Chapter 115: Enola Gay

Chapter 115: Enola Gay

Normally, you would expect the guy to steal a kiss from the girl, and the girls the one to slap him. When was my life ever normal?

Of course, a man should never hit a woman. And he definitely shouldnt hit a woman whos carrying a dagger. Jenny didnt reach for the blade at her waist, she just looked at me with surprise.

I looked away and stared intently at the ground. I could have apologised and generally grovelled for her to forgive me, that would be the normal thing to do. I hadnt hit her very hard, but that was hardly the point.

Once I took responsibility, it would be game over. My position of moral superiority would be forfeit and Id never be able to get it back.

She was the one in the wrong. Yes, I overreacted and did something terrible, but that didnt take away from what she did. Using the thing I was weakest againstaffectionto manipulate me, to get me to do whatever she wanted, was reprehensible.

Right?

I did what anyone would do when theyve made a mistake they dont want to admit to. I blamed her.

You shouldnt have done that. Its not fair. I was trying my best to sound pissed off and indignant, like I had been horribly wronged, but it was hard because what I really felt was horribly shitty about what Id done.

Jenny didnt say anything.

You you shouldnt use your body to get guys to do what you want. Great, now I was calling her a slut. Youre better than that.

Jenny still didnt say anything. I looked up from the patch of grass I had been focused on. Jenny was looking at me, very calm. Her lip was bleeding. Not a lot; a red bead had formed on her bottom lip. I must have caught the inside of her mouth on her teeth.

I reached out my hand. I can heal that.

Her hand shot out and grabbed me by the wrist. No, she was unsettlingly calm. I dont want you to heal me. I want you to look at me.

My gaze immediately returned to the ground.

Colin, you hit me.

I It wasnt I didnt mean

You hit me, Colin.

You kissed me! It sounded a lot less idiotic in my head.

What do you think of guys who hit women?

This isnt like that.

Its exactly like that. She still had me by the wrist. Her grip tightened. What would you call a guy who hits a woman, Colin?

Scum, I whispered.

Then why did you do it?

I looked up at her, angry because she was forcing me to admit my crime even though we both knew I was guilty. You know why.

Because of a kiss? You think thats why you abandoned everything you believe you are? Would you ever let a girlme or anyone elsetake that away from you?

She was right. She had kissed me, but so what? Was I a fucking child that one kiss could wreck me so hard?

What happened while we were gone, Colin?

This has nothing to do with that.

This has everything to do with that. Tell me.

She was a smart girl. Physical affection hadnt worked, but now she had a nice, solid block of guilt to work with. She was out of my league in even more ways than I had realised. I had no fallback position.

It didnt matter that she had provoked me, that I hadnt meant to hit her, that I could easily refuse to accept any wrongdoing on my part and stay in control of the situation. The only opinion that mattered was mine, and I wasnt too impressed with myself.

The laser-sharp pain in my chest I thought I had quashed glimmered to let me know it was still there, waiting.

I took a deep breath. May-May had a kid.

Once I started I couldnt stop. As I spoke, my wrist still held in her vice-like grip, tears rolled down my face. When I finished, the tears turned to sobs.

She let go of my wrist. Her arms encircled my neck and she pulled me towards her. I resisted at firstonce I allowed myself to accept her warmth, Id be lostbut she was ruthless. She drew me into her chest, my face rested on the irresistible softness and I melted.

I lied. Jenny kissed the top of my head. What I said to Claire and Flossie was a lie.

I was confused. Which part?

The part where I said I dont know how I feel about you. The part where I said I dont think about kissing you, touching you, that I havent had dreams about you all of it.

If she wanted to backtrack a little so as not to hurt my feelings, I would understand, but she was denying it all, which made no sense whatsoever. Why? Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Because its embarrassing. That I could understand. If I said I liked you and then you rejected me, Id look like a fool. If I said I wasnt interested and then I ended up with you somehow, I could always say Id had a change of heart. Theyd accept that.

I pushed myself off her chest (which took some determination) and looked her in the face. Wait. Why would I reject you?

She sat up. Youve always pushed me away, right from the first day. I tried everything, but you werent interested.

So youre saying you were interested in me from the first day?

She nodded.

What are you talking about? How could you have been?

I knew it when you had the panic attack.

Youre saying thats what attracted you to me? Maybe she was mental. It was the only thing that would make it plausible.

