Chapter 13 - Nora
I could see the shift in his eyes as soon as he realized I was untouched. He pulled his hand back, and I watched the lust just disappear. It was almost worse than someone actually saying they didn’t want to do it with you.
“I see,” I said, sliding myself off his lap. I adjusted my dress and tried to pull myself to my feet. I could feel tears building up as the embarrassment soaked in.
“Nora.” Kaleb frowned, trying to move closer to me. “Please sit. Let me explain.”
“Don’t,” I said softly. I glanced around at everyone in the bar, wondering if anyone had seen what had happened.
“You have a hard-up, and you should probably stay seated until it goes down. I’m going to the bathroom.
” I bit hard onto my cheek, not wanting to allow the tears that had formed to fall free.
“Nora, please. Sit and talk with me.”
“No.”
I turned and headed down the hallway. I took a right toward the hallway and slipped into the bathroom. I shut the door, locking it, and leaned back. I felt the tears fall free. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could just disappear.
I could still see his face. One moment, he was looking with want and hunger, and the next, he was looking disgusted. He removed his hands so quickly and just stared at me.
I pushed off the door and walked toward the sink. My makeup was smeared, so I quickly tried to wipe it away.
There was a soft knock at the door. “Nora…please open the door. We need to talk.”
I looked around, and my eyes paused on the window. Was I really considering running away from this? By slipping out of the bathroom?
“Nora, please. Let me explain.”
I moved toward the window and tugged. It didn’t budge. I pulled harder, putting my back into it. The window finally gave way, sliding open a little.
“Nora, if you don’t unlock this door, I’ll find a way to open it. You can’t hide away in there. Please, just open the door so we can talk.”
I pulled harder, finally getting it open enough.
I leaned out, feeling the cold air. I moved, pulling myself up and resting my hips onto the frame, but I lost my balance and fell out of the window.
I hit the ground outside hard, the air getting kicked out of my lungs.
I groaned for a moment, staring up at the sky.
“Fuck,” I grumbled, pulling myself up slowly. I stared across the parking lot into the woods. I knew I couldn’t exactly run away from my problems, but I certainly wasn’t going to deal with them tonight. I couldn’t listen to him give me some half-ass apology. I’d heard them all my life.
Tyler, in my chemistry class, had taken me behind the bleachers of a football game. We made out, and I remembered how hard he’d been. He practically pulled my hand down his pants, giving himself a hand job with my hand. A week later, he wouldn’t even look at me.
Quinn, from my after-school job, and I had a thing. We were just getting comfortable enough when another woman swooped in and caught his attention. His excuse was that she would spread her legs for him.
I tried dating a guy after high school, and I was trying to take things slow. But he’d made out with me on our first date. When I didn’t want to have sex, he’d argue I was disgusting anyway.
I couldn’t handle another excuse, another reason why I wasn’t worthy. I crossed the street and walked through the park. I made my way past the yard and into the treeline.
I kept seeing his face reaction playing over and over in my head like a record tape. I felt more tears build up, hating how I’d let myself relax. I should have known better. This was all fake, and I’d let my emotions take over tonight.
I walked deeper into the woods, not sure what I was going to do. I didn’t know where I was going. I couldn’t go back to the bar because Kaleb would be waiting. I couldn’t go home because he would eventually get there. I thought about going to Jade and Kaleb’s, but it was late.
A gust of wind hit me, and I shivered. But this cold felt different, like I had been shoved into a freezer. I felt the hair on my body stand up, and I stiffened, realizing that it was magic. My entire body felt utterly cold, and I felt a pull to something deep in the woods.
It was like a heavyweight was being pressed down on me. The cold shifted, and I felt hot like I was being shoved into an oven. I could feel that it wasn’t just me in here anymore. There was something else lurking around, and I didn’t know what.
I then heard snapping of twigs, and my heart raced for another reason. Whatever was out there was coming for me. I moved, forcing myself to run for it. I pumped my legs, trying to jump over rocks and get over fallen branches. My mind was thinking only one thing: survive.
I could hear footsteps getting closer. They weren’t heavy like a hybrid’s, but that didn’t mean they weren’t in their normal human form.
Suddenly, my foot tumbled under me, and I slammed into the ground.
I tried to catch myself slamming my hands hard into the ground.
I felt something pierce into them, and pain radiated through my palms.
Tears formed for another reason as I realized they were already bleeding.
But I didn’t even have a moment to cry because I could hear someone still following me.
I turned around and braced myself. I didn’t know what I could do.
I had seen the hybrids to know I couldn’t fight one off myself. I could try, but I would fail.
I thought of my magic and how I was supposed to be able to use it. But I didn’t know how. I didn’t even truly believe I had any because I didn’t feel it. It was nothing like how Jade described it.
My heart raced as I could hear they were closing in. They had to be just a few feet away from me now. I stared, pulling my hands up to defend myself. I stared at my hands, feeling that warmth from just a moment ago forming in my palms.
