Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch Page 7
“Sky, what just happened?” Anne asked as soon as we were seated in the library. She was clearly confused and curious from the tone of her voice.
“I really don’t know, Anne. But I don’t want to talk about it,” I quietly said both to her and Nick, gazing up at them from the book that I was currently reading.
Nick sighed and shrugged. Anne, on the otherhand, was obviously disappointed but didn’t press further on the matter.
We went on studying after that. I tried my best to understand what Anne was saying, but I couldn’t fully grasp everything as my mind was somewhere else.
The rest of the day was uneventful. I didn’t get to see Adrien in any of my classes, which was bothering me. I don’t know why, but it seems like I’ve gotten used to his annoying presence always lurking around.
I sighed when it was already the last period of the day and he still didn’t show up. I guess it was better this way.
As soon as the bell rang, I waved goodbye to my friends and immediately left the room. I was going to visit my parents today since I didn’t get to do that yesterday. I shook my head as the previous day’s events started flooding back to me. Thoughts about everything related to Adrien filled my mind. I was so distracted with my thoughts that I was surprised to already be standing in front of my parent’s gravestone.
“Hi Mom, Dad,” I whispered as I lovingly let my hand trail down the cold stone. I usually start my conversation with them like this. And I knew that I would be spending long hours with them today. I felt like I had so much to tell them since I last visited them on my birthday.
By the time I was done pouring out my sentiments, I was definitely feeling a lot better. My parents always did know how to cheer me up. And they still have that magic, even after they’re gone. I planted a kiss on my fingers and lightly pressed them to their headstone before standing up to leave.
I was completely surprised to see that it was already this dark. I glanced at my watch to see that it was already seven o’clock. I just spent more than three hours with my parents.
I pulled out my phone from my bag and typed in ‘I’ll be home soon’ and sent it to Nana as I decided to take the shortcut to my house. I turned left at the next corner.
This street looks like it’s neglected. If it weren’t for a few street lights, I would never pass here. Tonight’s just one of the exceptions since I was already this late in going home. Nick, Anne, and I discovered the ten-minute walking time this street cuts out from the cemetery to my house when we went to visit my parents a few years back.
I’ve only been walking for a few minutes when I had that strange feeling that I was being followed. I shuddered at that thought and just hurried my pace. I heard footsteps behind me, quickly picking up their own speed as I practically ran towards the end of the street. When I felt that I was nearing the end of the semi-lit street, I stopped abruptly.
My breathing caught up in my throat, and my heart started beating like crazy as I saw two men blocking the way. They sneered when they saw me and started walking towards my direction. I couldn’t get through that way, so I retraced my steps quickly before my mind would be engulfed with panic that it wouldn’t be able to think sensibly.
I thought I would be able to make good progress in that direction until I saw two more men coming towards me. One was bald and the other one was overly tanned. I started backing up away from them. I was trapped.
They were only a few feet on either side of me before I felt that usual aura running towards me. It carried that warm and strong atmosphere with it. And for some reason, my fear slowly started to dissipate. I felt safe despite being surrounded by four gangsters.
When one of the men, a stout one, grabbed me by my arm, I glared at him before kicking him hard in the crotch. He immediately let go of my arm and dropped to the floor, shrieking in pain. I didn’t know what possessed me to have that kind of courage, but I didn’t feel that frightened anymore, even as they all started coming at me at once, causing me to back into a corner.
Just then, a dark figure appeared on one end of the street. I turned to his direction even before he was able to step into the limited light of the street. I gasped when the light finally hit his face.
“Adrien,” I mouthed out, but no voice actually came out of my mouth. He viciously looked at each man who now turned to his direction.
Without warning, two of the men charged at him. I lost thought of anything else as I saw him fight them off. I was shocked to see how fast and graceful he was. It almost looked like he was dancing.
The tallest of the men went after him head on, but he managed to swiftly avoid him, sidestepping at the right moment before using his knee to kick the man on his stomach, making him grumble in pain. It wasn’t long before he used his elbow to deliver a blow behind that man’s head, leaving him to fall limp on the ground. All at once, Adrien quickly jumped away from the knife aimed at his throat by the second, bald-headed thug. The man charged again, now aiming for Adrien’s side, but he easily avoided the knife, jumping to the side before kicking the man’s hand, sending the weapon flying into the dark. Before the ruffian could recover, Adrien quickly kicked him in the face, sending him falling into the ground.
After seeing what he was up against, the overly tanned man ran away into the dark, followed by the stout thug who was still limping from the blow I gave him on his groin. And I just stood there, once again awe-struck at the man in front of me.
