Page 44 of My Broken Mate

I don’t answer him. It’s not necessary. Instead, I look up at the moon, a full moon, wondering how often I was hiding somewhere as a kid and looking up at the sky, hoping for the goddess to save me or my family, my mom, my brothers, and crying because she never did.

How many other hurt and abused children were watching the same moon at the same time? At times, this was my only comfort to know that I am not alone in this world. And then there was Sean, shielding me as much from me as possible, and then Remy. I think Dad had a weak spot for him, or rather, his mom,which is why he didn’t beat him as much as Sean and me. But I feel like Remy is slipping away more and more nowadays, so what do I know?

I don’t know a fuck.

“Let’s change the topic,” I say.

“Yes, sorry,” Eve mutters. “I was the one mentioning him.”

“Not your fault at all,” I say. “My father was a monster through and through.”

Chapter thirteen

Vermin

*GABRIEL*

Ihave been walking through the gallery for an hour now. Eve shares the exhibition with two other artists, but he is definitely the main attraction. I wish I had something smart to say about his work, but I have no idea about art. In general, I am probably the least artsy person on the planet. I work better with numbers, statistics and textbooks.

Sean has a talent for writing, and Remy for cooking, but I am just genuinely and utterly untalented in any artistic area.

Eve has been following me in silence. He seems to be the only person I know who doesn’t mind me pondering when I see their work.

“You really like maggots, don’t you?” I finally say, staring at the obscure picture in front of me. It’s a wolf’s head with all kinds of worms eating its brain.

“No, why would I like them?”

“Because you feature them an awful lot.”

“I guess I do, but I don’t have any particular feelings towards them.”

“So, why do you paint them?”

“Justbecause. It’s like a vision that comes to my mind, a muse, and then I draw. And then, when I look up, I see the outcome for the first time, the way it is.”

I have no idea what he is talking about, but I doubt any explanation he could give me would satisfy my need for understanding. Eve just lives in his own world when it comes to his art. Frankly, I am glad I don’t know more about where he gets his muse from, going by the gross vermin he keeps drawing. “Can you paint something nice for a change?”

“Joel asks me the same,” Eve says. “He says I should paint nude or a romantic couple. Maybe I should?”

“Could you pull it off without making it weird?”

“No,” he says. “I don’t know anything about love in the first place.”

“Have you never been in love?”

“No. You?”

“Not really,” I admit. “There was so much going on at home that I never felt like I wanted to get to know someone. I studied instead to make sure I had a future ahead of me. What’s your excuse?”

“Dad wasn’t a great mate. He loved us and was a great father, but as a mate, he sucked. He constantly cheated on Mom. The funny thing is, he did love her, but it didn’t stop him from sleeping with other women. If that’s love, I’d rather live without.”

“Goddess, we are completely lost,” I sigh. “Kinda pathetic. Sean doesn’t seem to be searching for his mate either.”

“Same with Joel, but we don’t talk much about this kind of stuff.”

“Neither do we.”

“Katalina,” Eve says with a warm smile. “She is different. She has dreams and hopes for the future, she is kind and joyful, and I want her to remain that way. I want her to stay that way and be allowed to dream.”