9 CHAPTER NINE

Fortunately, the fact that nothing horrible happened to Emily made my mom's anger decrease significantly. She even managed to scold me jokingly, asking me if I forgot I have another home, besides Emily's house. I forced myself to smile, even though, practically, it would've been my first time going at Emily's; but it didn't matter. At least she could act like a mother worried about her child not coming home as she should than having nightmares about disasters her daughter could bring. I sighed, shivering. At least now, for a limited time, I could rest with no problems; if Caiden was right. I wasn't sure if I should've trusted him regarding the charm or not, but it was my best shot anyway.

After I washed the dishes and talked a bit with Mike, who was so enthusiastic about a soccer game he had to go that night, I approached mom with a benevolent expression plastered on my face. "Hey." I said, sitting on the couch, next to her, and throwing a glare at the cats' documentary going on the tv.

She didn't look at me. She was too concentrated to find out more about cats and the issues regarding their owners. "What?"

Her tone told me "let it be quick, I'm busy". I sighed, biting my lips. "Emily's parents are going to leave the town tomorrow and they invited me to dinner. I know I already stayed there overnight, but..."

She turned her head so fast that I was scared she wanted to slap me. Instead, she threw me a strange gaze, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Ivy. Please, stop risking. I don't want you..." She sobbed and cleared her throat. "... to regret it. I know it's not your fault, but there's nothing we can do..."

I pulled out the necklace Caiden gave me from under my blouse. She threw a quick glance, not being interested, but I took it in my palms, showing it off. "This is gonna solve my problem. Nothing will happen if I'm wearing this. It's a special charm."

"Ivy... we tried this kind of things already. You know what happened, don't you?"

I inhaled sharply. I remembered everything. "This is gonna work. Trust me."

She sighed, lowering her eyes for a few seconds and then turning her head towards the tv. "You can do whatever you want. You're always safe. I was trying to protect your mind, but it's your life after all. You're an adult and I can't force you to do what is right."

Her voice shifted abruptly, making me understand the conversation was over. I balled my hands into fists, gritting my teeth. How could she not believe in me?! I've never wanted to hurt people! If the charm was a fake, if I didn't trust its authenticity, if I didn't know the person who charmed the necklace was not human, then I would've, surely, listened to her.

But could I blame her? No, no at all. She had any right to react like this; besides, it wasn't like I could explain her, in a reasonable manner, that the charmed necklace was given to me by a polar-fox demon. I sighed, standing up and leaving the room. I heard her exhale, nervous, radiating fear even through the walls. She was disappointed by me, by choosing what was wrong. Tears started running on my face and I wiped them away with a quick hand movement.

The moment I shut my home's door, I dialed Emily's number and, after it rang two times she answered with a worried, high-pitched voice, making me jerk away from the phone. "What the hell?! Why didn't you answer?! You okay?!"

"Yea, yea, I'm fine, sorry. My mom took away my phone because I sneaked out of the house yesterday." I lied, walking towards her house and zipping up my jacket. It was two pm and, still, it was so cold I could exhale icy clouds. "Get ready, I'm at yours in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?! First of all: is your mother crazy?! How can she take your phone like this, leaving me in despair?! And second: what the hell?! Ten minutes?! And where are we going?"

I sighed, shoving my left hand in the jacket's pocket. "I talked with my mom. We're fine now, I can go out anytime. But with one condition."

"What condition?" She asked, her voice being suspicious.

What lie should I have made? He was my lost cousin? She wouldn't have believed it. Our families were friends? I didn't even know him before three days ago!

"Actually, it wasn't her condition. It's mine. I know you consider him scary, but..."

"Ivy, please don't tell me you've fallen for that freak."

Silence.

"Ivy, tell me, please."

"Get out in five minutes, I'm almost at yours."

I hung up on her, even though she yelled at me "Wait!" with a desperate voice. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. God, please, tell me I'm doing the right thing. If something happens to her, I won't be able to forgive myself...

I sighed, stopping in front of her house. I had to be careful. The second he even touched a string of her hair, I had to call the police.

And what could the police do to an old fox demon? Playing with him and hoping he will go back into the wild?

Why was everything so complicated? Involuntary, I touched gently his charm, the little cross having a soothing effect on me.

What if... what if because of your bad luck Emily was involved with supernatural beings?

I stopped breathing. Oh God! Why haven't I thought of this before?! Suddenly, it all made sense. They had nothing to do with me; she was their target. She was the one 'touched', whatever it meant. I frowned and started peeling the skin off my dry lips.

The loud ringtone of my phone broke my thinking moment and, with a cold voice, I answered: "What?"

"I'm still waiting for you to do what you have to."

I closed my eyes for a second and exhaled sharply. "It's fine. Meet us in 15 minutes at the mall. You know, that mall. The one you came in yesterday when you followed us."

"See you there." He said, and I could swear by his voice that he was smirking like a creep, regarding my stalking comment.

"Hey, Ivy! Why didn't you come in?! You idiot! You're frozen!"

Emily came out of her house, dressed ready to go to Narnia. "It's not that cold." I pointed out, staring at her huge black jacket and her pink ski trousers.

She shrugged, shoving her hands in her jacket's pockets. "I think I might catch a cold so I'm trying to prevent it. Anyways... it's just us. No need to look stunning."

I put on a grimace and she frowned, giving me a deadly glare. "What's up with that expression? We're alone, right?"

"About that..."

