Her Quest : Magic in the Blood
Chapter 33

Sonia sighed as she pulled the robe over her shoulders, fastening the belt in a knot. Turning around, she wiped the fog off the mirror and noticed the dark circles under her eyes. Sighing once again, she shook her head as she applied the concealer to hide the mess before gathering her things and leaving the bathroom.

Once ready, she swung her backpack over her shoulders and walked over to her desk, plugging her phone out of charging. It was still early for college.

Sonia closed her eyes for a moment and taking a breath, opened the desk drawer. Taking a bunch of sticky notes out, she quickly scribbled Off to college, and pulling it out she grabbed Ian's gift and headed out of the room.

Her plan was simple. Stick the note to the fridge, place the gift on the kitchen table and then take the bus to the campus. She looked down at the gift and winced at the pathetic condition of the wrapping.

Should I just take it off, she thought, eyeing the bow, then shrugged, it won't matter. He will not accept it anyway, she sighed again and entered the kitchen.

And stopped.

Sonia watched, dumbfounded as they all sat around the table. Having breakfast.

Jake was the first to spot her, "Hey Sonia. Good you are up. Come join us," he waved her over, smiling brightly.

Sonia attempted a meek smile as all heads turned towards her. Shuffling forward, she stood beside Jake, suddenly feeling awkward by the anticipatory eyes on her.

"Good morning," she mumbled, looking around but not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Hey! Is that for me?" Ian asked, making her stiffen a bit.

Nodding once, she held it out, "Umm, happy birthday," she kept looking hard at the package until he took it from her. Taking a deep breath, she fumbled with the note in her hand, "Sorry for the wrapping. I slipped on mud and fell backwards, and it was in my bag so.." she trailed off, shrugging lightly.

Ian's jaw tightened as she lied, "Oh yeah?" He asked, watching as her eyes moved everywhere like that of a frightened lamb looking for a way out, "Then you must be hurt. Wait. Let me get you the ice pack," he got up and she hastily retreated a couple of steps back.

Ian clenched his fists, seeing her so defensive near him.

"Are you alright, love?" Emm asked from his seat.

Sonia's head whipped in his direction, "Yes. Yes, what would happen to me? I'm alright. Perfectly fine," she rambled, "And I did apply the ice pack last night. Everything's okay now," she smiled again.

"Where were you last night?" Dim asked, taking a sip of his tea, "We missed you at the party."

Sonia looked at Ian and Gage, her eyes wide, before returning her gaze back to Dim, "I - I had to run over and uhh, return some notes to my friend. Then on my way back, I uhh, slipped and-" she gave a half chuckle and shrugged her shoulders, "had to stay put."

"You could have called us," Gage said quietly, looking her straight in her eyes, as if daring her to continue her lying.

Sonia took a deep breath, "Ergh, my phone was with Dim, so I had no idea where it would be and I donot have your numbers memorized so cannot use the kitchen phone too."

Gage opened his mouth but Jake beat him to it, "The party was no fun without you," he whispered and took hold of her hand.

A genuine smile curved her lips as she looked down at Jake, "My bad," she shrugged a shoulder again, "At least you guys had fun there."

Jake shook his head, "Not without you."

Sonia's smile faltered, "Uh, I think I should get going now," she pulled her hand from Jake's grasp.

"But it's still early," Ian took another step near her.

"Ye - yeah," she stammered, "I - I have some assignments due. Need to get them done," she moved back and turned to the door, rushing away quickly.

"She didn't even look at the food, let alone eat anything," Gage muttered.

"Did you see the dark circles beneath her eyes," Jake pushed back his chair and rose, "Even the makeup couldn't hide it."

"She'll be sick if she continues this," Emm observed as he moved his finger around the rim of his mug.

"I won't let that happen," Ian growled.

"Then do something," Gage threw up his hands in frustration, "Just make her laugh again."

Ian swallowed his words as Gage got up and left the room.

"I promise you, mate, I will," Ian whispered as he too turned around and went out to the back garden.

***

Sonia closed the car door after getting out. Leaning against the window, she smiled at her friend.

"Thanks a bunch, Jess."

Jessica rolled her eyes as she waved it off with the flick of her wrist, "Shut up, stupid. It's the least one girl could do for another. After all how can guys understand the mess we have to go through each month," she raised her eyes anticipating an answer.

