Between Ties

Comfort Between Friends

Maverick's Point of View

I was f*****g shitting myself and honestly, tonight did not go as planned. Why couldn't we just get drunk and go home, like normal people. f**k.

I blame the coven, I blame my father.

I stepped foot inside of her once dark but now light apartment as I had followed her in.

She was quiet, in fact she didn't say a word during the entire trip home and left me to explain and do all of the talking. I couldn't blame her, her whole world was different now and would never be the same again.

"You want anything to drink?" she asked dryly as she threw her apartment keys onto the her decorative table.

"No," I said and then glanced around her living room. It felt cozy in here. I glanced around to see her things laying about and had never realized how messy she was. Her apartment seemed a lot cleaner from the view of mine.

The pink bicycle. I remember that.

"Your apartment seems different in real life." I added as I had noticed a black cat strolling out from the creek of her bedroom door.

She immediately walked towards me and began to pur as she rubbed her head against my leg. I knew she was a female cat and not a male. I could feel her energy.

Rhyett watched her cat and then laughed in an almost pissed off manner "black cat, witch..makes sense." She seemed annoyed as she walked into her kitchen and began to pour herself a glass of red wine.

"Do you want to talk about this?" I asked not knowing how to approach the situation.

I sat down on her couch not waiting for her permission as she grabbed her glass and said "I wouldn't have you over if I didn't want to talk Maverick."

Chill with the attitude sweetheart. I saved you from the insanity effect that black magic has on humans. You owe me some respect.

"So you're a witch with magical fire powers and your real name's Luca Delgado." She said remembering the information from what I had told her on our car ride here.

She breathed deeply still trying to fathom this and then climbed up onto her round breakfast table, sitting herself down flat on the surface as she had faced me,

She took a sip. "You speak Spanish?" She asked as she swallowed and then kept staring at me, what a f*****g weird question to ask due to the circumstances but this made me smile small.

"Si." I smirked and then she smiled as she narrowed her eyes and then I laughed "I'm playing, I haven't spoken or practiced Spanish in years and I'm rusty as f**k. My mother, she speaks Spanish fluently but me, nah." I pushed myself back onto her couch as I exhaled deeply putting both of my hands behind my head as I let it rest on them, still sitting upright. She was quiet again.

I stared at her. "You okay?" I asked her seriously and then I saw tears sit in her eyes but she was trying to fight it and prevent them from showing.

She was okay for a moment and now she wasn't. I guess we all deal with things differently.

"Hey," I said in a concerning manner as I lifted myself up to give her my full attention "I'm sorry for all of this, it was never my intention to bring you or any other human into this world and if I can-"

"M-Maverick, I can't-" she said and then gently placed the wine glass down onto the table beside her as she used her hands to cover her face because she had begun to cry.

Shit! I didn't expect this and it was horrible to witness.

"Don't please." I looked down at my feet, because I couldn't stand to watch her cry.

I swallowed and shook my head lightly trying to shake off every part of me that was trying to create distance between us.

"Come here." I said to her still looking down as I had noticed her feet travel towards me from the corner of my eye as she sniffed and her tears had dropped like a slight drizzle of rain onto the wood of her floor.

She gently placed herself down beside me on the comfort of her couch and then I stretched my arm around her as I had held onto her while feeling her cry onto my broad shoulder, she was soaking my T-shirt in tears, I could feel the wetness of it begin to puddle.

I didn't understand why she was crying, but I just wanted to be there.

"I'm sorry." I said to her silently as I had still continued to hold her. "Let's talk, tell me how you feel. We can-"

"I feel," she sniffed and then lifted herself from my hold but still sat beside me "I feel violated, when Nixon made me do things. I just felt like my body wasn't mine and it didn't feel right. I was scared because he could have made me do anything. I felt powerless like I couldn't make choices of my own. I've been through something traumatic and similar back in California, that I don't want to talk about. But I don't want to feel that way again." She said and then I lifted my hand slowly to brush the wet steam of tears from her face with my thumb.

"I get that." I swallowed "I will make him pay for it." I nodded and I was f*****g serious, that piece of s**t better get the f**k ready for my wrath.

"The magic world is something I think I can process with time, but the only thing that truly bothered me and made me upset was when Nixon took away my freewill."

She sniffed and then looked into my eyes "and when you said he could kill me."

"I had to say that! If I didn't he would use black magic on you! And he already did when he put you to sleep and controlled you. I couldn't let him do it again! Black magic used on humans cause side effects and when used too many times it could drive you into insanity, paranoia, schizophrenia." I paused "I couldn't let him do that. He knows that I care about the humans so when I told him he could kill you if you betrayed our secret he knew to take my word seriously. Because he knows I would never offer a human's life. He knew he could trust me in making this choice for you to keep your memories and although you and I hardly know each other, you didn't tell Beth about Chang's. So I think I can trust you with this." I wasn't sure, but I had to be. "You know my life and the government and why I'm here in New York. It's important that you don't betray me Rhyett."

"I understand Maverick." She nodded sadly and then looked down "I am going to keep your secret. You can trust me. I promise." She said and then she brushed loose red strands of her hair out of her face to tuck behind her ear and then took a deep breath in.

"Im scared of him." She admitted and then I reassured her "You don't need to be. I'm here, I brought you into this mess, you are my responsibility in the eyes of the coven and I knew you would be the moment I convinced them to have you keep your memories. It's my duty to now protect you from this world. I knew the price, I'm willing to pay for it." I said seriously knowing the responsibility I now had on my shoulders. I nodded.

"We're friends after all." I smiled and then she smiled small. "Do you mean that?" She asked looking up at me and then I smiled smugly "Si."

Causing her to laugh, "I hate you!" She said sniffing and then she had hugged me. I felt her warm body press against mine as her arms wrapped around me. I felt the narrowness of her waist with my one hand and the curve of her hips with my other and I'd never been in a friendship with a female before that felt like this, a human female.

I swallowed, licking my lips trying to calm my irregular heartbeat.

I had never really been friends with a girl, it was usually just s*x and a flirtatious relationship. With females and I, we had always skipped the friendship stage and I went in straight for the kill because it's what they were willing to offer and it was accessible and easy,

But Rhy didn't see me in that way.

She wanted to be my friend and I think I want to be hers too. I am her friend now although I don't know how to be a friend to a human female and how my soon to be girlfriend would feel about this, but I'm going to try to make it all work.

This relationship I had with Beth and my new human friend Rhy.

The only close female friend I have is Talia, a witch from Chicago. I met her when her family was on a holiday in New York when I was fourteen. She's a smart girl, good family, advanced witch.

I inhaled Rhy's scent. I had held her a littler tighter as I had thought about Talia.

Talia Amanda Widdle.

I need to call her. I have an idea.