Eternal Love: (The Cursed Series, Book 4)

by Kara Leigh Miller

  “Nothing.” I forced a smile.

  She scrutinized me. “Is everything okay with Trent?”

  “Yeah, we just had a little disagreement in the hallway.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  I shook my head. “It’s fine. It was stupid.” I laughed, dismissing her concern.

  I wished I could talk to her about it, though. Ellie always gave good advice. If it hadn’t been for her, I probably never would have given Trent the chance to explain who and what he was, because I’d been ready to walk away from him for good. Ellie had been the one to convince me to talk to him.

  Class sped by, and when it was over, I rushed out of the room, hoping to find Trent waiting for me, but he wasn’t. I didn’t see him again until lunch.

  “So, Isach has something super important to tell me,” Abby said as we made our way toward the cafeteria. “I think he’s going to break up with me.”

  “What?” I jerked my head toward her. “Why do you think that?”

  She shrugged. “He’s been so weird the past few days, almost like he’s afraid to be near me.”

  I resisted the urge to laugh—Isach had said almost the same thing about her. “I don’t think he’s going to break up with you. Just talk to him, okay? For all you know, he could have something good to tell you.”

  “Maybe.” But she didn’t sound convinced.

  “Chloe,” Trent called from where he stood, alone, in the corner of the cafeteria. Why was he over there rather than with our friends?

  “Save me a seat,” I said to Abby. “I’ll be over in a sec.”

  With a nod, Abby made a beeline for our usual table, and I approached Trent. My heart was beating harder and faster than it had been a few minutes ago. I prayed he wasn’t going to fight with me over what I’d said about Abby. It wasn’t like I wanted to tell her everything right now and then change her.

  “I’m sorry about earlier,” he said as soon as I was close enough to hear him. He took my hands and tugged me closer. “You caught me off guard, and I wasn’t prepared.”

  “All I did was ask a question, and you bit my head off,” I said with a little too much fury. Okay, apparently, I was angrier about that than I realized.

  Trent’s lips twitched with an almost smile. “The more people who know, the more dangerous it is for us. I know you don’t want to lose her, but you can’t change everyone you love.”

  “I know,” I said.

  That was a fact I was having trouble accepting. Living for an eternity with Trent was exciting, and I wanted that more than anything, but there was so much else that went along with that choice, things I hadn’t considered until now. Losing my entire family was one of them.

  “But if it really means that much to you, I’m willing to talk about it, okay?” he said.

  Hope bloomed in my chest. “Seriously?”

  He nodded, then captured my lips in a soft kiss. “Let’s see how she reacts to Isach first, though.” He pulled out a chair and sat.

  I laughed. “That’s probably a good idea.” I leaned down to give him another kiss. “Thank you.”

  Wrapping his arms around me, he tugged me onto his lap and said, “Haven’t you realized by now that I’ll do anything for you?”

  “I know you will, but I don’t want you to do something you disagree with just because it’s what I want, or doing something that could potentially cause you or your family harm.”

  All I could imagine was another situation like my mom—me being a selfish brat, not caring about anyone but me, and then causing catastrophic damage. I seemed to have a bad habit of unintentionally causing harm and heartache for the people I loved, and I’d never live with myself if I did anything like that to Trent.

  “Your friends keep looking over here,” he said with an amused smile. “Ellie told them we’d had a disagreement earlier, and now Abby is swooning over how we always make up.”

  “You need to stop eavesdropping,” I teased. “Abby’s convinced Isach is going to break up with her tonight. I tried to tell her she was wrong, but that’s hard to do when I can’t tell her why.”

  “Sometimes, the secrecy is the hardest part of being a vampire.” He laced his fingers with mine and nudged me to stand. “C’mon, let’s go put them out of their misery and tell them everything is fine.”

  SPRAWLED OUT ON MY bed, I stared up at my ceiling, bored out of my mind. Abby was out with Isach. Ellie was hanging out with Nick. Whitney was doing God knew what, and Trent was with Jax. Which meant none of them were answering their phones.

