Chapter 12

       I really hated the past few days. A lot. I wasn't allowed to leave the HQ at all, even with one of my siblings because Martha said it was procedure. I, of course, had to be a complete suck up and say, "No, don't worry, I completely understand."

       Even though inside I was saying, "I don't like you and I hope you drop something on your foot."

       I was such a nice person.

       I was just happy I still had the potion that created a portal, and that even though there were cameras all over the HQ, there was none in any of the bedrooms so our privacy wouldn't be completely taken away.

       So I was able to create a portal in my bedroom to go visit Jerome whenever I wanted.

       Which was basically every hour of every day, but I knew that wasn't quite possible because if I wasn't seen often around the HQ, it wouldn't take long for the Tribunal to find out what I was up to.

       I just wished the Tribunal went back to Auric, but they weren't going to until they found out who was dating Jerome.

       Part of me was actually wanting to confess because I knew they were going to find out eventually, but I was too scared. I had no clue what they would do when they found out. They would either kick me out of the Protector Circle, or keep me under even closer surveillance especially if they felt like the Two Souls Prophecy was dangerous.

       I thought going to Jerome's apartment would include actually hanging out and talking to him.

       It didn't.

       Apparently, I did what I did every single day at the HQ whenever I had free time.

       Nap for a long period of time.

       I probably would have slept for hours if Jerome didn't shake me awake. I just groaned and pulled the covers over my head, but Jerome just chuckled and took the covers off. "Come on, sleepy head," he said. "You have to wake up."

       "I don't have to do anything," I muttered. 

       "You technically do because your phone won't stop ringing," Jerome said.

       I lifted my head off of Jerome's chest and looked at him. "What?"

       Jerome reached onto the nightstand and handed me my cell phone. "I like your ringtone, by the way," he said. "It's catchy."

       "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" I asked, taking my cell phone and sitting up. I missed dozens of calls from Orchid, Ryder, and Alan, and I really hoped this didn't screw me over. For all I know, I could have missed an important meeting and me not being there would really make things suspicious.

       "I would, but you're so adorable when you're sleeping," Jerome said. "That, and you crashed here once. I knew it wasn't smart to wake you them, so obviously it wasn't going to be smart waking you now."

       My cell phone started ringing again with Orchid's name flashing across the screen. I answered it and held it up to my ear. "Hello?"

       "Oh, look who finally answered," Orchid said. "Nolan, you need to get your ass here as quick as you can because we're about to have another meeting run by Martha. I don't know how much longer I can keep stalling. I kind of figured you'd be with Jerome, so I'm waiting outside of your bedroom for you to finally show up."

       "Sorry, I fell asleep because, well, I love napping," I said.

       "I don't care what you were doing," Orchid said. "Just get down here."

       "Okay, okay, I'm on my way," I said before hanging up my cell phone. "I really have to go. There's about to be a meeting at the HQ and I'm not even supposed to be out of the HQ."

       "I still can't believe the Tribunal just brought me to the HQ like that a few days ago," Jerome said.

       "I honestly can," I said. "They need to find out who it is for whatever reason, and they seem to be capable of doing whatever it takes. I just hope they won't do that again to narrow it down even more."

       "They won't," Jerome said. "I stupidly answered the door without seeing who it was, so I'll make sure I check next time. Now you should really head back to the HQ but before you do, I have something for you." He opened the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a turquoise gem with attached to a string of twine. "This gemstone came from one that split into two. I have the other one and when you need help..." He placed the gemstone in my hands, squeezing it tightly. He then pulled away and grabbed an identical gemstone of the nightstand. "All you do is squeeze it and this one will glow. Whenever you do that, I'll be right there to help you, no matter where you are."

       I couldn't help but smile. Jerome was definitely the best thing that ever happened to me, and I was so glad to have him in my life even though I was risking so much just by being with him.

       I didn't care. 

       It was worth it.

       "Thank you," I said. "It will make me feel a lot safer."

       "You're welcome," Jerome said before giving me a lingering kiss. When he pulled away, he flicked his hand and created a portal beside the bed. "And I hate doing this, but you have to go. You still have the potion to create one, right?"

       "Yep," I said. "It will still be good for a while."

       "Just tell me when you need a refill," Jerome said.

       "I will," I said, giving him a final kiss before getting off of the bed and stepping through the portal. Once I was in my bedroom and the portal closed behind me, I placed the gemstone around my neck and tied the twine in my knot. After I tucked it under my shirt, I left my bedroom where Orchid was waiting.

       "Finally," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling my towards the Op Centre. "You're going to get caught if you're not careful."

       "I fell asleep," I said. "Sue me."

       Orchid ignored me as she continued pulling me to the Op Centre. It wasn't until we got there that she finally released my arm. 

       We made it before Martha started the meeting, and a few Protectors trickled in after us so it wasn't like I was the last one there thankfully. Once everyone was here, Martha said, "So, a lot of you are going to start training harder because even more innocent humans have been found dead this week than any other week."

       I was so tempted to say, "If you weren't so focused on finding out who was dating Jerome, we wouldn't be slacking in our duties."

       I didn't dare say that because I was afraid every little thing I did would make me look suspicious.

       Ryder, on the other hand, was thinking the exact same thing. And he wasn't afraid to say it.

       "We've been slacking because of all the strict rules forced here," Ryder said. "Normally, some of us would go patrol the city if we had nothing else to do, but you rarely let any of us left because you're so adamant on finding out who is dating Jerome.  And there's the Protectors who fit the description of Jerome's boyfriend that you won't allow to leave at all, even if they're with someone else. The numbers of Protectors patrolling the city have gone down, so no wonder why more people have died."

       "Are you questioning my authority?" Martha asked.

       "No, M'am, I'm not," Ryder said.

       "Good," Martha said.

       "Because nothing I said was in the form of a question," Ryder continued. "I was just simply stating the reasons why more innocent humans have been killed. Maybe if you focused on the duties of us Protectors instead of focusing on the Two Souls Prophecy, this wouldn't have happened."

       Even though Ryder wouldn't have known about the Prophecy if he didn't know I was Jerome's boyfriend, I wasn't worried he just screwed things up. He was probably the smartest Protector out there. He knew what he was doing and I trusted he would get his way through this without drawing any suspicion towards me.

       "How do you know what that is?" Martha asked. "Because the only way you would know is..."

       "Oh, relax, I'm not Jerome's boyfriend," Ryder said. "I'm older than him. His boyfriend is younger. And I know about it because I was near the Op Centre when Jerome brought that up, and you told him not to say a single thing. Obviously you didn't want anyone to know about it, so I went to the archives and did a bit of research."

       "Not another word, Ryder," Martha said. "You and I will be having a little one on one talk after this meeting."

       "Oh, I can't wait," Ryder said. "Because there are some things I would love to talk to you about."

       What was Ryder up to?

________________

Jerlan who? I only know of Rylan. 

jk jk JERLAN IS THE SUPERIOR SHIP WOOOOOOOOOO.

Fun fact: I am currently planning a new story because I'm horrible at keeping ideas away. I need to stop watching TV shows that give me ideas. Then again, someone will breathe and I'll be like, "OMG, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU BREATHING JUST GAVE ME AN IDEA FOR?"

Ah, the life of a writer. So fun.