Being back in the castle grounds was all but a surprise to everyone, including myself. I never thought I would be back, much less still be alive. Tatiana was pissed no one had remembered her abilities, but her anger went away as soon as she saw the baby in Alices arms.
After a couple of rounds of the game 'passing Eva around,' Quinn checked my vitals in the room I had occupied before I had left, and left with a frown on her face as soon as she was done. Xavier quickly followed her, after making sure I was ok, leaving me by myself. I didn't mind being alone, as Tatianas words from a few hours before still rang through my mind.
Your end won't be coming anytime soon...
Did that mean what I thought it meant? That I was not going to die as a human? But that only meant one thing, and the thing went against everything I wanted. But was that really a bad thing?
Yes. Yes it is! My subconscious fought. It's taking away your choice! Remember, it's your choice, and not theirs!
A loud sigh escaped through my lips as I turned, my eyes flying open as sleep failed to come to me.
But then again... I thought, but shook my head and sat up, letting the sheets pool into my lap as I stared at the closed door. With quick, precise movements, I slipped back into my shoes and walked out of the room, wandering down the halls. For some reason, it didn't feel like I had been gone for days; it felt as if I had never left. The pain and my little vacation was just a dream, something my mind had come up with.
My fingers trailed against the wall as I walked towards my destination, waving and smiling at the people who wandered around the halls as well. I was a few steps away from the library doors when they swung open, and a handful of familiar faces walked out, laughing. They were a bit surprised to see me up and walking, but then they quickly forgot about that and one of the girls bounced closer.
"Eva! We are going for a few laps around the pool. Want to join us?"
"You have a pool?" I gasped. That was never mentioned in the tour...
Her brown eyes brightened as the group walked around us, the air filled with their excitement about water. "Yes!" She chirped. "Let's go!"
I stepped aside as I shook my head. "Oh no, don't let me stop you from going. Besides, I don't have a swimsuit or anything like that."
Her eyes traveled like an elevator, and the smile never left her face. "I think Melissa has a few things that can fit you. Come on, it will be fun! Besides, I know Xavier will like seeing you...." she stopped, wiggling her eyebrows and I felt my cheeks turning red as my eyes widened.
"Noooo. Now that's a double no." I palmed my cheeks, trying to hide the redness as she laughed and hook her arm around mine, dragging me back and away from the library.
"I was just joking. All the men are party poopers so we aren't allowed to wear two piece swimsuits." She rolled her eyes and my racing heart calmed a bit. My feet stopped trying to drag themselves and began to walk with her. She patted my hand when she felt me moving with her. "So a one piece it is!"
I nodded and the blush spread across my face again as I whispered out my next words. "I'm so sorry, but I seemed to have forgotten your name."
She laughed it off, clearly not mad. "Kayla." We entered a room that was floors away from mine, and a girl that I assumed was her sister was dancing around, a pair of shorts in her hand.
"Mel, do you have an extra one? Eva here need one and I remember you getting a couple new ones last month."
Melissa nodded, and danced her way to her closet, coming back with a black material in her hand. She threw it up in the air, and my hands caught it as she gracefully twirled while she took off her own shirt, officially leaving her in her undergarments.
"Come on, you can change in my room."
After going across the hall and quickly yanking the tags off, I scrunched up my nose at the sight that reflected back and put on my clothes again. Walking out of the bathroom, I noticed Kayla already in her suit, walking around her room confidently.
"You know, you'll just end up taking that off, right?" Kayla laughed once she spotted me.
"At least I'll feel comfortable walking down the hallway. I don't know how you can do it."
She rolled her eyes. "They are family. It's gross if they start to check me out. Besides, the only one who could be checked out is you, but since one of Xavier's sides already claimed you..."
