Trinity

Chapter 7- First Kiss

I didn’t see a thing. I couldn’t hear a thing either. And what felt like a moment seemed to be a while. I felt nauseous as my belly churned. My head still spun around, and I was dizzy.

There wasn’t any light, just darkness. Some moments later, a voice called my name from a distance I thought could be about 30 steps away.

“Is she safe?” I heard. I tried seeing where I was, but I couldn’t. It seemed like I was paralyzed lying down on a soft piece of fluffy cloth. At least I had a sense of feeling in me.

“She’ll be fine” another voice uttered before I heard Kez speak in the background
“I swear I didn’t know it will hurt her” she said “She ate just a small piece”

“She’s pretty human” uttered yet another strange voice seeming to be Matt’s— the supposed leader of the Cattivo boys. “She’s our next target” he said “I think I’ll enjoy torturing this one.”

“Don’t count on it” I could tell that the voice belonged to Dante, and then voices (better yet, the chatter of individuals) began to come in an adequate frequency.

“She’s stronger than you think.”

“How about this shiny necklace she’s got on?” asked a strange one. That’s when I felt the same wave hit me again, the same way it did when I met with Maverick. My breath felt hot, and my hand caught a hand in a tight grip. I pressed on the hand hard enough to the extent I felt like I snapped it in half.

The sound awoke me, and I jumped forward like I had a bad dream.

I saw them look at me. The loud hip-hop songs still played in the background, but this time, the colour around the pool space was blue. The pool was lit up, and many eyes around me stared. Some bulged and others creased in some sort of irritation.

Kez’s hands covered her mouth, and Zaynab stood beside her with a sudden nonchalance. Dante didn’t move an inch from the rooftop. And then I felt some thick liquid, flow down my fingers.

I didn’t shriek, neither did I feel sorry or awkward in any way, for holding Matt’s hand in a tight grip. But I shivered at the smell of his blood.

His face squeezed, covered in pain, and didn’t say a word. Matt held my right hand with the other, and I released him from my grip. Then I stood, surprised at the harm I’d caused in a day. Another reason why I disliked parties.

I was always a bad luck in celebrations, and it all began when I was just five.

I couldn’t recall what actually happened, but the flames kept burning, and I was in it. It didn’t hurt, and I didn’t burn. But I saw mother rush in the kitchen, dashing out with me in her hands. Ever since, I disliked parties. It reminded me of such moments that I was a massive bad luck, and I despised such feelings.

My hands kept shivering, especially the right, which was covered with Matt’s blood.

“I’m sorry” I apologized to him, and I could see that he was in so much pain.

So, I stood, heading for the exit.

No one followed me out. Not even Kez or the twins. I had successfully wrecked another party, and I was the bad guy once more. I knew I shouldn’t have come to the party. It was too dangerous for me… for them.

I walked down the staircases in haste, ignoring the fact that Mateo made out with his girl in the backseat of his car.

I inhaled vodka and immediately thought of Dante. Yet every time I turned around; he wasn’t anywhere close. I walked past the apartment, and I saw Dante walking to and fro the rooftop, drinking more of his drink.

My breath increased, as well as my heartbeat rate, inviting more adrenaline rush through my bloodstream. I couldn’t take the sight away. The pain in his face and the blood that dried on my right hand. The faces kept staring at me in shock.

This was worse than my night mares. At least in my nightmares, I was  the only one who got hurt.

A little while I heard something behind me— like a growl accompanied with footsteps. I inhaled more of the vodka, and I smelt blood. I felt chased, although I was unsure.

My mind was in much mess already to the point I couldn’t think straight. But I heard it again behind me. A loud thud alongside breathing. A breath of one that seemed to have run a marathon in a second. Yet I turned back to see no one, though the side of the pavement seemed to be trampled on. The dust gave it away.

I shook in terror. Terrified that someone was after me. Maybe Matt or Dante, or someone else I wasn’t sure of. Maybe the lady in my nightmares. Maybe a flesh-eating werewolf.

So, I ran forward in fear of my safety, hoping I don’t get killed before I reached home. I had to see father at least, before someone killed me, I had to tell him what I knew. I had to tell him what I was and who I was.

I kept running, and I kept listening to the footsteps keep with my pace. Then growls and more growls filled the air. No one was behind me. No one was ahead of me, and no one was atop the roofs. I felt chased by nothing, yet I didn’t believe I hallucinated. I inhaled Dante’s scent— mainly of vodka— and I still perceived blood, more than the first time. It was a rush. I couldn’t tell where it came from. Like I approached close and closer to a blood bank.

The night was dark and empty. A large crow flew above me right before I jumped up the staircases, banging hard on the door.
“Dad open up!” I yelled, panting hard until my head ached. My voice shivered, and my heart quivered. My knees shook tremendously, and I kept turning backwards to be sure I wasn’t followed.

“Open up, dad, please open up!” And then he did.

“Trinity?” he said in surprise, but then I dashed into the living room in less than a second before locking it shut. “What happened?”

I couldn’t say a thing. I shook my head, closing my eyes tight, and then I wept silently. Tears like rain drops, which slid down the rooftop, began to flow down my eye lids.

