Chapter Fourteen

Six

It was my fault Nick died. Now I sit beside John soaked wet from the fresh wave of guilt I felt since the last ten minutes. Every time I attempt to close my eyes, I was haunted by another scene. I see the pulsing red sword protruding from Nick's back, and the pain on my right thigh so agonizing I nearly blacked out. Then I see Nick dead on the ground near my feet. He had said something to me, his last words before the little flame of life inside him died out. "Tell Cole that I'm sorry," he breathed, before his eyes closed to rest eternally. The Mog ripped the sword out of Nick and attempted to kill me. But seeing a friend I wasn't even close to die for me was like fuel in my veins. The face awoke, and when I'm sure every damned Mog died, I blacked out.

John was asleep with his cheek on my head. Cole was looking out the window, his face a hard mask with puffy eyes. I should talk to him later. My head was still spinning, and my entire body felt like led from the power of that sword. John shifts beside me. "What's wrong?" he asks, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist. I'm so close to him I'm practically on his lap. He must have felt me tense. I look up at him and smile a little; there was drool on the corner of his mouth. "What?" he asks again. I pointed to the corner of his mouth. He wipes the drool away, and then blushes furiously as he wipes his hand on his ash-coated jeans. I lean my head on the window, where scratches were appearing from the outside. It had started to rain. John slouches on his seat and leans on my shoulder, his mouth hanging open slightly. I close it with telekinesis, interlocking my hand with his, fearing that he might soak me wet with his drool. My eyelids were getting heavier, from the lack of sleep or the heaviness from the dagger, I don't know. I sigh in defeat and close my eyes.

When I wake up again, I thought I was alone in the SUV. I feel John's jacket wrapped around me. I sit up, wildly looking around for the others. I see Marina in the front, her seat tilted, sleeping soundly. We must've arrived in Minnesota. Bernie Kosar and Elizabeth were sniffing the air for something. John was saying something to Crayton, pointing to his phone then to the thick clump of trees in front of us. Elizabeth starts to howl, changing in her wolf form with Bernie behind her, charging into the trees. "Nine! Come on!" yells John, running with inhuman speed through the forest after the two Chimæras with Nine in tow. I risk a glance at Cole, who was sulking in the corner. It's now or never, I guess.

"Cole? Are you awake?" I ask softly. Cole looks at me, his eyes red from the tears. "What? Cause if you're going to cry your eyes out in front of me saying sorry, then save your breath—it wasn't your fault," he says, but the anger in his voice says otherwise.

"That's not what I was supposed say."

"Then what?" he snaps.

"Nick said something to me before he died. He said that he was sorry, for leaving you. He said that you have to be brave, for him," I say, adding the last part in attempt to lift his spirits up. Frankly, it did. Cole smiles a little, and then says, "You know, for an indestructible badass, you're kind of soft."

"Well, I'm not made of stone you know. I'm still very much capable of having feelings," I say. He smiles at the thought, then whispers, "Thanks, Six, for telling me that. I just hope he's happy somewhere, maybe back home with his family and friends." He leans his head on the window then closes his eyes. I look back outside, where Crayton waits for John and Nine to come back. There was a howl from beyond the tree line and Elizabeth comes out, changing back to her Golden Retriever from. Ella exits the car from the front and waits, jumping up and down excitedly. From the woods comes out John, Nine and Bernie Kosar, followed by a pair of two grizzly bears and three bear cubs. So that's why the white dot was big. Linda and Jake had a family.

The Chimæra family transforms into a family of spotty Dalmatians. How are we going to fit all of them in two cars? If they were twenty of them, maybe more according to Crayton, how can they all fit?

John sees that I'm awake and smiles from the outside. I grin back. "Where are we going to put them?" Nine asks, rubbing a Dalmatian who I think is Jake behind the ear. "We're going to have to buy a van…there are still others you know," Crayton concludes. Ella was happily playing with the pups, who were barking around and licking her in the cheeks. After that the family went inside the pickup truck before Nine. Ella hops in while John walks over to the SUV with Rebecca in tow. Funny, I didn't see her in the clearing.

