“I haven’t moved,” he says from the same place where he had been a moment ago, by my bed. “I don’t know how to come back,” he admits.
“Just think… ‘Don’t hide’ or ‘visible’.”
“Visible,” he says his instructions out loud again and reappears He quickly opens his eyes and looks down at his hands and body in relief. “Thank God,” he prays.
“That was amazing,” I exclaim, jumping up and down, clapping quietly.
Alex gets a smirk on his face and admits, “That was way cooler than it was like ten years ago.” We both laugh quietly, not wanting to get our parents attention.
“You should try it again. But this time think it. Don’t say it out loud.”
He nods his head and then closes his eyes and vanishes again. I give a little squeal of excitement and he materializes behind me. “Ah,” I scream and fall over on my bed laughing. “That’s amazing. I can’t say it enough.” Alex just continues to smile. I’m so glad he’s finally accepting his gift and enjoying it.
“I just had a thought,” he tells me with wonder in his voice. “Stand up,” he orders and grabs my hands to get me to my feet faster. “I’m going to try to take you with me. I want to see if it will work. If you can do what you say you can do then maybe it’s possible for you too. Just do what you do. Ready?” He grasps one of my hands.
“Yeah, count to three.” I close my eyes and will myself to accomplish this.
“One…two…three.” I open my eyes and see that Alex is gone but I can still feel his hand but I can’t see my hand!
“This is freaky,” I tell Alex.
“Yeah, I thought maybe we would be able to see each other though. You know, like we have crossed over into another dimension where everything in it will appear.”
“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I admit. “Can you just wish us back because this is too weird? I feel like I’m talking to a voice inside my head and I’m getting dizzy not being able to see my body attached firmly to the ground.”
“Ok. I’ll count to three again. One…two…three…” I don’t close my eyes again so I can see when we both re-manifest.
We continue to practice until the early morning hours. Alex can make objects disappear with him. He can even keep those objects invisible until he’s ready to get them. Not something you want to make a habit of. He makes my bed disappear at one point and I felt like I was floating on air, seeing a mess on the floor under my bed that I didn’t realize was accumulating.
I tried to do it by myself but my abilities have their limits. I can stay invisible without Alex’s contact and I can reappear without him. I just can’t disappear without him. I don’t get it. I’m still really happy with my ability though. Alex said he wants to test mine out more. He jokes and says we’ll watch some Chuck Norris movies to see if I can copy what he does. I know I can.
Chapter 16
Cole made reservations for the dinner on Saturday for Edmund, Cole and I. We are going to Freemason Abbey, a restaurant with a lot of history. The building had originally been a church and then a town meeting hall until it became a restaurant in the late 1980’s. The building is massive and magnificent from the outside. The inside is modest with special features like stained glass windows in the old church style and stairs that may have once led to the pulpit and chorus stands but now have several tables set up.
That’s where the waitress leads me and Cole now. Apparently Edmund has already arrived and is awaiting us in a far cornered booth. He sits with his back to the wall so he can see us as we get to the top of the stairs and turn towards him.
Edmund stands up and shakes Cole’s hand and then leans in to give me an unexpected light hug and kiss on the cheek.
“You look like a goddess tonight, Alexis,” his eyes sparkle as his eyes look me over. I didn’t pick out anything special tonight like I had for Cole on our first date. I decided to go with the cornflower blue cocktail dress that I didn’t wear the night of Edmund’s gallery showing at the museum. It’s a simple dress but elegant. It clings to my body showing all of my curves yet there is room to breathe and move around in it. It has a v-neck with capped sleeves and a self-tie cut out design in the back. It’s a little too cold to wear it alone so I have on a short dressy sweater over it.
I noticed Cole wince at what he said. “Be careful professor one of your students might see and think you’re picking favorites,” I tease him.
“No, I’ve already scoped the place out. No students here,” he teases back with a smile.
