Page 16

Chapter 16

Haden

E veryone stared. I heard their whispers as they watched me walk down the path. I heard them call me a freak. I didn’t need more of a reason to feel out of place in this village than I did growing up with the town drunk as a father. Smiling to myself, I walked with my back straight and my head held tall. I didn’t care much about what they thought of me today.

My gaze scanned the crowd to see if she was close by, but I didn’t see her, which made me frown. I hadn’t seen her in a week. The village was bustling today because Barron and his two friends had been found dead in the woods. I smiled when they blamed monsters. They weren’t wrong; a monster had killed them. The void had shared those memories with me. He also shared us flirting with Della.

I could only remember bits and pieces of when I was void. Most of it felt hazy and only came in flashes that didn’t always make sense. But I remembered Della—how damn pretty she was with her big eyes and soft lips, the way she watched me carefully like I was the most interesting thing she had ever laid her eyes on. Gods, I didn’t know her, but when I looked at her, I felt like I did. My chest ached with something furious as Della took up every thought.

I should've kissed her.

Something hitting my chest pulled me out of my daydreaming. I glanced down to see a giant tomato sitting at my feet. The rotten fruit left a huge stain on one of the only shirts I owned. Damn it, I couldn’t afford another one. Fuck, I couldn’t even afford this one—I stole it. When I turned to see who was laughing, I wasn’t surprised to see it was the young noblemen of the village.

Little fucking pricks.?Would the town notice if I started picking off all these noble bastards one at a time?

Kira was with them, laughing like it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. I was not about to give them a reaction. So, I didn’t say anything as I kept walking toward the woods. There was only one thing on my mind, and that was seeing Della.

“Hey, Haden!” One of them called. “Did you make up an imaginary friend because no one here likes you?”

I ignored them. It shouldn’t matter what they thought. My mind was already weighed down with everything that had happened at my house last night, and I needed to get out of there before I unleashed hell on the whole town.

“Freak!” one of them yelled as I made my way into the forest. I heard them all laughing, but I still didn’t say anything back.

My face ached with pain from the beating I had received from my father the night before. I closed my eyes tightly as I tried to get rid of the sound of my sister, Remy, begging him to stop hurting her. My father had always been cruel, but it was usually toward me. When I went to see what was going on, I found my father pinning her to the wall by her throat. I don’t know if I had ever felt anger like that before.

I saw red. Unfortunately for me, though, my void side did not come to my aid.

I had charged at him and did everything in my power to beat the shit out of him for hurting her. But in the end, my mother had helped him by distracting me, allowing him to land a sucker punch. Then he kept just beating the living shit out of me. Remiah had tried to help, but I told her to go so she was not hurt anymore. I did not understand why the void monster side of me did not attack and kill my own father.

Maybe there was a way to control this other side so that I could use it at my own disposal. I had tried to bring it out before, but it didn’t listen. What was the point of becoming a monster if I couldn’t control it? When I reached the small clearing in the trees, I sighed heavily. The relentless ache I had experienced my entire life was unbearable today. I didn’t want to feel it anymore.

The sky was a heavenly blue, and the sun warmed my cold soul. It would be a good day to die. I inched closer to the edge of the cliffs. How many times had I thought about throwing myself off, but at the end of the day, I never could? Remiah needed me. I sighed heavily as I ran my hands down my face. I looked up to the sky and begged the stars to stop torturing me with a shitty life.

“Haden?” I turned and glared at Kira. Her red hair flowed around her. Kira was pretty, and she knew it. She used it to her advantage with the noblemen in the village. They all loved her, but for some reason, she was always pestering me. She had always lingered and watched, but I never enjoyed her company. She was too cruel.

“What?” I snapped.

I looked at her, but I didn’t look for long. She didn’t interest me in the slightest.

“You look upset.”

No shit.

“I am.”

“Can I help?” She was inching toward me, but I wanted her to keep her distance. She stopped when she was a few feet in front of me. I stared her down as her big, blue eyes filled with hopefulness. Gods, she was unpleasant even to be close to. She smelled terrible, like bitter lemons.

“Help?” I scoffed. “You can help by running back to your little friends and making some more jokes at my expense. And staying far away from me.”

Her fake friendliness slipped for a moment, showing me the real her, the stuck-up brat that only wanted me because she could never have me. The sight of her disgusted me.

“I didn’t say anything.” She glared. “Besides, I much prefer your company.” She lifted her hands and grabbed my face before sliding her hands down my neck, then shoulders.