The blush that seemed to be persistent around her appeared again, and she laughed. "That's not funny! I don't know how I feel about that! I'm not..." I bit my lip and continued whispering. "I don't know if I'm ready to be a supernaturals soulmate. I had a plan; I had already made peace with death, and then all of this happened and then it turns out that I'm his soulmate. I'm just-" I sighed, burying my face in my hands and stopped talking. We weren't walking anymore. I had stopped in the middle of my confession, and she followed suit. She actually pulled me closer to the wall so we could be away from any prying eyes.
"Eva... I..." I heard her gulp as her hand landed on my shoulder. "Does-" I looked up and saw her mouth moving, but no noise coming out. She seemed at a loss for words while I just gave her a small smile.
"This is my choice though, so please don't overthink it. Let's go. I actually want to relax now."
She nodded and silently led me to the pool, even though my nose could have led me the last few steps. The chlorine was strong, and it burned my eyes for a few seconds, but it quickly went away with a fan of my hand.
Kayla didn't hesitate to jump in. She abandoned me at the door and ran down the steps, screaming as she flew over the edge before splashing in the water. Her head bobbed up a few moments later, and she gave out a shriek laugh. "It's fucking cold!"
"Come on Eva! Jump!"
I bit my lip and hesitated as everyone else began to chant. The girls quickly realized my position, and began to smack heads, growling at them to turn around. The boys immediately understood and turned around or went underwater, and I quickly stripped. They catcalled and grinned, making the blush that had never faded get darker, before I quickly walked to the stairs of the pool, and went in slowly.
"Holy shit!" I screamed and immediately jumped back, joining in on the laughter as they all watched me. My bare foot slipped on the water as I took another step back, and I went crashing down, but someone caught me. By the way my body immediately relaxed, and my racing heart calmed down, I immediately knew who it was.
"I will never let you fall," he whispered into my ear as he set me on the first step. I shuddered and kept my eyes on the water, suddenly finding it very interesting. "I got worried when I didn't find you in your room."
"It's been like half an hour since you left me. Why would you be worrying?" I sidestepped, and walked around the edge, feeling his eyes on me. I saw Kayla wink before she swam away, going deeper into the pool with everyone else.
"Cause you're my-" The rest of his sentence was drowned out as I jumped into the water. I felt my lips wanting to part in shock from the temperature, but I managed to keep them shut as I resurfaced.
"Fücking shit!" I laughed as the group cheered on.
"Eva..."
"I'm fine," I sighed as I swam back to the edge. "See, I'm perfectly f-"
Out of all the times my nose decided to bleed, it had to occur right now. I felt it running down my philtrum at the same time his eyes widened. My hand went up to stop it from flowing down at the same time he picked me up without missing a beat. I heard people swimming closer to us as Xavier quietly handed me a towel for my nose. He grabbed another one and wrapped it around me, just as they reached us.
So much for swimming...
"Let's go back-"
"No," I mumbled through the towel and shook my head. I wiped my nose, wincing as the ache settled, and sighed as it began to bleed again. Xavier's eyes narrowed into slits and I rolled mine. "I'm fine. Stop it."
"You are-"
"Xavier, please. I will be fine here in a few minutes. I promise Quinn can check me from head to toe later on if that pleases you. I just want to have fun right now without you going all alpha male on me."
The words tumbled out of my mouth without a second thought. Snickers were spilled from behind me, and I turned just in time to see a bunch of heads ducking down as Xavier turned his glare to them.
"Fine. But I'm going in too."
My jaw along with the hand that was holding the towel dropped as he kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt. He took out a few items from his shorts pockets before placing everything in one of the many pool chairs available. His hand came up to cup my chin, before he gently lifted it up to close it. Even though I had lost blood, my cheeks somehow found some, and made my face all red for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He grabbed the bloody towel from me, wiped my nose one more time before he nodded to himself and dropped it next to his items.
"After you." He gestured to the water, and I robotically turned. Kayla was grinning from ear to ear as I slowly slid in, drawing heart shapes in the air in front of her. Sending her a glare of my own, I ducked underwater to get my revenge.