Indignation (7 page)

“Now, you’re just overreacting, Brady.” She laughs.

He shrugs. “I may be, but one thing is for sure, you need to stay away from him. He’s not good, Alyssa. Even you know that.”

She gently kisses his cheek. “Don’t worry, I will it make it my life’s goal to stay away from him.”

“Alyssa?” Brandon and Alyssa turns toward the man standing behind them.

“Jim?” Her eyes widen in surprise as her best friend chuckles while she stares at her long ago crush like an idiot.

“No hug? Not anything?”

“What? Oh, sorry.” She jumps up on him in a loving embrace. “It’s really you. Isn’t it, Jim-Jam?”

“I got discharged. I’m here to stay for a while.”

“Glad to have you back man. Allow your trespassing school property. You graduated years ago.” Brandon pats his shoulders.

Alyssa doesn’t let go of Jim. She did have a crush on him, actually she had for a while, but when he graduated two years ago he went into the military. She always wondered what could have happened if he stayed in the state. She pulls away slowly to stare up at him. He’s even more handsome since he left. His brown ashy hair is a contradiction to his clear blue eyes. The slim body that she knew he had has transform to that of a man with a buff body, but not too much. You can really see the role the military has played in him.

“You look even more beautiful than I remember.” Jim states lovingly.

She blushes. “Thanks. I-” The double doors of the school’s main entrance slams open, leaving the students shocked still. The all squint when the bright stray of sunlight temporary blinds them.

Julian walks down the hallway with everyone moving out of his way. No one ever willingly stayed closer to three feet away from him. That isn’t that hard since the school is too big for the population that actually goes there. 

He doesn’t even try though. Alyssa doesn’t understand how everyone can fear Julian when all she could have felt towards him was a pull. His raven black hair always made his black eyes pop with malice. His choice of clothing doesn’t help his image. His leather jacket clads to his body as the shirt just defines it. His jeans are topped with a black leather belt. He looks almost the same as she remembered him four years ago. Even his eyes show no emotion like always, but as his eyes meet her she knew this isn’t the same Julian she once fell in love with. He always showed a smirk towards her way, but now his lips are pursed in a thin line. She looks away from those eyes that are too intense to hold.  

Jim narrows his eyes. “Is that-?”

“Julian’s back.” Brandon informs him.

“Since when?”

“Since a week ago.”

“Alyssa?” She looks up at those blue eyes that always comforted her somehow. “Are you okay?” Jim asks.

“You know you and Brandon should get together and come up with questions that actually make me feel better. Of course I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine.” She turns toward Julian. “He’s a man who will not affect me, you know why?” She knows her voice is loud enough to be heard over the quiet crowd. “Because he means nothing to me.” Julian eyes bore into hers. She will stand her ground and not let him immediate her. She’s strong for this, she can do it.

Julian stops right in front of her. “At least you admit it. I can tell you the feeling is mutual.”

“I have only one thing to say to you.”

“What is it?”

She takes a few steps forward to stand right in front of him. “Stay the hell away from me.”

“That won’t be possible.”

“Why not?”

“We have unfinished business.”

“I don’t think so.”

A hand grips on her arm, pulling her back. “Alyssa, come on. Let’s get you to class.” Jim says behind her.

Julian takes a step forward. “Well, this is interesting. I left you with great company.”

She can hear the double meaning to his words. “You’re not even worth my time Julian. Have a great life. Jim, Brady, let’s just go.” She walks a few feet away, until she is pulled back by her wrist and slammed to the locker.

Julian holds both her wrists in his hands as he pressed his body to hers. She flinches from the circulation that’s being cut off from her wrist. “You come closer and I will make her pay for it.” His eyes never leave her, but she knows he’s probably warning Brandon and Jim. He leans down eyes so frightening that she shivers. She never thought that he would ever physically harm her. “I will tell you this once. Listen carefully.” He says through clenched teeth, but his eyes remain expressionless. “I live up to my name. Test me one more time and you will see exactly what I’m capable of.” He steps away from her seeing her drop on the floor with a thud.

