After Solitude

Chapter 55

"So, what're we watching, doll?" Wyatt wonders as I pick out sour cream and onion Pringles and a Twix bar.

"The Polar Express. I've always loved that movie." I inform him. In the group home, they'd play this once a week and every week, I was in the first row of kids.

Once we sit down, Nik moves my hair, inspecting his gruesome mauling.

"Does it still hurt?" Nik asks.

"A little, but I'd do it again." I smile to let him know I'm okay.

He was worried about me all last night. Before I went to sleep, he kept asking if I was okay and he kept checking on me every thirty minutes.

The movie hits every nostalgic bone in my body. It's such a cute story, it'll never get old.

I made sure Poppy was in my hands the whole time. It gives me comfort knowing she's right here and not alone in a room somewhere, at least for now.

My eyes are almost blinded when we leave the dark theater room. The large windows display a ground blanketed in sparkling snow.

"It looks like it's lightening up a little bit." I comment.

The snowflakes are smaller and are swaying down instead of big blobs of snow tumbling. It's more pleasing to the eye this way.

Nik's phone rings, cutting off the silence.

"I'll be back." He informs as he walks away from us.

I shrug and return Poppy to the sunroom.

Jett and Wyatt sit with me in the living room for a while, until my eyes begin to feel sore and heavy. My head settles against Wyatt's shoulder, my eyes feel like I've been swimming in a chlorine pool all day. Maybe I'm still tired out from all the sex.

I stay asleep for at least an hour before I hear the sound of Nik's voice.

"That was Brina." He states. His hair looks messier than usual, like he's been running his fingers through the black strands.

"What's wrong?" I ask, sleepily rubbing my eyes.

He shoots me a soft smile, "nothing at all, love."

"What did she say?" Jett questions.

Jett pulls me into him as I sit up from leaning on Wyatt. He was a comfortable napping place.

"She went to visit Desmond."

A jolt of heated anger runs up my spine. My once sleepy eyes are now focused on what Nik has to say.

Why would she see him? I hope she killed him. My thoughts don't even sound like me anymore. Since when do I start wishing death on people? Since they killed my best friend. I answer my own thought.

"To put a long story short," Nik sighs, "he agreed to leave Zoey alone for now. Brina thinks she can expel the Vurthron without killing Zoey."

How gracious of him.

"And you trust that?" Jett scoffs.

Nik gives him a glare, "of course not. That'd be naive. But I do trust Brina and our power to continue to keep her safe from any outside forces."

If Brina can't make this evil inside of me disappear, I'll have to make sure of it myself. I can barely live with the thought of knowing I probably killed my parents and Brexley...and I didn't initially kill Poppy, but it's partly my fault she's not here today.

"Maybe we should ambush Desmond. He killed one of us." Jett grunts.

"His kind has been killing us for centuries. If we kill him or his people, then they will have a reason to hunt us." Nik states.

"If we kill his whole family and workers, nobody will be able to hunt us." Jett says almost sarcastically.

Nik glares at him, warning him to not go stray and try something stupid.

Jett huffs, but remains silent.

"So, Brina is going to remove this monster inside of me?" I ask skeptically.

Nik nods, "she sure as hell is going to try."

"When?"

"As soon as this storm blows over and the roads are clear enough to drive on."

"She can do this, she's one of the best." Wyatt cheers on the idea while still sulking about Nik not letting him raise hell.

I guess I have a few more days of living with this monster.

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