The Circle

14 | Helena

I wake up with a start after dozing off in the car. I take my feet off the leather seat and look around wearily until I find Kit by my side. His face is all sharp edges, full lips and blue eyes, half-hidden in the dark.

Classic rock plays on low through the car's audio system. The Brooklyn Bridge looms over New York City in the horizon, and Manhattan glitters like an oasis of light in the background.

"Where are we going, exactly?" I ask as Kit changes the gears on his car and speeds on, the motor roaring beneath us.

"To her house in the Village."

Kit passes the car in front of us and cuts it off, but the driver doesn't do anything. No honks, no swearing, no nothing. I frown. This is odd. People in New York are known for their no-bullshit attitudes, especially when driving. Something he said goes off in my head.

"Kit? What did you mean when you said that nobody can see you?" I frown. Kit's getting tenser and tenser as the city looms closer. I can practically feel his thoughts focussing on Helena.

"I can control light. It's one of my gifts. The cameras on the road can't see my car because I'm shielding it," He says, and everything starts falling into place.

The world seemed to go dark around us on Lucas' party. Not an inch of space penetrated the thick blanket of darkness surrounding us. It felt suffocating in that little space besides the house. I couldn't see anything apart from Kit's furious face until he left, and only then the moon shone again.

He's always lurking in the shadows, quietly, blending in to his surroundings when he wants to. The boy with the spotlight trained towards has the power to shield himself away from the world at times.

He should be bathed in all that is good and golden, he should not give into night. It seems that he prefers the darkness. I feel sad for him, for the boy who is stuck in the shadows.

"I'm scared," I whisper into the dark, into his domain, and Kit turns his face towards mine.

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what's going to happen, or what she's going to say to me. I'm scared that she's going to tell me the worst."

"You shouldn't be scared of Helena." his expression softens upon looking at me, "Don't worry, Lux. We're going to figure this out."

I nod and stare outside the window and into the dark Hudson River flowing beneath the Bridge. There are a few cars and lone taxis on the streets at this hour of night. The infamous New York skyline approaches, the buildings getting bigger, and the anxiety inside my chest worsens the closer we get to Helena's house.

Kit exits from the bridge and speeds down the relatively empty streets of the Lower East Side. Girls in party outfits walk down the streets but Kit's eyes desn't waver away from the road, and I can't help the small smile spreading on my face. 

His arms are caught in a game of flexing and relaxing as he changes the gears in the sports car. His hands are large and manly against the gear stick, and prominent veins are generously spread over them. God, he has great hands. His hands would look amazing around...

"Why are you blushing?" he asks, the humor on his voice audible. I scowl at the window.

"I'm not."