Broken (The Immortal Coven Book 1)

by April Gutierrez

  “A coven…you mean a coven of witches.” I retorted, not fully knowing where I’d heard that before.

  Her features smoothed over, her usual calmness returning. “Precisely” she blurted out.

  “I think you’re all crazy!” I countered and began to cross the street.

  Without realizing my mistake, 2 cars squealed in a horrendous display of halting with a cloud of brake dust puffing in my face. Horns from both vehicles blared and I was standing in the middle of the street being yelled at by 2 very angry drivers. On the other side of the street stood the one face I hadn’t expected to see.

  “Jeez, Celia! The first day of school couldn’t have been bad enough to try and kill yourself!” Dmitri scolded in a loud shrill.

  “You too!” I yelled back at him, throwing my hands up in the air and finished crossing the street.

  A full minute passed in silence before I heard him apologize behind me. His voice halted my step and I turned around to face him.

  “What?” I asked, wanting to just get home and talk to my Aunt.

  “I saw you talking to Kyle, is all. I wasn’t sure if he was making a pass at you or being a friendly face.”

  I shook my head. Boys are always the same. Similar to dogs, it’s like they pee on a tree and expect that no other animal is going to come near it.

  “I don’t like him, if that is what you are worried about.” I suggested not knowing why justifying myself to Dmitri mattered.

  What did it matter anyway? If he was going to be that type of boy who pulled away every time things got good, I wasn’t planning on making a habit of putting myself out there for him.

  “Well, he is a good guy despite what you might have heard.”

  “I’ve heard more than I wanted to today.” I admitted, turning back around and wishing things hadn’t gotten weird earlier with Lisa.

  “I bet.” He laughed. The sound forcing me to glance at him. His features had softened again. He looked friendly, like the kid I ran into with the boxes, the day we met.

  “You know, you are really hard to read.” I confessed.

  “Yeah, I don’t mean to be. I just have a lot going on right now.”

  Something about him in that precise moment made me want to fix whatever it was that was troubling him.

  “Anything I can do to help?” I asked, but the words only made him stop walking all together.

  “You don’t even know me.”

  “No…but…” I tried to start, realizing I wasn’t making any sense.

  “You…don’t…even…know…me” he said again interrupting me.

  “So what, then I get to know you.” I shot back as quickly as I could. The sass in my voice and the conviction in my stance.

  We both stood there staring at each other. The wind picked up, and a chill erupted on my skin.

  “You should get home.”

  “You could take me; it’s not far from here.”

  Lisa, Anabel, and Cassidy were roughly 200 feet behind us. I looked in their direction and saw how Lisa stared at Dmitri and I talking.

  “What would your friends say?” Dmitri dared.

  “I met you first.” I countered, peering into his dark brown eyes.

  With his hand waving out ahead, “Lead the way then, madam moiselle.”

  We walked the remainder of the way in silence, occasionally looking at each other. The tension was high as we reached Aunt Olivia’s white picket fence.

  “Nice place.” He complimented.

  “She’s lived here for as long as I can remember.” I offered, knowing that we would play 20 questions eventually.

  “Is she home?” he asked, obviously hesitant to go inside.

  “She told me she would be but her car isn’t here. She is probably on her way I suppose. You can come inside though.”

  Unlocking and opening up the front door, there was a little excitement to invite a boy into an empty house for the first time. The house smelt like lavender, which meant Olivia had been home for most of the day. She usually burned lavender incense when she was home.

  I put my books on the dining room table and walked over to the sofa. He mimicked my direction and followed suit.

  Two thirty sunlight beamed through the living room window, the shadows towering over the area rug.

  “So you live with your Aunt then.” He started his attention to the room décor of 16th century France.

  “Yeah, my mom past away recently. My aunt was awarded custody of me until my 18th birthday.” I felt the sting, but the truth would never change.

  “I’m sorry about your mom. I’m sure it’s affected you.”

  “You don’t have to be sorry. It wasn’t your fault she died. We were in an accident, and she didn’t make it.” I found myself looking down and playing with a piece of thread unraveling from the blanket on the sofa.

  When I looked up, he was serious. His eyes had narrowed and it almost looked like he was about to say something.

  The phone rang, abruptly, interrupting the moment. I jumped and bolted to grab it from the kitchen counter.

  “Hello.” I half shouted into the phone.

  “What’s wrong?” Aunt Olivia asked in response to my tone.

  “Nothing, where are you? I thought you were going to be here when I got home from school?”

  “Something came up at the shop. I will be home in a while. School go okay today?” her voice softened and the concern sounded genuine.

  “It was weird. I will tell you when you get home.” No need to go into all the details over the phone. Especially when I wanted to see her facial response first hand.

  “Okay, be good.” she said as I hung up.

  Placing the phone back on the receiver, I became entirely aware of the figure standing in the kitchen archway.

  “So today was weird then?” He inquired, obviously having heard my end of the conversation.

  “It wasn’t what I expected, to say the least.

  “For example?”

  I pulled a chair from the dining room table for him to sit in and took the seat next to it. Crossing my legs in a criss-cross fashion.