Adrien looked at me then, his grey eyes that previously held that vicious glare were now filled with relief. He slowly went towards me and let his hands rest on my shoulders. His head bowed down, letting his hair fall like a curtain on either side of his face as he stared at the ground. He was actually too near for comfort, but for some reason, I wasn’t that bothered by it this time.
“Adrien?” I wondered what was wrong. “Are you hurt anywhere?” I asked as I tried to remember if any of the thugs might have sneaked in a punch while they were fighting.
“I was afraid they already did something.” He said in a shaky voice. I could literally feel the relief that he felt wash over him as he let out a few ragged breaths.
“Hey,” I said, trying to think of what to say to lift his spirits. “I can’t believe you could move like that! That was awesome!” I cried out, not caring what just came out of my mouth.
He just laughed, shaking me with him as he still had both his hands on my shoulders. I smiled. “Adrien, I think two got away,” I pointed out as I saw two thugs lying on the ground.
He sighed and shook his head. “They couldn’t have. Cole’s there with the car, waiting for us,” he said in his calm, soothing voice, which immediately made my heart race. I blushed and quickly turned my head to the side, frustrated with myself for observing trivial things like that after what just happened.
He led me toward the end of the street to where he said his car was parked. Before we even reached the end, I saw the two remaining gangsters sprawled on the ground. It didn’t take long for us to spot Cole leaning casually against the car, with Elise waiting inside, somehow looking extremely bored.
We were almost near them when a nagging feeling in my head bothered me. Something was just not right. I immediately stopped walking when I was able to point it out.
Why were they here? And why is it that whenever I’m in need of saving Adrien always just happens to show up in the middle of nowhere?
Adrien stopped and turned back to look at me as soon as I stopped dead in my tracks.
I turned to him, returning his gaze. He just looked at me with a grim expression on his face. He looked like he already knew what I was going to ask him.
Chapter 7 - Question and Avoidance
“Cole, Elise,” Adrien breathed. “I’ll meet you guys back at the house. I’ll take Skylar home.”
The twins both nodded, leaving me completely bothered. Why would he leave them here? They could just come with us.
“Adrien, I don’t see the point of leaving them.” I turned to him
while I was already seated in the passenger seat.
“Our house is nearby,” Cole answered instantly.
“Don’t worry about us.” Elise said as craned her neck over her twin’s shoulder as he was leaning over the passenger window, smiling at me.
“Okay then,” I grinned back at them as we slowly drove away, Adrien closing the passenger window before speeding up the car.
We drove a few moments in silence as I tried to sort out the million questions that ran through my head.
“Why were you there tonight, Adrien?” I asked quietly. Was he following me? And that… that presence since my birthday. My eyes widened as I recalled that I only ever felt that presence whenever he shows up—at the restaurant, his first day at school, at the cafeteria, inside the classroom, yesterday before the car almost killed me, by the lockers this morning, and earlier before those men closed in on me. I turned to look at him. My mind was lit with many questions that I know only he could answer.
He held a hardened expression. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. He still didn’t answer.
“Adrien,” I knew I had to ask him. “When I saw you at that restaurant on my birthday,” I paused, trying to come up with the right words. “I think I actually felt you before you even stepped foot inside.” I couldn’t believe what I was actually saying myself. I know I sounded crazy, but I just had to know before the questions consumed me.
He still didn’t answer. He looked like he was suffering from his own interrogations inside, too. I reached out to touch his arm, ignoring the currents that flowed through me. He slowed down the speeding car and eventually parked on the side of the road. I saw him take in deep breaths when the car reached a full stop.
“Adrien, why did you come to Rattford Cliffs?” I asked him in a whisper. It seemed like I had to take small steps with these questions. I have to start from the beginning, during the first time I saw him.
He looked at me then as he placed his head on the car’s headrest. His eyes clearly conveyed the debate he had on whether or not to answer my questions.
“Sky,” he said as he gazed at me with the saddest expression I’ve ever seen on him. “You don’t want to know the answers. Not yet, anyway,” he answered as I was about to pull my hand back, but he steadied it as he placed his hand on top of mine. “I don’t want you in the middle of any of this. You deserve a…” he paused, obviously trying to come up with a word. “normal life,” he finally said as I pulled my hand out from under his.
“Normal life?” I asked, incredulous at what I was hearing. What is he talking about now? He just added more questions to the already too many questions my head couldn’t handle. “Adrien, I was almost hit by a car yesterday, and I almost got myself hurt earlier. Those incidents are completely normal. I know what that says about my luck, but it can happen to anyone,” I narrated.
What did he mean by that anyway?
Suddenly, his phone rang, completely interrupting the conversation we were having. When he saw who was calling, he answered it immediately. “Yes?” he said with a serious tone.
I just watched him as his expression suddenly transformed from serious to furious. He shook his head and released a ragged breath. “Okay.” He replied to what the person on the other line said. He ended the call. And before I could get a word out, he already started the car engine, and we were back on the road.
