White Roses

Chapter Nineteen: To Be Human

The last chapter of White Roses. For my fans, I'll be posting a preview to "Orange Roses" which will be coming up on April first. 

I've enjoyed the ride and I hope you have to!

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Chapter Nineteen: 

To be Human 

“You look shitfaced,” Ruth told me as I sat on the floor of my bedroom that night with Cooper next to me. Daisy gawked at a fashion magazine as Unicorn boy sat next to me, clinging onto me by my arm. 

“Thank you Ruth, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear right now after going to a different world to save my best friend and risking my life,” I said as Ruth leaned down to examine the wound on my leg. “How long were we gone?” 

“Two days,” she said as she put a dab of disinfectant on the wound. I gritted my teeth.

“And no one wondered where we were,” Cooper asked. 

“Well, they did. The school went nuts especially after you left, Matty. I met up with two fawns who said that they owed you or something like that and I convinced them to glamour a whole bunch of people,” Ruth said as I rolled my eyes. 

“You didn’t,” Cooper and I said in unison. 

Ruth shrugged. “Well, people believed me.” 

I didn’t dare ask what she told the teachers and other adults. “Ouch, Ruth!” I yelled as she tightly wrapped some white bandages around my leg. “That hurts! Ow, ow, ow!” 

“Quit being a baby,” she said. “Who are the two new faeries?” 

Daisy got up from the magazine and walked over to Ruth and fluttered her very pretty wings. “I am Daisy, the wish maker. I am one of the most powerful-”

“Daisy,” I stopped her before she got started. 

“Do you think you’ll like it here?” Cooper asked. 

Daisy twirled, showing off her dress before answering. “Yup, I’m extremely curious about the human world and I can’t wait to see what I learn. I’ve never left FaerieWorld before-well actually I did when I the masters needed me for battle, but that was different and that didn’t count and-”

“We get it, Daisy.” I told her. The little faerie was quite the chatter box. I don’t think any of her previous masters ever gave her such freedom and she took it without hesitation. Unicorn boy always looked exasperated whenever she started going on one of her long speeches.

“And you?” Ruth asked Unicorn boy who hid behind me with his dark skin turning a little pink. 

“He’s shy,” I explained. Ruth smiled and I felt thankful that she didn’t ask about Drake. I didn’t want to talk about it. Cooper got up to his feet slowly. 

“I better be heading to my dorm, guys. See you tomorrow?” He asked as I nodded and smiled at him. Daisy flew over to him and sat on his shoulder. 

“Don’t leave me master!” Daisy cried out. 

Cooper looked over at her and then at me. “Daisy, I think you should stay with Matty for a bit.” 

“But-”

“Please Daisy,” he said in a soft voice. She nodded and flew over to me even though her bottom lip trembled like a girl who had been rejected. Cooper left the room. 

“Rough time?” Ruth asked. 

“You don’t even know the half of it,” I said as my shoulders sagged. “And you don’t want to know.”  

†¤†

I packed the last of the clothing into my backpack. Winter break was going to be a nice escape from everything even if the faeries weren’t going to be disappear. A few weeks of school and finals drained me. Everything felt pretty rough and different. Everyone seemed different, but the same.  

Cooper soon went home after everything calmed down. I wasn’t sure if things were going to be normal between us for awhile, but I felt content. He was alive and in one piece and that was more than I could hope for. He also gave me “custody” of Daisy who didn’t really want to leave for some odd reason. She clung to Cooper, but he said that he needed some time away from the faerie stuff.

Unicorn boy took Drake’s place as my protector. He was silent, but I think his silence is what scared the other faeries and so they didn’t bother me as much. He scowled at them too so that helped. 

Ruth became my life saver and I knew that the next time we saw each other that I owed her big, but I think she was happy that we all came back. Well, not everyone, but maybe that was a good thing for everyone. 

On the Brightside, have no new scars. 

So this was how I ended up packing my bags for winter break.

“Are you almost ready? Dad’s waiting for us out in the front.” Hanuel asked as I packed a few things in my bag.   

“Nope, I think I need another three bags for my clothes.” I teased before I nodded, “Yeah, just give me a minute.” Hanuel rolled his eyes, but left the room. I turned to Unicorn boy and Daisy. “Are you two ready?” Unicorn boy silently nodded next to me. 

“Of course I’m ready!” Daisy yelled as she flew to my shoulder. “Will I get to try hot chocolate and coffee? Will I get to eat…uhm, cake? Oh, can we please try some of the frozen coffee! Or-”

“Daisy,” I said as the girl tried to zip her lips together. Sitting still was also another activity that she didn’t like. She liked talking, flying, dancing and anything else that didn’t involve sitting still. 

I put the bag on my shoulder and walked down the hall with Hanuel who talked about his girlfriend. When I had been gone, he freaked out the first and realized I was missing. It was kind of sweet from what Taylor told me, but he never said anything about it, however, I knew that Hanuel was my silent human protector. 

“So anyway, she might be coming to meet dad the holidays instead of summer. Won’t it be cool you think? Do you think that our aunts will like them? Hey, is Debbie coming over the holidays?” 

“Yeah,” I said, shuttering just thinking about my biological sister who would look at my grades and declare that they weren’t good enough. And somehow blame it on my dad. 

“It could be worse,” he said as I looked up at him with raised eye brows. “She could be living with us.” 

“Oh thank god!” I declared, throwing my hands in the air. He laughed. Hanuel opened the door for me. The burst of winter air made me relax a little. “But I think he just does that because-” I stood frozen to my spot suddenly. 

Hanuel took a few steps ahead of me before he realized that I wasn’t following him. “Matty, is something wrong?”

“No,” I blinked for a moment, wondering if my eyes lied to me. 

Drake flew right up to my face with his usual smirk. “Matty.” 

Unicorn boy nudged me as Daisy pulled on my hair in fear. I smiled at the both of them as they relaxed and we all walked into the car. My step dad honked the horn like mad in the parking lot. He looked a little anxious to get us home obviously. Drake sat on my other shoulder, but he grumbled how he wasn’t happy to be sharing his sitting area with anyone. Daisy shot him a look. 

“I missed you.” I said in the car. 

“Missed you too, Kido.” My dad said as he relaxed his stiff shoulders. 

“I guess I missed you even though you’re such a troublemaker.” Drake clicked his tongue as he said this. I got into the back seat as Hanuel sat in the front. I closed my eyes and let my head rest on the window with Drake and Daisy using my shoulder to sleep. Unicorn boy sat next to me. 

No matter how hard or fast I ran, the world of Faerie would get closer and closer to me. There was no way of untangling myself from them now. So right now, I’ll close my eyes and embrace my human world for as long as I can.