• Absolute •

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The ride was silent and filled with thoughts. I could feel all her confused and rushed ideas.

The road back to her house had been empty and flanked by trees; the weather was calm, a morning mist beginning to float out onto the road from within the trees, creating an eerie but compelling and mundane atmosphere.

After twenty long minutes, the girl - Rachel - finally pulled her truck over to the side of the road, in front of her house. She opened her door and jumped out, hesitantly waiting for me to do the same. When I didn't, she breathed in deeply, looking away from me like she was frustrated but tried to not show it.

"Um. . .Ez - Ezra?" She mumbled quietly. I leaned over, also quietly asking "Yeah?" She frowned at me mocking her and huffed out a heavy breath. "Can you please get out so we can get you clothed? It's starting to make me feel really uncomfortable that you aren't even looking embarrassed to be naked." She snapped. I laughed which made her flush a deep red. She looked away again and then slammed her door shut and began to walk around the car. She opened my door for me and gestured grandly and sarcastically as if saying: "After you."

I grinned but she did not see, and stepped out into the cool air that blew the ends of my hair into my eyes. I pushed at them impatiently and readjusted the jacket around my waist. I turned and looked down at Rachel, who also turned on her heels and began to walk toward the house. She stopped just as I began to walk after her and turned to me.

"Um, my mom is still home so I think you should probably hide in the shed while u get you some clothes." She said, not looking at me, her cheek pinks with either the cold or shyness. I didn't understand her. One moment she was nervous around me, and then the next, she was loud, sarcastic and joking.

"Are you sure you don't want to hide me in your cellar again?" I asked, teasing. She didn't say anything but glared up at me, causing me to grin wider at her expression. She reminded me of a tiny bunny hopping up to a wolf, provoking it.

She began to walk toward the house again and even though I joked with her, I walked toward the shed, my thoughts becoming serious. She knew too much. I had to do something. It was not meant for humans to know about all the 'mystical' creatures that roamed the earth. Not about the faeries, not about the wolves that could turn into humans, not about the demons, and certainly not about angel's. We only came down when we wanted to. . .fertilize human women. It happened with every creature. There will always be, and always was, those human offspring that were from both worlds. Some of them knew it, and others didn't. Humans and us, 'fantasy creatures' we're always getting mixed up - we have been since the very beginning of everything - though now, it was more secretive and unheard of.

I paced the shed, glancing at the spot where I had lain just the night before. There, on a scratched wooden board was a drop of stark colour. Gold. I walked over to it and bent down, touching a finger to it. It was dry. But before I could do anything to erase it, and destroy the memories it held and bought back, Rachel opened to door to the shed and walked in, looking flustered and pink.

"Trying to avoid your mom and sneak around the house with these," She pointed a finger at her clunky boots "is a terrible workout." She looked down at me, where I crouched in front of the drop of dried blood, but after a moment of hesitation, she held out the folded clothes in her hands. "Hah. . .what are you looking at. . .?" She asked, failing to be casual and failing at pretending. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow but got up and walked over to where she stood frozen, staring at the drop of gold on the ground, past my shoulder, and took the clothes from her.

"Can you give me privacy?" I asked as she continued to gaze at the drop of my blood. I could've cared less about my privacy, I just said that to her to get her out of the shed, and for her to stop staring at the golden spot.

"Oh - yeah. . .sorry." she shook her head as if to clear it of the haze she was in, and walked out the door, shutting it behind her. Through the door I heard her let out a sigh. Then, "Oh! Also, you might want to hurry up because I think my mom knows I'm here and she'll be hunting me down soon. . .so yeah."

I replied a quick 'okay', and dressed in the dark blue shirt she bought and the thick, grey pants. "That's a shirt and those are sweatpants." She called them when I asked what they were. We were driving now, in silence, down the same road she had hit me and picked me up from. I had no idea where she was going to take me and from the unsure glances she gave me from the corner of her eyes, I could tell she felt the same way.

I was pondering on how to rid her of everything she saw and realized since last night, when she saw me with my wings out. Maybe that's why she was sent back to me; I had to clean her brain from what it had witnessed.

The car jolted with the sudden bump as it ran over something. "Just a rock or a branch I guess. . ." Rachel had mumbled but looked into the rear ire mirror nonetheless. When she said nothing or didn't look alarmed, I took it as an affirmative that she hadn't hit another living creature.

Then, I suddenly crouched over, gripping onto the headboard and gritting my teeth like we had hit a tree and I was having a late reaction to it.

"Ezra? Ezra?" I heard Rachel call my name but I couldn't care. My body was beginning to heat up as if I had been under the sun the whole day. I was sweating, my palms becoming slick and the shirt Rachel had given me, sticking to my chest and back. "What's going on? Should I stop the car?" I didn't answer because I was grinding my teeth together so hard that I could hear it. I felt the car stop nevertheless.

I shut my eyes and failed to muffle the strangling cry that escaped my throat. My eyes flew open just as the feeling of what I could only describe as something clawing out your insides and fire blazing within the wounds, flared up between my shoulders. I knew what was going to happen now. I needed to get out of the car and away from Rachel when it happened.

From my peripheral sight, I could see Rachel reaching out to touch me, very hesitant in her movements. I tried to tell her not to touch me but only another agonizing sound came out of my mouth. That seemed to concern her even more and so Rachel finally laid a small, cool hand on my back. I snapped.

I arched my back, my breathing coming out so shallow and harsh that my whole body shook with every intake and exhale. "Ezra!" I heard Rachel scream and I felt her other hand hold me. She now had her arms around my back, trying to keep me held together. It didn't work and I needed to get away from her.

Releasing my unnaturally strong grip on the headboard, I reached around my back and took hold of her frail, thin wrist. She gasped, I think from the heat of my skin or from the vice-like grip. I pulled her hand away from my back and then let go of her, reaching for the handle of the door that would let me out. I needed to get out. I needed to get away from her, she was only crowding me and making me more angsty.

The door fell open and with it, I half fell out as well. Rachel reached out for me but I half-climbed and half-tumbled out of the car and into the cold air outside. It felt so good against my hot skin. I could already feel the sweat that stuck my shirt to my back and chest, start to dry.

Rachel came out of the car and crouched in front of me as I breathed and gritted my teeth on the asphalt, on my hands and knees. I arched my back again and cried out. My body up reared, I was now in my knees, with head thrown back. A distinct sound of fabric ripping was heard as a surge of immense pain - fire burning my flesh and rawness and stinging - moved through my body again. I cried out again, so loud my throat hurt. I heard Rachel gasp out loud as I was finally released from my pain, and I fell to the hard ground, Rachel catching my head and resting it on her lap, before it hit the asphalt.

My breathing was still fast and rasping as I calmed down. It slowed after awhile, my eyes closing and then slowly opening again as I felt a weight on my back and heat waving off of my wings that slouched in the fatigue I felt.

Oh no, not again. . . I thought helplessly.

"Ezra. . ." Rachel exhaled, her voice soft and breathy. Her fingers brushed my hair and I saw and felt her brown hair tickle my face as she bent her head down. We stayed like that for awhile, me breathing evenly but deeply, and Rachel's fingers lightly brushing and playing with my hair, until I finally closed my eyes and didn't open them again.

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