  My thoughts continuously bounced from Trent to Abby. I hoped Trent and Jax weren’t trying to kill each other, and I hoped Abby wasn’t having a major meltdown.

  “Ugh.” I groaned.

  I didn’t even have any homework to do. Unable to stand it any longer, I sent Trent another message.

  Me: MISS YOU. HOPE THINGS ARE OKAY WITH YOUR BROTHER. LOVE YOU. I added several hearts and hit send.

  Then I sent Whitney a message.

  Me: DYING OF BOREDOM HERE. WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

  “Chloe!” Abby’s shrill voice cut through the house.

  I bolted upright just as she barged into my room. “Hey,” I said, heart thundering. “How did things go with Isach?”

  She kicked my door shut and crossed her arms. “He’s a witch,” she said, sneering the words. “You knew, too, and you didn’t tell me.” Accusation hung heavy in the room.

  “I can explain.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. “I did know, and I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it mattered.”

  “It didn’t matter?” Her eyes were wide with disbelief. “He’s a witch, Chloe. He can wave his hands and chant words in a different language and things happen. And you didn’t think that mattered?”

  “Okay, calm down. It’s not that bad. Has he done anything to hurt you?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “Has he done anything to hurt anyone else?” I stopped short of adding, that you know of. She was already freaked out; I didn’t need to make it any worse.

  “I don’t think so,” she said, her tone settling a little. Her shoulders sagged, and she dropped her arms to her sides. “It’s just so weird.” She crossed the room and flopped down on my bed.

  I hesitantly sat next to her. “Does him being a witch change how you feel about him?”

  “No,” she grumbled. “I still like him. A lot.”

  “Then what’s the problem?” I adjusted so I was sitting cross-legged. “I mean, if you like him, and he obviously likes you…”

  Abby propped herself up on her elbows. “What if he uses his magic on me?”

  I bit the inside of my cheek, unsure what to say. I couldn’t tell her the truth—that he already had once before—because then I’d have to tell her about Trent, and I absolutely could not do that.

  “Then tell him not to. Set some boundaries. If he really cares about you, he’ll respect them,” I said.

  “What if he doesn’t?” she whispered. “Care about me, I mean.”

  “Abby. C’mon. He just told you he was a witch. Do you think he tells everyone that?” I said with a mixture of compassion and frustration.

  Being a witch, even one who belonged to a coven that practiced dark magic, was nowhere near as shocking as finding out your boyfriend was a vampire. God, it would be so much easier if I could just tell her everything.

  “He told you,” she said, the accusatory tone back in her voice.

  Shoot. I hadn’t bothered to ask Isach what he’d planned to tell her about why he’d told me. “Only because he’s friends with Trent,” I said, praying she believed me.

  “Great. So, Trent knows, too.” She threw her hands in the air and shook her head.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. I wished there was more I could do or say to make this easier for her, but I knew from experience that only time would help. She needed time to adjust to everything.

  “At least he didn’t break up with me,”
she mumbled.

  I laughed. “He likes you, Abby. A lot. And I’d bet anything he’s probably freaking out right now, too, worrying you’re going to dump him.”

  She sighed heavily. “You really think all of this is okay?”

  “I think you can’t help who you fall in love with, and sometimes, they might not be who you think they are, or who you want them to be, but if you love them, none of that matters,” I said and smiled.

  “He did say he doesn’t really use his magic a lot,” she said, more to herself than to me, as if she were trying to work it all out. “And he did tell me he loved me.” She smiled.

  “That’s great!” I gave her a hug. “Did you say it back? I need all the details.”

  Abby laughed, and with that, I knew she was going to be okay. It might still take her time to get used to Isach being a witch, but she’d get through this.

  “No,” she said. “I was too shocked about everything else he’d said.”

  “But you do, don’t you? Love him?”

