Chapter 3
Simon's POV
Derek decided to spend the reminder of the evening trying to rebuild the front door into a working shape. Choosing a large block of wood from the shed at the back of the house, Derek carried it one handed into the dining room. Me lagging behind with a heavy box of tools, having a super-strong brother made me seem a lot less manly.
Derek laid the wood on the dining room table with a loud bang. He took the toolbox from me and but it on the table by the door.
"The lock looks pretty intact" he motioned to the remains of the door propped up against the wall. Walking over to it he seized the lock in his too big hands. Wrenching it from the door with a loud crack, splinters of wood flying.
I heard a soft sigh behind me. Chloe sauntered in the room, leaning against the wall opposite me.
"Very manly" she commented a slight smile on her lips. Derek grumbled something and turned away so she couldn't see the blush spreading over his cheeks. I heard footsteps behind me, so soft I knew they couldn't be Tori. Ella came into sight, standing in the doorway as Derek got to work on the door. He was measuring the length of wood, a long yellow tape measure in his hands.
"I'm sorry" Ella said, her orange eyes glued to Derek. The room was silent, this was the first time she had spoken to anyone but me. The snap of the tape measure cut the tension as Derek straightened up.
"What for" he shot her a look, towering over her.
"For that" she motioned to the door "I didn't mean to break anything"
He coughed.
"Oh, well it's okay" he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, and to my surprise shot her a small smile. I felt weird, like I wanted to pull her from him. Jealous, why on earth was I jealous? I shook my head.
Derek had turned back to the wood now, asking Chloe for a pencil. She wandered over to him and handed him one. He kissed her hand in a wordless thank you. She sat on the edge of the table, watching him work. I seethed as she stared at my brother, a mixture of tenderness, wonder and desire lit her ice blue eyes.
I wasn't sure how long I stood there, seething in rage that I had no right to feel, feeling betrayal that was unjust before a pair of cold hands touched the bare skin of my arms. I turned to see Ella staring at me, her flaming eyes oddly restful. I looked at her hands still rested on my forearms and took one of her hands in mine, pulling her from the room.
She didn't let go of my hand and I wasn't about to protest. I turned her to face me; her eyes were cast down, following the cracks in the floorboards. I watched as she studied them, the soft swish of her curls as she moved her head, the constant rise and fall of her chest.
She looked up then, I tried to remember how to speak. I watched as the silver and gold flecks in her eyes reflected the dim light of the hall. I pulled my hand from Ella's as I heard footsteps overhead.
"Simon!" I groaned out loud as Tori strode down the stairs carrying a huge white washing basket. She had her "I mean business" face on. I rolled my eyes and winked briefly at Ella. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her giggle.
"Yes, Tori?" I asked, sighing loudly.
"It's your day to do laundry" Tori said pushing the basket into my hands.
"It's hardly a time to do laundry" I told her, knowing very well it was futile to argue with Tori when she was in one of her moods.
"Just because you have acquired a..." she eyed Ella with a faint look of disgust. Like Derek - Tori didn't trust easy "pet" she sneered, happy with her choice of insulting words. I saw Ella move away from us, distancing herself and turn her head down to the floor, holding her hands in front of her.
"Stop being a bitch" I murmured, quietly but loud enough for her to hear.
"Whatever" Tori shook the insult off, perfectly accustomed to it by now. "Mr Bae's rules, you stick to them" She gave me a horribly false smile. She then shot a look at Ella.
"I'll keep an eye on this" she motioned to Ella. And turned to walk up the stairs, Ella followed behind silently.
"Ella. Tori" Tori stopped her pale face peering at me over the banister "her name is Ella" Tori barely registered this.
"Yeah, whatever" and with a flick of her hand and a parade of footsteps she disappeared upstairs.
Half an hour later I was still shifting through all the laundry. I had a clean pile of darks – mostly Derek's and a dirty pile of lights already in the machine. I was just adding detergent when a voice echoed behind me.
"Laundry" Derek rumbled right behind me, I jumped and spilled detergent down my jumper. Derek's low laugh "You're worse than Chloe".
"Dude, seriously normal people make some noise when they walk" I told him, harsher then I meant it to be. Chloe's face kept flitting through my mind, the wonder, the adoration in her eyes when she looked at my brother.
He took two loud steps on the spot.
"Better?" he raised one eyebrow and we shared a smile. He smiled a hell of a lot more often nowadays.
"Was there something you wanted?" I asked as I closed the machine, Derek was already changing the dials on the machine.
"It's about Ella" Derek said. I busied my hands with folding the clean laundry, Derek did the same.
"What about her?" I asked.
"I have been keeping an eye on her, and I think your right. She doesn't seem to be a danger. But..."
