Nia - POV (E6)

Why the hell did she agree? Imre had tried to convince her since 1992 and she hadn’t budged. He would try to entice her with ominous phrases that promised a grand reward.

But she had resisted him every time because she didn’t want to believe in fairy tales. She saw how the world worked everyday. She knew that sneezing was a way for a person’s body to try and dispel a virus. She knew that shooting pain down the left arm meant an oncoming heart attack. She knew a mosquito bite itched because the body was trying to fight the foreign invasion of the insect’s secretions.

All you could ever possibly need to know about how the natural order of things is is found in a textbook.

The things people say they see or have interacted with in this town are fanciful creations said by an isolated, superstitious and frankly stupid bunch who remind her of old civilizations that explained the sun through their gods.

For someone as smart as Imre she was always baffled by the fact that he did believe in all of this. With a fervor that made her think he could easily join a cult.

She had never seen any of the things the townies claimed. Imre said it was because she refused to open herself up to it.

She called bullshit.

“Third eye,” what a load of crap.

But unless she agreed to be all in he refused to tell her anything. That is until he had dropped off Lorcan and Birdie after their meeting at the Lodge.

“Where to begin?” Imre pondered.

“If you’re trying to get me to join a new age sect I will walk home,” she said.

Imre snorted. “Well, it doesn’t sound that serious when you describe it with those words.”

“What else would you call whatever the hell you hinted at?” she asked. “It’s corny and childish and I wonder how the hell this town hasn’t gone to the shitter.”

“All things you don’t comprehend you insult, you lower as if that will protect you from the dark,” he replied in a calm tone. “It’s one of the few things that bores me from you.”

She scoffed. “Great strategy for trying to get me to join you. If this is how your posse treats level-headed women I don’t think it’s for me.”

He gripped the steering wheel. “It’s not my posse, they don’t concern me. It’s a means to an end. I need them for now, they don’t know how much they need me. They will figure it out, but perhaps it’ll be too late.”

The smugness in his tone made Nia think he would be delighted to get be unable to help them with whatever it is. Her best friend loves offering a hand and withdrawing it when someone finally acquiesces.

“Ok. Let’s say I choose to join you and you tell me all the details. Will you tell Birdie too?” She asked.

Imre cocked his head, “I’m not sure. It all depends.”

“On?” She pushed.

“Them and also I haven’t yet been able to decipher a key component of the puzzle. Your bird might need to give their consent based on other similar events I’ve studied,” he admitted.

Nia leaned back in the seat and tried not to roll her eyes. “I don’t know how you want me to be on your side but you refuse to tell me anything more than that.”

He didn’t reply. He surveyed the road in front of him.

Nia felt a prickle of worry. Yes, she didn’t believe in anything involving otherworldly things but she also knew Imre was stubborn and if his mysterious plans involved Birdie, they could get hurt.

“The only reason I’m here is because of my mother—”

“You’ve made that clear—”

“And Birdie,” she cutted him off. She stared at him coldly for a few moments and when she caught his eyes he had a blasé look in his eyes. “Whatever the fuck it is you have planned for them, I’m telling you right now I’ll put a stop to it. They aren’t a toy for you to use in a whim. They’re a person and they’ve been through enough shit to be fucked over. Leave them out of it.”

“I can’t.”

“I don’t care. I don’t know what’s going on but I will make your life a living hell if you hurt them,” she threatened.

“I wasn’t the one who broke their heart,” he responded. He showed no signs of malice, he said it as a fact with no judgment. Still, it made Nia’s jaw clench.

“You know why I did that,” she snapped.

“I do, querida. Make no mistake, I don’t think ill of you for it. Under that icy exterior you have a big sensitive heart. What you saw that day, it can make any good person go mad,” he said kindly.

She shivered as an image appeared in her mind. She pushed it away and turned the heating knob. “I’m trying to get over it.”

“I see that and I applaud you for your bravery. Few could ever try to repair a relationship with someone they think is a monster,” he said.

She glared at him, “stop putting words into my mouth.”

“Didn’t you say those very words 2 years ago?” He asked innocently. “I’m only trying to sympathize.”

She let out a breath.

“Yeah. I did.” The words felt acidic in her mouth. “But my emotions were running high. I was scared and I said things I didn’t really feel. It’s basic trauma response. That was then, not now.”

They turned into her neighborhood.

Imre glanced at her with a sly smile on his lips. “You’re a good person,” he commented although his words sounded mocking. Or maybe that’s what she thought? The past few days have left her unbalanced. Suspicious. On edge.

“Eat shit,” she replied wearily.

Imre stopped the car in front of her house and she aimed to get quickly. This is not the person she should have this discussion with. He cared little for anyone, even her. She had little doubt no matter his flirting with them, he could never feel anything resembling love for any person.

She got out and slammed the door. As she eas walking up to the door she heard him say, “you can’t deny what’s in front of your eyes forever, Nia.”

“I’m not denying anything,” she said under breath.

Who knows if she meant it.