CHAPTER TWELVE

ESSENCE

I storm inside my house, tears smearing my vision and making it blurry. I felt hopeless and helpless. I could have fought back. I didn't, I acted like a pussy and got my face smashed in. And what I said to North… I feel terrible. I love him and I don't know why I said that. I fucked up.

Delilah sits passed out on the couch, a bottle of Jack Daniels sitting comfortably between her hip and the couch cushion. Her lipstick is smudged and her dress is disheveled. Good. She won't see what I'm about to do. I head to the kitchen. I open one drawer near the stove. They aren't there. I start furiously opening and digging through every one of the drawers to find them. I need them. Finally, I give up on the drawers and start searching through the cabinets. The first one I opened. They were hidden in a cooking pot. I reached in and pulled out the plain white bottle. The pills rattled inside as I stood and shut the cabinet. I tucked the bottle of pills away behind my binder and school-assigned laptop. Good. Delilah normally takes the pills every day, as the effects don't last for very long. Especially if she's been partying or drinking. She'll look like an old hag once she wakes up.

I seize the opportunity to grab a few strips of bacon, a handful of Cheetos, a small bag of potato chips, a tub of leftover pasta, and an apple. I sneak upstairs and watch YouTube on my laptop for what could have been three hours until I heard noises downstairs. Delilah's awake. I hide the empty snack containers in my backpack and throw my apple core out the window. I wipe the remaining Cheeto dust off my mouth and continue watching YouTube.

Top of the mornin' to ya, laddies! My name is Jacksepticeye!

Screw you, Billy!

When all else fails, Segway Steve!

SPEED IS KEY!

I hear Delilah shuffling around downstairs, taking an aspirin to deal with her headache, heading to the mirror to see how bad the damage is. I pause the video I'm watching to hear Delilah's reaction to the missing pills. A few seconds later I hear the clanging of pots being thrown across the floor and Delilah trashing around, throwing stuff out of cabinets. Silverware skids across the floor, containers hit the walls, chip bags make loud rustling sounds as they hit the ground. Delilah screams in frustration and next thing I knew, I heard her footsteps coming up the stairs. I inhaled and hit play on my YouTube video. Delilah barged into my room and I flinched. She was seething with anger.

"Essence, darling!" Delilah said with fake pleasantness in her voice. "Um… Do you happen to know where my pills are?"

"Which ones?" I ask, playing dumb.

"The white bottle, no label." Delilah sounds desperate. Her bleach-blond hair has little grey streaks, her skin is slightly wrinkled. She sways side to side, still under the effects of the alcohol.

"I thought you had them?" I ask her.

"No! I don't!" Delilah shouts. She panics a little. "I had them hidden away somewhere! I need that medicine! That's seriously important, Essence! If you have it hiding somewhere, I swear to God I will kill you and no one will ever find your body! Got it? Good!" That's when she storms downstairs and keeps frantically searching for the white bottle of pills. I glance over at my backpack, smiling and then I glance at the door.

I chime in with a haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?!

I did it. Hopefully that will weaken her enough for me to over power her, if not destroy her completely. Delilah didn't ask about the cut on my upper lip or the new outfit or the bloody clothes I had sitting around in a triple bag. Some grandma! I simply started on my homework and went to be normally. Delilah's crying carried under the door and I smirked. Maybe I could talk to North the next day.

I found a note in my locker the next day. It said, To Essence, From North. I freaked out inside. What did he want? I opened up the folded piece of lined paper. A few words were printed on it in black pen.

Essence. This is crucial stuff right here. I don't know if you're going to talk to me, especially after yesterday, but this is important. I need to know if Delilah has any… Medications… Any unusual pills that she takes often. Perhaps, black in color? Get back to me as soon as possible, as this could change our lives in an instant. Love, North.

That's when I broke into a run, binder and laptop in tow. I ran and ran and ran until I crashed into a person and totally fell on my ass. North looked down at me, mortified. He helped me up to my feet and gazed into my eyes with caring and compassion.

"Did you get my note?" He asked lowly. I nodded, grabbed his hand, and lead him to my locker. I put in the combination and opened the door. It didn't take much to find the pills. The bottle was sitting right in my backpack. North froze. I slowly uncap the bottle and show him what's inside. North shudders and nods slowly.

"Essence, you're in danger." He whispers. He's moved in real close to me. My breath catches in my chest.

"What do you mean?" I whimper. North points to the pills.

"They're pills that… Well... Shit… Have you heard of the Black Ice?" He's getting flustered.

I nod carefully. The Black Ice Manipulators are Manipulators that have had their powers tainted. They are evil beings and pretty much in the only stories Manipulators are ever told when they are kids. Black Ice Manipulators are dangerous and show no mercy to their victims. The stories tell of a Queen who started off as a happy little girl who was a Manipulator and her life changed forever one day. She became an all powerful Black Ice Manipulator, and ever Manipulator's worst nightmare. She can posses people, like a demon.

"Delilah is one…" North tells me. I've been denying it for years, but I finally accepted it when I was eleven. "Those pills give her power and keep her young so Black Ice Manipulators will be more willing to follow her orders. Without them, she will become old and sick."

"I stole them from her when she was drunk." I told North. North comes in even closer and hugs me tight.

"You're in danger Essence, you had no idea what she's capable of. I just… I just don't want you to get hurt." My heart flutters up against my ribcage. I tighten my arms around his waist and he slowly but surely backs me up against my locker. I gasp quietly and look up at him confidently. North gazes down at me lovingly. God fucking damn… He strokes my cheek gently and leans down to bury his face in my neck. He quickly straightened himself up a and gazed at me again.

"Well, you have no clue what I'm capable of either." I say sassily. North's eyes fill up with admiration and humor. North presses himself into me. He towers over me, making me feel small. He gently grabs my face and kisses the top of my scruffy hair. I shiver under his touch. He slides his fingers from my ear to my chin and smiles. The school bell rings and it's time to go to first period. I slam my locker door and tuck a nonexistent strand of hair behind my ear. He backs away from me and waves goodbye to me as we branch off in different directions, heading towards our classes. All first period, rather than paying attention to my science teacher, I was thinking about North. I don't care about the motherfucking Periodic Table. I want North. I scribble his name in bubble letters on the last page of my science notebook and surround it in a heart.

Once lunch rolled around again, Derek sat with Myrah, North, and I. He honestly felt terrible about Alyssa and what had happened the previous day. He was very nice to me, which was surprising. North kept looking over at me lecherously, but I didn't mind it. I acted on it, stretching my arms over my head. My t shirt rose up and showed a peek of skin above my belt. His eyes widened and he put his milk carton to his mouth to hide his smile. Myrah and Derek sat to the side talking about an assignment in class and I just sat there, silently flirting with North.

At one point, North leaned over and whispered, "You're driving me nuts…" a smile playing at his lips.

"Then it's working." I tease, flashing a bit of the waistband of my panties. North moans in my ear and I gasp, almost spilling my Gatorade everywhere. He chuckles and slides his hand over my hip slowly. I'm sure that by now my face is cherry red with blush. Myrah and Derek start into a conversation with us about the weird substitute teacher in Math and once it ended and the bell was ringing, North shifted his hand to my thigh. I bristled up and squeaked. He removed it after a few seconds. He flashed a teasing smile back at me when he got up to leave. I leaned my head up against the wall and covered my face with my hands.

What have I gotten myself into?