Storm Brew

I'm not sure how long went by since I told him I wanted to discuss my mental dysfunction. I kept staring at him with my aquamarine eyes, he stared back, though, he was having a blast watching my expression. I admit, it was probably pretty funny since I looked like a deer caught in headlights which was better that than road-kill.

"Wait—" I started.

Aric held up the empty cup.

"I'm going to grab a refill. Take that time to make up your mind, luv."

He opened the door—I noticed for the first time it was made from dark wood—and closed it.

If Nate knew what I was doing... Well, I wasn't actually doing something wrong but he'd be pissed. I hadn't told him about his rescue, about Aric's involvement. I only hoped Anna didn't tell him, she wasn't a snitch—she'd never done it before. Right now, I was missing on their radar and she could freak and open her mouth. I had to be the one to tell him, if I wasn't… hell would probably open up like Pandora's Box.

Twisting in bed I felt my hair. It was still a little wet from my "bloody" shower. I heard an owl outside it reminded me of when Nate and I camped—illegally—on the road side going to Strafford. I slapped him and got away with it. I think that was the first "nice" thing he did, letting me get away with it, that is.

"Reached a conclusion, luv?"

"Jesus!" I jumped, my heart gaining the speed of a Cheetah. "I hate when you do that…"

By 'you' I meant every single assassin I had met. They were like stealthy ninjas ready to pounce—it was spooky.

"Do what?" He plopped down on the office chair. Instead of a cup he had a bottle. "It might be a long night." He explained shaking the glass bottle my way.

"You snuck in and…" My head was still hurting. I was craving another sedative right about now. There was something in the back of my mind since I woke up. Parker… had Aric done it—killed him? "Did you have anything to do with Parker's death?" I crossed my arms putting up a strong facade.

Aric's high cheekbones were highlighted by the bedside lamp's light—it was strange how there was a slight resemblance to Nate's.

"With the whole blowing up business?" I swallowed. "No," he shrugged off. "I didn't have a reason to. He was useful to me. I didn't even consider it, really." Okay that was good—assuming he was telling me the truth.

"So… when you said I was behaving like a soldier from Vietnam—what does that include, exactly?" My eyes traveled to the window as a tree branch moved, and then back to him.

"Sleeping disorders, nightmares—"

"Hallucinations?" I interjected.

Aric blinked quickly.

"I guess," he crossed his legs at the ankles. "That would explain why you kept calling me Drew when I dragged you." He mused before taking a long gulp of his beverage.

"I called you that?" Why was I even surprised? "Would it make it go away if I told you or someone... would it go away?" I asked with an edge to my tone.

Aric studied the question. I could see him take it apart.

"Not right away," he sounded honest. "And it won't take it away completely—it won't be enough."

My mind was reeling with information. What if I was never alright again? Nate wouldn't want me this way—no one would, but it wasn't like I wanted anyone else so...

"First, telling someone about your nightmares does help—your dreams and hallucinations are a mix of your doubts, insurances you've gained from doing what you did. Killing, in your case."

Hearing him talk was captivating, it wasn't only because of how velvety his tone sounded—he seemed to know just what he was saying. I knew the Hive taught many things to their agents, Nate's vast knowledge about a little bit of everything was a proof of it. So, did The Order do the same?

"You seem to know just what you're talking about." I shared my thoughts.

"I did say I was top of my class." He reminded with a shift in his chair.

"Do you think I'll be normal again?" I'd forgotten who I was talking to at the moment just for the simple fact that I was desperate to know the truth.

Aric set down the bottle looking me over, staring at my face.

"That depends," he replied. "If you accept what you've done things should return to normal." Then he held up a hand, keeping me quiet. "It takes time, though. Don't expect it to be gone a week from now—or never a month. You're worried about what you've done and conflicted, I imagine. It takes time to get over a trauma, luv." Wow, at least boldness was something he didn't lack.

"I don't see how I can ever be alright with killing someone..."

"Yes you can," he discarded with a sophisticated snort. "Were you ready to die?" I closed my mouth and frowned, Aric smirked tilting his head into the chair's back. "See? No one wants to die given the chance to live, luv—it's human nature. We're selfish." He shrugged. "Whoever does selfless things and wants nothing in return can't be telling you the truth."

That made my doubts about spike.

"Isn't that what you're doing, helping me without asking for anything in return?"

Aric's emerald eyes deviated from the light staring to me.

"Are you always this distrustful?" I shrunk into the pillow a little more, it couldn't be helped, it was soft and my body was sore. "You should just accept that what you did had to be done, though. It's what happens with animals—they die so we can eat them, for we to live they have to die. It was the same with you and Drew, the sooner you understand that, the better."

It made sense, it was the same Nate had told me, wasn't it? What he had done, the first time he'd killed, Nate had felt relief, wasn't that what I felt when she died? Maybe it was... maybe I had felt something after all—perhaps the calmness filling me wasn't numbness, it was relief. Relief that me and Nathaniel were alive.

I don't know when it happened, it sounded like a melody playing—like from an old music box. Those with the ballerina spinning in the middle. The hum was a slow, easing lullaby my eyes closed catching Aric staring to the outside with a natural intrigue belonging to his persona.

My brain hit the bottom—shutting down.