“What are you doing?” I gripped her hands and shoved them away from me. Why did she think I would ever want her touch? There was nothing nice about the way I was looking at her, so why didn't she take the fucking hint?

“I can make you feel good. I can make the sadness go away, and you can make me forget everything that happened to my family.”

She leaned in to kiss me, but I turned away from her before her mouth touched mine. Her lips hit my cheek, but then she kissed down my neck, and her hands shoved their way up my shirt. I didn’t like it. Before I could shove her, the void began pulsing inside of me violently. Fuck, it did not want her hands on me either.

Get her the fuck off of us. She does not get to touch. Shit. The void had never communicated with me like this.

“Stop,” I demanded. “I don’t like being touched.”

She didn’t stop.

“You don’t have to pretend you don’t like it. I won’t tell anyone.”

Kill her if you must. He was pissed.

I wasn't going to kill her.

Fine, but Della probably will.

My eyes snapped to the woods behind her when I thought I saw movement. Nothing seemed to be lurking, though, so I tried to focus on the fact that Kira wouldn’t take her hands off of me. Her touch did nothing but offend me.

“Get your hands off of me now.” I shoved her away so she couldn’t reach me.

This made her fake friendliness disappear completely.

“You really are a fucking freak.” She sneered. “You should be happy I’m showing you any attention.”

“It kills you, doesn’t it?” I bared my teeth viciously.

“What?”

“That every man in the village will crawl into bed and share you, but I never will.”

She swallowed hard at my insult. I had never stuck up for myself. But the void was buzzing with excitement.

“Do you know why they don’t mind sharing you, Kira? Because you don’t mean anything to any of them. It doesn’t matter how many men you sleep with. They will never love you; they won’t marry you.”

She gaped at me, and I stopped smiling at her. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it immediately and suddenly looked like she was scared to move. Something made Kira suddenly freeze and turn to look over her shoulder. After a moment, she began looking around frantically, but I didn’t know what was wrong with her.

“Haden, did you hear that?” She asked worriedly as she watched the woods.

“I didn’t hear anything.” But as soon as the words left my mouth, I saw Della. There she is. I smiled. Her bronze skin popped against her black clothing. She stood at the tree line, but when Kira looked in that direction, she didn’t seem to see her. Della’s pretty, star-colored eyes glanced at Kira and then moved to me with a frown.

Way to go, you upset Storm. The void sighed.

“You’re still seeing her, aren’t you?” Kira looked at my face as I stared at Della and admired her. Every single thing about her caught my attention.

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t care if she thought I was a freak or told everyone. Remy was the only one who believed I could see a woman anyway. Kira frowned and peered around us. Her blue eyes skipped right past Della, who was watching us—me.

I shook my head like it would get rid of her. It didn’t, thankfully.

She was right there. How could no one see her? Della’s black hair tumbled in waves over her shoulder when she tilted her head to the side. The dress she wore had small, thin, black straps that showed off her flawless, dark skin. In the shade of the trees, I could see the faint silver light of a glowing tattoo that was wrapped around both of her arms.

“You’re scaring me, Haden. No one is standing there.” Kira’s face looked at me with concern, like I was a freak. My chest was tight with worry that Della would see how others treated me and decide I wasn’t worth her time anymore.

She won't think that. The void was confident.

As much as I didn’t want to, I looked away from her and focused on Kira. Della had hardly spoken to me. I should not feel this way about someone I barely talked to. But the void inside of me hummed at the sight of her. The memory of how soft her voice had been hit me and made me long to hear it again. Maybe I had lost my fucking mind. But I remembered the feel of her soft hair twisted in my fingers as she stared at me; that was not fake. My hands fisted at my sides. I wanted to be that close to her again.

Kira stepped back up to me, and I stepped out of her reach. Her blue eyes narrowed on me.

“I will snap your fucking fingers if you touch me again.” My anger slipped from me.

“I don’t understand you, Haden. You don’t have anything to offer anyone, and I’m here trying to give you company, and you act repulsed by me.”

“That is because you fucking repulse me.” I sneered at the perfect ‘O’ her mouth made at my remark. I had never looked at anyone like I looked at Della, especially not this pompous bitch.

Her face was red with indignation. “I’m the only one in this fucking realm that doesn’t recoil in disgust when they see you,” she yelled.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I snapped at her. “I didn’t ask you to follow me.”

“You are lying about your feelings for me.”

“I’m not,” I spoke truthfully. “My gods, woman, how many times have I told you to leave me alone?”

“Maybe something is wrong with you,” she muttered. “After all, you see a woman that no one else can.” My eyes narrowed on her as she continued her rant. “And you’re passing up an opportunity to be with me. I’m of noble birth, and you’re lower than shit. You have nothing to offer anyone.”

