by Mia Hoddell
Deciding that no matter how I sat he was going to look at me I chose to lie back onto the towel and try and dry off.
“You can stop staring you know,” I mumbled, my eyes shut, blocking out the midday sun. I heard him laugh and then his hands were suddenly around my waist, pulling me on top of him.
“Hey! What are you doing?” I squealed like a little girl. Our faces were inches apart as I lay there looking down at him. His hands had locked me against him as both of our breaths hitched.
“I thought that was obvious,” he whispered as he leaned his head up to kiss me, our lips touching gently.
As I pulled away I watched his face, waiting for his eyes to open. He had a blissful smile on his face as he looked at me finally but his eyes instantly changed as his focus shifted towards my chest. As he did I became significantly aware that I was still only wearing my underwear and he could probably see right down my bra. That wasn’t what he was looking at though as he raised his hand towards something.
I looked down to see his hand moving towards the necklace my dad had given me.
“Where did you get this,” he asked as he ran his thumb over the intricate design of the silver circle that contained a ruby heart, entwined in ivy.
“My dad gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday. It was my grandma’s and has been passed down in our family for generations. He wanted me to have it,” I said, a few tears springing to my eyes as I mentioned him. I was confused by his intense, worried stare Kai had on his face while he examined the necklace as he refused to tell me what was wrong.
“Kai what is it?”
He just shook his head as something over my shoulder caught his attention. “Shit! Rea get dressed now,” he ordered as he dumped me to the side of him, his eyes becoming colder than I had ever seen. Hurriedly I pulled on my clothes and was just struggling with my shirt buttons when he pulled me into a run.
“What are you doing? What’s going on?” The hand that wasn’t holding onto me was reaching behind him and fumbling in his bag for something.
“Just stay quiet,” he insisted as he pulled a gun out of the bag he had brought with us.
We reached the bottom of the rock we had sat upon yesterday and he forced me hard against it while dropping the bag at my feet.
“Stay here until I come and fetch you.” I could see the anger in his eyes as he held on to my shoulder with one hand, but most of my attention was focused on the gun that was wavering too close to my head. He didn’t wait for a reply, instead he hurried off towards where the waves were breaking on the beach.
He slowed as he got nearer the edge of the rock, gun drawn and ready. I knew he had told me to stay put but I was never one for missing out on any kind of action so once he had disappeared around the corner I followed him slowly.
As I got to the edge of the rock I let out a scream, before I muffled it with my hand. Before me was a tornado that was quickly spiralling in our direction, and a whirlpool that was getting bigger by the second, drawing boats in towards it.
Oh my god, I’m going to die just like my dad.
I studied the shapes closer and it was only after a few seconds was I able to see the Elemental’s figures amongst the chaos.
I glanced over at Kai. He was taking a careful aim at the Elemental responsible for the whirlpool and with a silenced shot, the gun rang out. I kept my eyes on the creatures as another shot rang out seconds apart from the first. What Kai had described was right. Both Elementals were devoured in a ball of blue and purple spirits as they died, their elements consuming them and leaving nothing behind.
The sea front had returned to normal and the skyline was once again clear. There was no sign that anything odd had happened at all as I watched. Hoping to see a glimpse of something to confirm what I had just witnessed, I started to feel light headed and my vision became hazy. My eyes were blacking out but I knew I wasn’t closing them. I held onto the sharp rock as my balance started to go and the last thing I remembered was Kai shouting my name as the water ran over my face.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Where...are...we?” I mumbled as I came around. I tried to open my eyes but the burning light forced them tightly shut; causing me to bury my head further into the soft leather.
Soft leather? Wait where am I?
My eyes snapped open in shock and I willed them not to shut even though it meant fighting against the searing pain. Hurriedly I tried to sit up but a weight on my shoulders was holding me down gently.
“Slowly Rea, you just fainted. You’re in my car. How are you feeling?” Kai helped me sit up slowly and eventually the world stopped spinning.
“What happened?” I was trying to remember the past minute in my head but all I found was an empty blackness.
“Here, drink this,” he said, pushing a cool bottle in my direction. As I took it he began to speak. “You fainted Rea. Just after I killed that Elemental, I think. I was heading back towards you when suddenly you just collapsed in the water. You really should learn to listen when I say something; especially if it’s to do with Elementals.”
Snapshots of images started to come back to me as Kai retold the events.
“I was curious,” I said half defending my actions, even though it wasn’t much of an excuse.
“Well your ’curiosity’ has cost us big time today. Those Elementals saw you back there, and that is not a good thing, especially if they know you’re with me.” His eyes were focused on the road as he spoke and only then did I realise that we were no longer parked, but driving down another motorway at ninety miles per hour.
“What’s the rush? And where are we going?” I asked, suspicious of his weird behaviour. He was solely focused on the road now that my nausea had passed.
“Away,” he said, yet it didn’t look like he was going to elaborate so I pressed for more answers.
“I need to get you some place safe.”
I raised my eyebrows in question but I was unsure if he was paying attention to me.
