Inconsolable - Chapter 7: The Secret

One week. That was how long it took until something finally happened. Chloe was told to stay inside the penthouse unless instructed otherwise by Valentina and was glared at if she even stepped out of her room. It was terribly boring and annoying, but she couldn't say she expected anything less

She had woken up to crashing noises coming out from the main area. Chloe felt her heart hammering inside her chest and woke up her body that was still fairly asleep from just being woken up, and tried her best to get to her door. She slowly opened it, hoping someone had just dropped something and not the alternative, which was that something had happened. Someone had attacked.

She looked out, noticing that it was still dark out. It couldn't have been morning yet. She switched her vision over so she could see better and tried to hear better, but things were silent. No one seemed to be inside that wasn't supposed to be. Aside from three other heartbeats and faint ones of those around their apartment, nothing alarming seemed to be there.

Chloe heard the small chatter of two voices, ones she recognized as Jasmine and Valentina. When she guessed it was okay to exit her room, she did, walking towards the main room in the glowing light of just her eyes. The two women looked up when she had taken no more than around 4 steps.

They didn't say anything so she kept walking towards them and as she did, she noted how Valentina's glare wasn't making an appearance and how Jasmine almost looked sympathetic. It puzzled Chloe for a moment, but she continued on her way towards the room.

She figured she'd get told what happened, that she needed to get back to her room ASAP. But neither of those things happened. So she looked around the room, trying to find the source of the breaking sound she heard. Then she noticed the glass everywhere on the floor. It was amazing that she hadn't hurt her feet already. It was everywhere on the floor, going from around the kitchen to the seating area.

Chloe was puzzled as to what could have made the mess. She trailed it all around, looking for the starting point. Then she found it.

Two of the tall glass windows had been broken out, a third one just broken in the top left corner. It was the two closest to her on the far left side of the room. She wondered a bit why she didn't feel a draft, but didn't think too much on it.

"What happened?" She asked after no one seemed to be speaking up. She heard Valentina's sharp intake of breath and lifted her head a bit higher, bracing herself to be yelled at or something. But it didn't come. The yelling, at least.

"Exactly what it looks like. We were attacked." Her voice was bitter almost, something that probably would have killed Chloe if she were under certain circumstances.

"The windows are broken." Chloe stated dumbly. Then shook her head when she realized what she sounded like. "I mean, they're broken, so why isn't anyone here? Don't you think they would actually - well, attack?"

Valentina and Jasmine shared a look before the older woman responded. "That's what we're trying to figure out."

Valentina started talking in a hushed whisper to Jasmine, Chloe getting the memo that she wasn't to listen. Even though she could, easily. Instead, she occupied herself with the window, still wondering why there was a lack of wind or temperature racing through the home. Thought the weather usually stayed moderate all year long, this year was turning out to be more bitter than other ones she'd experienced. Especially since it was later at night.

She wanted to walk towards the window for some crazy reason, but knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do barefoot and with two people who were already on guard standing feet away from her. So she stayed put, trying to survey the scene with just her eyes.

Finally, the conversation between the mother and daughter ended and Jasmine quickly walked passed Chloe, giving her a soft pat on the shoulder and went to her room.

"We're stepping out for a bit, going to try and take a few rounds outside. Hopefully we can find out what happened. For all we know, this might not be The Order." Valentina explained and Chloe heard Jasmine's steps from behind her, coming closer. "Clean this up the best you can. We already called for repair. Also, if they arrive before we come back, wait. Don't answer the door for anyone. We have our key."

And with that, both females walked out the door and into the hall. The door shut with a soft thud. Chloe jogged to her room and grabbed a pair of shoes before going back into the main room. She flipped the switch to the kitchen light, creating a glow that was just enough. It wasn't too bright and Chloe, for some reason, felt better with the dimmer light than if she would have turned on the main one.

She grabbed a broom from the closet on the other side of the room and walked back to where the tiny shards of glass all around were. She started with the smaller pieces, leaving the bigger ones to just grab later.

She wasn't sure how long it actually took her before most of the smaller remnants of glass were taken care of a put in two trash bags, one making sure sharp edges didn't pierce through and break open the first bag. She started going for the bigger pieces now, the ones that wouldn't necessarily fit into the pan she used for the other ones. Chloe was on maybe her fifth piece when she heard a voice.

