I vowed that I would never break her trust in me.
I swept the inside of her mouth with my tongue before catching her plump bottom lip with my teeth, and she moaned. I could feel her arousal building, as was my own, and I knew we were headed for dangerous territory.
We broke apart just in time. The sounds of Bonnie coming down the hallway toward Roz’s bedroom sent us into a momentary panic, as she lurched back onto the edge of the bed and tried to straighten her hair. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, eyes wide and hoping Bonnie would fail to notice our disheveled state.
We caught one another’s eye and began laughing hysterically.
“Hey,” Bonnie said, as she appeared at the open doorway. “You actually did leave the door open. I'm surprised.”
Roz smiled at her foster mother. “I wouldn't go against you, Bon. I'm smarter than that.”
Bonnie smirked at Roz and leaned her shoulder against the doorjamb. “Heard me saying that, did you?”
Roz nodded, chuckling. “We both did.”
Bonnie sighed. “Gotta look out for my kids, Gorgeous!” Then she looked at me and offered a genuine smile. “No offense.”
I nodded my thanks and returned the smile. “None taken.”
Bonnie looked around the room, nodding, and then put her attention back on me. “Will you be joining us for dinner?”
I looked questioningly to Roz. We hadn't discussed dinner, and I didn't know if it would be alright with the family if I stayed, or left before they ate. I didn't want to set them on edge even more than my presence already had.
Roz answered for me.
“Of course he's staying,” she said simply. “That would make me happy.”
Mitch, who I hadn’t noticed lurking behind Bonnie, suddenly popped up above her shoulder.
“Then you're staying for dinner, Evans!” He barked into the room. “If that's what makes my little girl happy, then that's what you'll do!”
“Absolutely!”I exclaimed, startled. Then I inwardly cringed at myself.
My voice just came out sounding like I was going through puberty.
Mitch nodded, pleased. “I'm grilling tonight and you'll help,” he said.
I nodded at him. “Of course. Whatever you say.”
“I do say. Meet me in the kitchen in fifteen minutes and we'll start the prep!”
With that, Mitch turned and left the doorway, and Bonnie looked at us with eyes sparkling in glee. She was obviously having far too much fun with our discomfort.
“See you in fifteen!” She threw Roz a wink, pushed the bedroom door open even further, and strolled back down the hallway, whistling.
Roz turned to look at me, horror and shock all over her face.
“I'm so sorry,” she breathed.
I raised a hand to stop her.
“Sweetheart, I love it. I was there before, remember?”
“Before? What do you mean?”
I reached across the empty space and grasped her hands. My thumbs traced circles along the soft flesh of her wrists, caressing the sensitive skin.
“I was there when you still lived with Jill and Derek,” I reminded her gently. “I saw how they treated you. I saw how you withered in their so-called care. I watched the light fade from your eyes after years of their violence.”
Her cheeks paled slightly as she understood, and nodded.
“For some reason, I forget you were there the whole time,” she said softly.
I gave her a tender kiss on the forehead, then rested my head on top of hers.
“Knowing you have a family who loves you so much that they would go to such lengths to make me feel uncomfortable, it makes my whole heart happy. They love you. So please, don't apologize for that love, sweetheart. You deserve it.”
She melted into me with a sigh as her cheeks turned pink, then raising her face to mine, she kissed me in earnest, once again.
***
This evening was going to be torture. Pure, exquisite, blissful torture.
Roz had claimed my mouth with a force I hadn't expected and then just like that, she said we had to go to the kitchen.
I sat in the chair in her room adjusting myself, wondering how I was going to survive the remainder of this night without showing her entire family how turned-on I was.
Every turn of her head, every breath from her lips, every lift of her eyebrows, they each beckoned me to lose myself within her. Parker’s body wanted her. My heart and soul wanted her. Every single part of me, the parts that were mine, and weren't, wanted nothing more than to be with her.
Intimately.
She raised her eyebrows at me, silently wondering why I didn't stand up from the chair. She was so innocent, she had no idea that I was in such splendid pain from her kisses.
I grimaced and stood up slowly from the chair, trying to be inconspicuous. I put my hand in my jeans pocket, rearranging a certain body part, as she turned around to walk out the door.
This evening was going to be torture. Pure, exquisite, blissful torture. But someday soon, I would make her mine in every sense of the word. I would marry her, we would spend the rest of our days as Mr. and Mrs. Parker Evans, and we would find the happiness with each other that we had been denied from our birth families. I could see that future as clearly as I could see Parker’s face in the mirror. Someday, we would have it all, my sweetheart and I.
This pain was going to be worth it.
***
Mitch was true to his word when he'd said I would help him prepare dinner. I was severely unskilled at cutting and dicing and chopping, but he had me using the small kitchen knife like a pro by the time the food was ready for the grill.
We all stepped out onto the back deck, our arms carrying trays of raw meat and fresh vegetables. The kids were playing with the dogs in the grass and Roz was setting the up a patio table.
