Chapter 0009
Chapter 9
Theo sits beside me on the couch in Mr Collins‘ office. There’s a tense silence as Mr Collins removes his suit jacket and rolls up his shirt sleeves. This must be a routine of his, and it’s certainly one I like. In fact, I might get myself sent to his office regularly just to witness this arm p**n. How can a man have such attractive arms? I seriously hope neither of the men in the room has the gift of telepathy because I think they’d kick me out of the realm if they could hear even half of the filthy scenarios my brain is playing out right now.
“Are you okay?” Theo asks, snapping me back to reality.
“Yes,” I respond a little too quickly.
“You looked like you zoned out a bit there,” he says softly, reaching up and brushing some hair from my face and tucking it behind my ear. My guess is he’s not telepathic, oherwise he’d probably not be acting so sweet to me right now.
“Just a little overwhelmed,” I smile before shifting my attention back to Mr Collins, who has his back turned towards us so he’s facing a blank wall. I give Theo a questioning look and he shrugs with a frown.
“Is everything okay, Sir?” Theo asks in an almost teasing tone. Mr Collins appears to take a breath before letting. out a sigh and turning to us with a hard stare.
“I was supposed to be at my father’s will reading today, but instead I had to travel to the human realm to collect Miss Banks and tie up all the loose ends there, then I had to launch an investigation into how a Grey was raised as a human. Right now I’m supposed to be having dinner with my grieving mother, but instead, I’m here, dealing with more of Miss Banks‘ issues. So do excuse me if I seem a little pissed off,” Mr Collins rants with a manic smile. A pit of guilt forms in my stomach and I stand up. My instincts pushing me to attempt to comfort him and apologise. I take a step towards him before coming to my senses and stopping awkwardly in the middle of the
room.
“I’m sorry to hear about your dad, I know how it feels to lose one,” I say quietly, looking down at my feet. There’s a beat of silence before Mr Collins speaks again.
“Yes, well we aren’t here to swap dead dad stories and share our grief so let’s get to the real issue. Sit down,” he says, instantly turning my pity into anger. I take my seat with a scowl and Theo gives my knee a supportive squeeze. His touch calms me immediately, which is weird. I don’t usually like to be touched, especially by men I’ve only just met.
“So what are we here for?” Theo asks too cheerfully, in an obvious attempt to ease some of the tension and act as
a
buffer between me and our headmaster. Something I’m grateful for at this moment because Mr Collins has my emotions all messed up.
“A student stopped me as I was leaving to inform me you believe you felt The Spark. Is this true?” he asks Theo as he takes his seat behind his desk.
“Yes,
“Theo confirms proudly, “When we touched I felt a jolt of power that knocked me off of my feet. Then I felt like my heart stopped for a moment before I blacked out. When I woke up I felt the connection,” he explains, giving my knee another squeeze.
“And you felt this too?” Mr Collins shifts his attention to me with a raised eyebrow. I chew on my bottom lip nervously, unsure what to say.
“I’m not sure. I did feel something. Like a strong static shock maybe, then my vision went black. The next thing I know, my door is destroyed and there’s a man in my room strangling me with his mind,” I rub my neck again, the memory still very fresh.
7/2
“Who?” Mr Collins barks in anger.
“Mason Marshall,” Theo sighs.
“Of course it was,” Mr Collins mutters and opens his laptop. He loosens his tie and opens the top button of his shirt before he begins typing furiously.
I look to Theo nervously but he doesn’t meet my gaze. He moves his hand from my knee and runs it through his hair before standing.
“Can we go now?” Theo asks, his words laced with irritation.
“Leave,” Mr Collins snaps without looking up from his screen. I get to my feet, desperate to get out of whatever this situation is. “Not you, Miss Banks,” he adds before I can take a single step. I expect Theo to protest on my behalf but when I look to him for help I only see his back as he retreats from the room without another word or a backward glance. Great! What crawled up his ass? With a huff of defeat, I sit back on the couch and wait to find out my fate.
“Start reading, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Mr Collins instructs after he’s finished his angry typing.
“Reading what?” I ask
“That,” he points to a book that’s on the couch where Theo had been sitting moments before.
“What the…” I start to ask, then shake my head, “Right away, Professor Dumbledor,” I snark, picking up the book as he leaves the office.
The book looks like a modern school textbook, but the title, The Spark‘ has me turning to the first page eagerly to finally get some freaking answers!