"You're hardly going to trust her when we have no idea where she came from?" I interrupted.
"Exactly"
"Fair enough" I said, adding a large black t-shirt to Derek's pile.
"I have been trying to work out what kind of supernatural she is. Very few witches could perform a spell that blew a door right off its hinges" His eyes darkened as he concentrated. "So I was thinking maybe a Half –Demon?" the last statement was a question directed at me.
"With what power?" I asked.
"Telekinesis, but if that is the case she must be very powerful" Derek said. I nodded, that would take a lot of power.
"So I was thinking maybe she has the power of wind" Derek started. "What do you think, has she said anything else to you?" I felt odd satisfaction with being the one with any hold over her, the one she has confided in most.
"She barely speaks, and especially not about herself" I added with a slight grin.
"Simon, you have to try and find out more about her. Most importantly how she knew we were here. If Dad wasn't away I would have left already, if push comes to shove and he's not back by tomorrow evening we leave him a note and escape" Derek said, authority creeping in his voice. The way it always did when he knew he was suggesting something I wouldn't like.
"We can't leave him again" I argued back.
"Remember the last time we waited for him? We waited too long and got caught. We can't get caught again, you know what it would mean" Derek whispered, his voice strained.
"A death sentence" I stated.
"Not just me, but Chloe and Tori too. We're genetically modified, uncontrollable and powerful. We will need to be taken care off" I knew what he was doing, baiting me. The image of him and Chloe cold and still stuck in my mind like a song on loop. I knew I wasn't in as much danger as the others- tame as my powers were. I didn't need him making me feel any guiltier then I already felt.
"I get it Derek. I know what will happen" I snapped at him.
"Tomorrow Evening" he reminded him. I gave him a stiff nod.
"Boys!" Chloe's voice issued from the kitchen, calling us to dinner. I stretched quietly, dropping a black skirt that was so short it had to be Tori's into her pile. Derek led the way down the hall to the kitchen. I stopped off at my room and took the navy pouch, tested my blood and injected myself with insulin before I walked back into the dining room.
I walked into the long room, a large wooden table occupying most of the space. Ella sat on the chair nearest me, rigid and straight. A pile of untouched rice in front of her. I took the seat beside her and opposite Derek who was already wolfing down his rice and stew. Ella watched him, fascination in her eyes as he attacked his food savagely.
I picked up my fork and began to eat. Ella did not move, simply stared at me with those wide expressive eyes.
"Eat" I whispered, my voice wasn't heard over the chatter between Chloe and Tori. Ella picked up her fork immediately and began to eat
"Guys, I have decided that if our dad isn't back by tomorrow evening. It's time we relocated." Derek shot a shifty look at Ella, who appeared to not be listening; she was looking out of the window. The same curious expression on her face as she stared into the distance.
"We can't leave Mr Bae behind" Chloe stated quietly. Already Chloe had become fond of our dad, he had welcomed her into the family happily. Already treating her like the daughter I was sure she would one day become.
"We'll leave him a note. He'll catch up" Derek addressed the whole table before turning to Chloe. "We need to make sure we're all safe" when he said we I knew he was only talking about Chloe. Only for Chloe would Derek ever desert our dad. Chloe's safety would always come first with him now.
"I don't think we should go anywhere without Mr Bae. It took us so long to find him in the first place" Tori smiled, a genuine smile - A rare occurrence for Tori, Chloe giggled quietly. Derek shot Tori a look darker then night, Tori stared back. Nothing intimidated Tori, especially not Derek.
"Derek's right, we can't take chances. We don't have second chances anymore, it's life or death for us" The table fell silent as I said this. I closed my eyes, feeling the weight pressing down on my shoulders again. I prayed Dad would come back soon; I wasn't cut out to handle this. It was hardly fair that 15 and 16 year olds should have to be racing for their lives. I longed for the days of school dances and annoying teaches. Of first dates and late night parties. Where the worst of my problems was not being able to eat as much as my friends.
I longed to be strong and smart like Derek, to always know what to do. To be brave enough to fight but humble enough to know when to run. I wanted to be of use, I didn't do anything for the group. Derek was our protector, our leader. Tori was the army, bursting full of rage and power. Chloe, resilient and clever uncovering information that we all needed. Where did that leave me, neither clever nor powerful? What was I? Court jester?
I sighed quietly, suddenly losing my appetite. The rest of the meal was silent as each person reflected on what was to come, sleeping rough again. Lost and unsure of where we were going, when we would next feel safe.
"Get a good sleep tonight" Derek told the table as he stood up. "You're going to need it, alarms set for 7am" he offered his hand to Chloe and she took it gladly. Derek disappeared out of the door, Chloe towed firmly by his side.
