Chocolate Deluxe with a side of Werewolf

Sixty-one. Aftershock

Emily jolted awake into a bright, sunny day. Natural light lit up the room, allowing her to get a clear view of the wooden ceiling above. Her pulse beat at a steady rhythm as she groggily orientated herself back to reality. She began to prop herself up with heavy limbs, only to feel a sharp pain in her right elbow. She winced, rotating her arm to study the cause of her discomfort. 

A massive bruise engulfed her entire elbow, blue and dark purple in colour and tender to the touch. Very tender. The reminder felt like a slap to the face. "That wasn't a dream," Emily mumbled to herself. "Oh my God. This can't be happening."

"I'm afraid so." 

Emily snapped her head in the direction of the voice to find Lin sitting on the armchair positioned directly across from her. The chair looked tiny compared to the California King bed. The end table beside Lin was cluttered with her homework, but it also looked untouched. Lin didn't spare any attention on her work, eyes trained on Emily out of concern. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired and sore," Emily answered, gently caressing her elbow. Even that simple act took a toll on her. Her entire body felt like it weighed tenfold its usual. "Why do I feel so exhausted?"

"Probably because you've been sleeping for the past four days." Lin didn't bother sugar-coating her words.

Emily's eyes widened. "That long?!" 

Lin shrugged her shoulders. "Each time we woke you, you couldn't stop screaming." She studied Emily cautiously. 

"So you forced me to sleep?" 

"That was all Billy's doing. She is a mummy after all. Sleep is her forte." 

Emily leaned back against the headboard, needing something to ground herself. "So everyone here isn't human?"

"I'm technically human."

"No, you said you're a witch," Emily spat the last word, glaring at her so-called best friend. "How long have you been keeping this from me?"

Lin didn't match Emily's glare. "I've only become a witch a few months ago. It's why I transferred to Brampton."

Hearing the name of the private school stunned Emily. She thought back to Theo's Halloween party and shivered at the memory of all the realistic costumes. "Was everyone at that party actually—" 

"Yes," Lin replied back instantly, needing no further details. "Apart from you, me, Willow, and Zofia." 

Emily's brows furrowed. "So is everyone in Brampton—"

"Yes."

"Holy shït," Emily gasped out, struggling to organize her thoughts and emotions. They were swirling all over the place, impossible to contain. 

"I know. It's a lot to take in, but if you let them explain—" 

"No!" Emily shouted, startling Lin. "I don't want them anywhere near me. Please don't let him come near me," she begged, her voice cracking near the end. 

"If that's what you want," Lin replied quietly. "You have to understand, Dylan never wanted you to find out this way."

Emily shook her head, tears spewing out in the process. She couldn't hold back anymore and let her emotions burst out of her, the blast of them could easily rival a nuclear detonation. 

Lin gave Emily the time and space to get through her initial wave. For a while, the only sound heard was Emily's gut-wrenching sobs. She cried so hard, her vision became temporarily blurred, not once bothering to wipe her eyes. Her nose was running, but she didn't care how disgusting she looked. Instead, she grabbed the nearest pillow and stuffed her face in it, allowing her to cry louder. 

No matter how much time passed, Emily couldn't stop crying. She didn't feel any better, either and her elbow was starting to ache more. 

"Emily," Lin eventually called out. "Think about how Dylan has treated you all this time."

"Don't," Emily rasped out into the pillow. 

"Or what about at the Halloween party, when he was in his true form. Did he harm you then?"

Emily squeezed her eyes tight. "Stop."

"But, Em, if you just hear me out—"

"Enough!" Emily lifted up her head from the pillow and whipped it across the room. The pillow smacked the mountain oil painting, causing the canvas to rattle and shift off-center. Lin didn't even flinch, despite the artwork hanging on the wall above her. The pillow never even came close to hitting her, even when it fell to the floor. Neither Lin nor Emily paid any attention to the cushion, eyeing each other. Lin remained neutral while Emily looked furious, breathing heavily. "Why are you taking his side?!"

Lin bent over and picked up the pillow, dusting it off, and placed it at the foot of the bed. "I'm not taking anyone's side. I just think you're not being rational."

"How can you expect me to be sane after all this?" 

"I don't," Lin calmly clarified. "Which is why I don't think you should be making any rash decisions right now." 

"It's too late. It's already over." 

"You don't mean that." 

"I do. It's over and I don't care if the whole mate thing is real too. Dylan and I are done. I'm done." Emily's chest suddenly felt heavy, but she refused to go back on her words, ignoring the burning pain. "Can you tell him that for me?" Emily requested because she was too scared to face him ever again.  

However, the pain in Emily's chest was getting harder to ignore. It ignited, travelling to every single cell in her body, filling her with agony. She cried harder. 

Lin dropped her eyes to the floor. "If that's what you want." 

"What did you expect?" Emily burst out through her tears. "How can I accept him after what I just saw? He's a fücking monster!" The look she gave Lin then and there was one of utmost revulsion. "You all are." 

If Emily's comment hurt Lin, she didn't show it. Lin kept her face composed, void of any emotion. "You were never supposed to see him like that," she whispered. Her voice shook. 

"Well, it's too late now and I don't want to ever see him again. In fact, I don't want to see any of them." 

"What about me?" Lin's mouth formed a thin line when Emily refused to answer. Instead, her thick sobs filled the heavy silence in the room. "I can see that me being here is not helping. I'm going to step out and give you some time to process all this. No one else will enter your room except me, okay?"

All Emily could do was nod her head. 

"I'll be back," Lin promised, "with a solution," she added. 

Emily snorted at Lin's confidence but didn't refute it. She was too preoccupied with her crying fest, unable to stop even if she wanted to. 

Lin excused herself and gently closed the door behind her, unsurprised to see Dylan sitting on the bench beside the door. He didn't acknowledge the witch, staring blankly at the wall across from them. 

"Come on, let's go," Lin quietly directed. She carefully nudged Dylan's shoulder. He stayed put, and Lin was at a loss for words of what to say next. He spared her by springing to his feet in the next second. 

The motion was so quick and quiet, it startled Lin. She was about to voice her annoyance but stopped when she saw Dylan's face. She had never seen anything like it. Someone brutally beaten would've looked better than the boy standing before her. Despite the lack of disfiguration, Dylan looked beyond repair. 

Emily's wretched sobs ricocheted in Dylan's ears. He couldn't hold it in anymore and lifted his shirt over his face to hide his own tears from Lin. The waterworks wouldn't stop, and if he weren't firmly biting his lips, he'd be sobbing louder than his mate. His body shook and he could barely walk from the agony. 

In this state, he slowly shuffled forward, with Lin gently patting his back while simultaneously guiding him farther and farther away from his light. 

The light that he broke with his claws, leaving her fragmented, and him, shattered.