by Abbi Glines
Twelve
The Buddy
Not being able to attend Delvaux University like every Delvaux before me was hard. Even if I were to get student loans or save enough money, I wouldn’t be accepted. The Delvaux family hated my mother, and unfortunately, that hate spread to me as well. Walking around campus was something I had done with my father, and now when I needed to get away from my family, I walked the same paths he had taken me on. Being here reminded me of the good inside of me that the Kamlock blood couldn’t ruin or take away from me. After the odd dealings with my mother today, I needed to feel close to my dad.
My father had loved the campus grounds, and in the fall months, he said it was magical. As a child, I’d loved to think of things being magical. It sounded beautiful and exciting. Although mother didn’t teach us our abilities until after my father was killed, I had always known I was different. Seeing spirits and realizing at a young age that no one else saw them was one of my earlier clues that I wasn’t like everyone else. My sisters, although, older hadn’t manifested any early signs or if they had I didn’t know about it. I was younger than they were and we hadn’t ever been close.
Magical was no longer a word I cherished. However, the grounds of Delvaux University were serene and that was something I sought out. My life was, for the most part, void of serenity. I found an empty bench under the shade of moss-covered trees outside the campus library. Sitting and staring out at the water across the lawn allowed me the peace to think. Students rushed by with backpacks on their shoulders and cell phones in their hands. They were all behind me and far enough away that their voices didn’t disturb me. There were no distractions here. No mother or sisters. Just me and my--
“Considering enrolling?” Rathe’s voice broke the quiet. It seemed as if I couldn’t escape those who bothered me.
I looked to my left and met his curious gaze. He was standing a couple feet away with a black backpack over his left shoulder that looked weighted down with books. He was making his casual attire of jeans and a tee shirt look like a magazine ad. He was also ruining my peace.
“No,” I replied, glaring at him. I didn’t want company, and I sure didn’t want his. My unwarranted anger toward him wasn’t fair but I couldn’t help but feel it.
“Is it not a family requirement?” he asked.
Pausing, I continued to glare at him, but I was also trying to decide what he meant by that. Either he was just making small talk or he knew something I didn’t want him to know. I hedged my response, not wanting to give him any real details about my life. “Neither of my sisters attended college,” I replied vaguely. There was a chance he knew nothing of my connection to the University. “I would have thought with all the time you’ve spent with Leanne you’d know that,” I added and immediately wished I hadn’t. It made me sound catty.
He smirked then and I knew he was thinking I was jealous. That was infuriating and I deserved it for saying anything at all. I needed to show indifference. It’s what I felt now… or what I wanted to feel.
“Leanne didn’t talk much about anything important, but I wasn’t referring to your sisters’ lack of higher education. I’m referring to the fact you share the same last name as the founder of this University.”
I had never given him my last name. Either Leanne or Margo had let it slip. I shrugged that off. It wasn’t like my last name was a secret. I was proud to be a Delvaux. I just didn’t like explaining why I wasn’t a student here when I had wanted nothing more most of my life. “I see you’ve done some snooping,” I replied, not answering his question. Because the fact my father’s family disowned me was not his business.
Rathe took the book bag off his shoulder and dropped it on the grass beside the bench, before joining me without an invitation to do so. He was interrupting my solitude in the worst way.
“I was curious. You intrigue me. So, I asked a few questions,” he replied, and I could feel his gaze on me, although I was focused on the water fountain in the pond in front of us, and refusing to look at him.
“Do you not have somewhere to be? A class maybe?” I asked.
His deep, low chuckle made me feel funny inside, and I was suddenly very uneasy.
“At the moment, I can’t think of anywhere I need to be,” he paused then added “what about me bothers you so much, Catalina?”
Hearing him say my full name made the strange tingle he was causing intensify. Dang it. Not this guy. I knew being attracted to a man who wasn’t a caster was pointless. There was no future in it. Yet my body was overpowering my good sense. Everything but my brain was attracted to Rathe. Simply because my brain knew he was too weak for a Kamlock female. He’d fallen under Leanne’s spell too easily. I may not be like my mother and sisters but their cursed blood was also mine.
“Cat,” I corrected him. Because hearing him say Cat sounded less delicious.
“Your name is Catalina, and it fits you. Cat does not.” He was so matter of fact that I turned my head to look at him without thinking. His eyes were more steel gray than blue today. It didn’t make them any less mesmerizing though. He held his own sort of magic with his sheer sex appeal.
“I judged you when we first met. I do that with men. First impressions are important to me. I’m always spot on. It’s a gut thing. Although you made me question my gut. You enjoyed reading, that’s rare in guys these days. You said some things at the wedding that made me think just this once I was off. I thought possibly there was more to you than… I expected. But then you proved I’d been right in the beginning. You’re everything I don’t like about men.” That was harsh but it would put him off. Unlike the repel charm was doing because It seemed to have no effect on him.
His brows drew together in a frown, but unlike Heath his appeared sinister instead of sincere. “Oh, now I’m even more curious. Please elaborate,” he coaxed. I doubted he was curious. More like insulted would be a better description.
