“Skyler!” Camille whined.
I winced. They sounded so much louder from here. I opened the door and reveled in how their expressions went from eager and angry to shocked and embarrassed.
“Can I help you?” The icing on the cake was that my voice had gone up a few octaves.
“N-no, ma’am. We’re terribly sorry to bother you, but we’re looking for our friend. We tracked her phone number and it led us here.” If it hadn’t been happening in front of me, I would have forever sworn that the girls lacked basic manners; and yet Melanie was apologizing.
“Well, I’m sorry that I can’t help you, girls. What number are you using?”
Melanie handed me a piece of paper that had my number written on it in the most flirtatious handwriting I had ever seen.
“Yes, I can see the confusion. You see, I just got a new house phone and this is the number.”
“Oh.” They deflated so much that I almost told them the truth. “We’re sorry to bother you, ma’am. Enjoy the rest of your day.” As they walked backed to their little car, I closed the door and turned to face the astounded Katherine and Daris. Slowly, I turned myself back to normal.
“Now that that’s been taken care of, bye.” I had one foot out the door when I heard Katherine say something that boiled my blood and froze my body.
“Hell-spawn,” she cursed under her breath.
My fists clenched and I saw red, but the tears still came. Even from across the room, I felt Daris tense. That was still a touchy subject, and one I wasn’t keen on revisiting.
“Mother,” Daris warned her, his tone tense.
“Just leave it, Daris,” I interrupted. “It’s not like she’s wrong, anyway.” And with that, I did what I always did, took off to the trees.
Only this time, Daris was on my tail. “Skyler.”
“Just leave it.” I was wrestling with myself, still trying to convince myself that the man who was hunting me, the man who was trying to destroy hundreds of people, was the same person who I called father. I wrapped myself in my blanket and pulled my knees to my chest.
“Skyler.”
“I said ‘no’, Daris. I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Alright,” he relented. “Then I’ll talk about something else and you can listen because I have some things I have to say.”
I stayed silent and watched as he nestled himself into my nest and tucked me against his side. I tried to scoot away, to move away from the emotions that were buzzing inside me, but his arm was firm and the nest was small.
“First of all, my mother was out of line with that comment just now. You aren’t bad. Your father is the bad guy. He’s the one we’re fighting, not you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. I know because I’ve spent hours just talking with you and getting to know you, seeing that you aren’t anything like him; and I know that he is nothing like you because I’ve seen him and what he’s done. He’s done stuff you’re too nice to even think of. You are nothing like him and if you ever start acting like him, I will personally point it out to you.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Daris.”
“I’m not done. My mom has no right to judge you, and I need you to remember that and take her words with a grain of salt.”
I hugged my knees tighter. That was easier said than done.
“I know you can do it.”
I glanced at him.
“I promise you that I can’t read minds.”
I laughed and it felt like a weight had lifted from my heart and like seeing the sun after a week of rain.
“Now that that’s out of the way, I can do what I’ve been meaning to do for the past few days.”
I looked at him, into the blue of his eyes, and saw nothing but sincerity and nervousness.
“I’m a total asshole for what I said the other day. I may not be able to do much about my mom, but I should never have called you weak or sided with her when she was wrong; and for that, I feel like shit.” He looked down at his lap. “You’ve been through enough and I never want to be a reason why you’re unhappy. It nearly destroyed me when I heard you crying the other day.”
“Daris…”
“I’m serious about this, Sky. I’m sorry. I know I keep messing up and that I keep hurting you, but I’m not used to this. I’m not used to someone taking my words to heart or even having someone I care about this much. So, while I can’t promise I’ll be perfect, I’ll try to watch my language.”
I was silent for a long time, trying to figure out if he was going to continue.
“Sky? Say something.”
“You can be such an idiot sometimes.” I smiled and finally consented to leaning against him.
“That…wasn’t what I was expecting.”
“Granted, you were asking for more than the silent treatment with the stuff you said, but I wasn’t mad at you for this entire time. I was hurt. I was upset that the stuff you said even crossed your mind and that your filter was gone. At least, I think it was.” I paused, seeking the right words.
“I’ve decided that you have one filter for me, one for your thoughts, and another for when you’re around your mom. Recently, the last one has been showing up the most and it’s the one I also hate the most. If you want me to forgive you, you don’t have to promise me that you’ll watch your language. I just want you to stop acting like her puppet.”
“At this point, I’m willing to try anything to get you to come back inside the house.”
I winced. “Do I have to? I like it better out here where your mom can’t yell at me.”
“I’m sure your e-reader it starting to run low on battery, Sky.”
Damn. He got me. “Can I just go in to charge it then come back out?”
He chuckled and I rested my head in the crook of his shoulder so that I could hear and feel his heartbeat. “Come on, Stinky. Please?”
“Hey! I’ve actually been keeping myself rather clean.”
“Oh really?” he mocked. “How?”
“Easy. I move the trees until they block me and use a rain cloud as a shower.”
“Touché.”
“Bless you.” He smiled and I sighed. Now that this mess was out of the way, I could finally relax.
