Cursed

Finn, sadly, lost consciousness leaving me in a panic. Shailey’s mother grabs me and desperately tries to pull me away but I frantically reach for Finn, grabbing his arm and holding it for dear life. I can’t let go. I won’t let go.

“He’s going to be fine, Kieran. Just calm down, come on we need to look at his wounds,” she says, cooing me and stroking my hair gently. The panic is still there but I feel myself begin to calm as I watch her husband and Finn’s parents remove Finn from my house. They obviously don’t call the hospital but that makes me worry.

Will he really be ok?

“Don’t worry. Finn will be fine. He’s obviously not human and a wound like that, I admit, will hurt a lot but it’ll heal,” Shailey informs me after her mother managed to get me to her car. Nodding silently, I rest my head on her shoulder and try to grasp what had just happened.

“Am I dreaming?” I ask out of the blue.

“Sadly, no. This is the truth. This is what Finn and I have been hiding. He wasn’t lying when he told you what he was and I…well my family are kind of like his guardians. We watch over him and his family to make sure they don’t y’know, cause any trouble,” Shailey explains while examining my neck and stomach. She frowns at the sight of blood staining my shirt. I hadn’t realized that I was and still am bleeding until she points it out. “My mother and I will have to look at that when we get home.”

“And…and are you guys going to, like, erase my memory or something?” It’s a dumb question but now I really can believe anything is possible.

Shailey laughs and apologizes for doing so. Shaking her head, the girl answers, “We don’t know how to do that and we won’t. Of course, you need to promise not to tell anyone about any of this. My parents and I trust you but…but if anyone were to find out Finn and his family could be hunted down and murdered.”

Too shocked and scared to say a word, I just nod. I don’t know what to say, how to react. Never in my life did I ever think I’d be in a situation like this. I mean, who the hell would? It’s crazy, insane! But…I really like Finn and if this is his secret I’ll accept it. I’m sure he needs someone to and I’d be glad to be that person.

~

My parents had arrived not too long ago but instead of telling them the truth, which they obviously wouldn’t believe, I said that the power had gone off. I told them I went straight to Finns and I had no intention of coming home. Kendra ended up going over to my house though to talk with my parents and calm them down about the whole thing.

I refuse to leave Finn’s side. His parents, along with Shailey’s, already tended to his wound. He has been unconscious on his bed for what felt like an eternity. But someone up there must be watching me because Finn finally awoke but he fell back onto the bed at the realization that he was injured.

“Finn!” I shout and lean over him. He’s looking up at me in a bit of a daze, probably from the pain.

Finn seems a bit shocked to see me. Furrowing his brows, the boy asks, “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

I wanted to scoff, maybe even laugh at such an idiotic question. “Why would I be!? Finn…you saved me and I…I said all those terrible things to you and I thought you were lying. I’m so… So sorry…”

I didn’t notice the tears running down my cheeks until one dripped from my chin, landing just beside Finn’s head.

“You should be afraid. I’m a monster.”

I have the strongest desire to slap him, to shake him and scream at him for even thinking such nonsense. But the boy is hurt and I really don’t want to be the reason for any more of his pain. He already got hurt because he was protecting me. I won’t let it happen again. “Monsters never protected anything though…because they have nothing to protect.”

And I don’t care if Shailey or anyone walked in. I lean down to kiss him because all I want is to know that he’s ok, that we’re going to be ok. Feeling his lips on mine, it makes me feel safe and secure. When we pull apart, Finn is silent and I know why. He’s exhausted.

“Get some rest,” I order, kissing his forehead like a mother would. He smiles softly to himself and easily falls back to sleep.

Sighing, I decide it’d be best to tell everyone who it was that attacked me. I don’t believe Shailey had the time to say a word since she had to keep me from having a panic attack.

“Kieran, are you ok? Does your stomach still hurt?” Kendra asks, getting to her feet the moment I enter the kitchen. She’s by my side in a second and I feel a bit odd because…I’m not frightened at all. One would think that suddenly learning the truth of this family it’d make my view different but it doesn’t. I feel the same.

“I’m fine but…I just wanted to say that…that it was Markus who attacked me. I met him a while ago and I’ve been having this feeling someone was watching me but I thought nothing of it. He told me to stay away from Finn and earlier, earlier he said we must maintain a pure race and he planned to kill me to keep me away from Finn,” I somehow manage to explain in one breath.

Casey seems the most shocked out of the bunch, not that I’m surprised. It’s his brother after all. Growling, the man says, “How dare he…my own brother!”

“Please, calm down, Casey,” Shailey’s mother, Dana, says and places a hand on Casey’s shoulder. He shakes his head angrily and rests it in his hand.

“I can’t believe he would…we have to find him. He deserves to be punished.”

“And he will be but you must stay here with your family and Kieran. If anyone can protect them all, it’s you.”

Casey exhales and nods. Kendra offers me food and drink but I decline. I can’t eat now. I can’t do anything so I return to Finn’s side, who is now awake again. I huff angrily. “I told you to sleep.”

“I can’t,” he replies, turning his head to face me. “I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not leaving. I don’t feel safe around anyone but you.”

“You shouldn’t. I’m a freak, a monster-”

“Don’t say that!” Shouting never helps anything but I felt it was necessary. Finn honestly, truly believes that and I can’t believe it. It pisses me off. If there is one thing Finn isn’t, it’s a monster. “You’re not a monster or a freak. You are Finn and you’re you and I like you. I don’t care if you’re a vampire, a fairy, a wizard, a werewolf or even a gnome, and I hate gnomes, I like you for who you are so don’t you ever say that.”

“You mean that?” Finn once again chews his bottom lip, something I noticed he does a lot.

I nod vigorously and sit at the side of his bed. Finn reaches for my hand, wrapping his fingers with mine. It feels great to have his warm hand around mine. It feels right, perfect. I smile and say, “Yeah, I do…you like me too, right? Because if you don’t I’ll be really fucking pissed.”

Finn manages a laugh but flinches from the pain. Frowning, I ask if he needs anything like water or maybe some medicine. He shakes his head and gestures for me to lean over, so I do. Wrapping an arm around my neck, he pulls me down to capture my lips. I obviously don’t fight to get away.

The kiss is short and sweet and when we pull apart Finn sighs in relief, “Don’t be pissed because…I feel the same. You drive me nuts, Kieran.”

“Well, I try!”