I sit back on my feet, unsure what I should do next, when there’s a tingling sensation between my breasts. I pull the neckline of my flannel sleep shirt out, and where the stone of my necklace lays, my burned skin heals back to its normal golden color.That’s one mystery solved.
“Okay, not what I expected to see,” Felix comments, clearing his throat when he pops back into my room.
I feel drained and disjointed, so it takes me a moment before I realize what he means. Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I quickly let go of my shirt. My gaze flits around the room, not knowing where to land. I need to know, but I can’t seem to meet his eyes.
“Did I do it?” I question. “Did I cause the fire?”
“No,” Felix answers quietly. “You were sleeping peacefully when I showed up, then I saw the fire and I just… I couldn’t look away.” He pauses before awkwardly adding, “It did, uh… get a whole lot bigger when you woke up.”
I cringe while guilt fills my stomach and weighs me to the ground. Even though I didn’t start it, I still failed Felix. There he was, staring at the fire that echoed the one from the night he died, and instead of comforting him, I fell apart again and made a bad situation worse. I grip the sleeves of my shirt, my fists pressing hard against my thighs.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, my eyes focused on my lap.
“For what?” Felix asks, sitting down next to me and leaning sideways in an effort to see my face.
I lift my eyes to meet his hazel ones, tears collecting and ready to once again fall down my cheeks.Fuck, there went my numb feeling.
“You needed me… and I… lost it,” I say with halting breaths, fighting those stupid tears. “It must’ve been awful for you to see that fire, and because I let my past get to meagain, you had to go for help. You had to save me.”
“Well, I didn’t save you this time…” he replies, rubbing at the back of his neck.
“Felix,” I say his name with a warning that implies he’s intentionally missing the point, then sigh, “I’m tired of all this shit being about me. I’m tired of my past clinging to me, constantly in wait to cripple me at any moment. I’m just so tired…”
“Callie, look at me,” he demands, his warm timbre turning more into a plea. When I do as he asks, lifting my face so I’m no longer peeking under my lashes, he asks, “How long has it been since your dad was arrested?”
Tucking my hair behind my ears, sure that my bedhead has reached epic levels of volume, I try to clear my mind enough to do the math. I stutter, “Um… it’s been… a little over two months.”
He nods, his elfin features pinched with concern. “Two months compared to over three years of torture. Don’t you think you’re being hard on yourself?”
I sniff and rub at my face, trying to catch the tears before they fall. Whispering, I confess, “I don’t want to be weak anymore.”
“Holy shit, pretty girl,” he exclaims, shaking his head. “You’re the strongest person I know. You’ve literally been lit on fire multiple times, and you’re still here. Let alone any of the other crap you haven’t told me yet.”
“That’s not strength,” I utter in a small voice. “I had no choice. I can’t die.”
Felix reaches out to touch me, then his fingers curl in and pull back. He grits his teeth, then blatantly asks, “You joke about it, but I want the truth. Do you want to die?”
The question shocks me out of my self-pity, and I answer emphatically, “No. No, I don’t want to die. Before… I did. I wanted the pain to stop, but now… I have so much to live for.”
“Good,” he breathes, then nods. “Good.”
I bite my lip hard, using the pain to clear my head. I don’t know what to say or how to feel looking at my friend whose life was cut short. He also had so much to live for, but like me, didn’t have a choice. His life was stolen and those that did it are still out there. Putting aside how much I’ll miss him, I need to find the people that did it. I need to help Felix resolve his unfinished business.
Before I can find the words to respond, there’s a heavy flapping noise outside.
“Holy crap,” I whisper, floored to see Kaleb and Donovan flying toward the house.
Shirtless and their wings glimmering in the swirling mist, they look like myths made flesh-- well, except for the jeans. Those aren’t very myth-like.
There’s a weighty thump when they land on the roof, followed by Donovan hanging over my balcony, his body stretched long with each muscle cut into clear definition. He drops down, and Kaleb quickly follows. Both of their wings are sadly hidden again. I still have no idea how that works exactly.
“Shit, that was cold,” Donovan grumbles, chafing his arms while stepping around me to enter my room.
“By all means, come on in,” I mutter, moving so I’m no longer in the doorway, while Felix chuckles.
Kaleb glances over the balcony for a moment, seeming to investigate the damage. His dark sepia skin glistens from the moisture outside, and beads of water cling to his cropped, black curly hair. Satisfied that nothing is on fire anymore, he turns his attention to me, his warm brown eyes full of gentle sympathy.
“I’m fine,” I say before he can ask.
