Possessed Soul

Chapter 27

"How?" Kaden's one-word question reflected everything I had wanted to ask Holden myself.

"Just trust me."

"No!" Kaden grabbed my upper arm and began pulling me towards the door. My feet skidded on the carpet as I tried to hold my ground. My action failed to halt Kaden; he didn't seem the least bit fazed by my pathetic attempt.

"Kaden," I cried out to him, because he was an arm's length away from me, I assumed he would have heard me, but when he made no move to stop I was certain he was ignoring me. "Kaden, stop!" I shouted.

If he was startled by my sudden outburst, he didn't show it. He just turned around and pulled me to him. The force of his pull was so great that my feet weren't touching the ground, as I collided with his rock-hard chest. He held me by my shoulders as he moved back, so that he could take a good look at my face.

"What?" Kaden asked. Maybe asked wasn't the right word, since it was clear he was going to disregard my answer no matter what I said.

"Maybe we should hear Holden out," I suggested.

"Already heard him," Kaden responded, without a moment's hesitation. "Is there anything more you want to say?" Kaden turned towards Holden, anger lacing each word that came out of his mouth. Holden opened his mouth to say something, but Kaden didn't give him the chance. "Anything that doesn't involve slicing Sage open," he clarified.

"It's for everyone's safety," Holden reasoned.

"He's right," I replied. As soon as the words were out, I wondered what had possessed me to agree to let Holden near my body with a knife. "You can't put everyone in danger," I finished. The air in the room suddenly felt thicker, and it took a lot more effort to take a much-needed gulp of air.

"There's no point if everyone else is safe, but you're in danger." Kaden shook his head, taking control of the argument and trying to leave us with no room for disagreement. "And if you agree to this, I'll never forgive you."

"Yes, you will," I protested, not bothering to add that he wouldn't need to forgive me if taking out the tracker cost me my life. "I forgave you for robbing my house."

"Huh, I don't remember that."

"You don't remember what? Robbing my house or me forgiving you?" I carried on without waiting for a reply. "It doesn't matter, they both happened."

"I'm not letting him butcher you," Kaden decided.

"Butchers not the word I'd use," Holden pitched in.

"Dissect a better word, then?" Kaden was losing his temper. If we were in a cartoon his ears would have started steaming by now, and his face would be a tomato red colour.

"Not really. Dissecting would mean the specimen is already dead," Holden pointed out.

"So she's a specimen now?"

"Shut up, both of you," I chided. I was aware that my voice was shaky from nerves, but it still seemed to do the trick, since both the boys were now giving me their full attention. "Umm," now that they were both looking at me I had forgotten what it was I wanted to say. "You're bickering like a married couple."

"Well, don't get jealous," Holden winked. How could he wink at a time like this? I feel like boys always just winked when they weren't sure what else to do. Winking is not something I would have done, because: 1) I can't wink and 2) the wink made Kaden angrier, and now his hands were curled into fists.

"I want to do this," I said. Partly to make sure Kaden had something else to think about instead of punching Holden, and partly because I knew this was the only option. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life running and making everyone else run as well."

"I don't mind running with you," Kaden wasted no time in responding. I was touched that he would say something like that, but I also knew that was impossible. Who knew how long we could run? "Please." All anger was gone from his voice and now he just sounded desperate. He hung his head and seemed to have accepted defeat. There was sadness in his eyes, and he knew there was nothing he could do to change my mind. Yet he was stubborn, and still turned to me with a pleading look in his eyes. He wasn't the kind to give up.

"It's not like I'm signing my death certificate." I tried to lighten the mood by laughing, but my laugh came out scratchy and uneven; it sounded more like I was trying to convince myself.

***

"I swear, if you hurt her,..." Kaden threatened, gripping my waist tighter. I was sitting in his lap, practically straddling him on the couch. This would have been a very intimate moment if I didn't have a knife pointed at my neck. It was a pocket-knife, but it was still sharp.

"Hurting her is inevitable," Holden pointed out. "But if you don't shut up, I might end up killing her."

Kaden swore under his breath, but followed Holden's advice and didn't utter another word. The side of my neck that the tracker was in was pointed towards Holden, and the other side of my neck rested on Kaden's neck just below his shoulder. I was shaking uncontrollably, and I feared that this would affect Holden's precision; but Kaden seemed to be doing a good job of holding me in place.

"I love you," Kaden whispered in my ear, just before pain erupted through my body. It felt like a million injections were stabbing me at the same time, in a million different places. It wasn't only my neck that was sore, but my whole body felt like it was being ripped open. I bit into Kaden's shirt to muffle my screams, but I still felt Kaden stiffen from the sounds that escaped me.

"I can't break the skin," Holden confessed.

"What?" Kaden asked. I would have said something as well, had I been able to open my mouth and trust that screams wouldn't come out of it.

"I can't break the skin," Holden repeated. It surprised me that his voice was so patient. Patience was not a personality trait I would have associated with Holden.

"No, I heard you." Kaden on the other hand, was far from patient. He shifted so that he could look at me. "But what the hell do you mean?"

He couldn't break the skin. how was that possible, considering the knife was sharp and my skin was softer than cotton-wool, even though it didn't cut easily, it was still soft to the touch. I wasn't being vain, but I knew that my skin was softer than most people's. My mother said it was all the lotions she showered on me, but I liked to believe my skin was my one natural beauty.

"Your skin is rock solid," Holden said, finally addressing me instead of Kaden. "I can't make a dent in it."

"Then what was the pain?" I asked, once the feeling of being stabbed had subsided.

"What pain?" Holden raised his eyebrows.

"Are you kidding me?" Kaden replied for me. "I could feel her writhing in pain when you touched her." He shook his head and exhaled deeply. "Hey, you ok?" his voice softened, when he switched his focus to me.

I feebly nodded my head and rested my cheek against Kaden's chest. "I'm fine," I said, when I realised he needed more assurance.

"I'll pretend that I believe you," he replied, soothing my hair down and rubbing circles on my back.

"I should try again," Holden suggested. "Second time lucky."

"No," Kaden told him, as if that simple word was enough to convince both Holden and me.

"Okay," I said, disregarding Kaden completely. As soon as I had said that I felt Kaden's arms tighten around my midriff.

"I can't see you in pain," was Kaden's explanation. "You tried it once and it didn't work. Why the hell would you try it again?" he growled, shifting me in his arms. He somehow managed to stand up, while still supporting my weight, and started carrying me bridal style out of the room, without so much as a backward glance at Holden. The second I opened my mouth, Kaden shook his head and pressed his lips into a fine line, telling me I had already pushed him enough for today. So I just wrapped my arms around his neck and allowed him to carry me to the bedroom we were occupying. I brushed my lips against his jaw. It was a small action of affection, but it was enough to make him smile.

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