Discovered

“Again.” Florian barked, standing off to the side watching me with a scrutinizing gaze.

I felt ridiculous, like I was a child playing pretend, standing in the middle of the gym trying to make something magical happen. “This is stupid!”

“You walked away from a fatal car crash without a mark on you, Anna.” Professor Azure explains. “That’s something even the best mages have trouble with.”

“What can I say, I’m a prodigy.” I mutter to myself. I can’t help but clench my jaw, trying to take deep breaths. “We’ve been at this for hours and nothing’s happened.”

I glanced at Coach Florian, light colored wisps of hair pointed in different directions and his eyes were locked into a hardened glare at the watch on his wrist. Professor Azure, however, was the picture of patience. Test after test, failure after failure, her expression didn’t change. Her thin lips stayed set into a hard line, her eyes blank as she watched.

“Because you’re not actually trying, Anna.” She said, walking over to where I stood at the basin of water. I watched as she started manipulating the water with ease, pushing and pulling the air until little droplets floated up to her hand.

“Or maybe you got this all wrong. Maybe I have no magic, and

I’m just a normal girl. Have you considered that?” I counter. “And my name is Annabelle.”

For the first time since I got here, Professor Azure’s mask of calm began to slip. “Annabelle, this is no mistake. I know this all feels crazy but,” She sighed, letting the water unceremoniously fall back into the basin. “I went to school here with your mother many years ago. Magic is in your blood.”

“Even if that’s true, I have no idea how my brother and I survived the accident.” I roll my eyes before I can think better of it, earning a disgruntled huff from Florian. “One second we were in the car with mom and dad and… the next Jamie and I were feet from the wreckage.”

I didn’t like talking about the accident. Though, I suppose, who would enjoy talking about the exact moment you and your little brother became orphans. We were coming back from vacation when the truck hit us, mom and dad were killed on impact. Everyone said it was a miracle that Jamie and I survived, much less completely unharmed. We were sent home with our Grandma. Two kids grieving their parents and a Grandmother grieving her daughter.

Coach Florian’s booming voice snapped me from my thoughts. “Stop going easy on the girl. Her magic presented itself in a moment of great danger-”

“What would you have me do, Florian?” Professor Azure interrupted, turning towards the man. “Purposely put her in danger?”

“Yes.” His tone was so sure, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“Are you crazy?” I ask incredulously. I felt my stomach drop at the look on his face. He looked like a part of him enjoyed the thought of seeing me vulnerable, weak.

“She has been through a great tragedy, Florian. We are her teachers and we will not be the ones to hurt her further.” Professor Azure’s voice sounded distant and muffled as the echo of Florian’s boots making their way towards me rang in my ears.

Despite Professor Azure’s words, Coach Florian didn’t stop. His hands, glowing with unreleased flames, reached out for me.

I could hear my pulse in my ears, the feeling of my lungs being squeezed in my chest overwhelming me. I didn’t even realize I was backing away from him until I felt my back hit the wall. I was trapped. “S-stay back…”

“Florian, enough!”

“The girl needs to stop wasting our time and show us what she can do!” He snaps back, never once looking away from me with a cruel glint in his eyes.

“Get away from me…” My voice came out small and weak, which only made a cruel smirk to form on his face as he continued to get closer.

“If you want me to get back, then you have to make me.” He taunts, reaching his hand up towards my face. The heat emanating from his fingers alone caused me to gasp slightly, memories of our car burning in the middle of the road flashing in front of my eyes. “Come on, Annabelle. Save yourself and do something!”

I press myself closer to the wall, trying to put space between us. I could vaguely hear Professor Azure telling Florian to stop, but he didn’t seem like a person who liked following orders.

“GET AWAY!” I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the burn of the flame on my skin as the world goes quiet.