And then I felt something shot out of me like lightning. It was a light that slammed forward, looking like electricity, and I watched as Kaleb stepped out from around a tree. His eyes widened as the light slammed for him. He ducked, dropping to the ground just in time as the light went past him.
My heart seemed to stop beating. If he hadn’t ducked, god knows what would have happened. He likely would be dead, and that churned my stomach in so many ways.
“Jesus Christ!” Kaleb yelled, pulling himself up. “Are you trying to kill me? I mean, I understand I’m an ass sometimes.”
Tears fell freely, and I started to cry all over again. I could have hurt him, and I didn’t even know what I was doing. I didn’t know what that was or how I did it.
Kaleb moved closer to me, his face softening. “I was only joking. I didn’t mean it. I know you would never hurt me.”
I started to cry harder as he reached out, pulling me tightly against him. “Please, don’t cry, Nora.”
“I…I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t even know how I did that. If you hadn’t ducked.”
His arms tightened, and I felt his hand land on my head, brushing my hair. I tried to push away, but his hands only held me tighter. “Don’t push away. I know you don’t exactly like me right now, but let me help you.”
I wanted to keep pushing, but I was so scared. I just kept thinking of what could have happened. How would I explain it to anyone? How would I forgive myself?
I leaned against him, trying to ground myself. I could feel my body shaking, and I couldn’t stop it.
“Deep breaths,” he whispered, his hand rubbing circles on my back. “In…and out.”
I did as he said, trying to calm myself. My fingers still shook as I looked up to where the light had been. I could see burn marks along the bark of the tree. “I could have killed you,” I whispered.
Kaleb cupped my face, giving me a worried look. “Nora, I’m fine. You didn’t hurt me.”
“But I could have.”
“I ducked.” He brushed his thumb over my cheek. “I ducked, Nora. I’m okay. I’m all in one piece.”
“But if you hadn’t! I could have hurt you! I don’t even know what that was.”
He pulled me closer. “Nora, I’m okay. I’m a big boy. I’m not hurt. You didn’t hurt me, and if you had, maybe I deserved it.”
“This isn’t funny!”
He gave me a soft smile. “It will be in a few days.”
I stared into his eyes, taking the softness of them in. I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes, slowing my breathing. He was right. He was okay, and he wasn’t hurt.
“I broke the door down and found the bathroom empty. I watched your little ass running off into the night, so I followed you. I’ve been calling for you, but you just kept running. I wanted to talk.”
I opened my eyes, remembering why I had started to run in the first place. The feeling that fell over me. I was right that we weren’t alone. It might have been Kaleb following me, but there was something else out here. “I felt it.”
He looked at me, confused. “Felt what?”
“Someone was out here. I felt it. It was like a sixth sense was going off. That’s why I was running. I thought it was following me.”
Kaleb quickly scanned the area and then looked back at me. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I am. I felt its presence, just like Jade describes it.” I looked around, wondering what I was feeling. How far away was this person? We knew that Jade could sense things miles away, but I doubt I had that ability.
“You believe me, right?” I asked softly. I knew that he wasn’t quick to believe in Jade. I would understand it if he didn’t. I had only started getting my magic, so I could be wrong.
He frowned, looking hurt. “Why wouldn’t I believe you?”
“You didn’t believe your sister.”
I watched his face harden slightly. “That was a mistake that I won’t make twice.” He looked around the tree line. “We need to tell Brandon. If there is a hybrid out here, we need to get a search party going.”
I nodded in agreement. We headed back into town, where Kaleb called Brandon. Before I knew it, the guys all arrived, and Jade came running toward me.
I rubbed my hands together, hoping it would help keep me warm. Nothing seemed to fight off this coldness that had settled over me since the woods. I glanced at Kaleb, who was talking with Brandon, Westley, and Asher just a few feet away from me. They were all deep in conversation.
“So, you felt it again?” Jade asked, pulling my attention back to our conversation. She had her arms wrapped around her middle, shaking as the window blew against us.
I slowly nodded my head. “Yeah. It’s like someone is shoving me into a freezer. But then a warm as well. I felt it in my hands before it came out.”
Jade nodded. “I know the feeling. I get hot. Like I’m being burned from the inside. Have you been practicing?”
I shook my head, thinking back to how I almost hurt Kaleb if he hadn’t ducked. “I kept telling myself it wasn’t real. That it was just a fluke.”
Jade looked at me, confused. “Why?”
I shrugged. “It was easier than thinking I have magic that’s been untouched for years. I mean, the thought of what happened to you happening to me seemed unreal, Jade. I was sure it was a mistake. That maybe I was just making it up, or my body was reacting to everything that was going on.”
Jade frowned. “And now?”
“I can’t deny it. And I should start trying to use it. Trying to learn how to pull it out and control it.”
Jade gave me a soft smile, hooking her arm with mine. “I’m here for you, you know that, right? You can join me and the others. Train with us.”
I nodded. “I’d like that.” I looked over toward Kaleb, who looked serious. He nodded as Brandon spoke, but his eyes drifted over toward me. He stared at me for a moment, and I looked away.