“I am sick, and tired of others telling me how long they’ve known Emilia before me—"
“Well it’s true! I have every right to talk to my friend. You don’t own her. You don’t even know her. Get over yourself and stop being so clingy. It’s unattractive and desperate bro.” I gaze up at Austin. He is fuming. The boy is breathing heavily through his nostrils. Last time I seen him this— oh fuck.
Austin suddenly moves to charge at Cole. Not this time buddy. I yank his hand, making him stop in his tracks and turn to me.
“No,” I very sternly tell him. “No,” I repeat, shaking my head. “He’s not worth it.” Blue eyes then turns back to a grinning Cole.
“Next time. She won’t stop me. Next time, you’re dead,” he threatens. Austin wouldn’t really hurt him, would he? No. Maybe ruff him up a bit but he wouldn’t hurt him, hurt him. Right?
As tough as Cole made himself appear, no one could hide the fear they felt from this blue eyed giant. Blue eyes is fucking terrifying when he is angry. Hell, even I am terrified of him and he promised he’d never hurt me. Do I believe him? Yes... I mean... No... Wait. No. I do. I believe him. I do.
Cole doesn’t get the opportunity to speak another word. Austin let’s go of my hand, snakes his arm around my waist, and turns me around. He pulls me away from the boy behind us, leaving him stunned and pissed off.
“You are never to be around him again,” the boy beside me demands. I turn to face him, stopping us mid walk and I am pissed.
“Excuse me? You think I wanted to be around him? He is the last person I want to be around! Plus, don’t you dare tell me who I can, and cannot hang around. I know who’s good for me just as I know who’s bad for me. I can make my own decisions thank you very much.”
I’m getting ridiculously tired of his moody, brooding ass. He glares down on me in silence, as I glare up at him. Neither one of us backs down from our stubborn glare, and I’m beginning to wonder if we ever will.
“You know, you can stop with the moodiness too. I don’t appreciate you always demanding and warning me either. Save it for your enemies, because I’m not one of them,” I snap. His look lightens. He nods as if I’m right. I know I am Mr.
“I’ll try. I am trying. This is all difficult for me—" he starts to say.
“I know. You’ve said that once before, yet you never explained why it’s so difficult for you. You never explain anything and it’s driving me crazy! I have enough going on in my life and then you show up and add even more drama to it!” I try to calm a little, before I speak again,
“Austin, you really need to start explaining what’s going on, because I am literally on the verge of losing my shit. You say embrace, accept the unknown. Well I tried and it’s not working! I’m losing my mind! I’m going crazy! I’m—" My rant is cut short when he pulls me against him.
He engulfs me in his warm embrace, and it is just what I need. Instant comfort soothes my overly stressed soul. My arms wrap around him. I squeeze him, resting my face against his chest, inhaling his sweet, warming scent. I close my eyes and sigh in content. One arm holds me close, while his other hand caresses the back of my head.
“You just need to be close to me. You need to feel me. I can make you feel better and soon, I’ll make you feel whole,” he soothingly says.
I do feel better. I do feel whole. I feel complete. Everything just feels right, when I’m this close to him. It’s when I’m not, when the world seems to fall apart around me, but with him, I feel... peace.
“You belong in my arms. Nowhere else. When will you understand that?” he asks.
I feel as if I had taken a muscle relaxer. My whole body feels so relaxed. It feels so nice. Did he do that? Was it possible that he could relieve me of my stress?
I say nothing. I just hold my eyes closed and squeeze him tighter. I am right where I need to be. Forget the world. Forget everything. It’s just him and me. Him and me.
“Don’t leave me,” I say. I feel him squeeze me tighter and lay a kiss on top of my head.
“Never. Never, my sweet, Emilia. Never.”
CHAPTER 12 - THE BOND
We eventually return to class. Turns out, we had every, single class together. What a coincidence, right? Sarcasm. I don’t think I even believed in coincidences anymore.
