Death In Her Eyes - Erin Bedford Page 0,34

careful.

Sticking my phone in my back pocket, I hurried forward. Couldn't give Ayden a reason to come looking for me. At least not now. It was far too early.

When I broke the clearing a full out party raged. Students hung around big bonfires and drank from red cups, laughing and playing around. Some of them already too drunk to stand.

Nephilims weren't that different from human teenagers it seemed.

I walked around the bonfire being careful not to brush up against anyone. Someone held out a cup to me and I took it without saying thank you. Not that they'd have heard me anyway. The girl who'd given me the cup had her tongue down the throat of another girl who I recognized from my Intro to Enoch class.

Humming my amusement, I sipped from my cup and meandered around the area. It took a whole of ten minutes for me to get cornered by Charity, Bishop, and the guy from the smoking spot.

"What are you doing here?" Charity growled, getting in my path when I tried to walk away.

"I was invited."

"Well, I'm uninviting you." Charity tried to take my cup, but I spun around in place keeping her from taking it.

I narrowed my eyes on her. "Apparently, we're back to mean girl mode huh? No secret cigs between classes anymore? Ah what a shame." I mock snapped my fingers before taking a drink of my cup my eyes on her the whole time.

"That was before you basically put Dharma in a coma. You freak." Charity screeched putting her hands on her hips as she got into my face.

I held my hands up and out to the side. "Hey, I was just doing the assignment. It's not my fault your friend doesn't know how to take the memory she is given." I sighed and stared down into my cup. "Some memories deserve to stay buried."

Then to my utter horror Charity burst into tears. Bishop patted her on the back awkwardly while the other guy glared at me as if I'd hit her in some way.

"All...she...wanted..." Charity hiccupped and a whining sound came out of her nose as she cried. She patted Bishop on the arm apparently this was code for you tell her cause he turned that emo hair sweep in my direction.

"Dharma was just trying to protect everyone."

I frowned. "From me? How does digging in my brain protect anyone? It obviously didn't help her."

My comments only made Charity cry harder and now it was joint boys turn to step in.

"We've had numerous sightings of angels nearby and she needed to make sure you weren't one pretending to be one of us."

Okay so now I felt bad. Well, worse actually. Sure, Dharma had been asking for it but I didn't mean to mess up her completely just scare her off a bit. Still there was something about their accusation that bothered me.

"Why did you think I was?" I cocked my head to the side. "None of the teachers do."

"Exactly." Bishop pointed out. "You didn't have a trial period. You didn't get escorted by an elder for the first six months. Not like the rest of us. Plus, you're..." his eyes went up and down my form with a conflicted expression.

"I'm what?"

"Older."

I leaned forward afraid that I'd miss heard him over the music and Charity's wailing. "What? What does my age have to do with it? Aren't you all high schoolers?" I gestured around the bonfire.

Bishop nodded. "Yeah but every one of us save Ayden got here when we were just showing our powers about thirteen. Or if their parents knew about their powers even younger. You're what twenty?"

I sputtered in my drink. "Excuse me. I'll have you know I will be nineteen in two months. Besides, I'm hardly ancient."

"But you've had your powers longer. You should have been found before now." Bishop and pot guy stared me down as if expecting me to sprout wings then and there.

"I don't have to explain myself to you but because I feel bad for hurting your friend, I'll say this once and only once. I'm not, nor have I ever been, an angel. I didn't even know they existed until two days ago!"

"Elle!" An excited squeal broke through my standoff with them. "There you are. They're about to start!"

I twisted around to see Ayden who collapsed against me. Apparently, too drunk already to care that she broke her no touching rule. I flinched against her death but then had to struggle to keep her upright.

"Geez, someone