I know I couldn’t get any decent answers from him. Not tonight, anyway. But that didn’t stop me from letting all the questions roam around my head all the way home.
“I will get my answers,” I said as I opened the car’s passenger door. “Oh,” I stopped when I remembered something. I turned around to look at him. “Thank you for saving me again,” I smiled at him. I was really grateful even if he didn’t answer any of my questions. I’ll get them out of him in time.
He just nodded and didn’t even look at me. He still had that hard expression on him. I sighed and let myself out of the car. When I was safely inside the house, I heard him start the car and sped away at a very fast pace.
“Nana, I’m home,” I called out. She came out of the room and looked at me from the top of the stairs, already in her light blue pajamas. I wondered what time it was. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was only half past eight. I relaxed. I lost count of time with all the things that happened.
“I’ll heat up the stew for you,” she announced as she started walking down the stairs. When she was at the foot of the stairs, I instantly pulled her in for a hug. She was a bit stunned when I did that, but it didn’t take her long to hug me back. I sighed when I thought that I could have died tonight and leave my Nana by herself. I couldn’t bear the thought of it.
She smiled when I let her go and led me to the kitchen. I told her how my day went, except the last part when I was on my way home. She frowned when I told her how Adrien acted the first time I saw him this morning. It surprised me that I almost forgot about that. I’ll add that to my million-question list. I was so deeply absorbed in my own thoughts that I failed to see Nana give me a knowing smile.
When I looked back at her, she had that satisfied look on her face that bothered me. I wonder what’s running through her head right now.
I stayed awake late that night again. I was busy replaying how the entire day went by and how my days have recently been since my 18th birthday. My mind was totally filled with dozens of queries, and just when I managed to somehow brush them off and leave them for next time, a million set of other questions started rushing in to replace every single one of them.
I tried so hard to sleep. I even tried looking at my magical tree, but it failed me this time. I gave up when I saw that it was already two in the morning. I sat up in bed and grabbed my phone from the bedside table.
Still haunted by the questions, I typed in every single one of them in my phone, hoping that this would stop them from bothering me. I started with ‘Why did he come here?’, ‘Why now?’, ‘Why do I get to feel his presence before he actually shows himself?’
I stopped at that last question. I was willing to put it to the test tomorrow, even though I was already so sure of it. Then I continued on with more of the other questions. ‘Why is he mad at me?’, ‘What did he mean by normal?’, ‘Why does he always show up whenever I’m in trouble?’
Those were just about it. Well, those were the main questions. They were attached to dozens of others, but this will have to do for now. I placed my phone back on the table and once again tried to sleep. I looked at my magical tree yet again. This time, it finally worked its magic.
Just as I was about to close my eyes, that strong and familiar aura arrived.
“Adrien?” I sighed his name as I finally gave in to sleep.
Everything in school was ordinary the next day. Adrien showed up for classes this time, but he didn’t sit beside me on any of our classes. In fact, he always sat at the back of the room. It almost seemed like he was avoiding me, which I find very odd, because despite his ‘avoidance’, I could always feel his eyes on me, watching my every movement. If I didn’t know him, I would’ve accused him of being a stalker. I let it slide when I arrived at the conclusion that he probably didn’t want to be interrogated.
I shook my head and tried focusing on Mr. York’s lecture on breathing exercises. We were now seated on navy blue mats scattered all over the gym floor. Earlier, he told everyone that we were having a break from sports since we all did so well on the previous classes. I think I was one of the happiest, if not the happiest, humans in that class today. After he announced that, he asked everyone to partner up before he started discussing different yoga poses. Nick immediately came to my side after that.
As soon as the lecture started, I could almost feel Adrien’s eyes boring into my back, and I was immediately annoyed with it. I already got used to his stalker-ish stares so that was not the issue. I was annoyed that I felt that familiar aura, which I was now particularly sure was his, carry an angry and annoyed emotion to it.
“Alright, Sky,” Nick said as he clapped his hands together. “Let’s do this.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I just had to laugh. Nick has always loved to try new things. And yoga was definitely something new for both of us.
“Double Sandwich first, guys,” Mr. York cried out. Nick and I both sat down facing each other, with both our legs stretched in front of us. I moved closer to Nick until both the soles of our feet were resting against each other. Nick and I both bent our waists down until our noses were touching our knees.
“Holy crap,” I groaned and heard Nick laugh. This yoga pose wasn’t as easy as it looks. It actually hurts when you’re not used to stretching this much. I reached my arms out, flailing them towards Nick, trying to grab hold of his arms. He caught my arms and we finally completed the position. I was busy ignoring the pain in my legs when I felt Adrien’s maddening aura rupture like a volcano.