It was like looking into a mirror. Or maybe a Ken doll version of me. Well, a bad boy, Ken doll version of me with a guitar.
Well, our scars were the same. The scars ran over his right eye, lip, over his chin, and down his chest. I wondered if the pattern went underneath the white buttoned up shirt. Besides the scars, Ari and I didn't look anything alike. He was about a foot taller than me, a bit on the skinny side, black hair, and brown eyes. There was something handsome about him. He probably would've been a model if he didn't have the scars. His fingers were long with his right hand being covered in scars. It had to hurt to hold his guitar for long in that hand.
"I, what is that?" Drake said. He sounded more confused than me.
"Another human with..." I said.
"Sight?" Drake whispered. He shook his head. "Matty, we should leave. If he does have sight, he might already have his own motives-"
"It's always amazing how breathtaking his voice can be," Oracle said. He stepped closer to me and I felt Drake tense. "Isn't it, Matty?"
The hair on the back of my neck stood.
Does he see? I didn't see scars, but a second ago I thought I was the only one with sight. Paranoia flooded my thoughts. Was this good? Bad?
"Matty we should-"
"Oh no, this couldn't be more surprising. And now I can't get it together because you walked in."
"- We need to leave!" Drake whispered.
But, I can't leave.
I can't leave. He's just like me. And he's looking at me. I can't. I have to know more.
"Matty-" Drake tried to grab my hand, but I yanked my hand back as all the emotions rushed into my head. There's no way this guy has scars exactly like mine. Am I really not alone? The feelings pooled in my chest and I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second.
The guitar strings stopped and my shoulders tensed as he hopped off the makeshift stage. I stepped back. He walked over with one hand on his guitar.
"Hey Oracle, what's up with blondie here?" Ari asked.
I stepped back, bumping my back into Drake's chest.
"This is the photographer from the paper..." Oracle said. The smile seemed confident on his face, but my stomach twisted.
What am I supposed to say? Should I point out the elephant in the room? Or should I wait? It's not like I can just out right ask, right? But his scars mirror mine. And he has to know. He has to! Right?
The musician turned to me and grinned. "Looks like we have a lot in common. I'm Ari Liam."
He reached out and grabbed my hand. He squeezed hard. It felt powerful. I could feel callouses under his fingers. I squeezed back. I recognized this power move bullshit. Just because he's a big guy doesn't mean I was a tiny weak woman.
"Matty Lee-" I began.
"MATTY!" Warmth engulfed me.
"Damn you!" Drake said and I could imagine his face turning red. I wish I could see it. The panic I've been feeling was wiped away as Eloy's glamour wrapped tightly around me. I sighed.
"What are you two doing here!" Eloy asked. He seemed excited to see us for some reason. It wasn't fair how he looked handsome with messy hair, overalls and wait-
"What are you doing here?" I asked Eloy.
Oracle clapped me on the back and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I almost forgot about them. I looked. Oracle smiled.
"I invited them out to help me paint. It doesn't hurt to invite other artists. Good publicity too." Oracle said. Well no one can call Oracle a idiot.
"Eloy, you can't just hug random people," Cassandra said as she came up in paint drenched overalls. I almost laughed at the sight, but kept my mouth shut. She spotted me and looked a bit confused. "Matty, you're the photographer?"
Is no one going to talk about the guy with the same scars as-
Eloy was looking at Ari. Now intensely. He frowned and looked between the two of us. Something came across his face.
"And you are?" Eloy said.
"This is Ari," Drake said. He slid his body between Ari and me. It was obviously a shield.
Ari laughed at the sight of Drake's annoyance.
"I didn't know cutie here had someone," Ari said with a slight tug on his mouth.
"Ari, don't be so brash." Oracle said.
Ari laughed and his free hand rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, what can I say? It's not everyday where someone has scars like me." He straightened up. I'm glad someone mentioned it. "Kind of a miracle, don't you think?"
