I tried to keep my graying skin underneath my clothing, but as my ears focused on the approaching bystanders, I realized there was no way in hell I was going to manage this without shifting most of the way — at least, enough that Avery might see.
Fuck.
Gritting my teeth, I tried to keep my hair a normal color as the graying creeped up my skin and my eyes started shifting, the white turning black, my irises shifting to a glowing gold.
Avery’s somewhat unfocused gaze immediately widened, her heartrate noticeably spiking, prompting me to close them as the graying continued up my jaw.
Abruptly lifting my left leg, I shoved my foot into the back door with enough force to slam a dent into it as I put my all into a violent tug. Instantly, the creaking frame snapped free and swung open, causing me to almost slam into Gabriella behind me.
I quickly caught myself though, rushing back forward and sticking my head in over Avery’s limp body, aiming to unbuckle both of their seatbelts. Her mom instantly fell the moment she was free, but I was prepared to catch her, able to handle her adult weight like a small child as I eased her over Avery’s lap.
Gabriella was right at my side then, her own skin looking a little tan as she helped me move Michelle carefully to the ground.
I then climbed fully into the car and straddled Avery’s body, placing my knee up on the center console as I attempted to find good spots to support myself. My blonde friend’s heart was still racing, but otherwise there was no physical sign from her body how she was handling everything.
Gabriella was right there again, ready for instructions.
“Pull her head loose as soon as you can,” I began, easing my head up next to hers, causing her heart to spike into a full-on gallop as she whimpered again. “I think her neck is broken, so you’ll have to support it the whole time.”
Gabriella immediately stuck her arms inside the vehicle, and got her hands around the sides of Avery’s neck, her fingers partially on her skull, her palms squished against her jaw. I was glad Avery couldn’t seem my face, because I was almost fully transformed at this point, my hair barely hanging on to its normal color.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Serenity reach her hands in too, squishing next to Gabriella as she grabbed the thin girl’s shoulders in preparation to help pull her out.
Finally grabbing the doorframe next to Avery’s right shoulder, I grunted as I began putting pressure upward, pushing up with my head and shoulders.
Of course, I knew it was going to be heavy, but fuck.
I didn’t realize it would be this heavy. Straining even more, my adrenaline spiking higher, a vicious growl began rumbling in my chest and throat, sounding like a wild animal about to attack as the metal above me began bending, rather than the trailer itself rising higher.
But it was all that we needed.
A few more seconds of pushing, my violent growl growing louder, and they were able to ease her head out, Serenity quickly moving to grab Avery’s legs and tugging her lower in the seat when she realized she couldn’t just pull her forward by the shoulders.
Now that her head was free, I carefully reduced the pressure I was exerting, attempting to calm my racing heart down and look normal again as I reached down to slip my hand underneath Avery’s butt in order to help Serenity get her out, even as Gabriella continued to focus on supporting my classmate’s neck. I then moved my other hand to the middle of her upper back as we collectively eased her out of the car, Gabriella intensely focused on her primary task, as if her own life depended on it.
“Kai,” Serenity hissed urgently as we began easing her on to the ground. “Shift back, now. Your face still has some gray.”
I nodded, taking a deep breath with my head angled downward once my classmate was on the asphalt, not worried about her getting cut from the glass shards, especially since that was the least of our concerns right now.
I could finally hear several sets of sirens coming from different directions in the distance, thinking that maybe a fire truck and ambulance were on the way, though I suspected it was too far away for everyone else’s ears to pick up on.
In the meantime, Gabriella was focused on Avery now, her hands still on her neck, trying to reassure her. “It’s going to be alright,” she whispered. “The ambulance is coming. I can hear it.”
“I can’t,” Avery choked out, her heart still racing, tears slipping down the sides of her face.
“Well, it’s coming,” Gabriella immediately said gently. “I promise you, it’s coming.”
Avery whimpered. “I can’t move anything. I can’t feel anything.”
Gabriella’s expression pained, before she focused up at me, crouched next to them.
Serenity knelt back down then, settling on her knees as she reached out to touch Avery’s shoulder. “Can you feel that?” she asked gently. “On your shoulder?”
“N-No,” she whimpered, her blue eyes filling with more tears.
“What about here?” Serenity continued, reaching for the other shoulder.
“S-Sort of,” she stammered, not seeming overly thrilled.
Serenity didn’t seem overly excited by it either, appearing as if she was more just helping to pass the time, to give my classmate something to focus on before the paramedics arrived. Moving her hand to Avery’s stomach on the same side, the side closest to me, she asked again. “And what about here on your belly?”
“Yes,” she whispered, sniffling.
“And here?” she continued, placing her hand on her hip next to Gabriella’s leg.
“N-No,” she sobbed.
Gabriella focused up at me then, giving me a meaningful look. However, I had no idea what she was trying to communicate with her emerald eyes, prompting me to lean down further so she could press her lips to my ear.
Serenity took the opportunity to continue to try to distract Avery.
“Kai,” my fiancé said almost inaudibly. “She’s probably going to be paralyzed for the rest of her life. They can’t fix this.” She sighed, her breath tickling my ear. “But you might be able to.”
I pulled away and looked at her in alarm, knowing instantly she was probably right, but also uncertain if she’d really thought about what that would mean. Because to fix Avery, it meant giving her my problem. She’d never be able to date anyone without accidentally revealing herself, not to mention that it would make her just one more loose end to potentially having my secret discovered.
I mean, it was one thing when dealing with my girlfriend, technically fiancé, as well as Serenity, both of whom were firmly in my life already.
But Avery wasn’t really in my life — at least, not to the extent that I’d feel comfortable with her becoming like me.
However, that just meant, if I did this, then her life would forever be connected to mine.
And not just because of my blood changing her forever.
No, I couldn’t let her do what she wanted anymore. I couldn’t afford the risk. And I couldn’t afford her making even more of us, in the event she and Gabriella were capable of it.
Avery would be stepping into my world, and by extension, stepping into a new life under my control, her freedoms forfeited.