Apprentices: Third Quarter

From the Other Side

I don’t feel any better, when we’re lying in Marcus’s bed later. It’s the first time that we slept together in his bedroom, because I haven’t been here since things with Jake ended. It’s a little weird, being on the other side of the room than I was used to. But it’s a welcome change.

We’re both still naked, hiding under the blanket together to keep each other warm. It’s not like we need it. Our bodies are both burning with heat, like we had a high fever. “What are you thinking about?” Marcus suddenly asks me, catching me by surprise.

“Why do you think I’m thinking about anything?” I murmur, running my hand up and down his muscular arm. He chuckles at my choice of words, then moves his head closer to my ear, sucking it into his mouth. At first, I freeze, but then I realize how good this feels.

Once he moves away, I already forget that we were talking about something. “You’re not talking. You always talk. And when you don’t, you think. I can do the math,” he speaks up, making me grow silent for a few moments. Just long enough for me to realize that he was asking me what I was thinking about. Damn, I’m such a mess.

“Oh. How do you know me so well, when we spent most of the time bickering, before we got together?” I wonder, making him burst out laughing. I can’t help but join in, despite still worrying about the wards.

When he finally pulls himself together, he answers my question. “I think I got to know you better because of the way we communicated before you finally gave into my charms.” I lift myself up, putting my weight on my forearm as I narrow my eyes at him in a playful way.

“I don’t remember it exactly like that … I finally fulfilled your wish, after you spent most of your days, begging me, to let you f**k me,” I correct him. He stares at me in confusion for a few moments, clearly having to process the way I’m forming sentences today. Ugh, what’s wrong with me, seriously?

But as he gets the message, he chuckles, lifting himself up too, so we’re face to face on that narrow bed. And that means that our noses are almost touching as we stare into each other’s eyes, spark seeming to fly all around us.

“I think I could deal with trying out my charms on you again,” he murmurs in a suggestive tone, making me join the game with a small smile playing around my lips.

“I think I could deal with a little more begging from you,” I respond. Before he’s able to remark anything else, I press my lips against his, sliding my free arm around his neck. I pull him closer just as he wraps his arm around my waist, the touch of his skin making goosebumps stand up on my bare back.

I can feel him harden through the sheets, already starting to tug them out of the way. As he breaks the kiss to help me, a cocky smirk appears on his face. “We’re making progress. I don’t even have to beg anymore,” he remarks, making me chuckle.

As our eyes meet, my breath gets knocked out of my lungs. I think we’re moving forward in more than one way. This isn’t just about s*x. Well, not for me. I can’t speak for him. But I can feel myself falling for him. And I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not.

I forget all about it as he pulls me close again, shifting us until I’m sitting on top of him, straddling him. I gasp as I feel him enter me, my body already swaying in a steady rhythm and letting itself sink into pleasure.

The party gets interrupted by a phone ringing. I freeze on top of Marcus and we both share a surprised look, before laughing. “Is this mine or yours?” he wants to know. Our gazes turn towards the pile of clothes next to the bed as we both try to figure out where it’s coming from.

“Only one way to find out,” I sigh, already meaning to get off him, but he grabs my hips and pushes me back down. I gasp as he manages to go so deep, that he hits the wall. And it’s a little painful. “Oof, Marcus! That’s new. It could be important, we have to see who’s calling!” I try to reason with him.

He chuckles, motioning with his head towards our clothes. “Sorry. Go take a look then. But don’t take too long,” he instructs me. I smile, then get off him and frantically start feeling through the pile of clothing.

As I finally get to the most vibrating item, I realize I’m holding my jeans. I pull the phone out, freezing as I see who’s calling. I turn towards Marcus with an apologetic gaze, then quickly answer before I make a bomb go off.

“Hello?” I say, still looking at my boyfriend, who is now pouting in an offended way. The voice on the other side breathes out a long sigh of relief. But I don’t hear it properly, because the signal seems to be bad.

“Evelyn? Are you …kay? I just …eard … the wards” my aunt talks into the phone. It takes me a moment to decipher what she’s saying, because our call is being awfully interrupted. Clearly, the thing that’s sucked on our wards isn’t just blocking the sunlight. It’s also disrupting our signal.