"It's odd," Oracle said, frowning slightly. The tone of his voice didn't say odd. Oracle's face didn't say confused, but more like this wasn't a big deal.
"Ah well, Matty, I think you got the photos you needed, right?" Drake asked. He wore a tight grin and the tendons in his hand flex.
I shook my head. I wasn't having this conversation with Drake.
"I was thinking we could get some photos outside. Ari, do you know of a good place?" I said, directing my attention. I'm not going to run away. I needed to know what was going on.
"Of course," Ari said.
"I can get some things together then," Oracle said. "I could paint outside if that would help?"
"Yes," I said.
Drake's jaw locked. He looked down at me.
"You have to trust me," I said in a whisper.
Drake's eyes narrowed.
"Back off, Dragon," Eloy said in a low voice. At least someone trusted me.
"Come on," Ari said. I followed him out and he led me to a tiny door that led to outside. The warm sun calmed me down. I could breathe. Ari looked back at me and smirked. Oh this is a bad boy. Unfortunately for this guy, I was so used to this crap from Erasmus, Eloy, and kind of from Antonio that it didn't faze me much. Hell, I've seen Lowell try to pull off the bad boy crap when he was super into a girl.
With his free hand, Ari pointed at his scar eye and then at me.
"Looks like we got some stuff to talk about," Ari said with a grin. "I'm assuming since you brought him and how comfortable you were with the singer, I'm assuming you see what I see."
He only mentioned Eloy. Not Drake.
"What are Drake's eye color?"
Ari straightened up a little, looking a bit put off. "What?"
"You heard me."
"What does his freakin' eye color have to do with my question?"
I waited.
"Seriously? That doesn't even make sense." Ari said. The bad boy persona slipped a little.
I stayed silent.
I remember when a therapist pretended to see what I could see. I was looking out the window. They had kept it open because it had been a pretty summer day. They saw me looking out the window and they said, Ah, I see her. There had been a little faerie on the windowsill. I believed her and talked about what I saw.
More pills came. Pills that made me sick. I remember vomiting, resting my cool cheek on the floor in my bathroom. I wasn't going to repeat that no matter what.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Ari said, "You're stubborn."
I detected a slight accident. I hadn't caught it before, but he had an English accent. Not strong or heavy, but there was a hint of it like he was trying to hide it.
He rolled his eyes and sighed as he stared at me. "Fine! Your friend's eyes are bright pink. Happy now? When he wears his magic, they're brown. Though it's hard for him to hide it, isn't it?"
"Okay, I believe you," I said, "But how did you get your scars? Was it from-"
Ari waved a hand in front of his face as if getting rid of a fly. "The big guy with wild white hair? Yeah. Where else would I get it?" Ari looked at me and leaned down. "Why do you look like this is new to you? This shouldn't be new to you." He stopped and thought for a moment. "Wait, did you think you were the only one who had sight?"
I leaned back from him. Yeah, of course. I hadn't met anyone with sight. I hadn't heard any other faeries talking about sight. Drake came to protect me because there weren't a lot of other humans with sight.
Do you know how many humans have sight?
Drake didn't know. Did he? I frowned.
"Oh girl, you have been around too many faeries if you think that," Ari said with a belly laugh.
"Are your scars exactly like mine?" I asked.
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Ari said in a sing song voice. I thought about taking a swing at him. This guy poked at my nerves like it was nothing.
I slipped off a jacket I wore and pulled down the shoulder of my t-shirt a little to expose my shoulder to show him. Ari's eyes widened a little.
"How did you get yours?" Ari asked. "When the guy with wild white hair got you?
"Car crash," I said. "When I was around eight."
Ari's smile fell off his face. "That's interesting." He said as he touched his chin and leaned down to get a better look at me. "For me, it was a car crash when I was twelve. Killed my mother." He said it with such blatan disregard that I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not about the dead mother part.
"My mom lived."
Ari shrugged. "Still you're the first one who has a similar MO to me."
