“Well. You might want to pull your hair down. Otherwise, they are going to ask questions,” he said, pulling on what was left of my French twist.
“Yeah, and you might want to wipe the lipstick off your face,” I laughed, pulling a make-up removing wipe from my bag. I don’t know what made me pack them in the first place.
We cleaned ourselves up in the lobby before getting into the elevator.
“What is happening to us?” I wondered aloud.
“I don’t know. I would be lying if I said I didn’t like it.” He hung his head and looked at me with curious eyes.
“What about Rose?” The elevator had stopped at our floor, and we walked out, stopping right outside.
“I like her too. I don’t know if you can deal with the jealousy. I want to be able to figure this out.” He touched my face.
“I will do my best.” I couldn’t believe I was saying it. I was going to give him time to decide what he wanted. That gave me time to figure out what was going on with me. In less than a year, I had managed to move from Wesley to Aaron, and now to Adam. I was starting to feel like I was suffering from severe codependency.
Chapter 13
Blast from the Past
“How was it?” Shawn asked the moment we walked through the door.
The two of them were sitting on the couch playing videogames. Shawn looked up at me and smiled. I was happy to see that he was able to keep our guest entertained. At the same time, seeing Rose sitting there with him, only reminded me of the conversation from a few moments before.
“It wasn’t so bad,” Adam replied, putting his jacket on the chair.
He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and went to sit beside Rose. She gave him a huge smile and leaned her head on his shoulder. In no time, the two of them were whispering in one another’s ears. How could I have been so blind to what was happening between them? No wonder he was torn. If I had to choose between her and me; I would have made the same decision.
When I knew there should have been something, I felt nothing. My whole body had grown numb. It was what Adam wanted, and I was in no place to stand in his way.
“Yeah, Mona went out of her way to do this great reunion, just to find out that all of us had changed so much over the years.” I tossed my shoes on the carpeting near my bedroom door before divebombing Shawn.
“She always does.” Shawn smiled and put the controller down.
“When did you meet her?” I leaned back on the couch and felt the dress rise a little at my hips.
“I have known Mona for quite some time.” Shawn refused to look at me.
There was something he wasn’t telling me about our stepmother. Whatever it was, he was not willing to divulge what he knew with the others in the room. He coughed and finally made eye contact.
“You had a visitor while you were gone.”
I found myself praying that it was Aaron, but I knew better. There was no way Aaron was going to show up in Dallas. It had been great to talk to him the night before, but he had made it clear it would be several weeks before I saw him.
“Who?”
“Peter, the Reaper,” he replied with a smile.
“What did he need?” I asked softly, wishing that we could get through a conversation without resorting to telepathic communications.
“He wanted to let you know he was able to convince more Reapers to join the fight.” He glanced at Adam and Rose and rolled his eyes. “Can you tell these two to get a room?”
I admit the spectacle caused my head to swim.
“I’m going to change into something less red,” I grumbled, walking into my room, and shutting the door. I may have been numb to Adam’s display of affection toward Rose, but I was not immune to feeling like I wasn’t wanted. I felt the jealousy kick in at that point. I didn’t hate Rose. She didn’t know anything was going on with him and me. I had my chance to tell her, but I had decided against it.
I threw on my yoga pants and a black t-shirt before I sauntered back into the living room. Adam and Rose had disappeared, and Shawn was sprawled out on the couch, smiling at me.
“Don’t hate the player. Hate the game,” he teased, glancing toward the closed bedroom door.
I narrowed my eyes at Shawn, then chose to continue our previous conversation.
“How many more Reapers was he able to procure?”
“He said there were twenty-five more.” Shawn sat up and pretended to count on his fingers. “That brings us to a total of seventy-five Reapers. The numbers keep growing. They fear a huge famine if the hybrid army wins.”
“You would think they would be happy. All those lost souls would be ripe for the reaping.” I slumped down at the end of the couch, placing my arm over my eyes.
“Yeah, but those souls are spoken for. I’m sure Miranda is smart enough to force a Claim. If anyone in the hybrid army dies during a battle, the person who has a Claim on their souls will become stronger.”
“But I Claimed the were-vamps soul when I destroyed him,” I interjected.
“Only because his soul was unclaimed.” Shawn sighed. I had a feeling he was in no mood to explain the mechanics of a Claim.
“He was part of the hybrid army. Right?” I looked at him questionably.
“He was part of an offshoot. None of those creatures were created by Miranda; they were part of a group of scientists playing God.”
“Well, I guess that makes sense,” I shrugged, letting him off the subject.
“The numbers are increasing at the manor,” Shawn stated when the silence had become too much.
“More murders?” I asked.
“You have no idea. They’ve started lashing out at anything that gets in their way. If a party refuses to join, they all die,” Shawn explained. There was a fire in his eyes. “Now that you have Rose, we can start field training. Well, more advanced field training I should say.” He shrugged at me.
“So, there is going to be more work when we get back then,” I moaned. “You know, sometimes I wish that my father had never told me what I was.”
