Page 29 of Origins
Damen glowered at him, but it was too late. That was all the confirmation that I needed.
I stared at my clenchedfists. “It seems so obvious now. This ‘paranormal experience’ that you guys have is a family affair, isn’t it? Finnknowsit’s all real, doesn’t he? Are youalllike me?”
I was surprised, however, when Damen let out a soft, amorous laugh at my question. “You really do come up with somewild, outlandish theories.”
I blushed, embarrassed. After all, I thought I was onto something. It seemed logical.
“But you are actuallysomewhatcorrect this time,” he continued.
It took a moment for his words to process— my mind tired and muddled from the events of the day. But still, I didn’t miss the proud gleam in his eyes as he watched me.
“Wait,” I wondered. “Really? You are like me?”
“Not entirely correct,” Damen responded. “You are two for one.”
What was I wrong about, then?
“We both have paranormal experiences because our families are involved with certain aspects of the supernatural world,” he said. But his words explained nothing. “Finn, however, is fully aware of the realities of this world—paranormal included. But we are not sensitives.” As he finished his statement, a dark look overtook his features.
Meanwhile, I was in shock as it registered. He knew.
Finnknewthat I wasn’t lying—or sick. That the things I saw were real.
…and he still did those things to me.
My face felt wet as my heart shattered into a million pieces. “Why would he do that?”
Miles slid to the side, and suddenly Damen was kneeling in front of me again. “I don’t know why,” he said, holding my hands, “but I’ll be sure to find out.”
“I thought he was my friend.” I sounded so pathetic right now. “He was my only friend. I wasn’t even allowed to talk to anyone else.”
I could see the storm brewing in Damen’s eyes. “Like I said, I—we—will be sure to find out what’s going on with Finn. He’s a jerk and I cannot stand him, but he usually has a reason behind his actions. Probably not agoodreason, but I’m sure there’s justification in his mind.”
“In the meantime.” Miles took a seat, and leaned forward, catching my eyes. “It’s not like he’s been a very good friend to you, anyway. Based on just this one conversation—he’s more like a jealous, abusive boyfriend.”
I flinched. Yesterday I would have been overjoyed to hear the word ‘boyfriend’ associated with Finn, but hearing ‘jealous’ and ‘abusive’ mixed with that label made everything so much worse.
“I don’t know what’s normal,” I admitted. “I thought he was just protective. That he really cared. I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“Normal is different for everyone. To findyournormal though, you need to know what true friendship is like. There is a difference, however, between controlling and possessive,” Damen replied. “Luckily, you have us now. And we tend to keep each other in line.”
There it was again. Despite everything, Damen seemed so sure that he wanted to be my friend. “I don’t understand why you want to be my friend?”
Damen’s eyes lost some of that scorching anger at my question. “I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you a story.”
I wasn’t sure what a story had to do with anything, but I nodded anyway. He seemed to know what he was doing.
“Once upon a time, a handsome young man was waiting for his perpetually-late friend. It was the icing on top of a very bad day in a string of bad days. The young man had been bored with his life for a long time. He was full of ideas, but he lacked initiative and had no desire to do anything with them.” Damen’s eyes sparked playfully.
I fought the urge to hide my face, as I started to realize where thisstorywas leading. Miles, on the other hand, didn’t resist. He groaned and covered his eyes.
Damen continued, unashamed at how he sounded. “When his friend arrived—or so he thought—he opened the door to see an angel on the other side. He wasn’t sure what to make of her at first. But when she said that she was friends with the devil, he couldn’t help but be concerned. After all, no one could deal with evil without being burned. The last thing he wanted was for this beautiful girl to get hurt.”
With every cheesy word, my face burned even more.
“Then he saw that she was loyal, brave, and imaginative. Something strange happened. For the first time in a long time, he felt inspired. He wanted to help her—to learn more about her.” Damen paused a moment, and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “Actually, it was more than a want. He felt as though heneededto be with her. Why, exactly, he wasn’t sure himself.”
He touched my hot face with his finger, lifting my chin until our eyes met. Despite the playfulness of his story, nothing in his gaze indicated anything less than complete sincerity.
