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56: BODY HEAT
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The Mate Agreement 57: HI
It’s surreal; packing my suitcase and saying goodbye to the hotel room that now feels like a second home to me for some weird reason. I stare at the view from the window for one last time. It’s a bright morning, but the sun is yet to take complete dominion of the clear sky, so the weather still retains the chill of the night before. I touch a palm to the glass; it’s cold, and a faint outline of my reflection does the same. I step back and pull the curtains close. “The bus leaves in three.” William reminds me, checking his wristwatch before glancing up at me with a faint, awkward smile. He looks the same as I’d seen him on that rooftop, save for the new choppy haircut and the black hoodie he’s currently wearing, but so much has changed. Before, it felt as if a million walls separated us, but now? Maybe a hundred walls. He’s still a book in a language I can’t read, but at least now the pages are open and I’m learning the alphabets. I smile back. None of us have acknowledged last night
The Mate Agreement 58: THE WILL OF WILMA
I kick off my shoes and flop into bed with a loud sigh. I’ve already unpacked half of my suitcase, but going through the other half right now feels like it might take me fifteen years. I inhale my sheets and sigh again. “I never thought I’d miss it’s smell of laundry detergent and spilled French perfume.”Evin laughs at my comment, pausing from setting up her blank canvas ear the window as usual. She has just finished watering the plants, and although the windows are cracked open, the smell of wet earth and acrylic paint is still a bit heavy in the air. “Did you miss you bed that much?”I shake my head. “You have no idea.”A knock comes from the door and then it swings open the next second. I lift my head to see Wilma standing by the doorway in her usual school uniform, waving at Evin and then beaming at me. “Heyyy sis…” She leans on the doorway, wiggling her eyebrows at me then pausing and pointing to the pillow next to me. “You’re not… hiding a knife somewhere are you?”I get to my
The Mate Agreement 59: COMPLICATED
I’m holding a freshly laundered, perfectly folded t-shirt and marching through campus towards House Zeus. The sun is about to set, and the evening classes have been concluded, so tired First and Second year students are filtering out from everywhere, too eager to get to their dorms. Here and there, I spot a few of the Senior years, not in uniform, lounging on the benches.I start to think of how to get to William’s dorm room again. I don’t think I currently have the energy to sneak in by climbing that pipe and slipping into his window like a thief. Plus, too many things could go wrong. I could fall. His window might be closed from the inside. I could get caught. But I also don’t think there’s a solid excuse I can give the dorm master that’ll make him allow me into the boys’ dorm.Unless of course; bribe, threaten, blackmail.“Bella, where the hell have you been, Loca?!”I roll my eyes, already knowing it’s Akio before he even falls into step next to me. “Seriously? You’re back with th
The Mate Agreement 60: LUKE DANE RAVENSTONE
Usually, the parent visitation event takes place in Acadia Academy’s Conference Hall, but it’s barely large enough to contain all the students and the family that visits them, so we often just meet our parents wherever we feel comfortable with. For the past two years, mom and I have been meeting up I my dorm. She likes to see my living quarters, and I like to keep most of our conversations private.But today is a little different.I glance at William standing next to me.Okay, today is very different.I crack my knuckles and huff out a nervous breath, giving him another side-long stare. I’ve never seen a person look more perfect in a suit. I’m not even sure why he chooses to wear a suit for this, but I’m definitely not complaining considering how good he looks in it. His hair is slicked back in a way that reminds me of an Italian mafia boss and it’s a little funny. He flicks back the one lock of hair that refuses to stay in place and keeps falling into his eyes.I glance away before I
The Mate Agreement 61: SECRETS
“Hello, little brother.”Of course. He towers over William with a few inches, but despite the scar and the white eye I assume is blind, they still look alike. However, his brother looks scary; cruel and cold in a way that makes you want to stay as far away from him as possible, but I stand my ground, if out of anything, I’m driven by curiosity.William’s jaw grinds shut like it might snap at any moment. “Why are you here?” He demands, glaring daggers at his brother.Luke raises an eyebrow mockingly. “No warm welcome for me, I suppose?”“Answer the fucking question.” William spat.Something sinister flashes in his stone cold eye, along with the slightest flicker of anger. “Watch your tongue.” He growls out in warning, his tone deepened, careful, and controlled. “If you will not respect me as your brother, you’ll respect me as your alpha.”William continues to glare at him, but says nothing and instead draws in a slow, steady breath.Luke sighs, tipping his head back in a fast show of f
The Mate Agreement 62: GLASS VASE
Minutes pass. An hour passes. The whole of eternity could have began and ended as I crouched there, cradling my head, feeling like it might explode at any moment. But then when my legs start to go numb, I stand up and walk to my dorm room cause I don’t know what else to do.He’d lied. He’d kept secrets. He’d killed his father; shot him in the head. But why? How? When? I had so many unanswered questions, so many complicated emotions ravaging my brain. Do I even know William at all? Did I ever?What if he is a bad person and all this while had been—No.I remember the person that had taken care of me when I was sick. I remember the person I’d taken the bus ride back; how safe I felt next to him, holding his hand or listening to a song together. I remember the person I’d played chess with, then kissed. It can’t all be fake, can it?I swallow the lump in my throat.When I get to my room, Wilma and mom are there, standing side by side and pouring over Wilma’s true crime map. Thankfully, Ev
The Mate Agreement 63: HEROES AND VILLIANS
(William Ravenstone’s POV)(EIGHT YEARS AGO)I stir awake from a slumber I don’t remember slipping into. I’ve slumped in my study chair, the math textbook on my table still opened to the homework I have due tomorrow morning. I’m cold.I sit up in the chair and sigh. This is the third time I’ve fallen asleep in the span of an hour. And although I’m used to it at this point, my narcolepsy still impairs the way I function to an uncomfortable degree.Well, it could be worse. Luke claims mine isn’t even that bad. There were narcoleptics that dropped asleep up to forty to sixty times per day, or more. The most I’d dozed off in a day is twenty-nine times. I’m not scared of falling asleep —I used to be, but not anymore. Now I’m more scared of what I might wake up to.I get to my feet and shuffle over to the windows I’ve left open. Outside, the wind is howling, the rain falling with a vengeance. I stare out at the fountain, at the marble statue of Ares; the Greek god of war in the center, donn
The Mate Agreement 64: LETTER
I rush to William.When I’m closer, I notice he’s not actually still, but trembling slightly, and I recognize the clutches of sleep paralysis. His eyes are terrified and his gaze is glued to the ceiling above. Although this too is horrible, relief floods my system because at least it’s not the unthinkable I was thinking of.I shake his shoulder, waking his body up.He shoots upright, clutches himself tightly, wrapping his hands around his stomach, eyes screwed shut tightly. “What have I done?” He mutters repeatedly, trembling, still somewhat disconnected from reality. “What have I done?”“Shh.” I shush him, patting his cheek before pulling him to me and wrapping my hands around him.He clings to me tightly, shivering.I rub soothing circles on his back, glancing down at the pill bottles on the floor worriedly. Did he overdose? It doesn’t look like it. It looks like he had knocked them over by mistake instead. Still, the dread and worry makes my stomach churn.I pat his back, rocking h
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