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Chapter 18.2
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Her eyes opened to blinding sunlight and Eason’s lips on hers. A bubbling in her throat forced her to push him off. She quickly rolled to her side, and vomited up the crystalline water. Eason’s hands were all over her, checking for injuries. Vaguely Nyla thought it felt nice, her mind still a hazy from her dip in the water.
“Are you okay?” Eason asked fervently.
Still fighting to get oxygen into her lungs, she could only nod. Eason fell onto the beach next to her, panting. Sarah crouched down next to Nyla and started stroking her hair away from her face. When Nyla felt like her raw lungs could manage it, she asked, “How did I get out?”
“Eason got you.” Sarah’s hand paused. “I’ve never seen anyone swim like that before,” she added in a hush.
Nyla turned her head to the side so she could see Eason. Apparently, he hadn’t bothered to take off his clothes when he went in after her as
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The next morning Nyla rose in a haze. She hadn’t gotten any sleep, memories of Eason holding her tight interrupting any peace she might have found.“Are you okay?” Breanne asked as Nyla tried to put her shoe on the wrong foot for the fourth time.“Yea,” mumbled Nyla, trying her hardest to finish getting dressed.Coyly Sarah asked, “Does this have anything to do with the walk you took with Eason last night?”Nyla dropped the shoe completely. “I knew it!” squealed Sarah and Breanne, exchanging excited looks.Playing dumb, Nyla asked, “Knew what?”“Well, Eason has been head over heels for you for as long as I’ve been friends with you,” Sarah informed her, doing a little jig out of happiness. “I thought he would never tell you!”“And I suspected he liked you, he was always around,” Breanne added. “Sarah filled me in with the r
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She went in at the shallow end, stepping down the stairs carefully until she stood in the water, which only reached her stomach. Ripples started emanating from her, and she realized she was shaking so much she moving the water.Strong arms wrapped around her, and Eason turned her, so she was against his chest. “It’s okay, Nyla, I’m right here,” he whispered into her ear. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” They stood there with Nyla clutching onto Eason until her shaking receded. Once still, Eason kissed her forehead and let her go.Almost simultaneously, the door to the pool house opened, and Mason stepped inside, her permanent scowl in place.“Why are you here?” snapped Eason a little too harshly, hastily backing away from Nyla.Mason paused and raised an eyebrow. “Can’t I enjoy the show? This is going to be hilarious.”Eason stared at her mutinously. “Fine. I can't m
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The door opening behind her altered Nyla to another person’s presence on the patio. The weather was so lovely, one of the few days of transition between the too cold of winter and the too hot of summer, she had moved to one of the tables outdoors to study. From the stomping of the feet, Nyla knew it was Mason approaching her, and inwardly she sighed. She didn’t want to deal with the girl right now. She just wanted to finish her history reading.“I see my brother’s not hanging onto you. Did you finally scare him off, or did he just come to the conclusion you aren’t worth it?” Mason sneered, stopping next to Nyla.Carefully, Nyla marked her page in her holopad. Turning to Mason, anger sparked in Nyla’s chest. It was unfair she had to be subject to this type of attitude in her own home. Unable to control her anger at the injustice of the situation, Nyla snapped, “What’s your problem, Mason? What did I ever do to you? I
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Mason leaned in close to them. “That you loooooooove her. That you’re seeing each other in some capacity.”Eason sank to a squat next to Mason’s chair, his body trembling.“How did you know?” Nyla asked. Her heart was beating in her ears. If Mason knew… well, they were in trouble.Mason leaned back in her chair, enjoying the chaos she’d created. “I saw you in the pool holding her, Eason. That first day. And unlike our oh so loving parents, I can see what’s around me. You two make goo-goo eyes at each other all day, it’s kind of disgusting.”Nyla didn’t understand. Mason had gone out of her way to cause issues for Nyla. “Why would you do that for us?”Mason’s grin faded. “First of all,” she said, “you’re keeping my secret. And secondly,” she cast a glance at Eason, “this is the happiest I’ve ever seen my brother,
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Lunches had been awkward since Nyla had stopped speaking to Eason. To her own surprise Nyla found she as painful as her silence was, she couldn’t bring herself to forgive Eason yet. Sarah pulled Nyla aside the day after Veronica had given her tentative permission. “Nyla, when are you going to out Eason out of his misery?” Nyla blinked slowly at her. “What do you mean?” “Either tell him you never want to see him again and break off whatever you had, or talk it out with him. It’s not fair to him to keep him in limbo, and it’s not good for you, either. You’re both hot messes. I don’t know how his parents haven’t noticed.” Blushing, Nyla glanced over to where Eason sat chatting with Breanne looking forlorn and lost. “But Sarah, he kept something from me that hurt me.” Sarah shook her head. “Sometimes people make mistakes they can’t take back. The people around them have to learn to let the person go or let the mistake go. You’re at that point now.
