35. Growth requires failure…but not Today #2
“Kyra?” A velvet tone inquires, “Are you–” and in one motion, not of my doing, Blaise rolls towards me, tossing the covers off us, carefully missing my head in the act.
Somehow I manage to maneuver my left arm over Blaise and pin him beneath me as I lean forward, placing both hands on the mattress to keep from falling.
An ungodly act. “Awake?” Alex finishes, gazing down at this false display of whatever he is thinking.
I hop up and off the bed with my adrenaline returning. Hungry, it brings its friend, Angst, along with it. “Alex, yes, I’m up.” Behaving as though we’ve been caught in the act, I peer over to Blaise who pans his head between Alex and me, not saying a word.
What pisses me off is the smile he wears, like this situation couldn’t be any worse.
“Good morning, Alex. What do we owe for the pleasure of your company?” Blaise asks, sitting up against my headboard. And based on his smile turning into a full-fledged criminal smirk, he is about to prove me wrong, and things will definitely become worse.
“I’m here for Kyra, and you are? I failed to get your name.”
“No one of importance.” Waving a dismissive hand, he continues, “But since this twosome goes without an invitation, there’s no need for…” He turns to me with eyes sparkling of chaos, and fear takes hold of every cell in my body about what is to follow. “A threesome.”
I snort, holding back a chuckle and yelling, “Blaise!” but Alex chimes in before anything more can be said.
“Agreed, no threesome is necessary.” And my jaw slacks at his response.
“Now, if you wouldn’t mind, we have House matters to discuss, and since I’m unaware of who you are, it goes without saying you’re not in House Death.
” The squint of his eyes tattle that he is bothered.
Either by this encounter or seeing us muddled together on the bed.
“Understandable. I’ll take my leave,” Blaise says, standing and stretching his arms upwards.
From this position of him facing the door, I’m able to see what landed us in this encounter. Beautiful lines sprawled down his back in the shape of two massive angel wings, wrapping around his sides. Each line is placed to perfection, rounding over his muscles. Damn.
He turns, facing me, and I swallow a thick lump of air as I take in his body.
Skin, as smooth as it is tight, fits around his muscular frame.
He couldn’t have been more sculpted if Michelangelo had done it himself.
And the tips of his tattoo, dipping beneath his waistband, draw my attention down before I can catch myself and redirect.
“You’re forgetting your shirt,” Alex suggests as Blaise moves around him in my direction.
“Indeed, it appears so,” he rebuts, passing him by. “Let me have a quick word with my friend here, and I’ll leave you two in peace.” He stops a few inches before me.
“Blaise–” I grit, keeping my focus on his eyes.
Looking down may not be in everyone’s best interest. “What are you…” They flash, swirling in the same way as last night whilst he stared at the moon.
Is he having a vision? I watch both multi-colored eyes mix into a single hue behind a green tint.
“Blaise?” Another whisper, and he snaps out of it as their original shade returns.
Wrapping both arms around me into a hug, I feel a surge of energy take hold of us both. God he’s warm.
“Don’t worry,” he says, talking softly in my ear.
“He can’t hear us but keep every detail of what happened last night private.
Along with your homework.” A chuckle tickles my neck.
“I’ll prepare for dealing with the temple.
Until then, speak of nothing, including this unfortunate encounter.
For the future’s fate hangs on this very moment. ”
He retracts but continues his hold on my shoulders. “Was it a vision? Just now, before you hugged me,” I ask, leaning over and witnessing Alex’s scowl appearing stuck in time.
“Yes, but I can’t say more. Do you trust my words?” he asks, crinkling his brows. There is not much to go on when it comes to him, and trust seems like something they all have in common. Something they are hell bent on obtaining from me.
“How can I?”
“You can’t.” He looks down, letting a breath pass, and I inhale the warming scent of baked cookie-brownies. “But at this moment, I need you to pretend.”
My frown, matching his, holds a different meaning. He is the first male to ever tell me not to trust him, so why do I feel more like I can? What did he see?
“Okay, but if I end up regretting this–”
“You won’t.” His features ease into a more pleasant one as he releases me and takes a step back. “Kyra, last night was fun, but I’m a bit worn out from all the excitement and shouting. Find time to get some rest, you deserve it.” He smirks, turns, and walks away.
“What!” I shout, leaving my mouth gaped with a scowl now matching Alex’s for the same reason. We stand at a distance, watching and waiting for Blaise’s departure. Remaining silent until my front door clicks, I prepare for a new rumor to arise.
