Becoming

by Dakota Brown

"I told you to leave her alone."

  "She's not part of our agreement." The man straightened, and I thought I saw pink sparkles dance along his hands.

  Doc stopped and put his hands in front of him, though I couldn't quite see what he was doing.

  "She's got parents who check on her frequently. They'll notice if she's missing. You can't just steal away with her."

  "Yeah, and I'm adopted," I said just loudly enough to be heard. "My parents don't know magic, and they'll go straight to the cops." I really hoped giving up that information wasn't a mistake.

  A branch snapped behind us.

  Doc reacted before I could even comprehend something was happening. He twisted, throwing out his arm and shoving me backward. I stumbled to the ground, landing on my butt. Yellow light shot out of Doc's hand and blasted into the person behind us, sending them flying. They crashed into a bush and lay there.

  Doc had already turned his attention back to the others, the air shimmering in front of us. He held his hands in front of his chest, fingers making a box. He held that position, and the two men by the truck stepped back.

  "You've made a poor decision, Cassidy. Even you can't watch your back all the time, and those pups of yours..." The man shook his head. "Back off, and I'll forget this happened."

  Doc snarled something in a language I didn't recognize, and the shimmer parted as he stepped through it, and reformed behind him. Doc stalked forward, and the two men backed up away from his truck.

  "I'm not going to say it again," he growled, voice low and dangerous. "Leave her alone."

  The men held their hands up in surrender, continuing to back away.

  "Sofia, get it the truck."

  I scrambled to my feet and, avoiding the shimmer in the air, rushed to the pickup. Wrenching the door open, I climbed in and slammed it behind me. Hands trembling, I buckled my seatbelt and clutched it, watching Doc with wide eyes as he backed the mages off with little more than implied threat. He must really have kicked their asses hard at some point in the past, or he held some other threat over them.

  He held out his hand toward the shimmer he had left in the air, and the sparkles zipped back toward him.

  "Interesting toy you've got there," the man said.

  Doc didn't reply, just backed away until he was standing by his door. Not taking his eyes off the mages, he opened his door and slid in. I jumped when he slammed his door, and didn't dare breathe until he had the engine started.

  When the lights came on, the roadway was empty.

  "Where'd they go?"

  Doc shrugged. "They're gone for now. You can relax." He drove away from the curb.

  "Relax?" I laughed and tears leaked out of my eyes. I hated crying. I pulled off my backpack purse so I could sit normally in the seat. "Are Ed and Allan okay?"

  "They'll meet me back at the cabin. Where do you want to go?"

  "Where will I be safe?"

  Doc glanced over at me. "With us."

  "Then I want to go there." I looked down at myself and surveyed some of the damage with the lights from the dash.

  "I..." More tears. Damn it.

  "Let's swing by your dorm and get your things. We can figure out what to do tomorrow."

  "Okay."

  It wasn't long before we were parking in the lot near the dorm. I sat there for a minute once Doc shut the truck off, not wanting to get out, worried it wasn't safe.

  I yelped when Doc opened the passenger door. "You're safe with me, Sofia," he said softly, holding out a hand.

  I took it.

  He smiled, reached across me with his other hand, and undid the seatbelt. Then he helped me out of the truck, though he continued to hold my hand as we went to the dorm.

  "Do you want to wait here?" I asked at the door.

  He shook his head. "No one will notice me. Just head to your room. I'm not about to leave you alone right now."

  I would have to trust him. I dug my keys out of my purse and scanned my fob. Doc followed me in. "Stairs or elevator?"

  "Elevator is fine, unless you think you can manage the stairs."

  "Only if I really have to." The aches and pains were really setting in, and I was afraid to look at myself. I was sure I owed Victoria a new dress, if nothing else. I suspected she wouldn't be upset with me. It still sucked. I hated borrowing something and destroying it.

  I heard voices down the hallway and glanced at Doc. He didn't seem worried, and sure enough, when we crossed paths with a couple of girls who lived on the first floor, they didn't even look at us.

