Zola Flash (The Zola Flash Series Book 1) (7 page)

“PIN, PLEASE LET GO,” I tell him, as his eyes darken beneath his deepening emotions.

“Why? So you can return to Trevor, naked!?”

“No, so you’ll stop hurting me!”

His hold loosens, and a small breath of relief ekes from me.

“That’s it. Calm down.”

Pin’s hands lower to his sides. I ease mine down and pace away, but Pin grabs my hand.
Not again
. He tugs me up against his body. One hand moves to the small of my back, the other to my hair.

“I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” He sounds sincere. And I know he can’t help it. He’s a Payohlini, after all. It’s in his nature. “Will you forgive me, Zola?”

Pin crushes his lips to mine. When I do not respond, he forces my mouth open with his tongue. His warm breath flows into my mouth as his tongue massages mine. Pin’s hand moves from the small of my back and his fingers begin untying my swimsuit top.

I don’t know what to do. I want Pin. I have gone to bed dreaming of having him. I wish my mother was here to advise me.

Pin nudges me back against the wall. His hands encircle my thighs, and he brings my legs up and wraps them around his waist. His lips move from my mouth down to my neck, and down farther still in a circular pattern. 

I moan in pleasure. Pleasure I should not be feeling.

Carrying me to the bed, Pin’s mouth reclaims mine. He lays me down gently. Any uncertainty I’d felt vanishes, as Pin pulls on my mouth. This time he doesn’t have to force my mouth open.

My hands move to his chest. And as Pin’s mouth moves down to my breasts, my mind begins to wonder. Why? Why now?  He told me I meant nothing to him.

“Pin. I can’t do this.”

“Why?” Pin doesn’t take his mouth off my chest.

“Be . . . cause . . .” I can’t quite get it out. It is hard to be with Pin when he is like this. I can barely speak or think, and not being able to say what is on my mind is frustrating.

“Because what?” Pin gropes my butt. A small scream escapes me in response, and slight smile appears on his face. “I’ll take that as an indication to continue.”

My eyes widen. “No!”

Pin removes his hands and lips from my body and pushes back enough that the weight of his scrutiny washes me in shame.

I cover my chest as a chill spreads through me. Pin flings me my top, and I quickly put it on. Looking into his eyes, for the first time, I feel my age. Pin was about to give himself to me. And I rejected his expression of emotions because of my own confusion, lack of experience, and uncertainty. Trevor or Pin? Pin or Trevor? I don’t know!

Pin climbs off the bed and strides from the room.

I swing myself up and chase after him. “No, Pin. Wait!”

He pauses in the bathroom door. I slowly approach and put my hand on his shoulder, but he knocks it away.

“Pin, I have strong feelings for you. You know that, but why do you want to give yourself to me? You told me I meant nothing to you.”

“I don’t know, Zola. At the moment, I was angry with you, and I was trying to calm myself.” Pin gazes down at me. His long hair drips with sweat.

“Unless you love me, and really love me,
I do not want you!
” My throat tightens and goes dry beneath the bold lie. “So . . . I guess you can see as many girls as you want, and I can see Trevor,” I add, talking falsely to cover my nervousness. “Is that okay with you?”

When Pin doesn’t reply, I go back to my room, pain and defeat pulsing through my soul.

Climbing on the bed, all the tears on hold spill out. I can’t force myself on Pin, but his insincere acceptance hurts more than any rejection ever could.

WEEKS HAVE GONE BY, and my routine has been the same. I awake around noon, because pretending to like “school” isn’t doing me any good. It was just a waste of time. Pin said it’s supposed to help us blend in, but what better way is there to go unnoticed than to be invisible? School draws unwanted attention, people staring and asking where we’re from. Soon enough people will put together the lies, and all eyes would be on us.

However, the one person that notices me, no matter what, decided that a break was highly needed. Trevor spat something about all work and no play, and to be honest, a little attention was nice, especially when it came from someone genuine.

On the days that Trevor takes a break, we spend the whole day together. Mostly, he talks and I listen. I’m okay with that. It only means I wouldn’t be telling more lies.

Whenever Trevor takes me home, though, I have to put up with Britney, the yellow-headed student teacher who has attached herself to Pin. I now believe he brought her over just to make me envious. Except, I know a secret. Britney is just a passing phase. She and Pin are from separate worlds, and when the time comes for Pin and I to leave, she will be left on Earth, wallowing in despair.

Even with that said, watching Pin and Britney kissing and snuggling fills my heart with even more disgust. Each time Britney leaves, Pin then nourishes himself and asks me about my day, as if he cares. And, to fulfill his duties alone, he makes sure I’m fine, no cuts or bruises, scratches or scrapes. I feel awful every time, though, even if he doesn’t pick up on it. The loving duo sours my mood, not that I am ever in a good one, when it comes to those two.

