Chapter 10: Storytime

Where the hell did he even come from? How do these people keep appearing out of nowhere like this? Although at this moment, and right here, I am not complaining. He might have saved me from losing the only thing I have left in this life... My own life... But I can't be sure right away, I'll wait and see. Maybe he only stopped her from killing me because he wants to do it himself. "Nate?" Ava's voice bursts the little bubble of thoughts I was floating in. The way she asked that makes me think that she is taken by surprise just as much as I am. I guess I am not the only one he can impress with his skills. If even another of his kind is astounded by what he can do… But now that the star dust has settled, I can register more details about him. The difference between the way he held himself during our date and the way he's carrying himself now is night and day. I am having more trouble reading him. It's like he shut the blinders behind his eyes. Is it because of Ava's presence? Maybe it is just me... I mean, I might just have a preconceived notion of what a brother sister relationship should look like. But I don't have any siblings, so what do I know about it? What prompts me towards my doubts even more is the way he's dressed... He looks like he had to ditch a very important business meeting to come here. I don't know the exact type of silk his black suit is made of, but I sure know it's expensive. This uptight style has nothing to do with the chill fashion he chose yesterday. "What are you doing, Ava?" I feel a small nip in my heart upon hearing him speak again. A nip of joy? Fear? Relief? I have no idea, still. Ava looks back at me for a split second before turning towards him once more, "She knows! About you... About us! She saw the wolves yesterday, and she saw what you can do! I heard her talk to the other woman at the hospital, she was trying to get information about Adeline," Ava doesn't spare any breath, she lays everything she has out to him. Her delivery is choppy, but she still gets the point across. "It seems you saw the wolves and what I can do, too, yesterday. You were following me again, weren't you?" Again? That leads me to believe that she follows him on every date he goes out on. No wonder he's still single, with a sister like that. I don't envy him in that department. "She is human! How could I not when the only way it would have ended is a disaster?. And I was right! It did end that way! Now, she knows about us!" She is not calming down any time soon, is she? All the while, I am just sitting here like an extra piece of furniture in this room... I am third wheeling this moment… "And then what? What would you have done if I hadn't intervened? Were you going to kill her?" he asks her the same question I'd asked before, but he does it in a very calm tone. She is not calming down, but he sure can. In the first few seconds I'd laid eyes on him since he showed up in here, I was able to perceive a few veins, very timidly protruding from underneath his skin. He seemed to be doing his best to keep his cool. I am still not exactly very sure why, but he was. "No, I wasn't...," her fists still clenched, she averts her gaze away from him as she grumbles those words, no longer able to look him in the eyes. "No, of course not! You were just giving her a reason to think we're monsters. You know, just in case yesterday's incident didn't scare her enough," for a moment I thought he was about to lose his temper, right there. He hasn't raised his voice or anything, but there was an undertone there that, for some reason, reminds me of "the calm before a tempest". One that gives me chills. Her shoulder, along with her arms, slowly slumps to her sides after that statement, and she exhales as she looks at the floor. Allowing the realization that she'd made a terrible mistake to sink in. I, on the other hand, didn't need him to tell me how stupid it was of her to go along with the dumbass idea of kidnapping me without a solution to her problem already insight. I just need to know her age... I want to know how harsh I should be when judging her actions. I'll know based on the answer I get. She does look very young, but well... We may never know with appearances alone. "Mother will not be pleased when she hears about this," he says. Mother, huh? Not sure what I expected. With a sister like her, I can't say I am dying to meet the rest of the family. Well, part of me isn't, but... "Mother doesn't care what I do, anyway," she retorts in a mutter. "Not when your actions reflect on the rest of us," he remains as calm as he already was before, but... He sounds a tad gentler with his last statement. I don't know why but... It hurt to hear her say those words. About her mother... Not caring what she does... They sounded like they stemmed from deep within. I am sure whatever pain those words cause me, they must cut her much deeper. In a way, I guess, I feel like I can relate to her, I just can't put my finger on which way yet, that is. Or I can, and it's just that I don't feel like delving into it, not right now at least. You should leave now," he says, "You've done enough here," he adds, leaving no room for discussion. "What about her?" she gestures towards me. Right! What about me? I am still here. I've been sitting here all this time. I've watched their entire exchange, completely still, as though I am trying to avoid the wrath of a sleeping beast, I am too afraid to Awaken if I make the slightest movement. "I'll deal with her," he says. She does what she's told and exits the cabin, leaving me and Nathanael alone. His eyes finally land on me, and I can't seem to make up my mind on whether I like the way he's looking at me, or if I should be terrified of it. Now that I think about it, I don't know what "I'll deal with her" means. After all, he can just finish the job his sister couldn't. He doesn't look angry, but he doesn't smile either. "Are you alright? Did she hurt you?" he asks. "Oh! I think she was about to, but... umm... Thankfully, I still have all my limbs and my throat," my hand systematically travels towards my still sore throat. He takes a step towards me, but I jump out of my spot a little, so he stops in his tracks. He blinks one too many times, and he looks away from me, clearly hurt. I don't know if I should allow myself to feel any guilt about that yet. I am not necessarily afraid of him, but... right now, in his presence, I feel like I have ice cubes stuck from the back of my neck, down to the end of my spine. "She might have seemed like it, but... I can assure you she wasn't going to. She doesn't have it in her." I believe him at that, and I would gladly sit here listening to him make excuses for his sister's actions, but I still have more pressing questions of my own to ask. Although I am not sure I should. Ava was very volatile but not perspicacious, Nathanael, on the other hand... Same coin but flip side. "C'mon, I'll take you home." He speaks again, and I realize that it's now or never. I have to spark the conversation up myself since he doesn't seem to be willing to. I am having trouble reading him. He knows that I know, Ava told him what I was trying to do at the hospital, and yet he doesn't even bother asking me about it. He doesn't seem to be the least bit worried about me keeping his little... Big, fat, astronomical family secret. Unless he's not planning on letting me leave this place alive, "Your sister bonked me on the head and then dragged me into the middle of nowhere so that she could threaten me in peace. I don't know about you, but I think you owe me a few answers at least. Not to mention what happened yesterday," I don't know where this boldness comes from, as well. "Fair enough," Luckily for my ass, he doesn't just break my neck and move on with his life. He just stands there, throwing his eyes at everything in the room that isn't me. I turn to my side and remove the shredded purse that Ava had thrown on the couch earlier. I look back at him, attempting to communicate that I am inviting him to sit next to me. He takes a deep breath as he sits down and stares straight at the window facing the couch, "I was around Ava's age the very first night I ever shifted. It happened right here. I was confined to this cabin, by mother's orders," Indeed. He does like to use this phrase a lot, I noticed. It also seems like I am getting my answers, after all. It's not really how I expected the beginning of the story to be, but... I sure as hell won't complain about it. The more information I get, the better.