Page 45 of Origins
Damen grinned, looking back at me. “Just go put it in some warm water, and you’ll be fine. Make sure you don’t make it too hot—only lukewarm. And be sure to soak for at least twenty minutes.”
Bossy, wasn’t he?
I glanced at Julian. He had already gotten to his feet, and was pointedly trying not to look curious. He seemed alright with letting Damen handle the instructions. But I knew that he probably also wanted some answers.
“Don’t worry.” Damen stepped closer to me, whispering in my ear, “If you want, I’ll fill in Julian with what you told us earlier—Titus too. You don’t have to talk about it again. In my opinion, they should know. To understand what Finn is capable of doing—and your parents. Is that alright?”
“I guess so.” I sighed. I didn’t have much of a choice—it wasn’t as if I could stop him. But it was really a terrible story. “If you think it’s important.”
“Hey.” Damen moved back slightly and gave me an even look—searching my face. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he must have found it because his mouth dipped before he continued. “It’s not about what I want. It’s what you are comfortable sharing. I’m only suggesting that they know because they’d be able to be a better support system if they had the details. But even if they don’t know, they wouldn’t abandon you. We’ve already said that we’re friends, right?”
My face heated—this whole concept was going to take some getting used to. Heck, it hadn’t even been a day. I needed time to come to terms with everything. But again, Damen was clearly something supernatural himself. I wondered if the others were as well. So whynottell them? They might even understand—at least a little.
My eyes focused on Damen’s necklace—the symbol still unreadable. “It’s alright if they know. Honestly,” I whispered, and it was true. It didn’t stop the shame, but maybe this was something that I needed to do in order to move forward.
“Doyouwant to tell them?”
My pulse spiked at the suggestion. I was a coward, and I was also sore and tired. I couldn’t deal with anything else today. I didn’t want to see their looks of pity when they knew. I was gambling on them being able to relate.
I shook my head—I didn’t want to be here. If they didn’t understand me—if they weren’t able to relate—then I just didn’t want to know.
“It’s alright if you don’t want to tell them, baby girl.” Damen nudged my chin up with his forefinger, and his eyes captured mine. “I’ll take care of it for you. Just say the word, and you don’t have to worry about it at all. There’s nothing cowardly about relying on others to help you when you feel weak.”
What was it about him—them—that had me yearning to trust? That made me want to have more out of life? It was almost as if I had finally found a place to belong—with them. It was strange, and way too soon.
But still… Slowly, I nodded. “Please.”
I still felt like a loser, despite Damen’s reassurances that this was okay. However, I attempted to follow his directions anyway.
Take a bath, he had said.Relax. I had lived with anxiety for so long that I wondered if my body would even know what to do in such a state.
I eyed the jar while I waited for the deep tub to fill, wondering what exactly the bottle held. Damen didn’t seem to have liked it when I shook the contents, so now I was afraid to move it much at all. He said he didn’t—but would he actually give me something that might explode?
If I died, I was going to haunt him!
The doorbell rang, and the telltale sound of footsteps reached my ears. I frowned, knowing it was probably Titus and Miles arriving. Soon, they would all know about my past.
I wondered how Damen would tell them, or maybe he already told Julian. Probably not, though. It made more sense to only tell the story once. On one hand, I wanted to know how Damen was going to handle this issue. On the other, it was for the best that I didn’t. I was sure to overanalyze any kind of reaction.
Besides, it didn’t matter. Damen had ordered me torelax.
I turned off the water—the tub almost entirely full—before I poured in Damen’s weird concoction. The smell of lavender immediately overwhelmed my senses, and I watched as the powder dissolved into a shadowy foam.
Some of my tension fled once I recognized the scent—the likelihood of being killed by a lavender bath was nil. What in the world had he been so worried about? Silly Damen. He must have been trying to scare me.
I soaked—as per Damen’s instructions—long after the twenty minutes had come and gone.
I wanted to give Damen time to go over…everything. And also give the boys a chance to either come to terms with it, or leave. But, come to think of it, I hadn’t heard anything for a while—not talking, not the sound of a door closing, and not even the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway.
I had been dozing at this point, but my head jerked off of my folded arms in alarm.
There shouldn’t be complete silence.
This was not a good sign.
I had to get out of here. Jumping out of the tub, I wrapped myself in one of the large towels as I rushed toward the bathroom door.
It was possible—but not likely—that this was all a part of my overactive imagination. Even so, there was a sense of foreboding in the air that couldn’t be denied.
