"Stop!" someone called after me because I absolutely fled. For not wanting to be this dramatic in the first place, I stopped running when I slid against the gravel outside. A flash of light appeared and then I was face-to-face with Demi. "You can't just run away from this."
"Not with ya'll's super speed, I can't," I mumbled. The corners of her lips turned up, but mine did not. I was making a valid point, not telling a joke. "I don't need to be here anymore than Mickie does, so I'm leaving."
All she did was shake her head slowly.
"Don't you see what you did back there—why all this is happening?" she asked with amazement in her voice. "It doesn't matter if what happened, happened because of you or not, but you need to be here for this."
"I don't think you understand," I told her, slowly, which is what they should actually be telling me. Oh, hey, while you hate Mickie for making out with Dastan all these years, it was me falling in love with him and vice versa, apparently.
"I understand that Dastan loves you," she notified with the sun shining in her eyes. "That's exactly why you need to be with him right now."
Was she crazy? Or stupid? Why was she the only one pushing us together right now?
"You still don't understand."
"I get it. You fell for Hayden and he fell for you, but it's Dastan who—"
"It doesn't matter," a voice suddenly interrupted her. We looked back to see Dastan at the doorway. Physically, he looked tired and weak. However, his brown eyes pierced through me strong as ever. "You know how I feel about you, but it doesn't matter to you. I even told it right to your face—"
"And which persona are you referring to?" I asked him, boldly as I walked up to him and got a foot away from him. "The jerk that bullied me as a way to express his feelings or the jerk that kept a hell of a good secret from me before confessing his feelings?"
"Does it matter?" he asked, his rude Dastan Vega side seeping into his tone even though his body didn't even look like he was capable of that right now. "The fact is that no matter who I am or was or will be, I really love...I mean really...--"
"Dastan! Get your ass back in here!" Con's voice bellowed, shaking the glass frame of the house.
"Stop!" Mateo said as I heard them come down the stairs. Dastan briefly closed his eyes in pain or fatigue or annoyance, but then they flashed open and he was intent on making his point.
"It's you who doesn't understand anything," he blamed me, having some sort of short-breath. I started to see his body quiver.
"DASTAN!" Con roared, closer to where I saw him hop down from the last step. Mateo slid down the banister and put his hands on Con's chest. However, something shocked through him and he was thrown on the ground somehow without being touched.
"--Because no matter how well I knew you as Dastan or the Proliator, I thought you of all people would understand me, but you still don't!" he was now shouting at me with his eyes glazing with wetness. If he thought he was hurt in his own imagination, I was glad his powers didn't work with me; because then he'd feel my heart shattering right now.
"Oh no," I heard Demi gasp behind me. I looked up to Dastan and felt a tear stream down my cheek as his body now had a hazy feature. He was breathing heavily and he looked down at his hands, not knowing what was happening.
"Demi, you have to get to him!" Mateo's voice cried, but not before Con had reached the doorway and laid a hand on Dastan's trembling body. Suddenly, he stopped shaking altogether and his onyx eyes flashed up to mine before he coiled an arm around my waist and we vanished. As soon as the rush happened, it was over because the three of us were dropped onto a dusty road someplace. I looked around for Dastan, but only saw Con standing above me.
Honk-honnnnk! A sixteen wheeler honked as it was fifteen feet away from me. I shut my eyes for the impact, but felt warm hands on my body before feeling a gust of wind. There was no more noise and I decided that death was more peaceful than I thought.
"You can open your eyes now," a deep voice said. I reluctantly opened my eyes and realized I was being cradled in Con's arms. Rudely, he dropped me to the ground, making dust fly up around me. I stood and dusted myself off as he started walking away from me.
"Where are we?" I asked him, running to catch up with his long strides. More importantly, how did we get here? I looked around and saw we were on a long bending hill with a wooden post fence along the sides, protecting cars from driving off and plummeting into the forestry around it. Not too far off from the forest, I saw bright lights from the city beneath the hills.
"LA," he answered. California.
"Well...where are you going?" I asked as he started striding off. "Where's Dastan?"
He stopped walking and spun around to me.
"I am going home," he responded. "And I don't care where the hell Dastan is anymore. When you find my brother, tell him I said that and mention that I'm completely done with him. For real this time."