The scorching heat suddenly leaving my cheek was the first thing I noticed, next was the ringing in my ears. When I opened my eyes I expected to see Coach Florian still standing in front of me, maybe with Professor Azure keeping his burning hand from my skin. But to my surprise they were both on the floor on the other side of the gym; all the different tools and tests that had once been neatly set up were scattered and broken.

My throat tightened, making it hard to swallow as the reality of the situation hit me. I did this. Professor Azure was right, this wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t a miracle that saved me and Jamie from the accident, it was me.

I didn’t stick around for them to get back up. I didn’t want to hear what they had to say. My eyes started to burn and blur with tears and I refused to cry in front of these people. The door slamming behind me reverberated in the silence of the night. I could barely see where I was going, but I knew I needed to get out of there.

The cool air biting at my skin was a welcome feeling, giving me something to focus on. I stumbled around until I found a weathered concrete bench, partially hidden behind a willow tree. As I sat there, I tried to remember what my dad always told me. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven, and breathe out for eight. That’s right. Slow your breath, Annabelle. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Four, seven, eight. I’m okay. I’m safe.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, counting the seconds as I slowed my breathing. By the time I was finally able to calm down, the chill that I had welcomed now crept down into my bones and my tears dried down on my cheeks.

“What are you doing out here?” The deep baritone voice breaking the peaceful silence made me jump. It took a moment to spot who the voice belonged to, but I eventually spotted the back lit silhouette a few feet away.

I sit up straighter, subtly checking my surroundings for an escape route if I need to run. “Who are you?”

The crunch of heavy boots on the dead grass and leaves on the ground is unmistakable. How didn’t I hear it before? I was able to see him a little clearer as he got closer. His black leather jacket provides him with the best camouflage in the darkness. I couldn’t fully make out his face; but I could tell he had softer features. Not feminine or childlike, but he was more pretty than rugged.

“You haven’t answered my question.” He stood directly in front of me now, blocking the light from the paths in the courtyard. He looked down at me with a quirked eyebrow, like he was expecting an answer.

I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eye. “Neither have you.” I squared my shoulders, trying to make me seem more calm and collected than I felt.

“Thomas, Thomas Daughtry.” I thought I saw a ghost of a smirk on his face but it was gone too fast for me to be sure it was there in the first place. One thing I was sure about was his eyes, they looked at me like he already had the answer. “Your turn. What are you doing out here?”

“Wondering how I got here…” I answer halfheartedly, looking away to wipe the remaining tears from my face. When I turned back to face him I was surprised to see him squatting down to my level.

With him so close I could see the brown of his eyes, and the faint scar on his forehead. “Have you figured that out?”

I could smell the faint scent of sandalwood and cinnamon wafting through the air, subconsciously taking a deeper breath and letting some of the tension on my muscles melt away. “No, not yet.”

Thomas let out a quiet hum, as if he were turning my answer over in his mind, and stood back up. I barely had a moment to process the sudden distance before I was suddenly enveloped by the warmth of his leather jacket and my senses were overwhelmed by the scent of cinnamon and sandalwood.

“What-” I look up at him with wide eyes.

“You’ll figure it out.” He states; that knowing look returning to his dark eyes before he turns around to leave.

It takes a moment for my brain to process everything, too focused on the warm weight of his jacket on my shoulders. “Wait, your jacket!”

He looks over his shoulder at me, a hint of a smirk back on his lips. “I’m not worried about it, Annabelle.” he shrugged, walking away.

Once again I was alone, the fatigue hitting me now that I was warm and my tears were dry. I knew I should find my way back to my dorm; lie in bed and try to get some sleep, but I found it too peaceful to move. Looking up at the moon, glowing bright in the night sky like something out of a painting, I could pretend. I could pretend that my parents were still alive, Jamie was off at a friend’s house, and I was sitting on our back porch planning my future. I could pretend that my life was still normal. But it wasn’t.

Taking one last look at the moon, I stand up and walk away from the willow tree. Away from the fantasy of normal and off to my empty dorm room before I can cry anymore tears for the life I could no longer live.