Brothers of the Flame (An Ariel Kimber Novel Book 1)

by Mary Martel

  “I can explain,” I told them without bothering to turn around and look at them. I really couldn’t explain this to them.

  “Can I walk you to your next class?” Chucky asked with his smile still in place.

  I frowned at him. “No.”

  “Okay,” he shrugged the rejection off. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

  Then he turned and walked off like a normal person, like the last fifteen minutes hadn’t taken place, like he hadn’t just been on his knees before me.

  “What just happened?” I asked in shock.

  “That’s what I want to know.” Addison ran his fingertips down my arm until he met my hand where he tangled our fingers together.

  I squeezed his hand in gratitude, thankful for the comfort. Abel moved up to my other side.

  “He was out here waiting for me when I got out of the bathroom…” I told them everything that happened after I left the bathroom as they walked me to my next class. They listened in silence as we walked. I finished talking when we met Tyson outside of my next class. He gave us a curious look that demanded answers.

  “I think Quinton did something to Chucky,” Addison said in a quiet voice.

  My eyes widened in shock as I looked around the hallway to see if anyone was listening to our conversation.

  Tyson laughed. “You mean besides puking up blood all over himself and his friends and ending up in the hospital?”

  I couldn’t believe he thought that was funny. I didn’t find anything amusing in the least, not about this.

  The twins repeated what I’d told them on our way over here. He stopped laughing. I felt better when he stopped laughing.

  “Shit,” Tyson growled. “What did that asshole do to him now?”

  My mouth dropped open in shock. “You can’t be serious?” I said. “After what Quinton’s already done to Chucky, you think he’d do more to him?” I shook my head. “But this wasn’t bad like before. He wasn’t hurt or anything, just acting weird.”

  “By weird you mean do anything and everything you tell him to?” Tyson glared at the floor. “This could either be a really good thing or a really bad thing.”

  This could either be a really good thing or a really bad thing… Wasn’t that the story of my life.

  Tyson went to class shortly after with a look on his face that had people scampering to get out of his way.

  The twins weren’t so easy to get rid of.

  “Are you sure you don’t want someone to come with you?” Addison asked for the third time.

  He was concerned and I really couldn’t blame him. Finding out Quinton had taken the liberty to mess with Chucky on my behalf for a second time had really unnerved me. The twins had no idea if it would wear off with time or not, and I hadn’t even bothered with asking Tyson if he knew. They had wanted to call Tyson the moment I said I was going home but I had put my foot down and insisted it wasn’t anyone’s business but my own and it wouldn’t really make a difference if Tyson knew or not, I was going. They had finally relented even though I could tell they really hadn’t wanted to. I imagined as soon as I had my back turned one or both would have their phones out, furiously texting. First, they’d text the others and tell them how insane Quinton was. Then, they’d text Tyson and tell on me for going home.

  I sighed in frustration, praying to what ever god out there who’d listen for patience.

  No one answered my prayer.

  Figured.

  Maybe I should have tried counting to twenty in my head?

  Nah. That wouldn’t have worked either.

  They were driving me crazy. Unless I was in the bathroom I’d had zero time to myself since Thursday afternoon. Today was Monday and I needed time away from them to process things without one of them there to hold my hand and mess with my head with their nearness.

  This latest stunt of Quinton’s was simply too much and I needed some time away from them, all of them or they’d likely drive me crazy.

  “Addison,” I said, my voice straining as I strived for patience. “I’m tired and I need to be alone right now, so I’m going home. If the school calls because I’m skipping it won’t matter because there’s no one there to answer the phone. If my mother finds out I skipped and gets mad, which she won’t do because she’s never cared before, I’ll just tell her someone else got sick. She specifically told me she didn’t want me here if there was a chance of me getting sick. It’s fine.”

  I felt a headache coming on. It seemed like an every day occurrence at this point.

  Addison pursed his lips and glared at me. “At least let one of us drive you home.”

  I sighed. Again. How overbearing and utterly ridiculous.

  Abel put his big hand on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s only a few hours,” he told his twin. “We’ll check on her when we get home.”

  I fought the urge to sigh again and thankfully I won.

  “Fine,” Addison snapped angrily as he shrugged off Abel’s hand. He glared at me and ordered, “If you need anything you call. And for fuck’s sake, stay away from Quint. You two shouldn’t be alone right now.”

  With that he turned and stormed off.

  Abel watched his brother walk away from us with a haunted look in his eyes. I didn’t like it and hoped I wasn’t the reason behind it being there in the first place.

  I reached out and tentatively touched his arm. He flinched away from me and I quickly dropped my arm.

