Ollie sniffled, tears still trailing down his cheeks as he softly rasped, “I miss him, and I shouldn’t. He still sends me texts reminding me to eat…even though I haven’t responded.”
She smiled gently. “It’s okay that you do.”
“No! It’s not. I should be instantly turned off by all of it. I should be angry, I should be disgusted, and I shouldhatehim! I saw…likely just a fraction of what he had done. I saw it!”
Annabel frowned, and her form seemed to become slightly more see-through at his words. “You saw it?”
“I-it was…dark. I touched the stone wall, and they just—” Ollie whimpered, “—kept coming! Even when the lights turned on, they didn’t stop! I should HATE him!”
“But you don’t.”
“I don’t,” he sobbed. “I don’t… I just wish he was here—ah… Do you resent me for that?”
She laughed softly, her eyes seeming slightly sad as they gazed at him. “Why would I?”
“Because they killed you!”
“They also killed your parents, and probably those before them.”
Ollie opened his mouth to respond, but faltered. “Y-you don’t think…Noble…”
“No,” she said quickly. “I don’t think he killed your parents, or your grandparents. I was floating around here for a while, and I don’t think he realized you were a witch at all until recently. Not when I think back to how he first acted around you. If he had killed your parents, he would have known already.”
“Then why?! Why me?! Why did he approachme? Or rather, why did he stay?! Do you… Do you think he planned to kill me eventually?”
“No, Ollie, I don’t.”
“Then—”
“You never let me explain why I let Noble near you,” Red stated as he padded into the room, the door to his office opening and closing on its own.
Red held himself still,as Ollie looked down at him for a moment, before saying, “To be fair, I never let you tell me anything in regards to Noble. But, fine…tell me.”
He took a deep breath. “I don’t think I should be the one to tell you the whole reason. Noble would be the best person for that. But I will say…I allowed him to be near you because I knew he wouldn’t hurt you.” Red winced and added, “At least, not physically…”
Mentally…both he and Noble had managed to fuck that up.
“How are you so sure?”
“There were things I found out, things he said, not to mention the dopey way he looked at you… I was sure. I still am.Even though all of us managed to hurt you, I know for certain that he never intended, or wanted, to cause you pain.
“As for what I found out, and already knew, I really think it would be best coming directly from him.”
Ollie took a stuttering breath. “I…I need to think. I just need to figure out what I want, or what I'm going to do before…letting him come here again. Because I just don’t know what I even can do. Or what I’m supposed to do.”
“Just do whatever you want to do, Ollie. I’ll support whatever choice you make,” Red promised, even though he personally wanted Noble to stay. The knowledge, always on his mind, that the witch hunter had been the only one able to reach Ollie when he’d been lost to a rage that wasn’t fully his.
His head was throbbingfrom both overthinking and crying, as Ollie walked into his kitchen, and stared blankly for a moment. His mind kept returning to two of his current problems—Noble and…Jahla. Yes, he missed Noble, and he still wasn’t sure what he was going to do in regards to him, but he missed Jahla as well…and the situation with her was different.
She was… Dammit, she was his best friend! She was. He knew she was, even though he doubted it sometimes, but if Ollie really thought about those feelings, he knew they were just his own insecurities sneaking free. She was his best friend, and he wanted to fix things.
To be honest, Ollie should have known about Noble sooner. The signs had been there, and he had denied every single one of them, but he had, in fact, recognized them. There had been somany moments when he had noticed things were off, far more than Jahla could have ever possibly witnessed with the limited time she spent around Noble. While he didn’t know how she had found out, the fact still remained, he should have known long before her.
And knowing Jahla as he did, he already knew why she hadn’t said anything. The reason was pretty simple…Jahla knew him too well. She had known he didn’t want to know, and she tended to not push the truth when it came to things he was actively denying, especially if she knew it would hurt him. She would always wait until he was ready, or until she thought it wouldn’t hurt as badly. Jahla just didn’t get the chance this time, as Ollie ended up finding out on his own.
Sighing, he turned into the hall off the kitchen, but froze when his gaze caught a flash of transparent white near the floor. Ollie remained there only for a moment before taking off down the hall toward the private library, with hope in his heart for the first time in days.
“Pumpkin!?” he cried out as his foot caught on the edge of the opening to the secret library, and he fell to his knees just past the door. Ollie ignored the pain and looked up almost desperately, only to stare on in shock.