I didn’t want to elaborate, but I couldn’t seem to shut up. His face, the way he smelled and the nearness of his body made him impossible to ignore. My brain was screaming at me to shut up and walk away. While the rest of me wanted to sit here and do whatever he asked of me. It was a precarious situation.
“You see only outward beauty,” I replied honestly. Men were visual creatures. It wasn’t fair to judge them because of it, but I did. I judged them because, although they were attracted to beauty, they never seemed to dig deeper. At least the ones I’d met didn’t. Heath would have been the perfect man had he not been this way, too. He always chose beautiful women, and they ended up being crazy or mean. Sometimes both. I had yet to meet a man who sought a woman’s inner beauty first.
“The bitterness in your voice when you say that it’s as if you have been overlooked due to the way you look. Almost as if you’re angry because you believe you lack beauty… yet, you’re so damn beautiful it’s scary. You’re a perfect mix of confusing as hell.”
Hearing him call me beautiful had the same effect as the last time he had said it. My stomach felt all the silly butterflies, and I wished more than anything that wasn’t the case. The repel charm was definitely not working on Rathe. I could still repel him, but I’d need to cast a more complex spell. The idea didn’t appeal to me at all. Which made me annoyed with myself.
Rathe could possibly have the power to hurt me far more than Cody had five years ago. I was older now, but memories of Cody still stung. Cody… the only guy I had slept with… the guy I’d thought loved me and I’d given him my virginity. I had been young and idealistic about love. He had shown me at a young age that sex and love were not one in the same. Remembering the image of Cody and Geneva naked in her bed the day after he took my virginity always snapped me back to reality. The tingles Rathe caused immediately vanished.
“Outer beauty is a curse,” I said, holding his gaze. He wasn’t frowning anymore but he did appear to be listening intently, so I continued. “I k
now how I look but that doesn’t make me a person worth knowing. A person can be beautiful on the outside and evil on the inside. If you look deeper, watch how they interact, how they treat others, what they deem as important then you see their appearance clearly.” I stopped. That was enough explanation. There was no need for me to start ranting. It would change nothing. Human nature was never going to change.
“I agree,” he said then he leaned closer. “But let me point out that you didn’t give me that chance. You formed your opinion of me too quickly, by my appearance alone. You did the very thing you hate the most in men. You judged me on my looks.”
“No,” I snapped. “I didn’t.” But I had just said all that to him. I sighed heavily and looked up at the sky instead of at him. Frustrated that he had so easily walked me right into that corner. “Okay, maybe I did,” I finally admitted then looked back at him.
He smiled, but it wasn’t a bright one or an amused smile. It was more of a disappointed quirk on his lips. Then he shook his head in defeat. “You barely know me, Catalina.”
That was true. It was as it should be. I didn’t need to know him. I knew, from the little I had gotten to know of him, that I was attracted to more than just his appearance. That was dangerous for both of us.
“What I do know is that you got one look at Leanne and were immediately entranced. Drawn in by her empty smile. She’s stunning, just like our mother, but inside, she’s not a good person. There is nothing redeemable about either of my sisters. Both are perfect on the outside but there’s nothing beyond that. No depth. No kindness. Not even a small trace.” I used that explanation as my defense mechanism to keep him back.
“Yes, your sister is beautiful. Your entire family is stunning including you. But I wasn’t entranced. I was attracted sure but very briefly. It took me about ten minutes of talking to her to find she was vain, selfish, arrogant, cruel, and liked to hide it all behind a very conniving sweet smile. I’m a man, and yes, I like pretty things, but I have known enough girls like your sister to quickly recognize the signs.”
I didn’t respond immediately. I had expected him to get annoyed with me. I wasn’t sure what to say. Not once in my life had I heard a man say those things about either of my sisters. He was right, and men never looked past their beauty to see the evil lurking inside. They didn’t care, or they were too stupid to see it. Whatever the case, it was always their downfall. Most didn’t often meet death over this mistake, but those who allowed my sisters and mother to pull them in tempted fate. I’d stopped warning them years ago. It was pointless. They never listened.
“Yes, she’s all of those things.” I finally agreed then I looked back out at the water. He wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, he was very likable, he was intelligent, I would guess he was well read, fun to spend time with, easy to talk to, and because of that he needed to leave me alone. Forget me, my family, and move on. I wasn’t one he needed to waste time getting to know. Asking about me was pointless. I wasn’t dangerous like Leanne, but I was dangerous in other ways. My world was not one he wanted to be near.
“Is your dislike of me simply due to the time I spent with your sister? Or is there more?” He wasn’t going to just stand up and walk away. The fact he was so determined intrigued me more. I was a very silly girl. I knew better.
“I’m not sure I know you well enough to form a real opinion of you,” I said with a sigh then glanced back at him. “Why do you care what I think?”
Without pause, he replied “From the moment I saw you I couldn’t look away. The second I heard your voice, I was drawn in and then I looked into your eyes… they were intelligent, annoyed, haunted, and I wanted to get to know you.”
“You’re wasting time with me. I’m not that interesting.” I decided to stop him from saying anything else that might cause me to swoon like an idiot right here on the damn grass.
