The Devil's Prey (The Demon Within) (5 page)

‘What do you want
, Summer?’ His voice was harsh. 

‘I wanted to say…
I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was upset. You are the best thing about being a fairy, the best thing that has happened to me in my whole life. I didn’t mean to run away. I just needed space to clear my head. Ethan! Why won’t you look at me? I know you are mad at me. I am sorry, I don’t know what to say. I wish I’d never run away or hit Amber, I was just so mad, I lost it...’ I was talking faster and faster with every word, which I do when I am nervous. I didn’t get to finish, though, because he cupped my face and pulled me into a kiss. My body went into shock- but a good one. His lips were so warm and soft. I wrapped my arms around his neck. My heart was beating a thousand miles an hour. We heard the final warning bell ring, and Ethan pulled away from me and looked me in the eye.

‘Why would you think I was mad at you?’ H
e smiled at me, which made my knees go weak.

‘Well
, I just thought…because of what happened, you would be mad, and the way you looked at me and talked to me…’

‘Summer
.’ He said my name, but I kept ranting. ‘Summer!’

I stopped and looked into his eyes.
‘Yes?’

‘I think it
’s very cute, the way you do that, but we are going to be late for class.’ We rushed off to Biology together. We made it just in time before the teacher walked in.

‘Ok, today is a pop quiz on what we have been doing. You will be scored and graded.’ The class moaned at the teacher’s announcement.

‘Did you study?’ Ethan asked me.

I gave him a look. ‘I was
suspended, of course I studied!’

H
e laughed, and our teacher came around and placed the tests on our desks.

‘Miss
, this is not a pop quiz! It is an actual test!’

I looked down to see
that it was a formal test.

‘Yes
, you are right. This will go towards your report. By making it a surprise, I’ll be able to see how much you learn and listen.’ She laughed to herself, but all the students were in a panic.

‘Ok
, begin.’

W
e had all lesson to finish it. I flew through the pages like the wind and ended up finishing ten minutes early. I looked around to see everyone else struggling. I looked at Ethan, who was tapping his pencil on the desk, perhaps hoping for the answer to appear. I looked at Amy, who was screwing her face up. I went through my paper again, and double checked my answers three times, but I still had eight minutes left, so I decided to see what Amanda was up to.

‘Hey, Amanda, what you doing?’
I waited before she replied.

‘
Listening to a boring lecture on Shakespeare.’

‘
Sounds interesting!’
I looked around to see how everybody was doing, and by the looks of it, I was still the only one finished.

‘
Aren’t you supposed to be in a pop quiz?’
Her voice echoed through my head.

‘
Well, turns out it was not a pop quiz, but a test towards our report. I am done.’
I looked up at the clock to see we still had five more minutes.

‘
How can you be done ? Unless you cheated!’

I sighed. I heard our teacher cough, and looked at her to see her pointing to my paper.

‘
Summer, what is the meaning behind Shakespeare’s work?’

‘H
ow would I know? I am doing
To Kill a Mockingbird.
’

‘Alright, students. Test is over! Put down your pencils, and no talking.’

I looked over to Etha
n, who looked at me and smiled. ‘Now hand your paper to the front, and make sure your names are on them,’ the teacher said.

I handed my pa
per to the boy in front of me.

‘N
ow you can talk.’ Just like that, the classroom erupted into chatter about the test.

‘S
ummer, how did you find the test?’  Perry asked from behind me.

‘I
t was easy.’ That was true. I had flown through the work.

‘L
ucky for you! I found it hard. Are you trying out for volleyball after lunch?’

W
hy would Perry ask that? ‘Wouldn’t miss it.’ I smiled at him. When we were dismissed, I was stopped by my teacher before the bell rang.

‘Summer
, can you stay behind for a second?’ I waited behind for everyone to leave before she began talking. ‘Summer, I would like to give you extension work. You are very bright, and this will help you.’ She handed me a stack of papers.

‘W
hen do you want it done by?’ I asked, hoping she wouldn’t say tomorrow.

‘W
henever you finish it.’ She smiled and dismissed me from class. The day flew by, and before I knew it I was waving off Ethan, Amanda and Amy to go to volleyball tryouts.

‘O
k, people. I want to see what you can do. We are going to play a game, so split up into four teams.’

We
did what the coach said. I was on a team with Sarah, Blake, Perry and some new people. Tryouts were a blast, with everyone giving one hundred percent. We were huffing and puffing by the end of it, and our faces were red. I felt bad, as I rarely get winded or tired, but today I was exhausted.

‘O
k, let’s wrap things up,’ the coach called to us, meaning next point would win. A new girl, Annabelle, served it over, but it came back. When I hit it over, it got through their line. We shook hands with the other team and went over to the coach.

‘O
k, ladies and gents, I will post the team and reservations on the wall tomorrow.’ We were dismissed to clean up.

‘Nice work
, Summer! For once we see you tired!’

I laughed with Perry
and took a huge swig of water. ‘Well, last time I checked, I was not invincible,’ I said with a hint of sarcasm.

Perry went off to change
, and I went to congratulate Annabelle on her work. ‘Hi Annabelle, I just wanted to say great work on the court.’

S
he turned around to face me with a huge smile on her face. ‘Thank you, but I am not as good as you.’ she turned back to her friends, who were talking about how hard tryouts had been. I looked at my phone and saw that Amanda and Ethan would be waiting. I grabbed my bag and ran into the car park, not bothering to have a shower.

