Eli Fletcher: The Golden Orb

Chapter Sixteen: Breaking Loyalties

Chapter Sixteen

Breaking Loyalties

"Why are we the only ones awake?" David asks nervously.

"I don't know, David," I say as I watch Grace lay there unconscious after Mom and I had already taken her parents up to their room. We don't know how long they'll be out and we don't want them to wake up completely stiff from the hard floor. I bend down and pick Grace up and carry her up to her room as well.

"We should call our doctor," Mom suggests.

I agree and she goes down to the kitchen where the home phone is and makes the call while I sit on the edge of Grace's bed, her hand in mine. I hate that bad things keep happening to people close to me. But, there isn't much I can do about it. Even if I try to leave, Tentatio already knows who I'm close to, so he'd just use them to bring me back. That's one thing I always notice about heroes; leaving never solves anything. Your enemy eventually gets smart and uses your loved ones to get to you. I learned that firsthand a year ago with Abby.

Stroking the back of her hand with my thumb, I stare down at Grace. In the last day, both she and Fiona have changed. Grace I can understand; she has feelings for me that she can't let go of; feelings I also have for her but ignore because I also love Fiona. But despite those feelings, she does her best to just be my friend, just to keep me in her life. I'm glad she's done this because there's no way I want her out of my life. But, my focus is so much on keeping Fiona happy that I do everything I can to ignore and suppress my feelings for Grace. The more I think about it, the more wrong it feels.

Shouldn't you be trying to make someone you love happy because you love them, not because you're afraid of how they'll react if they're not happy? That's how I feel with Fiona sometimes. I know deep down there's something wrong about that, but I always return to the fact that she's the first real friend I've ever had, and we really do care about each other. We've helped each other grow in so many ways. Fiona sees more in me than I could ever see on my own; and she helps bring it out of me. Just by following me she's forced me to become a leader. She knows how to connect with my heart too. She always seems to know exactly what I need at just the right time.

Mind-speaking; the words hit me like a brick to the back of the head. The fact that she can hear people's thoughts explains everything. It explains how she knows me so well; it explains our fights since she can't seem to allow me to have private thoughts sometimes; it explains absolutely everything. Maybe our relationship isn't as real as I'd hoped.

"Eli?" Mom says from the doorway of Grace's room.

I turn towards her.

"You alright?"

I shrug.

"What's on your mind?"

I sigh, returning my attention to Grace. "This whole Grace and Fiona thing."

Mom kneels down next to me. "Wanna talk about it?"

I tear my eyes away from Grace and look at my mom again. "Not here," I say.

Mom grabs my hand and tries to guide me out of the room. I can't leave Grace's side, though; at least, not with a gaping hole in the wall that any demon can climb through. I take out my sword and wave it over the missing chunk of wall. A warm current of air pushing away from the house fills in the empty space so nothing can get in.

"Eli, let's go and talk somewhere. You need to work this out," she insists in a gentle voice.

Reluctantly I stand up but I suddenly feel dizzy. The room begins to swirl and go dark and my vision fades.