The Shadow Within Me

Chapter Twenty Nine - Locked In

Calyx Nyxerian Paraiso

This morning was different, I didn't feel bored and it was surprisingly enjoyable. The rest of the class went like bliss.

The image of her hugging me from behind a while ago woke up every vein that has been sleeping underneath my skin. She's like a fire that I don't know if I'm willing to be burned or what.

It's weird because I'm not noticing that I'm starting to watch her every move, she's just the most very interesting person that I've met. It's really strange for me to act like this, even Flash says that something is going on about me.

I already vowed not to be with her, but the thought of her lips not landing in mine is just so unbearable.

This is the only time I got confused about what I'm supposed to do, but I really can't be with her not until I solve what's going on with me.

And also, why does she trip over something so obvious on her tracks? I just shook my head and almost covered my ears because of the noises that these idiots were making.

"Oh, we're going on Calyx's training! I can't wait to watch how much Crystal has improved!" Peter Hughes cheered, so Rayleigh tried to calm him down.

That's really the oddest pair that I've seen, but whatever, they look fine, happy, and will be alright until the end.

"Why are you guys coming again? I don't need you there, that woman might get anxious if you're all around there and will not focus," I firmly said, so David Ronin just laughed.

I'm serious, that woman will not focus if there's a lot of strange things around her, she wants to focus with no distractions.

"Did you hear that, Razer? Crystal might get anxious because we're there, she must like us that much," David Ronin claimed, so I glared at him.

"She doesn't, don't be a jerk, David," I fumed, so he just laughed. He looks like he finds my reaction amusing.

"That's right David, I wonder if she's much better than before? She's starting to get happier lately," Razer claimed while meaningfully looking at me.

"Just leave us the freaking hell alone!" I sprinted away from them, but they immediately catched up from behind.

"Wait up, Calyx, we want to see her train!" Peter Hughes stubbornly called, so I just shook my head while sprinting to get over to our special training room.

After I arrived there, my nose whiffed a weird smell in the air that wasn't hers, I halted and stared around our surroundings.

"She isn't here," David Ronin stated behind my back, "Usually, she's always here first right?" he claimed, so I nodded at him.

"Where is she then? You don't have enough time to train for the clean-up drive and you two aren't exempted from it," Razer firmly reminded. I know that freaking well, he doesn't have to remind me about that strange activity.

I took a whiff in the air one last time and captured her smell, "She's still here," I claimed, so I felt that they got confused on my back as I started looking around.

We tried to look around for her in that special training room, but she was nowhere. That can't be right either, my sense of smell wasn't wrong, most especially if it's about her.

"Calyx, man, she might not even be here yet, can't we just wait like a normal person on the corner?" David suggested, but I didn't mind him.

My feet stopped in the toilet room and clenched my hands, I could smell her strongly from here. Is she inside?

"W-Wait, don't tell me you're getting in there?" Razer asked, but I didn't mind them as I called out for her.

"Woman, are you in there?" I yelled and it echoed on the inside of that toilet room, it was really quiet for a moment until I heard a sniffle on the inside.

I didn't think twice to run inside and check if she was there, the stalls were all open, but there was a door that was turned into ice.

"C-Calyx! What's happening there?" Peter asked from the outside, but I didn't mind them as I started breaking down that door.

"Dude! What the hell are you doing in there?!" I heard them panicking as I continued breaking down that door.

"Woman, say something, I know you're in there, stay away from the door," I ordered, grunting as I've decided to use my element to burn down that thick ice.

"Is she inside?" Rayleigh asked, she's standing right beside me, so I just nodded at her, "Crystal's been locked in!" she informed the people on the outside, so violent reactions were to be heard as they tried to invite themselves in.

"W-What the hell? Why would someone lock her in?" David Ronin raised his voice, he sounded really furious on my back.

Aside from the commotion around the room, I successfully broke down the door and saw that she was almost out of breath as tears were visible among her sapphire-like eyes.

My body felt pain as I immediately went after her to carry and pull her closer to my arms, she cried when she finally noticed that there were people around.

"S-She wasn't hurt," Rayleigh claimed on my back, but I just gripped my hold to this vulnerable woman I'm holding, "But she looks like she was reminded of something horrible about her past, was she abused and locked in before?" Rayleigh asked so I felt like cold water showered over me.

Peter's mate might be right, I didn't see any bruise on her or even a scratch, but it looks like it affected her mentally.

It was quiet for a moment until someone decided to break that silence, "Let's at least take her to the clinic and give her some nebulizer, she looks like she's having asthma," David Ronin suggested, so I gripped my hand and gave them to her.

I stood up and took one last glance at her, "U-Uh dude? Are you alright?" Razer worriedly asked, but I didn't answer them as I left that room.

My feet paced towards the fields and looked for our class, they were all there having fun on the other side while Crystal's group was busy with their own world together.

