"I guess you must know him a little better."
I crossed my arms in front of my chest in a slightly pouting manner. Jared touched my chin and pulled it up so that my eyes meet his. "It's always tough learning about who you are. You just need to make sure you don't waste your mortal time worrying about your immortal future. The real world can wait. I wish someone had told me that."
I'd known him for a second and he was already giving me advice. I wanted to scream at him, tell him he didn't know a thing about me or what I was going through. I didn't though. Possibly because I was going numb.
Under my breath, I grumbled, "I know. I just have a lot of other things on my mind. Gear's true age really doesn't bother me... I'm just overwhelmed by all the lies that I used to think were truths."
He nodded, letting my words fully resonate. "I understand that. It took me a long time to adjust. Surprisingly enough, though, all of this will soon make more sense to you than the mortal stuff."
I let out a slight laugh which felt oddly cathartic. "Right now, I don't think the immortal or the mortal stuff makes a whole lot of sense."
"That's because you're stuck in the middle. Falling in love with an immortal didn't help things, I'm sure. That's the sort of thing that only complicates your emotions."
I could feel my face burning red. Was I wearing a flashing sign that screamed heartbreak?
"How do you know about that?"
He looked as though he was unsure about whether or not he should say anymore. I stared expectantly, silently taking a stand to make him answer me.
"Gear told me. He was telling me about all of the new information - and the new people hanging around - and it just... kind of... came up. It wasn't like he was blabbing about your private life or anything."
I rolled my eyes, puffing somewhat childishly. "I'm sure he's relieved it didn't work out. He hasn't exactly been too thrilled about my closeness with Tallis."
Jared just chuckled slightly, angering me a little. "No. He was very candid in his disapproval of someone being alone with his little sister so much. I've been friends with him for a long time and I still got the whole 'don't touch my baby sister' speech."
I just shook my head, embarrassed and agitated at the same time. "That's just great."
He laughed a little harder this time. "I've always been a bit of a rebel, though. I very rarely follow the rules without bending them a tad." Then he winked at me.
I could feel myself blushing. As cute as he was - and as smooth as he was - I couldn't let myself be interested. It felt wrong. My heart belonged to Tallis, and even though he was done with me, I was still in love with him. It almost felt like I would be cheating if I acknowledged Jared's flirty tone.
We walked back to the house quietly until we got to the porch. Then I blurted out the question I had asked Gear before Olivia had summoned him.
"What is the light militia?"
He smirked. "We're a group that tracks down and kills the smaller groups of essence thieves who are trying to make their way into the Dramus circle. I hear nowadays there's actually another Craymon running the show."
I nodded. "Dramus had a son." I didn't want to talk about Dramus or any of his mignons, so I shifted the conversation back to him. "So, you have to risk your life all the time? Sounds a little like you enjoy danger."
He let out a laugh before responding. "I'm not an adrenaline junkie or anything, but I owe the bas... I mean, creeps... some payback. I feel a great deal of release when I fight. And it's cheaper than therapy."
He snickered a bit to lighten the seriousness of the conversation.
I sensed there was more to his story than what he was telling. It seemed as though he was holding back painful memories. I didn't want to press the issue. Truth be known, I just wanted to go to rest my mind.
Being away from Tallis for even this short amount of time was making me miserable. I just wanted to check out from the real world for a while.
Olivia poked her head out of the door. "Jared, we have your room ready."
Jared smiled at me as he winked flirtatiously. "So, are we roommates, or am I having to stay down the hall?"
I blushed again, but before I could say anything, Gear was throwing a blob of water at Jared's head. It almost looked like a clear water balloon as it smacked him right in the face. Then I could hear Gear speaking in a scolding tone.
"I told you - hands off!"
Jared wiped his face as he teased, "I knew you were listening. It was just a little joke."
Gear and Olivia laughed from the inside the house, while I tried to drown in humiliation.