More than Anything

Brielle

                                                                          Brielle
    I almost gasp when I'm attacked by a torrent of Everly's thoughts. I can't pick out any singular thought, but I can feel her emotions. One moment, I feel a terrible anger at the world. The next, I feel as if I could break down sobbing. A burning presence enters my mind, and I feel an overwhelming surge of love.
    Then, I start seeing her memories. I know that I should pull back, but I can't. I want to see what happens.
    I see a dark room, and feel cool metal rubbing against my raw wrists. All I can feel is fear. And hunger. I pull against the chains holding me, but it only makes the burning of my wrists worse. The hunger keeps getting worse, even after eating. Then, I smell copper, and begin to panic. Blood.
    This must be Everly's memory of finding out she was a vampire. I never knew what happened to her, and I never asked. (It didn't seem like something I should ask her.) Now, it feels like I've invaded her privacy, like I know something that I shouldn't. Before I have the chance to think, I'm thrown into the next memory.
I see myself standing across from me. She has a weird look in her eyes, like they're glazed over or something. She just stand there for what feels like an eternity. Why isn't she moving? As she comes closer to me, I feel my rising fear. Why haven't I moved away? Why haven't I cast the counter-spell?
    I recognize this moment as when Everly cast the love spell on me. So that's what she was thinking.
Warmth. Warmth everywhere. I feel soft lips against mine, and I never want this moment to end. I run my hands through silky, blonde hair. All I want is for them to be closer to me. I just want them to know how much I love them. Her jade green eyes shine in the light.
    It's me. She's kissing me. Before I have the chance to move on to the next memory, I'm thrown out of Everly's mind. She watches me, a panicked look on her face.
    "What did you see?"
    I don't know what to tell her. Do I tell her that I saw her as a vampire, that I saw her kissing me? I don't know what to say. Does she want to know the truth?
    "I don't think I should talk about it here," I say, gesturing at the other students. "But, I saw what happened with the love spell from your point of view, and I saw you with me. And, um—"
    Everly's face pales. "You saw me when I went missing."
    I nod, and her eyes fill with tears. "I'm sorry," I say. "I couldn't choose which memories I saw."
    She shakes her head. "It's not your fault. I just—I wish you hadn't seen that."    "I'm sorry," I say again.
    "It's fine."
    "You can cast the spell."
    She sighs, and takes out her wand. "What's going on in your mind?"

                                                Everly
    Flashes of Brielle's memories flood my mind, but I can't grasp any of them. I hear screaming, and laughter, and voices. It's all so much to take in at once. I want to pull away from her mind so that I don't have to deal with this, but before I have the chance to, I'm thrown into one of her memories.
Screams tear through the night, and I sit up in bed. Something's wrong. I immediately tear off the covers and run downstairs. My parents are lying on the ground, surrounded by their own blood. Scratch marks cover their bodies, and I feel like I'm going to be sick. A scream tears itself from my throat.
    Then, I realize that I'm not alone. Someone's still here. Werewolves. Everything tells me to run, but I can't leave my parents here. I can't let them just sit here. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. My parents can't be dead. They can't be. Maybe they're just unconscious. But, there's so much blood. They're gone.
    The werewolves turn to face me, and I want to run, but I'm rooted to the spot. I can't move. The werewolves surround me, and I scream until my throat is raw. One of them pounces, bringing me down to the ground. I feel its breath against my face, its claws digging into my skin. I struggle to get the wolf off of me, but to no avail. I'm going to die. The wolf takes one of its claws and rakes it across my arm, and tears spring to my eyes. I cry out. If I'm going to die, can't the wolf just end it? I just want the pain to end.
    The door bursts open, and Headmistress Bunce comes in. She casts a spell that flings all of the werewolves away from me. I'm saved.
    I'm immediately thrown into the next memory.
I feel cool lips against mine, and I never want this to end. I kiss her over and over again; I'll never get tired of this. I couldn't be happier. I love her, I love her, I love her. She's so perfect, and I love everything about her. I run my hand through her hair, and all I want is to be closer to her.
    The memory ends, and I'm thrown out of Brielle's mind. I gasp and look around the room, taking in my surroundings. I'm back at Watford; I never left, but it feels like I did. It feels like I invaded her mind, and I shouldn't have seen what I did. I shouldn't have been able to see something that private, something that personal.
    "What did you see?" she asks.
    "I saw your parents, and then Headmistress Bunce came to save you," I say. "I saw you and me."
    She sighs. "You saw everything that happened that day, didn't you?"
    I nod. "I'm so sorry."
    "It's not your fault," she says, gently, and all I want is to hold her in my arms and kiss her. "It's just the stupid spell."
    I laugh. "Why are we even learning this? Couldn't we just use a truth spell?"
    "Truth spells have better results," she says, shrugging.
    I nod, and wish that I could find a way to get her to trust me again. What I did was wrong, but I did what I thought I had to do. I know that Brielle can protect herself; she can do anything. But, I just felt the need to protect her. Of course, we could've protected each other and fought the vampires together. I didn't want her to get hurt, and the actions I took because of that led to me possibly losing Brielle. I love her. I just hope that she still loves me.