I glanced at Roz for just a moment, but I had to stop my stride. I was stunned by her beauty. I watched as she smoothed the tablecloth out, and lit a candle which she placed at the center of the table. She smiled to herself as she gracefully set out plates and napkins. Her movements were careful and yet fluid. She was so unaware of what she was, of what she looked like, of how she could affect anyone.
Of how she affected me.
She took my breath away.
“You bringing that tray over here,” Mitch called out to me from where he stood lighting the grill on the opposite end of the deck, “Or are ya just gonna stand there and make googly eyes at my little girl all night?”
Roz abruptly turned and looked at me. My shoulders shook as I held in my laughter at having gotten caught.
“Busted,” Roz said, grinning.
I nodded my head, moving toward Mitch.
“It won't be the last time, I'm sure,” I said cheekily.
Her pretty blush spread across her face and I grinned, handing Mitch the tray of uncooked food as he scowled at me.
Chapter 32
~Roz~
With the re-emergence of Jimmy in my life, I soon found my days forming into a comfortable routine.
During school hours we avoided one another, which was painful but also necessary, thanks to Elizabeth Tate. That hussy constantly raised my ire, but Jimmy was ever faithful with his cold shoulder. She never took the hint. She never even seemed to mind when he shot down her advances. The more I observed her, the more I realized she truly was a mindless victim of The Dark. I couldn't help but feel a small amount of sympathy for the girl.
But I still hated her pretty guts.
After school, my time was spent working out with Mitch. I was sore all the time, but after a couple of weeks of rowing and punching, I realized I was getting stronger. Every few days, we would even wake up at some unholy hour to do a quick run before getting ready for school. My body slowly began to feel firmer and stronger. Leaner. I would never lose my curves, they were here to stay. But, with each workout, I knew the day would come when I was strong enough to handle myself in a tough situation, shoul
d such an occasion arise.
Since I was technically not allowed to go back to Mystical’s Mystics, it had been agreed that I would meet with Nicole, The Pastels, and Jimmy at the coffee shop on Drew’s off days. He had Tuesdays and Thursdays off, so after school I began to meet with my supernatural friends there. We would sit in a corner table with our delicious coffees and report anything that was new pertaining to our current situation.
Which was nothing. There was never anything new to report, from anyone. According to Jimmy, Prudence continued her sessions of torture with him. Most times, he was able to withstand the abuse but there had been a couple instances when he had had enough. When that happened, his own magic would flare up and give her just enough of a blast to knock her out. He'd place the forgetting spell over her each time so that she would never remember his counter-attack, and all would go back to normal.
Nicole had discovered, through various Google searches (of all places), various exercises for me to try, that would teach me how to control my astral projection abilities. Each night, I was to sketch the place I wanted to visit in my dreams. In the morning, or whenever I made it back to my bed, I was to draw where I had actually ended up.
Another exercise involved feeling the power of Astral projection within my body. I was to concentrate on what the power felt like as it wafted through me, so I could understand when it was coming. The thought was that, once I knew what my physical reaction to transporting myself felt like, I would be able to force my body to feel it again, bringing the power into myself. If I could accomplish that, then I could control where I went during my sleep, and when.
The problem with this idea was that I was always asleep whenever I projected myself. I didn't know what the power of it felt like, because as I emphasized to Nicole several times, I was always asleep.
She still encouraged me to try it.
I was also told to keep a journal of the places I had visited in the darkness of night, and when.
So far, I had five entries in my journal. Each one of them were the same:
Jimmy’s bedroom at the Evans house.
I'm not going to lie, every night as I fell asleep, I hoped I would end up in his bed instead of my own. Even with Prudence in his house and knowing what an imminent threat she was, I didn't care. I wanted to be with him, however, whenever, I could. It was that simple.
Whenever I projected myself into his room (don't ask me how I did), it was always much the same. He'd tuck me into bed beside him, cocoon his body around me, and play with my hair until I fell asleep. Going to sleep always meant returning to my bed, so I was never anxious for that, but he soothed me so completely with his presence and his love that I could never fight the fatigue once it'd hit. And every time I would drift off, safe in his arms, he would whisper, “I'm always here.”
It was in those quiet, stolen moments when I knew without a shred of doubt that there would never be another for me, but him.
We continued in that routine for several weeks. Eventually, Mitch and Bonnie accepted Jimmy into the fold, even joking around with him and making sure to invite him at least once a week for dinner. Which, of course, he always helped to prepare.
I kept my grades up and found a new passion once again for my art, much to the joy of my art teacher, Mr. Harken. He had suggested a few new techniques he wanted me to try, and I loved it so much that it sparked something within me again. I found myself using strokes and spirals and swirls to create portraits of the people I loved. But instead of the result being a straightforward portrait, the way I did them made them look like negatives from a strip of film. The effect was both abstract and ethereal, and I knew exactly what subject I wanted to paint with this technique. Jimmy.
I decided it would be a surprise for him. I wanted to do something to show I loved him no matter what his outer self looked like, and I knew this was it.