  “Well, for starters, at Springstead, I hardly ever talked with anyone during class or to and from class. It was highly frowned upon to socialize during class. I can’t say I had very many friends, which is why the move hasn’t been detrimental.”

  “Surly, you had friends.” He countered.

  “No, not really. The only girl I would have considered a friend betrayed me with my last boyfriend just as summer began. I spent summer sporting a broken heart, or so that is what my mother called it.”

  “So you think that people being nice is unnatural?” he sounded confused.

  “Not the being nice part, the going out of their way to make me feel welcomed part.”

  “I’m sure you are over thinking it.” He urged.

  I agreed, “I figured it out though. Kyle made it clear to me.” I admitted.

  Dmitri’s head tilted, “And how did he do that?” he asked, his interest seemingly peeked but I could sense the skepticism.

  “He told me they are wanna-be witches and want me to join their little group.”

  He busted out in laughter, his arm holding his stomach. The idea more amusing to him than it was to me.

  “That is ridiculous.” He exclaimed.

  Mesmerized by the positive change in his demeanor, I sat frozen watching his reaction. I couldn’t laugh in response because of how my chest held tight a racing heart.

  The silent way I watched him caught his attention and his laughter faltered.

  “What?” he asked, now apprehensive, swiping at the laughter tears from the corner of his eyes.

  All I could do was shake my head at him. How does one admit at being captivated?

  Is it even possible to confess something like that without sounding like a fool? I wouldn’t ever dare. The idea of being embarrassed far too strong to ever give me the courage.

  “I’m sorry they weirded you out. I ca
n see the idea of such a thing is unfathomable.”

  I had to think about what he said before I could process it. Honestly, it wasn’t the idea of being a witch that set me back. It was the fact that they only wanted to become my friend to complete their silly circle.

  “The idea isn’t farfetched, I suppose. I mean, I’ve heard stories and what not. My mother had even given me some history about the belief.”

  “Is that so?” He whispered to himself.

  “To be honest, it was Kyle that really startled me,” I hesitated, “I mean, it was as if he was trying to influence me to dislike them, maybe even shun them.”

  “Not sure what that could have been about. Do you want me to talk to him, set him straight?” he offered, his hand stretched out towards me.

  My eyes affixed to his outstretched hand. “Don’t worry about it for now. It was my first day of school. Eventually he will give himself away and I will figure out what he meant by it all.”

  I reached out and put my hand next to his on the table.

  “Do you believe in witches, Dmitri?” I asked him, more for his opinion than anything else.

  He stared at me, my eyes, and then my mouth and stayed there as he replied, “Sometimes it makes sense to say that women could be witches…they tend to have some terribly secret power, this mysterious way to bewitch their opposing sex.”

  His eyes met mine and I could only imagine one way this would go. He leaned forward and my body reacted by following his lead. Slowly, inch by inch, his face neared mine. His hand rose, and his fingers tangled in the loose deep brown, almost ebony, locks of my hair.

  “I believe you are something powerful enough to derail a boys every choice if you wanted, Celia.” He whispered over my mouth.

  My heart beat harder and faster than it ever had, and more so when I thought I noticed his eyes flicker from dark brown to blue as he spoke. I didn’t have the chance to comment, or even react for that matter because the next thing I knew, his mouth was slowly inching closer to mine.

  At that precise cursed moment, the front door swung opened.

  Hands in the cookie jar are always covered in crumbs.

  Dmitri and I both turned our heads to the entrance and found Aunt Olivia staring directly at us, knowing full well what she had just walked in on.

  Could it be the stars still dancing around in my eyes?

  Dmitri covered my hand that had found its way to the top of the kitchen table.

  Olivia didn’t say a word at first. She closed the door behind her and dumped a few plastic bags on the front sofa before making her way towards the dining room. Towards us.

  Needing to make space, I stood up and went to get myself a glass of ice water.

  She reached the table and stopped next to Dmitri, “What are you doing here?” she asked him, her tone rather awkward, abrupt even.

  “Celia invited me. She had an interesting day at school today, I’m sure you’d be interested in going over that with her,” he said through grit teeth. I felt like I had missed something. It almost felt like they actually knew each other somehow.

  Aunt Olivia looked over at me, waiting for a greeting.

  “It wasn’t really interesting, but rather odd.” I paused, “Do you two know each other?” I asked, taking a quick sip from the glass of water I had just poured myself.

  She took a moment to gather her thoughts; I could see it clear as day. She looked from me, to Dmitri, then back to me. “I’ve seen him around. How was your day, odd?” she asked, promptly changing the subject.

  There was more, I could sense it. If there was one thing I’m good at, it’s smelling a baloney statement a mile away. Case in point: the Santa Claus lie only lasted till my 4th Christmas. The moment my mother started with the, ‘you better watch out’ nonsense – I knew she was lying.

  “Some girls who want me to be friends with them claim to be witches. How do you know Dmitri?” I asked her again, this time looking at him. The same flicker of baloney filled his eyes as well.

  Had I not just almost kissed this boy? And here he seems so different again.