***

"This is not good, Ivy. Let's go home. I don't wanna meet up with him."

We were in the mall, sitting at a table at Subway, waiting for Caiden. Emily was still frowning deeply and tapping her foot. Sighing, I leaned forward and put my finger between her eyebrows. "Stop worrying, will you? He's fine, trust me. Nothing to be scared of."

It didn't help. Actually, the fact that I was so relaxed made her become even more nervous than before. And suspicious of me. She threw me a strange look, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning on the back of the chair. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but it doesn't smell good. Did he tell you something? Is he trying to pull something on me?"

"You're being paranoid." I scoffed, rolling my eyes and getting back in my seat, making myself comfortable.

"No, I'm not. Something fishy is definitely going on, and I'll find out what and you'll be dead..." She said, tapping her index on the table, when, suddenly she stopped. Talking, moving, even breathing. Her eyes widened, staring at something behind my back. I raised my eyebrows and turned around.

It was Caiden. He was wearing his dark-shaded glasses and a burgundy beanie. I chuckled mentally. He was hiding his white hair.

He was walking, with his long legs and nonchalant vibe, towards Subway. I had to admit it, I couldn't imagine even in a million years that he was not from this world. He looked exactly like the cool guy everyone talked about in the school. His impassible expression. His hands shoved in his pockets. The 'don't give damn' attitude, which I had to say, was appealing, at least in his case. He tricked us all, and we couldn't doubt him.

He threw a quick glare in our direction and his trajectory changed, coming towards our table. The second he stopped next to us, he smiled, exposing his perfect, white teeth. "Hi. Nice to meet you, I'm Caiden. Your History classmate."

I had to say, he seemed stiff. I forced myself not to chuckle and, I didn't know how, he threw me a quick deadly glare, which made me gulp. He could see everything, indeed.

"Hey." Emily said, avoiding eye contact.

"Sit down." I came in his help, realizing Emily won't say such a thing.

He sketched a smile in my direction, even though it surely didn't reach his eyes. I sighed, disappointed. I knew she was the one he had business with, but I was feeling blue being the third wheel.

"Did you order something?" He asked, looking at me and Emily both, holding a menu in his way too white hands.

"No, but I don't feel like eating." Emily said, staring at me and not giving him even one glare.

Her eyes were yelling 'get me the hell out of here' and I sighed, getting to my feet. "I'm hungry. Caiden, come with me to order something."

He frowned, turning his head towards me and resting his hands on the table. "Actually, I'm good, you can go alone."

I saw Emily opening her mouth with the corner of my eye and I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stand up. "Come with me now." I whispered in his ear, leaving the table and heading towards the checkout counter.

After a few seconds, I heard footsteps behind me and I sighed, stopping in front of a black-haired girl who asked me with a cheerful voice 'what's your order?'. I gave her my order and turned around, to see Caiden standing in front of me, eyeing me with an annoyed look. "What the hell was that? I told you I want to get closer to her, not to you. It was the perfect time to let us alone." He said, almost whispering and coming closer to me.

I rolled my eyes, folding my arms. "That's not how you do it. She'll think you're a weirdo, who's trying to hit on her. You gotta slow down, or she'll run away even more scared than before. And for God's sake, take off those glasses! You know, it's hard to read someone's expression and intentions if you can't see their eyes."

He snorted, crossing his arms over his muscular chest. "I can't do that. My eyes are sensitive to... the person she was touched by. They turn white if I'm around her for a certain amount of time."

"Oh. Well, that's... interesting." I said, blinking slowly. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You know her. How can I slip under her skin?"

I zoned out, trying to squeeze any kind of information from my brain. As more as I thought about Emily interacting with boys, I realized a strange thing: I've never seen her flirting. My brows furrowed. That was really weird. She was always bragging about how she would get a certain guy or how enthusiastic she was when new guys came into our school.

"Well?" Caiden interrupted me from thinking, spreading his arms wide.

"I don't know." I admitted, biting my bottom lip.

"It's impossible." He stated, giving me a cold expression which made me shudder.

"I swear to God. I've never seen her actually flirting with any guys. She's just a show-off with me."

He glanced up at the ceiling, exhaling sharply. "You better be honest, human."

The way he said it made me shiver, like an ice block slipping on my spine.

"Here's your order." The black-haired girl said, looking a bit confused because of the heavy atmosphere between me and Caiden.

Relieved I had a reason to go away from his intimidating and scary presence, I took the tray with my food on it and headed towards Emily. Caiden followed me, silent. He was frightening when he was talking, but when he said no words at all... it made him look furious. It was worse than anything else.

I sat down and stole a glance at Emily. She wasn't happy I came back with Caiden. I sighed.

There was no way she could be comfortable with him around, especially because she thought he was interested in her. The fact that no one was talking made it even worse. If that mood continued, he should've been happy if she talked at all -not necessary with him.

I widened my eyes and, with the corner of my eyes, I saw him throwing me a quick glance. That was it! It would've been much better.

I cleared my throat, making them both turn their heads towards me. I forced a smile and drew a deep breath.

"Caiden came with us today because I want to tell you something, Emily."

Emily frowned and Caiden gave me a dead stare. I had a vague presumption that he wanted to kill me at that moment.

And he surely did after he heard what I had to say.

"Caiden is my boyfriend. And I want you two to get along since you are the only people I hang out with, excluding my family."

Emily's mouth fell open. Caiden sighed and massaged his temples. I grimaced. It went better than I expected.