Apocalypse: The Dead Lives
Chapter 53: I Believe You

Chapter 53: I Believe You

I felt him before I saw him.

A strange pull. An electric tension that made my pulse rise. It was almost as if there was something in me wired’ to notice him. It made my stomach twist into a knot.

I hated it.

I looked up and there he was. Marco.

He stood in the dimly lit corridor, his arms crossed over his chest. His dark eyes locked onto mine which made it impossible for me to ignore him.

The air between us shifted, it became heavy with something unknown. I tried to walk past him, but he moved, blocking my way.

"Hailey." He uttered. His voice was firm, but there was something else- something raw.

"Move, Marco." I breathed out in frustration.

He didn’t.

"You feel it," he said, his tone dropping lower. "I know you do."

I clenched my jaw. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

His lips twisted into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "Yes, you do. You can lie to yourself all you want, but you feel it just as much as I do."

I lifted my chin. "I don’t. And even if I did, it wouldn’t matter."

His expression darkened. "It does matter."

"Not to me," I snapped. "I love Ronan."

Marco flinched, just slightly, but it was enough.

I took the opening and pushed past him, but he grabbed my wrist. Not hard. Not enough to hurt, just enough to make me stop.

"Tell me," he said, his voice tight, "that you don’t feel anything for me. Look me in the eye and say it."

I looked into his eyes. A moment of silence rested between us before I opened my mouth to speak. "I don’t feel anything for you, Marco. Never have. Never will."

"Stay away from me." I ripped my hand out of his grasp.

His entire body tensed. And then, something changed.

Heat.

A slow, creeping heat that made the hairs on my arms rise. I took a step back from him. My breath got caught in my throat when I saw it.

The glow beneath his skin shifted and flickered like molten lava. His eyes, once dark, now burned with fire.

Just for a split second.

Then the fire disappeared. His eyes went back to their natural color. So did his skin. The fire in him disappeared almost just as fast as it came.

Which led me to believe that he’s mastered more of his powers than I thought.

I swallowed hard.

"That’s what I expected," I said quietly. "This is who you are to your core, Marco."

His jaw clenched, and for a second, I thought he might say something, might try to stop me again. But he didn’t. Couldn’t argue with what I said.

I turned and walked away.

I didn’t stop moving. I refused to let myself think. Not until I slammed into something solid. Again.

"Whoa, careful there, killer."

I looked up. Cooper.

He gave me his usual easy grin, but it faded when he saw my face.

"Hailey?"

I inhaled sharply. "Walk with me?"

He briefly studied me before nodding. "Yeah. Of course."

We walked in silence, past the campfires, past the tired guards, until we reached one of the watchtowers.

It was quiet up here, I assumed. Up there, you would only hear the wind and the distant howls of wild animals.

I leaned against the railing, staring out at the night.

"So," Cooper said, leaning beside me, "you gonna tell me what that was about, or do I have to guess?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "Marco confessed to me."

Cooper blinked. "As in confessed confessed?"

I nodded.

He let out a low whistle. "Damn."

"Yeah."

I wrapped my arms around myself. The cold crept in despite the warmth of the fire below us.

"He was angry," I admitted. "Not just normal angry. It was... I don’t know. He looked like he was burning."

Cooper was quiet for a long moment.

"That’s gotta be a first," he finally said. "You scaring him instead of the other way around."

I scoffed.

"Ronan’s gonna lose his mind," I muttered.

Cooper gave me a look. "You gonna tell him?"

I hesitated.

"I don’t know," I admitted. "I don’t want to lie to him. But if I tell him-"

"He’ll go nuclear on Marco’s ass," Cooper finished.

"Yeah." I slowly exhaled.

Cooper shifted, his usual playfulness was gone.

When he spoke again, his voice was steady. "Look, I joke around a lot, but I’m gonna be serious with you for a second, okay?"

"Okay." I turned to face him.

He met my gaze, his expression blank. "If Marco really felt what he said he felt, he’s not gonna just let this go. That’s not who he is."

"I know," I muttered under my breath.

"So, you have two choices," Cooper continued. "You tell Ronan now and deal with the fallout, or you keep it to yourself and hope Marco backs off."

I looked down at my hands. "And if he doesn’t?"

Cooper was quiet for a moment.

"Then you’re gonna have to figure out what you really feel, Hailey."

I snapped my head up. "I love Ronan."

Cooper studied me. "I know you do." It seemed like he wanted to say more though. Instead, he just removed his gaze from mine.

"What?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I believe you."

"I know you believe me but you wanted to say something else, right?"

"I wouldn’t hate you- if you had feelings for both of them- or one of them. As long as you’re honest with them and yourself."

I let out a frustrated breath. "Marco doesn’t mean anything to me."

Cooper nodded, but there was something in his eyes that made me uneasy.

"I just don’t understand," he said, "if you don’t feel anything for Marco then why are you so shaken up about what happened?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words wouldn’t come.

Because deep down, I knew.

I wasn’t shaken because I loved Marco. I was shaken because some small, awful part of me understood him. Understood that fire inside him, the rage, the pull.

And that scared me more than anything.

Cooper sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I’m not saying you should be with Marco, or that you should even consider it. I’m just saying... don’t lie to yourself, Hails."

I looked back out over the city, my hands gripping the railing.

The night felt too quiet.

"I won’t," I said. "I’ll figure it out."