  “You will have that, Celia.” Aunt Olivia interrupted. “The kids here are still trying to find out who they are and spend way too much time watching television.” She hesitated, throwing a sideways glace at Dmitri, “and as far as your little buddy here, I’ve seen him around lately. The question again is, ‘Why is he in my house?” she finished.

  My spine straightened at the sound of her authoritative tone. “He’s one of my classmates.”

  “A classmate you kiss then?’ she stated, the palm of her hand fixing itself on the crook of her hip.

  I sighed, “Whom I choose to kiss is none of your concern.”

  “The hell it isn’t. Until you’re 18, you are my responsibility. You will not be making bad choices under my watch young lady.”

  Once again, the ‘Young Lady’ title was shoved in my face. Don’t adults realize that speaking to the teenage youth takes an ounce of finesse?

  I nodded my head just once, followed by the roll of the eyes. The glass landed hard in the sink and I was done speaking for the time being.

  “Dmitri, you ready?” I asked him, prompting that we were leaving, and now.

  If there was anything I had learned in the past four weeks, it’s been that arguing with Aunt Olivia is absolutely pointless. She is bent on making sure I feel like I’m a child and understand that as a child I am restricted to limits.

  Luckily, she didn’t stop me from walking out the front door. Dmitri followed slowly, made a quiet comment to my Aunt and closed the front door behind him.

  “Maybe I should just go home. I don’t want to cause any problems between the two of you.” He suggested.

  I took in the site of him standing on the porch of our house. Just before, when he was about to kiss me, he’d said that I had the power to derail him from his every choice. Staring up at him this very moment had me questioning that.

  “Let’s go for a walk.” I suggested, testing his statement.

  “Why not, maybe the fresh air will get your mind off of what just happened?” he countered quickly. Walking past me and heading for the road.

  Funny how he would want me to forget the one exciting thing that has happened to me in the past few weeks. I’d never thought before to ask him where he lived, and as he was walking I suppose I just assumed he lived close by but then I recalled his car from the other day.

  “Car ride?” I asked, fishing for the information.

  He turned the moment he reached my gate, “Sure, why not. I only live a block or so away.”

  A walk, then a car ride. Sure, why not. It would also shine some light into his family life, something we hadn’t talked about.

  Taking the first few steps, my compliance forced a smile on his face.

  After about a minute or so of trekking up the sidewalk in silence, Dmitri gave me a sideways glance.

  It felt like he was taking his time, waiting for the right moment to bring something up. My reaction to this behavior has always been the same: “Spit it out.” The command followed by a giggle of my own.

  He chuckled, the softness returning to his features, and everything seemed normal again, “I’m sorry about earlier. I guess I lost my head.”

  Instinctively, I asked, “Are you referring to our ‘Almost’ kiss?” God knows I wouldn’t mind stopping the walk to pick that up where we left off. Not that I would ever admit it to him, however.

  Without looking over to me, “Yeah, that. We probably shouldn’t go that route.” He started, “I mean, look at your Aunt’s reaction to me. She obviously has some issues with you spending time with boys.”

  “She has issues with everything, Dmitri. Don’t take it personally.” My eyes dropped towards the path, the concrete under our every step seeming ancient. “She is just very over protective. It has to do with my mom’s death.”

  “Are you sure about that?” he asked abruptly, clearly regretting having said it. “I’m sorry. It’s
none of my business.”

  “I am curious why she reacted that way when she saw you. It was like she has something against you, but she doesn’t even know you.”

  “Like she said, she’s seen me around.” The way he repeated Olivia’s statement left me unnerved.

  “Here is me.” He interrupted my thinking, pointing to a two story house on the top of a perfectly manicured hill of lush green grass. It was gorgeous.

  “Wow!” was all I could muster.

  I followed behind him as we walked up the driveway. He stopped at his car but my sight was set on the house. By the looks of it, his family was well off.

  I’d never noticed the house before, and it could be because the trees at street level block the full extent of the concrete structure, but it was one of the biggest houses in Brooksville I’d ever seen.

  “No one is home.” He interrupted my thought.

  I looked over and realized he was waiting for me at his car.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Thanks.” was all he replied, basically waiting for me to come back to where he was.

  Fine. He didn’t want to show me his house. He didn’t have to say it for me to catch his drift.

  Shrugging my shoulders and heading his way, I realized our little adventure was going to be on his terms. As I reached the car door, he flashed me a smile that spoke volumes. We were spending time together…not sharing it with anyone else.

  “You ready?” he asked, his tone clear with concern.

  “Yes.” A three letter word I could find myself using with him a lot.

  We got into the car and within moments the Charger roared to life. It was then, I understood why he asked me if I was ready. The black leather interior superficially gripped my soul and did little to protect the underlying fear.

  “Take a breath, Celia.” Dmitri ordered.

  I shifted my face to him and saw clearly how worried he’d become. His forehead filled with several deep crease lines.

  Had I done that? Did I look so terrified sitting in the front seat of his unmoving vehicle?

  Closing my eyes tight, I released the air I had involuntarily been holding. Doing as he said was easier than I thought it would be.

  “We don’t have to go anywhere, you know. We can just sit here and talk.” His voice now thicker; masculine even. I had to look up at him to make sure he was being serious.