"Need any help?"

She was so shocked to hear that voice - any voice - that her body jolted a bit, making the considerably large piece fall from her hand and split in half, shattering to the floor. Chloe was startled by the voice and the now bigger mess she made that she almost brushed past the fact that the glass had cut her right hand open, running from the bottom of her palm to the end of her wrist, dragging to the left.

"Damn it," she hissed out as she saw the blood start to draw, filling the slice faster than she would have liked. Her left hand dropped the trash bags as she rushed to place it over the cut. Her whole hand just barely covered the wound. It was in an awkward place so Chloe tried her best to hurry over to the sink, starting the water in the faucet. She let out a small groan when she finally placed it under the low pressure liquid, feeling the burn instantly. She clenched her jaw as she let it run over her hand, the water turning pink as it dripped away from the back of her hand.

She barely remembered the fact of what startled her enough to do that in the first place, so she jumped again lightly when a large form appeared on her right side, holding out a small hand towel.

"Here," he said quietly, voice barely a whisper. His left hand gripped her arm, just below the cut before pulling it away from the water. Again, due to the awkward position the injury fell into, it was hard to somehow wrap anything around it. But Alek managed as he took the cloth material and drew it once around her wrist before tying around her thumb, tucking in the edge. "Hold pressure on it?" Chloe thought he meant it as a statement, but there was an edge at the end of his tone, making it sound like a question.

She could only nod as he walked away, leaving Chloe slightly confused. She quickly took a seat on one of the stools, before applying the pressure he told her too. It only took a few seconds for Alek to come back in with gauze and something else Chloe didn't see. He turned her slightly so she was facing him, and unwrapped what he'd only done seconds ago.

The rag was a dark color so it didn't look like much when it was on Chloe's hand, but now that she saw how there was already a drip of crimson red heat waiting to fall from her wound, she knew it wasn't as small as she hoped it would be.

He took the gauze and started wrapping it around her hand, dabbing with the small towel at the blood that was forming. It only took a few moments before he was done, using the small clips to hold it in place.

"Can't stitch it due to it being vertical, but it should do. Just be sure it doesn't get infected." Chloe sat speechless as she let the moment sink in. She finally lifted her head to see Alek's face, eyes already on hers.

He looked better. Not the same Alek from a few months ago, but better. His face didn't look as sunken in, skin attaining a little more color than before. He was eating again. Taking care of himself. She almost let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," she finally managed to get out after staring at him silently for what seemed like forever to the both of them. He only nodded. He picked the rag up from the table and placed it in the sink. He grabbed the broom which had been leaning up against the wall and started sweeping. Chloe got up, trying to tell him she'd get it, but he just barely shrugged.

She was slightly amazed, slightly confused, at all that was going on. This was Alek. The same Alek who hated her entire reason for existing, her entire being, less than a week ago. The same Alek who she thought looked at her as an enemy rather than a friend. The same Alek that blamed her for Mimi's death.

But here he was. He just wrapped her injury and was now doing what had originally been told for her to do. So, yeah; she was a little lost.

She didn't question it, didn't push her luck. She sat quietly as he finished up cleaning the glass. Once finished, he placed the bag beside the table and took a seat on the other side, facing her.

"What happened?" He gestured towards the mess that was no longer there and looked back at her. He was just acting so normal.

"That's what Valentina and Jasmine are trying to figure out." She told him. "But for now all I know is that two of the windows got broken out and I'm not to open the door for anyone." She explained the best she could, trying to stay focused. But she couldn't. Not now.

He looked alive. He looked better than he had in weeks and days and months and his hair was it's naturally messy texture, not dull and limp as it had been recently. His eyes were brown and dare she say it - warm. She could almost sense him being the same way he used to be, the Alek Chloe was friends with. But maybe she was hoping for more than was there. Which was most likely the case.

Either way, things seemed to be okay now. Then again, he acted okay that time he walked into the bathroom that day and that turned out really fantastic. She swallowed down her doubt and hope at once, pushing it away. As much as she cared for Alek, he wasn't a priority. Not now.