“You know there are times that I wish my mother never died.” He looked at the floor. “It was a hundred years before she came to me.”
“How did that work?” I had no idea how we had jumped subjects, but it appeared he needed to talk.
“I was lonely. I think that is what brought her out. To this day, I think that she was always with me. There were so many things that pointed to a happy haunting.” Shawn’s face was troubled. The thought of his mother must have weighed heavily on his mind.
“What did she tell you?” I looked back toward the closed door and frowned. Part of me wanted to know what they were doing, and the other part wished I had never asked.
“She told me that everything was going to work out.” He let it go at that. Nothing else said; he just left me hanging on, wondering who his mother was. “She’s finishing his tattoo,” Shawn laughed when my eyes wandered toward the door again.
“Oh.” I blushed.
“You know, sometimes I hate being in your head. There is so much questioning going on in there. Did you know you question just about every move that you make?” He seemed content with another subject change.
“I do not,” I objected.
“Oh, but you do. Wesley how I love you. Or do I love Aaron? What is going on with Adam and me? Questions, questions, questions.” He laughed. “You are not codependent. It just happens that all three guys in your life have managed to grow feelings for you in the same matter of time.”
I crossed my arms and huffed at him. “Is it wrong for me to wonder these things?”
“I didn’t say it was. I think it’s natural for us to question our relationships. Just do it in moderation.” He hit me softly on the arm with his foot.
“When are we going home?”
I was in no mood to listen to his psychoanalysis of my affairs. I knew I questioned my advances. I didn’t need my brother pointing them out as well.
“Soon. E
njoy the fact you get time off. Helen and Krista are working their butts off trying to master their dark side.” He put his hands behind his head. “Besides, this place is protected. Oh, that reminds me.” He sat up and reached into the side table, pulling out a red amulet. “Wear this when you go out.” He tossed it at me.
“What is it?” I turned it over in my palm. It was a beautiful display of artistry. I longed to know who was behind the magical items in our world.
“It’s walking protection.” He leaned over and touched the red jewel. “The witches left it in the mailbox of all places. There were two. I gave one to Rose earlier. The instructions stated that if you wear this, you are untouchable by anyone wishing to harm you.”
“But how is that possible?” I rolled the amulet in my palm before placing it around my neck. The red gem began to glow once it hit my skin.
“I don’t know the mechanics of magic. Just because my mother was a witch, it doesn’t mean that I understand it.” He smiled meekly. “Just make sure you two have them on. We don’t need another repeat of this morning.”
“About that, how much do you know about this morning?” I asked. I knew that our telepathic connection was secure, but I had no idea how many miles it would reach.
“Most of it. Well, at least the important parts. I have not mastered full body GPS.” He laughed. “I knew John was there, and you were trying to mask your fear. Dad told me the rest.”
“He said you were about to take off when it started,” I muttered, feeling the calming effect my brother had overwhelmed me.
“Yeah, well I wasn’t sure what it was. I felt cold like something was wrong. You kept having this one thought, or memory I should say, and the images infuriated me.” He shivered.
“What did you see?” I asked. I was curious to know what memory I had on instant replay. I knew of only one, and if that was what he saw, it was no wonder he was angry.
“It was dark, your hands were bound, and your body was broken.” He trembled again and ran his hands through his hair. “The image was so horrid, and I felt every emotion from that moment on.”
“I didn’t realize I had thought of that.” I gave him a weak smile and felt the dread of the memory run through my skin.
“There are a lot of things you don’t realize you are thinking. I’m sure I have lived through yours and Wesley’s relationship a hundred times,” he laughed. He wrapped his arms around me. “I may not have wanted a little sister at first, the thought that my father had another child pissed me off. When I saw you though, it was different?”
“I’m glad I have you as well.” I sniffed as a single hot tear ran down my cheek.
“No need for tears, Dawn.” He patted my back. “What we have is definitely different.”
“What a touching family moment,” Rose said sarcastically, walking out of the bedroom.
“Nice of you to unlock your lips from Adam’s and make an appearance,” Shawn laughed, letting me go. Rose looked at us, not impressed.
“It’s done,” she smiled suddenly.
“You finished it?” I asked, excited. I had been longing to see Adam’s new tattoo.
“Yup. Come and see.”
I was on my feet and in Adam’s bedroom within seconds. He was lying face down on the bed with his shirt off. I felt my breath catch in my throat at the sight of his body. Only the night before I had been wrapped in those arms. Now it was Rose’s turn, and it sickened me that my time with him had been cut short.
“What do you think?” he asked me, muffled by the pillow he had his face on.
The elemental symbols were intertwined together in one beautiful circle. The artwork took up a good six inches of his back between his shoulder blades. There was no question that Rose had used some of her intuition to create the design. It was stunning.
“Absolutely beautiful,” I breathed. I wanted so badly to touch the red skin around the design but knew full well that it would make him cry out in pain. To avoid hurting him, I kept my distance.
“Is it Tweedy Bird?” he teased.
“No silly. It’s amazing.” I wasn’t lying. It was, in fact, a beautiful piece of work.
