Possessed Soul

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

I went back to the house with a heavy heart. Aaron was already back. He sat with his back turned towards me and his fingers steeped in front of him. Flynn was with Aaron and his legs were crossed at the ankle, while his fingers massaged his temple. All this stress was beginning to take a toll on him, and the wrinkles by his mouth were becoming more permanent.

They both took one look at my face, and from my sullen expression deduced everything they needed to know. Just when I thought matters couldn't get any worse, Gina pranced in. Pranced, like a reindeer, who had finally gotten everything she wanted. "Kaden," she sighed, rolling my name off her lips in a very seductive manner. "Where were you?" This was the first time I realised that she was actually very annoying. She purposely rejected people a million times, until finally saying yes, to make them feel like they were in the presence of a Goddess.

"Drop the act, Gina," Aaron said, confirming he was just as pissed off as I was. "You know Kaden doesn't love you, even if you are carrying his baby." He often joked with us, but this was the first time he was outright unkind and showed no remorse for his words. This was the first time his words weren't laced with sarcasm.

"Umm," Gina spluttered. She was lost for words, but the hurt was clear in her eyes. Her chin quivered and she looked at me, either hoping I would console her or defend her against Aaron. I did neither. My head was filled with thoughts of Sage: the way she gazed up at me with those big, brown eyes and allowed me to escape reality by kissing her.

"Kaden." A raspy voice called out to me. Holden was thinner than usual, and it looked like he was slowly disintegrating. His eyes were surrounded by sunken hollows and his hair was dotted with thick beads of water that I assumed were sweat. I rushed towards him, half expecting him to fall, but he didn't. He remained upright, resting his side against the door frame.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, stopping just in front of him, knowing he wouldn't allow me to support him as he tried to walk.

"How should I be feeling?" He answered my question with a question of his own. "I was unconscious for God knows how long, my skin is ashy grey, and I look like a zombie who just used all his strength to drag himself out of a grave."

"Well, at least that's not as bad as feeling like someone's sucked the life out of you and left you with a hollow shell, that can barely function, never mind feel." I only realised after I had said it that I was comparing Holden's pain to my own.

"Where's Emma?" Holden asked, ignoring my comment.

"She stayed up with you the whole night. I ended up having to carry her to bed," Flynn replied. "She's only been asleep for a couple of hours. It's best to leave her to rest."

Holden nodded and quirked his narrow eyebrows. "And what about Sage?"

"For the love of God, if I have to explain this one more time..." Aaron threw his hands up in exasperation, making me wonder if he had told Flynn about what Sage thought of her blood. "Sage ran away because of Kaden. Is that what you wanted to hear?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

Holden opened his mouth, probably to make a snarky comeback, but was interrupted by Gina. "Who is she, anyway?" Gina asked, unfazed by Aaron's words, making me wonder if she had heard him or if she had tuned everything out after Sage had been mentioned.

"Someone who means a lot to me," I responded, and without waiting to see her reaction, dragged my weak body towards the bedroom. But upon reaching the door, I realised that I wouldn't be able to sleep without Sage's tiny body curled up next to me.

***

"I got the full story from Flynn," Holden told me, sitting next to me on the couch in the living room. He looked better. His skin was less grey, but his face was still hollowed out. "Well, most of it at least. I filled in the blanks myself."

I placed my head in my hands, unsure what else to do. Overcome with grief I let out a wheezy cough to try and get rid of the lump in my throat. It didn't work: the lump continued to grow with each passing second, making me want to gag.

"It shouldn't be too difficult to find her," Holden continued. "The party, where you met her, was hosted by Zach and we know where he lives. We could pay him a visit. Maybe he knows something."

I shook my head. "What could he know? Where she lives? We already know that, and I have a feeling she didn't go back to her house." I have nowhere else to go. I remembered the way she had said those words, like she was trying to come across as confident, but she was unable to hide the helplessness in her voice. "She wouldn't have stayed with us for so long if she had a home to go to."

"She stayed because of you," Holden replied. "We've got nothing left to lose. We might as well try her house, and then if she's not around we can ask Zach about the guy she came to the party with."

"Ryan?"

Holden shrugged. "I don't know who he was, but she might have gone back to him." His words were followed by a wince, like he was worried he would touch a sensitive nerve.

"Maybe." I shrugged, imagining Ryan wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing gentle kisses along her jawline. "Why do you care?" I asked Holden, to distract myself from thoughts about Sage and Ryan.

"Because you're miserable. Because everyone's miserable."

"If we find her and she doesn't come back to me, I'll be even more miserable."

"Do you really think that'll happen?"

I shrugged in response. What if time away from me made her realise that she could do better? That there were many good-looking guys out there, who would treat her well and who didn't have a criminal record. But would any of them love her as much as I did? I knew the answer almost immediately: nobody could love that girl more than I did.