Apprentices: Waning Crescent

Making Amends

We eat in a deadly silence and I can barely get anything down my throat. I just can’t seem to grasp the thought of staying with him, despite everything that went down between us. I take a glance at his face, realizing that he looks paler than usually.

How the hell are we going to have lessons after this crap? Will he even be able to look into my eyes without flinching? Well, I guess it’s true what he said. We’ll both have to learn how to control ourselves.

I let him know that I’ll be spending the day with Katie, to have our last preparations for the exam week. He just nods his head in agreement, not saying a word in response. It bugs me. A lot. I don’t say anything, but as I’m about to walk through the door, with Bubba in one arm and my bag in the other one, I can’t keep quiet anymore.

“Are you not going to talk to me at all now?” I confront him, trying to mind my tone. Of course, I fail miserably. I sound just as hurt as I’m feeling. If not even more. He sighs as he puts the washed plates back into the counter, then turns his head towards me.

He stares at me for a long moment, then shakes his head. “No. I mean … I’ll talk. Just … I can’t right now,” he admits, keeping his eyebrows so close together that it looks like they’ll join into one soon.

I let out a frustrated breath, then stop myself before I start pushing him any further. I’m not sure if I want to see how it looks like when I go over the limit. “Fine,” I just say, then walk out of the door before I change my mind.

As I close it behind me, I let Bubba down. I put her on a leash, because it’s the rule for pets in the school. They can only roam freely in your own room. Otherwise, they have to be on a leash. I pull out my phone and type in Katie’s number.

She picks up after a few rings. “Where are you?” I ask, hoping that she’s not somewhere public, because I really need a few minutes to vent right now.

“I’m in my room, but-”

“Great, I’ll be there in two minutes,” I interrupt her, not giving her the chance to finish her sentence or turn me down, because I already hang up. I walk downstairs, quickly moving through the corridor until I reach her door.

As I knock, I have to wait a while before she opens up. And as she does, she only peeks out with her head, making me frown. “Am I bothering you?” I ask, pouting a little as I watch her reaction. Her eyes widen and she steps between the doorframe, shaking her head.

“No, Evelyn, you could never bother me,” she responds, making me breathe out in relief. Then, it’s like someone pulls the plug out of me, because everything comes rushing to the surface.

“Okay, great, because I just kissed Cyrus again and he told me that we can’t be doing that, because he's my mentor, but that I’m still staying with him, because he doesn’t trust anyone else to keep me safe. And now I can’t stand being in the same room with him, because all I want to do is …” I trail off as I notice the panicked look on her face. “You’re not alone, are you?” I mumble, feeling embarrassment take over me.

She shakes her head, then opens the door to let me see who’s sitting inside. Well, it’s not like I have to even guess it. Jake is sitting on the bed, staring right at me with that same wide-eyed gaze that his mate has on her face. “Hi,” he then greets me, while I feel like burying myself.

“Hi,” I still say in response, then stand there, not knowing what to do. Katie sighs, then motions with her head inside. But as I don’t budge, she grabs my hand and practically pulls me inside.

I stand there in awkward silence, waiting for either of them to say something. “I’d ask how you’re doing but it was quite clear from everything you blurted out outside,” Jake remarks, making me scratch my head awkwardly.

“Yeah … Well, how are you doing then?” I want to know, hoping that it will erase his memory of what I just revealed to him unintentionally. I don’t know if Katie told him about it. Knowing her, I’d say she didn’t, but they’re mates. She probably tells him everything and I don’t blame her for it.

But judging by how surprised he was … Okay maybe she didn’t tell him that I’m crushing on my mentor. “I’m good, thanks for asking,” he lets me know, standing up from the bed and glancing at Katie. “I’ll leave you two. We can hang out later,” he tells her, then glances at me carefully, before pressing a kiss on her forehead.

They both glance at me cautiously at the same time. And I’ll admit, it makes me feel a little bitter to see them so happy together. But at the same time, I’m glad that at least someone seems to have a great love life. So, I smile at them, letting them realize that I’m okay with them now. Truly.

“Thank you, Jake,” I tell him, making them both seems confused. He glances at his mate, then back at me, tilting his head curiously.

“What for?” he wants to know, seeming genuinely surprised that I’m thanking him. Or maybe that I’m even acknowledging the fact that he exists. Well, I figured it’s time to really put this behind us. After all, it wasn’t his fault either.

I shrug. “For respecting me in this past couple of weeks and letting me spend time with Katie alone. I just wanted you to know that I’m not mad at you anymore. I’m over everything. Truly. And I’m happy for you two. You don’t have to leave every time I come over,” I let him know.

He seems completely shocked for a moment, and so does Katie. But in the next moment, they’re both smiling already and Jake looks like I just lifted a huge weight off his shoulders. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. Well, to both of us,” he tells me, glancing at Katie with so much adoration in his eyes, that it almost pains me.

But not because I’d be jealous. I really don’t feel anything towards him anymore. Whatever we had, it’s gone. I truly got over him. His loving gaze hurts, because I know I can’t have that. Ever. I know now that no werewolf is waiting for me out there. There are very few witches, who become a werewolf’s mate. And I just know I’ll never be one of them.

“And you’re welcome, by the way,” Jake speaks up next, already heading towards the door. “Removing myself was the least I could do,” he remarks in an almost joking way. I chuckle, then shrug.

“Well, it’s not necessary anymore. I’m okay with hanging out with you too. You were once my friend after all,” I let him know, making him smile. Long before all that drama. I hope we can get to that point again. He was fun to hang out with and was a good friend to me. Well, he was a much better friend than a boyfriend, with all his jealousy issues. I hope he trust Katie now.

As I see her staring after him lovingly, I have to smile to myself. Of course he does, who am I kidding? The mate bond clearly overcomes truly anything. Once the door closes, Katie gets sucked back to reality. That dreamy smile slowly fades from her face as she turns towards me in a worried way.

“Are you really okay? It wasn’t too much to take?” she tries to make sure, furrowing her eyebrows in a compassionate way. There’s the Katie I know and adore. Always making sure that I’m alright. I smile at her.

“Really. I’m over it,” I assure her, feeling like I’m repeating myself. Then, my smile quickly fades as I get sucked back into my own reality too. “Katie, what the hell am I going to do? I can’t even take five minutes with him, without wanting to grab his face and suck it off,” I remark worriedly.

My best friend stares at me for a long moment, processing my words, then covers her mouth as she starts laughing. I practically gape at her. Is she for real right now? “I’m sorry. You just … I can’t believe you said you want to suck his face off,” she giggles, making a small smile make its way onto my face.

I bite my lower lip, feeling a hint of shame for saying that out loud. “Well, I do want to do that,” I mumble helplessly, then grab her hand in a begging way. “Please, you need to help me. How do I endure this? I’m used to it being the other way around, you know, with Marcus and literally everyone else. But now I’m in this situation and I’m literally going to resort to begging, if he doesn’t give me what I want!” I tell her, breathing heavily.

She stares at me, blinking in surprise. Yeah, I know it was a detailed call for help, but I’m literally out of control. I can’t help myself. Suddenly, she tilts her head, smiling. “Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe he’s finally the man, who’ll manage to tame the infamous Evelyn Pierce,” she jokes, while I groan, letting go of her hand.

I grasp my hair at the top of my head, feeling like starting to pull it out, one by one. “Okay, let’s study now. If I gave him that excuse to not have to look at his ridiculously gorgeous face for the whole day, I might as well start doing it,” I tell her, finally making up my mind. I’ll try to avoid him as much as I can. Even if there’s no guarantee that it’ll make me want him any less.