The Wolf, The Bird and The Siren

EIGHT

One month later. 3 weeks before Noah’s birthday

Ava

“But Jada, I thought I was going to see you tonight? I haven’t seen you since our graduation” I whine as I cling to my phone. Standing out here in the darkness and alone makes me miss Jada and Emi more than I thought I ever would. As soon as they left I quickly realized that if they were gone from my life I had no one. Literally. Except for Noah, but he was avoiding me even more than before.

“I am sorry babe, I am just swamped with work. I am trying to pay this off as fast as I can” her voice through the phone is slow, she sounds exhausted. 

“But J you also need a break, Cleis will be here soon I could tell him to drop me off wherever you--”

“No! No Ava. I will make up time next week I promise.” 

“Fine. How’s Emi? I haven’t been able to get ahold of her and she is not returning my DMs” 

“She’s fine babe. Just busy with work too. We are working double shifts, but it's all good. Have you talked with Noah?” Her voice changes for that question. 

“No, he is ignoring me even more now after he found out me and Cleis are official. I feel bad J, I don’t know why he is acting this way. Maybe I should talk to him? He didn’t answer any of my messages either.” My heart does a little jump at the thought of Noah ignoring me forever.

“No babe, just give him some space. He’ll come around” Jada reassures me 

“Okay…”

“Babe can I ask you something and please you have to say yes” 

“As long as it’s not murder.” I laugh but she doesn’t respond so I continue “what is it?”

“Can you sing for me? Your mom’s song”

“Right now? Are you having trouble sleeping?” I question the odd request with a laugh and look around the patio to make sure no one is around. 

“Yeah now” she hurries me with her voice

“Okay” I clear my throat and begin “Why, my soul, are you helpless? Why so confused within me? Put your hope in the heavens, find rest in the selfless beauty of--”

“Babe I have to go but I’ll see you soon alright. Love ya” she speaks in a sudden rush, cutting me off. What was that about?

“I love you too J” I say with all the honesty I can muster, already missing her. She doesn’t hang up right away, and I wait. 

“Jada?” A few seconds go by and then I hear the ding that tells me the call is over. She must have forgotten to hang up. I lock my phone and look around again, glad no one is there to scold me for singing. The warm summer breeze warms my skin and it blows my hair all over the place. I use the hairband on my wrist to pull up a ponytail. Out of nowhere, I hear footsteps so I turn around.

“Hey Ava, how are you?” Trevon waves with a friendly smile

“Hey, Trev. I am doing alright, you?” I give him a quick hug 

“Doing good. You look amazing by the way.” He analyzes me from head to toe and I chuckle

“You look amazing too” I respond, doing the same thing and smiling

“Well, thanks. Are you going out with your boyfriend?” He asks nervously, and I squint

“Yes…” I respond slowly and look around 

“He’s not here” Trevon says in a serious tone and I look at him again. He is not smiling anymore

“He can talk to me himself. He doesn’t have to send you Trev. He is being an i***t” I roll my eyes and unlock my phone. Where the heck is Cleis he is never late. 

“I just came to confirm you got the invitation for Noah’s party” he asks me the dumb question which we both know the answer to. I unlock my phone and make a quick search. I lift the screen and show it to him.

“Here. I already RSVP’d. This is the first time ever there’s an RSVP question for a first-shift ceremony at the home. Was that really necessary?” I question Trevon and cross my arms. 

“He just wanted to make sure everyone would be coming, especially you” He tries to justify him

“Trev he is the one ignoring me!” I raise my voice and massage my temples. I am starting to get a headache.

“Sorry Ava.” he sounds extremely apologetic

“No Trev, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s not your fault.” I shouldn’t be reacting this way about this anyways, I put my phone away and lookup. His face contorted with regret, he speaks

“No not that…” he trails off and lifts his hands in the air suspiciously 

“What are you doing?” I take a step back, is he going to cast a spell??

“Sorry Ava” he says one more time and looks around

“Trev what are you doing??” I panic and freeze in place, should I run? He begins to chant with hands held high

“Heart and mind, today you bind with unmitigated instinct in your search for a warning sign.” A wave of energy surrounds me one moment and is gone the next. He lowers his hands slowly and puts them in his pant pockets, he keeps his gaze on my shocked face and shrugs apologetically. He speaks quickly after my jaw drops in confusion “sorry Ava. He was really persistent. Like really” he emphasizes the ‘really’ and I believe it. I exhale, annoyed but kind of glad that even if he’s ignoring me, he still hasn’t forgotten about my existence. 