When I reached the school parking lot
, I beat Amanda and Ethan, who were walking out of class. I looked at my phone. ‘Not again,’ I said out loud. I never meant to stop time, and I hated when I did it accidentally. I made a mental note to ask Lauren how to keep myself from doing that.

‘What’s
not again? I hope it’s my nose.’ Amber walked past me.

‘Amber
, I am really sorry about your nose, but what you said made me mad.’ I looked at her, hoping for an apology, but I knew I would never get one.

‘W
ell, I am glad you are sorry, but that doesn’t mean we are not going to sue you for every penny you and your mum have,’ she said, giving her evil smile.

‘No
, please don’t do that. I will do anything- please do not sue. My mum is just coping as it is.’ I felt tears well up in my eyes, but Amber was laughing.

‘O
h my god, you believed it!’ She walked off, laughing with her friends.

‘Amber
, you don’t joke about things like that!’ I yelled to her as she walked away. I felt two pair of eyes looking at me.

‘Summer
, what did you do?’ Ethan’s voice was firm.

‘N
othing! She was joking around about suing my mum and me, and I told her it is not funny!’  He looked at me with pity, which I hated.

‘Ethan
, please! Don’t look at me like that!’

I looked at Amanda
, who seemed to be in a world of her own. She looked up. ‘Was someone talking to me?’

‘U
mm, Amanda, are you going to move?’

S
he turned around to see a car waiting for her to move. ‘Oh, sorry.’ She stepped aside and let the car drive past. We stood there for a few seconds before we all got in Ethan’s car.

‘W
ait, I need to tell Amy I don’t need a lift.’ I got out my phone and told Amy I did not need to stay at her house anymore, and thanked her for having me.

‘S
o you were at Amy’s the whole time?’ Amanda asked.

I sat silent
ly.

‘So
I assume that is a yes,’ Ethan muttered.

‘O
k, I was at Amy’s! So what? I needed space, and her place is safe.’

Amanda shift
ed in her seat as Ethan spoke again.
‘So what?
I thought you had been caught, or worse, killed! Do you realize how special you are?’

‘H
ere we go again,’ Amanda said, like she had heard this before.

‘
This is part of why I left! I am sick of special treatment. Why can’t people treat me like anyone else?’ The sun was now covered by clouds that had appeared out of nowhere.

‘B
ecause you are not everybody else.’ Ethan did not look at me, keeping his eyes on the road.

‘Y
ou think I don’t know that? I have sudden power bursts that come from nowhere. For once I would like people to just stop thinking of me as special, and turn around and say, “Hey, Summer, how are you doing?”  Because if anyone in that house had a brain, they would realize that I am not doing fine! Just look at me! My life is a mess, I am freaked out by anything that sneaks up on me or follows me, I nearly killed an innocent animal because I thought it was…’ I stopped because both Ethan and Amanda were looking at me. The light rain outside had appeared as suddenly as the clouds had earlier.

‘Summer
, I know how hard it is for you.’

‘Ethan
, please. Don’t push it. Remember what Lauren said about her abilities being unpredictable.’ Amanda stared straight ahead as she spoke, and I followed her gaze, realizing we were at the house already.

‘S
ummer, what you went through…I can understand…’

I
cut him off. ‘Understand! You cannot begin to understand what is going on inside me.’ I opened the door and burst into the house, running to my room. The few people that were home took notice of me, but the rest were still not back. The rain outside fell down harder as I sat down on the floor and leaned against my bed. I was having trouble breathing, and I felt claustrophobic. I knew I was having a panic attack. I sat there, trying to breathe.

I closed my eyes
and ran my hands over my head. I heard someone come into the room. Why couldn’t anyone leave me in peace?

‘Summer
.’ The voice was soft, like an angel’s, and I groaned inwardly.

‘Why won’t anyone get it?’
My breath was slowly returning to me.

‘Get what
, Summer?’ I knew the voice, but I did not want to talk to her.

‘G
et that they will never understand what I went through! Everyone wants to understand, but no one wants to ask how I am coping.’ The rain outside was still coming down, but had died down a bit.

‘W
ell, Summer, the best I can do for you is let you talk to someone who can help you.’

I looked
up to see Lauren move from her place by the door and walk towards me. ‘No. I will not see a shrink. They already think I am crazy. That would make things ten times worse!’ I felt the anger inside of me. I had promised myself I would never ever see a shrink, no matter what the situation. The rain outside got heavier, and it felt a bit like the emotions that were creating their own storm inside me.

‘I
nteresting,’ Lauren said, looking at me like I was an alien.

‘W
hat? The fact that you think I am going crazy enough to send me to a shrink?’ At that moment, Ethan and Amanda came bursting into the room. It happened so suddenly that I jumped to my feet, ready to throw a lambo at them both.

‘W
hat is this about?’ Lauren quickly turned her gaze to me. I was breathing hard, two lambos in my hand.

‘Summer
, it is only Ethan and Amanda.’ She had a very worried look on her face, but behind her worry was something like…satisfaction. I glanced over to the door where Ethan and Amanda stood, stunned. I got rid of the lambos just as someone else came bursting into the room.  This time I did overreact, and it was not a lambo, but a blue light. I threw it at the door before I could even comprehend what I was doing.

Lightning cracked outside when I realized I had thrown the blue light. Luckily, everyone near the door managed to duck in time. ‘Summer, what the hell?’ Brandon exclaimed, looking at me in utter shock.