She stares at her wrist. There’s hand marks are noticeable to confirm that he really did harm her. She closes her eyes to hold the tears back. She won’t show him weakness. He doesn’t deserve it.

“Alyssa.” Brandon’s worried voice makes her open her eyes to see him and Jim kneeling in front of her with concerned looks. Julian is nowhere in sight. “I’m going to take you home. We have to talk.”

She nods without any resistance. How can she be so stupid? She was slammed against the locker by Julian and she did nothing. All the time she has been fighting underground with touch colleagues were thrown out the window. That means she’s still not safe. She needs to go back tonight. She needs to try harder.

“I’ll meet you at her house. I have to do something first.” Jim states before he walks away.

Brandon drives her home without much conviction.

<><><>

Julian stares at the number that flashes on his smart phone. He narrows his eyes as he answers the phone call. “What is it?”

“I have found it, my king.”

“What did you find?” He questions.

“The Gem of Nephthys.” Hans, his loyal lycanthrope, has worked for him for centuries, says on the other line.

Julian nods. “How did you get it?”

“The Goddess does not know the way of the Keepers when she visits the mortal realm. As the Keepers do not know where their loyalty stands.”

“Good work, Hans. You have done more than expected. You know where to find me.”

“I will meet you at midnight as always, my King.”

“Hans, do not shift. It will hide your tracks.”

“I understand.”

He hangs up. The Gem of Nephthys is priceless. He’s been searching for years with no luck now it will finally be in his possession.
Dues
will
not be able to trap him much longer. He needs more factors to have his plan work, but with the Gem it will help track everything else down. He’s getting closer to his
thronum
.

Julian snaps his head towards the sounds of a human running. He sees Jim Hort running towards him. He doesn’t know how a human can risk his life to follow him.

The human male stops a few feet away from him with a threating posture. “I want you to stay away from her.”

“Leave before you regret ever crossing my path.”

“You don’t understand. It’s not a question. I’m warning you to stay away from her.”

“If I choose to leave her alone it will be up to me. I make the rules.”

Jim takes a threating step towards Julian. “This isn’t a game, Julian. I will make sure that nothing harms her and if you even dare to lay another hand on her you will have to deal with me, understand?”

“I’m not very fond of threats. Watch your words; choose them wisely because it may be your last.”

“I’m not scared of you. I’m scared of what you will do to her.”

“If you are asking if I will kill her, I can answer that. I will not. I have bigger plans then just a simple kill.”

Jim shakes his head. “Just leave her alone.”

“I want you to hear me clearly. Alyssa belongs to me. I will do whatever I want to her and she will take it because that is what I expect from her. If you or Brandon come to give me empty threats, I will make it seem like wolfs attack you both. That’s my word, and I always keep my word.”

Jim couldn’t hold his anger. He throws a punch at Julian, but Julian isn’t at the same level in strength. Julian grabs Jim’s fist and flips him over. Jim tries to stand again, but Julian has a firm grip on his throat before he can blink. He forces him to stand and then he slams his head on the concrete floor.

“I don’t like threats. Make one again and you won’t live through the fight.” Julian leaves the broken man on the floor.

He drives to the house that lives the one woman he can trust.

“Julian? Is that you?” Miranda walks towards the living where he takes a seat.

“Hello, Miranda. How are you adapting to modern life?”

“I have been trying endlessly to adapt for over centuries, but humans change their traditions, their clothing styles, their music, their language, I just do not see it in myself to ‘catch up’.” She air quotes while she says it in a strain voice.

Julian nods. It is true. For hundreds of years their traditions have not changed until it one day just transformed into something strange and unforgettable. The villagers like it and it spread through the territories then to the countries until everyone changed together, leaving very few to reverse it.

“You will learn.” He states.

She pulls her strawberry blonde hair up into a well done bun. “I am working on some of the sayings, but the only accomplishment I have are in dreams. Everything seems much easier in dreams.”

