Acqua

by Lainy Lane

  Great, they had seen how we’d somehow ended up sleeping. This discussion was going to be even harder than I thought.

  “What were you doing, spying?” I decided to try and point the finger back at her instead of coming up with a response to the actual question.

  “Yeah, because I’m the one that’s making stupid decisions around here!” Ember rolled her eyes. “What is going on?” Her body was fidgeting as she spoke and she stood up, seemingly unable to keep still.

  Ethereal sat speechless and unmoving next to her. Her eyes naturally followed the conversation back and forth between us. Phoenix had moved somewhat behind me, but our hands were still grazing every few seconds somehow. Ember and I stood across from each other, the couch acting as our divider. We seemed to be in a challenging stand off against each other.

  “Nothing is going on!” It wasn’t a complete lie, at least, I told myself it wasn’t.

  I honestly didn’t know what was going on. Neither of us did. We both remembered falling asleep separately and had no recollection of moving during the night. We were as taken aback by the situation as they were. Deep down I knew something had to be going on, but since I didn’t know what it was, I refused to consider my statement a lie.

  “Nothing? Letting a vampire drink from you and then sleeping together is nothing, Acqua?” Ember’s voice crackled as her temper kindled.

  “Look, I know what it looked like, but nothing happened!” I was offended by the suggestion for some reason.

  “Whatever!” Ethereal finally broke her silence in the confrontation. We all looked at her in shock. “I heard you guys in my room! Don’t tell me nothing happened, Acqua!”

  My jaw dropped and Phoenix came forward to stand next to me. “You heard what?” I separated each word as I asked the question.

  “Heard you guys screwing around half the day! We both did!” Ethereal looked over to Ember, who nodded in agreement.

  Phoenix and I stared at each other in shock, both of our jaws dangled as low as they could. I heard, and felt, my heart hammering in my chest as the room grew quiet. Despite the thick tension surrounding us, all that seemed to matter at the moment was the stare off we were having. We hadn’t done anything, had we? Could we have done something and not remembered it?

  “Oh shit!” Phoenix finally pierced the silence without breaking the staring contest.

  “What?” Ember spat out.

  “We’ve bonded,” he spoke the words as if we were supposed to know already what they meant.

  “Bonded—how?” I asked, still refusing to look away from him.

  “Through our blood.” He broke our gaze and began pacing around the room. “A blood bond. It’s rare, but it’s the only thing that would explain it. I’ve never heard of it happening between a vampire and a witch. Usually, it’s only with a human, but—” He left the rest of his explanation hanging in the distance between us; the gap that somehow had me feeling physically sick.

  “But what?” I pressed for more.

  “I think we should finish this conversation alone.” He nodded his head toward Ember and Ethereal, who were watching the event unfold in front of them, neither looking any less pissed than when the conversation first began.

  “Yeah, not happening!” Ember cut in. “Continue, Phoenix. But what?”

  “But nothing! Somehow we managed to form a blood bond, ok?” He lifted an arm up to the back of his neck and started to massage it lightly as if he had tension built up in it. My body wanted to go over and help him and I felt a pain trail through me as I refused it the ability to do so.

  “You said they’re rare,” my thoughts started to come together somewhat, “what makes them rare? What’s the factor that causes it?”

  He wouldn’t look at me. He lowered his head down to the ground and continued to poke various places on his neck and shoulders.

  “What’s the factor?” I was getting irritated at the lack of answers he suddenly wanted to give.

  “Attraction,” he mumbled without lifting his head.

  “So, what? You had the hots for me so now this happened?” My hands made their way to my hips and I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. Standing still wasn’t working well due to my body craving to be closer to his.

  “No!” He finally looked up and there was a look of pain on his face. “We both have to have the attraction to each other for a blood bond to form, so don’t pretend you had nothing to do with this!”

  I had hurt his feelings and I wanted to apologize. I wanted to make it right, and be sure we were okay. None of which sounded like me at all. I wasn’t one to care about anyone. Had I felt an attraction to him before? Of course I must have. If not, the make-out session that led to the bite wouldn’t have occurred at all and we wouldn’t have been in the current predicament at all.