Yesterday was the end of my break, as Trevor calls it, and I received a letter. Since my living arrangements are unknown to the school, Trevor brought it over to me after football practice. Apparently, I’m getting too far behind for a new student, even though I’ve been excelling over my fellow classmates.

So, here I am, today, wondering if getting out of my comfy bed to go to that place of learning is really necessary for my survival. I try to think of what my mother would say. I can hear her now, lecturing me about right and wrong, and how each decision changes the future. So I get up and saunter to the bathroom.

Once there, I stare at myself in the mirror. If only I can say the face staring back at me is mine, but it can’t be. It can’t be mine. I have never seen this person before in my life.

I pull my hair up into pigtails. The reflection mimics my movement, so surely it has to be me. Ever since I left Victian, I am a completely different person. I feel myself slowly breaking and slipping away. Here on Earth, I’m too caught up in what people think of me. Too caught up in Pin. It’s tiring. As much as I know I can’t be, I just want to be normal again. I want to be back on Victian behind the secured wall. I want for people to not know I exist.

I want to go back to being just me.

When I finish washing up, I pull on a pair of white jeans and a black lace shirt, with a tank underneath, and top the look off with a black leather jacket.

In the kitchen, Pin sits at the table, drinking coffee with Britney. I have to look a second time to make sure it is her; she’s never showed up so early before. Something about getting beauty sleep, she said—not that it’s helping her.

“You decided to come back to school?” Pin asks in a flat, monotone voice.

“Well . . . I don’t exactly have a choice. The school said I had to come back, or risk getting kicked out. I don’t think you would want that.”

A small grunt comes from Britney direction, but I let it go. She’s not worth the oxygen she needs to breath.

“I will leave you two to finish your breakfast. Call me when you’re ready to go.” I go back to my room and collapse backwards on the bed.

It doesn’t take long before I’m escaping into my private oasis.

* * *

“I hope you like it,” Zeenose says. “I didn’t have time to prepare.”

I gaze around, and for the first time, I realize I’m on the Ladic Shore. The ground is covered with a blue blanket that matches my eyes, and wild aquai flowers are spread out over the ground. A couple of wine glasses, along with a picnic basket, sits in the middle of the blanket. This is something I’ve gotten used to. Usually, it is on my time, though.

“What is this?” I ask, my cheeks warming.

“I figured it was time you didn’t have to ask.”

“So, you have a mind of your own now,” I state.

“Well, you did make me.”

I smile and take a seat on the blanket, and not long after, Zeenose joins me. He pulls me up against his chest and runs his rod fingers across my forehead. I gaze up at him and imagine my eyes sparkling in the moonlight. He bends down and kisses me on my nose.

Something is different. This kiss didn’t feel like Zeenose. He would never kiss my nose, as he knows it displeases me, especially since only my mother ever did it.

I study his face closer. While his lips are smiling, his eyes aren’t. His eyes always glisten when I’m around. I should know—I created him that way. They don’t now, however. Zeenose hands runs up and down my arms. The touch is different, and yet very familiar, and I suddenly know who the imitator is.

I move away from him and towards the shore’s trees.

“What’s wrong, baby?” he asks.

I frown. “Where’s Zeenose?”

“What do you mean? I’m right here.”

“No, you’re not him. I can tell. Where is he?”

The imitator shifts into Rican before my very eyes, and I back up against the tree. “You mean your Pin impersonator, with short hair?” Rican laughs in my face. “I had to get rid of him. He was all over you.”

“What does it matter to you?”

“You know, for a sixteen year old Victian child, you are oblivious to the reality of things. You have created this bogus world because you know what you want. Yet, when it comes down to it, your wants will only ever be fantasy.”

I take a step around the tree, readying myself to run. “What do you mean?”

“You, my queen. You want that guardian, but you are already spoken for.” Rican takes a couple of steps forward, as I move back. “Take one more step princess, and you won’t be waking up for a while.”

“You know what? I am spoken for.” I said sarcastically. “And I don’t go for guys who get a thrill out of killing children.”

“Well, that’s too bad.” A smirk appears across his face. “You have always been ours. And even if you weren’t, people you love are never what they seem.”

Ours? What does he mean ours? He’s lying. He has to be. Pin would have told me, and my parents would never arrange a marriage with a Payohlini.

Suddenly, without any recollection of moving, I’m lying down on the blue blanket. A small scream comes from me as Rican play with my hair. I slap his hand away, and he laughs. There’s nothing hilarious about tormenting me. I try to crawl away, but Rican grabs my legs.

“Don’t be afraid of me, my little Victian,” Rican says. “You’re only hurting yourself.”

“I’m sixteen. I am not to be wedded!”

Rican smiles, and I realize the mishap of my words.

“Matter of fact, no matter how old I get, I will never marry your kind!” Except for Pin; he, I’d say yes to in a heartbeat.

“We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

“No!”

I wriggle free and run away from Rican, yet somehow, I end up back where I started. In Rican’s arms.