  My jaw dropped, and I glanced up at Doc. He smiled and pushed the button on the elevator.

  "I thought you said you weren't a mage," I whispered when we were alone again.

  "I'm not. How badly are you hurt?"

  The elevator door opened, and we went in. I didn't look at the mirror on the back, staring at the floor.

  "Nothing is broken."

  "You're bleeding."

  The elevator dinged and opened on my floor.

  "Probably." I sighed. "I fell a few times, rolled down the hill, hit a rock, etcetera."

  "I'm going to ask you what happened, but Victoria is going to ask you that too, so I'll wait." He smiled and followed me to my room.

  I scanned my fob again, glanced at Doc and opened my door enough for me to peak in.

  "Victoria?"

  "Girl, why you sneaking around? Get in here." She came over to the entry way.

  "I, uh, have Doc with me." I blushed, though I wasn't really sure why at that point.

  Victoria's eyes widened, and she gestured for us to come in. "O-M-G what happened?" she asked as soon as she got a good look at me.

  "I'm sorry about your dress."

  "It's a dress, don't worry about it. What happened?"

  Doc shut the door behind us and glanced around the room. I stood there and started to shake. Doc put his arm around me and led me into my side of the room and sat next to me on the bed while I shook.

  I thought I saw Victoria look at him. Mostly I stared at my hands. In the light, I could see scratches all the way up my arms where my sweater had torn badly.

  "Doc?" Victoria prompted.

  "I'm not completely sure. Give her a minute."

  "I'm sorry, I just...it's..." I couldn't make the words work, so I fell silent again.

  Victoria sat on the other side of me and put her arm around my waist so that they both held me tight.

  "Take your time, we've got all night."

  A wave of exhaustion washed over me, and I groaned. "Alex and I went to the campus observatory, which was pretty cool, then we walked around on the paths up there. They're designed to be walked on at night, and I thought it should be safe enough. There were other people around. I guess I was wrong. They took Alex out with magic. I ran. I called Doc. Are you sure Alex is okay?"

  "Pretty sure," Doc replied.

  "Girl, you look like you got run over with a pine tree."

  "I feel that way, too."

  Doc moved his arm from around my shoulders and picked a few pine needles out of my hair.

  "I've got something back at my cabin that will get the pine sap out. Victoria, I'm not completely positive it's safe here tonight. Do you want to come with us?"

  She sighed. "I gotta leave early, but maybe I should follow you up there. Is there anything we can do to make our room safe?"

  "Yeah. We'll put some wards up." He frowned and glanced at his wrist. I hadn't noticed the wide, ornately beaded bracelets he was currently wearing before. "I think I can manage to do that sometime this weekend."

  "You're a mage?" Victoria sounded surprised.

  "No."

  "He keeps saying that, and he keeps doing magic," I muttered, burying my face in my hands for a minute. He put his hand on my shoulder.

  "I'll explain tomorrow. It's not immediately important, and we need to get the two of you safe for the night."

  Victoria stood. "Sofia, did you already pack a bag?"

  "No."

&nb
sp; "Why don't you change into some clean clothes and do that. I'll help. I'm ready to go other than throwing on real clothes."

  Doc took Victoria's hint and left my side of the room.

  She grabbed my notebook and scribbled on it before showing it to me. 'You want to go with him, right?'

  I nodded, and she shut the book and tucked it away, apparently satisfied.

  "Do you have a bag we can throw stuff in?"

  "Um, backpack."

  "Great. I'll pack. You change. Doc, you have a first aid kit at your place?" She raised her voice only slightly.

  "Yes," he replied from her side of the dorm room.

  I pulled off my ruined clothing and dropped it all on the floor. "Victoria, I'm so sorry."

  "It's just a dress. I'm glad you're safe, and if you feel that bad, you can take me shopping some time and we can look for new dresses for both of us. Should I schedule it in?"

  I burst out laughing. "Yes." I quickly pulled on jeans, a T-shirt, and my light jacket.