  “Fine,” I decided to change the subject instead of admitting to anything. “How do we break it?”

  His face paled out even more at my words, his eyes turned dark, and his shoulders slouched over. “You can’t, not unless one of us dies!”

  “I volunteer the vampire!” Ember spoke up again.

  “Shut up!” Phoenix and I replied in unison.

  “So, what does this mean exactly?” I asked.

  “It means we’re connected.” He held my gaze as he spoke. “It means that we will, in a sense, need each other. We will know where the other is at all times if we choose to use the bond to find each other. It means that we are together, more or less.”

  I sighed. “If an attraction is all it takes to cause this then why is it so rare?”

  “Because,” he finally split the gaze between us and looked back at the ground. “Most of the time a vampire ends up killing whoever they're feeding on. So even if there is an attraction, any bond disappears with the life of the victim.”

  “And why didn’t you?” The question slipped out involuntarily and I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.

  “I don’t know. I suppose I didn’t want to kill you.” His face informed me that there was much more to the explanation that he wasn’t giving.

  “How romantic,” Ember scoffed.

  “Geez Ember, would you just freaking chill?” I yelled louder than I had intended. “I know this isn’t exactly ideal, but it’s where we are so we’re going to have to find a way to deal with it!”

  I wasn’t overly concerned with hurting Ember or Ethereal’s feelings. We were three girls living under one roof. This fight was nothing compared to most of the ones that we had. We were sisters, a small coven of our own invention. That meant that, no matter what arguments we got into or how many times we threatened to rip each other’s heads off, we always ended up forgiving and forgetting. My concern was the fact that there was pain written on Phoenix’s face and I was the one that put it there. I needed to make it go away somehow. I finally couldn’t stand the distance any longer and I walked over to him. I pulled his face up to meet mine, but his eyes wandered away from mine.

  “Why don’t you girls go out and see if you can’t scrounge up some more answers?” I didn’t look at them as I spoke, I couldn’t because that would have meant looking away from Phoenix. In my peripheral, I saw them both stand and head out in response.

  I walked over to the coffee table and grabbed my cigarettes off of the edge and lit one up. The burn that usually soothed me did nothing for me at the moment. There weren’t enough cigarettes in the world to calm the nerves that coursed through me. I wanted to sit, but I couldn’t make myself do so. I was too far away from him again and I felt a gravitational pull to return to him. I groaned as I took in another puff of smoke and fought the temptation to go to him.

  “Is it really that bad being with me?” He tried to make it seem sarcastic, but he couldn’t hide the hurt on his face.

  “You just don’t get it!” I stood and started to pace, puffing my cigarette frantically as I moved. “I’m not supposed to connect with anyone! It’s not who I am!”

  “What about Ember and Ethereal? You
seem pretty connected to them.”

  “They’re different!” I scolded him not entirely on purpose.

  “How so?” His frustration was lessening and I could feel the tension in the room beginning to melt away.

  “Because they’re the reason I’m even still alive at all!” The tears began to threaten to force through and I fought them back with all of my might. “They’re the only ones allowed in, though! I’m a closed and locked up book, that’s the way I like it! Now you come in with your—blood bond and nothing is right anymore!”

  “The blood bond isn’t what let me in, Acqua, you are.” He stood directly in front of me which prevented me from continuing my pacing. The absence of movement caused me to begin fidgeting. My eyes twitched as I found myself unable to look away from him.

  “Excuse me?” I was shocked at his audacity to pretend he knew anything about my situation.

  He lifted his hand to my cheek and smiled, suddenly I felt lighter and I didn’t want to. “You wouldn’t have kissed me if you hadn’t already started to let me in. You wouldn’t have let me bite you in the first place if you hadn’t already opened up. You can lie to yourself all you want to. But I know in order for the bond to form, I had to mean something to you already. So don’t for a second try to blame all of this on the bond.”

  The tears started to flow over then and my cheeks reddened as they did. “I’m not capable of loving,” I mumbled as the stinging in my eyes grew unbearable.

