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61: SECRETS
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The Mate Agreement 62: GLASS VASE
Minutes pass. An hour passes. The whole of eternity could have began and ended as I crouched there, cradling my head, feeling like it might explode at any moment. But then when my legs start to go numb, I stand up and walk to my dorm room cause I don’t know what else to do.He’d lied. He’d kept secrets. He’d killed his father; shot him in the head. But why? How? When? I had so many unanswered questions, so many complicated emotions ravaging my brain. Do I even know William at all? Did I ever?What if he is a bad person and all this while had been—No.I remember the person that had taken care of me when I was sick. I remember the person I’d taken the bus ride back; how safe I felt next to him, holding his hand or listening to a song together. I remember the person I’d played chess with, then kissed. It can’t all be fake, can it?I swallow the lump in my throat.When I get to my room, Wilma and mom are there, standing side by side and pouring over Wilma’s true crime map. Thankfully, Ev
The Mate Agreement 63: HEROES AND VILLIANS
(William Ravenstone’s POV)(EIGHT YEARS AGO)I stir awake from a slumber I don’t remember slipping into. I’ve slumped in my study chair, the math textbook on my table still opened to the homework I have due tomorrow morning. I’m cold.I sit up in the chair and sigh. This is the third time I’ve fallen asleep in the span of an hour. And although I’m used to it at this point, my narcolepsy still impairs the way I function to an uncomfortable degree.Well, it could be worse. Luke claims mine isn’t even that bad. There were narcoleptics that dropped asleep up to forty to sixty times per day, or more. The most I’d dozed off in a day is twenty-nine times. I’m not scared of falling asleep —I used to be, but not anymore. Now I’m more scared of what I might wake up to.I get to my feet and shuffle over to the windows I’ve left open. Outside, the wind is howling, the rain falling with a vengeance. I stare out at the fountain, at the marble statue of Ares; the Greek god of war in the center, donn
The Mate Agreement 64: LETTER
I rush to William.When I’m closer, I notice he’s not actually still, but trembling slightly, and I recognize the clutches of sleep paralysis. His eyes are terrified and his gaze is glued to the ceiling above. Although this too is horrible, relief floods my system because at least it’s not the unthinkable I was thinking of.I shake his shoulder, waking his body up.He shoots upright, clutches himself tightly, wrapping his hands around his stomach, eyes screwed shut tightly. “What have I done?” He mutters repeatedly, trembling, still somewhat disconnected from reality. “What have I done?”“Shh.” I shush him, patting his cheek before pulling him to me and wrapping my hands around him.He clings to me tightly, shivering.I rub soothing circles on his back, glancing down at the pill bottles on the floor worriedly. Did he overdose? It doesn’t look like it. It looks like he had knocked them over by mistake instead. Still, the dread and worry makes my stomach churn.I pat his back, rocking h
The Mate Agreement 65: EVERY STORY NEEDS A DRESS UP MONTAGE
I wake up the next day to the good news that Miss Valerie will be evaluating the rest of our Mate 101 scores based on our interactions with our mates during the school trip. It’s basically a guarantee that I have passed the class with flying colors, but the good news does little to lift the cloud of gloom I’ve slept and woken up with. Evin tells me the school management are in a hurry to graduate us, eager to usher in another set of students. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Just a month ago, I’d been sick of this whole school, and dying to graduate so I could return to my pack house. Now, I’m not so sure I want to leave. I’m not so sure I’m ready to leave. I don’t even want to get out of this bed. “It’s two in the afternoon already.” Evin says, wiggling her feet into black knee-high boots, before standing up and smoothing down the sequin mini-dress she’s wearing. This is the third time she’d come back to the dorm room to change her outfit for the portfolio photos
The Mate Agreement 66: PROM IT UP