"You don't mean that," I suddenly blurted out like it surged through my body from his anger. I shut my mouth and my eyes widened, scared of what he'd think about that.
"Excuse me?" he asked with narrowed eyes, taking a step next to me. I flinched back and he smirked. I didn't remember what the Proliator told me nor the pieces I had finally put together. The fact that he was the Proliator's older brother from the story meant I couldn't trust being around him because I remembered that he had killed people before.
But somehow, there was something that rushed into me and gave me confidence. I kept my distance and lifted my chin.
"You can't be done with Dastan. I can feel that you're not," my mouth expressed without me having to think about it. My fingers tingled and I felt a new emotion that I could've read from his eyes. "Or else you wouldn't have gone to Manhattan to settle whatever it is you need to with him."
"You don't know anything about me," he nearly hissed, his eyes growing darker and darker. Suddenly, he reached out with incredible speed and took my arm. My initial comprehension of his emotions was erased and I felt the same tingle on my skin as with Dastan or Mateo. This time, his eyes glowed into piercing silver and his warm touch evaded me when he stumbled backwards onto his butt as if someone pushed him. He growled as he came back to his feet and rushed at me, but then I was pulled out of his way. A hand flew out to his chest and easily threw Con on his back. He groaned in pain softly before passing out. I looked back to see a middle-aged man with pale blue eyes and short brown hair that was threatening to turn gray.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm—"
"She's with me," a voice suddenly said as my waist was seized and the electrifying touch made me feel safer. I looked up at Dastan and he still looked broken and depressed. The man nodded once and looked down to Con. "I had a feeling you'd be back here when Demi had to leave. Pick him up and I'll take you back to the house."
Dastan left my side and somehow effortlessly hoisted his huge brother onto his back and gestured for me to follow the man.
***
Benjamin Wilde. This was the Vegas' father's best friend and Nik's dad. Although, they were not cut from the same cloth at all.
He had drove us back to his house and let Dastan rest Con on the guest room's bed. That was probably two hours ago and I was outside the entire time. I assumed Dastan wanted to catch up with the generous Mr. Wilde. He was acting distant ever since we left the road. It didn't help my mood at all. I heard the door slide open but I stayed in my woeful position. I assumed I knew who it was.
"I feel like my heart is torn literally in half," I expressed in a mumble. Half my heart went to the Proliator and the other half was sticking to my common sense. Neither half salvaged me though.
"Lucky you," a voice scoffed and then I turned to see Con instead of Dastan. I turned to face him and rolled my eyes. I felt so low right now that I didn't want to deal with him. So I turned back around to prop myself back onto the railing. He walked over to me, his boots hitting the wood loudly. He was incredibly calm. "You rebounded my powers, you know."
"What are you talking about?" I asked him, looking over to see Con without fury in his composure. His eyes were a medium gray and inviting.
"I meant to inflict pain on you earlier on the bend," he clarified.
"Thanks," I said sarcastically with an eye roll.
"But once I touched you, it rebounded back to me," he said, confused at that outcome. He even frowned.
"That happens with Mateo too," I whispered, still with my head in my hands.
"What about D?" he asked. I blinked and took a deep breath.
"It's different with him," I informed. He rested his forearms onto the railing and sighed, looking out to the open forestry.
"And how's that?"
"He can only feel my emotions when we make skin contact..." I started. My lip twitched about the rest.
"And the rest of his powers?" he asked.
"They work...but..."
"But what?" he asked.
"Only in a kiss..." I started to finish. He looked over to me. "He can only heal me with a kiss and then I can feel his emotions rebound in it for a while."
He stepped closer to me.
"Does that mean if you kiss Mateo he can read your mind? Or if I kiss you, I can give you pain? What about—"
"Let's not find out," Mr. Wilde's voice said. We turned and faced him leaning against the doorway. Con sighed stressfully. Mr. Wilde looked to me. "You and I have business to discuss."
"Where's Dastan?" Con asked, even though I wanted to know. His pale eyes flashed to him and he nodded back into the house.
"Demi and Mickie aren't here, so he's finding a way to control himself," he answered. Control himself? From what? And why are Demi and Mickie so important for that?
I suddenly felt a hand shove me from behind.
"Well we have the next best thing," Con smiled. What was that supposed to mean?