I realize they are both waiting for me to sit down so I hurry and scoot into the booth. Cole slides in next to me and Edmund sits back in his place across from us, just like how we sat at the first dinner.
Cole helps me out of my sweater as the waitress brings us the drink menu.
“Are you going to intoxicate the girl again tonight?” Edmund asks Cole while keeping his eyes on his own menu.
“Cole never lets me get drunk,” I inform Edmund. I don’t want them to start the night fighting.
Edmund doesn’t respond and I can tell Cole is upset that I spoke up in his defense. Men are so typical. It doesn’t matter that they’re fallen angels, a man is a man and they are all alike. Never let a woman come to their defense because they can ‘handle it themselves’. Stupid machismo.
I wonder if Cole is going to order me wine after Edmund’s remark. I know I really want it if Edmund is going to interrogate us for the next hour or two. Then, I realize that Edmund is trying to be the concerned parent. Not wanting me to drink because I’m underage or because he doesn’t want Cole to take advantage of me. Too late for that one, I took advantage of him already. I put my head down to hide my grin but Cole notices and places his hand on my knee and shakes it like he’s asking ‘what’. I shake my head at him and then the waitress is there to take our drink orders.
I just order water but of course Cole orders two of his favorite’s cabernets, one for him and one for me. The waitress doesn’t even blink an eye and then she turns to Edmund who is giving Cole a very disapproving look. Uh oh. I think he is on the verge of telling the waitress to make that order a one, but he just orders his own drink, never taking his eyes off Cole. Cole appears to be totally oblivious to Edmund’s dark look. He’s pulling the defiant card, just like Edmund is his father and not mine.
Wanting to break up the tension I’m starting to feel at the table I ask Edmund, “How is Patryck doing?” The artist that we practiced drawing facial expressions on.
Cole’s hand, which is still placed on my thigh, tightens to an almost painful level. I refrain myself from taking notice as Edmund tells me, “He’s doing well. He’ll be leaving for Europe soon to work on something for the Louvre.”
I’m about to remark how awesome that is but Cole speaks up and addresses Edmund in an accusing voice, “You introduced her to Patryck?” Did I not mention that the other day when I gave him a rundown of the conversation Edmund and I had that day in class? I wonder if Patryck is another one of them.
“Yes,” Edmund says curtly. “I want her to be acquainted with as many artists as possible. For her future.”
“Didn’t she make it clear that it’s not the future she wants,” Cole seethes.
“I was under the impression that she was going to take a few days to think about it. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet with both of you tonight. I was hoping you would help me persuade her to acknowledge the great opportunity this will be for her.” He speaks so eloquently for a man who appears only in his late twenties, more like a man of fifty or sixty, or an angel who is thousands of years old.
“She doesn’t need any more persuasion,” Cole says the word with the same implication Edmund used. I know what kind of persuasion he means. He wants to make Cole force me to cave.
“I hope not.” He turns to me then and starts with the normal kind of persuasion again. “Alexis, take it for now. If something else comes up, something better that you had in mind then you can drop it.” He grabs the
glass the waitress has just placed in front of him and takes a gulp. “I won’t say anything else about it.” We both sit there and stare each other down. He’s trying to gauge any kind of responses from me and I’m trying to figure out if he’s going to keep his word. I think about it in silence for awhile. We all just sit there and stare at each other. I stare at Edmund and he and Cole stare at me.
I might as well accept, until something better comes up. He’s got a point there. Even though I know an athletic scholarship is a given, it might not be from a school like Yale. Then, I realize he probably has the capability to dissuade other scholarships from coming my way. I can’t win if it comes to that, and I don’t want to take my chances. Cole grows impatient with the silence and finally gives my leg a little shake to wake me from my thoughts.
“I accept,” I say loud and clear so there is no mistake and confusion. I don’t want to say it more than once. “Now, let’s order.” I turn to the waitress who appeared about a minute ago and waited confusedly as she watched us all stare each other down. Afraid to interrupt something important.