  “No one is incapable of love, Acqua.” His eyes smiled at me as he spoke.

  “I’m messed up,” I said firmly, “like really messed up!”

  “That’s okay, messed up is never beyond repair completely.” He leaned into me after the words were out of his mouth.

  I knew what he was going to do and every part of me wanted to stop him like I would have with any other guy. My body seemed thoroughly incapable of stopping him. Whether I wanted to or not, I craved him, I yearned for him, and I wanted him to be a part of me. I swallowed down the instinct to fight against it and leaned into him as our lips met. We let the passion build slightly before opening our mouths and allowing the other inside. Our tongues wrestled together and our arms interlocked around each other’s waists. All at once I realized that screwed up or not, love was what I was doing. Despite the fear that resonated in me, I didn’t have the slightest idea of how I was supposed to stop…or if I even wanted to.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Everyone was slowly figuring out how to get along, the best that we knew how at least. It had been an awkward couple weeks of adjusting. Ember and Ethereal weren’t accustomed to seeing me interact with anyone other than them, so it was more than slightly odd for all of us. Phoenix and I were attached to say the very least. Our search for more answers on the blood bond had all come up as flops. The only place Phoenix knew to go for reliable answers was his clan, who would likely kill all of us for having formed a bond between a witch and a vampire. However, his clan was looking for him, and chances were, it wouldn’t be much longer before they figured out where we were.

  We had concluded that getting away, at least until we figured out for sure how to handle the situation, was our best bet. None of us really wanted to do it, but we had all accepted it was what had to happen. Ember and Ethereal were less than helpful in planning the move since they had been dragged into this situation without consent. Phoenix and I had offered to go without them and come back once we had a plan nailed down. Despite not being happy about the move, they refused to leave me no matter what.

  My plan of revenge now placed on the back burner for the time being had me moping around more than usual. I wasn't sure if Ember and Ethereal knew the real reason behind my mood, or if they had written it off as irritation regarding the move. Our plan was supposed to have taken place tonight if things hadn’t gone awry entirely. I laid in bed, tossing and turning, unable to make my mind shut off and go to sleep. Due to the Blue Moon occurring tonight, I was already feeling more energized than usual. My powers were coursing through my blood at a rate I’d never experienced before. I could feel it in my bones that my revenge spells would be successful tonight if we acted on them. The fact that the plan had derailed, due to circumstances I had caused, was driving me mad. The amount of confidence that flowed through me laughed at me, taking every chance to remind me I wasn’t going to be able to make use of the extra power.

  Phoenix stirred every time I did, but never actually woke up. I even tried moaning and groaning as I moved to wake him up. It was of no use. He was out cold. Finally, in complete frustration, I got up and went to the kitchen. Ember and Ethereal were sitting at the bar with the black tea set that resembled a cauldron sitting before them. Ember had found it shortly after we’d joined forces and thought it would be a perfect addition to our home. Ethereal and I never told her that just how trite it was. It made her happy, and we all loved tea, so we just let her have it.

  “Tea?” Ethereal chimed, her caramel voice sounding far too chipper for it being the middle of the day when I strolled into the room.

  “Sure,” my voice was groggy from the lack of sleep.

  “Yeah, we can’t sleep either,” Ember spoke without looking up from her teacup.

  “I know we could do it! Tonight, no matter what, we could make it happen!” The words were out before I had a chance to think about how to word them. I didn’t mean just to sputter it out. I had every intention of formulating it into a nicely thought out sales pitch before presenting it.

  Ethereal bit her lip as she poured tea into a new cup and I took the seat next to Ember. The tea was green and piping hot, steam billowed over the cup like a mass of shadows taunting me.

  Ember sighed, “We’re well aware of the possibilities of the night, Acqua. The things that we can’t do now, thanks to your little bonding!”

  So apparently, I hadn’t been completely forgiven, and I didn’t expect to ever be entirely in the clear for this screw-up.

