Covenant (A Lapidot Fanfiction)

Chapter 24: Control

"Do you want me to get you anything?" Lapis asked.

"No!" I exclaimed. "Absolutely not! You just rest and take care of yourself."

"But Peri—"

"I'm fine. You're the one that's pregnant," I said. "I can handle myself."

I walked out of the room, looking back every few steps to make sure Lapis wasn't following me. I walked down the stairs and tripped down the last few. I landed on the downstairs floor with a thud! I stood up, very confused.

"Peri?" I heard Lapis's concerned voice from my room.

"I'm fine!" I shouted.

I stumbled into the kitchen. Mom clearly noticed when I grabbed the counter for balance. I immediately walked to the coffee machine and made the strongest coffee I could find in the kitchen. I needed as much caffeine as I could get.

"Peridot?" Mom asked.

I turned around. "Yes?" I replied.

"Whoa," Mom said, her eyes widening. "Peridot, the skin under your eyes is dark! Didn't you sleep?!"

I poured my coffee. "Only a couple of hours."

"Peridot!" Mom cried. "Why didn't you sleep?!"

"I had a nightmare!" I exclaimed. "I couldn't get back to bed. I was too worried."

Mom sighed. "Please take care of yourself," she said. "You need to eventually get to sleep."

"I know," I replied. "I wish I could."

I took a large gulp of my coffee and leaned back against the kitchen island. Mom was eyeing me. There was an awkward silence between us. Neither of us knew what to say. I was able to finish my entire cup of coffee in complete silence. I proceeded to make myself breakfast. Just a simple toasted waffle would do today. I wasn't in the condition to make an intricate breakfast for myself. Mom watched me as I stumbled through the kitchen, grabbing the wrong items until I had my hands on the waffles. I placed one in the toaster and pulled the lever, letting it cook.

"Not doing so well today, are you?" Mom asked.

"You know I didn't sleep," I answered. "Of course I'm not doing well."

"I understand nightmares waking you up, but staying up the entire rest of the night?" Mom asked. "That's a long time, Peridot. How could you have been awake that long after a bad dream?"

"I was just guarding Lapis," I answered.

That silenced Mom again. I looked over at her, curious. She appeared to be deep in thought, trying to figure out why. As if she was asking myself what would have pushed me to spend my night guarding Lapis when I hadn't slept the day before. When I had woken up from a nightmare.

I sighed. She didn't understand. She had never imprinted. She never got to feel the things I felt. The constant anxiety that something was going to go wrong. The protectiveness I felt. Every werewolf knew I would fight for Lapis. I had fought Jasper for her. Jasper was a challenge. A true challenge. It was only Lapis that pushed me to stop her. I wouldn't let anyone hurt Lapis. Never. I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Once again, I sighed. These were the feelings that my mom had never felt. They were always there, keeping me up all night or with Lapis all day.

The sound of the lever popping back up on the toaster startled me. I used plastic tongs to take my warm waffles out of the toaster and place them on a plate. I covered them in as much syrup as the plate could hold. Then I took a seat at the kitchen bar. Mom was still watching me confusedly.