Valentina and Jasmine weren't back yet and Chloe had no idea how long they'd be. She stood up and took one more glance at Alek who was looking down, obviously thinking about something. She decided not to bother him and walked around, checking to make sure there was no more visible glass around. Her eyes didn't catch anything so she took that as a good sign.

There space between the wall of windows and the biggest couch, just enough to walk through, and Chloe checked there for any misfired chunks of window. Still nothing. She hoped no one would get an injury later due to her judgement and walked all the way around until she was sitting on the couch, legs tucked underneath her. As she tried to get comfortable, she rubbed her wrist the wrong way, making her face contort into pain. Her breath slightly left her chest as she huffed, bringing her left hand to hold onto her wrist.

She was expecting red to start seeping through the white protectant, but nothing was happening. She was grateful.

The silence was deafening as noticed that Alek was still across the room, back facing her. She couldn't talk to him, not when in the back of her mind, she was afraid of his reaction. It was logical. She didn't want to get her hopes up for nothing. So she stayed silent, as did he.

It didn't take long before the door handle was jangling and Chloe's back stiffened. She was about to get up, run somewhere so she had the advantage of time on her hand against an attack, but then she heard the lock come undone. Jasmine entered first, then Valentina, both of them quickly surveying the scene.

Jasmine's face was truly priceless as she took note of the surprise, shock, happiness, everything when she saw Alek sitting at the table. Sad boy was facing her, also looking like he had the same thoughts of an attack. Her mouth opened as she stopped walking, making her mom step forward into her back. The door shut behind her.

"Jasmine, what are you - " She stopped talking at once, a hand on her daughters' shoulder to keep her steady. She, too, stared at the boy sitting at the table. Chloe felt a slight tug in her throat as their faces formed through many emotions. They cared so much about him, something Chloe couldn't help but wonder if she would feel envy or joy about. Both, maybe. The case of the matter is, as much as Valentina pulled her under her wing, Jasmine gave her a sibling-like relationship, Alek gave her just something else, she never truly felt at home. She never really felt like she had a family.

Not like the three of them already did.

She noted that further as Alek got up from sitting, walking over to the both of them. The smile on Valentina's lips was unique and with a nod, she was off to her part of the house. Alek's lips gained their own small twitch as he gathered Jasmine in his arms, almost picking her up from the ground. Chloe closed her eyes quickly, feeling like she was almost invading a personal moment between the two. She heard the murmured apologies from the boy and the small sighs that were almost laughs from Jasmine.

The held onto each other and Jasmine pulled away dabbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. She glanced over to find Chloe, head down, looking at nothing in particular. She straightened up, still smiling. She looked back at Alek.

"You're okay?" Jasmine asked, still hesitant. Alek smiled, this time fully.

"Getting there. Thanks to you." He said honestly. His hand was still grasping the wrist of the raven-haired girl. She nodded before pulling out of his grasp and walking over to Chloe, trying not to throw her arms around her friend again.

"There was nothing to trace outside. No evidence of anyone at all being out there. Not even an unusual scent." Jasmine explained to Chloe, taking a seat on the couch across from her. Chloe's tongue swept over her bottom lip, pulling it between her teeth. She stayed silent. Alek took a seat beside Jasmine, arm stretching across the back.

"So, what? The windows just broke because they felt like it?" Alek asked, obviously not pleased with the outcome of the answer Jasmine was giving. Jasmine still looked slightly shocked at Alek being - well, Alek again, but shrugged.

"There was nothing to go off of, Alek. There's nothing else we can do, for now." Jasmine's eyes scanned over Chloe, reaching her hand. She narrowed her eyes. "What happened?" Her eyes flickered to Chloe's who looked confused at first, until she saw what she meant.

"Oh." Chloe mumbled, feeling stupid for getting hurt. "I just - when I was trying to clean up the glass, a bigger piece snapped in half. Just fell on me, no biggie." Chloe shrugged it off and looked away. The sky outside was still dark and it didn't seem to be brightening up at all. "What time is it anyways?"

"Um," Jasmine said before glancing down at her phone, which she had pulled out at some point. "Only 3:37." She let out a small laugh. "We should probably all get back to bed."

With that, Jasmine took her own advice and went to her room, Alek following only seconds later.

