Vulnerable: Book 1 of the Magic Mutations Series | ✓

23: Prove It

October 2017

The first week of university came to an end, and my routines began to set in. I would go to campus every day from 9am to 5pm, studying in the library when I didn't have classes. I enjoyed the excuse to get out of my shoebox home.

For the first time in a while, it had been a few days since Ben had even crossed my mind. So I was finally in good spirits, partly considering putting on Twilight when I got home to relive my early teen years.

But as I walked off the campus grounds that late afternoon, I came to a halt. 

Because to my left right outside the gate were two vacant blue eyes looking at me. 

Gaunt-faced and removed from any ounce of joy, the man in black pushed off from the wall he was leaning against as he saw me.

Slowly blinking, I took in a deep breath, repositioned the bag on my shoulder and kept walking. Past him.

"Olivia, wait," he called out after me, the musical quality to his voice gone. That lasso that was around my heart gave an ever so slight tug towards him, which angered me. It had almost been gone.

Turning on my heel, I glared at him. "What do you want? More blood?" I seethed.

He stopped, not far from me, taken aback. "What? No. Can we talk?"

"Then talk."

He glanced around warily as the people walking past us giving us odd looks. "Somewhere more private?"

"I'm not going anywhere private with you." I turned back and began to storm towards the station again. But his hand grabbed my arm, yanking me to a stop. Though just as quickly as he grabbed me, he dropped me. Hand clenched to his chest, he rubbed it slightly... like all the other vampires did when they touched me.

Slowly tilting my head as I observed his reaction, I began to wonder why he wasn't immune to me anymore.

But before I could ask, he said, "I just want to know why you're walking away from me. Talk to me about it and then I'll let you go if it is what you want."

"Hmm. I don't know, Ben. Maybe it's the fact you toyed with my feelings and made me like you just so that you could get my blood? Pretty big thing to overlook.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I never—"

"Don't play dumb. It doesn't look good on you." But I wasn't done with all the pent up retorts I had stockpiled in the weeks that passed. "You know, you could have just asked. You didn't have to make me feel like I meant something to you."

"But you do mean something to me."

I shook my head at him, almost laughing. "You got what you want. Why are you still playing this game?"

"It's not a game. Look... I'm sorry if I've said or done something that has upset you, but I thought my feelings were pretty clear—"

"Ben, you buttered me up and lured me in to take my blood. I was tossing and turning it in my head about why you couldn't kiss me but when I heard your conversation with Lukas that day, all made sense. At the end of this, I'm just some girl you barely know."

I turned around and began to walk away, but he stood in front of me, moving faster than a human would have moved.

"Careful, someone will see that," I warned him.

Ignoring my cooment, he said, "Yes, I said that, and, yes, we do barely know each other. But I wasn't with you for your blood."

"With me?" I shrieked. "You were never with me."