How was he saying this so casually? A small part of me was still freaking out. How was he so comfortable? Like I haven't meant anyone like me. Lowell was the closest! And he doesn't technically count since he doesn't have scars.
"But you've had it longer than me, so that's even weirder."
Why was it weird? How could that be weird?
"I'm fascinated though-"
The door opened and I jumped a little. Oracle stood there, smiling. He looked so freaking calm. I didn't get it. Why was acting like this was all normal and nothing weird was going on with it.
"Everything going okay out here?"
I nodded. Hell no, everything is not okay, but I'm not admitting that out loud for someone to hear. I wanted to poke my head in to find Drake, but I forced myself to relax and smiled back at Oracle. I have to remain calm. I don't know who knows what and I can't to play it safe. I just need to get more information.
"We're good." I pointed to a oddly shaped statue.
Ari stuffed his hands in his jeans. He frowned and anger rippled over his face. "You're seriously just going-"
Oracle held up a hand. "Ari, not now."
"But-"
Oracle sighed and he looked a hundred years older. Ari deflated a little at this. He looked like he might start pouting at this. He shook his head.
"See you later, short stuff," Ari said. He walked around Oracle and went back inside. "Someone better entertain the pink eyed weirdo."
"Yes, you do that," Oracle said. Ari mumbled something and shut the door hard. "Excuse him, he gets excited when he meets someone new."
Why did he sound like he was talking about a over excited dog?
"He didn't do anything bad," I said.
"He wasn't supposed to be so pushy," Oracle said, "but I have to admit, I was surprised meeting you." Ah shit. He knows. Does that mean has sight too? Maybe? Probably since he mentioned Drake's eye color. "I hope I hid my surprise well. I really didn't want to spring this all on you. I was hoping to be a bit more opened then that." He stopped and looked at me. "Are you alright?"
I wasn't sure what to say.
"You-"
"Breathe, Matty, you're looking a little pale." Oracle said as he walked over to me. "We don't have to talk about it right now. Let's finish the shoot. We can set up a time to discuss all of this." He put a hand on my shoulder. How could he think finishing a freaking photo shoot would help me? He basically just confirmed that he has sight or knows about faeries. Oracle inhaled and then exhaled. "In, out, I'm sorry I shouldn't have sent Ari out here. He's not kind to new people. He can be rather blunt, but the scars were the same. It was hard for him not to get curious and I didn't stop him."
I felt dizzy. Okay, so there were a lot of humans with sight. Apparently. How did I not see this? Wait, was it a lot? Was everyone in the warehouse known for having sight? How long has this been going on? Why hadn't I gone out online to find more people? Or something like that?
Therapists. Mom. Bullies. Why relive that online?
"Breathe," Oracle repeated and rubbed my shoulder. He smelled like cigars. I hadn't noticed the heavy scent before.
"Wow," I said as I held my head in my hand. "This is a bit much."
Oracle rolled his eyes. "Ari is a bit much on his own."
I shook my head and tried to get a grip on myself. For god's sake, I've been in worse. I need to get it together.
"Do you mind standing by the statue?" I said. Oracle looked a bit concerned, but went over to the statue. Once I lifted the camera, my light headed feeling went away. The camera grounded me. It felt safe. Once I stood behind the camera, the world made sense.
_______
"Are you sure you don't want Drake out here?" Eloy poked his head outside the door after thirty minutes of me taking photos. "He's starting to be a pain in the ass to everyone."
"I'm sure," I said. I didn't need Drake barking in my ear.
"He said something about his uhh, strength being useful," Eloy phrased carefully in front of Oracle. He didn't know. I looked at Oracle.
"I don't need him." I repeated.
Eloy deflated and looked at me before throwing himself to his knees and in a dramatic voice said, "Please, let him come out here. He's whining and even my Cassandra can't calm him down."
"Well, tell him I need space." I said.