“It’s fine Trev. I know how persistent he can be. What was that? It sounded like a protection spell but I don’t feel anything”  

“It’s not really a protection spell. That’s way above my expertise, someday I will get there” he smiles broadly and continues “It's an instinct spell. Do you know that gut feeling you get when you feel like someone is lying to you or going to hurt you?” I nod, annoyed at where this is going. “Well, this increases it tenfold. It’s pretty intense on the emotions but helpful. It will only last a few weeks, honestly, it's my first time so maybe less” he shrugs again, apparently not very confident in his ability. Yet he is one of the only full-blooded wizards in the home and has always been the best. 

“Thanks, Trev. But that wasn’t necessary and you could get in trouble. You can tell Noah to grow the hell up and talk to me instead of sending messengers with random quests. No offense” I add the last bit for his sake, he has always been nice to me

“None taken. Maybe try to talk to him, he won’t listen to me. He’s been a bit...umm all over the place. He missed his work shift twice and got into trouble with Ms. Davidson because she found him with--”

“Please Trev. I don’t want to know where they found him and with whom. Spare me the details. I have tried but he is avoiding me and he seems to have good company already” I swallow hard and look for Cleis’ car, more so that Trevon can’t see my pained face. Where the hell is he anyway?

“Yea I get it. Anyway, I have to get going. Sorry again” he waves goodbye and I wave back with a smile, unsure of what else to say. I watch him walk away and wonder why Noah felt the need for this whole thing. He could at least talk to me, but no. Is this it? Is this the end of our friendship and my platonic love for him?? Bright lights hit my face and I squint. Finally! The car rolls to a stop and I hear it unlock. I open the door and climb in quickly, slamming it shut.

“I thought you said 8 o’clock. I have been waiting for almost 20 minutes” I sound more annoyed than I intend. Oh well.

“Hello to you too my little star” he sounds so sweet that I ignore the silly ‘little star’ pet name he chose as a joke to my singing. I fight the smile forming on my lips. He leans towards me and I meet him halfway. His lips touch mine tenderly and I savor the now familiar taste. He parts his lips and I follow along, his tongue brushes my upper lip. I do the same and the kiss deepens, his lips become sweet and warm, like strawberries with hot fudge. Mmm Noah. Noah? What? No. f**k. I break the kiss abruptly and pretend to look out the window to avoid his eyes. Guilty. I’m so guilty of mind-cheating.

“Sorry. I just don’t want one of the chaperones to see us” I pretend to continue looking

“No one saw us. You can breathe now” He starts the car and cracks my window open. I realize I was holding my breath, so I let it out in a long exhale. I am always amazed at how much he understands my anxiety, I wish Noah could do that instead of smothering me. I shake my head again as if that would erase Noah from it. 

“Thank you” I mumble, still looking out the window

“Are you alright? Did Noah give you trouble again?” His voice doesn’t really change, but I have learned to identify subtle differences in the way he speaks. Almost like undertones behind the things he says, subtle emotion hidden in between words.

“You are doing it again” I mumble

“Doing what?” he asks cooly 

“Pretending you are calm and collected but holding back from actually saying what you think or feel” as soon as I say it I bite my tongue. That was maybe too much, he has been nothing but amazing to me. I wait for a response but I only get silence. I turn from the window to look at him and he only looks ahead, driving through the highway like it’s second nature. No smile, no expression. Sometimes he is just impossible to read. I break the silence

“Sorry, that was rude. I guess I have been around teenage werewolves for so long that intense emotions and sudden bursts of whatever feeling are my norm” I use my sarcastic voice and he cracks a smile but continues to look at the road as he grips the steering wheel with one hand and reaches for my hand with the other. I take it.

“You didn’t answer my question little star. Did your friend give you trouble?” this time he doesn’t hide the irritation in his voice.

“No trouble. I just miss Jada and Emi” I tell one lie and say one truth to make up for it. 

“They are fine, great actually, just busy. You should come live with me, you won't be alone ever again” his tender words make me feel loved and safe. I have an itching need to say yes but something stops me. A feeling at the pit of my stomach that makes my heart pound in sudden fear of losing Noah over this. 

“I can’t leave the home until I am 18. The ICSB keeps tabs on us only until then, they could care less afterward.” The International Council of Supernatural Beings only cared if you were special or a criminal, I was neither. 

“I know that Ava. But I have spoken with Ms. Davidson and she agreed you will be safe with me. She has the approval of the council” this time he steals a glance my way and smiles reassuringly. What does he mean by safe? From what?

“Safe?” I ask, baffled. He takes a deep breath 

“You are not safe around him. Jada told me about his obsessive behavior with you. Ms. Davidson agrees you will be safe with me.” he declares his concern crudely. I never thought of it as obsession, but now that he mentions it...No way…

“I have known Noah since I was seven. He’s never hurt me and I have never felt--”

“Ava I am only just worried about you. Why don’t you think about it, at the end of the day it's your choice. Just promise me you will stay away from him so I don’t have to worry” he glances my way again and it seems like he is actually concerned. 

“Fine. I promise” I promise I will try, is what I want to say.