  “I do.” She let out a small squeal and flung her arms around me again. “Thank you, Chloe.” And then she was off my bed and out of my room so fast my head spun.

  CHAPTER THIRTY:

  Holiday Plans

  THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF NOVEMBER passed in a blur of class review in preparation for final exams in early December. I spent every second I could with Trent, and things were still going so well.

  Our relationship was stronger than ever. I had no idea how it was possible, but I fell more in love with him each day, and I was becoming impatient, wondering when and how he’d finally propose. We hadn’t crossed another item off my list since he’d claimed me, and that bummed me out. A lot.

  Nothing more had happened with Jax, and I didn’t have any more lingering feelings for him. He’d been spending quite a bit of time with Kat, and I was genuinely happy that he was moving on. And he seemed sincerely happy for me and Trent, too, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had changed between those two—they hadn’t fought in weeks.

  “Thank God today is the last day of school for a while,” Abby complained.

  I snapped out of my thoughts and only then noticed class had been dismissed. We were officially on Thanksgiving break. No school was glorious, but not seeing Trent every day would be torture. I gathered my stuff and stood. We walked out of the room and went in opposite directions to our lockers.

  Trent stood in front of mine, blocking it. When I approached, he yanked me into his arms and gave me a long, heated kiss.

  “What was that for?” I asked, eyes still closed, slightly dizzy and high from the feel of his lips on mine.

  “I talked to your aunt,” he said.

  My eyes snapped open, and I jerked back. “You talked to Aunt Beth? When? For what?”

  He laughed. “I want to hang out tomorrow, so I called and asked her if that was all right. She said yes.” Smiling with satisfaction, he stepped away from my locker.

  “What’re you planning?” I dialed my combination and opened my locker.

  If he’d taken the initiative to call my aunt and ask to let me hang out with him, then that must mean he had something planned already—something big. Another item getting crossed off my list, maybe? Hope and excitement swirled in my chest.

  “You’ll find out tomorrow,” he said.

  I sighed with fake annoyance. “I hate surprises.” I hid my smile behind my locker door.

  “Not mine.” There was too much confidence in his tone, but he was right. His surprises were always amazing.

  I shoved all of my books into my locker, grateful I didn’t need to lug them home and spend the break doing homework, and then I swung the door closed. “What if I already had plans tomorrow?”

  “I know all your friends. I checked with them. You’re not doing anything.” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “Trust me. You’re going to have fun.”

  I rolled my eyes and smiled. “If you say so.”

  Taking my hand, he laced our fingers, and we weaved through the crowded hallway, stopping once we reached Abby and Isach, who were huddled against the lockers, kissing. I cleared my throat, and Abby broke away from Isach.

  “Sorry,” Abby said sheepishly, but she wasn’t really sorry.

  And I wasn’t really mad she’d been kissing Isach. He’d kept his promises to me—he wasn’t hurting her or manipulating her. He truly liked her, a lot, and the more time he spent with her, the nicer he was. Almost like Abby had singlehandedly turned him from bad witch to good witch. Maybe she had.

  “Ready?” I asked.

  The four of us walked to the student parking lot. I gave Trent a goodbye kiss. “So, what time are you picking me up tomorrow?” I asked.

  “Around ten. Make sure you dress warm. Wear lots of layers.” He winked, then sauntered toward his truck.

  Shaking my head, I climbed into Abby’s car and waited for her to finish saying goodbye to Isach. Several long moments later, she got into the car, face red.

  “You two seem to doing well,” I said and hooked my seat belt.

  “Oh, my gosh, Chloe,” she gushed. “I like him so much.”

  And she didn’t stop talking until we got home. Even then, she probably would have kept talking if I hadn’t told her I needed to call my dad, which wasn’t a lie. Once in my room, I closed the door and blew out a breath. Then I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and scrolled through my contacts until I found Dad’s number.

  “Hello?” He sounded distracted. Or annoyed. It was hard to tell the difference with him.

