Oh, great, more shit to deal with in this rabbit hole.
Chapter Three
Go, Go, Gadget Heart
Levi
“How about we meet up tomorrow at 9 a.m. in the Admin building? I’ll write down the room number for you,” I say as I grab a pen. Writing down the room and floor number, I stand up and walk back to her, handing her the packet. As we touch, I pick up on not only her emotions but, unexpectedly, her pet’s.What? How is that possible?
She bats her long eyelashes at me and smiles while her Marten hisses. I quickly release her hand, afraid that the little bastard is going to bite and tuck them away in my pockets. “The next step is meeting Moni. She should be at the park waiting for you,” I say, and watch as she scolds her pet with a chastising look and quickly leaves the room, giving me one last smile before walking out of my office.
Standing there for a minute, I take in the room that was given to me in preparation of following in my father’s footsteps. Since he’s one of the council leaders, it’s a well known fact that I’m up next to take over in the future. That is, if I want. Father is very understanding and won’t force me to do it if I so choose. I shake my head, still not believing this room was given to me as a student. What supe needed an office while they went to school to learn their craft? Granted, sometimes it helped when I needed a work space to deal with new spells or handle private conversations, but still.
Sitting down in my chair, I stare blankly at the computer screen as I kick myself mentally for what just happened. I don’t know what I was thinking when I pulled her into my lap. That was so out of character for me. But when she grabbed onto my hand like it was a lifeline, I couldn’t help it, all logic flew out the window.
That wasn’t at all what I was expecting when my father asked me to get the new student settled in. He pulled me into his office this morning and explained the situation. We both believed she would pick school instead of her other option—life in prison. It seemed like a sensible choice at the time, but seeing her like that, I’ve never felt so… lost.
I’ve learned to keep my feelings locked away. It was the only logical way to get assigned tasks done promptly. I know how ironic it was, being a mage with the speciality of emotions, but I found it worked better to identify, control, and lock them up. Zeke and Ryker are always joking around, calling me Mr. Robot, but… they are correct. It’s not like I don’t ever feel emotions. I just know it’s wasted energy to act on them. That’s why I don’t socialize outside of our small group. But Nerezza’s feelings were all over the place, ranging from anger to confusion, to nostalgia. Every shaky sob she let out was a wrecking ball to the metal wall I held around my emotions.
I almost kissed her.Fuck!A stranger. Didn’t I just break up with Emer a month ago for cheating on me? Thankfully, we only dated for a couple of months. Shaking my head in confusion, I try to make sense of it all.
See, this is why emotions don’t work. Turning to my computer, I type in Nerezza’s appointment so I won’t miss it, and go ahead and order a buffet setting for tomorrow. I might as well make sure I feed her. I want to make her stay here as pleasant as possible.Just like I would any other student, I tell myself.
I’ve just finished up the order when there’s a knock on the door. “Enter,” I say, my curiosity piqued. I don’t have any more appointments today that I know of.
The door opens and in walks my ‘mother’ and father. My biological mother died during childbirth when I was born prematurely at 30 weeks. Lilith is the only mother figure I have, but it’s a sore subject with my father when I call her mother. I quickly rise up and politely nod my hello while I button my jacket. Lilith walks in wearing a white sundress that flutters around her calves, paired with white gloves and red heels. Her long burgundy hair hangs loosely down her back as her bright blue eyes sparkle with excitement.
Dad, or Dean Matthew Caldron as most people know him, is wearing his casual jacket, dark blue slacks, and a white button-up. The scarf I bought him last year is wrapped around his neck, and it brings a smile to my face. My relationship with Lilith has always been strained no matter how hard I try to please her. It’s the complete opposite with my father though. It has always been the little things that made our relationship strong. Hence the fact he was showing off the present he got for his birthday. He was wearing it like a damn trophy and I couldn’t be happier.
“Leviathan, darling. How are you?” Lilith asks as she comes over and plants a light kiss on my cheek. Hopefully, she’s wearing lipstick that doesn’t smear this time.
Smiling, I welcome them into the room, “I’m good. You?” I ask.
“Oh, I’m perfect, darling,” she says, rolling her R’s. “We decided to come over and check on how the meeting went with our new subject,” she tells me while sitting down in the chair Nerezza had just occupied. Her smile is innocent enough, but my hackles rise up in warning.
Fear spikes up for a second, but I quickly squash the feeling. My father takes that moment to reach in for a hug. His hugs are the best, full of love and understanding. I’ve never had to meet a goal or standard with him to feel like I belong. As he pulls back, he gives me a knowing smile.
“Mattie, see what you’ve done now?” Lilith stands and comes over to my jacket, straightening out the lapels from our hug. “You can’t be that physical with him. It ruins his look,” she scolds dad, while he gives her a questioning look. “There, all perfect,” she announces, backing up and looking over my suit. “This was one of my favorites out of the Winter collection. Good choice for the meeting,” she praises, smiling as she turns back to once again take a seat.
“Now. Tell me everything. How did she take the news?” She leans back and holds up a hand for a drink. As she expects, my father waves his own hand, and a Forbidden Orgasm cocktail lands into her palm. “Thank you, sweetie,” she says.
I sit behind my desk, grateful for the barrier. Placing my interlocked hands on the surface to keep me from fidgeting, I rehash how the meeting went. It wasn’t until I got to her crying that I stumbled over my words, and Lilith, like the predictable predator she is, jumped on it.
“Wait. What do you mean you tried to comfort her? Did your powers not work?” She sets her empty cocktail down on my desk, leaving a mark on it that I know she’s going to use against me one day because that’s who she is, and looks over at dad. He doesn’t hide his grimace fast enough, and I know I’m fucked.
Returning her gaze back to me, Lilith looks like the cat that just skinned the canary.
“Yes,” I say, clearing my throat. “My power was blocked somehow, so I tried to comfort her the best I could,” I say, wishing I could shift in my seat, but knowing any movement would give me away. My skin is crawling from her attention.
She leans forward. “How did you comfort her?” she asks, smiling at me. It’s the smile she uses before she calls ‘checkmate’ and drags a soul down to hell.
“Lilith,” my dad says, catching her attention. “Leave it be.” He now sits in a seat next to her that he conjured up, but I know he’s playing referee in this office. I’ve never had to tell him how she is around me, but I know he’s read the emotions floating off of me after any of my meetings with her. In his own way, he’s trying to protect me by being here.
I appreciate his help, but I just want to get this over with. “I held Nerezza while she cried. I tried telling her things would be okay, and finally, she calmed down after some time. In the end, I was able to give her the card you all loaded and the information she needed for the year, and then she was on her way,” I explain. The only word I choke out is held, but other than that, my delivery was perfect. No emotions whatsoever. I just hope dad can keep his facial expression blank because I know he picked up my confusion. I really don’t want to explain my feelings to both of them. It would be worse than the sex talk, and believe me, that was brutal.
Unfortunately, Lilith didn’t need dad to get a read on the emotions wafting off of me. Her eyes go wide as she grabs at her chest, “You have feelings for her,” she accuses.
I sit frozen, not sure how to answer. Thankfully, dad chimes in.