Time flies by quicker than I could grasp.We’d stayed in Bonnie’s Boutique until it was almost sundown the previous day, but I ended up finding the perfect dress. Or at least what both Wilma and Bibah agreed was the perfect dress. To me, it seemed a little too much for prom.By the time we got back to school, I was too exhausted to do anything else, so I crashed into bed and welcomed the slumber. Early the next morning, Evin woke me up to remind me that today was my last chance to get my academic bearings properly done; transcripts, reports, and the official college application recommendations for those of us with the intention to pursue higher education.So while the rest of the seniors bubbled with excitement and counted down the few hours until prom, I went from one administrative office to another, getting everything for my graduation ready. But I liked it, because it took my mind off things I didn’t want to think about. Like William Ravenstone. Mostly.It had been more than twent
The Mate Agreement 67: FRAGMENTS OF MY SOUL
I slip out of the ballroom.My feet hurt from dancing in heels, so I kick off the red shoes and hold them in my hand as I make my way outside. I can hear the soft bass of Wildest Dream by Taylor Swift playing back inside, and it’s so hauntingly beautiful hearing the bridge out in the hallway that I’m tempted to go back in.But I’m too sad. My heart feels too heavy.And the sound of the downpour of rain outside pulls me.The wind is howling, swaying the branches of the trees in the distance. I take a deep breath; a lung-full of the scent of rain on sand. I step into it, barefoot in the grass, my silk dress trailing behind. Craning my head up towards the sky, I feel every raindrop on my skin, eyes closed lips slightly parted. It’s magic. It’s comfort. It’s peace. It’s perfect. Almost. I unpin my hair and shake it, flinging droplets of rain.I can still hear the soft echoes of the song from the ballroom, and like a mad woman, I begin to twirl barefoot in the rain, dancing, crying, singing
The Mate Agreement 68: GRADUATION
I stand near the school gates, tapping my foot. My black heels sink a little into the damp earth with each movement, causing me to stumble slightly here and there. I keep my gaze on the gate with rapt attention and laser focus, impatiently waiting.I glance down at my phone. No calls, just a message from Bibah telling me to get back to the hall, that graduation is now in full swing. I dial my mom’s number.I look back to the gates again, chewing my bottom lip. My mother is running thirty minutes late. But that isn’t all. She always, always answers her phone, but this is the twelfth time I’ve called, each going to voicemail.I wait for the beep as the call goes to her answering machine. Her voice floods my ears for the twelfth time, mechanical and formal.*Camille here, leave a message.*“Mom, where are you?! It’s starting already. Call me back as soon as you get this, please.” I say, then sigh and end the call, hoping she’s just in a place that had little or no service.I tuck the pho
The Mate Agreement 69: COUP
I’m not particularly fond of planes.There’s something about the flying pieces of metal that’s just unnatural to me. I’m not exactly scared of heights, but being a thousand feet in the air and stuck in a moving contraption of metal and technology is a bit unnerving. Or maybe it is just my claustrophobia kicking in.I lean back in the ridiculously comfortable seat. William had booked us both first class tickets on the plane heading for Deveras. I’d flown coach once, but this is much nicer. I sigh, and sink deeper into the seat. We’d manage to make it in time for the flight thanks to Akio’s transporting skills and his older sister’s fast car that literally teleported us to the airport.“Comfortable?” William asks, leaning sideways in his seat to watch me.I nod. “It’s just a flying piece of metal anyways.”He chuckles, then a worried expression envelopes his face. He takes my hand, looking at me seriously. “It’s going to be okay, you know that right?” He whispers.I’m not so sure.If an
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The Mate Agreement 111: EPILOGUE
The Mate Agreement 110: THE END
The Mate Agreement 109: PREMONITIONS OF CHAOS
The Mate Agreement 108: MOTORBIKE
The Mate Agreement 107: SPEEDBOAT DINNER
The Mate Agreement 106: LUCKY GIRL
The Mate Agreement 105: YOU’RE KINDA HOT WHEN YOU NAG
The Mate Agreement 104: LOST TO WHIMSY
The Mate Agreement 103: IMMERSED