You knew we werent back home anymore. You knew before anyone. You didnt handle it all that well, but you were way ahead of everyone else. I wanted to be on your team but you rejected me. She gritted her teeth. I know Im not a fucking princess, but you could have at least given me a chance.

The princess thing threw me little. Are you talking about Laney?

How many princesses do you have fawning over you?

Shes thirteen!

I woke to the sound of Jenny coming back in. I dont know how long it had been since she stormed out. Not long I dont think.

She began removing her clothes again. Its fine. Forget about the magic. Well just stick to sex and watching out for each other. If you feel like you trust me enough at some point, fine. If not, thats fine too. Just, no princesses, okay?

Naked once more, she crawled back into my arms and pressed her flesh against mine. Was she manipulating me? Did I care?

After we had sex again, I left the tent. It was still early and a bit chilly. The trolls stood silently waiting for us to get ready, like some Stonehenge cosplay. The others were sat around the fire looking at me. There was only one tent and it wasnt soundproofed.

Sorry if we made a lot of noise. My whole body felt different, like something had clicked in my back and I could walk straight after years of stooping.

Jenny came out behind me. The other girls got up and the three of them went off without a word.

Where are they going? I said.

Girl stuff, said Maurice. Illuminati dont even come close.

I looked at the two of them, Maurice poking the fire and Dudley checking over his arrows. They were relaxed and calm even though death could be right around the next corner. Content men or doormats?

I suppose you heard everything.

And then some, said Maurice.

I should coco, said Dudley.

Maurice pushed his slipping glasses back up his nose. And then Jenny came out here and started calling you all sorts of names. The girl has a very filthy mouth. Congratulations.

Thanks.

Do you really think she only slept with you so youd teach her magic?

When put like that it sounded pretty cold and heartless. I dont know. Maybe.

Maurice shook his head. Well, nobody else thinks that. We all offered to teach her instead.

Oh. They might not have been as proficient as me, but they knew the basics well enough. That must have cheered her up. It explained why she came back into the tent.

Not really. She refused. Said it had to be you. If you didnt trust her there was no point.

If she wanted to learn magic, she could easily from the others, but then why hold out for me to do it? Either she genuinely wanted me to trust her, or... maybe she was playing the long con.

Do you love her? asked Dudley. He usually said little and even more rarely instigated a conversation, so I was surprised by the direct question.

I think so.

Dudley gave me the sad smile of a fellow sufferer. Then what does it matter? Its already too late for you. Teach her magic. If she betrays you, so be it.

At least shell be able to take care of herself after she kills you in your sleep, said Maurice.

They both had enormously open hearts when it came to the people they loved. Idiots. I had no intention of being defeated so easily.

We have visitors, said Keezy all of a sudden, nearly making me jump out of my skin. He was looking high into the air.

I followed his gaze but couldnt see anything. Dudley stood up and nocked an arrow to his bow.

Put that away. If you anger them were all dead.

After some intense squinting I could see three figures, maybe more, approaching. Who are they?

The Draconic Guard. Cheng must have sent them.

As they got closer they looked like winged men, only not men. They had reptilian heads with large crests that ran all the way down their backs and along their tails. Their leathery wings flapped in long slow movements.

The girls returned to find us all staring at the sky and joined in.

Fookin hell, said Flossie. Dragon men.

Even with a wingspan like that, they shouldnt be able to fly, said Maurice.

Neither should the bumblebee, I pointed out.

Thats a myth. If you perform an extremely crude calculation, sure, but a full aerodynamic computation will show that the bumblebee's flight operates perfectly within the laws of physics.

Six of them landed a few metres away, sending up much dust and debris, and the largest one, who was blue, stepped forward.

Ah, little Keezy. Its been a while. He was larger than Keezy by no small margin. And the Worm King. Ha ha, who would have thought it would be young Kungen?

What do you want, Hitokag? said Keezy.

Not you. Which one of you is Colin?

Him, I pointed at Maurice.

Hitokag ignored where I was pointing and walked up to me. He stooped to get a better look. His body radiated heat so intense I had to take a step back.

Hmm. He didnt sound impressed. Cheng has summoned you. You will come with us.

Id rather not, if its all the same to you.

He sent this. He held out a scroll.

I took it and opened it. There was one word written on it:

Please

Which was surprising, but not as surprising as the fact it was written in English.

AN: I'm taking a week off. Next chapter will be up on RRL on Wednesday 27th July. For more details and other news, please check out the next post which can be found HERE.

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