Page 28 of Fate Awakened

Idiot girl, think you’re so smart.

What’s it cost to have you instead?

You’re trash, and you’ll always be trash no matter how hard you study.

Think you’re real bright, do ya, girl?

Be a smart girl and just relax.

My body stills at his remarks, and my eyes hit the floor as memories wash over me. My walls close a moment too slowly for me to remain unaffected. I clench my jaw, resisting the burning behind my eyes. Emotion floods to the surface, fighting to get released. I straighten my spine, refusing to allow him to make me feel like a child.

“Gold-digging bitch? Really? Well, please enlighten me.” I force out the words, but I’m proud of how normal they sound despite the war I have going on internally. I pull my gaze back to him, no hint of the tears behind them.

“Hudson.” The single word out of Ghost’s mouth carries a heavy weight, power washes over me for the second time, and I turn my attention to see he’s no longer relaxed, but stands ready, for what I’m not sure.

To defend me? He doesn’t even know me. What the hell is going on?

Hudson pushes back from the counter, knocking his chair beneath him: his eyes shooting to the floor in an almost involuntary response.

“I’m taking a walk. I’ve got calls to make.” He strides out without so much as a glance back.

I stare at the door for a long time, the silence in the room carrying messages I can’t quite grasp. While my gaze is locked there, I note that the door has no deadbolts, no locks, just a rudimentary handle which seems too simple for an escape plan. It isn’t until Ghost speaks that I return my thoughts to him.

“Let me show you to your room,” his words accompany his movements down the hall as he strides stiffly ahead of me.

My body responds, following him without argument. My escape plan slowly comes together in my mind in stages. Leave before the sun rises, walk out the front door, follow the tire marks toward the nearest street, and follow it to a phone and home.

He turns into the room across from the bathroom I used earlier, turning on the light and waiting for me to pass.

The bed in the room is large, a king probably, and has dark gray blankets covering it. It sits under the only window in the room, which faces the rear of the house and is covered in dark, blackout curtains. A solitary night light shines from the only outlet on the left wall.

A small dresser stands against that wall, a giant mirror over its top. The right wall has sliding closet doors, which are closed, leaving the appearance of a solid white wall. A solitary cream-colored blanket lays on the floor in the corner—no personal items. I walk to the corner of the bed and sit softly.

“Extra blankets are in the closet if it’s too cold for you. Don’t be alarmed if you see the dog. He usually comes in when it's colder. He’ll leave you be. He sleeps over there.” Ghost says before pointing to the only other door in the hall, “I’m down the hall if Hudson tries to give you any trouble. You’re my guest. No harm will come to you.”

The sincerity of his words and the seriousness of his face have me nodding absently. My eyes flip back to him as he waits for some sign that I’ve understood his statements.

“What did Hudson mean when he said I had no idea what I got involved in?” I ask, hoping with everything I am, that he’ll give me a straight answer. He stands, examining me for a long moment in silence. Then, his eyes soften.

“He believes you to be a sheep among wolves, but he doesn’t see who you truly are.”

“And who am I?”

“A survivor, but soon, the deliverance our world needs.”

With his final statement hanging in the air, he walks away, cracking the door shut without fully closing it.

What the fuck does that mean?

My head begins a subtle throb, and I fall back onto the plush softness of the bed, breathing in the clean mountain scent surrounding me. It smells like the covers are cleaned in the streams and dried in the pines. There’s a calming peace to the scent that feels like home deep within me. As I settle, I try to focus on my plans. Tomorrow I will leave this cabin and return to my life. The life I’ve fought so hard for.

Sleep tugs at me despite being knocked out for hours in the car. The combination of my full stomach, the comfort of this plush bed, the smells of the forest outside, and the rollercoaster of adrenaline all day have left me drowsy. I can’t sleep. I can’t let myself. Knowing if I fall asleep, I may not wake in time, I sit up. Instead, allowing my mind to slip into thinking about the one thing I’ve been avoiding.

Cain.

Just the thought of him invokes pain in my heart. Never before had I felt more connected to anyone. Never have my defenses been so easily broken down. Cain gave me something I hadn’t felt in years.

Hope.

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