And Then There Were Four

There was nothing but sincerity in his gaze, and as much as I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself and never put his hands on me again, part of me couldn't help but want to give him that chance to explain and fix things. "How do you expect to fix what has already happened, Silas? What else is there that we need to discuss? You made it very clear the guys here, and probably a lot of the girls, are assuming I'm somebody I'm not." I had never claimed to be this badass girl people thought I was. I was 18 years old, trying to figure out my life and where I wanted to go.

Did I have a rebellious nature? Absolutely.

But that didn't mean I was ready to stand toe to toe with the world as if I had my shit together. What I wanted was to be able to come here and heal from everything that had happened, including losing Melissa, the woman I had loved all through high school.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

I had pushed the thoughts of losing her to the back of my mind, not trying to dwell on it what had happened because it was a situation I couldn't fix. However, this place turned out not to be the solace I was looking for, and instead, had become just as much a nightmare as where I had lived before.

I took a moment to think about what I had asked him, and he opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to say something but wasn't sure. "Will you please just have dinner with me? I can explain everything then."

I'd be a fool to agree to have dinner with him, but I was curious to know exactly what it was he was going to do to fix things. Taking him up on this offer was not going to make anything better between Lucas and me. But honestly, after the way Lucas had treated me today, regardless of what he assumed to be true... I had no reason to say no.

Nodding my head slowly, I shrugged my shoulders, gesturing with my hand that yes, I would. A bright white smile crept across Silas's face at my acknowledgment to go to dinner with him. He was pleased, and honestly, I wasn't surprised he was.

He was a very strange man in a way. There was something dark and mysterious about him that pulled me in, but I couldn't help but feel he didn't just look at me like a person but as a prized possession to own, which was a little unsettling.

He hadn't actually done anything to make me feel that way. It was simply the gaze he gave me was as if I was a piece of gold littered with jewels he wanted to have.

Which perhaps was normal because he was a dragon, and they were known to be very materialistic.

"Great. I'll come by and pick you up at 7. I promise you won't regret this." He quickly turned, not giving me a moment to decline or say anything else, and disappeared from my sight. And once again, I was left alone to ponder my thoughts.

I, of course, instantly regretted I had agreed to go to dinner with him because it would only add fuel to an already blazing fire. I sagged my shoulders and continued walking down the path in the direction I was headed.

The only thing I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and take a nap. The day had been long and draining. I was still slightly hungover, and with everything that had taken place, I didn't know what to do with myself.

It was the first time in a very long time I had wished my mother was present. That I could go to her for advice, have her bring me a hot cup of tea, and sit on the bed and talk to me.

My mother and I hadn't been close

in years, and once upon time, we had been. When I was little, I was everything to her, just as Pollux was, and she was everything to me. But then, of course, as I grew, we grew apart, and it became more complicated than we would have liked.

Our relationship was strained, and it became more strained the day I turned eighteen.

She may have fought for me to try to get me and Pollux to stay, not wanting to have us leave, but honestly believed a part of her was relieved was going because, for once, she could try to live normally without worrying who I was going to hurt if I got upset.

The moment I stepped into my room and closed the door, tears began to flow down my face. Everywhere I went, everything I did, I caused problems. I had to figure out how to fix myself, and perhaps it was time I changed slightly who I was. Instead of being the girl who stood out among the masses, perhaps it was time I tried to blend in. At least then, if I blended in, I wouldn't stick out with everybody wanting to have a piece of me or something to say about me. Because the girl I was, was not a girl she would want to be proud of.