But Chloe couldn't sleep. Not when she was starting to feel like running again. Not when she knew Valentina was upset with her, disappointed in what she had done. Killing Whitley, the fact that she did it. . .it still blew her mind. Sixteen years of her life, living it like a normal teen. Then come her not being so normal.

Either way, in the three years of her knowing what she really was, she couldn't bring herself to truly fight back, truly give what her attackers deserved, because she didn't want to be like them. If she were to injury any of them (badly, anyways) she would be doing exactly what they wanted her to. So she chose to not fight back, to try and get them to see that not all Mai were as bad as they thought.

Now, though, truly knowing what she was capable of, how she could kill someone with barely the blink of an eye. She knew that what they saw, it was exactly what she saw of them. Chloe and the rest of the Mai saw The Order as the monsters. They saw them as the ones who were the reason for the violence, the reason for their feud. But, really, the Mai were just as much to blame. If it weren't for the rogue ones, the clueless ones, the emotional ones (cough-cough), they could be in a better place. They might not be in such a predicament. Both sides. They were both to blame because in all actuality, they were both monsters. Chloe was no different from the Rezza's. Just like they were no different from her.

If she were being honest with herself, she would admit that these thoughts were the ones that made her nuts. Those thoughts were the ones that made her question the inevitable. Would she ever really be able to do her job, to unite humans and Mai once again? It made her shake her head because she had her doubts. Her doubts had doubts. Still, the only things she could do was try her best to figure out a way, a possibility that maybe The Order would give her a chance. For now, with her idiotic move of killing their leader, she had no hope that they might give her what she wanted.

She thought talking to Valentina, trying to get her input about what there was to do might help. But she didn't know how much the older woman would really want to have a chat about the enemy right then.

So, with her mind busy and body awake, she went to her bedroom to try and get some sleep. She wasn't sure how long it took for pure boredom and exhaustion to take over, sending her into a black world of nothing.

That's how it was more a few hours, at least. At some point, her world of nothing turned into a world of something. It turned into more. There were faces and light and things that Chloe couldn't quite register.

She saw one face, though. She knew that face. Her almost model-perfect face, those blue-gray eyes being so greatly unique to her skin tone, her dark hair. She had one of those smiles, after people got to know her. A smile that no matter your mood, you couldn't help but smile back. Laugh when she did.

Mimi was standing before Chloe's dream self. Only now, she wasn't smiling. She was frowning, her face pale, white like she'd never seen it before. Her eyes were carefully blank, only holding a single emotion Chloe could detect. Anger.

Scanning the rest of her, Chloe found her to be dressed in the same clothes as the day she'd last seen her. A pair of jeans and a loose hoodies, one of Alek's. The neckline of the hoodie was covered in a dark crimson color. When she went further up, stopping at her neck, she knew why her hoodie was stained that color. Her neck was opened, all the way across, covered in blood to the point where it was as if she were wearing a red turtleneck.

Mimi was standing still, but moving closer at the same time. Her legs were still. Chloe noticed that it was her that was moving forward. Everything stopped after a minute. Everything became still, Mimi looking more like a 3D picture than an actual person. She was just so still.

Chloe felt herself reach forward, her arm searching for her friend. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. She was mute. Mimi's face finally changed, the anger turning into to so much more. Chloe came to realize the anger she saw was all towards her.

"You," Mimi's voice came out, finally giving her something to go off of. It was scratchy, like it hadn't been used in years. Like she was unable to properly use it. "This is your fault."

Dream or not, Chloe's worst fears were coming to life. She blamed herself for Mimi's death, yes, but hearing the words from Mimi herself - it truly killed her. Chloe tried again to speak, but her voice was still somewhere else.

"I could be alive."

"This should be you."

"We both know everyone would rather it be you."

All these things, some being repeated, some making Chloe's stomach fall with a brand new realization. It felt like forever before her arms fell to her sides, her body collapsing to the ground in front of her old friend. She couldn't move, her body numb and stiff. Mimi stood over her, closer now, she leaned down. A single drop of blood fell onto Chloe's cheek, mixing with the tears she hadn't realized were there.

