Hidden Away

Thirty: Together We'll Fall

When I was a little girl, I would ramble on about wanting to be eighteen years old. I would go on and on for hours, expressing my undying dream of becoming an adult. Now that I'm here looking back, I had never imagined I would be living my eighteenth birthday like this. My entire life changed in a matter of minutes. Several months ago, I was playing Uno with Evan on the floor of the shack that I called my home. That stupid shack was a luxury to me. Now, I'm lying in an actual bed that has fluffy, plush pillows and satin sheets draped over the top of it.

How is it possible for your life to change so quickly? No matter how many times I look back in search of an answer, I can't find one. Things like what happened to me just sort of happens when it does. There's no pattern, no magic spell, nothing. It happens when it's your turn for it to happen.

I'm glad I was found and returned to my proper family, but at the same time, I miss my old life. I feel like I shouldn't, but when you're ripped away from everything you've ever known, you're bound to miss some parts of your old identity.

I'm not exactly sure what parts of my old life I miss. Maybe I miss the simplicity of it. I didn't have to think twice when doing things and I didn't have to rethink every decision I made because most of the time, they weren't crucial, life changing decisions.

Maybe I miss the part of me that didn't hate Alec despite the things he did to me. He pulled me out of school when I was only fifteen, he didn't let me make friends, and he was controlling of my powers as if they were his, which, in a way, they were his. He was planning to take them from me and make them his. It was like I lived for his benefit. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken me from my real family at only two weeks old.

Maybe I miss my old relationship with Evan. Back then, we didn't have issues. He was still keeping the secret of my family away from me, but I didn't know about it. That's what was peaceful about everything. I was oblivious, and at the time, obliviousness was nice.

Maybe I miss the old me. There's something about the old Norah: Norah Nightfell, that I was missing. She lived her days as if they were her last. She had nothing, not a penny to her name, yet she still lived a life far greater than any king could buy with all his riches.

Now it has become a matter of surviving. I'm not living anymore. I haven't been living for a while now.

In my eighteen years of life, I've learned things that have made me into a better person, and I've also learned things that have torn me apart.

Over the past week, my father has increased security and Bennett sent some of the palace men over like he had promised. But no matter how much security there is, I won't feel any safer. Not when the people I care about are on the line.

Carlina has been healing and she's on the right path to recovery. She was allowed to leave the bed a couple days ago and now she's up and walking. We were hoping she would heal perfectly and not have any scars, but by the looks of things, she'll be living with bite marks around her body for the rest of her life. After doing some more tests on her, we found out she's half human, which plays a large part in her healing process and how slow it is. She heals faster than a normal human, but slower than a normal werewolf. It also explains why she was dying as quickly as she was.

Ever since finding out about her being half human, we've been trying to find her parents. She thinks they're dead, but if there's anything I can do to make what Alec did up to her, it's finding them. I have hope that they're still out there somewhere. They both fled once they found out their daughter was dead. They should still be alive and hopefully somewhere safe.

My eyes flutter open as I feel a part of the bed near me dip. I sit up straight and let out a loud scream when a little person jumps on top of me. We fall back as he laughs and once I see who it is, I laugh too. "Hey, Niko!" I greet, situating him in front of me as we laugh.