overdue
1078 Words
*Avery’s POV*
“I will do whatever you need as long as you spare her, and my family,” I say as I bow my head in defeat. If I can’t kill him, how else will I beat him?
“You have my word,” he says, his cold fingertips grazing at the nape of my neck as he rounds me. “I won’t harm them, as long as you follow orders like an obedient little pet.” If I didn’t think the curse of wanting to drink the blood of the one I need to be close to, now I was enslaved not only to thirst but the master who made me the abomination I am. “First things first, you need to go home. The longer you are here, the less use you are to me. And you can probably guess what happens if you cease to be useful.” I look up at the monster as he licks his, staring out the cave. “I bet she has the sweetest blood. Don’t give me a reason to drink her dry.”
I consider leaping to my feet to tear his head clean off his shoulders, so what if I die?
He lets out a menacing chuckle. “foolish child, you think I am the only one? If I die, the coven will send another to exact my revenge. You don’t want that, believe me.” It was hopeless. I am helpless, useless. I am filled with guilt and remorse. How can I bring such travesty to the ones I love most?
“I can’t go home unless I am expelled,” I tell him, my shoulders slumped forward at the increasing weight placed on them.
“Then get expelled.”
“How?” I raised my head to look at him.
“Don’t pester me with the details, boy. You have a head. Use it,” he hissed as he spun around at lightning speed, stopping just an inch from my face. I can feel his icy breath on my face. “I am hungry. Find me someone to sink my teeth into.”
“I- I can’t,” I say in protest.
“Now!!”
*Oceania’s POV*
“Look, isn’t that the girl who ran off during the night?” I hear a girl whisper to her friend as I drag the green wheely bin across the lawn. Yes, I am picking up the trash as my punishment.
“Did she really think she stood a chance with THE Avery Black?” another gossiped.
“Pathetic! I hear she ran off into the woods hoping that he would rescue her,” the friend answered.
“Pathetic!”
I feel a pain in my chest which leaves me breathless. My hands tremble and my knees go weak. Hearing his name hurt me. Remembering what he said last night hurt me even more. I stand up, willing myself forward as I reach for a discarded wrapper on the lawn. My hand closes in on the wrapper, only to collide with a cooler and stronger one. Standing up suddenly, I gasp in surprise.
“It’s you!” I say breathlessly.
“And this is you,” he smiles. I feel my heart beat ferociously at the proximity I had to him.
“You know, this is my punishment, not yours,” I told him.
“Yes, and I’m sorry,” he said as his hands clench into fists. I can feel the anger vibrate off of him, but I cannot figure out why. “If you hate me so much, you are free to leave me alone.”
“I don’t hate you,” he says, his eyes softening as he looks at me.
“But I thought...”
“You thought wrong. I rejected you because you deserve better, not because I believe I do.” Something about the ways he speaks makes me want to touch him, comfort him, reassure him. In a knee jerk reaction, I find my hand meeting his.
“I never said that I accepted your rejection.” He pulls his hand away from me in a quick, jerking action.
“You should,” he scolds me as he turns to leave me standing alone in the middle of the courtyard as everyone looks at me. I keep my head down, avoiding the stares of practically every student here. I walk back to the main building to return the bin to the janitor’s room. Marge stands just on the inside of the entrance talking to the populars. I keep my head down as I try to go unnoticed.
“Oceania,” she calls out in a melodious tone, “you missed something.”
I stop and turn to her just as she pours out the contents of her paper soda cup, discarding the strap, cap and cup on the now wet tiled entrance. “Oops!” she fakes surprise right before breaking into hysterical laughter. “You better clean up this mess before someone gets hurt.” The terrible two laugh with her, thinking she is funny. She is not funny. She is mean. I scurry down the passage when I see a teacher raise a questioning brow at me. I Am glad Avery isn’t here right now. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this. I was about to cry when Steph joined me in the janitor’s room.
“They are mean and miserable,” she tells me. “Don’t pay her any attention.”
“It’s hard when everyone is staring,” I sniff back my tears.
“Give me that,” she says, grabbing the mop from me, marching toward the crowd of giggling girls.
“Oh, so she called her sidekick for backup, did she?” she said while her brainless bimbos burst out in laughter.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Steph says with a snarl. Wiping up the mess carelessly as I stood a few feet away, staring. Frozen to the spot.
“Hey, watch yourself,” Marge exclaims, jumping back from where Steph had mopped, right over their designer shoes.
“No, you watch yourself,” Steph challenges. With the other girls gone, I walk up to her, amazed at her bravery.
“That wasn’t necessary,” I tell her.
“Oh yes, it was. It was long overdue too.”
- Writer
