a half ago I needed a release. So I started running again. Endurance and stamina can save you more times than you’d think. It’s also a good way to reintroduce my body into working out.
Asher says we can’t use the gym since we’re first years, but who needs that when you have calisthenics and the outdoors.
Rolling out my shoulders, I start stretching my arms and neck as I pause at the edge of the forest. It’s still dark and will be for another hour.
Today’s the autumn equinox meaning there will be exactly twelve hours of sunlight and twelve hours of darkness.
From six am to six pm. Then there will be no more long sunlit days.
Keeping my legs straight, I bend over and fold my hand to the ground.
My hamstrings stretch so good and I hold the pose for longer than needed.
The first weekend I kept up with my little workout routine was brutal because I didn’t have actual food, but since I’ve been getting paid I’ve been fine every other weekend.
In the mornings I get up around four to drink a premade smoothie before I start stretching and doing body weight workouts.
Then I come out here and run for a good hour through the forest. Then I stretch, shower before the bathroom gets full, and spend the rest of my morning in the room drinking blood until I can go out and get breakfast.
Jullia and Hanna started joining me too, though last night Jullia had stayed in Asher’s room at Stone House.
She does that every so often and tends to sleep in for as long as possible before joining me for breakfast during the week.
And Hanna won’t come out so early. I wouldn’t either if I didn’t care about hiding my scars in the bathroom.
I survey the area as I twist my middle and stretch out my sides.
My music is still thumping in my ears as Power by Kanye West begins playing.
Over the month with my proper nutrients and working out again I’ve started gaining strength back into my muscles.
All I need now is a few training sessions to make sure I keep my power.
Nana had suggested it the second she saw me. She said I needed to learn how to channel all my energy through my body. I needed to not be weak.
It had been the best thing – on top of all the amazing things – Ms. Elaycia had given me.
Self-defense, martial arts, weapons training. Five years is nothing compared to the training I need to be good enough, but at least I started young so the movements could be ingrained into my body and instinct.
I’m best with distance fighting. Using weapons like a staff, longer daggers and throwing knives, or my whip dart. It should have been the most difficult, but even Nana and Ms. Elaycia said of course I would be a natural at that weapon. A long whip with a blade on either end.
Walking away from the tree line I follow the wall of my dorm building to the front.
Ricka looks up from her tablet at me and lazily salutes me before going back to whatever she was watching.
She works as front desk and security for our dorm.
From six pm till six am, Sunday till Thursday she sits at that desk.
It makes me wonder when she actually sleeps along with all her classes. Despite seeming to always be here Asher is always busy. With classes, training, and his responsibilities for his house.
I enter my room and grab a quick change of clothes for after my shower. There’s a communal bathroom on each floor that everyone keeps relatively clean. There are also individual stalls for the showers, but the only privacy is a shower curtain that can be easily whipped open.
Turning on just the sink lights, I blow out a breath thankful that it’s empty. It usually is, but there’s always the off chance someone is an early bird or just coming back from whatever party or fuck buddy’s place.
I pick the last stall in the back, opening the other ones so people know they’re open.
Then I place my little shower caddy on the built in hook and set my towel and clothes on the bench just outside.
The water sputters out for a moment after I turn the handle and it’s nothing short of freezing.
In the mornings it’s always cold, though it will quickly heat up if you give it a minute or so.
Best part of magic is having almost instant hot water.
I, however, keep the handle over the cold setting and strip. Once naked I step under the spray and puff out a breath from the cold. Goosebumps cover the entirety of my body as I turn and tip my head under the spray as well. It feels like icicles, but it’s better than it being warm.
The cold eases the ache in my scars. Numbs them, I guess. Doesn’t matter that I’m frozen after. Usually I’ll dry myself off and wrap up in a thick, warm blanket for at least an hour afterward. For some reason the warmth from water feels closer to needles on my scars.