  She gave me a quick hug and handed me my backpack. "Okay. We're ready." She tugged my hand and led me to the other side of the dorm where Doc waited. She grabbed her bag, which was already sitting near the door.

  His eyes glinted, and he smiled before he headed to the door. He waited by it, listening before opening it a bit and listening more.

  Victoria's eyes widened, and she looked at me. I clenched my fists, and she patted my shoulder.

  Doc opened the door and gestured for us to follow him. We all hurried down the hallway after the door shut behind us and got in the elevator.

  None of us spoke, and Doc took my hand again once we were outside. I got the idea it was more so that we wouldn't get separated for whatever reason between the dorm and the parking lot, rather than because he actually wanted to hold my hand. Though he rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand, speeding my heart just a touch and making me re-evaluate my thoughts.

  We made sure Victoria was in her car and that it started before Doc led me over to his pickup.

  "I'm sorry," I said once we were in his truck.

  "For what?"

  "All this."

  He was quiet for a minute before he reached over and took my hand again. "Some things are worth it, Sofia."

  My stomach fluttered. He's your teacher, I reminded myself. That didn't slow my pulse any.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Doc took his hand back to drive, and at some point, I fell asleep. The next thing I remembered was Doc carrying me.

  "Sofia, you should wake up. We need to get you cleaned up before you sleep."

  I blinked a few times and inhaled Doc's scent. It took me a minute before I could focus on anything other than how tired I felt, how strong Doc was, and how much I was enjoying feeling safe in his arms.

  "I'm awake."

  "I know," he said softly.

  "Where are Ed and Allan?" I glanced around. We were in a bedroom with a king sized bed under a blue bedspread covered in what looked like dog hair. Wolf hair? My bag and Victoria's were sitting on the end.

  Victoria came out of what was probably a bathroom, once again dressed in her pj's. I must really have been asleep not to notice Doc getting me out of the truck.

  "They're in their bedrooms, sleeping. They won't wake up for a while."

  "How do you know?" Victoria demanded. "You didn't check on them when we got here."

  "I can hear them." Doc tensed, though I only noticed because he was holding me.

  He went over to the bed and set me down gently. Victoria didn't reply. Doc's answer satisfied her.

  I groaned. "Please tell me you have pain killers."

  "I don't, actually," Doc answered. "I can get some."

  "Got you covered." Victoria rummaged around in her bag for a minute before throwing some anti-inflammatories at me.

  "Thanks."

  "Of course. Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Victoria pulled on my arm, and I slowly sat up and swung my legs off the bed.

  "Are either of you hungry, or thirsty?" Doc headed for the door to the bedroom.

  "Yeah, thirsty," Victoria answered.

  I nodded.

  "Tea?"

  "Sure," we both said.

  "Let's see the damage," Victoria ordered once we were in the bathroom together. It was relatively large with a jetted bathtub and a separate shower. She saw me looking at the tub and smiled and winked at me.

  "Really?" I kept my voice low.

  She laughed. "It's big enough for at least two."

  I sputtered as I pulled my shirt off. She took a look at my back. "I think you should take a shower, then we can put some stuff on the worst of the cuts. Doc said this soap should get the sap off." She handed me a bar of soap. "I snooped. I'll get you a clean towel. You want me to wait outside?"

  "Do you mind staying here? I don't want to be alone." I shivered at the thought.

  "Girl, it's no problem. And take your time, then we'll get you doctored up."

  "I'll try to be quick. I want to sleep."

  "Do you mind if I slip out just long enough to grab your bag? It's still on the bed."

  "That's fine. Thanks, Victoria."

  I stripped and got in the shower, trying to ignore how weird it felt to be using what was probably Doc's shower. Or maybe they all used it. I had no idea how big his cabin actually was.

  Victoria came back in with my bag while I was trying to get the sap out of my hair. The soap worked pretty well, though I wasn't sure I got it all. I finally gave up.

  Victoria handed me a towel, and I wrapped it around myself. My short hair hung limp and dripping around my face.

