Don't give up on me ✓

[63] Don't Tell Me

Emily told me that Isla had stayed over with Hugo.  They were coupled up in his room.

And Bianna and Zane had come back from visiting the other clan a couple days ago. Their fighting had disappeared.  

So Maythorne Manor had gone from a haunted house to a love shack.

I found Mohan in his study and asked if he had a minute. 

"You were very disapproving about a relationship in this house," I told him. "So I want to know what'll happen to us."

"With you and Nate?" Mohan asked me.

I shook my head, "With me and Jesper."

He looked surprised to hear that. "Are you sure you're not with Nate?"

I frowned. "Mohan. No, I'm not confused with who I'm dating." 

Well, Jesper and I hadn't exactly said those words.  We were in a mess, that's for sure. He had just broken up with Holly and I'd had just had a very complicated thing with Jesper.  

Mohan chuckled sadly, "None of it matters right now. You are about to be thrown into the fire. Going on the Visit, will unlock the true strength of your powers and test you to the brink of breaking." 

I nodded.  Maybe we just didn't have the right timing.

In a way, that's what Nate has been saying.

"Don't look sad about Nate," Mohan misunderstood my emotions, "He's right to focus on this. Once you survive, you'll be stronger and more in tune with your true selves.  Scepters feel on a different level to humans. We rarely find our soulmates but, when we do..." 

"Thanks Mohan," I said, not finishing the conversation with him.

I didn't really want to hear it, to be honest. He was basically telling me that Nate and I were destined to be together.  But I wanted to be with Jesper. My best friend.

I walked downstairs to the kitchen and poured myself a cold glass of water. I drank half of it and set it down on the counter. No one else was awake yet. What was this insomnia?

I heard the sound of an engine outside. Lights near the porch. It was 5AM. Who could it be?

I stepped out into the foyer just as I saw a shadow eclipse the front window. The door unlocked, and I couldn't move, my instinct immediately telling me who it was.

Him.

Nathaniel stood at the doorway. The moon shone in the sky behind him. He carried his luggage in one hand and let it drop to the floor. 

 His eyes were entirely focused on me in a way only his could be. They zeroed in on my soul, as if he was catching up on everything by speaking with it directly.

He'd come under the cloak of darkness. I had a suspicion he'd done it to intentionally avoid me.

"Georgia," he said.

Between the two of us, he was the brave one. I was too afraid to say anything. I didn't want to break this moment. I didn't want to feel that my happiness with Jesper would destroy his. It wasn't fair. He was too good.

"Hey," I said.

"Something's different," he answered, as if he could feel the air between us change.

I nodded, "Jesper and I..."

I intentionally didn't finish the sentence.  I didn't need to.  He obviously understood.

"OK," he nodded and walked past me, "Don't tell me." 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I lay back in bed with Jesper, wrapped under the sheets. I tried to sleep.

Nathaniel had been very affectionate at the holiday party, when he told me we were forever. Why do I have to hurt someone I care about?

Tears were dripping from my eyes to the pillow. I had my back to Jesper. I didn't want him to see. I hoped he was fast asleep. 

I cursed my insomnia and I cursed all my feelings that led me here. I felt like a bad person. How could following my heart feel so wrong?

"Come here," Jesper's voice echoed in the silence.

He turned me around gently, his hand under my chin. I faced him with our heads on the pillow. He saw the tears I had been hiding and with his fingers, he gently wiped them away. Then he leant forward and kissed my cheeks where the tears used to be.

"I saw Nate," I confessed.

"You didn't mean to hurt him," Jesper told me.

"I didn't mean it," I repeated, crying again, "But I did."

"Sssh, it's ok," he pulled me close, "We've gotten through everything together and we'll get through this. It'll be OK."

Why did I feel like it's not?

A/N: As I'm writing, I feel like the tension is rising towards the visit. Do you feel that as a reader?

I also feel for Georgia because she's landed in such a mess between Nate and Jesper.  What do you think of this 'soul mate' conversation with Mohan?

New chapter tomorrow!! Please vote if you enjoyed!