Sonia smiled at her, "Right! See ya tomorrow." She took a step back.

Jessica gave her a flying kiss as she backed out of the driveway.

Sonia turned around and instantly her smile dropped. She walked to the front door and opened it. Sighing, she dragged herself up to her room.

Her last lecture was dismissed a good twenty minutes early as the professor had got some urgent call. Sonia was grateful for the mercy as she had been feeling strangely exhausted.

As she and Jessica were in the same class, Sonia had asked her to give her a lift home. To avoid conflict, she had texted Jake that she was headed home with Jess.

She sat on her bed and it seemed a great load of effort just to pull off her shoes. She huffed as she managed it somehow and frowned at the sudden black dots clouding her vision. Putting it to the lack of sleep, she slumped back and was instantly covered in darkness.

***

Sonia woke up to the shrill volume of her ringtone. She fumbled around and answered the phone without checking the id.

"Sonia? Honey, where were you?" Aunt Carol's voice came over the line, waking her up completely.

She sat up in her bed, looking around, gathering her surroundings, "Hey Aunt. How are you doing?"

"Don't you act coy with me girl," she scolded, "Where are you? I've been calling since the past hour. And why does your voice sound so sleepy? You are not sick, are you? The boys aren't harassing you, are they?"

Sonia felt her lips curve up into a smile, "I miss you too, Auntie," she said, leaning back against the headboard, "And no to all your questions."

"Aww, sweety, we miss you too," she gushed over the line.

"Are you guys having fun?" Sonia asked.

Caroline giggled, "You bet. Oh my! It's such a blessing to be away for a while. We all are so grateful to you, love. Especially your Uncles."

Sonia laughed at the last part, "Okay. So you guys continue with your vacation. It will be over all too soon. I need to rush down and make dinner. The guys be home and hungry any moment now," Sonia quickly shuffled out of her cozy bed as she talked and heard Caroline sigh on the other end of the line.

"Don't overwork yourself. Sandwiches will do just fine."

Sonia chuckled as she climbed down the stairs, "Yeah. See ya soon. Take care."

She clicked the end button after Caroline said her byes and nearly saved herself from falling face first down the last couple of steps.

Breathing heavily, she shook her head as she gave a stink eye to the step she had missed and headed over to the kitchen.

She entered the room, the half double doors swinging behind her and was relieved to replace the place empty. Strangely, she was not ready to face anyone right now.

Pulling her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head, she grabbed the apron and put it on.

The sooner I be done, the better, she nodded at the thought and got to work.

Ian parked the bike in the garage and climbed off. He grabbed the bag containing the box of pastries and smiled as he imagined Sonia finally forgiving him.

A bite of the heavenly double chocolate cake and even the hardest man will melt. She is a girl after all. Ian nodded in agreement and headed towards the front door.

As he entered the foyer, the delicious scent of food hit his nose and he hurried in the direction of the kitchen.

He slowly opened the swinging doors and stopped as her soft humming reached his ears. Her back was to him and she was busy with something on the stove.

Ian took that moment to just look at her. The hair bundled up at the top of her crown, a few tendrils escaping the hold and whispering about on her exposed neck. Her quick, agile moments as she lost herself to the task at hand, barely measuring anything before adding it to the pan, just like throwing ingredients together.

Ian felt she was at peace whenever she cooked. As if it was the most basic thing of all and he could bet she may even be able to do it with her eyes closed.

He took in a breath as the scent assaulted his senses once again. But the overwhelming of all was her scent. Something sweet, yet powerful. Soft, yet tantalizing.

Suddenly she turned and gasped as she bumped into him. Ian blinked, not aware when he had walked right behind her.

Sonia quickly took a step back, pressing against the counter as she tried to calm her heart down.

"You scared me," she gushed, a hand over her heart.

Ian shrugged, "Sorry," he smiled and pushed the box towards her.

She took hold of it and looked up at him, confused.

"For you," he supplied, raking a hand through his hair.

Confused, she opened the box and looked at the assortment of pastries. All chocolate goodies, dark, white, milk, choco-chips.

She looked up at Ian again, "What are these for? I already made the dessert too."

Ian looked at her blankly, "For you I guess," he gestured to her.