"You know the truth. You know that you could have stopped Whitley and Brian if you would have just been who you're supposed to be. They could be the ones dead while you and I are alive." Dream-Mimi smiled, a sickeningly bitter one that left Chloe closing her eyes. "Then I could have done the honors and killed you myself."

It was a subtle awakening, Chloe's brain finally telling her to get up and stop torturing herself. She sat up slowly, not abruptly like previous nightmares had caused her to do. She felt that her face was hot and sticky with shed tears, eyes blurry with ones that hadn't come out yet. Her body was shaking, but she didn't feel cold. She pressed her back to the wall, letting her body curl into the corner of her bed where two walls met. She pulled her knees to her chest. Her hair stuck to her cheeks, annoying her.

Even with the dream she'd just had, she found that she still couldn't react to it. Not really, anyways, with the only purpose of her having a heart was so it could pump blood. She closed her eyes and wished repeatedly for things to back back. To go back so she could do what dream-Mimi said, to kill the Rezza's right then and there. Do something.

Her short breaths were starting to catch in her throat, turning into dreadful hiccups that made her frown. Over and over again, the sound and air-stopping feeling of those hiccups made her become annoyed. She pulled her blanket closer to her body, hoping to stop her body from the wretched shivering it was in the middle of. She couldn't figure out why it was reacting that way, but hoped it would stop soon.

It was only at that point where she noticed the dark color that was melding into her blanket, into her clothing. She almost let out a gasp before remembering her hand. She held it up, noticing that almost all of the gauze was now covered in a sticky red substance. She was surprised she hadn't smelt it before, the metallic rusty scent that made her nose crinkle. With a sigh, she got out of her bed and pulled anything that had blood on it from the mattress - the sheet and comforter - and threw them towards the other side of the room. Taking a quick look at herself in the mirror, her still shaking body and tear stricken face, she decided a shower was in order. She peeled off her shirt and wrapping from her hand in her room, not wanting anyone to see the blood, and wrapped a towel around her shoulders before exiting and making her way to the bathroom.

She refused to look at herself again, knowing the image wouldn't have changed much. During her shower, she had her arm pulled up most of the time, the constant stinging driving her mad. When she was finished and duly noted that she had forgotten her clothes, she hoped she wouldn't run into anyone on her trip back to her room. She didn't, luckily, and quickly dressed in a simple pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. Chloe ran to the bathroom again and dug through the cabinet to find the gauze she needed, frowning when it seemed to be absent. She grabbed the ointment and decided to use that at least. The bleeding at stopped, now starting to become nothing more than a scab, so she rubbed it across the sensitive skin until she felt it was enough. Putting the antibiotic back into the cabinet, she turned around and headed towards the kitchen, in need of some food.

Chloe dug around in the fridge, trying to find anything to eat. She came to the decision that cereal was her best bet and poured herself a bowl. She sat in silence, wondering where everyone was. Though, she wasn't even sure of the time, so everybody could still be sleeping. As she sat down, she took note of the three damaged windows now being fully repaired again.

Her mind drifted back to her dream. If it was possible, she would glare at herself so powerfully. Of course the dream wasn't real, it was only her mind telling her what she didn't want to hear, but believed. She's other occasions of the same thing, in a lesser degree. Middle school was the worst thing ever for her in a previous life. She wasn't maturing as earlier as the other girls and she always worried what she looked like. In the back of her mind she always had the thoughts of how terrible she looked and thought that when people looked at her, even the tiniest glance, they were judging her and thinking about how ugly she was.

When she finally did get an insult from someone, a girl in her grade who Chloe wasn't even sure was around anymore, she fell into a small area of sadness that she couldn't seem to get out of. It was a stupid thing, she knew that now, but at that time, it was probably one of the biggest problems she had. She shook her head lightly, almost wishing that was all she had to deal with now.

There have been days, both good and bad, in the past three years that Chloe would go to sleep and hope to wake up and find that it was all some surreal dream. Sometimes she wondered if when she was pushed off of Coit Tower, she did actually die for good and this was some twisted afterlife. Or maybe instead of dying, she had fallen into a coma and this is what her mind made up during her time asleep. Many scenarios her mind wanted her to make up, but here was only one truth.

Too busy thinking, she didn't even notice there was someone else in the room until that person sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly, turning to see Jasmine giving her a worried look. Chloe tried for a smile but knew she just wasn't feeling it.