At lunch, Austin of course sat with me and Van. We all mostly sat in awkward silence, except for the occasional random questions me or Van would ask the boy. Turns out, his last name is Star. Austin Star.
Now, if you asked me, I’d say it sounded made up, or maybe I just expected someone that looked like him, to have a much stronger name to go with that face. Either way, when he mentioned his last name, I could feel it. The lie. Now I understood. I can read him. I can read straight through him.
As the day went on, so did the deep stares. So did the magnetic pull and so did the stimulating, heated touches, whenever and wherever we were lucky enough to touch.
This pull... it drew me in. It was as if, the closer we got, the stronger the pull became. It was becoming so hard to resist it, to resist him. Blue eyes took my breath away. He intoxicated me, captivated me. Consumed my everything. He is my everything. He is my life and nothing else mattered, but him.
I am addicted and he is my drug and lord have mercy on anyone who tried to take him away, because he is mine and no one, I repeat, no one, is going to take away what is mine.
The bell to end our last class rings. I stand quickly and move to meet blue eyes towards the front of the room. His arm wraps around my waist. I wrap mine around his and cuddle into his side. He pulls me close as we both walk out of class. We walk in silence. The world around us does not exist. It is just us.
We make our way down the steps in front of school. Down the sidewalk, passed campus. We walk in silence, enjoying each other’s company. After a while, I glance up at him. He glances down and gives me a warm smile.
“Why did you lie? About your last name. I’m not upset, just curious,” I say.
“The bond. It’s grown even stronger for you. I wasn’t sure if it affected you as much as it has me.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. He’s dodging the question. I’d have to remember to ask him again later, if I don’t forget.
“When I give you my fire, I am giving you a part of my soul. It bonds us. Makes us closer. That is why you can feel me and sense when I am deceiving you. Neither one of us will ever be able to lie to one another without knowing. A perk or not. Depends on how you view it.”
I gaze at him with questioning eyes. I’m trying to comprehend what he just said, but my mind is lagging. He stops and turns to stand before me, holding my shoulders.
“I’ll answer your questions, Emilia. I can feel your confusion.”
My mouth parts to speak, but no words come out.
“What is it you want to know?” he asks.
“What... we have a— this— bond? So, you really are doing something to me.” My eyes gaze away. I blink a few times and take a deep breath. My gaze returns to him. “Are you forcing me to like you?” I ask, hoping to God he doesn’t say yes. He can lie, but then I’d know. Oh God... please don’t tell me this is all a lie.
He’s taken aback.
“No! Of course not,” he insists.
“So, you’ve never forced me to do anything?” Silence. He can’t lie so his silence is enough to convince me. I bite my bottom lip and nod.
“Well, that tells me a lot,” I sarcastically say.
“It’s not what you think. I’ve never forced you to do anything that was not right. I may have used my influence to excite and calm you and only once, did I use my ability to make you look my way, which was this morning, in class, when you refused to look at me. I needed you to look at me. I was worried about you. Whatever you’ve felt before, that was the bond, the attraction, the pull. Everything you’ve felt, I’ve felt too.” I take a moment to process everything he just said. I sigh heavily before speaking,
“Okay... say that’s all true�
�" I begin to say, before he interrupts me.
“It is.”
“Okay, well... in that case, what does it mean? This bond. How is such a thing possible? How come I’ve never heard about this kind of thing before? Why is it happening to us?” I ask.
“It only exists in my world, amongst the supernatural realm. You’ve never heard of it, because you are only human,” he confesses, but the sting is there, and it makes me feel low.
“Only human. Got it,” I mock.
“You’re offended. You don’t need to be. I accept you for what you are. Being human is of no relevance. I’d accept you even if you were a goblin.” My mouth drops and my eyes bulge. A what? Did he just say—
“Did you just say a goblin? Oh my God! Do goblins exist? Holy shit! So, what does that make you then? I was leaning towards you being like Superman, but you mentioned supernatural, so now I’m thinking of fairytale creatures.”