The rest of the dinner continues with discussion on my art. Not a conversation I want to discuss but it’s better than having him ask questions and try to get us to admit that I know who he is. I let him talk about the professors he knows at Yale and ideas for the history collection he thinks I should include. I have to admit I like the idea and the descriptions he elaborates on create a perfect picture in my mind. I don’t comment a lot. I just nod my head and say a lot of ‘mmhmm’s and ‘uh huh’s’ while I eat.
The waitress comes back around after we eat and brings the dessert menu. I just order a mocha cappuccino, even though I’m so stuffed I don’t think I can even fit the drink in me but I felt like I had to because Edmund ordered dessert. Cole just got a coffee.
“So, I see you two are getting closer.” Uh, oh. Here it goes.
I smile sweetly at him and then look adoringly at Cole. I try to appear as bubbly and love struck as I can. Even though we’ve been touching practically throughout the entire dinner. “I think we’re taking it kind of slow,” I shrug while looking into Cole’s eyes. He has picked up on my heightened infatuation with him and starts to play his part.
“Yeah, we spend as much time together as we can. But there’s no need to rush things. She’s still in school, still young.” He raises his hand to stroke my hair. And my eyes widen at the meaning of his words, no need to rush things, still in school, what is that suppose to mean?
“Very young.” Edmunds playing the protective dad card again. I ignore him and look at Cole trying to find out what he meant. He doesn’t give me any hints, just kisses me sweetly on the lips.
“So, what are you going to do when she goes to college?” Edmund asks as his crème brulee is placed in front of him and our drinks are placed in front of us.
I take a sip out of my drink, waiting to hear Cole’s answer. We’ve never talked about where our relationship is going, just the present, always taking things one day at a time. It will be interesting to hear what he says. And even more interesting to discuss later.
“I’ll probably go with her. My jobs here are easily replaceable, nothing promising.” He shrugs his shoulder. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it yet. It’s still months away. I know she wants to tour Europe this summer.” He turns to me. “I would like to go with her for that,” he says it as a statement to Edmund but a question to me.
I feel so warm inside, knowing he wants to share the experience with me. I haven’t even thought that far. I’ve always planned on it being me and Alex, maybe Kaitlyn but now I can’t imagine going without him.
I nod my head to him, letting him know I would love for him to come. I watch as his whole face lights up. His eyes have a twinkle in their near black pitted depth. I really love this being, I think to myself. Maybe we’ve never talked about where our relationship is going, or our futures together, because we’ve felt secure knowing we would stay together, move forward together.
Cole appears to be thinking the same thing I am as our eyes sweep over each other’s faces. We are secretly communicating sweet caresses that we can’t physically do in a crowded atmosphere. I start to become aware of Edmund still sitting across from us. So I finally break the spell and look away. Embarrassed.
I look quickly at Edmund from underneath my eyelashes before picking up my drink and studying it. Edmund looked pissed. It won’t be much longer before he breaks and spills the beans. He’s losing more and more of his composure every day.
*
Cole and I should have been relieved that Edmund did not try to cryptically interrogate us. When I asked Cole why he thought Edmund didn’t he answered, “I could see a plan formulating in his mind. He didn’t expect to share you.” I look at him questioningly. Thinking that sounds kind of gross. Cole shakes his head, knowing where my thoughts have turned. “We are selfish creatures by nature, Lexi, he’s your father. In his mind he owns you, you are his.”
“Then why did he send you?”
“I wasn’t supposed to be a love interest. I was supposed to be a neighbor and friend. A spy,” he says regretfully, staring out the car window silently for a few minutes before continuing. “Eventually, Edmund would have been introduced to you as he was and started to ingrain himself in your life, which he has. But this, as you know,” he holds up our entwined hands that are resting between us on the center console of his car, “was not his plan.” He grins at me but there is unease in his eyes.
