“Dude!” Theo exclaimed in a surprisingly happy tone. “What are you doing here? I thought you went back to Texas.”
“I’m back,” the guy said and threw his hands in the air. “It’s a temporary thing,” he added sadly.
Noticing my wide-eyed gaze, Theo explained, “This is my friend Ethan.”
“Nice to meet you.” I shook his hand.
“Hey,” said Winston.
“What are you up to?” Ethan asked Theo. His green eyes were bright with excitement.
Theo pointed over his shoulder to me. “Guard duty.”
I winced. I don’t know why his words bothered me so much—I guess maybe because his tone suggested it was a burden. That I was a burden.
Ethan looked me up and down and grinned. “So, this is the Chosen One.”
Theo slapped Ethan on the back and said, “Come on. We can hang out outside Mara’s room while her and Churchill have their date,” he sneered the word.
I looked at Winston, panicked. “It is not a date.”
“Och, I’m hurt, love,” Winston said and put his hand to his heart like he was mortally wounded.
The boys followed me to my room. I unlocked the door and motioned Winston inside. I turned to Theo and found him grinning. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He grinned and waggled his brows.
My jaw dropped. I smacked Theo’s shoulder and he laughed. “You know nothing like that is going on so don’t try and insinuate anything in front of your friend.” I glanced at Ethan and then back to Theo. “I barely know Winston,” I whispered under my breath.
Theo grinned and said, “Close the door. Your lover boy is waiting.”
“He’s not my lover boy,” I groaned and closed the door. I could hear Theo and Ethan’s laughter on the other side.
Winston stood in the middle of the room looking around. His hands were shoved in his pockets. I suddenly, for some unknown reason, felt very nervous.
“Nice room,” he said in his smooth British accent.
“Thanks. I didn’t really do anything to it.”
He smiled. “They try and give us nice rooms to make us feel more at home since many of us are here for not very good reasons.”
“Like Adelaide and Theo.”
“Yes.” He nodded his head. “And us.”
I sighed and sat down on my bed. I crossed my legs Indian style. “Why did you want to hang out?”
His brown eyes met mine. He leaned against my dresser and shrugged. “I like to talk to you, Mara. You can … understand what all this feels like. More than me, actually.”
“I don’t know about that,” I replied with a shrug. “I’ve only been dealing with this for a week you’ve had to deal with it your whole life.”
“And a lonely life it’s been,” he said softly and came toward me. He motioned his hand and quirked his brow for permission to sit on my bed. I scooted over and patted the space next to me. “I’m tired of being alone.” He picked my hand up in his and began to trace the lines in my palm.
“You don’t have any friends?”
He shook his head no. “I am sure your protector has spoken to you about who to trust and who not to trust.”
“He says to trust no one.” I stared at my hand where it was tingling from his soft touch.
“Exactly.” He lay back on the bed and his white shirt rode up a bit. He turned toward me and let go of my hand so he could touch my cheek. “The only person here I can trust is … you.” His eyes zeroed in on my lips. My breath caught. This is what I wanted, right? To forget my unrequited crush on Theo? Besides, Theo wasn’t the right guy for me. He was moody, infuriating, cocky, and a pain in my butt. Winston was kind, sweet, and caring. Winston knew of the pains I felt. But then, so did Theo.
I shut my thoughts off and leaned a tiny bit closer to Winston. He took this for the permission it was, pulled my face down to his, and kissed me. His lips were warm and soft against mine. There were no sparks, no fireworks or anything like that but it wasn’t a bad kiss. It was … nice. Pleasant. He was careful and hesitant not forceful. This wasn’t raw possession. Pulling away his brown eyes were flooded with warmth. He caressed my cheek and smiled before pressing his lips to mine once more.
With a grin, he gently brushed my hair from my face. “I’ve wanted to do that ever since you mowed me down in the hallway.”
I laughed. “I didn’t mean to knock you down.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you did. If not, I might not have ever met you.” He leaned in closer. “I’m going to kiss you again?” he said but it came out as a question. I couldn’t help thinking of the gray-eyed boy who would never ask for permission for a kiss, he’d just take it like it belonged to him.
I nodded my head and Winston pressed his lips to mine.
“Doll face,” someone whispered and the door to my bedroom opened, letting light from the hallway peek inside. I had fallen asleep. I tried to sit up, but a heavy iron bar blocked my way. I looked down to see Winston lying on his stomach and his arm thrown over me. He was smiling in his sleep and his eyes fluttered with dreams. I looked back up to meet Theo’s stunned gaze. “Oh.”
Yeah … oh.
Chapter 15
H
APPY BIRTHDAY TO ME,” I sing-songed, my expression in the mirror glum.
In the past, I had always looked forward to my birthday. My dad always planned something special, but not this year. No, this year I was going to become a witch, an enchanter. I looked down at my hands as if they were suddenly going to start spewing sparks or flames or something.
Sadly, the whole thing was very anti-climactic.
Figures.
It was the weekend, which meant no lessons. I almost wish we did have them. It would have given me a distraction.
I splashed my face with some water and then watched it drip down my cheeks, to my chin, until it finally dripped onto my pajama shirt. My hair was a mess of rats and tangles but I didn’t feel like brushing it. I just wanted to mope.
I turned the light off in my bathroom and climbed back in bed, pulling the covers over my head.
Darkness and solitude was all I wanted today. But then I worried maybe the dark would suddenly trigger my powers so I sat up and pushed the covers forcefully away from me. I drew my knees up to my chest where I then rested my elbows. I buried my head in my hands and blew my hair from my face with a breath.
My door suddenly burst open and Adelaide came in singing “Happy Birthday”, holding a cupcake with a single candle stuck in it. Winston was behind her grinning from ear to ear and then Theo came in. He sulked by the door. He had been strange ever since the night Winston had slept over.
“Why aren’t you dressed?” Adelaide asked, wrinkling her nose in distaste at my haggard appearance.
I looked down. I was still in the very short shorts I had worn to bed and a tank top. I suddenly felt underdressed with my current company. I pulled the sheet up to cover my body.