The Master of Dragons

Chapter 7

"What edge? Dani, what is he talking about?" Cole asked, turning back to face the blankets.

"My sister isn't here."

"What? She's right here," Cole argued, lightly patting the blankets. His eyes widened when he didn't feel her shoulder. He stood up quickly and pulled back the blankets, sending the stuffed animals across the room. He dropped the blanket corner as he stared at an empty bed. He turned back to Lloyd quickly.

"Where is she?"

"She's gone. Far away from you," Lloyd answered shortly.

"Where?" Cole pressed.

"I don't know. Dad came in here last week and found her crying again. Over Zane. Over you. He sent her on a quest, I think, saying that it would get her mind off of everything," Lloyd answered, his grip tightening around his sleeves as he tried to hold back his anger.

"A quest? On her own? Why wasn't anyone told?" Cole asked frantically.

"She can handle it. And we were told, but you were too absorbed in fighting over Nya to notice!" Lloyd snapped. Cole stood there with a confused look.

"Why do you keep bringing that up?" Cole asked, taking a step forward.

"It did start this whole mess!"

"This has nothing to do with Zane!" Cole shouted.

"No, but Dani was hurting long before we lost Zane! Don't you get it? The distance she kept putting between you and herself? The constant tearing up over the little things? Did you not see any of it?" Lloyd asked, shouting himself.

"Hurting? What did I do? She didn't want anything to do with me! How could I have known something was wrong when she didn't say anything?"

"Because she LIKED YOU! And all you did was go after Nya and fight over her with Jay! She didn't come to you because she was too broken hearted to try. Anytime you said anything to her, she tried to hold back the tears. Every time you were mentioned, she crumpled. And you didn't do anything! You say you care, but you didn't even try to see what was wrong! She ran away and you didn't chase after her!

"She wanted to tell you how she felt before the field trip to Borg Tower. She was nervous, but she really thought that maybe, just maybe, she could be happy. That her best friend had the same feelings that she did. But you told her to wait. And she waited; wanting to talk to you when you had time to focus on her. So that you two would be alone and that she could truly be herself and tell you what was on her mind!

"But when you and Jay started fighting, everything changed. Her entire world was crushed. You went from being her best friend to the person that hurt her! I was there for her, I heard it all. How it hurt her, how she didn't want to be here anymore. She wanted to run away, to get as far away from you as possible. She felt stupid. She was hurting. And then Zane sacrificed himself for us.

"For the first time, I was truly scared of losing my sister. She couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. Her powers started acting up. I thought I was going to lose my sister after losing Zane. I'm the one who hid the weapons, I'm the one who hid the kitchen knives. I found my sister with one and I didn't know what else to do," Lloyd shouted through his tears. He was shaking, his fists clenching and unclenching.

      He didn't mean to say what he did. Not all of it. Daniella had begged him to keep it between them. She didn't want to add to the drama, the fighting. But finding his sister in the tub, holding the knife in tears; he couldn't bear to lose her too. She couldn't even stand to go back to bed. Daniella had lost all hope and was suffering in ways that Lloyd couldn't fix.

      Cole stood there, letting Lloyd scream at him. He couldn't seem to breath. Daniella liked him? Since when? Why him? Cole looked down at the floor, struggling to gasp for air. He turned to look at the empty bed. This explained everything. Why she was so distant. Why she didn't hang out with him anymore. He did this.

      It wasn't supposed to be this way. Cole didn't even like Nya like that. Nya had started flirting with him after the field trip. He thought that it was just something that friends did. He responded to be nice, but he didn't realize how it looked from the outside looking in. And when Jay started picking fights with him, he fought back. The things Jay said stung, and he just threw retorts back out of reflex.

      He couldn't fathom just how bad Daniella was hurting. Daniella, the one who he could count on to brighten his day, was in so much pain that she was going to end it. Even if the action was permanent. His feet started moving before he processed what was going on. Cole pushed past Lloyd and made his way to his own room.

      Cole grabbed a bag and started throwing clothes in it. His cheeks were wet with tears as memories of Daniella flashed through his head. How could he have been so stupid? Looking back, he saw everything in a new light. She wanted to stay with him because she liked him. Daniella would rather be with him than anyone else. She could make him smile without even trying.

      He wiped his face and grabbed his bag. He didn't even stop to saying anything to the others as he made his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" Kai called as Cole threw open the door.

"I have to fix this!" he shouted as he slammed the door behind him.