Chapter 16
Isat there, picking at my fucking wrap like a heartbroken loser, trying to ignore the gaping hole in my chest. Melody glanced up from her own meal, her eyes full of concern. ”So, our next lesson is on healing,” she said, hoping to distract me from my misery.
”Great,” I muttered, forcing a smile that I knew looked as fake as it felt. The loneliness clawed at me, making me feel hollow.
”Harper, are you sure you”re okay?” Melody asked, not buying my pathetic attempt at cheeriness.
”Of course,” I lied through my teeth. ”Just excited about learning to heal and shit.”
That”s when it happened. Out of fucking nowhere, Griffin leaned over, his muscled arm stretching across the table, and touched my hand. His fingers grazed my skin, and it was like someone had shoved a live wire into my veins.
Heat exploded throughout my body, starting at my toes and rushing upward like a goddamn wildfire. My breath hitched, my heart raced, and for a moment, I could have sworn the world stopped spinning. It was pure, unadulterated desire, mixed with something else I couldn”t quite put my finger on.
”What the fuck?” I gasped.
My heart hammered in my chest as the connection between us was severed. Griffin”s eyes widened, and his voice came out low and fierce. ”Stay the fuck away from me.”
He snatched his hand back like I was a live wire, grabbing his tray and storming off without another word. The others followed him, casting wary glances in my direction as they left the cafeteria.
”Griffin!” I called after him, but he didn”t slow down or look back. My heart ached at the sudden coldness, and I couldn”t help but replay the moment of contact over and over again in my head. What the hell had just happened between us?
”Harper,” Melody said gently, placing her hand on my shoulder. ”Are you all right?”
”Melody, I don’t know what the fuck just happened?” I asked, my voice shaking as I stared at the empty space where Griffin had been sitting a moment before.
”I... I”m not sure either,” she admitted, her brows knitting together in confusion. ”That was... unexpected.”
”Unexpected? He freaked out like I was poison or something!” I couldn”t keep the frustration from seeping into my tone, the sting of his rejection still burning beneath my skin.
”Honestly I don’t either,” Melody said, taking a deep breath. ”But Griffin has this power where he can sense other people”s abilities and emotions through touch. It”s pretty rare, and he doesn”t use it often, and I assumed it was the same as what you have, it’s normally called feelings, but they can differ from person to person.”
”He touched me,” I whispered, my hand subconsciously trailing over the spot where his fingers had grazed my skin. The memory of that electrifying heat still lingered, making it hard to focus on anything else.
”Yeah, he did,” Melody confirmed, her eyes softening with sympathy. ”I don”t know why he chose to do it now, but whatever he felt must have been intense for him to react like that.”
”Intense?” I scoffed, the anger churning inside me threatening to boil over. ”He looked at me like I was some kind of monster.”
”Harper, you”re not a monster,” Melody said firmly, reaching across the table to cover my hand with hers. ”Griffin”s reaction isn”t a reflection of who you are. It”s about him, not you.”
”Easy for you to say,” I muttered, my eyes darting towards the door Griffin had stormed out of. A part of me wanted to chase after him, and confront him about his actions, while another part feared what I would find if I did.
”Look, I know this is confusing and hurtful,” Melody continued, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. ”But you need to remember that Griffin”s powers can be overwhelming at times, for both him and the people he touches. It”s not about you being a monster or him hating you. It”s about understanding and managing those intense emotions.”
I sighed, trying to take in what Melody was saying while my thoughts continued to race. ”I guess I just don”t understand why he”d touch me in the first place if he knew how it might affect him.”
”Maybe he didn”t know, or maybe he couldn”t resist,” she suggested, shrugging her shoulders. ”Whatever the reason, try not to let it get to you too much.”
”Thanks, Mel,” I murmured, feeling the warmth of her friendship chase away some of the darkness inside me.
The fact that Griffin had touched me left a chilling realisation in my mind: he knew my powers now. He had felt them, tasted them as intimately as if we were lovers. And yet I had no idea about them at all.
As my thoughts raced, I became aware of another emotion, one that caught me off guard. A deep, primal desire stirred within me, a need to be close to Griffin, skin against skin. My body craved him, wanting to straddle him and ride him until we both found release.
”Harper?” Melody”s voice cut through the fog of lust. ”Are you okay?”
”Uh, yeah,” I stammered, trying to shake off the inappropriate thoughts. ”Just... processing everything, I guess.”
”Take your time,” she encouraged. ”But remember, you”re not alone in this. We”ll figure it out together.”
”Thanks,” I whispered, grateful for her unwavering support. But as the lunch hour ticked away, I couldn”t shake the feeling that something had changed between Griffin and me – something dangerous, something wild. And I wasn”t sure what scared me more: the fact he now knew more about me than I did, or the fire he”d ignited within me.