Love Thy Enemy: Eve-3
2306 Words
Maroon 5- She Will Be Loved
Chapter 3: Bitten
I have never met a witch before. Gaia Belthorn is a very beautiful woman. She has long copper red hair, brilliant emerald green eyes, and the fairest skin I've ever seen in person. I feel a little insecure despute the situation. I had seen her on TV with Arcadia Reign a few times. Recently, the two had a falling out and Gaia was kicked out of the Hexagon. To my understanding, Gaia had been the one who had built the place and she had given it everything it needed to thrive.
"You were bitten," she pointed at my leg when I placed the last moonstone in the box before handing it over to her.
"And?" I asked her. She placed two suitcases inside of my trunk. I opened them to see the money. "It's more than we agreed on,"
"I know. You did more than I asked you to do. Stay in the South, Eve. Southerners are welcoming of bitten humans. Other packs aren't so lenient. My advice to you is, put your father in rehab,"
"You're going to use those to do something to Arcadia Reign aren't you?" I sighed.
"No," she smiled sincerely. "I need these to expand the magical currents inside of the Hexagon to my home. Arcadia will soon be needing me. We had a fallout but we are not enemies. She's been through a lot and I understand her mistrust of me at the moment,"
"Right. It doesn't matter to me anyway,"
"It should. You are now part of this world. It might not be your war little one, but you will be sucked back into it. Godspeed," she got into her brand new car and drove off.
It was past seven in the morning when I finally got home. I waited for my dad to leave before parking the car in the driveway. I took the two suitcases and went up to my room. Jayden is asleep on my bed. I covered him and shut his laptop before going into the restroom.
The ache in my leg is gone. The open wound is almost gone. My skin is sensitive. My sense of smell is stronger than it was before. I took my clothes off and started a hot shower. Tears slid down my face as I watched the water around my feet run red. I can see the muscle in my leg stitching together as the water cleans out the wound. How long do I have before I completely turn? Who do I turn to for help? What do I do now?
"Eve?" I jumped at the sound of Jay's voice.
"Yeah, it's me, buddy," I called back.
"I'm so glad you're back," he answered.
"Jay, start getting ready for school. I'll be right out,"
"Okay,"
I finished cleaning up and got ready for the day. I'm not tired. My body is fully awake. I can feel a tingling sensation all over the place. This is what I get for going back. I made my brother breakfast and I drove him to school. I drove the car out to the dump and paid the man to scrap it for me. I took the license plates off and put them in my bag.
My dad was sitting in the kitchen when I got home. I sat down across from him. He's drunk already. His eyes met mine for a second before he looked over at his bottle. He hasn't shaved or groomed his beard in a long time. His hair is shaggy. There are dark circles around his eyes. He looks sick.
"I want to ask you something," I started. "I really want you to think about it before you answer because what comes out of your mouth next will determine how you will spend the rest of your life,"
"What do you want?" he asked already annoyed with me.
"A sincere answer. You owe me that,"
"I don't owe you s**t,"
"You owe me everything!" I shouted, slamming my hands on the table. "You f*****g owe me my entire childhood. It's too late for me but Jay can still have a semi f*****g normal life. We owe him that. I want to know if you're willing to do that for him? You need help, dad. Look at you. You smell like a f*****g bum. You look like one,"
"What do you want me to do?" he shouted. "What do you want?"
"I want you to willingly go to a rehab center or get the f**k out of our life,"
"You're f*****g crazy," he laughed.
"No, I'm not," a growl rumbled out of my chest. I stood up meeting his eyes. Fear came over him. "Do you hear what's coming out of my mouth?"
"Yes," he nodded.
"What's it going to be, dad? Are you done being this or are you going to grab your s**t and get the f**k out here? Somewhere so f*****g far that you will never cross Jayden's thoughts again,"
"I'm your father, Eve,"
"Since when? Where the f**k have you been? Where you there when you were beating the s**t out of me last week? When I was twelve and stealing food for my little brother to eat? When all the kids were making fun of me for wearing the same two outfits to school every day? Where the f**k have you been?!?"
"You're mad,"
"I'm mad?" I laughed bitterly. "That's all you have to say to me?"
"You don't understand," tears rolled down his face.
"Understand what, dad? That you opted out when mom died? That you left your eleven-year-old daughter and your four-year-old son to fend for themselves while you chugged down your pain? Did you ever stop to think that we needed her just as much as you did? That we needed you? We don't need you anymore, but I can't toss you out without trying this one more time. Dad, I love you. I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that this," I took his bottle out of his hand. "Is more important to you than your kids?"
"I'm sorry," he stood up and took the bottle out of my hand. "I'm not what you want me to be, Eve. I'm tired. Take care of your brother,"
"Dad," I called after him. "Dad,"
I watched as he went up to his room and began to pack his things up. Tears rushed down my face as he walked out of the door and got in his car.
