Chapter Fourteen – New Friends
Kye stopped by to see Tatiana; he had heard about the attack on Grasiella and wanted to make sure she was doing all right. She did not go into detail with Kye, yet she didn’t want to keep secrets from him either. Tatiana wasn’t sure how much she could trust Kye. Would he look at her like some sort of freak or would he keep an open mind and accept her for who she was?
She led him out into the garden where she began to tell him what had happened and he was very quiet as he carefully listened. Tatiana wasn’t sure how to take that, she couldn’t read any signs of what he was thinking and she immediately began to regret opening up to him.
Taking both of her hands into his, he told her that he understood there were a lot of things in this world that were unexplainable. He could have taken this moment to open up to Tatiana and share with her, as she was sharing with him but he chose not to. He could have told her what he had learned from Eros. Once again, he chose not to.
In his own way, he thought he was protecting her. Her sister had been attacked and nearly killed. He knew Tatiana was working through those emotions. He didn’t want to add to what she was dealing with and yet he knew that he just could not bring himself to reveal what he was to her.
Tatiana felt such a relief after sharing with him her abilities. She said, “I wanted to tell you the day you took me out to the beach for my surfing lesson.”
He smiled, but said nothing. He had his own worries. He had Kana’i’s temper to deal with. He left her saying that he would be back later that day.
When Tatiana got back to the bedroom, she found Grasiella had finished with her shower and was combing her wet hair.
“Feeling better?” Tatiana asked, sitting on the bed beside her sister. “Did you eat anything yet?”
She was quiet for a moment before saying, “I killed her, Tatiana.”
Tatiana took the comb from Grasiella in order to finish untangling her hair. “Better her than you.”
“You can’t understand how I feel.”
Tatiana finished, dropping the comb on her lap. She took hold of Grasiella’s shoulders in a firm grip. “I wish I had been there with you. That thing attacked you.”
It was after G made the girls something to eat that Grasiella answered the front door and she was surprised to find Kana’i there and he looked arrogant as ever. He let himself in, pushing the door wider to accommodate his entrance. “My cousin Kye told me what happened to you.”
“He did?” she asked surprised.
“He told me that you were injured in the attack,” he said, looking as he looked her over for signs of injuries. “Are you?”
She nodded and said, “You didn’t have to come by. Didn’t Kye tell you I was fine?”
“Yeah, he did, but I wanted to bring you something.” Out of his pocket he pulled out a vial. “It will help you feel better,” he explained. “You have to drink all of it, but I have to warn you it tastes awful.”
She took the vial from him but kept her gaze pinpointed on him. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”
With his hands in his pockets he said, “Whatever you have, believe me, it’s not like this.”
Looking at it she asked curious, “What is it?”
“It’s just a little something I made up. It’s no big deal, take it or don’t take it. Whatever you want to do.”
“I guess this means that you’re not going to try to kick me off the island anymore?” she asked, giving him a challenging glance.
He gave her a long look, not sure how he should answer that. He wasn’t sure what it was about her that kept him up at nights, he just knew he liked being around her. “I still might.”
“Wait a minute; did you just say that you’re cousins with Kye?” A sudden scary thought popped into her head. “Has he been gossiping about me and my sister with you?” she asked suspiciously.
“First, guys don’t gossip and second, yeah, he kind of mentioned what you are.” He looked at her and said somewhat accusingly, “You should’ve told me.”
Crossing her arms, “Why would I do that? I don’t even like you.”
“Sure you do. Everybody likes me.” He flashed a charming grin.
It almost made him attractive, but she wasn’t buying this side of him. “Who are these people?” She stood on her tip toes to gaze over his shoulder. “Can I talk to them?”
He didn’t find that amusing, “Maybe I would have been nicer if you told me what you are.”
“Can’t imagine why I didn’t do just that, seeing as I always go up to local bullies I just met who are trying to kick me off the island and tell them all my deep dark secrets. Hmmm,” she was enjoying this.
His tone grew serious as he said, “I would have understood, I know how it feels to be different.”
It was the way he said it that tugged at her. “Crazy,” she muttered, casting her eyes downward. Drawing her eyes up towards him she replied, “I liked you better when I thought you were a jerk.”
He laughed at her comment then said very charismatically, “I could be nice to the right kind of girl.”
It was what was implied in his tone that made her say, “You ruined the moment.”
Catching her eyes with his stare, his eyes became a fiery red. She uncrossed her arms stepping back in amazement.
“We have something in common. We’re both different from most people on this island.” Taking a step towards her, he added, “Now we both know something about each other. See, we’re becoming friends.”
“Is Kye like you?”
He made a face, “No.”
“Oh.”
“He’s got nothing on me. He wishes he did but he doesn’t come close.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he will never be as good as me in anything.” He winked at her.
Grasiella hadn’t realized that Kye was more than what he seemed. She wondered if Tatiana knew, probably since she had shared all her secrets with him. “Pele,” she uttered aloud, remembering the story G had told them.
“She’s our grandmother.”
“Does Tatiana know this?”
Placing his hand over her hand that held the vial, he said, “Take this. You’re going to feel better much better.”
The way he said it sent chills down her spine.
He let himself out, closing the door behind him. Examining the vial once more, she uncorked it and took a swig. She felt queasy. That feeling soon disappeared. He was right. She was feeling much better.