"We need to talk," Eli says, a desperate look on his face. Cass stops her incessant chattering long enough to look up and see Eli pinning me with his stare.

"Who's this?" Cass loudly whispers. It's the kind of whispering where everyone can hear what she's saying but it gives the illusion that she's asking for me to tell her a secret. I don't see the point in it, and I'm not in the mood to answer any of her questions in too much depth because Eli is right in front of us. I'm still quite angry with him for grabbing me at Velvet Elixir, and then he wouldn't let me go to class today. Just the thought of what would have happened if Cooper wasn't there shakes me to my core.

"I'm not in the mood to chat, Eli. Are you going to let me leave now? Or do I need to scream before someone comes to save me again?"

Cass looks shell-shocked at the tone I'm using. I've never been the type to lead with animosity, but I'm honestly so tired of Eli bothering me. I considered him a friend until he became pushy. I can tell that he's sorry for his actions and wants to be forgiven, but forgiveness isn't something one can rush.

"I'm really sorry about that, Thea. I was just desperate for you to talk to me. I still am. I'm so sorry for the way things went down. If you would just let me explain-"

I don't let Eli finish his sentence. Instead, I link Cass' arm with mine and drag her right past Eli's begging form. Cass usually drives to work and I usually walk, so I'm making it clear to her that I want a ride home as I lead her to the parking lot. She understands my need for a united front, so she turns her head back at Eli and gives him one of her infamous glares as we walk by.

Right as I'm about to pass, Eli grabs my elbow. It's not an aggressive grip, but it's still tight enough to where I can't walk any further and Cass' arm is ripped out of mine. "I'm sorry," he whispers before he starts mumbling words that are too fast and too quiet for me to understand. Looking at him, I'm about to snap with rage when his eyes do something funny. For a moment they seem to flash electric blue, way brighter than his normal eye color. What the heck?

He continues to mumble words incoherently until he lets go of me. Once his hand loses contact with me, I stumble back as a wave of dizziness hits me. Cass is quick to catch my faltering form and is about ready to pounce on him. "You better stay the fuck away from Thea or else I'm calling the goddamn cops! Don't you ever touch her again or I'll call my father, the best fucking lawyer around and he'll make sure you end up in prison for assault!"

Cassidy, ever the protective friend, waits until Eli backs up before shifting her evil glare off of him and setting a softer gaze on me. Eli looks at me once more, tears in his eyes. His tears shouldn't affect me, but they do, and I start to rethink my decision to not hear him out. As a tear falls, he sighs. "Remember, it didn't have to be like this." He leaves moments later and I'm left to think about his words. What is he talking about? I understand his words, but I feel like there's a hidden meaning behind them, something big I'm missing.

I didn't miss the flash of blue in his eyes. However, I'm not going to brush it off like I would have a few days ago. After my eyes were opened to the supernatural, I'm not going to take any little thing too lightly. I have to remember to ask Cooper about it. A wolf's eyes turn black, a vampire's eyes turn red... so what creature's eyes turn blue?

~

The car ride back to my house is a short one spent thinking about how, yet again, one of my friends is a supernatural creature. Looking over at Cassidy, I begin to wonder if she's human or not. I've known her my whole life, but how well do I really know her? My head hurts with all of these new thoughts flowing through it, and as crappy as it sounds, the person I long for the most is Grayson. I haven't seen or talked to him since I woke up in the pack house, and as cheesy as it sounds I feel like there's a piece of my heart missing.

I thank Cass for dropping me off and she shrugs it off and demands that in return for the ride home I have to go the mall with her this upcoming weekend. I don't even try to fight her, happy to spend time with her after she was such a good friend to me. Once I walk through the door, I'm almost knocked down by Evie. She always finds a way to jump on me without warning, and I'm grateful that most of the time I'm able to keep us both upright.

"Thee! It's been so long since I've seen you!" she screeches into my ear, and I have to fight not to cringe back. Even through my eardrums are now ringing, I can't help but smile and place a bunch of kisses all over Evie's face as I squeeze her tightly. I haven't been paying as much attention to her as I should. I blame college, work, and the supernatural- but still, it's no excuse for neglecting her. She only has me and my mom, and I so badly want to be enough for her.

"I've missed you, E. Sorry I've been so busy. But I promise that we'll spend more time together, okay?"

Her face lights up at my words and she continues to tell me about her day at school. I nod and add in a comment here and there as she animatedly tells me about her art projects and her time on the playground. All the while, she's resting on my hip as I set the table. I can hear dishes clanking together in the kitchen from my mom finishing up dinner for us. A wave of nostalgia hits me as I realize that it's hard to remember the last time the three of us sat down to eat dinner together. My mom's always running around taking care of Evie, and when she's not doing that she's flying around the world for work.

I also haven't been home in time for dinner every night and tend to settle for leftovers. I'm usually working at Java or finishing the loads of homework I'm given- Calculus and Biology are NOT fun. Ethics and Psychology are very interesting to me, so I enjoy those subjects a bit more. Thinking about Ethics makes my thoughts drift to Eli, so instead I choose to focus on the cute 6-year-old.

"And then, Sara found a sparkly butterfly necklace in the sand! Sara said it was a magic necklace and she wanted to keep it," Evie babbles, then she places a hand around my ear and leans in to whisper something else. "I know it wasn't really magic, but I pretended it was because Sara was so excited about it." She looks up at me as if she just told me the biggest secret. I let out a little laugh, then place Evie down in her usual seat at the table.

"That was very nice of you, E." I make sure to praise her about her sweet behavior towards her friend, knowing she would appreciate her big sister's compliment. She giggles at my words and her cheeks turn a bright pink. At least now I know blushing is hereditary...

