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He leapt off the balcony without another word. I watched him with a sick feeling in my stomach as he sailed off into the night.
Chapter 12
(Eva)
It was everything that I could do to hide what I was feeling from Mason by the end of the trip. I kept my back stiff and my walk steady as I got out of the car and walked back to my dorm. I could feel Mason's eyes on me, and the last thing I wanted was for him to follow me in because he thought something was wrong with me. He had been so wonderful to me, but somewhere between the airport and arriving at my dorm room, everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours had finally sunk in. And it had been more than my poor mind could take.
I had gone from never interacting with anyone and spending my time locked in an attic for four years, to being around thousands of people. My skin was crawling, and not in the tingling way that it did whenever one of the guys touched me. My heart was racing, and I was having trouble breathing. Once I got inside the main door and out of Mason's view, I practically ran to my dorm room, throwing the door closed behind me and collapsing in a heap on my floor, trying to stave off the panic attack that was bearing down on me.
While the crowds and contact had been overwhelming in themselves, finding out that I wasn't human, and that the men I was falling for weren't human, had tipped me over the edge. I had consciously avoided talking about that issue with Mason. I had thought that I was handling it alright after my conversation with Beckham. He had been so patient with all of my questions, but the more I thought about it, the more fractured I could feel my mind become.
I had always known there were monsters in the world, the Andersons and many others in the foster system had taught me that, but finding out that I was most likely an actual monster was overwhelming. I counted out my breaths, focusing on breathing in and breathing out slowly even though my body was trying its best to hyperventilate. Tears slid down my face. I was being stupid. Hadn't I loved snuggling with Mason? Hadn't I felt safe wrapped in Beckham's arms on the beach? Why was this just hitting me now? I needed to pull myself together. Classes started the next day, and I was not going to show up to class having a fit, or worse yet, miss my classes all together because I was freaking out.
I laid on the floor for who knows how long before I decided to try crawling towards my bed, my limbs shaking, and my breathing still coming out in gasps. I tried to pull myself up to my bed, but I was breathing so fast at this point that I couldn't pull myself all the way up. I felt a sudden rush of air behind me and then strong, familiar arms lifted me onto my bed. Damon was here.
"Please don't touch me," I called out, sobbing.
"What's wrong? What can I do?" he asked, panic threaded through his voice.
I didn't answer him. I just shook my head. I was now hiccupping from how hard I was crying and my body had started shaking as well.
Damon had immediately let go of me when I asked him to, but the shaking must have been too much for him to watch without trying to do something. He carefully laid down next to me, folding me into his arms. I had thought that I didn't want to be touched, but his familiar warmth had the immediate effect of grounding me and stopping my shaking.
His hand slid through my hair softly, and he began to talk in a gentle tone about random things. I couldn't concentrate on his actual words, but the smooth cadence of his voice calmed me. His voice sank into me, relaxing my body, and soon I found myself falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I woke up the next morning, the mellow light of dawn streaming in from my window. Damon's arm was wrapped around my waist, his face nestled in my neck. I turned as slowly as I could so I could look at him. He looked so calm asleep. Damon was normally so intense, always moving and full of energy. I hadn't gotten to see him asleep the night I had been at his place, so I felt like I was getting a rare treat.
"I can feel you staring at me," he said all of a sudden with an amused voice.
I blushed, even though he hadn't opened his eyes yet, and flopped on my back.
"Hey, come back. I was snuggling," he said, in an adorable voice, finally opening his eyes and looking at me.
I got lost in the emeralds of his eyes for a moment, getting reacquainted with their beauty. It seemed like I hadn't seen him in forever. A rush of regret flowed through me at the way I had left him the other night. Even with that, he had been so sweet last night, gifting me with sleep that I for sure wouldn't have gotten if he hadn't been around. Except…how had he gotten in my room?
"So, I think you are the sweetest boy ever for taking care of me last night…I'll just preface my question with that first," I said hesitantly. "But how exactly did you get in my room?"
"I heard that you and Beckham had a conversation about the three of us on your trip this weekend?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered hesitantly.
"And he didn't mention what exactly I am?" he asked.
"No," I answered, suddenly nervous.
"It might be easier for me to show you," he said. "First, promise you aren't going to run from the room screaming though."
Well now I was very nervous. What if he was some kind of shifter like in werewolf books, and I had a gigantic wolf sitting in my dorm room? I backed up slowly towards the wall and pulled the covers up to my neck.
"I'm ready," I announced.
Damon laughed at me uneasily. He slowly stood up and faced me, situating himself in the center of the room. Suddenly there was a loud crack, like Damon's bones had all broken into pieces. Two enormous, charcoal colored wings burst from behind him. They extended to each side of my dorm room, taking up every inch my room had to offer.
I couldn't help but gasp. Damon was some kind of angel I was guessing? Majestic didn't do a good enough job of describing how striking and impressive his wings were.
He looked at me shyly.
"Well," he said tensely. "Do you think I'm hideous?"
