Chapter 12

Empty. I tap the side of the bed where Damon should be lying down but its empty, the sheets cold which meant he left long before I woke up.

Eyes still groggy with sleep, I get up from bed and shower before the morning rush starts. For the first time I don’t go straight to class. Instead I stopped by the cafeteria to grab breakfast which in my case was just an apple.

I ate it as I skipped along the pavement, humming a song I knew nothing about. Everything felt right and dare I say happy even.

I wanted to tell Damon about the dream and how the same mark I saw there was in my room, but I let it go. The last thing I wanted was bothering him and ruining the good atmosphere we had between each other.

My fingers flew to my lips, and I remembered how he had ravished me last night, but we didn’t get as far as I’d like. I wanted to experience everything with Damon while it lasted, it felt right to.

When I got to class he wasn’t there, I sat down and pulled his desk closer to mine. I counted everything I could until he showed up.

It was impossible to rein in the wide smile that sprung up on my face when our eyes met. He sat down beside me, putting his arm over me as I snuggled into him.

“Looks like someone missed me a whole lot” he said, and I beamed at that.

“Are you saying you didn’t miss me?” I asked, feigning a frown. He pecked my cheek before answering.

“Well, I’m not completely sure” he said, scratching the back of his neck like he was deep in thought. I nudged his arm and he burst out laughing, the sound so pure and rich that everyone turned to him.

“I missed you baby” he said and kissed me on the lips this time.

“I missed you too” I told him and if we weren’t in class I would have shown him just how much I missed him and his touch.

He was about to say something when Mr. Faraday entered the class and I almost groaned out loud, literature was so not my favorite subject.

“It’ll be over in a couple hours” Damon whispered to me before taking out his materials. I on the other hand just watched him from the side of my eye. It was almost impossible to pay attention to anything when Damon was around. His fingers held a pencil in his hand as they drummed on the table quietly that even I could not hear it.

“You’ll be doing an impromptu presentation on the last assignment I gave you on poetry. You and your partner will present what you’ve written so far and that would comprise thirty percent of your assignment” I heard Mr. Faraday said.

The noise that emitted from the class as a result of his announcement was expected, even I had a few complaints about my own because Damon and I haven’t even come up with the theme of our poem.

Damon must have noticed my tensed posture because he put his hand over mine “You don’t have to worry about this, I already got most of the work done” he said, winking at me before turning back to the board.

I couldn’t stop staring at him, how could he so caring at the same time so considerate to do our assignment alone. I let my head rest on his shoulder as we watched other groups start their own presentation.

When it was finally our turn, Damon held my hand as we walked to the front of the class. I kept my gaze trained on my feet knowing that if I looked up at everyone I was going to lose my nerve and whatever courage I had.

I stood to the side as Damon took the spotlight, immediately morphing his expression to one of sadness and sorrow before he turned to his supposed audience.

“Oh I shall live your epitaph to make, Or you survive when I in earth am rotten, From hence your memory death cannot take, Although in me each part would be forgotten.

Your name from hence immortal shall have, Though I, once gone, to all the world must die:

The earth can yield me but a common grave, When you entombed in men’s eyes shall lie.

Your monument shall be my gentle verse, Which eyes not yet created shall o’er-read;

And tongues to be your being shall rehearse, When all the breathers of this world are dead.

You still shall live, such virtue hath my pen, Where breath most breathes, even in the mouths of men.”

When he was done no one spoke as the gravity of his poem hung deep above us. His deep voice that turned sad and hollow towards the end gave it even more life. Almost like he could feel the pain of a lover lost to mortality.

He finally bowed a little to end his performance before returning to stand beside me and boy could I not tear my eyes from his beautiful form.

He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes, it seemed that the poem had been buried deep in his heart to convey a much deeper meaning than we could all think of.

Finally the class erupted into a round of applause for his wonderful performance. Mr. Faraday cleared his throat and we all turned to him; the only strange thing was his face didn’t harbor any excitement.

“Did you write that poem Damon?” he asked, his face so stern that I would’ve easily pissed my pants if I were the one he was talking to.