My mom walks into the room with large oven mitts on while holding the Crock Pot. I smile, remembering the last time Evie and my mom made dinner in it she called it a Cock Pot...

My mom went back to the kitchen and returned with side dishes- vegetables, potatoes, and pasta. "Thanks, Mom! This looks amazing!"

"Yeah, thanks Mommy!" Evie claps her hands and makes grabby hands for the pasta. I pour a generous amount on her plate before grabbing food for myself.

"You're welcome, guys. I just thought it would be nice for us to have a home-cooked dinner with all three of us." We all dig in and I enjoy the seasoned flavors of the chicken dish along with the savory tastes from the side dishes. A few minutes into the meal, my phone dings and I unlock the phone screen to see about a hundred texts. I forgot that I haven't checked my phone since the weekend when I ignored everyone. I see all the messages from Cass, Cooper and Eli, but I stop scrolling when I see 34 texts from Grayson. I get a little misty-eyed as I scroll through the messages. Each text I read is more and more upsetting.

Baby, please respond

I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but I'm still the same person. I still care about you so much

I'm falling apart here

Don't hate me

DAMN IT THEA ANSWER THE PHONE RIGHT NOW

Sorry for the previous text, I just miss you.

Thea?

The last text is from this morning. Like a dam released of its water, my eyes spill the tears that were forming.

I'll leave you alone. I won't bother you again.

I drop the phone onto the table with a loud crash as the waterworks begin. I can hear my mom worriedly asking me what's wrong. As loud as her worried questions are, my thoughts are louder. How could I have been so ignorant of Grayson's feelings that I don't even check my messages. His texts mirror the mood swings I'm sure he's experiencing. Some texts are innocent, some are angry, some are sad, some are sweet. There's many more texts, but I can't read them all without becoming more and more upset with myself.

Grayson never allowed me to be upset when we spent time together, and here I am, making him miserable. What kind of soul mate am I, rejecting him in his time of need? My sniffles eventually let up and I look up to see my mom and Evie looking up at me with sadness.

"Why are you sad, Thee?" Evie asks, clearly puzzled as to what caused my sudden outbreak.

I give her a sad smile. "I just miss Grayson." And that's the truth. I've decided that I'm going to see him tomorrow. I know that if I call or text him now, I won't say the right things and won't be able to properly explain my feelings of regret. My mom looks like she wants to talk about my now-dried tears, but the slight shake of my head tells her that I don't want to talk about it. She respects my wishes and brings up a new topic of conversation.

The once-amazing tastes and smells of dinner taste like bland prison food now. I don't deserve to enjoy it anymore now that I'm sure that Grayson feels as deflated as I do. Once I began reading his text messages, the weight of our distance finally settled in. After my morning classes, I'm going to text Grayson to meet me at Java. Hopefully he still wants to see me. I wouldn't want to see me after ignoring him. I never even gave him a chance to explain. I'm scared of how much he cares about me, but what if he realizes I'm not a good mate and he decides he's better off without me?

The rest of the night is spent with me worrying about Grayson. I thoughtlessly brush my teeth and shower. I don't talk much the rest of the night. Countless scenarios of our conversation tomorrow play through my mind, all of them having to do with Grayson rejecting me and becoming angry with me. As I fall asleep, my last thoughts are of Grayson. For once, they're not happy thoughts- and my dreams reflect that.

~

I'm waiting at a corner table at Java for Grayson. I texted him that I wanted to meet him at noon, and he responded with a simple "K." I don't know if I should be reading into this response or not, so I just focus on the happiness I'll feel when I see him.

I missed him so much in these last few days, and at this point I don't even care that he's a werewolf. I still have a lot of questions about his species and how he knows we're mates, and I know that I'll find out eventually.

The familiar jingle of the front door rings, and I excitedly look up to see Grayson walking in. He has on an indecipherable expression and I'm not quite sure how to interpret it. He's always had only smiles directed towards me, and his lack of emotion is confusing. As he's walking towards me, a loud crash echoes through the cafe. I instinctively duck my head in fear only to look up and see the windows of the shop shattered, hundreds of pieces of glass littering the ground.

My ears are bombarded with a symphony of screams from the other people in the cafe, all of whom are running towards the exits. Some are even jumping through the holes in the wall where the windows used to be. Instead of finding the exit like everyone else, I try to find Grayson. My eyes frantically search the place. I look through the throngs of running people until I see Grayson in the corner with his back to me.

"Grayson!" I scream for him, hoping he can tell me what's going on. Is it a bomb? Something supernatural? I'm blind in all of this, and there's nothing I can do to protect myself so I search out the one person who makes me feel safest.

Grayson hears me, more easily now that all of the people have already escaped. In the moments before he turns around it feels like a hundred years have passed. When he finally does turn around, my focus isn't on the strange blue fog creeping through the cafe or the shattered glass cutting at my feet. My focus is on the huge silver knife resting in Grayson's abdomen.

Blood is dripping from his mouth. The sight is gruesome, and I instantly run over to him, a sobbing mess. He falls to his knees and I'm able to catch him before he falls completely onto the ground. My tears mix with his blood, and I have no idea what to do. Isn't he supposed to have super healing or something?

My hand rests on the knife sticking out of him, and I don't know whether pulling it out will make it worse or better. "Grayson! Oh my god... Grayson can you hear me?" I cry out to him, but all I can see now are his lifeless eyes staring back at me. He's gone.

~

I wake up screaming and covered in a sheen of sweat. However, not all of the dampness is caused from sweat because I also can't seem to stop crying. Was I dreaming or is Grayson really dead? The tears are never-ending, and I know there's only one way to make them stop.