"Why?" She closed the lid as she asked.

"For yesterday. I acted without thinking and I'm really sor-"

"I don't want anything," she cut him off and placed the box on the counter. Turning back, she continued her cooking.

Ian shuffled beside her, "So I did hurt you for real this time," he whispered.

Sonia's breath hitched as she turned off the gas and transferred the contents of the pan in a bowl.

Ian watched as her once agile movements turned jerky.

"Don't I even get to apolo-"

"Dinner's ready. The rest is on the table. Just heat it up before you guys eat," Sonia rambled, and then placing the bowl on the table, rushed out of the room. Ian followed her quickly.

"Hey," he stopped her just as she climbed a couple of steps, "What about you? You will also be joining us right?" He asked, her back facing him.

"I'll see," was all she said before dashing up the stairs, leaving Ian watching after her.

"I really did hurt her," Ian whispered as the sound of her door shutting close drifted down.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he sat down on the bottom step, "I'm sorry, angel," he said as a pain blossomed in the centre of his chest. He rubbed at it, silently begging her to forgive him.

Dim and the others came home to replace Ian still on the step, lost in his own world.

"Hey!" Dim spoke up, jostling Ian out of his thoughts. Offering him a hand, he pulled Ian to his feet, "Where's she?" He asked.

Ian looked at the others before shaking his head, "In her room. She won't even look at me."

Jake shuffled forward and placed a hand on Ian's shoulder, "She'll forgive you. Just don’t give up yet."

Ian nodded lightly, trying to ignore the pain in his chest, "Dinner's ready," he simply gestured in the direction of the kitchen, "You guys go on."

"Did she eat?" Gage asked.

"No. I'll take her dinner to her room. I won't give up so easily," he promised, looking straight at Gage who simply shook his head in exasperation and stalked away.

Five minutes later, Ian balanced the tray holding the meal and the book he had grabbed from the library as he climbed up the stairs. He took in a deep breath as he stopped in front of her door to steady his racing heart. Lightly, he knocked on the door. There was rustling on the other side before the door was opened.

Ian smiled as he looked at her and raised the tray. Before she could say anything, he pushed past her and made his way inside.

Sonia watched as he placed the tray on her table.

"I'm not really hungry, Ian," she said quietly and noticed his back muscles tense underneath his tshirt.

"No worries. I will just read this book till you feel hungry. Then we both can eat," he said and walking over got comfortable on her bed, laying back against the pillows.

"We? As in you too?"

Ian merely shrugged his shoulders as he opened the book, laying back against the headboard.

"But why?" She threw up her hands.

"Not hungry," he mumbled not looking up from the book.

Sonia huffed at his arrogance. She couldn’t let him starve no matter how badly he had treated her. After a minute of debating with herself, she finally gave in.

"Okay. Let's eat," she mumbled, but he heard her and jumped up.

"Does that mean you forgive me?" He asked, taking a couple of steps towards her.

Sonia looked away, not able to meet his eyes after the things he had said, "Let's just eat okay. I'm really tired."

Ian felt his heart sink a bit as she walked past him. Clenching his jaw, he shuffled around and they both settled down on the floor with the tray between them.

Ian looked at her from underneath his lashes. She just kept staring down at the food. A few minutes passed and Ian couldn't hold it any longer.

"Look, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't hav-"

"I need to go," she whispered and before Ian could say anything, she was up and running away.

Swearing under his breath, he got up and followed her. Reaching the kitchen, he found the others looking at the kitchen door, baffled.

Ian growled as he moved towards the door.

"She was crying," Emm whispered, making Ian stop in his tracks, "She clearly tried to stop but a sob escaped her lips as she wrenched the door open."

Instantly, Ian felt his anger drown away, "Just stay here," he pointed at them, "I need to bring her back," and saying so he stepped out of the house.

Ian walked, his long strides eating up the ground at a steady pace.

He reached the clearing and stopped as he found no one near the stone circle. Eyes widening in realization, he hurried over to the place he was sure she must have gone to.

The sound of the stream hit his ears but he didn’t replace it soothing in the least. Slowing down, Ian walked carefully, mindful not to snap a twig under his foot and disturb anything.

He was just a few meters away from the stream when he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes going wide as he was dazzled by the scene before him.