Blood Legacy Chapter 130: 128. The unforgiven

I smiled to myself, the sweet sensation of Darius' lips on mine still lingering as I stood there for a moment, in front of my locker.

Damn. I'd barely gotten to school and yet I was already missing him. I missed the warmth of his body wrapped around my own as he held me like he was just this morning, all snuggled up and comfortable in my bed, under the covers. Away from the world, our problems or cares. Away from everything.

Fuck. Now I actually wanted to go back. Call him to come back and pick me up and then drive straight back home, and then jump right back under those fluffy covers with him.

I blew out a sigh and shook my head, nudging myself back to reality.

I still had to go to school, unfortunately. I still had to finish this year and graduate, so that I could go to college. I seriously needed to get away from this damned town. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen to us next, after we'd paid that damned council a visit and everything, but I knew that I needed this. A sense of normalcy. A common goal. A purpose. I couldn't just sit on my ass and wait for them to decide what was going to happen to our lives. I'd been against it even from the first time round. I wasn't going to change my mind now. Even though I did secretly fear them. I was scared shitless. Especially after everything that Darius had told me about them. They were very powerful, apparently. And ruthless. And they followed those damned rules of theirs to a T. No exception. They weren't going to forgive us, just because we've been acting childish and tried to escape duty, each in their own different way.

We were bound to face some serious consequences, according to Darius. And we had to get ready to make some sacrifices to please them. I honestly had no idea what that meant exactly, but I sincerely hoped that we would all get to survive at least. That they would spare our lives. I didn't want anyone to die. Not even Nate or my dad. No matter how much they've been pissing me off lately.

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath as all those worrying thoughts kept spinning around in my mind, making me feel so anxious. I haven't had a panic attack in a very long time, but that didn't mean that I was magically cured. I still had to be careful.

*Fuck. No. I can do this. I can totally do this*, I kept repeating to myself. And only after that encouraging breath I finally gathered my things from my locker and slammed it shut, preparing myself to go to our first period.

I kept a hand plastered against my locker door whilst the other held the two notebooks tightly against my chest, my head turning to the side to peer down the relatively deserted hallway. To the row of lockers lined up against the opposite wall.

He was still there. Calm and completely oblivious as he rummaged through his own locker, searching for god-knows what in there.

A weekend had passed since our last fight. After all those horrible words he'd spat at me. His brutal rejection at my attempt to be his friend. To simply be there for him.

"If you're thinking about giving it another shot, just forget it,"

I blinked and turned back around to notice Estefany standing right next to me, her sparkly gaze dull and defeated as she continued to look in Nathan's direction.

"He's way beyond that stage now. He's... completely changed,"

My brows furrowed and I continued to stare up at her, surprised to notice the way her eyes rapidly filled with unshed tears, her voice trembling as she quietly uttered,

"He's changed so much that even I don't recognize him now,"

"It's like he's a whole different person," a first single tear trailed down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away, much to my further dismay.

"What happened between you guys?" I found myself softly asking with growing concern, my attention averting to take a quick glance back in his direction and check if he was still there. He was not, fortunately.

She hesitated for a few moments, those tears starting to roll more often down her cheeks and she visibly struggled to contain herself, thickly swallowing.

"I'm so sorry..." she finally broke into a sob and my eyes widened a little, now too scared to even try and find out exactly what she was sorry for.

"But you have to understand..." she abruptly paused as another sob wracked throughout her.

"Please...you can't say anything..."

What?

I blinked with horror but nodded nevertheless, too stunned to even dare say a word as she continued to cry like that, making my heart beat faster and my gut twist with angst.

Holy shit! What in the hell happened between them? Now I really wanted to know!

"Gods..." she hiccuped and wiped again at her fat tears, blowing out a sigh.

"I can't believe that I'm saying this, but for once I'm actually glad that your sister hadn't allowed me to mark her yet," her voice shook so violently as she uttered those words, another set of tears trailing down her reddened and wet cheeks.

"At least this way she couldn't have felt-" she abruptly stopped and my brows rose, my heart pounding from the building suspense.

What? Felt what? She couldn't have felt what?

She forcibly swallowed as her eyes averted somewhere past me, fear and guilt glinting in them as she stared for a moment, making me turn and have a look myself.

Shit.

My sister was there, so obliviously chatting and laughing with Kayla, having yet to notice us.

I turned back around and stared up at Estefany, noticing that pleading look in her eyes as she peered down at me.

Fuck.

I wordlessly nodded and she let out a hitching sigh, quickly wiping away all those tears from her face. And only after putting on a practiced smile on her face she gave me a small tip of her head before leaving.

Holy shit. What the fuck happened?!? Why was she crying like that? What in the fucking hell did that bastard do to her?

My heart was pounding with furious urgency now, threatening to beat out of my chest as I numbly stood there for a few moments, too stunned to even bother move.

I had to find out. I had to know what happened. I needed to find out what happened before I lost it. That faint sliver of trust I had left in him. That small piece of myself that still cared for him. I needed to believe that he wasn't the monster my overwrought mind was starting to paint him as.

No. He couldn't have been. He wasn't that heartless. Impossible. No. I refused to believe it.

I shook my head and then turned back around, finally snapping myself out of that catatonic state. And with determined and fast moves, I made my way to the classroom where my first period was being held.

