Marinas pov.
We just wanted to talk to her. We wanted to try and explain, stop her regarding us like stone statues. She was our best friend- and despite everything that never stopped.
She didn't hate us but she couldn't forgive us.
I tried not to wince in pain, as I realized she was uncomfortable crying in front of us without looking ashamed at showing us that depth of emotion.
She wiped the tear away from her face, as if frustrated for opening up.
We used to be the first people she went to when she was upset and she used to cry on our shoulder.
And we had destroyed that.
It couldn't be fixed.
That was unless we told her everything.
And I wanted to .... I was so tempted. I could have just opened my mouth and told her and it would have fixed things. She'd understand. It was Marli.
It might not be easy but if anyone would understand I'm sure Marli would.
She was always so compassionate.
I wanted to tell her we had no choice.
That we didn't want to ignore her and cut her out of our lives.
But that we'd promised. We had made a pact, not realising we couldn't go back until it was done. Then it was too late.
I wanted to tell her how much we'd both missed her.
That we'd wanted to call but couldn't.
How we'd even found her boarding schools number in the directory.
But it would have broken every rule we had been given and exposed the one thing we vowed we'd never tell.
And with everything that had been going on, everything we had yet to discover about ourselves then, we could have hurt her more than we already had.
I had been about to tell her, Jenny holding her arm, when Trey arrived. I could feel his presence before he came into view. I could feel his power rolling off him.
As if silently warning us to honor our promise.
I felt a growl build in my chest when he came behind Marli , but I suppressed it.
That would only freak her out and then we would never have a chance of ever gaining her trust, let alone friendship.
Her quivering arm tensed noticeably as he neared us.
"Let go of her now" my brother said in a low, controlled voice. I could sense the power inside him, almost breaking to get free. His arms were crossed and I could see his jaw clenched in anger.
His natural power seemed to roll off him in waves, washing over us, disarming Jenny and I. Jenny immediately let go of Marli's arm, as is ordered and I could see how nervous she was under his obvious strength.
I could feel anger bubbling inside me, and I tried not to reveal it on my face.
I didn't want to scare Marli...if I got too emotional...if I lost control...if my eyes altered in front of her.....
I could only picture how terrified she'd would be.... her eyes wide with shock and repulsion.... would it ever really be the same if she knew?
"This has nothing to do with you Trey. Back off" I said in a low voice, coating my voice with venom.
God, how bad would this look in front of Marli?
Trey was staring us down, his green eyes fixed on both of ours, as if daring us to speak.
But he was also angry with us, I could see it in the tight tension of his muscles.
Why would he be that angry?
We hadn't told her anything!
"This has everything to do with me" he said in a low voice, I could hear a slight trace of snarl underneath and then suddenly I realised what he was about to do.
His jaw clenched and I felt it hit me.
Raw power.
Trey was out completely out of bounds doing that.
What did he think he was protecting?
We hadn't revealed anything.
Incredibly Marli didn't seem to have seen the exchange between the three of us.
Marli's face was deathly white, even under the yellow fluorescent lighting and she looked like she was focusing on not throwing up or she was trying not to .... No she couldn't... could she?
That would be impossible, right?????
I mean, she hadn't seen or felt the split second of pain that had hit Jenny and I, making us lurch forward under the pressure of it before we recovered.
If she were like us than she would have been bent in pain as well.
None of our kind would have been able to ignore the kind of power Trey had just unleashed, without reacting... in some way.....
Then Marli spoke, breaking our silent battle of wills.
"I'm leaving" Marli said, in a low voice, between gritted teeth. Her jaw was clenched and her hands balled into small fists by her side. Her long blonde hair was hanging across the side of her face and I could see her hands shaking more violently under the effort of controlling herself. But more importantly I could feel a well-known humming radiating from her... the air around her was charged with restrained power- and it wasn't just coming from Trey.
Was she doing what I thought she was doing???
Her bright blue eyes looked fierce, almost glowing, but I could see desperate panic underneath her crumbling mask. She looked terrified. She had just wiped away a tear that had slid down her cheek. The only sign she'd given us that she actually felt something.
That this was half as painful as it was for us.
Seeing her again but being so disconnected.
Or was she just scared?
Or maybe she had felt something of what had just passed between the three of us.
God why was he here? Trey was making this infinitely more difficult for all of us. Standing behind her, like he had some sort of right to be there.
This was to do with Jenny, Marli and I.
Marli seemed panicked as she turned around, her back to us as she faced Trey.
I could see the tension in her back as she turned, the obvious strain.... Then that same humming seemed to get more concentrated, filling the air uncontrollably as if ....
Trey was staring down at her ,I could see the concern, worry and the most recognisable emotion in the whole world flitted across his face.
God it was so obvious to me now.
The connection was palpable.
How had I not instantly seen it before?
How blind had Jenny and I been not to see it?!
" Move Trey. NOW" Marli said quietly between gritted teeth, looking up at Trey.
Her whole voice echoed with strength and command.
I could feel the wave of it exude out from her and slam into me.
I know Jenny could feel it too.
OH MY GOD.
How did she just do that??!!
I had only ever-met two people, who could do that, harness that much authority.
And little did she know one of them was standing in front of her.
Trey immediately moved, faster than any human could have ever done.
His face screamed with concern.
He'd even used his abilities! He hadn't even bothered to conceal them in front of her!
Now I guess I know why he has been so difficult lately... so shut off....
The Marli was running. Her body was so graceful, her movements were fluid and seamless.... Only the way our kind could move when running full pelt like that... and even under the extreme panic she'd been so obviously experiencing her footing seemed light and delicate.
But if that hadn't given it away it was the speed. No human could have ever run that fast. Marli was a blur, her blonde halo of hair shinning under the light of the main entrance doors, which she slammed open.
Then she was gone in the blink of an eye.
In a split second it hit me... Marli... Our Marli.... Running at practically the speed of light.... The humming air......Her tensed muscles... the way that everything about her seemed to have altered slightly...
I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I realised that she had left before her sixteenth birthday... what she must have gone through...alone. In a new school half way across the country with no support... no guidance... how terrifying it must have been...
I felt a tear slide down my face and anger build up inside me.
"Oh My God! Trey! You knew! You knew and you didn't tell us! Ca you even imagine what she went through!?!?" I Shouted at Trey.
He was standing silently, all the previous energy he held had been knocked out of him.
" You KK KNEW and you LLL LET HER LLL LEAVE?!" Jenny said, choking on her words in shock.
Trey looked up , his face etched with pain " You think I knew?? You think I would have ever let her go if I had realised!? I only realized yesterday when she came back... and I saw her... I thought it was impossible to survive the change... that amount of pain without." His face contorted in sadness " God Marina how could I have known? She left before her sixteenth birthday. None of us could have known!!!
Do you think I would have never let her go thought that alone if I had known?" the last part came out in a whisper...as if he could barley say it.
Then suddenly he was gone.
Jenny turned to me, grasping my sleeve in tears whispering " M M marli... Marli's like us. Does she know about Trey? Does she even know she's not alone?"
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