Damon scratched the back of his neck “Well, no but a good friend of mine did back in the days” he answered.

“You were supposed to write a poem of your own from the scratch” Mr. Faraday scolded but Damon seemed unapologetic about it.

“He wrote exactly all the things I feel so I see nothing wrong with that” Damon countered, looking ready for anything Mr. Faraday was going to say, “Plus he’s my friend” he added.

Mr. Faraday sighed before gesturing for us to leave “Go back to your seat” he said, and Damon turned with a smug smile on his face. If I was as confident as him or maybe just half, then half the problems in my life would be solved.

“You did great out there” I told him once we were settled on our seats.

He smiled but there was nothing arrogant about it “I was trying to impress you” his voice was low, with his arms going around my shoulders.

“Well, I am deeply impressed by you Damon and you didn’t even have to try so much” I whispered knowing I could easily be heard by the now quiet class. He turned and kissed my cheek before turning back to those doing their own presentation.

It wasn’t till an hour before the class finished. I was about to ask Damon his plans for the day when Mr. Faraday called me.

Giving Damon a skeptical look I went to answer him. At first he was engrossed in the book open in front of him before he cleared his throat and looked at me. He closed the book and gave it to me, and I took it.

“Return it back to the library for me, Literature session” he said. I nodded and was about to leave when he added “And go alone” before packing up his things.

Finding it strange that he would ask me of all people, I went back to Damon to let him know that I was leaving.

“Why do you have to go alone?” was the first thing he asked but I shrugged, I didn’t know the answer to that either. A frown marred his fine features at having to leave but I bent down and kissed his cheek and watched the smile spring back on his face.

I left after that, slowly making my way to the library. As I got closer, my heart hammered in my head. The library was the last place I wanted to be after the nightmare that I had. I went anyway, Mr. Faraday’s orders.

I walked down the literature aisle, looking for an empty space for the book. I finally found one but strangely it was the exact spot I had fallen through in my nightmare. I carefully placed the book back and was about to leave when my curiosity got the best of me.

I sat on the floor and leaned on the shelf but as I suspected, there really wasn’t a secret door and it had all been a dream. I was about to stand up when I felt the book move and suddenly I was falling into the black space just like my dream.

In a few seconds I was thrown into a room, and I landed with a thud. With fear creeping into my shaking body I looked up and behold it was exactly like in the dream. The shelves held the exact books and as I flipped over it was still written in that language I couldn’t understand.

With shivering hands I shut the book and kept it back, I had to find a doorway as soon as possible because if this place was real that meant the fire monster was also real.

Something shiny caught my eyes from the shelf, when I pick it up I realized it was the same book the fire monster had entrusted into my hands. But the strangest of it all were the burnt marks that were on the edges of the book, exactly where its fingers had been.

The fire monster was definitely real and that frightened me more than anything. I flipped through the pages but just like before I couldn’t read it and that frustrated me. With the way the fire monster had acted, it almost seemed like he wanted me to read something from the book.

Suddenly everywhere became hot which made my pulse quicken and the book fall out from my hand, the fire monster was here. Prickly heat formed on my forehead before dropping onto the floor. Slowly my entire body became consumed by the heat.

I stretched my hands in front of me but there wasn’t fire anywhere, it was more internal than external, and I didn’t even know which was worse at this point. I felt something come up from behind me but when I turned in hysteria there was nothing behind me.

Then gently hot fingers wrapped around my shoulder, burning through my clothes to my skin. I felt hot breath at the nape of my neck before it caressed my cheek. My wild guess was that the fire figure was there, but I just couldn’t see it.

When I couldn’t bare the pain any longer the heat just disappeared as I fell to the floor, my chest heaving and out of breath. Immediately I scrambled to my feet, my hands frantically searching for a way out.

I started touching all the shelves, one was bound to lead me back to the library and I almost jumped up in glee when I found it. I pushed the books all the way before hearing a cracking sound and soon enough I was thrown into the dark space before I found myself in the library and the students around looking at me like I was a lunatic.

From there I ran all the way to my room, never stopping even when I heard someone scream my name from a distance.