Z.E.R.O (Wattys 2016)

Ch 11 - Fears

She's so pretty.

"I will. I assume the boys are already here?" I questioned, to which she nodded.

"What are we dealing with here?" I asked.

We locked up and she let me in as we walked towards Aziel's room. "It's twins and a ten-year-old, making him the eldest of you all. The twins are super pissed off because they just found out that their parents went rogue. We found them in Prague just after they narrowly escaped the people their parents associate with. Their names are Malachi and Mordecai. Nigel, the other kid, doesn't want to open up to us for whatever reason, so we're hoping that he'll eventually open up once you're altogether and you've formed your bonds."

"We're not trained to be therapists," I pointed out.

"Thank you smartass, but we already know that. What we're banking on is you bonding. Bonding doesn't always have to have anything to do with being someone's therapist," she countered.

"Fine! I'll take your word for it," I said as we reached my best friend's room.

"What's going on?" he asked, clearly confused by our presence there.

"We have new recruits and we're forming a group," I told him.

"About time," he said excitedly. Unlike me, he still behaves his age.

My adoptive mother led us down the passage all the way to one of the training rooms. The twins were standing on the one side of the room, while Nigel was stood on the other. They weren't even looking at each other.

Building any sort of relationship with these people would prove to be a mission.

"Hello boys! As I mentioned to you, we already have two boys here who are the best in your age groups, and here they are. This is Aziel, and that is Xander. Boys, these are Nigel, Mordecai and Malachi," Silver introduced.

Nothing was said between us, and Silver knew then and there that Cypher's vision for this team would be close to impossible to reach.

***

I sat, thinking about how far Malachi and I had come. It took my bond with him for the rest of the guys to realize that it was doable. Since then, I've established different bonds with the guys, but my bond with Malachi has always been different.

And now he wasn't talking to me.

Warm hands touched my bare back, before arms wrapped themselves around my waist. I was surrounded by the unmistakable scent of blueberries, and the chaste kiss on my back only confirmed who was with me.

"You know, he will forgive you," she said softly.

"I highly doubt it," I mumbled.

She sighed and came to face me. "He will. You just need to be patient and let it happen whenever it is meant to."

"That's just it blossom. There are a million things that he could do to me, and he chooses to do the one thing I hate above all," I pointed out.

"He's hurt D, and not just by what you did to Bridge. He's hurt by the fact that you weren't the one to tell him. He probably feels like you didn't trust him enough to tell him," she argued.

Like I already didn't know all of this.

I froze when he asked me, and he gave me the chance to explain myself, but I had no idea what to say to him. He got up from the table and hasn't spoken to me since. I didn't know what to say to him then, and I sure as hell don't know what to say now.