"So, Sleepyhead Six is finally awake," teases John, closing the door behind him. I punch him on the arm, and he feigns pain, massaging the part where I playfully punched him. Again, there was a hint of saliva in the corner of his mouth. I wipe it away with my finger and smile from the sight of John's cherry red cheeks. I give him a quick peck on the lips, wrapping his jacket tighter around me. He kisses my hair gently, and then his lips move to the side of face. I feel my cheeks heat up steadily. We pull over into a parking lot for the night. Apparently, we were the only ones here. It was a small motel with two floors, pretty much like every motel we've been to. This place was no different.

Crayton hops out with his shoulders slumped. The clock on the dashboard read 2:30 in the morning. In fact, I still feel tired from bringing on a storm like that. I let John carry me all the way to the inn while the others lazily drag themselves off the car and into our room. Or, rather, rooms actually.

"Since we're the only ones here, I decided that we each deserve a room. Rebecca, Ella and I will be in one, and you pair among yourselves. Oh, and the Chimæras will be with us so you don't have to worry about animal shit on the floor," says Crayton, leading Ella, Rebecca and the Chimæras to a room with a number 1 on a nameplate. Well, it is obvious John and I will sleep together, along with Meredith and Nine in their own room. So…

Marina's cheeks were pink a little. I didn't know if Cole was nervous, but a naughty smile on Meredith's lips confirms what I've been thinking. John sets me on the bed in our room while he closes the door with telekinesis. "How are you feeling?' he asks, sliding in beside me, automatically wrapping his arms around me in a protective gesture. "You know, I need to use the bathroom," I say, breaking his embrace and swinging my legs of the bed. I felt like my head weight a thousand pounds. Black…things swim in and out of my line of vision. "Can you even stand?" John asks.

"Yeah," I reply. I take a deep breath and walk casually to the bathroom to do my stuff. I wash my face in attempt to wash the drowsiness away. Unfortunately, it just made it worse. Damn that sword! Why does it do that?

When I walk out the door my lips met John's with intensity. He roughly kisses me, the pain in my entire body subsiding. I throw my arms at his neck and kiss him back hungrily, our tongues fencing with each other as I let him explore my mouth. He pushes me against the wall, which breaks my grip on him and he takes the opportunity to pin my hands on it. I struggle against his grip, wanting to run my fingers through his curly locks. All I heard was me moaning and John's heavy breaths. His lips move through my neck, and I swear I felt his tongue too. I have to admit it was a little…gross.

I break away to pull his shirt above his head, exposing his toned chest. I was breathing heavily and so was John as he removes my tank top. His lips crashed into mine with urgency. My heart was pounding against my rib cage, like any moment now it would burst out of my body. I trace every plane on John's chest and feel his heart beating like a hammer against wood. I wrap my arms around his neck and feel his hands on my thighs as he scoops me up in his arms. He forcefully presses his lips on mine. John pushes me off of him and I fall on the bed, only to be pinned down again. His fingers pull my gym shorts down as I remove his jeans with my mind. Thank God he was wearing boxers. He tosses my shorts away then moves his lips to my neck. I yank at his hair so that he knows he's kissing the wrong place, but I hear the door knob click open and I dive under the sheets. Nine pokes his head out with his pendant dangling from his neck in plain view, half his bare chest visible from my hiding place. "Looks like someone's been busy," muses Nine, his eyes darting from our clothes on the floor then to John's red face. "Shut up and get out of here, Nine," he snaps. With telekinesis, I shut the door close, hearing Nine curse from the outside. I lock the door and to my satisfaction, it drove Nine back to his room with Meredith.

"So, where were we?" John asks before kissing me again.

I rise and fall on John's chest in sync with his breathing. I can feel his side pressed against my chest, which was burning hot. My hand was interlocked with his on the other side of his chest. John's arm was wrapped around my waist loosely. I listen to the steady beating of his heart, which were rapid mere minutes ago when we made love. I let the sound of his heart fill my ears like music and close my eyes, which snap open again when I here murmurs.