“Well shit, I asked for Tweedy,” he laughed.
“Here,” I grabbed my phone, took a picture of the artwork, and laid it down on the bed near his face. He raised up on his elbows and looked at the photo in approval.
“Hey, that’s pretty awesome,” he said, pushing himself up further and looking at Rose. There was a longing in her expression, and I wondered if it was because of his morals. Did she even know he had morals?
“Yeah. I like that,” Shawn said from the doorframe. He smiled briefly at Rose. “You do good work.”
“Thanks,” she blushed.
I felt a warm flame roll up my spine. I held no ill feelings toward the Water Warden, but there was something about her that my body didn’t like.
“I may have you work on the one that is fading on my back,” Shawn said, and I turned to look at him.
“You have ink on your back?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s been a century or two, and it fades more each year.” He looked at me like he was proud of himself. “Now I know the art has changed a lot since I got it done. Yours would probably stick more to the skin.”
“It would be an honor, I’m sure,” Rose smiled. “All right, I need to get it covered.” She shooed us out of the room and shut the door again.
“Well that was comforting,” I groaned as Shawn threw himself back on the couch.
“I think I’m going to sleep here tonight. You have any extra pillows?” he asked; he was obviously worn out.
“Yeah.” I walked back into my room and pulled a feather pillow off the bed. I threw it to Shawn, and he pushed it under his head and shut his eyes.
“Goodnight Dawn. I would suggest you head to bed. You are going to be woken up in a few hours.” He giggled, and I rolled my eyes.
I turned around and headed to the bedroom. I contemplated turning the TV on but decided against it. I crawled into bed and stared at the empty spot next to me. Adam had slept there the night before, and now I was alone again. I laid there watching the moonlight through the patio door, wishing for sleep to come. I’m not sure how long I had been asleep when I felt the bed dip next to me. All I know is that the movement pulled me from a dead sleep and sent shots of fear through my body.
“Shh,” the voice next to me said, as he hastily placed two fingers to my lips.
I couldn’t see in the dark, but it wasn’t Adam lying beside me. I felt my heartbeat increase as the fear continued to take over. What if the protection spells hadn’t worked? I looked down at the glowing amulet. What if the jewelry was a fraud?
“I got permission to see you,” the voice spoke, and I nearly fell out of my skin.
“Aaron?” I whispered.
“Who else?” the voice laughed.
I clenched my chest; as the fear began to turn to a dull ache. Having Aaron there reminded me of how it felt not to hold a void in my heart. I was so excited I could have cried.
“Why are you here?” I asked, rolling on my side to face the blob of darkness.
“I had to see you.”
Krista had been right; he did sound different. Far more dignified than when we were together. Less skater boy and more regal.
“I thought you felt nothing for me,” I muttered.
I wanted to touch him, to feel him, to know him as I had all those months earlier. His presence was awakening a part of me that had gone dormant after the attack.
“I find myself longing for you, but not in the way that you would expect.” There was a muffled laugh.
I didn’t get it at first, but then it hit me. He yearned for me the way I was for him.
“Oh.” I raised my eyebrows.
“Yes. Though I feel that the love I once had for you is questionable, I know the lust I had was not.” Aaron’s shadowed hand reached out and stroked my cheek. I closed my eyes, happy for the contact.
&
nbsp; “Edmund said you were happy,” I mentioned, trying to bring my thoughts back to Earth.
“I am happy; only it’s not the type of happiness you feel. I feel that you are unaware of what I have become,” he said softly.
“Nobody has told me anything,” I groaned. “It’s been killing me.”
“Maybe I should say nothing. Keep you in the dark. That way, you do not fear me.” Aaron sounded like he was teasing me, but at the same time, there was a hint of nervousness in his tone.
“I could never fear you,” I said softly.
“Tell me something, Dawn,” he requested.
“Of course, anything,” I replied.
“Why did you Claim me?”
“I didn’t mean to.” I felt like weeping. It was the one question that I often asked myself. First with Wesley, and then with Aaron.
“How do you not mean to?” He was quite inquisitive. I knew he deserved an answer, but the only one I could think of was not what I wanted to say.
“You said you would sell your soul. My blood kicked in.” I felt the tears forming, and I was going to have to hold them back. I wished that my reasoning was more complex, but it seemed the Claim itself was rather literal.
“I know I meant it then. I wish I could mean it now.” There was sadness in his voice.
“I want to see your face,” I demanded, reaching into the darkness. “Can you hurt me?”
“I don’t think so. I think you are safe.” I could sense he was smiling.
“Can you show me?” I felt the fabric around his flesh.
“Turn on the light,” he answered me, not moving.
I rolled over and turned on the lamp next to the bed. He was pale, and his eyes were the brightest blue with a ring of gold. He smiled at me, his teeth white and reflecting the light; however, I saw no hint of fangs.
“You are stunning,” I said, amazed by what the transformation had done to him. He didn’t look alive, but he didn’t seem quite dead. To me, he appeared as nothing more than an image from a dream.
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