“Don’t fall asleep just yet, Blossom. I still have to talk to you about some stuff.” I was so focused on the endearing pet name that I pouted when he finished speaking.
“Fine. Start talking.”
“Someone’s eager.”
“For sleep, a real shower, and food, yes. For talking and dealing with your mom later, not so much.”
“Alright then. You don’t have to answer any questions that you don’t want to, but it may make any arguments in the future a bit easier to handle.” I nodded and he continued. “I want to know why you keep running off when you get upset.”
I looked down, suddenly feeling more tired than I have all week, the weight of the answer pressing like a two-ton barbell on my shoulders.
“Skyler?”
When I stayed silent, he said, “You don’t have to answer.”
“I don’t know what else to do,” I answered in a quiet voice. “At school, whenever I had something happen, when I would stand up for myself, I would go to my mom and tell her all about it while she made dinner. If I was ever upset, she was the person I could talk to. I never told Camille or Melanie anything because the school would have gone into a frenzy if, of all the people, I was the one with drama. My father was never around either, so my mom became my shrink at least once a week. Without her around, I don’t have too many people to talk to. Instead of dealing with it, I just turn to Nature. She’s become my mom.”
It was silent after that. Daris didn’t say anything, but I could feel the hesitation.
Finally, he said, “And here I thought it was just me.”
“Hm?”
“I do the same thing. It’s why I take off sometimes when you train with her. Even I need a break from her, Sky. The woman’s n
uts.”
I chuckled.
“And you aren’t alone, Blossom. You’ve got me, even when we’re annoying each other.”
I smiled and tucked myself into his side just a little bit more to try to give us more room in the small nest; at least, that was my excuse; and when he picked me up and comfortably settled me into his lap, I knew we were okay. He rubbed my side and I giggled when he hit a particularly ticklish spot.
“Ticklish?” he asked in mock innocence, already knowing the answer.
I growled and he poked me once in humor. I pushed him hard enough that he almost fell out of the tree.
“Okay,” he said after he got me back in his arms. “Note to self: don’t tickle Skyler when sitting in a tree.”
“Add a footnote to that saying that doing so will cause pain.” We smiled, and, for that moment, no one else existed. If I thought the little house was isolated, the bubble that somehow formed when I looked into his eyes made that perspective change. Suddenly, all I heard was the quiet hum of Nature that sang to the steady melody of my heart. And then that moment ended.
“Daris!”
My easy smiled slipped and Daris looked pained.
“Daris, get in here!”
I groaned and he looked at me hopefully.
“No. No way. I am not going back in there with the manifestation of the devil.”
He gave me a look.
“Don’t give me the puppy dog eyes. It won’t work.”
He kept looking at me. I turned away. “No. It won’t work.” He flew so that he was in my line of vision again. His eyes were big and he was pretending to pout.
“Please, Blossom?”
“No.” My voice quivered and I hoped he couldn’t hear it. Instead of trying again, he smirked. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. He buried his head in my neck. I stiffened, swallowing a squeak and wondering if he fully understood just how much he affected me. I didn’t want him to know that he made my heart race as fast as it did when he breath tickled my collarbone.
“Please, Blossom?” His lips brushed the spot just under my jaw and I was sure he could feel my pulse jumpstart at his proximity. I was so close to setting the tree on fire.
“F-fine.” I felt him grin and then the intimate moment was over. He grabbed my hand and flew us to the door.
“Daris!” The scream was shrill and angry. Then, the door opened and I thought Katherine easily could have been an Acerlum with the fear she was able to inspire. She glanced at me and then turned back to Daris, formality straightening her back and hardening her eyes. “Oh. You finally got her down.” Was it possible to bristle and cringe at the same time? “Good. Now we can actually train her.”
I tensed, feeling a bit of betrayal bite its way into my veins. Daris squeezed my hand. “You aren’t training her anymore.”
The look on Katherine’s face was priceless and I had to stifle my laugh. Her expression was a mix of shock and anger. “Pardon?”
“You aren’t training her anymore. This is my job and she is my responsibility. I am her trainer and I am going to do my job.”
“I am your leader. You will listen to me.”
“You are my mother first.”
“Even more of a reason!”
“For me to not have to listen to you? I agree.”
“Daris!”
“Mother!”
I looked at Daris and saw how, beneath the confident and offensive exterior, he had hesitation swimming in his eyes.
“Get out! Get out of my house!” Katherine commanded.
“We were here first,” I commented. I sounded aloof and that only seemed to anger her more.
“Are you truly going to try something as childish as that?”
“In this case, since it seems like Daris and I are dealing with a child, yes.”
“Why you little hell-spawn!”
“Control freak!”
“Devil’s bitch!”
“Enough!” Daris shouted. Oh no, this was not over.
“Useless trainer!” I spat.
“Unwanted brat!”
“Mother, enough.” Daris grabbed my arms and yanked me backward before I could shout out another insult. “Skyler,” he whispered, “stop.”
“Can I say one more?” I pleaded.
He sighed.
“One more, and then I’ll stop,” I promised.