He chuckled and lifted the corner of his mouth that brought out a small dimple. “You couldn’t be boring if you tried.”
Stop! He needed to stop! I was losing my ground here. I had to focus and remember why liking someone normal was off limits. Why I was off limits. I was bad for him or anyone. I would need to cast a more complex spell to protect him from me after all. He needed to be as bored with me as the others were.
“I don’t date. I don’t do relationships. I can’t. I’m… bad at them.” I blurted all that out without thinking it through. My cheeks flamed red, and I couldn’t look at him. Instead, I studied my hands clasped tightly in my lap. I had sounded like a crazy person, and I wished more than anything I could vanish like the warlock I didn’t know. Anything to not have to look at Rathe again.
“I don’t recall asking you out on a date much less any kind of commitment.” His tone was amused. I couldn’t meet his gaze now. This just went from embarrassing to humiliating. “But I’d like to be friends,” he continued. “I think we could be really damn good friends. I don’t have any of those here. Not real friends. And I’d like one.”
Friends. He wanted to be my friend. My face could not be any more bright red than I knew it was. It was on fire. I had to be the color of a candy apple. How had I gotten this all so wrong? Was I vain? Was this why the spell didn’t work on him? Yes. That was exactly it. He wasn’t interested in me as more than a friend so he wasn’t repelled from me. I’d thought he was hitting on me with all his talk of my beauty and his interest. This was clearly where I suffered socially. I didn’t understand men, and I’d just made that blatantly obvious. I covered my face with both my hands then laughed because what else could I do? Duely was right when he said I was naïve. This was proof of it right here. I was good at friendship and if I could ever look at Rathe again, without wanting to crawl under a rock and hide from this complete misunderstanding, then we could be friends.
“You’re right. I’m a good friend,” I agreed, still covering my face. I wasn’t brave enough to make eye contact. “I’m also not the best at reading men or understanding males at all. I guess that’s been made clear,” I added, hoping that made this less awkward for him. I had no idea what he was thinking because I wasn’t about to look at his expression. He could be horrified for all I know. He could be amused. He could be wanting to get away from me and not sure how to leave.
“It’s part of what makes you so interesting,” he said, and there was definite amusement in his tone. I felt him move and the crackling of the dead leaves under his feet told me he was standing up. He was about to leave. “I might be the best friend you’ve ever had. Heath and Margo need to watch out.” I knew he was teasing me and trying to lighten the mood. “I’ve got a coffee date in fifteen minutes, and I need to head that way, but I can’t go until you look at me.”
I was going to regret this decision. No, I was already regretting it because I had never been friends with a male who I found so attractive. I needed to see him in a different light to be fair to us both. However, it seemed unfair to cast a spell to fix such a human problem. If I wanted to live a normal life, then I had to deal with normal things. Such as a beautiful boy who wanted to be my friend and went on coffee dates with girls he did want to date.
I dropped my hands from my face and smiled up at him apologetically. He held out his hand, and I couldn’t keep the slight disappointment, at his request to be my friend, from creeping in a little. Which was ridiculous. This way I could get to know him and not keep pushing him away. There was no other option for us, and his not wanting to date me was a good thing. I slipped my hand into his and we shook.
“See you around, buddy,” he said, then winked before turning to walk away with a swagger that would never lose its appeal.
Staying here now was going to be pointless. I needed to walk and get away from this spot. That alone should have made me want to hate him. He’d just ruined my tranquil meditation spot. Unfortunately, it didn’t make me hold any ill will against him. Standing up with my thoughts on Rathe, and replaying our conversation, I al
most missed him… the warlock.
He was several yards away, leaning against a tree. Dressed in the same black combat boots, ripped jeans and motorcycle jacket he’d worn the night of the wedding. He was watching me. His lips in a half grin, as if he had heard our conversation. Had he been listening? How long had he been there? Why was he here? This time, there wasn’t a wedding party full of people. There was only me. He was here watching me. Which meant he had been at the wedding to see me. Right?
I didn’t run from things. I wasn’t running from him. He had the answers I needed. If this mystery was going to be solved, then I had to speak to him. I started to take a step in his direction, but he was gone again.
Thirteen
The Bar
It wasn’t even five o’clock but for Duely it was always five o’clock somewhere. Beer was an anytime beverage for him. Walking into the bar he owned, and finding him leaned back in a chair with his feet propped up on a table, as he drank a longneck, was not surprising. It was typical and, honestly, a relief.
I preferred to text or call him before just showing up unannounced. The last time I had just shown up had been traumatizing. I’d walked back to his office looking for him to find his bartender at the time, Dave, on his knees in front of Duely giving him a blowjob. Duely hadn’t minded but had appeared more amused than anything. However, Dave, who was engaged to a female, had been horrified. Duely had been slightly annoyed that Dave had then quit over the incident.
The strange warlock appearance and disappearance had rattled me so much I’d forgotten to call him first. I had nowhere else to go, and no one else to tell about the sighting or stalking, whatever it had been. I needed an opinion, and I needed to not be alone. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I might possibly be in danger, and I didn’t know why. Duely was all I had when it came to the world of the charmed. I trusted no one else.