When my mother died, I felt sad. I cried for a couple of days. But for the most part, I was relieved. She had been suffering and I had prayed every day for her pain to go away. Even if it meant that she would no longer be with me. It hurt, but it was inevitable. I was at peace with the outcome.
I took the beatings he gave me. I hoped that one day he would wake up and all of it would be over. I thought he would try to go back to being the man my mother fell in love with. The man I used to admire when I was a kid. This feels a lot like watching someone die unexpectedly. This feels a lot like when I killed that alpha female. My heart is breaking and emptiness is settling in my chest. I've never felt pain like this. I've lied on the floor of this kitchen many times. Broken and bleeding, but never like this. Never completely alone.
I don't know how log I lied there but the ping on my phone made me sit up. An unknown number. I sent back a text asking who it is. I got up and began to clean the house. When it was clean, it wasn't enough. I can't be here anymore. I don't want to be here anymore and I don't want my brother to be amongst the bitterness and pain that this place represents now.
I can't just get up and leave entirely. I have school. What I can do is move to a nicer neighborhood. My brother can make friends at a new school on the other side of town. We can start leading a better life. I began to look at houses on the upper west side of the Sand Lands.
"Is dad here?" Jayden asked when he got home from school.
"No, he's gone," I answered. He looked up at me. There's both sadness and relief in his eyes. I can relate to that.
"Like, gone. Gone?" he asked. I nodded.
"Yeah. I don't want to stay here so I called the realtor on main street and she agreed to help us sell the house and get a new one on the west side. What do you think?" I asked. His eyes lit up.
"Can we afford to live on the west side?"
"We can. I told you we were going to be better off after this last job,"
"What happened with dad?" he asked.
"Dad left, Jay. I offered to help him, but dad is too far gone. Mom's death did something to him,"
"What about you?"
"It did something to me as well, buddy. I just didn't let it be the end of me. I have you and I swore to mom that I would try my best to make sure you got everything you deserve and I don't plan on failing,"
"I love you, Eve," he whispered.
He came around the counter and wrapped his arms around me. He's getting tall. He's almost as tall as I am at thirteen. My phone pinged again. I looked down to see one name on the screen of my phone. Dom. I finished making spaghetti. My brother and I ate dinner. He washed up and went to bed in his own room for the first time in years. My phone began to ring.
"Hello?" I answered when I got back to my room.
"I'm glad you're safe," he greeted.
"Are you?" I asked.
"Yeah, a little fight over chicks. Nothing too bad," he chuckled.
"Are you back in town?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm back home. Are you alright?"
"Can I meet you somewhere? I wouldn't be asking if I didn't need your help,"
"Right now?"
"Can you? I'm kind of freaking out,"
"Yeah," he answered without hesitation. "Did something happen when you left?"
"Yeah, it's better if I show you,"
"Meet me in the school parking lot?"
"Okay,"
I checked on Jayden. His TV was on. I covered him with his blanket and turned the TV off. I pressed the button on his moon night light and shut his door. I made sure all the doors were locked when I walked out of the front door. It's weird not sneaking out but also a relief. I took my longboard and headed over to the school. His new Jeep is parked at the edge of the parking lot.
I stopped when his scent filled the air where I'm standing. A warm sensation flooded my senses as I took big breaths of it. Things got worse when he climbed out of the Jeep. I can see his eyes flashing red from where I'm standing. A second pair joined him from the other side. I can smell them both. The scents are almost the same but very different at the same time.
"Eve?" Dom's voice rang in my eyes making me feel utterly weak. I had read about this and laughed. Wolfs all have mates. Someone specifically designed for them. I fell to my knees as the two of them rushed over to me.
"Eve?" David shook his head.
"Eve, what happened when you went home last night?" Dom urged.
"I was bitten by a wolf," a sobbed rocked through me. I can't control the emotions coming over me. "What's happening?"
"You're turning, Eve. You're like us now," David answered when Dom couldn't.
"You belong to me," Dom added after a few minutes. "To us. You're our mate,"
"Our?" I asked looking between the two of them.
"We're twins. One wolf spirit so big there had to be two of us," David nodded. "This is why you were drawn to her,"
"Eve, who bit you?" Dom asked with urgency.
"It doesn't matter anymore," I shook my head.
"It matters, Eve," David insisted.
"It doesn't. I killed him. He's dead,"
"You kill him? How?"
"I shot him. I killed them all. We were in the Motel outside of the Rose Lands,"
"You killed those six wolves? Alone?" Dom asked. I nodded as I sat back getting off my legs. The pebbles are hurting me.
"I also killed the girl in the North. I didn't mean to but if she found me I wouldn't have been able to finish my job. I feel really weak,"
"It's been over sixteen hours since she was bitten. We have to take her home so she can rest," David stood up.
"My brother. Jay is asleep in my house,"
"I'll get her brother," David told him. "Have mom take a look at her,"
"Am I dying?" I asked when I was lifted off the floor.
"No, Eve. But it's going to feel like it, baby. Get some rest,"
- Writer