I clenched my jaw angrily. I knew I was nothing. My father made sure to tell me how worthless I was every day. He had told me from a young age how no sensible woman would want to marry a freak. But back then, he had been talking about my elite magic. Now he said it because I saw that woman.

“You are such a bitch.” I rolled my eyes. “Do your little friends know that you chase me around, trying to sleep with me? What’s wrong, Kira? You already spread your legs for all the noble boys in town, and now they don’t want you anymore? They realized you aren’t anything special?”

She slapped me, but it was nothing compared to the beating from last night.

“I’m the best you’ll ever get,” she hissed.

Suddenly, Della was directly behind Kira. Her face was unrecognizable as anger took over her features. Her eyes turned pure white, and it called to the void part of me.

There's my girl. The void was proud of this reaction.

“Why is she speaking to you like that?” Della questioned. “I can kill her if you want.”

Yes.

Kira didn’t say anything as the woman’s angelic voice wrapped around me, making me feel something I had never felt or seen before. Della stared at me with expectant eyes. I subtly shook my head, making her frown. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The way she was watching Kira made me realize that Della had a dark side to her too.

Kira noticed me staring at an empty spot. “Look, the freak is seeing the woman as we speak.”

“That’s it,” Della sighed. She lifted her hands, and the blue sky filled with dark clouds, with lightning cracking above us. Kira glanced up, and when she did, Della moved closer to her. I saw her whisper something to Kira, who froze.

“Who is that?” she asked, hastily looking around. “You can’t threaten me; do you know who my family is?” Kira screamed into the woods.

Della watched me closely, smiling like a psycho. Fuck, she was breathtaking when she was mad. Then a bolt of lightning struck the ground at Kira’s feet, melting part of her shoes. She stumbled backward. Her big blue eyes widened as she looked around.

“I’m leaving!” she snapped, but she wasn’t talking to me. “I didn’t want him anyways.” Kira turned and ran away. When I looked back at Della, she gave me a look of worry.

“She is unpleasant,” she said defensively, like I was looking for an answer to her little outburst. “Honestly, you should have just let me kill her.”

She was a bit unhinged, like me.

“Are you possessive, Storm?”

“Only when it comes to you,” she whispered like I wouldn’t hear her. My heart beat rapidly in my chest at her words for some reason. Her pretty eyes widened. “Shit, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

I smiled as panic filled her eyes.

“I should go,” she said, but I could tell she didn’t want to leave. She turned to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist and turned her back around. Her eyes stared at where we touched before meeting mine. Something somber filled her features when she looked at my face. She looked… haunted. The void did not like to see this look in her eyes. It began pulsing inside of me, but I didn’t let it surface. A sudden noise coming through the woods made us both look away. Remy was walking toward me, and when I looked back at Della, she was gone.

Damn it.

How did she get out of my grip without me noticing?

“Haden, what are you doing out here?” Remiah’s blue eyes, which matched my own perfectly, drifted around us, lingering in the woods for a moment. Her eyes softened as she looked at me.

“Just thinking about how shitty our life has been,” I sighed as I looked around.

I needed more time with Della.

“I see they threw a tomato at you again." She clenched her jaw. “Maybe you should use your magic to get them to leave you alone.”

“And give them another reason to talk more shit about me?”

I shrugged like it didn’t matter. But it did. I had never belonged here, and neither did Remiah. Remy looked at me and frowned before looking up into the sky to admire the sunshine. She sighed with contentment before looking back at me. Her smile disappeared as her eyes traced over the bruises our father left on my face last night.

“Do you think our lives will ever get better?” I asked.

I expected her to scoff or roll her eyes at my question. We never let ourselves dream of a life better than what we had. Our parents were worthless drunks. Their parents before them were the same. I did not know how to change my fate so that I would not end up miserable like my father.

“Yes, it's actually part of the reason why I came out here to find you. I wanted to talk to you about something.” She nibbled her bottom lip nervously.

“Whatever it is, you don’t have to be worried about telling me,” I assured her. Her eyes roamed over my face as she moved forward and hugged me tightly. When she pulled back, I saw worry still clinging to her features.

“You remember when you said you saw the woman in town that day?” I nodded. “I believed you right away.”

“I know.”

“There was a reason why I believed you so quickly, but I was too worried to tell you that day.” She paused. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner, but I also started seeing a man that no one else can. I saw him the day you saw the woman. I was in the yard doing chores, and he was suddenly there, watching me. He looked terrified when I asked him what he was staring at,” Remy laughed.