I didn't bother noticing that our teacher still hadn't arrived. Or that there were still several other places remaining unoccupied.

I made my way straight towards him. To that seat next to him that was still free.

He didn't look at me. Didn't even throw a single glance in my direction.

I sat down and placed my stuff on the desk at the same time, making a rather loud slamming noise. He didn't flinch. Or react.

But I did feel it. That growing tension between us. That ticking bomb threatening to explode. It was close. So fucking close.

I forced myself to remain calm though, and act like nothing happened. Even though my body was already trembling. And my eyes stung.

"Back for more, sweet-tits?"

I didn't look at him. I couldn't. Even though my guts twisted unpleasantly at the sound of his biting tone.

"Sorry, but I'm not into lying, backstabbing bastards," My voice wavered. God. Why did it waver like that?

"Good. You should stay away then. Before I infect you too with my darkness," There was no hint of sarcasm dripping from his tone. No bite. Only hurt and self-loathing.

My eyes started to sting even worse. My knee bounced from underneath the desk. I could feel my chin wobbling. And my heart pound so furiously.

Boom.

"Okay, I want you to tell me, right now, what the fuck did you do to her, Nate!" I breathed fast and hard, my vision blurry from all those gathered tears in my eyes. But I held onto him. With all I had.

"Why not only moments ago she was crying, and begging for me not to say anything," so quick and easily, my voice had lost its strength. Its bubbling anger. No more I could scream at him. No longer I had the power.

His lips remained sealed. Refusing to utter a single word. But I could feel his beating heart. Pounding underneath my hand as I tightly fisted his shirt. Still, he refused to speak. Staring back at me with an intensity I failed to understand.

My chin wobbled again. Big fat tears starting to finally roll down my cheeks as I desperately stared into those beautiful eyes until the very last moment. Until I finally lost it.

"You are a fucking monster!" My gut-wrenching scream reverberated against the walls, screeching like breaking glass. But I didn't bother to look around and see who had heard me.

Instead I pushed at that chair and desk with brutal force and then ran straight outside of that stupid classroom, my very soul hurting too much to even give a single damn about anything.

I was devastated.

I just wanted to cry.

So I ran until I reached the school entrance and pushed straight past those double doors, aimlessly going forward until I reached the parking lot. I stopped. And then I started to cry.

Loud, heart-wrenching sobs wracked throughout my entire body as I stood there all alone and cried, my tears falling incessantly. I wrapped my arms around myself, holding my hunched-up body into a measly comforting embrace as I cried unstoppably.

"I didn't touch her..." his voice sounded like a pained whisper, so weak and ghostly. I almost failed to hear it.

I didn't dare turn around.

"I didn't fucking touch her, okay?" There was a slight waver in his speech, making him sound so incredibly broken, despite his futile attempt to sound angry.

"Please, just..." A sob. A trembling whimper.

I quickly turned around and stepped closer to him, with my gaze so desperately searching. For something. Anything.

"But why did she..." I lightly shook my head, struggling to keep those tears and sobs of my own at bay as I stared up at him, with my hand clutching at his shirt again.

"She was just trying to help me...Gods," his breath hitched as another sob wracked his body, his hand nervously tracing through those longer locks at the top of his head.

"And I didn't..." I bit my lip and stared up at him, eyes wide and focused despite those tears that refused to stop.

Falling in tandem with his.

"Gods, I shouldn't have let her..." Both his hands were now in his hair, angrily pulling at the roots as those fat tears started to roll down his cheeks, his gaze desperate and scared as he stared down at me.

"What? Let her what?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes, another set of tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Nate, for Christ's sake, what the fuck did you guys do?!?" I pulled at his shirt and screamed at him, so violently torn by mad desperation and fear. Of not knowing. Of that sickening uncertainty.

"She...started to take her clothes off, because she thought that I..." he struggled to explain between hiccups and sobs, quickly losing his strength as he collapsed on his knees, and like a man that had just lost everything he started to cry with gut-wrenching wails.

I now understood. I realized what had happened. Nothing. Exactly nothing.

I lowered myself with him and placed a soothing hand on his cheek, his eyes closing for a moment as he let out a shaky breath.

He placed his hand over mine, his eyes opening to find my own again.

"S-she was only trying to help, Carina, you have to understand. It's not her fault. We were trapped into that vicious circle for so long and she thought that I would recover like I always did if she..."

"If she let you have her," I quietly finished that sentence that got stopped short in his throat by another sob, his breath hitching again.

"But I didn't touch her, I swear! I would never do that to her! I would never dare hurt anyone like that!"

He pushed himself closer and took my hands in his, his voice laced with mad desperation as he stared between my eyes,

"Please, you have to believe me, I'm not a monster!"

He quickly lost himself into that sickening pit of agony again, crying like a scared little child as he rested his forehead against my collarbone, his heartbreaking sobs making my soul writhe with agony.

"Please...I don't want to be like this..." he quietly pleaded between sobs and my eyes fell closed for a moment, feeling another set of tears wet my cheeks.

"Please...I'm so sorry..."

I shakily wrapped my arm around the back of his neck, the other snaking over his back as I held him there, close to my soul, together crying our hearts out.

"Please...Don't push me away..." I slowly started to rock him into a soothing motion, hugging him even tighter at the sound of that, my own chest convulsing as I struggled not to break into another fit of mad sobs.

"Forgive me, Carina,"