Agatha's priorities took a turn in recent days. All the previous important things were replaced by Lorcan. She didn't have much time to spend with Ellis, and the only reason why she saw Demir, apart from work, was that he was also friends with the injured boy and he went to visit him.

She perceived her own behavior as the right thing to do, the young woman would expect everyone to do the same for their loved ones. And Lorcan needed her, without her power his wounds would take at least double the time to heal.

The desire to help the one that's always been there when she needed it pushed her to do better. Not a single afternoon passed without Agatha practicing the use of her power, she even agreed to heal some of the members of the Protectors to acquire experience. It turned out it wasn't as bad as she imagined, Genevieve guided her in every step and she never felt judged.

But it wasn't only about getting back what she received from Lorcan, it was also about the terror she suffered when the young man almost encountered his death.  That inexplicable pain that stopped time and crushed her heart, the pain she will remember for the rest of her existence, and the one that gave a new meaning to Lorcan's presence. Agatha couldn't lose her friend, even if that meant sacrificing some of her time.

She thought Ellis would understand her, it wasn't like she ignored him every second of the day, sometimes they talked on the phone during the night and she tried hard to answer his messages. From Agatha's point, it hasn't been a long period, only four days passed, and they weren't even an official couple.

All of Agatha's suppositions trembled when Ellis knocked on her house's door that Saturday morning. He was looking breathtaking even on a simple white t-shirt and sweatpants, she could even swear that his eyes shone brighter than ever, or maybe it was only the fact that she hadn't seen him in a while.

"Can I come in? I brought some food" he said, showing the paper bag in his right hand.

"Yes, come in" she answered once her thoughts got back to reality.

Ellis went straight to the kitchen, he's been so many times in the house that he already moved freely around the place. He deposited the bag over the small table.

"Did you have breakfast already? I thought we could eat together."

"I won't say no to food." Agatha sat on the chair opposite to the young man.

He took out two cups of coffee, a croissant, and a chocolate cupcake. Under the sunlight that came from the circular window near the table, the breakfast seemed a gift from heaven. The delicious smell called the girl, it was the perfect combination of the bitterness of the beverages and the sweetness of the pastries.

Agatha was the first one to take a bite, her chocolate cupcake could be described as perfect. They enjoyed their breakfast and talked about their lives. That was something the librarian liked about Ellis, the fact that he made her feel so comfortable and how easy the words flowed when they were together.

"I should meet the animals one day," said the young girl after he mentioned his work on the farm. "Do you think they'll like me?"

"They'll love you, I don't think there's anyone out there that wouldn't like you." The boy held Agatha's hand over the table. "Do you have some time today?"

She took a look at the clock hanging on the lilac wall. "I have only an hour, after that, I'll be busy."

"Let me guess, Lorcan," commented Ellis, his voice sounding lower than usual. He stood up from his seat and started pacing around the kitchen. "You seem very attached to that kid, he's all you worry about."

"First of all, he's not a kid, he's twenty-three, just a year younger than us." Agatha fought back without moving her position. "Second, he almost died, it wasn't a little wound. Can't you understand that I almost lost my friend? All you care about are your stupid dates."

"Our dates, they're our dates. I care about us. You're the one that never has time for me. You're always worried about your books, your tv show, your movies, and those two friends of yours, is all you talk about." He screamed while pointing at her. "Why can't you see that he's trying to take you away from me?"

"He was almost killed! Don't you have a little bit of empathy? If you care about me then you would understand how devastating this situation is for me. Why do you even care so much that I spend time with him?"

"Because I want you to be mine!" Ellis yelled and punched the wall. "I hate when other men look at you and I can't scare them off, I hate that I can't scream to the world that you belong to me."

Agatha got closer to him, she brought one of her hands to his chest, feeling his uneven breathing. "Breathe, calm down. We can talk about it. I like you, I thought I was being clear about my feelings."

Ellis pushed her against the white kitchen counter, his posture screamed dominance while he caged the girl between his arms. He crashed his lips against hers. One of his hands remained on her waist and the other one held her face firmly.

The young man transmitted all his frustrations through the kiss. Agatha's body was invaded by his fire, melting her insides. He took complete control of the situation, using his strength to keep her trapped. Ellis slipped his hand from her waist to her butt, he gave it a squish making her moan. 

They broke apart to recover their breathing, however, the young man didn't have plans to finish. He lifted Agatha's chin to expose her neck and left kisses from behind her left ear to her collarbones. He made sure to suck and bit her skin.

"Now they'll know that you're mine," he whispered, signaling the marks he imprinted on her neck. "Tell the kiddo I said hi."

Agatha stayed in the kitchen alone, trying to process what just happened. Her legs were still shaking and her body heat refused to subside.

After some minutes she remembered about her compromise with Lorcan and ran out of her house.

"I'm sorry I'm late." She apologized to her friend as she crossed the door of the room.

"Don't worry, it's not like I have somewhere to go." The member of the Protectors said, a sweet smile appeared on his face once the girl sat next to him. "Even if you're late, I'm always happy to see you, my lady."

The warmth of his hand expanded into hers and a pang of guilt shook her heart. She couldn't translate the message hidden behind her feelings, why did the touch she loved turn into suffering?

"I'll start with the healing." She said.

Her hands were trembling as she touched Lorcan's chest. The power barely flowed, something was blocking it. Agatha kept pushing, but in the end, it caused her abilities to shut down.

"Hey, are you okay? What happened?" He asked in a caring tone, before reaching for her hand.

"I must be tired, don't worry." The girl whispered, moving her hand away from the boy's caresses.

"Are you sure? Are you taking care of yourself? Please don't push your limits, between your job and the help you're giving to the Protectors you're using a lot of your strength. I know it's a bit hypocritical coming from me but don't compromise on your health. I heard that Stephen King published a new book. Maybe you can take some free time to read it, I can read it too if you want someone to talk about it, I have plenty of time."

A smile spread across Agatha's face when the name of one of her favorite writers entered the conversation.

"I know, it came out five days ago but I didn't find the time to read it. Do you really read them with me? I would love to have someone to talk to," she said excitedly. "Anyways, I'm fine, don't worry  Ellis came to visit me, so I'm just a little distracted."

She jumped from the bed, her movement was so abrupt that the scarf she was wearing around her neck stuck to the bedpost. Lorcan's gaze found the hickeys that decorated her skin, at that instant the light in his eyes vanished.

"Does he make you happy?" He asked, the pain in his voice was clear.

"Yes," she whispered.

"I'm glad to hear that."

His words stabbed into the girl's chest. Behind the kind message was a tone of voice unknown for her. The young woman began to balance the weight of her body on her feet while tearing the skin of her thumb fingers with her nails.

"Sorry, I have to go."

The reaction of her friend resonated inside her mind as she stepped out of the house. Agatha remembered the young man's expression, she had never seen coldness like that one on Lorcan's face. Why is she feeling so bad even when he didn't say anything against her decision? Did she make everything weird by running away? 

Tons of questions and feelings tied her to the past but she didn't have the privilege to rest, her only choice was to keep going even if that meant she had to fake it.

I'm sorry Lorcan supporters 😭 Don't kill me, there's still more chapters in the future.