“Well, show me then!” I retort, and I gasp as his hands go to my hips, pulling me to him, and he slams his lips on mine as I hold onto his shoulders, in shock, as I kiss him back. Maxx kisses me harshly until I can’t think of anything but him and these toe-curling kisses that I know I will never forget. The warm feeling spreads over me, and he suddenly lets me go. I stare breathless as he walks away from me, running his hands through his hair.
“You’re what I want, but it doesn’t mean we can be together,” he tells me, not looking at me once.
“You will never fight for me, will you?” I whisper, and his silence says it all as it feels like my heart is breaking.
“Sounds like you need an escape from your light up boy,” Austin’s dark voice says from right behind me seconds before he wraps his arms around my waist. The last thing I see is Maxx running towards me, his eyes burning with anger, his body glowing so brightly before everything goes black.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“They were arguing, and he upset her! She needed an escape, so I helped her out!” I hear Austin shout, sounding defensive and a tad bit worried.
“You’re a fucking idiot! You can’t flash her out of anywhere, you could have killed her!” Landon shouts as I blink my eyes open, seeing that I’m on Landon’s and Maxx’s sofa in the living room which is spinning. I have to shake my head a few times to realize that it’s not the room spinning but my vision.
“Well, she has to do it once at some time. I am meant to be training her after all,” Austin replies, followed by Landon huffing about idiots. Austin is stood right in front of me, and Landon’s eyes fill with relief when he sees me staring up at him. Austin follows his gaze and turns around, grinning like he won an award or something. I hold a hand to my head when it feels like I have something banging against my head. Oh god, what happened?
“See, told you she could handle it,” Austin says proudly as Landon pushes him out of the way. I struggle to sit up as the world spins.
“You okay, Ura?” Landon asks, but all I can do is gently nod as the room continues to spin and makes me feel sick. I close my eyes, rubbing my head with my hands.
“Maxx is going to beat the shit out of you if he finds you,” Landon warns him. “I would get the hell out of here before he gets home.”
“Too late to run now,” Maxx’s cold, angry voice comes from a distance, and I turn my head slightly to see him standing in the door. Well, I see four of him as everything is still spinning, but I’m sure one of them is Maxx.
“I was only stealing my date back,” Austin defensively says. “She was meant to spend the night with me.”
“Tell me how you found her. You shouldn’t have been able to,” Maxx demands, walking into the room and right up to Austin, who holds his ground.
“A lucky guess,” he grins.
“Do you want me to beat the truth out of you? I’m close to doing it for fun anyway,” Maxx replies.
“Fine. I put a tracker on your car,” Austin admits. “Nothing crazy.” I jump when Maxx suddenly slams his fist into Austin’s face, nearly knocking him over, and Austin starts to glow.
“If you pull that shit with Freckles again, I will kill you. You understand me?” Maxx asks, and Austin looks down at me with a sinister grin before looking at Maxx.
“Got it,” he spits out, wiping away the blood dripping from his lip. Austin stalks out the room, pulling the door open and looking back at us once.
“Aura, we will train tomorrow at twelve. Be ready for a big change,” he says, his words sounding like they mean more than what he is saying.
“Not alone you won’t. I want training as well, so I will be there at all times,” Landon says, shocking me as I watch Austin’s whole face tighten in annoyance before he nods.
“You are not being left alone with Freckles after this shit, so I will be there too,” Maxx warns, and I notice how Austin looks furious before he walks out.
“Are you okay?” Maxx asks, kneeling down next to Landon.
“Why do you care? Shouldn’t you just walk away already?” I ask and regret it a little when I can only see pain in his eyes from my words.
“I didn’t walk away, give me a chance to explain,” Maxx asks, but most of me doesn’t want to. I know he is only going to hurt me in the long run. I look around him as a creak on the floor alerts me to someone else in the room, and a beautiful blonde-haired girl is stood near the door with a glass of water in her hands. She looks about our age, with waist-length blonde hair that is all curly, and an old-fashioned flower dress on her. The girl is actually really short, but that might be because the guys in here are all tall.
“Hi! I’m sorry about my brother. I brought you a glass of water if you want it. I know after my first flash I needed one,” the girl says, and Landon waves her over. She blushes at him as she runs in, and I know she must be Austin’s sister, Aliana. I see the way she looks at Landon and feel so sorry for her. Nothing good is going to come out of her loving him.
“Thanks, Ali,” Landon says, taking the water and giving it to me. I drink it slowly at first, and then I end up drinking it all quickly when I realize how much I needed that.
“Thank you, I’m Aura,” I manage to whisper even when my voice sounds like it is made of gravel, and she smiles at me as Landon takes the empty glass back, putting it on the side.
“I’m sorry my brother did that without asking,” Ali mutters, looking worried and very nervous.
“He could have killed her, Aliana. Sorry isn’t going to cut it this time,” Landon protectively snaps and her whole face drops, before she shakily nods and runs out the room. “Shit.”
“Go after her. It isn’t her fault, and I need to get home anyway,” I tell him, and he hugs me briefly before standing up as Maxx sits on the sofa next to me and I straighten up.
“Look after her,” Landon warns Maxx.
“You don’t need to ask. I will always look after her,” Maxx replies, and I look at him as he stares up at Landon. Landon eventually walks out the room as Maxx looks down at me. “Are you really okay?”
“I feel like I am hungover and have been screaming for hours. What happened?” I just about manage to say, hoping he can understand my cracked voice.
“The way we move so quickly, it is called flashing. We move through light or darkness, and it is always hard the first time you do it. But you are half human, and that could have killed you. It would kill a human,” he explains. “The risk was insane.”
“Then Austin is an asshole,” I mutter, wanting to slam something into his face.
“If he killed you over something so simple…I don’t even know what I would have done,” Maxx admits, and I go to place my hand on his shoulder, but I change my mind. Maxx seems to understand, his eyes staying on my hand as I put it back on my lap. If I can’t control the pull when I’m fine, I’m not going to be able when I feel like this. When Maxx lifts his eyes to mine, I don’t know how to read his expression. We went from arguing, to us kissing, and then him blaming me for everything that happened, to whatever this is because he was scared he lost me. Where do we go from here? I almost don’t want to pretend we are just friends anymore, and yet I know we can’t be anything more. He will never fight for me, and I deserve someone that would without a second thought.
“I hate how messed up this is…why would anyone be soulmates if they can only kill each other?” I ask, not really wanting an answer but he gives me one anyway.
“I don’t know, Freckles, and I so damn wish I did,” he admits. “We are going to end up destroying each other at this rate. I want to stay away from you, I want to push you away and blame you for everything…then the moment I think I lost you, I couldn’t cope with the thought of you not in my life,” he tells me, making my heart pound and my dry lips part. I can’t even think of a life without having Maxx driving me insane. It has become a daily part of life.
