LAILAH #2
“Let’s eat like the civilized human I know you are,” Brayden teased, but I just rolled my eyes. “Let me get you some water to wash all that down. We can only save your life once a year, and you have already used up two years’ worth.”
Will he just shut up? Why is he harping on me about this? He’s acting worse than my mother, and she’s half a world away, I mused, the thoughts popping into my head as I glared at his back, watching him move about the kitchen.
I couldn’t place why what he was saying was rubbing me the wrong way, but many odd things were happening with my emotions these days. Having powers was cool, but the side effects were rough to get a handle on. I envied the days when I only had to deal with a week or so of these crazy feelings.
Brayden sat across from me, placing the glass of water down next to my dish of pasta. “How are you feeling? Mr. Creed warned us that you would be hungrier than normal.”
“I just slept for almost forty-eight hours, you would be hungry too,” I grumbled, gulping down some water, not happy he was pointing out I was eating a lot.
“Fair point. Cami told me that you don’t have much memory about what happened after you were attacked. Do you have any questions? It was only me and the other guys in the room when Mr. Creed did the cleansing.” Brayden leaned his elbows on the table as he waited for my answer.
I paused, thinking as I chewed my food. “The only real question I have is why do the demons want me? I thought once my power came that I wasn’t going to have to worry about them coming after me.”
Brayden sat back, his frown growing deeper by the second as he thought about my question. “You're right, it doesn’t make sense. Unless we were wrong on the reasoning for why they wanted you from the beginning.”
This thought seemed to make Brayden more agitated than I was.
He chewed on his thumbnail, something I had never seen him do before, as he became lost deep in thought.
I just continued to eat my food, watching until he decided to share.
Finally, he looked over at me, holding my gaze, determination radiating off of him.
“You can’t go back to the dorms. It’s not safe. It would be best if you lived here where we can keep an eye on you. Better yet, one of us should be with you at all times. If something like this happens again who knows what could happen,” Brayden said, finality in his voice.
I slowly set down my fork, not wanting to stab him with it as my anger burst forth.
“Who the hell are you to decide that for me?
Beth and I already came to an agreement on me living in the dorms until after winter break.
Now that I know the demons are after me, I will be more aware of what's going on.”
Brayden scoffed. “You don’t even know what to look for to avoid demons.
Two high-level seeker demons have gotten the drop on you, and both times, it almost killed you.
Hudson told me what kind of blessed weapons you have.
Sai are meant for police to disarm and block attackers.
It’s not an offensive weapon, it's defensive, and they are no help to you unless you know what to do with them.”
Shooting up from my seat, I slammed my hands down on the table. “Then I’ll fucking learn! Why are you being such a dick about all this?”
Brayden’s eyes softened and I could see how scared he was for me.
“That’s not something you can learn overnight.
We’ve been training since we were thirteen, and you can’t handle your own powers.
You're not in control, and that’s okay. It’s barely been a few weeks; just let us help keep you safe.
That’s what a team does. We work together to protect the weaker members until they are stronger. ”
His words were like a slap in the face. He didn’t think I could do this. Brayden thought I was the weak link in the group, that I wouldn’t be able to catch up to them in time to be useful.
“You know what, Brayden? Fuck you and the high horse you rode in on. I don’t need this shit from anyone, least of all you, so back the fuck off. I’m doing the best I can. Sorry that’s not good enough for you!” I snapped, fists clenched and chest heaving as I tried to control my anger.
Unable to look at him any longer, I stormed out of the room and headed back upstairs to my bedroom. Hudson was now awake, watching me silently as I slammed the door to my room. I could hear Brayden running after me, so I twisted the lock in place and started to gather my things.
“Lailah, open the door. We need to talk about this,” Brayden said through the locked door.
Ignoring him, I continued what I was doing and grabbed the last few things and stuffed them in my backpack. I slipped into my shoes and pulled on my puffy winter coat. When I yanked the door open, Brayden was still waiting on the other side, arms crossed, mouth tight with disapproval.
He opened his mouth, but I held up a hand. “If you don’t want me to practice my kickboxing on you, I wouldn’t say anything right now. You have already expressed your opinion loud and clear.”
Shoving past Brayden, I jogged down the steps to the front door without looking back.
“Lailah,” Hudson said as my hand grabbed the door handle.
Turning to look over my shoulder, I saw him at the foot of the stairs, giving me my space. “What?”
“Let me take you home, the temperature dropped a lot last night,” he offered.
I sighed, knowing I should take his offer, but in my head, it just seemed to show that they couldn’t even trust me to walk back to the dorms without their help. “Thank you, but I think the walk will do me good.”
Hudson gave me a soft smile and a nod as I left.