Page 7 of Illusory

“Really, Dominic?” I drew back slightly, feeling the nervous tension coil in my stomach. “And what choices does he have exactly?” I asked as I crossed my arms along my chest, armoring myself.

There was an unmistakable look of annoyance in his eyes as he regarded my folded arms. Leaning down, he picked up his glass from the coffee table and then returned to his full height to polish off the remnants of his drink. “Well, he can choose to accept it, or he can choose to take a long walk in the sun if he’s truly that dissatisfied with his circumstance.”

I flinched at his callous words.

“Or better yet, he could throw himself onto a stake if he prefers the quick and painless route. The possibilities are endless, really.”

“Jesus, Dominic. That’s not funny.”

“I didn’t intend for it to be,” he said icily as he slammed the glass down on the table and then sauntered out of the room, leaving me alone with nothing but the bitter taste of his abhorrent words and the dreadful feeling of being completely and unequivocally on my own.

* * *

Like a shunned leper, I retreated to the privacy of my bedroom to lick my wounds and sulk in peace. Locking the door behind myself, I plodded over to the ensuite bathroom and flicked on the lights. I needed to get myself sorted and cleaned up and I needed to figure out what my next move was going to be.

But there was something I had to do first. Something Ireallydidn’t want to face, but knew I had to.

With a plum-sized lump in my throat, I stood in front of the sink and stared back at my reflection in the mirror, trying to work up the nerve to turn around and assess my newestaddition.

A part of me was terrified of what I was going to find there. Would there be gruesome open wounds where the wings had been? Bloody gaping holes? Or perhaps just some dried blood and random plucked feathers stuck to my back like a slashed up down pillow. I didn’t have a single frame of reference for what to expect and it only made me feel more afraid to look.

But then there was the other part of me. The morbidly curious part of me. The part of me that just made mehaveto look when driving by the scene of an accident.

Because, apparently, my life had now become a car wreck Ineededto gawk at.

Sucking in a readying breath, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and lifted it up over my head before tossing it onto the counter in front of me and then slowly making a half circle. With my back angled toward the mirror, I bit down on my lip and glanced over my shoulder, ready for the absolute worst.

Well, that’s…interesting.

No open wounds. No gaping holes. No random bird feathers sticking out from my back—thank God. But there wassomethingthere.

Needing a closer look, I leaned further back until I was almost fully contorted over the bathroom sink.

Two strange scar-like lines ran over the length of each of my shoulder blades. The scars, if that was what they even were, looked old and settled, as though the wound had happened many moons ago and had long since healed. Only it hadn’t even been a couple of hours.

Goosebumps spread across my skin, and I shuddered at the sudden chill I felt.

I had no idea where those wings had come from or worse, where they’d gone now that they were no longer visible. There certainly didn’t seem to be any traces of them under my skin. Had they even beenrealwings? And what exactly qualified asrealwings? I had way too many questions and not a single answer to any of them.

Blowing out a breath of frustration, I retreated from the mirror and made my way over to the shower before turning on the faucet and stripping out of the rest of my bloody clothes.

After scrubbing my skin and hair clean, bandaging my neck, and then throwing on a fresh pair of jeans and a tank top, I pulled out my phone and texted my sister. I hadn’t seen Tessa since before the wingsincidentand needed to fill her and my mother in on everything that had happened. Because who the hell else was I going to talk to about this with if not them?

Hopefully, they would takethe feathery unveilinga whole lot better than the guys had taken it. Which basically consisted of gaping at me like I was the ghost of carnival’s past and then clearing the room faster than I could sayboo.

Surely, my own flesh and blood would handle it much better thanthat. Surely, they’d rally around me and help me come up with a plan of action. Because that’s what families did! Or what they were supposed to do anyway. Not that mine was exactly known for that, but still! They’d make it happenthistime. They’d be open and honest and wouldn’t abandon me in my time of need.

Well, you know, hopefully not...

* * *

Tessa and Jaqueline arrived less than twenty minutes later, dressed in all black and carrying stacks of old books in their arms as though they’d just burglarized the local library. I’d been sitting by myself at the kitchen table with an uneaten bowl of ramen noodles in front of me when they’d walked into the room and stopped suddenly as though spooked by something. The stop was so abrupt that for a second, I’d wondered if my new feathered body part had made another appearance and had to throw a quick glance over my shoulder just to be sure.

“What? What is it?” I asked after confirming that the wings were in fact still incognito.

Tessa’s eyebrows knitted together as she looked around the room. “Uh, where is everyone? What’s going on?”

“Did something happen? Is everyone alright?” added Jaqueline, casing the room as though the guys were hiding under the chairs, and she’d just missed them the first time around. Because, apparently, sitting at the table by myself was enough to raise both their alarm bells to kingdom come.

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