Chapter 4
A shriek escapesme as I stop myself in time from running Dad over, who looks equally as stunned with his fist poised to knock on my door again. My eyes trace over his features, looking for any sign, just the slightest clue of how I never noticed we weren’t related, but I don’t see anything that screams we aren’t bound by blood. His eyes are green, much like mine, and Mom has black hair, so I always thought I was just a mismatch between them. But now, with my snow-white hair and obvious markings all over my body, we look nothing alike.
“Bails,” he breathes, roaming over my new features. He shakes himself out of his stupor and opens his arms for me, hope shining in his eyes that I’ll give in. I want to so badly, but the hurt coursing through me overshadows the want of safety I’d find in his arms. He must see it loud and clear on my face as his arms drop back down to his sides. “Your mom and I would like a chance to explain. We know you don’t owe it to us after everything that happened today, but if you could at least sit down and listen, we would appreciate it.”
Do I want to know what they have to say? I do, but I don’t know if I have the mental capacity to listen to any excuses they might have. But I need something to pass the time until whoever is picking me up shows up. I might not have given anyone my address, but all humans are registered in the sectors, so they can easily find where I live.
I give a short nod of agreement, even as everything in me screams not to listen. Dad reaches out for my bags, but I take a step back. I don’t want any help with my stuff. I can do this myself.
Dad reluctantly spins on his heel and heads back toward the living room, where I can hear Mom sniffling. I follow slowly, hoping the person shows up soon so I don’t have to listen to the whole story. Maybe one day I’ll be able to forgive them for lying to me for twenty-one years, but today is not the day.
Mom straightens up the moment she sees me, and a stab of guilt hits me straight in the heart as I take in her puffy, red-rimmed blue eyes and pink nose. This is hurting her as much as it’s hurting me. She knows how much I abhor liars, so she has a pretty good idea of the hatred coursing through me right now.
Before joining her on the gray suede couch, I head toward the front door and haphazardly pile my bags on the floor. A strangled sob comes from behind me, quickly covered up with a cough. Even she knows this is pretty much it for me. Shit. I spin on my heel after snatching my purse and head to the bathroom, throwing my toiletries on top of everything else I have inside.
That would have been horrible if I had forgotten my damn toothbrush. No one wants stinky breath, and with the advanced senses of supernaturals, they’d be able to tell in a heartbeat.
Returning to the front door, I drop my purse with everything else and make my way back toward the couch. Mom pats the seat beside her, but I know if I get too close, I’ll break again, and I just can’t do that. I need to be strong for this conversation and the next steps I’ll need to take. I plop myself down in a heap the furthest I can get away from her and draw my knees up to my chest, hoping it’s enough of a shield to guard me against the hurt rolling off my parents.
My eyes dart to the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, with wrapped presents underneath. Presents we are supposed to open as a family in four day. Not like that’s happening anymore.
“I…I know we have a lot to explain and not a lot of time,” Dad starts, bringing my attention back to them and taking the spot next to Mom where she wanted me to sit. “You have every right to be upset with us because we lied to you, but we were hoping it wouldn’t come to this.”
“I think upset is putting it mildly,” I mumble, wrapping my quivering arms around my legs.
Dad shoots me his ‘don’t interrupt me’ look, and I raise a brow incredulously. I think I have every right to interrupt if I want to.
He shakes his head, then opens his mouth to continue. “Your mom and I tried for a few years to have a child, but unfortunately, it wasn’t written in the stars for us. But we knew we had so much love to give, so we opened our hearts to adopt?—”
Three loud knocks cut off his words, and Dad growls under his breath. I stifle a giggle. Dad HATES being interrupted, hence the look he shot at me earlier.
He mutters quiet obscenities as he heads for the door, then throws it open, only to take a step back, his whole body stiffening. This must be whoever is picking me up.
Humans always have an innate sense of when a predator enters the room. Every atom of their being screams at them to run away. I must not be that scary of a supernatural since they don’t seem to act that way around me. Suits me just fine. I don’t want to be the biggest and the baddest. Hell, I don’t want to be one at all, but being human obviously wasn’t in the cards for me.
“Hello, Mr. Matthews. My name is Axel Pennington, and I’m here to pick up Miss Bailey and take her to Stonewell Academy in Faridity,” a silky, smooth voice calls from the front door, sending a delicious shiver down my spine.
Damn, Mr. Pennington, don’t you sound sexy as fuck.
Shit, Bailey, stop it. He’s a supernatural, and you don’t think about them that way.
Well… I guess I could start. After all, it’s not like humans want to date a super anyway.
This whole new mindset is going to take some getting used to. Baby steps.
“Of course,” Dad says gruffly. “She’s right in here.” Dad returns to the living room but stops when Axel remains at the doorway.
