The Second (The Immortal Prophecies: Book I)

XII. Lincoln

What exactly do you do when cold showers don't work? Sulk--easy enough. Groan for about an hour. And then decide whether the coffee in your hand would go to waste if you poured it on your cousin's lap. Make a side decision on where to effectively pour it if the decision is unanimous while you're at it.

But bitter is as bitter tastes.

And Alex would not stop wheezing. "Are you kidding me?" He slapped his knee like the typical idiot uncle, making me rethink my choice. For once.

Last night's 'talk' with Emma wasn't at all what I wanted or expected, and I didn't get the chance to hold her when she began with her rants about being apart from each other more now that she wasn't in all aspects of my life. I got what she meant, really, but my plan was to make it up to her.

Never got to that point.

It sucked watching her feel detached from me and the ultimate butter on the bread was when she kept backing away from me and told me we needed time and space.

What?

"Damn, you can tell her balls aren't in a bundle," he continued, laughing harder. I ground my teeth and scowled at him just as fiercely, hoping to get the message across that he was crossing a line. With my coffee done, I didn't have anything threatening to throw at him. The sleepless night doesn't help either.

"Glad this is entertaining," I muttered. She didn't realize how important she was, of how much history we had--well, okay, she was practically the only other person than Matthew and Alex that I had history with. And other things. Things I've been told to reserve for certain people.

"Alright. I'm sorry. Sorry," he breathed, taking in my face. "Did she ask for a break--anything as serious as the two of you?"

"No," I said, holding my head like I had a headache. "And I hope she doesn't think about it, so could you please shut it?"

"Oversensitive," he said under his breath, sipping his coffee, "Anything new going on with you today--anything involving a certain princess?" At least he was changing the subject, even if it wasn't one I didn't feel like talking about.

"Of course I do. Only this time, Fred's wanted to see us personally." Fred was the final bloodline in the Pillars, and his family spread almost all around, though he himself was settled in Manchester, England in the century before my grandpa.

"Sounds important if he wants to see you."

Too many things were just too important.

***

I still remember the little girl I stared at all day in class when I was eight. Smart she was, said hello and bluntly asked me why I was being a creep. You could say that I had hearts as eyes, and a...stiff mind when I decided I had to be with her.

Emma Chapman.

I knocked on her door again for another day ahead of us; mostly to relieve some of the anger I was storing, but I crammed that thought to the back of my mind.

Entering after no response, I found her standing smack in the middle, back towards me, breathing too hard for someone unmoving. I could hear her almost on the verge of crying, her mind racing with horrible thoughts. I moved, placing my hand on her soothingly, her entire body jerking away from me in a position ready to fight, something in her eyes that was different from herself--something all too familiar.

"Hey, it's just me," I said, showing my palms to her. Seeing my face dropped her stance. "Are you okay?" Her fists dropped to her sides, a neutral expression took over her face and her ready-to-fall tears were blinked away.