"You okay?" Jasmine asked, facing more towards Chloe. Chloe nodded, looking down at her now empty bowl.

"Just feel weird," she mumbled, not trying to worry her friend further. It didn't help.

"What do you mean?" Jasmine pressed. Chloe tried for a weak shrug. Jasmine still waited for an answer. With a sigh, Chloe shook her head but talked anyways.

"I don't know how to explain it. I just feel off, I guess. With everything that's happening, what I did." Chloe shrugged her shoulders again, hoping Jasmine would drop the subject.

"It's understandable. Things are going to be okay, though." A hand landed on Chloe's shoulder again and stayed for a few seconds. Chloe looked around, noting that they were still the only ones in the room. If Chloe was quiet, she could get away with a single question.

"How do you think. . .he's doing?" Her voice was quiet so that even though she was sitting right next to her, Jasmine had to lean forward a bit to hear her. Jasmine's lips twitched a bit and her eyes showed that she was confused by Chloe's asking about Alek, especially since she thought Chloe wanted to stay away from the subject of him.

"He seemed good last night, which is nice. I think he's getting back to normal again." Jasmine paused for a second, mouth open a bit. With a slight hesitation, she spoke again. "I didn't think you would want to know, to be honest. Something happen?"

Chloe pursed her lips. "Nothing major happened." Chloe started quickly, raising her hands and waving them around maybe a little bit crazily. "I told you that I dropped the glass, but Alek was the reason I dropped it in the first place. When I was trying to clean it up, he helped me wrap it up. And I'm sorry Jasmine, but after the way these past few months have been, it feels like a brand new Alek just appeared with us. A new Alek that feels a lot like the old Alek." Her voice was kept low the whole time, tone blank due to not being able to put much into it, but Jasmine knew that what happened meant a lot to Chloe. So the smile that showed up on her face was genuine.

"Even I have to say it's quite the improvement," Jasmine said truthfully. She was about to say something else when someone interrupted her.

"Quite the improvement on what, exactly?" Chloe, apparently getting scared quite often lately, jumped in her seat and turned to see Alek walking into the room, looking between the both of them. Chloe swallowed and glanced at Jasmine quickly, hoping she could come up with something.

"Chloe's wrist," Jasmine said, grabbing a hold of Chloe's right arm and holding it up a bit. "She had me thinking it was a bad wound, but now it looks like it should be healed in a day or two." Chloe thanked Jasmine with her eyes and released a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Yeah," she whispered softly while pulling her arm from her friends grasp, placing it on the table in front of her. The bowl that Chloe was using felt cold against her warm skin as it lay against her arm.

"Right," Alek said, nodding. The information didn't seem to matter to him which didn't really surprise either Jasmine or Chloe. As he went to the fridge, Chloe got up and put her bowl in the sink. she turned to face Jasmine who mouthed give it time and Chloe nodded, lips pursed again. She walked back to her room without another word.


Chloe was reading up on a bit of heritage when a knock sounded from her door. She hesitated on replying, but it didn't seem to matter since her door opened and Valentina waltzed in. She closed the door behind her and Chloe closed the large book she'd been reading from.

Valentina looked at her quickly and then looked away. Chloe, slightly confused, pulled her legs up to her chest and waiting for the older woman to explain why she was there. When it seemed only silence would fill the room, Chloe decided to speak up.

"Is everything okay?" Chloe asked tentatively, tilting her head a bit. Valentina finally looked at her, meeting her gaze. The woman stayed where she was.

"What on earth made you pull such a reckless move?" Her voice was tight and Chloe fought to look away. Even if she didn't clarify the subject, Chloe was retty sure she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I don't know." She said truthfully. "I can't explain why I did it or what made me want to. At first, I was going to just talk with him. Then things got out of hand and he ended up dead beneath me."

Valentina remained silent again, still giving Chloe a cold stare. This time, Chloe couldn't fight it; she had to look away. So she did, placing her cheek against her bony knee. Her gaze ended up on the floor.

