Chapter 26: Part 26
I pressed my lips in a thin line at Liam’s comment, unsure how to respond. The beta was staring at me with a strange look in his eyes as if he knew something I didn’t. That alone sent shivers down my spine, not knowing about it.
“Uh…thanks, I guess?” I lamely replied, trying desperately to fill the silence that kept hovering above us.
He waved at his hand, “No worries! Anyways how are you finding our pack?” The beta’s gaze narrowed towards my empty hand. “You don’t have a drink in your hand! Let me get you something.”
“No!” I yelled a little too loud, my cheeks flaming as a few of the heads turned in our direction. Ducking my head, I meekly shook it. “I mean, thanks for the offer, but I would rather not drink tonight.”
Besides, drinking for me often leads to crazy situations. Just thinking about the last time Abel caught us made my toes curl. Shaking my head, I tried to erase the memory and focus on the present.
“Oh, I get it!” Liam hummed in agreement.
Silence fell over us again, and before either of us could think of initiating a conversation, someone tugged on my wrist. Blinking, I saw the pup from earlier grinning at me.
“Hey…Jo.” I cleared my throat, patting my back for remembering the little girl's name.
“Come watch fireworks with us!”
“Huh?” I made a face, but she was already pulling on my arm. Turning to Liam, I gave him an apologetic look and excused myself.
“Where are you taking me?” I murmured, roaming my eyes around, my voice hoarse among the chattering of pack members. She giggled in response while halting a few seconds later.
I twisted my lips only to see Avon standing by the side, a devilish smirk on his face. It was all his doing. Rolling my eyes, I nudged him before leaning against a split trunk, just centimetres apart.
“What’s all this?”
Jo gave him a mock bow and rushed to join other pups waiting for her. I watched her hop in between with a fond smile on my face, crossing my arms together.
“I couldn’t find you anywhere, so I sent Jo on a mission. A little payback for rescuing her doll.”
“I meant this….” I pointed my fingers at the guards huddled together in a corner.
“Ahh…so at the end of the gathering, we light firecrackers. It’s magical.”
“Oh.”
I held my breath, suddenly hit with sharp, familiar undertones of vanilla. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Abel coming to stand a few inches away. The glow from the fire seeped through the crack and lit the side of his face in amber and gold. A lump lodged in my throat, recalling our previous interaction.
There’s a smash of a bottle in the distance, followed by screaming and a roar of laughter.
Neither of us made an effort to look away. We kept staring at each other, right in the eyes, while the smoke from fire turned the air hazy. My head felt heavy, and I wanted to do nothing more than feeling the heavy press of his arms around me.
What are you thinking? I reprimanded myself for deluding into such kinds of thoughts.
The firecrackers whizzed and popped, and the pups yelp in alarm as some of them shoot off, rogue, into the trees. They fly past us, smacking into the pines around with a fizzle.
The fireworks came next, and the sound was almost deafening.
Abel appeared all orange flush and shimmer under them, eyes boring into the sky. I couldn’t help but stare at his side profile, the sharp line of his jaw and the way he appeared so calm and child like at that moment, holding back a smile.
“Aren’t they beautiful?”
My stomach jumped, and I felt skittish as I looked away sharply, trying not to breathe too heavily.
“Huh?” I blinked at Avon while he reached out and held my hand in his while pointing at the colours in the sky. Following his stare, I made a soft sound in the back of my throat.
When I finally looked back, Abel’s eyes were reserved, guarded, and when the smoke blew out, his face tilted, and he walked away.
***
The following day Abel did not show up to his class. It was the first time he missed the lecture, which baffled the rest of the students and me. They might have missed seeing his face at the weekend.
As if Avon sensed the shift in my mood, he suggested we skip the remaining classes and chill at his place. I didn’t want to turn him down, so I agreed.
His building was located far from the university, a two-storey high, blending in with the trees, a classy blend of black and white with a glass window. With no cars in the driveway and no bustle from the town, it felt deserted and quiet.
“Come on,” The Alpha nudged, half tripping over as he shut the car door and tried to manoeuvre his gangly legs.
The first thing I noticed about Avon’s room was that it’s entirely different to the rest of the building. Every inch of the walls was covered in music and film posters, possible crevices overlapped and hidden by colour. It’s stark and a little shocking, and I marvelled at it.
The second thing I noticed was that there were still packed boxes littered around the whole room. He stepped over them awkwardly to make his way over to his record player, kicking them with his feet. The closet was an empty, spare for a few jeans and shirts, the rest of his clothes strewn in a bit of pile underneath, or overflowing from an array of boxes. Typical bachelor. I thought to myself.
My brows knitted together when I saw a guitar in the corner, a dresser of seemingly random knick-knacks and a giant, giant stack of records.
“Do you play?”
“I try.” He shrugged.
“Sorry,” The Alpha said absently as I stepped on a crushed can, his face scrunching. “My room is kind of a mess right now.”
“That’s alright,” I said with a slight giggle, choosing an empty spot to sit, my legs pressed together. Once slumped down, I ran my eyes over the random objects in his room. A collection of boxes with pictures spilling out, a notebook, sunglasses, stack of shoes in the corner. “Oh, believe me when I say my room is in worse condition.”
The Alpha hummed, still bent over the record player.
“Okay, prepare to have your mind blown,” He said, presenting the record with a bright smile on his face. “I finally got my hands on this beauty….”
I blinked at him, staring at the black cover with a patch of the moon in the middle. Two wolves stood on either side of the cover, shaking hands, and one of them was on fire.
“Am I supposed to know this one?”
“Duh! It’s like the greatest band in the world.” He said, almost appalled by the idea of me not recognising the cover.
“Can’t say I’ve heard much of them, Avon.”
He appeared less than impressed, “You have been living under a rock, then.” I heard him take a sharp breath, pulling a stool in front of the record player. “Prepare your ears.”
“Alright, alright,” I sighed playfully. “Now I am expecting big things.”
There’s a short buzzing, the needle settling onto the vinyl. Suddenly, the bed dipped beside him, and I could feel the heat from his body, smell the crisp coconuts and something earthy.
As soon as the music started playing, everything went still.
It swirled around, soft and gradual, twinkling and synth-like. I could hear Avon breathing below it all, gentle and relaxed, and I tried to match it, keep it under control. The guitar began, slow and bluesy, and it’s a whole other world. The sparkling notes underneath were sustained, long and drawn out forever.
Despite the little knowledge I had
of music, without any doubts, this song was brilliant. We sat there, letting the song take hold of us for five minutes until it went quiet.
“So…What do you think?”
I parted my lips to answer him when the phone buzzed in my pocket. Holding my finger, I excused myself to stare at the phone. A surprised gasp slipped out of my mouth when I saw the name, bright and bold, glaring at me.
“Emma?” Avon softly uttered my name, the touch on my arm almost snapping me out. “What is it?”
“It’s my brother.”
He grew more concerned at the hollow of voice, my fingers twisting the bed sheet underneath.
“What happened? Is everything alright?”
I shook my head, meeting his eyes. “He’s coming to visit me.”
***
Forgive me for irregular updates but just know that I am juggling with my abroad uni applications, and also, as an Indian, I have a lot of festivals to celebrate :D