Chapter 18: Tense

Cloe stared up at the roof of her canopy bed as she laid sprawled on her back. She had changed into a bear onesie and was toasty warm. Outside was completely dark but the rain was still pouring mercilessly. Part of her wondered why the heck did she even leave her room, to begin with, but part of her was glad she did as it provided her with answers to some of her many lingering questions. She now knew that the woman from her memory was some sort of coach. Raising her hands she stared at them.

"That power was buried inside me all this time..." she thought in awe.

Controlling it had been like second nature to her. Letting her hand fall back to her side she wondered what else she was capable of. Suddenly a knock sounded at the door interrupted her thoughts, rolling out of bed she went to get the door expecting to see one of the bodyguards, instead, upon opening the door she saw Ms. Croton. Slightly taken aback she opened the door further.

"We meet again," she said her smile infectious calling forth a responding smile from Cloe.

"To keep the cold at bay." she extended one hand to Cloe in an elegant gesture, within her palm was a small glass bottle containing a yellow liquid. Cloe took the bottle examing it, when she looked up to thank her she found an empty spot in her place.

"Wha-" she stood staring at the spot for a minute wondering why she was still surprised at the things happening around her. Closing the door she went to perch on the edge of her bed. Turning the small bottle in her hand she examined it further.

"Only one way to find out if it works." she thought pulling out the rubber stopper, a pleasantly fragrant smell immediately poured from the bottle. Sniffing at it for a bit Cloe raised the bottle to her lips, tipping it she downed its contents in one gulp. The liquid was thick with a sweet and somewhat tart taste. Setting the bottle aside she allowed her thoughts to wash over her again.

"Waking up with a cold tomorrow would definitely be a bummer." she thought. An angry growl from her stomach reminded her that she was yet to eat dinner. Pushing off her bed she made her way to the kitchen.

***

Sitting by the pool, dinner in hand, Cloe enjoyed her extra cheesy mac and cheese and the peaceful sound of the rain splashing on the glass roof above. The chef was nowhere to be found when she had padded into the kitchen which she had been grateful for. The prospect of being waited on seemed ridiculous even though she was supposedly royalty.

"That will definitely take some time to get used to." she thought.

The treatment she had gotten from her father after the death of her mother was starkly contrasted to the treatment she was now getting, she didn't know if she deserved any of the treatment she was now getting seeing as she felt partly responsible for his death.

The mac and cheese suddenly seemed too thick to pass her throat, forcing it down with a gulp she felt the back of her eyes sting.

The path that her mind had taken was upsetting.

In an attempt to distract herself she took deep breaths, concentrating she froze the surface of the pool. Setting her plate aside she lowered a foot to the frozen surface.

"Haven't you had enough of getting wet today?"

Cloe's foot slipped.

She managed to keep the ice frozen as she fell hard on bum, wincing as she made contact. Looking up she saw Derek approaching.

"Must you do that?" she asked annoyed.

He stood at the edge of the pool looking down at her.

"I think we should come to some sort of agreement," he said cooly.

"What are the conditions?" she asked getting to her feet.

"No attempting anything dangerous without supervision," he stated.

"Because you seem to be very clumsy..." he added bluntly.

She gaped at him.

"Am not." she retorted defensively.

"I would be more convinced if I didn't have to save you from being impaled earlier today," he said his tone was serious with a hint of something else.

She remained silent, looking down at her feet which were close together on the thin frozen surface. When she dared to look up she was met by his eyes flashing emerald.

"He's upset," she concluded.

"Look I'm sorry... I agree with your conditions if you agree to mine," she said looking away.

That was met by silence.

"And what would that be?" he asked breaking the silence.

"Show me how to access the spirit realm."

She saw his jaw visibly clench.

"I can't do that," he said.

Cloe climbed out of the pool. "Fine," she said walking past him.

"You're not making this easy for me Cloe," he said.

She paused midstep.

"My sole responsibility is to protect you even if what I'm protecting you from is yourself." he continued.

"But do I deserve to be protected?" the question hung in the distance between them.

A hand tightened around her onesie-clad upper arm turning her around.

"What do you mean by that?" Derek asked looking down at her.

She took a deep breath as she felt the stinging sensation behind her eyes return. Her nostrils were filled with a woodsy scent that seemed to be coming from him.

"Nothing," she said tugging her arm out of his grasp, noticing how close they were she took a step back.

He let her slip away, "It's not that I don't want to show you how to assess the spirit realm because if I could I would... but I can't assess the spirit realm myself." he stated.

"Why do you want to assess it?"

"I want to apologize to my Dad," she answered quietly.

Derek's brows drew together.

"Fo my own peace of mind," she said walking away.

He watched as she went deciding to give the topic a rest.

Cloe went straight to her room, she quietly crawled into bed and hugged a pillow close to her chest, allowing the tears to flow.

They were long overdue.