“It’s okay, Tee.” He said. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. You’re safe, my love”

He held me in a warm embrace. He could feel my rising temperature, yet he didn’t ask why. He saw the blood in my hand, and he didn’t ask why.

I sobbed slowly on him, though I didn’t want to wet his shirt with my tears.

“It’s alright, my love” he kept saying, until my breath steadied. My eyes were warm, and then immediately, I was filled with a sudden rage.

I shouldn’t have run. I should’ve stayed back for the worst thing that could happen. I should’ve stayed back and fighting no matter what the case might be. I should have stayed and took the risk instead of scurrying in fear like a weakling. Maybe this was how Chester must’ve felt every day when he faced the Cattivo boys.

“Go take some rest Tee” Dad said, and I nodded, biting hard on my lips as I walked through the passage leading to my room.

I took a deep breath before I held onto the door’s handle. I heard someone’s heartbeat come from the inside, and I wished I could tell who it was. But this wasn’t a time to fear the unknown. The worst had already happened, and I wasn’t willing to back out from a fight this time around.

Maybe it’s because I knew less of everything that’s why I feared— I thought. Even so, I couldn’t back down from this. This was who I am. This was what I got myself into, and I couldn’t run from it. I had to face it, or else I’d keep running forever.

So, I opened the door after a quick inhale, ready for the worst that could happen. Just above the bed was the least person I expected to be in my room.

Dante Stormborn.

And he opened yet another bottle of vodka in front of me. I sighed, relaxing my shoulders before I locked the door behind me.

“I had to make sure_”

“You’re not my babysitter” I said, cutting him short of words. “I sensed you everywhere” I leaned on the door, and Dante looked at the wardrobe, showing no trace of emotion. “Why did you chase me?”

“Trinity, I didn’t chase you. I_”

“I was consternated”

“I can explain”

“No, you can’t! You don’t owe me any explanation” I retorted, walking close to him.

He stood before I arrived his side. Then I halted. He didn’t seem to be drunk or unstable. He was perfectly fine and sane as he walked towards me, leaving us stand only inches apart.

I didn’t want to look at his face, so I looked at my shoes instead. I scratched my hair while I slowly developed a cold foot.

“You shouldn’t have come” I said. His left hand held my chin, and he slowly raised them up. My eyes met his, and soon, everything disappeared. The tension, the agitation, the aggression. Everything faded as I stared into his beautiful eyes.

I could’ve moved my eyes away, yet I remained static. I could have turned, but I didn’t. Rather, his head drew closer to mine by the second, and then our lips touched. His breath settled on my face while he kissed me slow, and then I felt the burning in my body. The very same butterflies didn’t just fly in my belly, but my entire body answered the call of his lips.

He did it again, sucking my bottom lip before drawing the bottom lip out with his teeth.

Then I leaned into him. His right hand cupped my face— having his fingers reach behind my head— whereas he held on the bottle with the other before going at it again with much intensity.

My breath started to increase, and I felt his grip round my waist, pushing my body closer to his. And then he stopped— shifting my spiralling hair to the back of my head with his fingers. His eyes sparkled i, and his lips were wet. I didn’t care about the way his lips tasted like vodka. I didn’t care where this night was leading me… Was leading us."

But just after his lips touched mine, I closed my eyes. And in the resting darkness, I saw Chester on his black bike paddling to school on the lonely road.

I could smell him. The scent of pineapples that drew me close.

Then, the feeling of butterflies died instantly, and I withdrew myself from Dante’s body. I knew he wanted this to happen, and I wanted it too as much as he did. But I felt guilty by the mere image of him. Chester had to come in the way, and I didn’t know why.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. I turned sideways.

“Nothing”

“Then why did you stop?”

I breathed out. “I don’t know” I answered before I sat on the bed.

“Is it the vodka?”

“I don’t know if we should be doing this…”
“Sure” Dante replied, taking another gulp of his vodka.

I looked down, in thought of how messed up I might’ve made him feel. But after I looked up, he was gone in the wind.

The curtains swayed forward due to the air that escaped from the partly opened windows, and I saw the empty, dark road, which reminded me of how I felt terrified a few moments ago.

But that was all gone now. Nothing mattered anymore. Not Mateo or his supposed girlfriend, I was yet to know. Not Kez, nor the twins. Definitely not Matt or the terrifying sight of his blood. I was yet to wash away.

Nothing, and no one else mattered but me.

All I knew was Hells-Ending's a one man’s army. And only true survivors could live to the next day. I was still new to the system, and already, I had learnt a whole lot. Lycan High was a school of freaky monsters. Dad held on to this huge secret he was afraid to spill, and I was part of something greater than me. Something I doubted I needed in my life. Something that made much sense to others, though it seemed vague to me. I learnt my ability to cause chaos at the wrong moment, in the right place.

So, I walked to the bathroom, taking a cold shower in the bathtub. It took me almost ten minutes to get rid of the already coagulated blood on my right hand.

In time, I was done from the shower, and I kept thinking of all that happened. I kept thinking of how I had my first kiss.

It wasn’t how I expected it to happen. And I never would’ve imagined Dante would be my first kiss. I just met him, and already, this happened?

Nonetheless, I slept with the lights on, embracing my pillow like it was a part of me I didn’t want to lose. All I hoped for was to wake up in one piece the next morning.

And I did.