Love Me Anyway

“Dinner.” The gruff voice echoed off the stone walls and startled me into a semi-sitting position. Every inch of my body screamed as I tried to force my body into doing even the simplest of tasks. My arm scraped against dirt and rocks as I tucked it under my chest, only managing an awkward side plank position before the pain was enough to soak my forehead in sweat. The tray that was now resting by the door was hardly anything that could ever be classified as ‘dinner’ but I had grown to know better than to utter a single word in protest. I was in no shape to take another beating, and I did not need to look towards the towel crumpled by my body damp with the blood that came with every bone shattering cough that came from me, to remember why. I braced myself for the slam of the door that was coming, closing my eyes so tightly that the balls of dancing colors went dark, but it did not stop the searing pain that came when I flinched at the noise.

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The flinch from the memory seemed to travel through time and catch me off guard as my friend threw himself into the seat beside me, the metal legs scraping against the floor calling to the darkest parts of my soul. I recovered quickly, and hid the flinch by tossing a grape high into the air and catching it swiftly between my teeth. The cool fruit filled my mouth and a tan hand flicked forward to swipe a small bit of the juice that had been sliding down my lower lip. “Oh, get a room.” A groan. A flash of red hair settled around the seat back across from us, and my brown eyes met her soft blues. I rolled my eyes, ready to brush off the words that were often thrown our way, but Adrian beat me to it.

“Yours, or mine Kitty Cat?” The wisp of a laugh danced in his eyes and he leaned forward, raising a palm and throwing a wink at the same time. "Or should we really mix it up and all meet in Eliana's?" I knew he got exactly what he wanted when her cheeks brightened to match her hair, and she opened and shut her mouth multiple times before throwing up a finger in response. I shook my head at her, but did not have a chance to put a single word in before she fell right into Adrian’s trap again. “Most women prefer two,” he said casually lowering his hand to swipe his pointer and middle finger in a circular motion, “but if you are more of a one and done kind of girl I am sure I can make up for it in other areas.” After his last word he made sure to swipe his tongue slowly over his bottom lip. Catherine's eyes locked on the slightly damp skin, and she sucked in a breath before snapping upright in her seat.

“You are insufferable, Adrian.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder and opened the book in front of her, but not before catching Adrian’s flash of a smile.

“I think the word that you were searching for, is insatiable.” His words caused a smile to pull at the corners of my lips, but I ducked my head to pull a bottle of water out of my bag to hide it from the both of them. Adrian laughed quietly before he turned in his chair to face me again. Their banter was welcome. By the time Catherine ended their conversation with another quick wave of a finger, my heart had returned to its normal rhythm, and the memory had been pushed back out of my mind. I breathed deeply before turning back to face him as well, sliding the half eaten sandwich towards my best friend who took it without question. The huge bite that she took of my discarded food solidified the end of the argument. Catherine happily hummed from her side of the table, already lost in the words that were before her.

“What do you think this is all about?” I asked. Adrian was usually one that liked to stay in the loop, much different from my blend into the background sort of style. I waved my hand gesturing to the room that was nearing capacity at this point with all the people filtering in. His crooked smile graced his lips again, telling me all I needed to know. I was not going to like this meeting.

“You really have no clue?” Adrien asked. He had one elbow down on the table, and he leaned slightly forward. I didn’t know if he was back to his normal flirting ways, or if he thought she would not be able to hear him properly if he didn’t. A shake of my head was all I could manage before Catherine cut him off.

“Of course she would not know.” Adrian moved his eyes from me, to rake over her body that was not shielded by the table. She did not know how Cat managed to keep her straight face with his eyes analyzing her like they were, but when his eyes reached her face once more, she tilted her face to the side and offered him a tight smile. “She has lived amongst humans for the past five years.” The half truth that I had given them spilled out of her mouth, and it took all I had to not flinch again at her words. Spoken so flatly like she did not even question the fact that it could be a lie. She had just waltzed in one day with the bullshit story, and yet her best friend had never questioned a single word of it. “Before that, she was too young to remember their customs.” She shrugged her shoulders with a pointed look and then dismissed Adrian’s gaze with a quick shrug of her shoulder.

“Right,” He blew a breath of air out of his nose, but cut off his words when a large group of people walked into the room. I let my eyes slide over him for a second, his blond hair was cut into a neat fade, leaving the top longer than the sides. It gave him the sort of shaggy look that made him look young, and yet mature at the same time. His lips were in a tight thin line, and it made his chiseled jaw look sharper than when he had it in his normal relaxed state. He was attractive, I had to admit. I had thought it strange that shortly after I had shown up, under the guise of visiting a long lost uncle after my parents had tragically passed in whatever way that people chose to believe, and they had accepted me into their small group of friends without even so much as a second glance. I did not have time to look away before his eyes slid back to mine.

“I- uh.” I searched for words, any words that may have explained away what he had caught me doing, but when I felt Catherine's eyes on us again, he must have decided to brush it off and simply pretend that it never happened.

“Are you going to tell her? Or are you just going to sit there and wait until she learns how to read that horrendous mind of yours?” Catherine leaned over the table slightly, and I swear there was hurt in her eyes. I slid back in my chair, further away from Adrian who still had the goofy smile plastered on his face as he made a big show of giving Catherine as close as he could manage to a bow while sitting down. I shot her a small smile, one that she returned but the hurt in her eyes still remained.

“Every year the council throws a ball. Anyone ages 17 to 21 are eligible to attend.” He waved a hand similar to what I had done when asking. He flashed me a tight lipped smile, and I realized then that he quite possibly wanted to be here even less than I did.

“You’re leaving out the best part grump.” Catherine squealed from her spot across the table. All traces of the sadness that had been in her eyes vanished and she was all but bouncing in her seat. Adrian shrugged, and leaned back in his seat. His whole mood seemed to shift as all traces of his normal flirty charm disappeared with the start of the conversation. Catherine’s attention shifted to me as she slammed her book closed and folded her hands together down on the table. “It is a ball, yes. Everyone between those ages is encouraged to come, yes. Ready for the best part?” In the past three months that I have known her I have not seen her this excited about something. I saw Adrian roll his eyes out of the corner of my eye, but Cat did not seem to notice. “The seven different packs in our area take turns throwing it every year. That way everyone has the chance to host at least once every 7 years, and every year it is in a new spot in case there are some that can’t travel as far. It is designed to get everyone together to see if anyone finds their mate!” She pulled the book she was reading to her chest and smiled brightly.

“Yay us.” Adrian groaned. “For the next five years we will be forced to go.” Cat shot him a look and everyone quieted as the doors opened again, and three members of the pack's council entered the room.