They're being left out but they didn't mind it, they look like they're having fun despite the horrible shits our classmates have.

A lot of them noticed my arrival and some of them looked excited, some of them were smirking when they saw me.

But all their smiles disappeared after they saw me burning in fire because of my anger, "C-Calyx?" I heard Jennifer ask from behind as I raised my hand towards this group of shits before me.

"Calyx! Dude! Stop! Calm yourself down!" I heard Peter running on the far corner of the fields, but I didn't mind him.

"Some of you here was the reason why that woman was having a hard time, tell me who locked her inside that toilet room or you'll all burn into ashes," I warned and summoned a circle of fire around them.

Some of them panicked and cried, they looked terrified of me and I don't care anymore, they have to stop doing a lot of things to that woman or so help me.

"Tell me or this circle will get little and little until it touches all of your skins," I coldly said as I motioned my hands to get that element of mine smaller.

"Calyx! Stop!" Peter warned, I know that he's just worried about what I was about to do. I won't do anything unless they tell me.

"W-What's going on? Is this about Crystal?" Jennifer Redfield sounded really confused behind my back, but I didn't answer her.

"Y-Your friend is being taken into the infirmary, we found her locked inside of a toilet room, she was hyperventilating like she was reminded of her past or something," Peter explained, so I motioned my hands to make the circle smaller.

"W-What? Why would you guys do that?!" Jennifer Redfield raised her voice, "S-She was freaking locked in before all her life, she was devastated by it, why is everyone so horrible to her when she didn't do anything to you?!" she screamed, she sounded like she's about to cry.

My eyes almost widened, I didn't know about it, in fact, I didn't know much about her at all. It makes me feel freaking useless.

The pleading of these students right in front of me we're everywhere, they're capturing way too much attention.

"I only want to know who it was and no one's getting hurt, but if you want to taste my wrath then be my guest," I motioned my hands to make the circle even smaller, so those students cried.

"C-Clara just f*****g step out, this was all your idea, I don't want things to end up like this!" one of our classmates shouted, so I looked for her inside that circled and noticed that she was gripping her hands.

"I-It was me," she furiously claimed, so I snapped my fingers and a lot of them ran away from me and left Clara and some of her underlings in the middle.

I was about to confront her about the mistakes that she made when someone sprinted towards her to give her a huge slap.

"You're a monster, no one would ever like you even your mate! I'll vow that!" Jennifer Redfield shouted furiously as she started pulling Clara's hair.

Her mate Rowen stepped in together with that freaking William to stop her. That woman's friend looks really worried about her.

Peter stepped in to stop them, so I looked at him intently, "Give them the punishment they deserve, expelled if you could," I requested, but Peter just sighed as those girls cried.

"P-Please, let's talk about this, not expel, we can take suspension just for not being expelled please," some of them pleaded, but I turned my back on them.

"They'll decide what punishment they'll give you, after all, this wasn't the first time you picked on her," I firmly stated, so they pipe down.

"You deserve to be punished more severely! Let me have her!" Jennifer Redfield was still on a rampage because of her friend.

"Jen, stop, we should check up on her right now, she might need you," Rowen tried to calm his mate down, which he successfully did.

"F-Fine, let's go after her," she replied before they looked at me, "Thank you, but this doesn't mean I like you already," she hissed, so I just raised my eyebrows as they left.

"Peter," I called him one last time, so he just nodded at me because he knows what I want that they have to do or I won't be at peace.

"I got it, what do you want to do while we take care of this?" he asked, so I stared at her friends who were sprinting in the infirmary.

"I'll go see her if I can," I replied and let him deal with the mess as I left. My mind thought about what that woman's friend mentioned.

That woman, why does she look fine despite all the things she experienced? She doesn't let her past shape her for someone that isn't her unlike me.

I'm very different from her, I know I said we both have issues about our past, but we're both different on how we deal with it.

She was locked in before in a very small space and I was locked inside of that darkness that I don't know if it really disappeared.

"She doesn't deserve me, she needs someone that doesn't share a past similar to mine," I claimed while pacing towards the green fields.

I gripped my hands because I don't understand why my heart was aching so much after I said those words?

"Calyx...you were born in darkness and you will always be one like me,"  that voice inside of my head talked again, so I grunted in pain, "You were always in the dark and you will always be in it," that voice claimed, so I hissed.

"S-Stop, get away from me," I furiously stated while trying to block my ears, that freaking voice is back again to disturb me, "Get away from my head!" I complained, but that voice was just laughing at me.

This is why I can't be with her, I can't taint her with me, even if I want to be closer, I have to stay away from her.

But how can I do that? I can't even control myself if she's around that many men or some people I find so irritating.

I still need to protect her from all of these stupid things around, I tried not to listen to those voices as I paced towards the clinic.

Seeing her might help me lessen those words inside of my head, seeing her would make me sane, but I can't be with her.

I just can't bring myself to have her, to someone as dark as me.

To be continued...