I push him away from me, but he just laughs at me again and dips his face, as if to kiss me. Instead, he whispers in my ear, “Just remember that, whenever you go to sleep to dream, I can find you. I can track you. So don’t dream, or you’ll be walking down the aisle a lot sooner than what you want.”

My heart pounds at his words. “You can’t do that. You’re bluffing.”

“Do you really want to chance that?” He moves his lips down the base of my neck, making me flinch. “Wake up, Zola, wake up!”

* * *

I jump up, eyes wide. Is it true? I’ve never heard of being tracked in dreams, but at this point, I guess anything is possible, and I don’t really want to find out if he was bluffing, or not.

I let my head fall into my hands at the idea of giving up my dream time. I need that escape. Without them . . . Why is this happening to me? Did I anger the gods that much, for them to torment me so?

Pin enters my room, his eyes narrowed in concern. “Are you okay?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You screamed.”

I did? “Well, I’m fine.”

His frown tells me he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t push it. “In that case, it’s time to go.”

“’Kay.”

I try to stalk pass Pin, but he quickly seizes my forearm and twirls me around until I have no choice but to face him. He raises his hand and rubs his thumb across my face, wiping away tears I didn’t realize are there. Jerking my head away, I walk out, not wanted him to see me weak.

In the living room, I find Britney. She eyes me as soon as I step through the door, and I stare back. There is no reason for her snarling. I haven’t said a word to her since she and Pin started whatever it is they’re doing, but have respected her enough to let it be. Of course, in my head I had a few choice of words. Speaking them, though, would only make me the bad guy.

Softening my stare, I give her a smile as I head over and sit in a furry pink chair. Britney tracks me with blatant jealousy in her eyes.

“Is there something you want to say?” I ask.

Britney hands ball into fists. “I don’t like you.”

“You don’t know me well enough not to like me. Many people do, once they give me a chance,” I respond.

“I know you’re here with Pin when I can’t be. Who knows what you could be doing with my boyfriend.” She adds in a cold-blooded growl, as if for good measure.

My laugh escapes, though I shouldn’t be surprised by her envy. What girl wouldn’t be jealous? From my prospective, all the girls at school gawk when he walks by, and I actually get to live with him, see him every morning when he wakes, and watch him every night before bedtime. Though, despite my feelings, I would much rather have my family back. And the simple fact that Pin couldn’t care less about my feelings for him gives her a one up. She has nothing to be envious about.

“Look Britney, as much as you don’t want me here, I don’t want to be here. I don’t have a choice in the matter, though. Believe me, I would much rather be at home with my family, but that’s just not possible.”

Britney rolls her eyes. “So, I still don’t like you.”

I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. If she doesn’t like me now while I’m being reasonable, she really wouldn’t like the other me. I push up from the chair and stomp out of the room, bumping into Pin. He tries to steady me, but I push him away as I try to pass and, without further ado, trip over his foot and land on the marble floor.

Jumping back up, I thump Pin as hard as I can in the chest.

Pin cups my face, and frustration wrinkles my forehead as my temperature rises. I hate when he goes into his protective mode. I don’t need him protecting me. I can do that on my own.

“What’s wrong?” Pin asks in a semi-worried voice.

It doesn’t matter. You don’t care! “Your girlfriend,” I spit. “If she says anything to me again, I swear one of us won’t make it out alive, and it won’t be me.”

“Always the warrior,” Pin whispers, though more so to himself than me. “And she’s not my girlfriend.”

“Oh, really? Well, you could’ve fooled me.”

“Then, I accomplished my goal.” He lets out a troubled sigh, and releasing my face, runs his hands down my arms. “Zola, you’re the one who suggested . . . Look we need to go. We’re late.”

“I suggested what?”

“That’s a discussion for a different morning. Can we go now? I have a meeting.”

Without smiling, I give an almost indistinguishable nod.

Pin lets out a deep breath, and walking away from me, he claims Britney hands as he passes her. A low irritated snarl escapes from beneath my breath, and from the look on Britney’s face, she heard it. As if to irritate me in return, she wraps her arms around Pin’s neck and pull him down into a deep heated kiss. Their bodies are so close, it’s insufferable and causes me to almost rupture into tears.

To hide it, I march to the door and open it angrily. “We’re late for school!” I yell.

They don’t glance my way. I duck out through the door and head down the street. It’s busy, like always, which is something I had come to terms with. Earth is naturally a busy planet, unlike my home—everyone here is always in such a rush.

By the time I reach the corner, schoolmates Lili and Shayna pull up in a red car that looks like Trevor’s. They study me for a split second, and seem to be viewing my attire, before Lili zooms away, their laughter lingering in their wake.

I close my eyes and continue to school. I hear someone shouting my name but ignore it when I recognize the voice as Pin’s. If he wants to talk to me, he can do it when Britney isn’t around.

Otherwise, I will be causing more trouble.