Over the past few days, I play back every encounter we’ve had. And in each one, I can’t find an inkling of attraction from him nor do I feel like I gave any hints. He’s good-looking, there’s no denying that, but I’m not attracted to him in that way.
Right? I mean, the idea of having someone at my side through all of this doesn’t sound like a horrendous idea. And I can’t deny the swoop my belly did when he went all protective and scary on me last time. But the problem is that I’d still be here. And that I can’t allow.
Fuck. How did things go so sideways?
He’s my friend—wasmy friend?
I groan loudly and run my fingers through my hair, frustrated with myself. And him.
“Well, well, well,” Noah’s sadistic voice draws me out of my thoughts.
I must have been really drowning in my memories if I didn’t hear them approach. In that time, the sun went down too, which means I only have a precious few minutes to get home before Grandma Julia chews me out again.
Holding up my hands, I try to walk around them. But Micah steps in my path, blocking my way.
I glance around at the four of them, illuminated by the sparse street lights on this length of trail, three of which are all smaller than I am. Noah is the only one who has size on me and partially because he looks like he used to be in shape and is on the fluffier side now. Like his freshman fifteen turned into a senior thirty.
“Look, guys,” I start. I keep my tone neutral, hoping to placate them. Adrenaline forces my heart to beat faster in my chest. “Can we not do this today? I’m just trying to get home.”And I don’t need another lecture.
Nor do I have time for this high school bullshit. I mean, we’re in college for fuck’s sake. Granted, they attend the local Christian college and are in some big shit fraternity. Practically royalty in this small town. And I’m just a nobody, taking online classes. That’s if we’re ignoring the fact that I actually am attending one of the much larger universities on a full scholarship, but they don’t need to know that.
“Great,” I say when they don’t argue, taking another step away from them. They close in around me, halting my retreat completely. My heart picks up and is now thundering in my ears. The hair on the back of my neck stands straight up screamingdanger.
Noah’s gaze drifts off as if he’s listening to someone, his head tilting to the left. My gaze bounces around to the others to see that I have their undivided attention. Even straining my ears, I don’t hear anything. The crystal necklace beneath my shirt heatsup against my skin, but I fight the urge to grasp it and risk drawing their attention to it. “We have a moral obligation to lead you away from your life of sin,” he finally taunts, his gaze snapping back to me. His eyes glint off the lights and I swear, for the briefest second, something sinister stares back at me.
When I attempt to stare at the misshapen shadow behind him, it vanishes. The blood in my veins turns to ice. Then Noah’s words infiltrate past the dread, making my nose wrinkle as I lift my lip in disgust. “Did the priest touch you in your special place and you liked it? Is that why you hate me so much? By beating the shit out of me, you’re proving to yourself that you’re not gay?” I taunt.
Noah moves faster than I thought possible for a guy his size and punches me sloppily with a hard right hook. For all my shit-talking about him, he hits like a fucking freight train.
Instinct, thankfully, forces my hands out as the ground rushes toward me. I manage to catch myself with my hand before my face lands in the dirt, though I land on a sharp ass rock. Hissing loudly, I cup the injured hand to my chest as I roll onto my hip.
“I’m no queer!” he shouts, and backhands me.
That sends me the rest of the way to the ground. Iron explodes across my tongue as he re-splits my lip and I bite my tongue. Stars burst behind my eyelids. Pain erupts through my skull, attempting to take me down for the count.
By some miracle, I’m able to stand on my wobbly legs while I still press my hand to my chest. My eyes bounce between the four pairs of eyes around me until I land on Noah’s. “What did I ever do to you, man? I never asked to be in your shit town, nor have I ever done anything to you.”
“Your presence is insulting,” he growls.
“No more insulting than your breath,” I snap, and throw all of my might into my right leg. When it connects to his balls,I continue my trajectory until I squish everything between my shin and his body.
Noah goes down to his knees, cupping his junk. He tries to cry out, but throws up all over the ground in front of him.
I don’t bother waiting around for the other three morons to catch onto my ploy and take off in the opposite direction of them. I have no clue where I’m going, I just push my legs as hard as I can. My side is still sore from the last beating they gave me, but I fight through the aches. The last vestiges of my adrenaline pushing me harder than my body can handle.
By the time I don’t hear the buffoons chasing after me anymore, I look up to see that I’m deep in the woods. My only light is from the moon, and unfortunately it’s only a quarter moon.
Awesome.
Walking a little further, I see a light up ahead and hope that it’ll lead me somewhere close to where I need to go. I manage two more steps before I trip over a branch and tumble down a hill. A faint popping sound precedes a sharp pain radiating up from my right ankle. I cry out with each knock of my body against the cold ground until my head strikes something hard and everything goes black.
Chapter 8
Adriel's POV
The aether feels different today. Charged, perhaps. Uneasy.
When I close my eyes, I sense the world around me, allowing the sensation to wash over me. But I come up with nothing that explains the prickly feeling that runs along my flesh.