"I don't regret it." Chloe informed Valentina. In all honesty, she regretted the killing but not the who. She couldn't see Valentina's face or her reaction. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

"I've told you this before and I'll say it again; in this war, we are the enemies. Every single move you make affects the outcome of our race, Chloe. As the Uniter, I would think you would know that by now, that you'd be - " Valentina stopped talking and Chloe finally looked up. The blonds' jaw clenched a bit.

"Think I'd be what, Valentina?" Chloe said, her voice coming out lower than she intended. Silence. "That I'd be smarter? More mature? A better strategist?" Chloe stood up from her bed. She was extremely thankful for the lack of emotions she'd normally be feeling in a moment like that. "Well, news flash; I'm not any of those things. My whole life, there's always been a number of people smarter than me. I can't make good decisions and I do drastic things, including acting like a 5-year-old rather than a 19-year-old on occasions. And, no, I'm not good at creating plans.

"That's what I thought I had you and Jasmine for, but lately you guys have been avoiding serious discussions with me more than the plague. I'll never be what you want me to be. I know, I'm not the Uniter you probably had in mind, but I'm not sorry either. I'm not going to try and be a different person just to please you or other Mai. It's just not going to happen."

Chloe's breathing was slightly ragged as she stood in front of Valentina, now only a few feet away. She stared the older woman in the eye, hoping she might just leave. Her mouth formed a small smile.

"That's where you're wrong," Valentina said softly, her head shaking in the slightest way. "I think you're exactly the Uniter I pictured we would have. That's the problem."

Valentina walked further into Chloe's room and sat on the bed. Chloe followed.

"For centuries, the Mai thought our Uniter would be the one to stand out. We all thought there would be some kind of sign as if a spotlight would come down and point us in the right direction. Most of us also thought our Uniter would be this overpowering character, a male in many eyes. Personally, I never thought I'd live to see the day the Uniter came around. So many of us dreamt about what a blessing it would be to see you face to face, to have all of our problems go away.

"People seem to forget that event he Uniter is allowed to live for herself and make her own decisions. I'm afraid that I tend to forget that. Chloe, I know we're harsh on you and that you probably wish your life was different, but you're stuck with this one. Like it or not. Some things are too difficult to discuss with you. Most importantly, I'd like to think that even if I were to discuss a certain plan with you, you'd follow through with what you believe is right, like you have in the past."

Chloe's mouth was hanging open, staring at Valentina in confusion. One second the woman appears to be angry with her for doing wrong and the next she almost sounds like she's proud? She was all over the place.

"All I'm saying is that no matter the expectations other Mai may have of you, Chloe, you are a single person on this earth and people don't tend realize the responsibility you have. Half of them expected Mai and humans to be reunited the second you were found, but it takes two to tango and you aren't the only one making the decisions. If The Order doesn't cooperate, how should we expect you to solve everything?"

Valentina was still talking and quite frankly, confusing Chloe further. But she nodded anyways and accepted what she was saying wholeheartedly. The smile on Valentina's face reassured her for some reason.

"Thank you?" Chloe said, forming a question by accident. Valentina's smile grew.

"I don't expect you to be perfect so don't expect it of yourself." With that, Valentina left the room. And also left Chloe shaking her head. Chloe swore every time she talked to that woman it only left her in confusion. She went back to reading from her book, scanning it over.

It was the book that Alek had shown her in the library when they were back in high school and he gave it to her when she started asking too many questions. It wasn't that she was annoying him because that had been what she originally thought, but it was just to help her out. In that moment, Chloe would be honest and say that the reason she was reading it was because she was hoping for some kind of guideline on what to do next.

It wasn't like there was just some kind of Uniters Manual she could whip out and do everything it says. She semi wished that were such a thing, though. So far she hasn't found much of anything about the future of the Mai. It's not like they were prophets, though. She did find a small passage about the two sides combining again when love was key. It was only a few sentences long, and Chloe wasn't sure if it meant anything at all.

"A lovers quarrel was only the beginning of this madness, so could it possibly be the end, too? Love is greater than war, but it isn't really. The start of the feud between our race and humans started only because the love one shared for another wasn't looked upon. When the Uniter comes, his love for both races may be what provides the end of all of this. How he expresses this love, how he lets it control his own being; it will create a greater evil or make the evil disappear."