“That’s why they are called dreams.”

“I have a question, but do not dare mock me with it.” He nods for her to continue. She takes a seat beside him and crosses her ankles. “What is L.O.L?”

“Miranda that is every teenager’s favorite word. How can you not know what it means?”

“I said not to mock me. I went into the Market and heard teenagers say L.O.L to each other and then they would laugh. What is so entertaining about it? I do not find the letters amusing.”

“It means ‘Laugh Out Loud’. Humans use it to tell each other that their topic is amusing.”

Miranda shakes her head. “I will never understand the human minds.”

“You are not supposed to. You are dead. You just watch over them.”

“Yes, you are right. I still need to adapt. I will need to do much more research. I will just ask Gabriel.”

“He would be a better teacher than I would be.”

She lays her hand on his shoulder for comfort. “Gabriel should not have assigned you to Alyssa.”

“Her name is Annalisa.”

“What has she said to you?”

“That I meant nothing to her.”

She sighs. “She must be lying. She can’t be Annalisa.”

“It’s her, Miranda. I know it’s her.”

“How do you know? You did not even recognized her four years ago.”

“Her eyes. It’s the same eyes that looked at me before-”

“Be careful, Julian. Love and hate are close in its path. You love her.”

“I despise her.”

She knows for a fact the fate has its twisted ways on having the challenges of love be tipped to the edge, challenging everything in its wake. Something has been forming in her head for long time now. The pieces to the puzzle don’t connect smoothly like it should. She has a theory on the events of 1567 that will come to the light when she has evidence to back it up.

“You need to protect her.”

“I have no choice in the matter.”

“You do, Julian. You still love her to not let any danger come to her with or without being her Elim.”

“Miranda, no one will harm her, but me. I will make her confess to it. She will acknowledge her wrong doing.”

“Hurting her will only hurt you.”

“That is the only way we know how to communicate.” He stands with determination. “I will end her Miranda. I never forget a betrayal.”

“Be careful on your choices. It could come back to haunt you like the past.”

“The past is already haunting me, now I’m coming to terms with it. Step by step.”

Miranda doesn’t know if her findings will be too late. Julian is not a patient man and he doesn’t have strength to control the king within himself. The dark always covers the light. The question will lie on his wings. Will he end her life before his king takes over?

Memories

“Jim? Brandon! Jim’s hurt!” Alyssa yelled when she saw him leaping through the front door.

That was a couple of days ago. Jim is recovering from his broken leg, and bruised body. She can’t take the image of him so broken from her head. Only one answer comes to mind when she thinks about his silence at the question she asked. ‘Who did it?’ Who would hurt a man and leave him broken without a reason?

That’s when she started to fit the pieces together. The reason what clear and so was the culprit. Jim doesn’t have enemies and it’s less likely for him to even be at a bar to consider maybe a bar fight. It all leads to one man who is capable of doing that harm. Julian. Jim and Brandon took Julian’s warning when he had her pinned against the lockers. Brandon would always stay with her and make sure she would be okay. Jim is a fighter. He’s been taught to fight for what is right and he probably went to follow Julian.

How can the man that she loved be turned into such a monster? Or was he like that when she was with him? Is that the reason that everyone, within distance, feared him?

She closes her eyes, not paying attention to the English lecture. School seems unimportant to her suddenly she wants to just go home and check on Jim. She has convinced him to stay in her house while he recovers. 

“Ms. Pike?” She looks up to notice the substitute teacher smiling politely at her.

“Yes?”

“What is your opinion on trust?”

She frowns at the question, but answers it either way. “Trust is earned by actions that actually speak louder than words. Trust is something that you can rely on when everything else seems so diverse, so complicated. Sometimes you ignore the small things that you distrust, but when you notice it, it’s too late to go back. The point of trust is to acknowledge everything that comes along with it, just like love, but only it can be broken easier than the actual affection.”