The Monster

Liam walks me back to his place and leaves me to clean up while he takes care of the guards I knocked down with my bare hands. Weirdly, I don't even get a scratch after punching the first two guards.

"I'm hearing voices in my head," I told him once he returned from the lockup.

Liam lits up the fireplace in the living room and approaches me with two cups of hot chocolate in his hands. I take one cup from him before he sits beside me as I nestle under the soft blanket. Liam rarely turns the lights on around his bungalow, so we just sit there in the dark. The only light source is from the fireplace, and it's so damn cozy that I just want to cuddle.

"What kind of voices?" he sips his hot chocolate, and I do the same.

"It sounds like my own voice, but also it doesn't. I don't know how to describe it, but the voice always tells me bad things."

He raises his eyebrows, "what kind of bad things?"

I sigh heavily before answering, "like when those guards attacked me, the voice screamed inside my head to kill them. And-" I pause, unsure if I should tell him further or not.

'Don't trust him!'

I grimace when the voice comes back and shake it off my head.

"And what, Ava?" Liam puts his hand on my chin and lifts my face closer. His green eyes caught my gaze, and heat suddenly flushed my cheeks. Is it because of the fireplace?

I inhale the oxygen and hold it in the back of my throat. "It's weird that the voice gave me the power and ability I never had before."

When Liam does not say anything, I continue talking.

"I felt so powerful and knew I could kill them all easily. I felt strange like I was someone else," I blinked several times to cover up the sudden pride. This is something I should not be proud of.

Liam lets my face go and returns to sipping his drink. Then silence takes over for a while before he suddenly asks me the one question I wish I have the answer to. "Ava, what are you?"

I nibble on my bottom lip, avoiding his formidable green eyes.

"I've seen your changes several times. The first time was the night I found you in that gorge. Your blood was not what I thought it should've been." He swallowed hard, as if he's anxious to say it out loud.

I keep my eyes on the fireplace, refusing to look at him. I'm scared I might become emotional if I remember that night with him beside me.

I used to blame him for something he didn't do, hating him for running away like that. But I can't stop yearning for his presence these past seven years. Things wouldn't be as complicated if he didn't leave me. Things would be alright if I didn't fall in love with him since we were fourteen.

"That night on the lake, when Lucas ran away, I could already tell something was wrong with you. But I thought it was just in my head," he shakes his head like he can't believe what he's saying.

"What do you mean?" I turn my face to him with a frown formed on my forehead.

He hesitates for a moment before saying, "I almost kissed you back then, you know that?" as he chuckles nervously. His eyes are glinting with the reflection of the fire from the fireplace as he looks at me.

Oh my God, is he even a real human being? The light from the fireplace illuminates the fine lines of his jaws, showing how symmetrical his facial feature is. His green eyes look almost glowing under the caliginous light, and their beauty hypnotizes me.

"Ava, you transferred heat through my hands, and your eyes looked different. I don't know. It happened again last night. Your eyes looked hungry, if that makes sense to you."

I can't quite grasp it, but I still nod.

"Whenever you start to get angry, I can see it in your eyes." he presses his lips into a thin line, showing concern and other unreadable expressions. "How long has it been happening?"

"I never really noticed it until today," I put my mug on the coffee table. "But I think the voice has always been in my head since you left me. The voice always gets me so angry easily, like it takes over my temper. I can't even have a normal conversation with other people without screaming at them like a lunatic."

Liam laughs at me, "that one is actually true."

I quickly shoot him a glare.

"What? I'm just being honest with you! I can't remember when was the last time you didn't yell at me. And you've only been here for two nights," he nudges my chin with his finger.

"I'm sorry," I say, feeling bad for being emotionally unstable. I want to talk to him without worrying about getting hurt again. I'm always tired of being anxious, and I want to stop getting offended over little things.

Liam puts his mug next to mine on the coffee table and moves closer to me.

"Hey, it's okay! You don't have to be sorry for being who you are." He takes my face and holds it in his hands. "I know it must be hard for you. You're just getting used to it, and you still need time to be able to control it."

