The Rogues

29- Heavenly

Celeste

The breeze brushed cooly on my brazen skin as I cut through the grass to find my way to the courtyard. There was a part of me that felt an ounce of guilt for leaving Evelyn alone with Dominic. I knew he wasn't happy with her, and Ev was probably not in the greatest shape to deal with angry Dom. I shouldn't have left her, but something in my gut told me they needed to talk alone.

Though I'd been through shit with Verena, l couldn't find a reason not to trust Evelyn. Not yet at least. What if she knew this whole time? What if she was working with Detra and I was the damned one who let her stay, again? No. I yelled at myself. She's not like that.

I knew evil when I saw it. The lick of hell in a demon's eyes was always the same in every monster. I saw it in Verena, in every single doctor who laid their hands on me during an experiment, and if I was able to see it through a troopers helmet, I'd see evil in them too. In Evelyn,I didn't entirely see goodness, but I sure didn't see a spark of evil. And I trusted that.

I knew Dominic had a hard time trusting people, and I didnt blame him. He'd been hurt the most when Verena betrayed us. Not only did Verena tear him apart, murder his best friend and lead an ambush to the Rouges, but she made Dominic feel like it was all his fault. Sometimes I felt like it was my fault for letting her in the first place, though Dominic would argue otherwise like it was some kind of sick competition. Dominic never forgave himself for how he had let Verena take over him, and with that, he threw away his trust in pretty much everyone. There were even times where I felt he didn't even trust me, and I was the person he held the most security in. Dominic was left feeling a void of emptiness, a numb expression I couldn't grasp no matter how hard I tried to understand him. After the incident, he became enclosed, isolated, and cold towards everyone, and it broke me. I hated seeing the determined, adventurous, outgoing boy I once knew, fade away to darkness like a distant memory. But when Evelyn showed up, I caught a glimpse of that boy again.

From the day Evelyn arrived, I noticed a change in Doms demeanor. The first thing I noticed happened the second he saw her; He made eye contact with her. Since Verena, Dom had not been able to look a girl in the eye who wasnt me or Lani. It was an odd trait for someone like him. He used to look a girl in the eye and they'd practically fall to their knees, but after Verena, he wouldn't dare to shoot a glance. Almost like he was afraid too.

Evette Geaneu. She was a Rouge Dominic had eyes on for years. She was pretty. Long ash blonde hair, flawless pale skin, and blazing green eyes. Her features were young and gentle, lit like the delicate palette of an oil painting. I understood why he liked her, she was a nice girl too, one of our best fighters, which captured Dominics attention no doubt. For years he'd tried everything to get with her, but she never showed interest. She was too caught up with Declan, and it ate Dom alive. A year after what happened with Verena, Evette came to Dominic. She told him she liked him, and finally was willing to give him a chance. Dom had wanted this for so long, but when the moment came, he deserted all his feelings. Those bright green eyes he used to go on and on about how beautiful they were...he couldn't even look at them. The thought of his eyes meeting hers, her touch trailing his body, it made him feel sick. All he could think of was Verena. Verena, Verena, Verena, It was always Verena. I often questioned if he missed more than he loathed her.

He turned Evette down by simply ignoring her, keeping his head low and walking away as soon as she tried to confess her feelings. I mean, how could you try and speak to someone if you could hardly look at them? You can't. So he never tried. But Dom met Evelyn's eyes right away, held her gaze too. And right then,I felt a grasp of hope for him. A change.

From the way he looked when he watched her test, to his attitude shifting slightly after having shared a single word with her, I knew Dominic was warming up. And for the first time in a while, I was truly happy for him. That's why I hoped that Evelyn was really a rebel...that these powers of hers were really hers, and not the supervision of Detra. As I said, I knew evil when I saw it, and in Ev, there was no evil.