Lyra “So shall we try that again?” Felix smiled, stretching out his hands.
I looked at him then looked at his hands but still, there was still some kind of hesitation that I couldn’t let go of.
It just seemed like there was something about him that didn’t sit well with me.
It was one thing to meet a person but if the spirits didn’t align with it, that was another ballgame entirely and that was the way I felt in that moment, staring at the man I had just known for all of thirty minutes.
“Seriously?
After saving you from that?” he chuckled.
“I’m sorry…
I just…” I breathed in, trying to piece together my thoughts but they weren’t helping as they were all coming in bits, too fast for me to understand.
“I take it that you don’t do so well in crowds and you don’t like meeting new people?” “Well, yes.
You are right.
Where I come from…” I paused for a moment because I didn’t even know how much I could reveal to this stranger.
Given the fact that he had helped me in a situation I thought I would be caught, that still didn’t give him the freeway to know anything about me.
I had made that mistake in my father’s pack, a place I never wanted to go back to.
Kade had broken my trust and had taught me a great lesson so the next person that wanted to come into my life would need to do a great deal of convincing to change my mind.
“A penny for your thoughts.” he smiled.
I had zoned out and from the look on his face, I realized it had been for a moment.
I closed my eyes for a bit, my thoughts carrying me to places I didn’t want to go to.
My father, Selene, Kade…
Darius.
His name on my mind sent a jolt of pain through my chest so much that i nearly doubled over not only in the pain that it brought but the shock I didn’t expect follow.
“Are you okay?” Felix asked.
“Yes, i’m fine…
road sickness I guess…” I tried to play it over as nothing much but his eyes told me otherwise.
He did not believe me.
I couldn’t blame him though because I had been nothing but weird ever since he knew me which was also surprising because I thought by now he would want to have nothing to do with me.
“Then you should relax or better still, catch some sleep.
It’s a long journey ahead and by the looks of it…” he paused, checking his wristwatch.
“We should arrive in New York by evening so you have plenty of time to rest.” he added.
“Thank you.
But I think i prefer to just talk about things…
random things.
I owe you that much at least for trying to keep my company.
I’m sorry, i’ve been a terrible companion.” “No problem.
I wouldn’t expect you to begin telling everything to a total stranger.
I mean, what happened to keeping secrets and not revealing things to people you don’t know.” “I have been through a lot where I come from so i agree with what you said.
I have been hurt, and abused in ways you don’t want to think of and I guess that’s why i’m really hesitant to talk to people I just met.” “I don’t mean to pry but is that the reason you are going away?” The intercom gave its usual crackle before the driver’s voice came through, flattened by the cheap speaker into something almost mechanical.
“Next stop, Hartford.
Hartford, next stop, folks.” “Wow…
so soon,” Felix said.
“We’ll be stopping for fifteen minutes.
Restrooms are inside the station, vending machines to your right.
Fifteen minutes, don’t wander off.” the driver added.
“Yes.” I said, finally.
He paused to look at me, understanding dawning on his face.
I didn’t know why I had revealed that to him but I just felt it was right given how good he had been to me and I was becoming rude by being snobbish.
“I’m terribly sorry you had a bad experience.
Have you by chance gone to report it?
At least, someone should be held responsible.” he said.
Oh boy!
If only he knew.
“Where I come from, you cannot just go report.
There are people for that, mind you but there are several other things, factors that would make that to be a terrible mistake.” He shifted in his seat, quite uncomfortable with what I said.
The way I saw it, there was no explanation that would help him understand the way my life and the werewolves lives were run.
He was only human, a mere mortal man that didn’t have powers and if he knew just a bit about myself and everything I had passed through, I was quite sure he would go running for the hills.
“Wow…
that’s a lot.
Would you like to get something to eat?
We have a fifteen minutes stop over and we could really use the time.” I hesitated not because I wasn’t hungry but because I was scared any of Darius or my father’s men could spot me in the crowd.
Darius had the best trackers ever known to man and it wouldn’t take them time to find me and the last thing I wanted was to put Felix in harm’s way.
“You look frightened all of a sudden.
Are you sure you are okay?” he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m fine…
sorry I just…
All of this is new to me so it would take a while getting used to it.” I said, finally.
There was a confused look on his face but he decided to let it slide, instead focusing on the people climbing down from the bus.
“But you go ahead, I don’t want to stop you.” I smiled.
He wanted to say something else but he thought better of it instead choosing to remain silent even though I knew that took a lot of efforts from him.
“I’ll be back in a moment.” he said.
I watched him walk away, breathing a sigh of relief.
That had been very close but sooner or later, I knew I couldn’t keep dodging him and adding lies onto the ones I had told him.
My hands shook slightly as I tucked them into my laps, looking out the window as several people milled around, some in small groups while others were alone.
If only I had this freedom they had, this freedom of moving around without worrying about some pack or worse Alpha’s wanting to know your every move then maybe I would be unstoppable but for now, I realized that exposing myself in public places like this was not the best thing because only then would i be signing my death warrant.