“I apologize, Mr. Matthews, but I need permission to enter. You may revoke it once we leave.” Hmmm, so that must mean Axel is a vampire.
“Sure. Please come in, Mr. Pennington.” Dad steps off to the side and holds his arm out in invitation.
Like a cloud floating a breeze, Axel glides into the house, making a beeline straight for me. I don’t feel the same predator vibes Dad must have, so I drop my feet to the floor and straighten up a bit, not wanting to look like a slouch.
Axel is the epitome of otherworldly beauty. Where the guy from earlier had a brutal god-like beauty to him, Axel has more of a pretty beauty. But I would never tell him that out loud. He could rip my throat out in a heartbeat if I called him pretty. Golden blond hair is pulled into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck, highlighting his sharp cheekbones, straight nose, and pointed chin.
Even sitting on the couch, I can tell he would still tower over me, but it’s his bright red eyes that really do me in. It’s one of the most significant telltale signs of a vampire, but it makes me think he has a glamour on if Dad didn’t notice when he spoke to him at the door.
Axel has a black and white pinstriped suit covering his lithe body, but even I can tell he hides a muscular frame underneath.
Those red eyes are honed in directly on me, and there is no mistaking the flair of lust percolating in their depths. Whatever Mr. Pennington sees when he looks at me, he likes. I doubt the same would be true if I hadn’t covered all the marks littering my body. I look like I lost ten or more rounds with a tattoo gun and decided to cover my entire body in ink.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen naturally pink eyes; you’re stunning,” he says in awe as he stops before me.
Pink eyes? What the fuck is he talking about?
I jump from my seat and race to the bathroom, throwing on the light. There, staring back at me, are bright pink irises. A sharp scream splits the air, and it takes a moment to realize the sound came from me.
There’s a blur and a gust of wind. Then I jump out of my skin as Axel positions himself behind me, his eyes looking everywhere for a threat. The only threat he has to worry about is me completely falling apart.
“Sorry,” I mutter, dropping my head into my hands. “I’ve avoided looking into mirrors, so this was a surprise.”
Cold infuses my bones as Axel places his hands on my shoulders. I lean back into his strong body, hoping he can protect me from the view in the mirror. This is all just too much, too quickly. I don’t know if I can handle any more surprises today.
“Everything will be okay, Bailey,” he murmurs, leaning down and brushing his lips against my ear. “I know this is a lot, but I’ll help you get through it. I know the headmaster personally at Stonewell, and he will do everything he can to help with this transition.”
I pull away and spin in his arms, craning my neck to look up at him. “So you’re not from the academy?”
“No. I am a lawyer, and there are some things we need to go over before I take you there.”
“I’m not in trouble, am I?” Jeez, I just found out I’m not human, and now there’s a freaking possibility I’ve already done something to get myself in hot water.
“No. Not at all. But I promise I’ll explain everything when we get to my office.”
I pull back, looking for any sign of deceit in his eyes, but all I can find is genuineness. That makes me feel better. I don’t know him, but part of me feels like I can trust him. Kind of like the guy from the lagoon, my mind whispers to me.
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road.” I clap my hands, hoping to hide the nervousness he elicits in me.
“I’ll put your stuff in the car so you can say your goodbyes.” He blurs away before I can say thank you, and I hear the front door closing.
This is it. Time to move forward since time travel doesn’t exist, and I can’t go back in the past to change the outcome.
Dad’s holding Mom in his arms as she wrings her hands when I return to the front room. We didn’t get to finish our talk, but I don’t want to keep Axel waiting. Without another thought, I throw myself into their arms, holding them like a lifeline. As much as I want to scream and rage, it won’t help the torment I feel. And I really don’t want to make them feel worse than they already do.
Extracting myself from their arms, I kiss Mom’s cheek, and Dad bends down so I can do the same to him. I don’t have it in me for a long goodbye, so I head straight to the door and open it without fanfare. With one last look over my shoulder, I give them both a shaky smile and step outside.
Axel is leaning up against a matte black sports car, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes intent on me.
I pull the door closed, my heart hammering in my chest and tears pricking my eyes as Mom and Dad cry together, begging me not to go. But they know I have to, and if I turned around, there is no way I would be able to leave.
The tears gathering in my eyes finally break free as I put one foot in front of the other, making my way toward the unknown. Axel gathers me in his arms the second I step before him, and he holds me the entire time I break apart. The gut-wrenching sobs finally slow, and Axel guides me toward the passenger side of the car. After putting on my seatbelt, he steps back, shuts the door softly, and then rounds the front, easily gliding into the driver’s seat.
The low purr of the engine as he starts it soothes the frantic part of my soul and, as he pulls away from the curb, I watch in the side mirror as everything I’ve known for the last twenty-one years disappears.
Somehow, I know everything will be okay.
Or so I hope.