  “Hi, Dad,” I said, pushing away from my door and crossing the room to sit on my bed.

  “Oh, hi, Chloe. How are you?”

  “Good. Just got home from school. I’m officially on Thanksgiving break for the next five days.” I laughed. “How is everyone?”

  “Good. Larissa is still busy with all her charity work. The holidays are a busy time for her. And Little Frank is talking more and more every day.”

  I missed Little Frank. He was a cute kid, even if he was annoying. Then again, he was only two.

  “That’s good.” I chewed on my pinkie nail, unsure what else to say. These phone calls with my father were always awkward, but today it seemed to be more so than usual.

  “Larissa and I were talking the other night, and we really want you to come visit for the holidays. I’ll pay for it,” he said.

  I wanted to visit, too, but I hadn’t quite worked up the courage to tell Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean—or Abby—that I might not be here for Christmas. It would be our first one together, and I wanted to be here with them, but I hadn’t spent a holiday with my dad in eleven years.

  “Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “I’d like to come visit, but I’m not sure when. I think Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean really want me here for Christmas.” I held my breath, hoping Dad didn’t overreact.

  “Come after Christmas, then. Fly out the day after and stay for New Year’s. We always attend a large New Year’s Eve party. You can go with us. I think you’d like it,” he said.

  Sounds of rustling papers filled my ear. I waited for the noise to stop before I spoke. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll talk to them tonight and let you know,” I said.

  Then another thought struck me—I’d be in Malibu for almost a full week. Without Trent. Unless… “Would it be all right if Trent came, too?” I held my breath, my stomach in a knot.

  There was a much too long pause before he said, “I assumed he would be.” He sighed heavily.

  My eyebrows shot up with surprise. “Really?” I asked.

  “He did tell you he visited me, right?”

  I laughed at the tone of his voice, a mixture of angry disbelief and fear. “Yeah, he told me. But I didn’t realize that meant you’d be okay with him tagging along. Is he allowed to stay at the house?”

  If not, I knew he wouldn’t mind getting a hotel, but I’d probably end up spending more time there than with my dad and Larissa.

  “We’ll get one of the spare
rooms ready for him.”

  “Okay, then. Thanks.” I couldn’t believe he agreed so easily. Then again, maybe he was truly afraid of Trent. I was when I’d first found out about him. “Well, I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean said. I don’t think they’ll have an issue with me visiting.”

  “They shouldn’t. I am your father.” Possessiveness dripped from his words.

  “Like I said, it should be fine.”

  My phone cut out, and I pulled it away from my ear. There was a text from Trent. I smiled, eager to tell him the good news.

  “I gotta go, Dad. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Love you.” I ended the call and opened my messages.

  Trent: IS YOUR WINDOW OPEN? There was a winking emoji.

  Me: NO. SHOULD IT BE?

  Trent: NOPE. JUST CHECKING.

  I laughed. Instead of sending another message, I called him, and he answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, his voice smooth.

  Baby? That was new, but I liked it, and I grinned like a certified idiot.

  “Got any plans for the week between Christmas and New Year’s?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Do I?”

  “I’m going to visit my dad, and I want you to go with me. He said he’s okay with it. They’re even going to make up one of the spare rooms for you,” I said, wandering around my room.

  Restlessness mixed with excitement was a bad combination. I couldn’t sit still, and my mind raced with thoughts of spending an entire week with Trent.

  “Of course, I’ll go,” he said.

  I let out an excited squeal. God, I was starting to sound and act like Abby. “Dad said they go to a fancy New Year’s Eve party, so bring a tuxedo.”

  “All right,” he said.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Agreeing to go with me.” I sank down onto my bed. “I know it’s not going to be much fun hanging out with my dad and stepmom.”

  “Are you kidding? Your dad and I are besties now,” he said.

  I snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m pretty sure he’s scared of you.”

  Trent laughed. “It’s going to be fine.”