3490 words. uhhh sorry about this. I'm not happy with it but I'm posting it for my sanity at this point. it's kinda choppy and just. ugh. pls vote and comment! :) i did not edit slkdjfdls
Kenric
Glancing between Elwin and Nisha, Kenric realized he knew very little about the physician he thought he'd known for years. He was kind to an impossibly sincere extent. He wore funny clothes and had a stuffed animal collection he loved, but didn't mind giving away to people who needed them. And that was . . . it.
He had the illusion of an open, welcoming man; but Kenric didn't know about his life, or why he became a doctor, or his family, or even his favorite color.
And especially not why he was staring at Nisha like the world could've ended then but he would not have noticed. A million emotions flashed behind his eyes like lightning. Kenric could only catch a few — concern, shock, fear. Betrayal.
Nisha looked like a deer in headlights, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. "I know what you're thinking," she said, holding out her hands, "and I can explain."
Elwin stared at her for a long moment, like he couldn't quite recognize her. Like he'd handed her his heart and she'd smashed it on the ground.
"It's a long story. And I'll tell you later, but —"
Slowly, he stood. The vial slipped from his hands into the soft grass. There was a world behind his eyes filled with dusty picture frames.
"I mean, I know you're probably really mad at me — I'm mad at myself —"
Elwin cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look up at him, and she faltered. "Nisha." The breeze snatched away the name with greedy hands.
"Elwin," she whispered, a crease between her brows, a plea within her eyes.
He let out a breath, something of an incredulous laugh, or perhaps an exhausted, relieved sigh, and pulled her into a hug.
Kenric exchanged glances with Oralie. He wanted to hold her like that, hold her so close he'd never have to let go. But he could barely sit upright, and his body felt so heavy, he struggled to breathe.
"You're not upset?" Nisha's voice was muffled in his embrace.
"Oh, I'm furious," Elwin replied, closing his eyes and running his fingers through her thick, wavy brown hair. "I'm so furious. I will lock you up for the next century. You have so much explaining to do."
She laughed softly, wrapping her arms around him like she'd finally found home. "I'm sorry."
"You know her?" Bronte snapped, shattering the moment. Kenric and Oralie shot him twin glares.
"Yeah," Elwin said quietly, pulling away to look at Nisha. He tilted her chin up again to survey for any injuries. "I know her."
"She's a Neverseen member."
"Former!" Nisha protested.
"That doesn't make it better," someone snapped. Kenric couldn't bring himself to find who it was; the fire in their voice said enough. "They're murderers, and you were one of them."
"We could use her. She could have information on them," someone else said. Kenric wanted to snap to his feet and shout at them for speaking about her like that. He wanted to stand in front of her and fight every last one of them with his fists if he must. When he'd gotten so fond of the girl in the brief time he'd known her, he didn't know.
But he was not that man anymore.
He looked away.
"Who cares?" someone else said, anger seeping through their voice. "She's evil."
ВЫ ЧИТАЕТЕ
Fire on Fire: A Koralie Story
ФанфикThe world thought Kenric died. And maybe somewhere deep down, a little part of him had in the time he'd spent in the Neverseen's clutches. But it didn't matter when he saw her. None of it mattered. Only her. Oralie's world was gone. All she could do...
