Page 9 of Fractured Fate

The events leading up to his death tormented him. The despair in his sister’s eyes and the helplessness he felt knowing he couldn’t protect her. Couldn’t protect Blaire.

They relied on him, and he failed them.

In the end, Blaire had to save him.

His dreams either went the way of the events leading to his death, or the strange middle space afterward that made little sense to him. His mind conjured up memories he wasn’t sure had happened.

Knowing he would never go back to sleep, he stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom.

Standing in front of the mirror, he took in the red flush to his cheeks. Sweat ran down his bare chest, and his tendons shifted as he flexed his fingers into fists and out again.

He was alive.

In the here and now, he lived.

He was safe.

Heaving a sigh, he turned on the tap and splashed cold water over his heated skin, scrubbing his face. He grabbed the hand towel from his counter and dried off, rubbing over his arms and chest to rid himself of the sweat. He wasn’t in the mood to shower, so this would have to do.

Tossing the towel in the hamper and turning off the light, he went back into the dimly lit bedroom. He glanced at the window. Sunlight filtered through the tiny gap in the closed curtain. Morning already. It hadn’t seemed long since he got off the phone with Charlotte.

He entered his closet and got dressed for the day. He couldn’t stay in his room. Not with the fresh memories of what happened in Europe haunting his mind.

Leaving his room, he adjusted the black and burgundy plaid tie at his neck. Any other day, he wouldn’t mind it, but not even ten minutes into wearing it, he felt choked. Giving up on proper dress, he loosened the knot and let the tie hang loose around his neck.

After grabbing a blood packet and a raisin bagel from the canteen, he headed for his classroom.

Settling at a desk in the far back of the room, he demolished the bagel in a few quick bites and sipped his blood packet while scrolling his phone. With summer break approaching, he didn’t have any actual classes now that he finished his exams. The only reason to come to class was for makeup exams, revisions, and preparation for fall. Anyone who lingered in class otherwise came for the social aspect.

For him, the lure of a different environment away from the bed where his nightmares gripped him made it worth putting on the uniform and attending class. He couldn’t always attach himself to his friends and expect to use them as a security blanket.

“Hey, Aiden.”

He looked up from his phone to the girl who sat sideways in the chair in front of his desk. He couldn’t remember her name. Amber? Alicia? Something with an A.

She came around a lot. Had since they were young, but he couldn’t remember her name. She didn’t make a habit of talking to him for him to get to know her, but he saw her frequently.

She tucked her short, brassy hair behind her ear and smiled when he made eye contact. “You didn’t have to do makeup exams?”

He looked at the bagel wrapper on his desk and took another sip from his blood packet before he said, “No. I passed.” He thought his desk with no paperwork on it would make that obvious. As much as he tried to be nice to everyone, he wasn’t in the greatest mood after his dream, so he hoped his short answer didn’t come off as rude.

She giggled. “Of course you did. You’re so smart.”

His brow hitched.

“Anyway,” she said, crossing her legs and turning in her chair a little. She deliberately hiked her skirt higher on her thigh when she did. The movement wasn’t as subtle as she probably hoped for. “I was wanting to try this new Mexican restaurant that opened in Savannah this weekend, and I was hoping you would come with.”

A frown etched his forehead. Why wouldn’t she go with her friends?

“I mean, if you don’t want to do that, we could do something else. We could watch a movie in the plaza.” She smiled, sinking her teeth in her lower lip in an enticing way.

Barking up the wrong tree, he thought as realization dawned that she wasn’t trying for a friendly conversation.

“Or… in your room?”

“I’m flattered,” he said, choosing his words carefully to avoid upsetting her. “But now isn’t the best time for me. I’m not really looking for anything.”

It was the truth. With the nightmares and everything he’d been through in the last year, he didn’t think entertaining someone new to see if he might feel a spark of interest was a good idea. Besides, a certain redhead had taken residence in his mind, and he wasn’t sure he wanted her to move out yet.