“I’ll explain when we get to the service station, I can’t concentrate on driving while explaining this stuff.”
I started to panic at his words.
“Kai take me back. I don’t know what you’re planning but you’re scaring me. I want to go home.”
He just shook his head in response and if anything he just sped up.
“Kai, please... take me back.”
His shoulders heaved as he glanced briefly at me.
“I’m sorry Rea I can’t, you’re just going to have to trust me; it’s not safe for you back there anymore.”
I slumped in my chest in response, folding my arms across my chair while scowling out the passenger window. I know it was childish but I couldn’t help it.
“How can I just leave Kai? My mum will worry endlessly about me and it’s not fair to do that to her right now. She just lost my dad for god’s sake, I can’t do this to her. I mean I’m still not okay about my dad’s death but I’m handling it better than her and running off with a guy she doesn’t know about is going to kill her. Please just take me back.” I was on the verge of tears as I thought about my mum’s reaction when she would eventually find out.
“Don’t do this Rea, I need you to trust me. We’ll deal with your mum at the service station ’kay? I really need you to go along with this though, no matter how crazy it sounds because right now you’re in a lot of danger.”
I wanted to scream at him for not explaining anything in detail to me but I had learnt from past experiences that, that was never the best solution as it just caused a massive shouting match.
“So you’re basically kidnapping me?”
My anger took over, making me forget my tears as he sighed again at my difficult attitude.
“Fine...I’ll take you back, you just have to give me that necklace though.”
My hand flew instantly to my neck where the silver chain hung. “What? Are you crazy? This is the last thing my dad ever gave to me. What in the world made you think I would give it
up?” I asked, slightly hurt that he would ask for such a personal item, with so much history.
“Exactly, I didn’t think you would give me it, hence our situation now. It’s either this,” he said, momentarily taking his hands off the wheel to gesture around the car, “or you give me the necklace,” he stated bluntly while I clutched the necklace closer to my chest.
“Why do you need it? And what’s all this danger you keep saying I’m in? I know it’s something to do with the Elementals but can you elaborate a little?” I sighed, knowing I was beaten. It didn’t mean I was happy with the situation though and I was sure I would make his life hell until he explained.
Who cares if he’s my boyfriend, at the moment he’s not acting like one so why should I play nice.
“Can’t you wait half an hour? We’ll be at the services then.”
I muttered something under my breath, but remained silent for the rest of the journey, trying to plan how I could either escape or find a way to get him back.
Finally we arrived at something that resembled a run down service station but it didn’t look like it had been visited in years. Just from a glance I could tell that we weren’t going to be able to find everything I needed in there.
Turning off the engine Kai swivelled in his chair to face me, his knee resting on the hand-brake.
“Do you need anything while I’m in there?” he asked, shocking me with his assumption that I wouldn’t be following him.
“Wait...You don’t think I’m staying here do you?”
He smirked at the horror shown on my face.
“Seriously, I’m not staying here. I need to eat, I want some new clothes, toiletries and I kind of need to use the bathroom.” I listed off all the items I needed and wanted in a frantic rant, trying to persuade him into letting me go with him. Looking back I question why I never just got out of the car before him though as it would have saved a lot of time and energy on my part.
“Okay. Food, clothes, drink and toiletries, is that it?”
Before I could reply with any more complaints or specifics, he was out of the car while I struggled to untangle myself from the seatbelt. Just as I got free and put my hand on the handle to open it I heard the familiar bleep and click of the doors locking, only for once I was hearing them from inside the car.
“Rea?” His face appeared at the window as he stooped to look in through the slightly tinted glass. “Try not to move ’kay? You wouldn’t want to go setting the alarm off now.”
I scowled at his smug grin, then continued to scowl at his back as he walked towards the premises. His hand was feeling under his jacket for something, which I presumed was his gun.
He was just about to disappear through the double, automatic doors when I moved in my seat, deliberately shaking the car to cause the high pitched squeal of the alarm to ring out across the almost deserted car park. I saw Kai’s posture stiffen slightly before relaxing as he turned to glare at me. Returning to the car he made wild, angry gestures, trying to ask me what the hell I was doing I guessed. He refrained from turning the alarm off though, probably expecting that as soon as he did, it would have given me the chance to escape the car.
“Oh come on! You can’t leave me in here with this alarm blaring. I thought you wanted me to stay hidden and this isn’t exactly inconspicuous is it?” I shouted over the noise while watching him.
His shoulders heaved as he sighed, before he raised the keys to unlock the door. I heard the click as the doors unlocked and the alarm shut off instantly. Before he could re-lock the car I opened the passenger door and got out to stand next to him on the dust covered tarmac. My arms were folded across my chest while I led the way into the shop, refusing to look at him as I passed.
“If you insist on coming then stay close to me.”
I rolled my eyes at him as he fell into step beside me and we headed into the service station, his long strides easily matching my quick pace.
“Have fun following me into the ladies toilets then,” I said, hoping that this would stump him and forcing him to wait outside would give me a chance to escape, or at least a head start. I was wrong though.