“I didn’t mean to say that,” he corrects himself. I can tell he regretted his slip, but it’s too late. I am not going to drop this.
“Holy shit! Austin.... What are you? Please, please, please tell me. Please!” I annoyingly beg. His smirk grows wide. He isn’t going to tell me. That I already know.
“Nice try, but your charm will not work,” he says.
“Fine, but you still haven’t answered my other questions.”
“Fine. The bond between us is only possible, because you and I are fated. Our souls are meant to be together. You and I were destined long before either one of us were ever created, by a power much higher than I.”
If my eyes could bulge any more than are right now, they’d pop out.
“Say what now?” I laugh a little, before I continue. “You’re throwing a lot at me, in such a short amount of time.”
“You asked. This is why I told you, you are not ready. I knew all this information would scare you away,” he admits.
“Oh, I’m not scared. Just overwhelmed. There’s a difference,” I state.
“So, you don’t want to leave?” he questions.
“No Austin. I’m not leaving. I thought I made that clear.” I step closer and wrap my arms around him, holding him close. His arms wrap around me and he holds me just as close.
I rest the side of my face over his heart. I listen to its rhythm. It’s fast, pounding, beating above the average human heart. It’s another sign that proves to me that this boy in my arms, is not normal. Not human, but it doesn’t matter. I still accept him. I’ll always accept him. Just like he accepts me.
“Why are you so warm? Is it because of your fire thing?” I randomly ask. His face remains rested on top of my head when he speaks,
“Yes. My body runs hot. Where we come from— it’s hot. We were created to withstand the heat,” he explains.
“Where do you come from?” I attempt to ask. I hear him silently snort.
“Nice try.”
“Duuuumb,” I whine. “Okay, well answer me this, then I’ll stop asking you questions for now and shut up. How come when our skin touches, it tingles? Do you ever feel any tingling? Because I do and it’s... nice. I like it. Kind of feels like little pleasurable shocks.”
He leans back. His gaze is locked on me. He cups my face between his two giant hands and it’s there, the tingles. It’s always there. Always tingling.
“I feel it. I feel it just as strongly. My senses are far more heightened than yours, so yes, I feel them.”
“So, why do we have them?” I ask again.
“We have them, because it is our bodies way of signifying that they belong together. The tingles we feel are but, microscopic electrical impulses. They emit a never-ending wavelength, signaling each other’s bodies, to join and collide.”
“The pull... or bond as you called it,” I add.
“Yes, and when we collide, they spark.”
“That’s beautiful,” I confess.
“You’re beautiful,” he says. I release a happy sigh and smile warmly.
“Austin...” I gaze deeply into his eyes. I can’t look away. “This is so intense,” I admit.
“I know. I’ve heard stories, but I never fully understood the depth of devotion to one another, as I feel towards you. You have become my life, Emilia,” he says, and I am instantly flooded with his warmth.
“You have become mine as well,” I tell him. His thumbs caress my cheeks and he sighs.
“I can’t lose you. I’ve waited all my life for you. Now that I’ve found you, I will not let you go,” he confesses.
“Then don’t. Don’t let me go. Keep me. I’m yours,” I assure.
“Mine. My sweet, sweet treat.” He pulls me in for another hug.
We stand there, along the sidewalk, wrapped in each other’s embrace. The world around us is silenced. The world around us does not exist. Austin has become my world, as I have become his, and while together, nothing can tear us apart. Nothing.
Our peaceful moment is interrupted by the buzzing of my cell phone in my pocket. Austin pulls away, eyeing the annoying disturbance.
I pull out my phone and check to see who dares disturb us.
“It’s Van. She said she’s coming over,” I say, as I read her text. I put my phone away and glance back up at my giant.
Of course, he’s silent and brooding. I can feel him. He’s agitated.
“What? What do you have against Van?” I ask. He shrugs, not saying anything. I roll my eyes. “Look, she’s my best friend. She’s a part of my life. You accept me, you accept her, so whatever beef you have with her, squash it. Her and I are a package deal,” I tell him.
