11 March 2013
"So, what do your parents do?" Derek asked, walking beside Aubrey, his back continuing to burn. Her face drained of colour. "Did I say something?" She stared at the ground. "I um... I live with my grandmother." She said. "If you don't mind me asking... Where are your parents?" He watched her fingers curl up, her eyes closed. The crossed into the woods, apparently a short cut to his place. "Aubrey?" "I just, never talk to anyone about it. My um... My dad, murmured my mother five years ago." Derek stopped dead in his tracks. "What?!?" She nodded, a pain shot through her chest. He watched a single tear rolled down her face. Slowly, cautiously, he wrapped his arms around her. She stuffed her face into his was chest. He smelled good, a fresh, peppermint scent, his warmth comforting. He let go of her looking down at her. "Aubrey I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have-" "It's okay. I just, I haven't talked to anyone about it." He stared at her for a moment. "What about your parents?" "I uh, never knew my mother. She was killed not long after I was born. I live with my father, he's hardly home. He's uh... He has a lot of business trips." He said. No, he was a guardian, who trained Derek on weekends. Derek kept his wings filed down so he could finish high school. He was half mortal. "Oh, I'm sorry." "No, it doesn't hurt. I never knew her, dad and I hang out on weekends." He said, continuing up the trail. He was so tempted to tell her. His wings were slowly coming back in, he had a couple hours. She looked at him. "What?" "You're my first friend in years." She said. "Yeah.." He said with a questioning look. "I just, while we talk about personal things, and.. Learn about each other... I was going to ask you if I could trust you, with a very deep, dark secret of mine. Something, only my mother knew." Derek nodded. "We've known each other for two days, but I just, I feel like I can trust you." She said. He smiled. "Okay, well, tell me." He said. She inhaled closing her eyes. She focused on a stone by the nearby creek. Derek watched in amazement as the stone floated it's way into her small palm. "Whoa." She dropped the stone. "That, is nothing. When I get angry.... Well, I can show you." He nodded. She breathed, the earth began to shake, she raised the water from the stream, every stone, every remaining leaf left on the trees elevated, swirling around her, moving faster. Derek watched in amazement. "Okay, Aubrey. I see. Too fast." She didn't hear him. "Aubrey." Nothing. He grabbed her from behind, shaking her. Everything stopped, and dropped. She stared at him. "That was... Really, really cool." He said smiling, eyes full of amazement. Her cheeks went pink. "I always wanted to show someone." She said. "I hid from everyone after my mother died, things got extreme. I was scared of hurting others, and I was scared they would hurt me." "I'm not afraid of you. I don't want you to hide from
me." He said. She smiled. "That's sweet Derek. No one has ever... Acknowledged me like that." He smiled. It began to rain. "Let's uh, get back to my place." He said. She nodded, her smile never disappeared.
Wings. -3- • Opuss № I