The Fence

Chapter 19: The Past

~Grey~

After I send Kirbena and Val out of my room, I peer down at the boy sleeping on my couch. Keeping an eye on Nixon, I move toward my closet to dig through some of my slimmer-fitting clothes for him. Without waking him, I pull the new shirt over his head.

If he was healthy, the clothes might have fit him right. However, being the skeleton that Nixon is, the clothes hang loosely off of his body. I sigh.

I hear a knock on the door, feeling my chest seize with panic. Throwing a blanket over Nixon's still form, I head over to the door. Demi doesn't knock again before she barges in, almost knocking me off my feet.

"Hey, mentor!" Demi beams, but her voice is laced with condescension. "Don't think I didn't see Kirbena and Val run out of here like death was on their heels." She takes a step closer to the couch, her hands are behind her back. "Got something to hide?"

For the first time since she arrived here, her long, silky hair is down. The blue strands frame her face, causing her chartreuse eyes to pop. "What do you want, Demitri?"

"Demi," she corrects.

All I can do is glare at her.

"You know why I dyed my hair?" Demi asks, bringing a hand up to play with it. "You once told me my hair was so black compared to yours. Your hair has a blue hue, am I wrong?"

"I guess."

"I suppose I was sick of it being jet black, you know? So I thought of you, and I thought it would be cool to prove you-"

"Demitri. What is your point?"

Demi shoots me a look of defeat, her shoulders slouching slightly. "Why are you being like this? Remember the time we used to get along?"

"I left."

"Sure, you left. But you're still the same person."

I sigh. "No, Demitri. I'm not."

"Why not?" Demi snaps, crossing her arms. "How could you being gone for two years change you this much?"

"You want to know why I'm acting this way?" I ask, raising my voice. "Because I don't want you here."

"We want for you to come home."

"This is my home," I growl. "Not yours. So leave."

Demi scowls, reeling on her heel towards the door. Her long hair swings around as she does, stirring the air next to her. She's almost out the door when she stops, moving so quickly I can't stop her in time.

She rips the blanket off Nixon's sleeping form, staring down at the sick boy with wide, green eyes.

"Grey?!" Demi snaps, her cheeks flushing with anger. "What is this?"

I push her away from Nixon gently. "This has nothing to do with you." I turn to look down at his restless face. "I'm not like you. If you had come here for the truth, maybe I wouldn't mind you being here."

"The truth is that you don't belong in this place." Demi locks me in place with her determined expression. "I'm going to get you to come home."

"Then you're even more foolish than I thought," I murmur. With that, I open my door and push her out of it, watching her disappear down the hall. I can hear Demi's angered footsteps as she rages down the corridor, probably plotting my return.

So many memories.

I shake them away when Kirbena appears in the door with Donte. Donte looks highly puzzled, and by Kirbena's heavy breathing, I can tell she was too out of breath to probably say anything to Donte.