Sighing, I grab my shampoo and begin washing my hair. It’s been a long time since I’ve acted out because of the unfairness. Unable to do things, forcing myself to be content with what I have, not thinking about how much my life could have been different.
The last time it happened I was sixteen.
Not that I let anyone know about it. Ms. Elaycia was closing the brothel part of the club down for a week and was taking everyone to her beach front house in Florida.
They said they could take me, but I declined.
There was no point anyway. I would be stuck in the house during the day like I always am.
The day after they left I filled one of the bathtubs up with water as hot as any normal person could stand it and then let myself practically drown. It felt like the same kind of burning as the devil. Even if the water was warm it would have been the same.
Burning and burning and burning.
But of course at the last moment I flung myself out. Unable to kill myself then and the burning feeling lasted for weeks. I had wanted to scream. I had wanted to find a way to bring that devil back so I could do all that he had tortured me with and more.
It wasn’t fair.
But it’s never fair.
And it never will be.
So I made myself stop complaining. I readjusted my life to work with my curses. Not that it always works. But unless I want to risk the chance he isn’t able to help and tell Professor Asier what exactly my curse is, I’m stuck like this.
It’s not all bad. Who needs skin on skin contact or the sun.
I let my body relax into the cold spray of the water as I rinse off.
The scent blocking soaps I got right after I got my first paycheck help mute the poison.
Jullia says she almost can’t scent a specific scent on me at all.
And it helped mute the scent of my blood from a week ago.
Thankfully Professor Asier and the demigod both have not asked or hinted or even looked at me.
I don’t know if it’s because of the soap or because I’ve stayed away from them and had went to the bathroom practically every half hour, but I’m safe enough for the next two weeks.
I’m about to turn off the water when the door to the bathroom opens and in comes giggling. My body freezes involuntarily before I force myself to relax.
“Oh!” she gasps in a breathless voice. “Someone’s in here, Cal – “
“Shhh,” he whispers. A male with whoever the girl is, both absolute shit at being quiet. “Let’s see if you can be quieter than you were earlier.”
She giggles and I roll my eyes. I have no idea who either of them are, and I don’t care. Once they enter one of the shower stalls I’m out of here. Instead of turning the shower off right away, I peak out of the curtain to grab my towel from the bench sitting right outside.
Kissing sounds and rustling start up but it sounds no different to the brothel so I really don’t care.
Whoever he is though has his back to me as I snatch my towel and stand as far away from the spray to dry off.
No way am I turning off the water until they are in a stall so I’ll do what I can to get dressed here.
At least with no hot water there’s no steam or humidity.
Breathless gasps and mumbling and slurping sounds accompany the water raining down in my stall. I peek out again, using the curtain to cover up as much as I can to grab my clothes now. But this time the guy has the girl on top of the counter by the sinks with her legs wrapped around his waist.
And now that they’re in clear light I can see dirty blond hair and golden eyes. Eyes that immediately lock on mine through the mirror.
The girl, someone with long black hair and fair skin, has her lips on the side of his neck. She hasn’t noticed me as his eyes widen and I flinch back into my stall. And stupid me because I didn’t grab my clothes and all I have here is a towel not large enough to cover the entirety of my body.
There’s more rustling and then, “Get out.”
Deep, dark, demanding. The girl squeaks but for some reason doesn’t say anything and a moment later the door opens and closes.
Now the only sound is the shower and fucking hell my luck must only last in increments because how is this even possible.
“Mavyn. . . “ he drawls. His tone neutral so I have no idea what he’s feeling but he sounds closer to my stall now. “Are you going to turn off the shower and come out?”
Almost six weeks and I haven’t even looked at him. He hasn’t spoken a word to me since the gym incident. Neither has Thorne and stupidly I thought I would be able to get through the rest of this year easily. I thought I would be able to finish at least this fucking year quietly.
Invisible.
Ordinary.
Forgotten.
“Mavyn – “