  "Here, dry off, put on your undies, and we'll see what we can do with some Neosporin and medical tape."

  I did as instructed while she stared at the floor, giving me a bit of privacy but not leaving me alone as I requested.

  Once I was dry and partially dressed, she slowly turned me with a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  "You're more bruised than cut, though you've got a couple of good ones on your back. I think I'm going to hit it with some gauze, tape, and butterfly bandages to keep it closed. You might ask Doc to look at it later."

  "Thanks."

  My eyelids were drooping by the time she finished with me. I pulled on my pajamas, struggled out of my bra when I remembered I had it on, and dropped it in my bag before I stumbled out of the bathroom after Victoria.

  Doc sat in a chair, his elbows resting on his knees and his chin on his hands as he stared off at nothing.

  He glanced at us when we came out and gestured toward two mugs.

  Victoria and I both sipped some sort of herbal tea. I was thirsty enough that it was gone pretty quickly.

  "Do you two mind sharing the bed?"

  "No," I answered after a quick glance at Victoria.

  "I wasn't planning for guests, so the sheets aren't clean, but they shouldn't have too many cooties."

  I giggled. "I'd be happy sleeping on the floor at this point, so that's fine."

  "You'd regret it in the morning," Doc stated.

  "Yeah."

  Victoria pulled back the comforter and climbed in. "Oh, memory foam?"

  Doc nodded.

  I crawled in the other side.

  "Good night," Doc said, shutting off the lights as he left.

  Despite being completely exhausted, once I tried to sleep, I couldn't. My heart raced. I didn't want to disturb Victoria, so I stared at nothing in the darkness and tried to relax, tried to ignore the large window near the bed that someone could break through at any moment. Every small noise set my heart racing faster.

  I wasn't sure how long I laid there, awake, before Victoria rolled over and faced me.

  "You want Doc to come back?"

  "I..."

  "It's okay to be afraid, Sofia. I'd be terrified. I doubt I'd be half as functional as you have managed. If you want him to come back and sit with us for a while, it doesn't bother me."

  "I'll be okay," I said.

&nbs
p; "Liar." Before I could protest, Victoria shoved back the comforter and got out of bed.

  I groaned, but she left the room and came back a minute later with Doc following behind.

  She flopped back onto her side of the bed. "Just keep it down, some of us have to drive to Denver tomorrow."

  "Seriously?" I muttered. Both Doc and Victoria laughed at my discomfort.

  "Scoot over." Doc came over to my side of the bed and sat next to me, leaning against the headboard when I made room for him. He put his legs up on the bed and stretched them out.

  "Sorry," I whispered.

  "Nothing to be sorry for." He took my hand and smiled down at me. Victoria was right, I felt safe now, and my eyelids drooped. He caressed the back of my hand while I drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 12

  Sofia

  "Did you sleep like that all night?" I thought I heard Victoria say.

  "I didn't want to disturb either of you."

  "That can't have been comfortable."

  I blinked a few times, and really didn't want to wake up enough to figure out what that conversation was all about. I was warm and pressed up against something comforting.

  Wait, what was I pressed up against?

  I opened my eyes and looked around. Doc was sitting next to me where I remembered him being when he came in last night, still leaning against the headboard. His long hair was loose and fell around his shoulders. I lay curled up against his legs.

  "Good morning." He smiled at me when I glanced up at him.

  I really wanted to bury my face under the covers and not come out for a while, but he had done a lot for me the night before. I could try to not hide from him today.

  "Morning," I mumbled.

  Doc smiled and rubbed my shoulder. "Breakfast is almost ready." He got up and left the room before I could say anything else.

  Victoria winked at me. "He's totally into you."

  I pulled the covers over my head. That didn't really help, though because I was surrounded by Doc's scent.

  "Come on, or the guys will eat all the food."

  "I'll be out in a minute. I need to brush my teeth and stuff. Get dressed. Move to a foreign country."

  Victoria laughed as she left the bedroom. She must have been up for a little while because she was already dressed.