Chloe looked over the gender they thought she would be, much like what Valentina said, and noticed how that was generally the only passage that gave much intell on after the Uniter comes. The rest of the book is mainly about the early story of Mai and humans, Mai's abilities, and the fallout they came across. There are a few other things about The Order and it's early days, too. Rezza was the running blood line.

Chloe couldn't find much information on anything she didn't already know. The story of Remesses III's daughter falling in love with a Mai always sounded like some fateful love story to Chloe, and she almost didn't believe it was true. Her life truly sounded like it belonged in a book or something. No names were ever mentioned, only people without faces or backgrounds. Another reason Chloe was hesitant on believing such things. She flipped further, brushing by pages over and over again. It's not like she ever read the entire book. She usually just found certain things to scan through and check out.

Something caught her eye and she had to stop, her eyes glazing over a bit at what she saw. A gasp fit its way from her mouth, hand lifting quickly to cover her lips. Confusion, shock, and a number of other things flittered through her mind as she stared at the older black and white picture that was set between pages. She pulled it out, looking at it closer.

The man was obviously not who she saw, but there was something that made her feel like her thoughts were correct in something. All of the features were so similar, especially that sharp jaw line. Chloe was staring at an older version of Alek Petrov, that much she knew. She almost lifted her head and started shouting out random things, trying to understand what was happening.

Seeing and ancestor of Alek's in a book about Mai probably wouldn't alarm her so much if it weren't for the fact that said picture was placed in a section all about The Order. She was almost 100 percent sure this older picture was of someone Alek was related to. In an odd way, the man also looked familiar in other ways, ones she wasn't really sure exactly how. Until she flipped over the picture and saw the name that was written in perfect writing on the back.

Rezza.

Rezza.

"Oh my God," Chloe said aloud, not even trying to stop herself. Was this known? Is she the only one to notice this? Surely, she couldn't be. She stood up quickly and held the picture, quickly walking out of her room. She needed to talk to someone. Just as she did, she almost ran right into the boy she'd just been thinking about.

"Alek," His name was no more than a breath and he narrowed his eyes at her, studying. She opened her mouth to try and say something but found herself stuck. She swallowed. What could she possibly -

"Why do you have that?" His voice brought her from her thoughts, the grip on her hand alarming her. Being the hand that was injured, she hissed as he held it. He dropped it directly after she made the sound, realizing he could have hurt her. "Why do you have that?" He repeated, voice not angry, just sounding extremely confused.

Chloe held up the picture and met his gaze. "I found it in the book you gave me years ago." Realization spread across his features as he let out a curse.

"I haven't been able to find it forever. I always wondered where it. . ." he trailed off, knowing that the look she was giving him was one that told him he had to explain. But he felt stuck in the situation, realizing that he'd never explained it to anyone else before. Valentina was the only other person that knew, as far as he was sure, him having told her when he first came to America. He was scared that he wouldn't have anywhere to go and explained to her the whole situation.

Alek carefully grabbed the older photo from her gentle grasp and shook his head lightly, looking at the picture himself.

"You don't have to tell me anything. I just got confused because of the name on the back." Chloe explained to him, now understanding it must have been some mistake. "It was accidently put there, right?"

Alek's gaze lifted from the paper and Chloe knew. She just knew that there was no mistake. The name on the back of that photo mean that an ancestor of Alek's was a Rezza, also meaning that. . .

". . .you're a Rezza?"


Okay. well that was nice to write. A sort of not really slow paced chapter? And a bit of Alek again? Maybe you guys won't hate him? And I know his character is really weird in this story but please bare with me?

I also realized that when I put the chapter title on the page, I've been doing it differently for the past three times. so excuse my inability for consistency.

this is where I get a little upset because I mean. again. 4 reviews seems a little small to me, when I really hope more than just four people read this. I post it here on this site so you guys can enjoy it but now I'm just sort of feeling like I'm talking to myself. don't get me wrong, I probably won't stop posting, but a little bit of support would be nice since I feel like everyone hates this story. I sound extremely whiny I'm sorry please don't kill me.

either way if you're reading this then you've most likely read the whole story so far, so I thank you a lot and express my undying love and gratitude towards you and your being. you're an angel.

goodbye now. (this was way too long please don't hurt me.)