  “Ember!” Ethereal scolded her as she took a sip of her tea. Her eyes peered over her cup, condemning Ember with a glance in a way only Ethereal was capable of. She set her cup back on the saucer and looked between the two of us before speaking again. “Yes Acqua, we could do it tonight. That’s why we’d planned for this night, with the Blue Moon on our side; there would be nothing that could stop us.”

  “So what is stopping us?” I asked hopefully.

  “I am!” Phoenix’s voice startled me even though I had somewhat sensed his presence before he spoke. He stumbled over to the bar rubbing his eyes as he did.

  “Tea?” Ethereal’s chipper voice cut through the moment.

  “Please,” Phoenix stood behind my stool and placed his hand on my shoulder. I shuddered at his touch. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the connection we had. The need I had for him was still somewhat of an annoyance and a reminder of all the things I swore I’d never do.

  “So, what plans have I screwed up for you exactly?” he asked.

  “Acqua’s revenge,” Ember spoke in between sips of tea. “The Blue Moon intensifies our magic, and as I’m sure you know, it doesn’t happen very often. We had planned to take advantage of it. But now we’ll be packing for our move to Goddess knows where instead!” She had no shame in making him feel guilty for what had happened. She still seemed convinced Phoenix had brainwashed me. It was the only way she could convince herself I would allow all of this to happen. No matter what I said, she wouldn’t believe anything otherwise.

  “Well, what’s stopping you?” he asked with the slightest tinge of offense in his voice.

  “Your stupid little bond!” she immediately replied without an ounce of sympathy.

  “Ember! Seriously, don’t make me take your tea away!” Ethereal eyed her carefully, her plump lips pursed, daring her to continue. Ethereal was the kind of person never to offend anyone unless of course, they had screwed her over. Luckily that had only happened once. She was smart enough to not hold onto the hate the way I did. At least not to the po
int where it affected her attitude on a daily basis like me.

  “So we put the move off a few days,” Phoenix chimed in, suddenly sounding a bit chipper himself. “I don’t see the harm in waiting another day or so. Do your thing tonight, and we’ll leave later. Honestly, a few days isn’t going to make a difference in them finding us.”

  I beamed over at him as my heart swelled at the possibility of being able to pull off our plan after all. I glanced over at Ember to gauge her reaction, but she was expressionless. Ethereal smiled her sweet pink lips at me, indicating she was on board.

  “How can you be sure they won’t find us if we wait?” Ember’s voice was cold, and her skin began to glow as her nerves rose.

  “It’s not like we have a very obvious place here. We haven’t gone anywhere since this all started. They have no leads. They have nothing to go off of; they’re nowhere close to figuring it out. I’m confident of that much.” He flashed a sarcastic smile at Ember.

  “Fine!” She gave in. “But first, we all need to get what little sleep we still can, the sun sets in just a few hours.” She gulped down the rest of her tea and slammed the cup down on the counter. She turned and went to her room without another word.

  Ethereal flashed a quick smile at Phoenix and me before heading to her room, her thick curly hair bouncing with each step, leaving her unfinished tea on the counter.

  “Thanks,” I muttered before I gulped down my tea and stood. “Ready to go back to bed?” I asked.

  “Yes!” he exclaimed as we walked off to our room together.

  ***

  Trying to sleep when you were anxious beyond description was a beyond impossible task. My mind was running ninety to nothing, and I couldn’t get it to shut off no matter how hard I tried. The fact that Phoenix was sleeping sound enough to snore next to me only made it even more frustrating that I was still tossing and turning. I finally gave in and accepted that sleep just wasn’t on my agenda for the day.

  I walked over to the dark couch on the other side of the room and plopped down on it as I worked to sort through the thoughts that swam through my head like piranhas on speed. The memories were flooding through and threatening to knock my sanity off of the grid entirely. The couple of times I’d seen my deadbeat father rushed into my mind, images that I’d blocked out completely for so long. The night I put my mother out of her misery and left. The multiple times she had hit me for whatever reason. My heart rate sped with every flashback that went through me. My nerves flashed with an energy that usually only occurred during an intense spell. Rage filled my entire body for a few moments. As soon as my body began to tremble from it all, Phoenix was next to me with his arm wrapped around my shoulder.