31. Erin
Chapter thirty-one
Erin
Seth, all but admitting he was in school and not moving forward because he felt the need to be overly baring, continued to taunt me as I changed out of most of my training gear and into black skinny jeans and a hoodie; I left the long sleeve on.
If he doesn’t graduate, it’ll be my fault.
Or if he gets killed. Or Libby. Or Derik. Even Josh.
It would all be my fault.
A stabbing pain flooded my chest, my heart and lungs squeezed. I gasped for breath, pushing the thoughts into a little black box. I panted as I clamped it shut and blinked away the salty tears that were on the verge of erupting.
I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling until my eyelids fluttered shut.
“I see you’re finally taking things more seriously.”
I kept my eyes closed, my hands resting behind my head. “I see you’re still interrupting my sleep. Screw off. Can’t you let me be?”
He disregarded the question. “The swords have found you. I wonder, do they approve?”
I scoffed. “Don’t you mean I found them? Josh had me go into that not-so-little hidden room Seth just so happened to have in his house, another secret he refrained from informing me of.”
“Ah, but you see, the long sword and daggers were not there until recently, Erin.” The mystery man rumbled.
I peaked one eye open in his direction, taking in the dreamscape. We were once again in the mountains. Mist covered the mountain ridges, a hint of rain in the air. “What do you mean?”
“Nephilim blades are specially designed, created. And those made in particular for the strongest of Nephilim, those who may be extraordinary, are not created, rather, they appear. They come to fruition when their wielders come into their power. It is a rarity to which that is already so rare. Not only had yours appeared, but more than one attached itself to you.”
“Great. So, I’m extra special. I can spit fire and lightning out of my fingers, and I get three weapons of the stabbing realm which can talk to me.”
“You can hear them?” His brow furrowed.
“Yes.” I pressed my lips together.
“Hm. Interesting.”
“Tell me about it. I feel like a freaking psycho. At first there was just a hum and then I heard their voices. Well, once voice, from the sword. And it called the daggers its ‘sisters’. Mind cluing me in on that one?”
“The humming, that is rather unusual.”
I huffed and sat up. “Is any of this ‘usual’? Because this whole thing still feels like I’m on some prank show. Josh said there should be a hum. And there was. So, if it’s not usual then why did he say something about it?”
He pondered that for a moment. “I am not sure. However, power attracts power, Miss Snow.”
“That answers absolutely nothing.” My eyes rolled.
“My apologies, Erin.” He faced away. His back to me, hands clasped behind him.
I sighed. “It’s whatever.” I stared at him, the mysterious man who continued to appear in my dreams.
I pulled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I rested my chin on top of my knees. “Am I doing the right thing?” I asked, my voice carried on the breeze that flowed through the mountain ridge.
“I know what you are asking, Erin. And unfortunately, that is not for me to decide, nor to disclose, the path which would be most beneficial. That ultimately would be your decision. Whichever path you chose, you must be willing to fight your fears, for that which haunts you may very well be not only your undoing, but the world as you know it.”
My fingers pressed into my skin, my laugh lifeless. “Nothing like some good ole’ ‘world rests on my shoulders’ pressure, huh?”
He nodded and slowly faced me once again. “You are much stronger than you realize, Erin.”
The dream faded away and my eyes fluttered open, a weight sat heavily on my chest. “It sure doesn’t feel like it,” I whispered to myself.
My phone beeped. I groaned as I snatched it off of the nightstand and plugged in my passcode. A text from Seth popped up.
Hey, I’m sorry for not telling you about me skipping out…and that you had to hear it from the guys. Not very bff behavior.
It’s fine.
Want to grab some grub later? On me?
I have a shift at the library.
It wasn’t a total lie.
What about afterwards? I’ll pick you up. Just the two of us.
What about Libby and Derik? Or Josh?
The little typing bubble appeared on the screen.
Nah, Lib and Derik are heading back to their places tonight and Josh said he needed to get some work done. So just us.
My heart pulled a bit.
Alright. But I’m paying.
Uh. How about no, it's on me.
Let me take care of it please. You’ve been letting me live here and it’s the least I can do.
Take it as an apology for my overreacting earlier.
Rin, you weren’t overreacting, you’re fine.
I’m stealing the check so you can’t pay.
Bet. I’m faster than you Snow, and you know it.
Psh, yeah right.
And what was your time on our last run?
Excuse me, Seth, I was half asleep.
Smh, lol
What does that even mean?
A knock sounded at the door. I slowly sat up, not wanting to leave the comfort of my bed and opened it to find a smirking Seth.
“Do you really not know what ‘smh’ means?”
“No? What is it? Smh?” I crossed my arms over my chest, my hip leaned against the door frame.
He belted out a laugh. “Shaking my head.”
“Well, why not just say that? So much easier.” The corner of my mouth lifted.
“It’s texting, Erin. Not a novel,” he chuckled, the ocean blue of his eyes sparkled. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Okay, look. I am not the brightest crayon in the crayon box, Seth. We know this.”
He rolled his eyes. “So, dinner. What time am I picking you up?” He braced himself against the side of the doorway, his forearms supporting his body against the top of the frame. My breath hitched at the close proximity. His plain grey V-neck clung to his chest, accentuating the muscle beneath, wisps of his dark chest hair peeking out.
My eyes nearly bugged out of my skull.
I’m salivating. I’m fucking salivating.
Someone throw a bucket of ice water at me please.
This is getting out of hand.
“I, uh. I’m off at seven. But I can meet you somewhere. You don’t need to drive all the way to campus to pick me up,” I stammered.
“Rin, it’s not a big deal. I’ll pick you up then,” he gave me a quick up down, corners of his mouth twitching. “All black? The classic Erin vibe. Nice choice.” He turned on his heel and headed down the hall towards his room.
I yelled after him, “What does that even mean!?”
He threw his hand in the air, waving back at me. “I’ll see ya later, Erin. Better hurry up before you’re late.”
I stared after him, a thousand questions running through my head.
The main one being: What the hell was that?
I smiled to myself. “Weirdo.”
I checked the time on my phone, it was a quarter after three; Seth was right. If I didn’t leave now, I’d be late. I grabbed my backpack from the closet, ran to the living room, and out the front door, barely taking the time to lock it behind me. I hopped in my car, stuck my key in the ignition, and drove off.
Let this be a quick shift.