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Nyla stared at the letter in mind-numbing confusion, her hands still shaking uncontrollably. An endless list of possible senders crossed her mind, everyone she’d ever met getting their own moment of consideration. Finally, she stopped on the impossible. The Major. He was the only one who knew about the chocolate incident. No one else had been around. They’d shared a tent after all. She forced her hands to be still and brought the paper up to her eyes. She’d only ever seen the Major’s handwriting on a holopad, but she was almost sure this writing matched. Her eyes glazed over and grew out of focus, the words became just green blurs. Is he dead or not? Because this letter has recent events listed, things the Major would know nothing about. A knock on the door scared Nyla, and she yelped. Shoving the letter under her pillow once more, she rose and scurried to the door. Opening it she found Eason staring in puzzlement. “Why was this locked?”
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Halfway through dinner, something happened that shocked and astounded the family – Roger dropped Nyla’s plate while attempting to set it down. No one could ever remember Roger performing his duties less than perfectly. “Roger!” snapped Edmond, banging his fist on the table. “It slipped, sir. I’ll go grab her a new one. I’m very sorry, Miss Nyla.” He scurried off to the kitchen to procure a replacement, leaving an uncomfortable silence in his wake. When he returned, Nyla had twice as much food as everyone else, a silent apology. Sometime during the last course, Nyla started feeling different than she ever had before. The room was going in and out of focus. She rubbed her eyes. No improvement. Forcing herself to take one bite after another, she began missing the food and hitting the plate with soft clicks of metal on porcelain. Mason leaned over to her. “Are you okay?” Nyla was surprised to find genuine concern lacing her voice. She saw Edmond g
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As the familiar words drifted through the air, they touched a place deep inside Nyla for the first time. Nyla sank back into a slumber too deep to wake up from. Sunlight streaming into the room woke her. It took her groggy mind several seconds to remember the events of the night before. She jumped out of bed, still wearing her clothes from yesterday. Stumbling over her shoes that were set neatly next to her bed, not her closet, she tumbled to the floor. Picking herself up, she hastily searched her room from top to bottom, looking for any signs that a second person had been there for even a moment. There were none. Dejectedly she plopped onto her bed. She sat there for several minutes before she remembered she had to go to school. Leaping up, she got ready in record time, flying downstairs to meet Eason by the door.&nb
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The days in the James’ household fell into a pattern. Every morning she rose later than she ever had been allowed to before. She then traipsed downstairs to have a light breakfast with Madame James, who was delighted to have a young woman in the house after having raised only boys. The rest of her day was spent reading or exploring the mansion, which was old enough to have hidden rooms long forgotten. This morning Nyla rose the latest she had yet and headed downstairs still in her pajamas. Yawning, she entered the family dining room only to find two guests sitting with Madame James. “Sarah! Breanne!” The girls leaped up, squealing, and attacked Nyla with affection. They each squeezed Nyla tight enough to make her ribs crack. “Nyla!” Gazing over their heads, Nyla found Madame James smiling serenely while sipping on her tea. “What’s going on?” Nyla choked out. Sarah and Breanne let her go and backed up a step. “I was about to send someone up to wake you
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As dawn was reaching her fingers out across the sky, Nyla arrived. She stood at the front gates that blocked her path and contemplated what to do. She knew she looked a mess; her hair must be a rat’s nest after all the flying. It’d be rude if she flew over the wall. Without any other option, Nyla pressed the buzzer.“Yes?”“This is Nyla Bra- just Nyla. May I come in?”She heard a scurry of movement and then a muffled, “Oof,” before a bell chimed, and the gate swung open. Taking it as an invitation, Nyla started up the long drive. About halfway up it, she was met by Madame James, who flung herself at Nyla, hanging onto her by her neck.“Nyla! We’ve been waiting all night for you!”Michael loped over, his pace much more sedate. “Mom was about to go out looking for you herself if you didn’t get here soon.”“How did you know I was coming?” Nyla asked,
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“Oh.” Eason turned round eyes to Nyla.“I’ve had excessive training on obstacle courses. I find them quite easy. But it’s been quite some time since I’ve practiced. Who knows how long it’ll take me,” lied Nyla. She walked over and stood before the peg wall, grabbing a peg in each hand. All she had to do was pull herself up the wall by placing a peg in one of the many holes going up, again and again, until she reached the top.Taking the peg in her right hand, she reached up and placed it in the highest hole she could reach. She followed with her left and then pulled herself up using just her arms. She froze with her feet off the ground, she counted to ten before removing the right peg and reaching up again, placing it in a higher hole. After counting to seven, she did the same with her left hand. Once both pegs were secure, she pulled herself up again. Repeating the pattern, Nyla inched her way up the wall, counting in be
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Nyla stayed in the hospital for an additional two days waiting for the wound to be completely healed and no longer tender. When she told Dr. Bunder she was ready to leave, the doctor told her, “We need to run some tests first, and then you’re free to go.”Automatically, Nyla’s mind went to the warning in her letter. She cast a glance at Eason, who was sitting by her bedside again. He met her eyes, a little crease forming between his eyebrows. “Are they really necessary? She says she’s feeling better, and Nyla would know best.”“I’m afraid they are. They’re the same tests you did last time you were here.” She paused, then continued, “You know how everything has to be documented because you’re a Menhit.” Seeing no way out of it, Nyla consented to the tests, praying nothing terrible would come of it. Perhaps th