It was now the middle of October, and the air was crisp outside as I set up my easel on the back deck. I had the entire house to myself, as there was some PTA fundraiser thing going on at the elementary school. Although I didn't normally back out of school functions with my little brother and sister, this time I did. The desire to paint was far too strong.
I had just mixed the colors I wanted to use- a stunning aqua the color of Jimmy’s new eyes, and a deep, lush sable that had been the color of his old eyes- when a movement across the grass caught my attention.
Tobias. Our cat.
I smirked at him as his golden eyes flashed at me, his strut showing the world that he thought he was the most amazing creature in all the land.
I chuckled.
“You are so stuck-up,” I said to him. “I thought we were going to be friends, Tobias, but you're clearly too good for me.”
“Clearly,” the word sounded in my head.
I yelped and jumped back a step.
“Did you just-?”
“Talk to you in your mind?” The voice said. “Aren't you the clever one.”
I gasped and dropped my palette onto the workstation I'd set up for myself. Immediately, his voice reminded me of the night I had dreamed of him speaking to me. In my dream, Parker had gotten a hold of me, and Agnes was there too. Tobias had jumped onto me and sank his claws into my hand, in an effort to wake me up. It worked. I had woken up with the bloody claw marks to show for it.
“Am I dreaming again?” I asked cautiously. “Is that why I can hear you?”
His voice sounded just as British and snooty as I remembered.
“No, human. You're very much awake.”
I watched him as he approached the deck and walked slowly up the few steps. His black fur gleamed in the bright porch light.
“So, why are you talking to me?” I asked. “Oh my god, I'm going crazy aren't I?”
Tobias tilted his head and I swear the little jerk snickered.
“No more than you were to begin with.”
I lowered myself to a deck chair and stared at him.
“No need to be a jerk,” I said.
He raised a paw and groomed himself before giving me his attention once again.
“Do you remember what I told you the last time we spoke?”
“Not really,” I said cautiously. “I had been dreaming the last time this happened.”
“No,” he said firmly. “You understand what you are now. You should realize that your past dreams were not dreams at all. Even your little human brain can decipher that.”
“Are you talking about my astral-projection?” I asked.
“Of course. Certainly you understand by now that your dreams are real.”
I sighed. “Okay,” I said softly, “So the dream I had months and months ago, of you, and Parker, and Agnes, all of that actually happened?”
“It happened, yes, but not here. It happened in another place. If you think hard enough, perhaps you can remember what I told you.”
I tried to think back to that night so long ago, but the only thing I could truly remember was that Tobias had followed me to that place in my dream, and he had said something about being a guide.
“Oh,” I said as it dawned on me. “Is that what you want me to remember? That you're a guide or something?”
“Very good, child,” he replied as condescendingly as possible. “Yes, I'm a guide between the planes. I connect the living with the… not-so-living. The night we last spoke to one another, you had traveled to a dangerous place just behind the veil. I was there to make sure it wasn't a trap.”
“Wow,” I breathed, remembering the blood red sky of that night and the barren landscape I had traveled through. “So… behind the veil? As in, the veil?”
“Indeed.”
I nodded at him, feeling a shiver of fear. Behind the veil. It was the land of lost souls who were trapped between life and death. And according to Jimmy, it was full of terrifying creatures.
“So, why are you here now?” I asked.
He sighed as if he couldn't be bothered with the question.
“Isn't i
t obvious?” He asked. “I’m here now to make sure you don't get stuck once again.”
Confused, I asked, “What do you mean-?”
And then I saw it.
My backyard wasn't my backyard. The landscape had changed. Where the green grass had once been was now nothing but smoldering piles of ash and dust. The lush, full trees were now brittle, blackened twigs. The sky was crimson colored, spotted with clouds of a sickening green.
I lowered my gaze to the deck floor, only to find it had slipped away, vanished before my eyes. In its wake were bits of charred, wooden planks. My easel was gone. My workstation, disappeared. The chair I had been sitting on was now a boulder, grey and dead like the earth around me.
My stomach dropped as I jumped up.
“How did I get here?” I whispered.
“You projected yourself, of course.”
“You mean, I’m behind the veil… right now?” I didn't want to ask the question but it came out anyway.
“Yes.”
I wrapped my arms around my chest as my body was wracked with fright.
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “Tobias, you need to claw me so I can wake up.”
He squinted his eyes at me.
“Are you sure?” He asked. “It's not everyday a human such as yourself can appear here, even one with the astral gift. Are you sure you want to return to your home? Or would you like to see exactly what it was that brought you here?”
“I thought I brought myself here,” I said skeptically.
“Yes, that is true, but sometimes another will open the door for you and invite you in.”
I pondered his words. Who could possibly want me to be here, behind the veil? In this land of neither life nor death, who could possibly be here to “open a door?”
A movement to the right forced me to turn my head, and the sickening realization of who would bring me here struck me like a fist.
Parker Evans.
Chapter 33
~Roz~
My heart lurched into my throat as I made out the shadowy form of the real Parker Evans. It wasn't an apparition. It wasn't Jimmy trapped in his body.
Rage in Pain Roz: The R.I.P. Series Book 2 Page 17