“We’re all okay. They’re trying to break the spell, but it seems to be impossible. It’s a living thing, aunt Marion. It sucks in everything that hits it. Things, living beings, magic … Everything,” I explain, hoping that she understood at least half of that.

I glance at Marcus, who’s pulling a face as he realizes I’m talking to my aunt. I hope these two don’t meet for a long time. She knows that he’s been getting on my nerves since I first saw him. I’m not in the mood to explain how my hating has turned into f*****g.

I get up, walking to the window in hopes that it helps me hear her better. Luckily, it does. At least the interruptions aren’t as frequent as they were before. “How do you know so much? Have you been …own there?! I hope this wasn’t approved by your new mentor!” she suddenly changes the picture, making me realize I quickly need to do some damage control.

“No, I mean, I was there, but he didn’t let me stay,” I explain. For long. In fact, I then tell her the whole story. How I was with Cyrus when he got the call, that I got sent up and wasn’t allowed back down, but went anyway. And that I’m now officially forbidden from going to the wall, despite contributing a bright idea that might’ve helped us defeat that thing.

My aunt grows silent for a few moments, before finally speaking up again. “You better listen to him, do you hear me? I know it’s frustrating, but he’s …ping you away for a reason. It’s dangerous,” she tells me. But I’m not in the mood for another lecture.

“It’s just as dangerous where I am now. We’re all under the same wards and they’re infected everywhere, not just by the main gates,” I grunt into the phone. I realize I spoke too quickly again, so I bite my tongue before I say anything else.

“Yes, but it’s better that you’re as far away from them as possible. Especially since the wards now suck supernaturals in,” she tells me in a surprisingly calm tone. “I’m worried, Evelyn. I’m really worried about all of the Seminary. This could mean …” she trails off, unable to finish the sentence. I hear her voice with surprising clarity now, like nothing ever disrupted the signal.

“It’s okay, aunt Marion. We’ll see each other again,” I reassure her, feeling a desperate need to comfort her. I wrap my arm around myself, starting to feel a little cold without Marcus’s body there to warm me up.

She suddenly sobs into the phone, making my lower lip tremble. I know that my words could be in vain. We could all die in here, I know it. But my aunt is feeling down, I have to say something to make her feel better.

“I left you there, because I thought you were safer than with me,” she whispers, then sniffles angrily like she’s trying to stop herself from crying. I don’t know what to say to that. It breaks my heart to hear her blaming herself for what my mother did.

It takes me a moment to realize that she’s doing exactly the same thing as I am. I’m blaming myself for this mess, because I’m the criminal’s daughter. And my aunt is blaming herself because she’s the criminal’s sister. How messed up are we really?

“Anyway … I’m flying to Ohio today. We’re leaving soon. We’ll try to penetrate the wards from outside. We think that if we …stroy the wards, we destroy its parasite, too,” she continues, starting to be cut off again.

“I truly hope you’re right,” I say. In the next moment, I jump a little as I feel hands on my shoulders. I turn my head, realizing that Marcus saw that I was cold and brought the blanket with him. It’s wrapped around his shoulders, and I lean into him, letting his arms slide down, so the blanket is covering both of us.

“I have to go, I’m leaving soon. Take care Evelyn. Good luck on your exam week,” my aunt says into the phone, making me sigh in response.

“I will. You know I always try my best,” I respond, hoping to calm her down at least a little bit. I lean my head on Marcus’s chest, closing my eyes as I enjoy the warmth, radiating from his body.

“Yes … I know you do …” she trails off, sounding like she’s trying to tell me something else, but doesn’t have the courage to say it. “I love you, sweetie. Goodbye,” she finally murmurs, making my heart feel like it’s being stabbed violently. She rarely ever says that to me. And hearing her say it now, means that she’s really afraid she’s going to lose me.

“I love you too, bye,” I murmur back, and it’s taking all my strength not to let her hear how emotional my voice is becoming. I hang up just in time before my lower lip trembles and I find myself staring through the window, to try to shift my thoughts elsewhere.

Marcus’s hands travel up and down my waist, in an attempt to soothe me. “It’s okay. We’ll be okay,” he tries to assure me. But I’m not so sure about that anymore.