A few minutes later we both emerged from the toilets, attracting some weird glances from the few people who were around, and to my embarrassment my cheeks began to flush as I thought about what they must have been thinking. This probably only added to their suspicions but I couldn’t control the heat rising in my cheeks, especially as Kai draped a possessive arm across my shoulders.
“So do you want to eat first or buy the things you need?” He seemed to have cooled off a bit as we walked towards the shops, his strong arm guiding me.
“Buy things, then eat in the car. You still owe me an explanation about stuff, which I guess you won’t do in here and I need to call my mum. ”
He nodded and we made our way to the outdoor clothing store.
Shopping for clothes with Kai was a lot more embarrassing than I imagined. I already had one change of clothes and pyjamas in his car so most of the items I needed were slightly more personal. He had stood around awkwardly while I picked out a few sets of underwear before he insisted we moved on to get myself another set of clothes just in case, seeing as I’d managed to get the one I was wearing damp. I felt slightly bad about spending his money, especially as it was on disgusting, outdoor clothing that I wouldn’t be seen dead in but that wasn’t enough to stop me. If he’s kidnapping me and making me leave my family the least he can do is buy me stuff, I thought, while I added another blue hoodie to the pile of clothes I had collected.
As we queued to pay, Kai took out his wallet, the amount of money he kept in there still shocking me. The guy on the till gave us a funny look as he saw the mountain of clothing and Kai’s cash. We must have looked like an odd couple; me with my wet jeans and knotted hair and Kai with his slightly dirty face and clothes. Thankfully though we were able to get out of there pretty quickly and left to buy the toiletries and food. I could only imagine what the guy on the till would have thought if he had seen Kai’s car too and for the first time since this whole mess started I found myself giggling.
“What’s so funny?” Kai asked as we were waiting for our food at the counter.
“I was just thinking about that guy who served us in the clothing shop. His face when he saw the cash was so funny. I don’t know what he thought about us or who we were.” I laughed as I imagined the encounter all over again.
“He probably thought you were running away with me because I’m so handsome and rich.”
I snorted at his comment.
“More like you kidnapped me and won’t let me go. Also you aren’t that handsome and rich you know.”
That time it was his turn to laugh.
“I saw the way I affected you the first time you saw me, I know you think I’m good looking.”
He had a smug grin on his face.
“You’re right though, I’m not rich, but I have enough. Also I would watch where you go spouting off about kidnapping.”
I shrugged, trying to brush off both comments but luckily his attention was diverted by the small, skinny man behind the counter who was holding out our order.
Clutching a brown paper bag each, we headed back to the car, the mood slightly better between us, even though I was still holding a grudge. I was sat in the car before him, and he wasn’t even through the door when I began my demands. “Explain.”
He rolled his eyes at me as he got comfy in his seat.
“Don’t you want to call your mum first?” he asked, passing me my mobile that was inside his jacket pocket. Why does he have my phone? He must have seen the confusion on my face as he handed it over.
“I was making sure we couldn’t be traced via the signal,” he said nonchalantly, while I pretended to understand what that meant.
“What do I say to her though?” My hand was shaking as I dialled the number and my finger hovered over the call button.
As the phone rang, I started trembling with nerves. Thankful
ly Kai placed a soothing arm around my shoulder, pulling me towards him in comfort and even though I was still slightly mad at him, it worked.
“Hello.” My mum’s voice rang out from down the other end of the phone.
“Hi Mum,” I said, my voice breaking slightly. “I have some stuff I need to tell you, but it’s going to sound crazy and you probably won’t like it.” I steadied my breathing for a little before continuing.
“Serena what’s going on? Are you okay?”
This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
“First of all I’m really sorry to do this to you and I know my timings really bad but I couldn’t help it.”
I sighed before speaking again.
“I’m leaving Mum. I haven’t been with Chloe this weekend, I’ve been with my boyfriend...”
“What are you talking about Rea! And what has Ian got to do with it?” She was shouting down the phone to cover up her sadness.
“Mum calm down and let me finish. First of all it isn’t Ian, we broke up awhile ago actually and I’m with someone else. It’s safer for you not to know his name and I’m not leaving you for him, things have just got really complicated. This is going to sound crazy but supernatural things have been happening and we have got caught up in it. You don’t need to know the details but just know I am safe and my boyfriend won’t let anything happen to me.”
Kai gestured for me to give him the phone.
“I have to go Mum, I love you and I’ll try keep in touch but it may not be for a while.” I was sniffling as I passed the phone to Kai, cutting off my mum’s tirade.
“Hello Mrs Jackson,” Kai said into the mobile and I had never heard him speak so formally. On the other end I could hear my mum asking question after question but it didn’t rattle his calm composure.
“I understand and I know this is really bad timing but what Rea said was true. We have been spotted by some paranormal creatures and have to go into hiding. It’s not safe for you to know any more details than that so please don’t go looking for answers. I promise you I won’t let anything happen to your daughter and I’ll protect her with my life. Hopefully I’ll be able to bring her back to you soon.”