I stood still at her confession.

“What do you mean?”

“The day you told me about the woman, I started seeing a man with star-colored eyes. I realized quickly that I was the only one who seemed to see him.” Her eyes shifted to the woods. “He’s here now. I’ve been spending time with him. His name is Mikel. I like him; he makes me believe that my life can be better.” She squeezed my hand tightly and smiled. “Have you talked to the woman?”

“She was talking to me, kind of, before you got here. Honestly, she seems terrified of me.”

Remy chuckled softly.

“He used to be scared of me, too. It takes them a bit to warm up to us.”

“Why do we see them, Rem?”

“Maybe it’s because we are twins. I’m glad I met him. He is kind.” She peered toward the woods like she was reliving fond memories. But then I realized that she was staring at the man, even though I did not see him.

What was wrong with us? Had our father beaten us so hard when we were younger that it fucked up our minds?

My sister looked happy as she stared at the invisible man. It wasn’t a look I was used to seeing from her. We were both barely holding on to the will to live. Life had not been kind to us. We were bitter and filled with hatred, but something about seeing my sister look engrossed with this man she saw made me happy too.

However, jealousy also bloomed in my chest at my sister’s happiness. Why did Della keep running from me and not stay?

“How did you get him to spend time with you?” I asked.

“I told him he better start staying longer or I would never look at him again. He didn’t like that much, so he started talking to me, just very slowly at first. Now he doesn’t shut up.” She laughed, and I smiled at her. “I’m going to go say hi. Are you going to get away from the ledge?”

“Yes,” I promised. She gave me a big hug before hurrying over to the tree line. I watched my sister smiling, cheeks flushed and her eyes wild with some emotion I had never felt.

Feeling as if I was interrupting something special, I turned to head away from them. My mind raced with what Remiah had told me. Why could the two of us see them when no one else could? Were they even real, or were my twin and I equally as fucked in the head? Slowly, I walked through the woods. Nothing in particular caught my attention, but I knew I was being watched. My gaze flickered around the tall, leafy trees.

“I know you’re watching me,” I called out. She didn’t say anything, but she also didn’t show herself. “You know you can stay longer next time. You don’t have to hide from me, Della. You’ve already seen my monster, and I’m just starting to catch a glimpse of yours.”

I waited, and for some reason, my heart pounded wildly with anticipation. She was watching me from somewhere; I could sense her close by. She stayed hidden, though.

“The next time I see you, I expect you to stay for longer than a minute. If you don’t, then I will stop acknowledging you altogether.” It was an empty threat. I could not stop thinking about her. There was no way I could walk away.

Maybe I had lost my fucking mind. Everyone in town already called me a freak. They might be right. Sighing heavily, I headed toward my house. As I passed through town, it felt like everyone was staring at me more than normal. I kept my face down because I didn’t want to see their disgust toward me.

“Haden.” I froze at Kira’s voice. When I turned, she was standing with a few fae I didn’t know well, mostly guys.

“Kira.” I looked over her face, confused. She glared at me with a burning hatred that I had not expected. I realized she was more pissed off about me not reciprocating her feelings than I thought.

“Is it true?” One of the guys chuckled. “That you’re still seeing things that others don’t?”

My eyes drifted to Kira, and I glared at her because she had told them. I ignored their jabs and started walking toward my house again.

“Stay away from Kira, you freak!” the same guy yelled. Anger filled me because she was the one always chasing after me. So, I turned around and glared at Kira.

“Oh, Kira, did you not tell your friends that you were trying to sleep with me in the woods today?” I spat at her. Kira’s pretty face turned bright red. “Stay the fuck away from me, Kira.” I tossed that out there just to be a dick. They all shut the fuck up and turned toward her.

“You have a thing for the town freak?” The guy laughed.

“Fuck you, Haden!”

I glared. Then I turned back to my trek as her friends laughed and made fun of her for slumming it with me.

When I got to the front door, I took a deep breath, knowing what would happen when I walked in. I had snuck out of the house this morning to avoid my father; now I was going to have to pay for it. I opened the door and was met with a gut punch that had me crumpled to the floor instantly. My father didn’t stop there.

He spewed nasty names at me and told me how worthless I was. He just kept hitting and kicking me until he got tired.

“Get your useless ass away from me.” He spat on me as I crawled to my room. My mother sat in her fucking chair watching as always but never sticking up for me. It was hard to think that life would get better than this, but I was happy that my sister was able to feel something other than this all-consuming sadness I felt.