“Kyra– ”
“Before you start, let me say this one thing.” Meeting his hardened gaze with my own softer version, I continue, “I’m fully dressed now, and when you arrived.
Please, consider this before you say anything more.
” I pick at my thumbs. There is already potential judgement for last night’s dance, which pours fuel on the fire with this morning’s spectacle.
“You don’t need to explain–”
“It’s not an explanation, but an observation.” Bars. I give a weak smile for rhyming, knowing Rosie always found it entertaining.
“Understood, but if I may.” He gestures to my bed for us to sit.
And I do, on the side above my laptops. Blaise may feel Alex didn’t hear us, but I’m not so sure.
“Whatever you and him have is between the two of you. I’ll never pry into your affairs, no more than I’ll ask for you to explain.
Your actions don’t define my knowledge of the woman you are. ”
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where I find myself swooning.
“Thank you.” Taking a second, I relish in how he is capable of making me feel seen, comfortable, and unworried.
Sitting this close to him, I can see sparkling galaxies swirl within his irises, churning my aura and enticing a hum up my throat where I kill it.
“Tell me, why are you here so early? And I noticed you let yourself in,” I accuse, arching my brow but smirking in contrast. I’m not serious nor bothered by it. He points at my window, where sunlight peeks through. “Right, when the sun reaches my window.” I giggle.
“Apologies for barging in unannounced, but I called before arriving outside your door. Neither were answered.” Shit, if he and Caspian called, who else did I miss? Where’s my phone? Thinking back, I remember the last time I saw it was before Blaise’s arrival.
“And what if I was sleeping, would you have woken me up or left?” I draw a baseline on whether it’s warranted to not feel bothered by his intrusion, or if there is cause for concern.
“I heard…” He cuts himself off.
“Nope, say it. You can’t stop once you’ve started. You heard what?”
He huffs, masking whatever emotion causes his aura to reach out for mine.
“You, yelling a name Bryan–Brandon–Blake…It eludes me, but regardless, I was pulled from my slumber. Afterwards, I perceived you asked this forgettable name, ‘what did you see,’ and my fear of you exposing yourself to an unannounced visitor angered me.”
His brief recollection makes my chest burn from a sudden ache. Regret builds a towering wall of mistrust, lacing each brick upon the other with cement infused with deception.
I’m unaware of how much he has heard, when he begun listening, or if it’s my voice alone he interpreted. Doing my best to hide the expression of my emotions, I grip the blankets, creating a layer between my palms so as not to draw blood from the force of my fingernails.
He will continue sharing these acts of intrusion before I make a sound judgment. Though he searches my gaze for a truth I’m not wanting to reveal.
“But,” he starts on an extended breath, “when your voice fell silent, I was left hearing the thrum of your calming heart soothing mine. It spoke, relieving me of an action I’ve promised to commit. Kill anyone who dares to trespass, but on doing so, sleep never returned to claim me.”
I listen attentively, hearing his version, discerning that everything spoken holds truth, but it’s not enough.
“Is that everything?” I ask, incapable of stopping my head from tilting or my squinting leer.
“Everything you heard. No other voice, no other time since my arrival at Rebirth? Just last night.” He leans back, searching me over once more.
“Tell me, Alex. I need to hear it. Make me understand why…how…when you started listening to my conversations. And with what little I do know of you, I’m not expecting a lie. ”
“An explanation then? ”
“Yes.” I chuckle out of the audacity of him pulling this card. “As you so stated, this falls within those guidelines.”
“It appears I’ve upset you.” He frowns.
“You think?”
Pulling out his phone and checking the time, he offers me a troublesome take. “The timeframe on your match has moved up; we should be leaving.”
“No,” I scoff out of irritation, “explain yourself. I don’t do ‘walk aways.’ Not when it’s someone–” Hurt tempts me to expose my feelings. “Something I care about.”
“I’m not saying this conversation, or discourse, has reached its end. You’re demanding answers, and you’ll receive them–this I promise. However, your official ranking match takes precedence.”
“Fine,” I growl, not of my own accord. Being uncivilized isn’t my thing. I agree, it’s important. But so is this. “On one, no two conditions. Answer the question, how long have you been listening?”
“Since you arrived.”
Clear and straight to the point. What. The. Fuck. I stand, not knowing what to do with myself or this information.