I nod, and Obel's tear drops to his hand. Liam has already gotten used to the changes because he no longer looks surprised.

It makes me sad that his tired eyes are getting worse as the hours spent together pass by. Like they grow even wearier the longer I'm with him. I feel like a burden.

As if he can read my mind, Liam wraps his arms around my body and doesn't stop stroking my hair for comfort. I feel like my old self when I'm in his arms. The giggly 14 years old me who always followed him anywhere he went as if I was his number one supporter.

He never gets tired of me or pushes me away. He never gets mad at me, even when I know I screw up big time. He is always so sweet to me, so caring, and gentle. Always makes me fall more deeply in love with him. That's why I was so crushed when he suddenly left me and disappeared without saying goodbye.

I finally stopped crying, and now we're cuddling on the sofa with the blanket covering up half of our bodies. I rest my head on his chest, and his arms are secured around my body. I almost drifted to sleep when Liam's hand moved from my back to my waist.

"Liam?" I whisper his name to the air.

"Hmm," he responds sleepily from my head.

"Are you really going to send me back to Lucas?" my voice sounds like a sad whimper.

He does not respond to me for a while. Then he lets my body go and moves farther from me. I was sure he would leave, and that thought hurts me. But then he pulls me to his eye level so we face each other. He takes a strand of hair from my face and tugs it behind my ear.

"Even just to think about it kills me, Ava." He rests his hand on my face and caresses my cheek with his thumb. I love it whenever he does that.

"Then why didn't you say anything to stop Peter from sending me back?" as I pout my lips at him. Ew, why am I acting like a 10-year-old girl?

He sighs, and he sounds even more tired than an hour ago. "Because there's nothing I can do."

My heart withers in my chest before his words crush it.

"I would give the world anything to replace your position. If I could, I would never send you back and keep you here with me forever."

"Then why me?" I ask while biting my bottom lip. Liam is doing it again. His body becomes so strained like he's restraining a great pain. "Why is Peter sending me back? Why not Sierra?"

Liam lets out a long deep breath like he is releasing the pain. "Because he sees something in you. He told me that the first time you two met, he felt you could be something great. He said that you're different and that you're strong."

"No, I'm not!"

"I would've believed you right now if it wasn't you who knocked down my three strongest guards," the edge of his lips quirked up into a smile.

"That was not me. That was my monster," as I snort at him.

His smile is fading too quickly, and I'm disappointed to see it go. Liam changes his face into his usual facade face. Why does he have to be serious all the time?

"I really am sorry, Ava! I just don't want Peter to kill your friend and your brother. I was so shocked when he knew who Aiden was. The thing is that I know that it wasn't just a threat. Peter always keeps his word. So when he mentioned Aiden, I knew right then that your choice is only to go back there and gather as much information as possible."

"But what if Lucas finds out and kills me?" I squeeze his hand, and he can feel my body starts to tremble.

"He won't," he sounds sure about it. "He will never kill you. I don't think he's even capable of hurting you. He loves you like his own sister, Ava!"

Did Lucas think of you like that when he kissed you?

My whole body freezes when the voice responds in my head.

Shut the fuck up, you Dybbuk! Why would you remind me of that night when Liam was in front of me? That is such a turnoff!

Liam moves closer to me, and our face is only an each apart now. "The voice just came back, didn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"Because I can see it in your eyes, Ava."

I sigh dramatically, feeling ashamed that he saw me with that fucking anxiety inside my head.

'Excuse-Moi, what did you just call me?'

I nibble on my bottom lip to prevent myself from screaming at my voice inside my head.

His breath suddenly hitched, "I told you not to do that!" His body is so strained, like he gets stabbed by an invisible knife.

"Do what, Liam?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"Damn it, Ava! I can never control myself around you. You'd be the death of me, you know that?!" His green eyes lock mine for a second before he drops his gaze to my lips.

Without warning, he pulled my face harshly and pressed his lips against mine.

"Introduce me to your monster. I'm going to tame her!"