Eloy shot me a look that told me he contemplated on killing Drake. Eloy and Drake still didn't like each other after all this time and I couldn't blame either one of them, but this was getting to be a bit obnoxious.
"It'll be okay." I said. "I promise."
Eloy shook his head, but he got up and closed the door behind him. I sighed.
Oracle took note of this. "Is your friend always so-"
"Needy? No, he's being an ass-"
"I was going to say close," Oracle said. I looked at him. He was smiling in a understanding way like he knew why Drake was being so pushy.
"Yeah," I said, "he kind of pushes his way in."
"That doesn't surprise me," he said with a slight smile. "Faeries have a habit of doing that especially when it comes to human women."
I didn't like that phrasing.
I shrugged and got a few more shots. They didn't look really good, but I didn't want to focus on Drake. I knew he probably glared hard at Eloy when he told him about what I said. I could see him scowling and complaining and muttering under his breath. I could see it so clearly that it annoyed me.
"How long have you been working behind the camera?" Oracle asked. The sun sank into the ground.
"Uhh, well, I've done photos since I was a kid." I tried to get faeries in pictures to make a point, but had a hell of a lot more fun than I thought was possible.
"Your parents must be proud, working for the Times," he said with a kind smile.
Mom probably was proud, but she concerned herself more with my mental health, medications, and then living an idealic life in her nice house. There was also the neighborhood association she liked looking good for and her flowers had to look the best for the church ladies. Sure, she was proud, but there was a distance.
"Mom is," I said.
Oracle tilted his head. "What about your father?"
"Oh you know, he left after I got my scars. He wasn't interested much in me after that." It was the truth. Dad had now just started calling me up since I started making connections in the celebrity world. He had been calling since seeing a photo of Rose and I online. I don't know why she insisted on posting it at the time.
"He can't be that thoughtless."
I shrugged. "It wasn't thoughtless. He does it purposely. I don't fit into his life now," I said and shrugged. "It's okay though, so you don't need to give me that look."
Oracle relaxed his face.
"I apologize," he said. "I'm still surprised how parents react with their children with sight."
"They don't exactly know."
Oracle titled his head. I snapped a photo. The look of curiosity and wonder looked good on him. Oracle looked like he wanted to ask more question, but smiled instead.
"You're not an outsider." Oracle said, "even though you feel like one."
"Uhm, thank you?" I said.
I wasn't sure if there was some kind of bullshit going on. My gut feeling told me yes.
Oracle tensed. He looked over my head at something. A chill wind slicee through me. Oh hell, now what?
I turned and looked to see a woman. Definitely faerie. She towered over both of us. Her skin looked corpse white with long blonde hair that looked like molten gold on top of her head. Two hours sprouted from the temples and curled like a ram's horns. Blood red eyes looked at me and veins sprouted at the corners of her eyes. Her long nail were jet black. She wore a heavy red cloak.
"Where are you?" She hissed. Her head moved back and forth. Her neck stretched slightly as she did so. "There's so many odd humans here. I can't tell you apart. Where's the witch who tried to kill my prince?"
Oh hell, this was about Erasmus.
"I don't smell the Dragon," she said, grinning.
Oracle ran toward me.
"Matty, down!"
______________________________________________________________________________
Author's note
Hi guys, I've been so busy, I haven't been able to edit much. It wasn't the plan to be honest. I've been working on some freelance work that I got and finished this week. I hope you guys are enjoying the new story so far.
Honestly, I've been in a bit of a writing slump since my photography picked back up. I think when work becomes more consistent I'll be able to schedule more time to work on this. I'm going to keep to my deadlines though. I promise you that.
I need some inspiration. I might reread old books and find my inspiration there. If you have any book suggestions I'll take it as well.
I hope 2020 is treating you all well. Thank you for everyone who has voted, commented, and read the revamped versions of the series. Also thank you to everyone who has read the old version too. I'm a bit embarrassed by those since I don't think they're very good, but you guys seem to like them.
Okay, done rambling. Have a good day guys!