Doomed

chapter 6

"Nyx."

The sweet coo of my name caught me off guard, mostly because of who it came from and the fact that I didn't exactly associate the word "sweet" with her. I peeked down at the small child who stood at my side, glancing up at me with big brown eyes, batting her eyelashes. I narrowed my eyes, coming to the conclusion that she most likely wanted something from me since the only people she was this nice to was Isaiah and Thorne.

"Hi, Sophia," I said, trying to hide the weariness that I was feeling. School didn't always used to wipe me out, but it did now, probably because I wasn't as big on socializing.  Though I had never been that big of a fan when it came to socializing. "Can I help you with something? Are you looking for Isaiah?"

Sophia blinked several times, as if offended by the fact that I had questioned her. I raised my eyebrows, patiently waiting for her to answer me.

"I was wondering if you would come play with Thorne and I." Her words continued to drip with sugar, not making me any less suspicious of her. The only people I had ever heard her regard with that much sweetness and patience was Isaiah and Thorne. "We would really like it if you joined us."

I continued to eye her up with obvious suspicion but nodded slowly, giving my consent to come join them. I set down my bottle of water, holding my hand out for her. I had taken notice on her tendency to drag people places; she could never simply lead someone somewhere, she had the need to take their hand and drag them behind her, as if whatever she had to show them just could not wait. I allowed her to do this to me and I bit my lip to contain the smile that wanted to break through. I would never admit it out loud, but I secretly enjoyed the fact that she had decided to drag me too.

She lead me through the house and out the back doors into the backyard where Thorne was waiting. The little boy sat in the middle of the yard, his blue eyes watching something in the far distance, though he was probably more so lost in his own mind than he was concentrating on whatever he was looking at. Sophia released my hand, skipping over to her best friend and resting her hand on his shoulder to draw him back to Earth. He looked up and smiled brightly, apparently pleased that she had returned.

"I brought us a friend," Sophia announced, her grin so wide I thought it might split her face. "Now we can play tag." She looked over at me, raising her eyebrows. "Right, Nyx? We can play tag now that we have three people, right?"

I forced a smile and nodded jerkily, pushing my hair away from my face. "Yes, Soph," I said. "We most certainly can play tag with three people."

And so we did. For what felt like hours, Sophia, Thorne, and I ran around the yard, lunging for each other and attempting to make someone else 'it'. I refused to admit it to myself, but I actually had fun while playing tag with them. When I stumbled and fell, sprawling out on the grass, I didn't have it in me to get back up, pressing my face into the ground as I giggled. A weight landed on my back and I let out a groan just as another weight fell onto my back too. I had no doubt what the weight was but only grinned, allowing the kids to rest on me.

"Nyx?"

I squirmed at the sound of my name being called, urging the kids to get off of me. When they didn't budge, I swatted at them until they stood. I stood up after them, stretching and sighing in relief when my tense muscles relaxed slightly. Thorne took my hand, leaning into me and I didn't stop him, pulling him close to me as I looked around for who had been calling me.

Isaiah stood at the door, his eyebrows raised as if wondering what exactly he was observing. I couldn't blame him as it was pretty out of the ordinary to see me somewhere other than the kitchen or my room, and especially spending time with other human beings. My hands began to sweat slightly, reminding me that I wasn't the fondest of attention of any sort. Attention from the boys was a little different, but still caused my heart rate to pick up and my anxiety to spike.