"Ella can sleep in my room tonight. Chloe is sure to be sleeping with tall, dark and gruesome tonight" Tori said loudly, I shushed her half-heartedly.
"No it's okay; I'll keep an eye on her. She can sleep in my bed; I'll sleep on the floor" I told Tori - taking mine and Ella's plates and putting them in the sink
Tori shrugged "Makes no difference to me" and with that she left the room with a passing "night".
Ella was already standing at the door, her hands clasped behind her back. As I walked past her arm brushed my hip, sending shivers down the length of my side. I wondered into my room, turning around to see her still leant against the dining room door frame.
"Come on then" I motioned to her with my index finger. As she walked towards me I started to absent mindedly clean my room, picking up sketches and books from the floor. Ella came into my room, and sat tentatively on the end of my bed.
"You take the bed tonight" I told her as I wondered into the living room, picking up the bedding Ella had slept in last night from the sofa. I pulled my sketch book from under the chair cushion and started to walk back to my room.
Chloe was sat on my bed, in her pyjamas and a tank top. She handed Ella something and wondered out of my room, beaming at me as she passed.
"What was that?" I asked Ella as turning my back to arrange my bedding into a comfortable settlement on the floor.
"Pyjamas" Ella said behind me. I straightened my pillow and pulled at my cover, turning around to face Ella.
She had her back to me, having already taken off my shirt-which lay in a heap on the floor. She was pulling off her long white top. I saw a long pale back, stretched as she pulled the shirt over head. I watched for just a second as she took the shirt off, picking a black long sleeved top from the pile on my bed.
"sorry" I stammered and turned around to let her change. I wondered into the bathroom to get changed myself. Pulling off my shirt as I went - wetting my face running the water through my blond hair. Pulling on pyjama pants and a top. I wondered back into the room. Ella was fully dressed now, in sweatpants I knew were mine and a black top of Tori's. Both too big for her. She sat on my bed, looking over the drawings closest to her. Overhead we could hear the gurgle of pipes as someone showered, Derek I assumed.
I sat beside her on my bed as she softly traced the lines on one of the drawing I had just finished with her little finger. She stopped for a minute to pull a hairband from her wrist and tie her curls in a messy bun.
"Ella? Can I ask you a question?" she turned her head so I could see her nod.
"Why did you come here?" I asked. I heard the curiosity in my voice. She turned her head to look at the wall; I noticed a small beauty spot at the bottom of her neck, her skin a pale white. The short scar just under her jaw was facing me, it was very small, only 4-5cm but it rose in a puckered pink line. I fully expected her to refuse to speak, to close up. To turn away from me and lapse into the silence she was so good at. She didn't.
"I came here for you" She whispered.
"Me?" I was shocked, not the response I had thought. But a strange joy twisted in my gut, my inside churning, my throat felt heavy.
"All of you" He eyes met mine, wide and honest. "I'm like you guys. I couldn't stay where I was" her voice broke. "I couldn't stand it" Hr voice was low, pained. She looked at me with a pleading look, begging me to understand. I didn't.
"What happened, why couldn't you stay?" I asked her, my voice low with urgency. She turned her head and stayed silent, her mouth twisted in a sad line. It was silent for a minute, until her sad sigh broke the quiet. Before I had even made a conscious decision I had moved closer to her, softly tracing her hand with my fingertips.
"How did you get here?" I asked, trying to ease the tension of my past question.
She smiled, just a quick lift of her mouth. It did not touch her eyes, the misery ever present in them burning with the intensity of fire.
"I flew" She whispered, bending her face closer to mine. Her breath tickled my cheek and I shivered.
"That I can believe" I laughed out loud. The magic of this girl was only just being discovered, you just had to look at her to know she was different from others. Special. Supernatural. I smiled to myself.
"Simon?" she had my attention instantly.
"Yes?"
"Your leaving tomorrow?" her voice broke, she coughed quietly to hide it.
"Yes" she looked down at her hands, refusing to say anything else. I suddenly thought what she must be thinking; we were leaving, leaving her. The idea of being parted from her was uncomfortable... almost painful. Her wide, scared eyes met mine.
"Will you come too?" I asked.
"They don't want me" no self pity in her words, just a statement of fact.
"I want you" it was true, her magic held me captive. I was at a loss to how she did it, just radiating extraordinary things. Her sadness was so real, so tangible. Her vulnerability, her innocence so obvious. Never in my life had I met someone so open with their emotions, but so closed with their mind.
"Will you come with me" she closed her eyes as I said this, stretching her body beside me.
"I will" she whispered and with a small yawn she fell silently asleep.