“Only if it’s a good one,” he whispered playfully so that Katherine didn’t hear him.
I smiled and turned to her with a hard scowl. “Neglectful leader!”
I looked at Daris and saw how hard he was trying to hold back his smirk, but I still saw the laughter and pride in his eyes. Katherine, on the other hand, was fuming. She stomped out of the room with enough fury that I thought she was going to collapse the building. Instead, we watched as she stepped outside.
“You have no idea what you just signed yourselves up for. The Luxators will not come to your aid. You’re on your own.” And with that, she kicked off and fled back to wherever she was needed. When she was a dot in the sky, it felt like this oppressive burden was lifted from our shoulders. Finally!
“You are too nice,” he chuckled.
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. You can fool her all you want,” he said as he pointed to the sky, “but you and I both know why you made her leave.”
“Because I developed a strong hatred for the woman after her cruelty and irrationality were exposed,” I answered, monotone.
“Keep telling yourself that, but I know you.” He leaned in closer. “And I know that, no matter what you said to her, you’re concerned about the others and know that they need their leader.”
“I don’t know them.”
“But that’s not stopping you from caring.”
I sighed. “I’m just glad she’s gone.”
“Even though she’s my mom, I am too.”
“All work and no play makes Daris—”
“Skyler!” he cut me off and his red face was enough to make me giggle, “This isn’t funny.”
I sobered and marveled at how this tall, strong guy seemed to turn into a strawberry when embarrassed.
“Well, don’t you look colorful?”
He glared weakly.
“You know what, Daris? You’re right. It’s not funny; it’s hilarious!” Then, I lost it. I laughed until I was on the floor and close to tears.
He didn’t laugh with me or tackle me. Instead, he just stared with a certain predatory glint in his eyes that made me want to run. Unfortunately, running from a lion is useless. When on the ground, it was even more futile, as proven when Daris fiercely attacked.
We rolled around on the floor until I somehow ended up on top, struggling to pin his long arms to the floor. He reached up and, even though I was sitting on his stomach to keep his hips planted, I couldn’t reach his wrists. The embarrassing part was that I lying pressed flat against him, my arms were fully extended, and I still couldn’t reach.
“Not fair.”
“All’s fair in love and war.”
I was starting to wonder what part of that phrase applied to the charged energy that bubbled between us.
“Whatever.” I released my body and let my weight sink.
“Oof. What was that for?”
“All’s fair in love and war,” I echoed. My voice was muffled as his intoxicating scent began lulling me to sleep.
“Tired?”
I nodded. “Changing my appearance is hard, even something with few changes. How do you guys do it?”
I felt him stiffen and I felt more awake when I started thinking about what Katherine said. I sat up and looked at him. “Daris?”
“I’ll explain in the morning.” He tried to pull me back to his chest, but I refused to move.
“Daris?”
He sighed. “We can’t. Acerlums can.”
The blood left my face I put my head down and shut my eyes. Katherine hadn’t been talking about my father; she had been ta
lking about my powers.
“Skyler.”
“I can’t get away from him.”
“The Luxators have been trying for years, Sky.” Daris combed his fingers through my hair, almost making me drowsy again. “He has connections to a lot of people. Your abilities do not define you. Having similar powers as Acerlums does not define you. Your actions define you.”
“You are so cliché.”
“Maybe so, but I know I’m right.”
“Oh yeah, how?”
His pushed me off and stood, his face blank. “You aren’t the only one with Acerlum blood.” My shock permeated the room. I wanted to ask. I wanted to understand, but Daris was gone and his door was closed before I could breathe.
“I guess now it’s his turn to be alone.”
We finished eating dinner in silence. It was almost suffocating. Daris hadn’t said much to me since he told me someone in his family was an Acerlum, and I wasn’t trying to make him talk, especially since nothing was helping him vent whatever he was bottling up. Instead, my free time was constantly spent either outside blasting targets and caring for the plants on a good day or staring at myself in the mirror while I practiced transforming myself. Evil power? Absolutely. Could I see the use of it? Most definitely. I made myself look like my mom, Camille, Melanie, even Katherine. The challenge was turning myself into a guy.
It took me a few days and several hours, but I was convinced that I had found a way to get Daris back to himself: the best shock. I went into my bathroom and shifted. I had started practicing by becoming my father and Travis and was nearly attacked when Daris saw me, so I knew I was at least convincing. I stared at the mirror and smirked the same smirk that I had been perfecting for hours. My now blue eyes glinted, guarded but with a hint of shining mischief. I ran my hand through my hair and shook the short locks so that they fell just right. The black shirt stretched to cover my wide torso and the shorts stretched to jeans.
“Time to train, Blossom.” The deep voice sounded strange coming from me, but it had the same comforting tone I was used to. I looked at the clock and saw that it was nine in the morning. I smirked once more and went out to the kitchen. Judging by the sugar mess by the coffee machine, Daris had gotten his coffee, gone back to his room, and wasn’t out of his room yet; and he wouldn’t be out until about 9:30, giving me plenty of time to make breakfast.
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