Chapter 39
THREE DAYS LATER My eyes linger slightly longer on the window as I take in the gorgeous sunrise. Every morning since I have been staying here at Carson’s hotel, I have been waking up at the butt crack of dawn, and this is the second sunrise I have seen since being here. I let out a sigh and moved back in my chair, letting my brain linger on everything that had happened over the last few days. Carson kept his word that my mother wouldn’t be around, and I hadn’t seen her, or her lover man, since have been here. I have been trying not to think about them too much, but I know I must see them soon. I have had no headaches since I have been here, and Tala seems to be with me more frequently, especially when Carson is around. I think she may have a crush on him. Tala is still hellbent on not telling me what she is, but she told me. She would explain soon, even though she thought I should see my mum as soon as she could tell me more, which was confusing, as Carson had been on to me about it as well. Shaking my thoughts away, I look toward the door to the bedroom I have been staying in and let out a sigh. Cassie was coming here, and we would have a girly day, even though I had no clue what that meant to her. Where I come from, it means shopping and getting our nails done. I asked if I could leave and look around the town, but I had only been to a few places, and that was with Carson. It was a little unnerving as I wanted to pick up some new panties, but I had to leave them as I felt embarrassed. “He would have helped you choose,” Tala chimed in when I let out a groan. “Don’t say that,” I murmured out loud. “I don’t want to think about—” “Why?” she blurted. “He is hot, and he is clearly into you.” I said nothing. “How would you know?” I asked, frowning. “You can’t see him.” “Yes, I can,” she grunted. “So, how is that possible?” I asked. “I mean, I can hear your voice, but I have no clue what you are. Since you won’t tell me, are you some kind of witch or unicorn? Something so bizarre that you are afraid that I might not like you. ” Tala burst out laughing. “Unicorn?” she giggled. After she calmed down, she sighed. “A witch?” she asked. “Do you believe in them?” I stilled. I didn’t know what to believe. It was strange hearing a voice in my head as it was. A witch would explain a lot, but that is the ultimate question—do I believe in witches? Were they real? I didn’t want to answer her. A knock thudded on the door, pulling me from my thoughts, and I looked over to see the door open and Cassie’s head looking around. Her eyes landed on mine as she smiled. “Morning,” she said as she pushed open the door and came in with a container. “I thought we could do our nails,” she murmured. “I got loads of colours for you to choose from.” I smiled. “Sure,” I said as I moved over to the table, as she closed the door behind her. I sat down as she walked over and placed the container on the table. She pulled the lid off and started removing all the stuff. My eyes widened as I took in all the different colours she had. “What colour would you like to have?” she asked, showing me every colour. Different shades of red, purple, blue, and even oranges appeared. I picked up a few until I found a pale purple and handed it to Cassie. She smiled as she sat down and looked at me. “Lovely colour,” she said. “It goes with your outfit.” I glanced down at my grey sweatpants and purple cropped top. I had little to choose from with the clothes my mother brought me. No nice dresses, even though I haven’t been able to go anywhere to wear one. Cassie got to work with applying the nail polish to my nails. Her eyes stayed on what she was doing. There was a dull silence in the room until I cleared my throat. “So, what are we doing after this?” I asked, praying we could go outside as I started climbing the walls while being stuck in. I was an outdoorsy person. “Well, after this, I have to see my mother again,” she said, her eyes looking up at me for a moment and then back at my nails. My heart shattered slightly. Ever since Carson told me about his mother, I felt heartbreak. Cassie said little about her mum, and I knew she found it hard to talk about her mother to me. I only know what Carson told me. “How is she?” I asked. “Did she like my flowers?” Cassie looked up and grinned. “She did,” she said. “She loved them. I choose another batch to go up to her today; they are in the kitchen in some water.” I smiled. Flowers always brightened up someone’s day when they needed it. “That’s nice,” I said and let out a sigh. “What am I doing, though?” Cassie furrowed her eyebrows at me. “What do you mean?” she asked, moving her head to the side. “What do you fancy doing?” I stared at her. “I don’t know,” I murmured, looking away and toward the window. “I was wondering if I could go outside. I have been stuck in this room for two days and nowhere since Zain took me out.” “I don’t know who—” she said, but I looked back at her and cut her off. “I need some fresh air, and I was also thinking I might see my mum later.” Cassie’s eyes widened. If I said I wanted to see my mum, I knew that would get her attention. I felt my head getting heavy. “You want to talk to your mum?” Tala asked. I said nothing. Clearing my throat, I looked at my nails as Cassie’s eyes went to my hands again. “So, can you ask someone to accompany me if I’m not allowed outside alone?” I stuck to Carson’s rules and never went outside after dark. I didn’t know if there were wolves outside. I was too scared to look. Whenever my head went to the pillow, I fell asleep instantly. It was like sleeping on a cloud with the mattress I had. “Why don’t you ask Carson?” Cassie asked, making me still. As much as I wanted to ask him, I felt weird asking him. Cassie looked at me and smiled. “You know he likes you,” she said. “I can take you to his office, and you ask him to take you for a walk in the forest.” I said nothing. Cassie returned to my nails as I kept my eyes on what she was doing. After another coat, I moved my hand up and blew on my nails while Cassie put the nail polish back into the container and placed the lid back on. She looked at me and motioned toward the door. “Come on,” she said. “I will walk you to the office.” I gave her a nod and got up from the table. We both walked over to the door. I opened the door for Cassie since she had her hands full. I placed my hand on the door, only to bump into a hard chest. I stumble back, narrowly missing Cassie, and see Carson staring back with a smile. “Hey,” he murmured. “I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me.” I stared at him, trying to keep my heart from leaping out of my chest. “Say yes,” Tala blurted. I cleared my throat and stepped back slightly, only to bump into Cassie. “Yeah,” I whispered. Carson smiled and moved back. “Okay, I have to pop to the office to finish something before we can go,” he said as I stepped out and walked away, with Carson following me. I looked over my shoulder to see Cassie grinning. “Told you he likes you,” she mouthed before she turned away. My mind wondered over what she said. Did Carson like me?