“She’s not good for you,” he says. I sarcastically smile, huff and shake my head.
“Why on earth would you think that, Austin?”
“I just know. Intuition. I know she will one day cause you pain and for that, I do not accept her as your friend.”
“Well, she hasn’t hurt me yet and she’s still my friend, so get over it, blue eyes, because she’s in my life, just as much as you are,” I tell him.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He has that smug grin on his face. He’s so full of himself. It’s hot, but I’m still annoyed, or at least I should be.
“Fine! You warned me and I’m choosing not to listen. If she hurts me, then that’s on me. I’ll just deal with the consequences later.”
“If that is what you wish,” he cockily says.
“That is what I wish,” I repeat after him.
“Okay,” he says.
“Okay,” I say. He gazes at me with the same smug smile. I huff and walk past him.
“Walk me home blue eyes. I got a friend to meet up with.”
“As you wish, sweetness.”
CHAPTER 13 - THE BEHEADER
Austin catches up to me and takes my hand, interlocking his fingers through mine. I eye our hands and smile lightly at the intimate gesture. He glances down at our hands, then glances up at me, under those long, full lashes, while combing his hair back in the process. A little smile forms on his lips and it leaves me breathless.
I look away blushing, as we walk in silence and I mentally pinch myself. This isn’t real. This can’t be real. One more glance back at the blue-eyed boy next to me and I sigh, because I know. Austin is as real as the blood that courses through my veins.
We make it to my home and up the stairs to the porch. Austin’s hand slides behind my back and pulls me close. Both his arms are wrapped around me, as his head rests on top of mine. I hug him, resting my face against his chest. It’s become my favorite place to lay. I have grown addicted to the fast tempo of his heartbeat. It’s a melody I can listen to for an eternity. If only it were possible to spend all of eternity together…
“Can I see you tonight?” he asks, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, but no more burning me with your fire thing. It really takes a lot out of me,” I tell him.
“I know. I wish there was another way,” he confesses.
“Why do you—" I am cut off, when the
door behind us swings open. Austin’s head darts up, and I turn.
“Mom. Hey…” I awkwardly greet. Mom is surprised. Her mouth hangs open and her excited eyes go wide. Great. Just what I needed.
She gazes at Austin, more than likely noticing how gorgeous he is, then glances at me.
“Is this Austin?” she excitingly asks. My arms slide away from around him, as his falls to my hips. I glance at the blue-eyed boy and give him the, “I’m sorry eyes,” before looking back to my mom.
“Yep. Mom this is Austin.” I nod towards him. “Austin this is my mom, Hailey.” I nod towards my mom.
Austin greets her with a simple nod, but that’s not enough for the woman. I watch my mom quickly move towards him. She opens her arms, ready to engulf him. I take a step back, as she greets him with a warm hug.
“Ohh. It’s so nice to meet you Austin. I was wondering when I’d get the opportunity,” she says.
I want to laugh at the scene. I cover my mouth and chuckle silently behind closed lips. The giant boy before me, gazes confusedly at me, as his long arms hang limp beside him. He’s so lost right now and it’s beyond hilarious. He really isn’t fond of human interactions, and it surely shows.
My mom releases him and steps a few feet back.
“Nice to meet the mother of Emilia,” Austin unenthusiastically says. My mom smiles then eyes me happily.
Her head cocks to the side, eyeing him curiously, as if she’s studying him.
“I’m sorry to stare Austin, but you just seem so familiar. I feel like you remind me of someone, but I can’t figure out who. So strange,” she says, while still gawking. That is strange. How can anyone compare to this beauty? He’s one of a kind. One in a million. How could you ever forget a face similar to his?
She’s still gawking. I guess trying to figure out why he looks so familiar. The awkwardness is killing me.
“So strange. I suppose deja vu is a real thing,” she says.
“Okay mom. You can stop staring at him.” She rolls her eyes at me and smiles lightly.
THE MONSTER INSIDE ME: The Immortal Chronicles: Book One Page 11