Entangled With The Four

“My Body Reacted to Him Before I Understood Why”.

Jackson sat up straight on the bench, his eyes scanning my face for something I didn’t know.

I tilted my head and waited for his response but he was probably digesting what I just said.

“Why not?”

He asked, his voice dipping into something that sounded a lot different from the voice he first spoke to me with.

“Just because I don’t want to, isn’t that more than enough reason not to go to a dance with someone I just met?”

I shot back sternly.

He nodded and adjusted his shirt, and without another word he walked away.

I couldn’t finish my sketching so I packed up and walked back to the dorm.

My legs felt heavy for some reason.

Something didn’t feel right but I couldn’t place it and I couldn’t go to the clinic on my first day of school.

Besides, they’ll find out one way or the other that I’m not a human like I claim because none of those human drugs will work on me.

I dragged myself to my room and slammed the door shut…

Latching it so nobody would walk in unexpectedly.

I managed to get into the bathroom, turned the water on and sat under it to cool off a bit.

My wolf finally calmed down and I stood from the floor…

Took my dress off and had a proper bath before going back to my room.

“This better not have anything to do with that Jackson..”

I muttered to myself as I dragged myself to bed.

I had barely even scrolled on my phone for a while before it rang and my mother’s number showed on the screen.

I stared at it, unsure whether it was worth answering.

My thumb hovered over the accept icon as my mind battled with my heart.

She went this whole time without trying to reach out…

What did she want now?

I watched it ring once, twice… and then again.

This time, I swallowed my rage and just answered the call.

“Good evening mum..” I muttered into the phone. Silence.

I took it away from my ear and glanced at the screen to make sure the call was still connected.

“Are you there?”

I asked and I heard my father clear his throat in the background.

Was this a trap or what?

“Mum, what's going on?

Are you going to say something or not?”

I grunted impatiently.

“Mara…” she finally said and I rolled my eyes.

“I just…”

She paused like she was trying to get permission from my father to say what she called me for.

“What I wanted to say was, we just want to make sure you’re okay.

Your father and I are worried about you..” she sighed.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and sat up on the bed.

The rage in my heart was gone.

I’ve always been upset with my parents, but I’ve never stayed away from them for more than a minute.

But the last thing I wanted was for them to think I couldn’t do life without them.

So I tightened up and warded the tears away from my eyes.

“I’m fine.

You both don’t have to worry about me, Blackthorn isn’t bad after all.

They gave me a dorm, there are nice people here and I’ve made some…

I’ve made a friend.” I said.

My mother sighed audibly and then went quiet for a while.

The silence was deafening and I knew they were both trying to keep up with their attitude.

“I need to go to bed now mum.

I have school in the morning.”

I said and disconnected the call even before she could say anything back.

I exhaled and forced myself to go to sleep.

Mornings here arrived faster than usual because…

I had barely even closed my eyes before the loud bell jolted me out of my slumber.

I quickly showered, got dressed and headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

“Hey Mara..”

Joan greeted me as she approached me with a broad smile on her face.

I returned her smile.

“Good morning Joan..”

I responded warmly.

Her face lit up at my response like she couldn’t believe I was easing into her company.

“What’re you having?”

She asked as we walked over to the counter and placed our trays.

“I didn’t read the menu so I’ll just have anything that's available...”

I said and turned to the lady behind the counter.

“Good morning…

I’ll just have the steak.” I said and she stared at me weirdly.

“This bright and early morning?” Joan laughed and I chuckled nervously.

“Isn’t that humanly normal?”

My voice quivered.

I wanted to change my mind but my wolf stirred as the sweet aroma tickled my nose.

“No it’s alright.

You probably want to keep up with your protein and stuff..”

I shrugged my shoulders and walked back to an empty table with my tray of food.

Joan and I ate but while I was silently pushing down my food, she just wouldn’t shut up.

She went on and on about so many topics that I clearly wasn’t really interested in…

But my lack of concentration or interest didn’t seem to bother her.

Then I felt it again… that pang in my chest.

I picked up a glass of water and gulped it in one go.

But the pain didn’t go away.

Then came the heat.

It just felt as though my body was boiling itself for no reason.

“Are you okay?”

Joan asked, putting down her spoon as her face turned sour with worry.

“I’m fine..”

The words rolled out of my mouth wearily and Joan was obviously not buying it.

“You’re clearly not..”

She insisted as she touched my forehead but the heat made her pull her hand away faster than lightning.

“You’re burning up!”

Her voice echoed loudly.

Almost immediately, everyone noticed the two of us and before I knew it people were quickly gathering.

I tried to fight it and pretend I was okay but the more I tried to not feel it, the stronger it grew.

“Move..”

I heard someone say and before I knew it…

I was floating from the floor and everyone stepped aside for whoever was levitating me.

“You’ll be fine Mara..”

Joan said as she held on to my hand but my brain was blacking out slowly.

“You’ll be fine..” another voice echoed through the fog..