“But I don’t understand why he wasn’t the neighbor? Why he wasn’t the friend?” I try to make my point.
“Are you upset to have met me?” Cole teases. I roll my eyes and he chuckles. “You haven’t questioned why he hasn’t tried to establish a role in Alex’s life?”
“Oh, I see your point.” Edmund and Alex look too much like each other. Alex would catch on quick even if he denies it.
After several moments of more silence I ask, “When do you think he will tell me?”
“I don’t know. It could be days or years. It doesn’t look very promising. He’s already planning the next four years of your life.” He sounds sad as he mumbles the last part out.
We pull into his garage and I take my seatbelt off and crawl over to his lap before he can even turn the car off. I put my hands around the back of his neck and curl his hair with my fingers as I tell him, “He’ll have to include you in on the plan.” His beautiful dark eyes light up before he crushes his lips into mine.
I push the tab that makes his seat go back and we slowly sink down, resurfacing some time later.
Chapter 17
Edmund seems very happy with my decision to take him up on his offer of an inevitable scholarship in the weeks that follow the dinner. He has his ‘friends’ from the art world and Yale come to the classes to meet me and look at my drawings. I am embarrassed because they are just sketches. They have not seen any paintings but Edmund has assured me that I will take a higher level art class next semester. He’s going to use his influence with the college to make it happen. He wants me to start working on the history collection and has assigned me homework assignments based on the collection.
I don’t know how I feel about it. I’m excited to work on the project. It’s something I feel really passionate about but I don’t want to share it. Edmund tells me I’m being selfish by not to sharing my talent. He keeps trying to reassure me not to feel self-conscious about it that once the collection is done I will feel more confident in myself and I will know that I have made the right decision to enter into the art field. I can’t help feeling guilty, though, that my talent is because of my unnatural abilities and not from a real, ‘work-your-butt-off’, earned talent.
Alex and I have been practicing using our abilities. He’s more interested in seeing how far he can push me then what he can do. He’s had me demonstrate (I can’t really call it practice) martial arts and boxing and even other silly things like headstands, tightrope walking and ping pong. I
think he is having more fun with it than I am. I’m just happy to see a new side to him. He’s more open with me now that he doesn’t have his secret always on the forefront of his mind.
Ever since Homecoming night Ollie has acted differently to me. He isn’t as nice and welcoming as he once was to me or Alex, for that matter. He and Clara have been seeing each other pretty steady so that means I don’t see her too much anymore. He keeps making excuses every time Alex suggests doing something. He doesn’t come to the astronomy meetings and he turns his head when he sees me coming into the hall. However, there are many times when I feel someone watching me and when I turn look around Ollie is drilling a hole into my head. He appears to be studying me. In those moments he doesn’t look away, it’s like he’s testing me when I stare back, wanting me to do something.
And Cole… let’s just say that Cole and I have been a lot more active lately. I am so thrilled that we actually discussed a future trip together. Well, him coming with me on the trip and college. I didn’t feel the need to talk about a future anything with him but now that we have I can’t believe the amount of security I feel with him, knowing that we plan on being together in a year, four years! There is a sense of relief I didn’t know I needed or wanted. Cole is so excited over what Alex can do and wants to see our practices but I don’t want Alex to be a part of that world yet. I still haven’t gotten the missing pieces from Edmund.
“What do you want to do for our birthday?” Alex asked me while he, Cole and I get done releasing some musical energy. I’ve drifted away from my piano lately, not having time beyond Mrs. Senett’s class.
I look at Alex and then Cole who is looking at me expectantly. “I haven’t even thought about it,” I ponder. “We have to do something big, I mean, it’s our eighteenth birthday. We’ll be adults,” I say it like the coming of doom.
“Party?” Alex raises his eyebrows at me.
“I don’t know. We have parties all the time,” I answer him. Alex doesn’t seem too interested in a party either. His face looks relieved.
Lunangelique (The Lunangelique Series) Page 17