  Ouch.

  He must have read the hurt on my face and not liked it because I was immediately in his arms with the side of my face pressed into his chest. He held me tight in his arms. His head tipped down, his lips brushed my ear, and whispered, “He’s been more intense ever since mom and dad died. That wound is still fresh. Ty and the guys are all the family we’ve got left and Addison’s holding on tight to them. Now we have you and I think he’s afraid you’ll disappear on us when we’re not looking. I’m sorry, pretty girl, but he’s going to be over the top where you’re concerned for a while. He’s not going to be able to help himself.”

  I wanted to ask about his parents and how they died but didn’t think the timing was right or it wasn’t really my place to ask in the first place. There would be another time and I’d get my chance to ask, but not now.

  He kissed me on the forehead and let me go.

  “Be careful, okay?” he said. “He’ll go apeshit if something happens to you. And I think Quint would kill us all. He’s got it bad for you and there’s really no telling what he’ll do next. The guy is crazy when it comes to the rest of us. With you though,” he shrugged casually and grinned big at me, “he’s totally batshit.”

  Lovely.

  “I’m leaving now before you freak me out anymore.”

  “Best you know what you’re getting yourself into ahead of time. I’m simply trying to help you out here.”

  I thought it was a little late for the warning but didn’t say so. He was teasing me and I knew it. That still didn’t mean everything he said wasn’t scarily true. I feared it was.

  The last bell rang, signaling he was late for class.

  “Go,” I ordered. “You’re late, don’t get into more trouble by being any later than you already are.”

  “You’re one to talk, you’re skipping.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “Go to class, Abel,” I bossed. “Before Addison comes back and I’m stuck with the both of you.”

  I did not want Addison to come back because I feared if he did then I’d never get rid of him. I’d probably end up stuck with the both of them coming home with me.

  He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine.” He said.

  Without warning, he moved super fast. He leaned in and brushed my lips with his in a gentle kiss. It lasted all of two seconds then he was gone. But it felt like longer.

  I stood there watching him walk away from me with my fingertips pressed to my burning lips.

  I didn’t head towards the parking lot until he’d walked out of sight.
>
  My lips burned the whole drive home. Such a simple kiss but so very sweet and unexpected.

  My life was out of control and I kind of liked it.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The house was silent save for the annoyingly persistent beeping of the alarm. I quickly punched in the code that re-armed it and all was finally blessedly quiet.

  I hadn’t realized just how much I had needed some peace and quiet to myself until that moment. I was so used to being on my own most of the time that having spent so much time with the others had exhausted me as well as overwhelmed me.

  I’d always been a loner by choice and wasn’t used to spending so much time with others. I liked my own company. And, besides, how would I explain my mother’s behavior if I had had friends and invited them over. I shuddered at the thought. She’d met the twins once and had molested one of them. That was embarrassing enough, I didn’t even want to think about people being around when she got mean or was having sex with whoever she was sleeping with at the time.

  I thought about the last conversation I’d had with her on the phone and was glad she was gone. If she never came back I didn’t think I would mind. It made me a horrible daughter to think it, but it was the truth. All my life I’d been hiding the things she’d done to me. I’d been lying for her to cover up her horrid actions. I didn’t know why I covered for her but a small part of me felt like I did it because I thought things could always be worse. The devil you know is always a safer bet than the one you don’t know. At least with my mother I knew what to expect.

  I had no idea when my mother and Mr. Cole were coming home. It had been days and there was no improvement in Mr. Cole’s brother’s health. He’d been in a coma since the accident and Mr. Cole along with the rest of the family were beginning to lose hope. So much so Mr. Cole’s children had flown in just the day before to lend moral support to their father and be close to their beloved Uncle in his time of need. I felt horrible, but there was nothing I could do for Mr. Cole or his brother. I was happy he had people with him who genuinely loved him and would take good care of him. Lord knew my mother wouldn’t.

  I picked my bag up from the floor where I’d set it when I had punched in the code to the alarm. I walked through the semi dark kitchen, the only light in the room being natural light coming through the windows. I passed through the kitchen, walked the hallway and made my way up the stairs.

  This time being in the house all by myself didn’t bother me. Then again, nothing was creaking and it was bright and sunny outside.

  I made it to my room and didn’t bother with shutting or locking the door like I normally would because I was all alone in the house and psycho killers weren’t supposed to hit your house up until after dark, or so the movies always showed.

  I stood in the middle of my bedroom and stared at my unmade bed. Leaving the bed unmade wasn’t like me. Keeping my limited number of belongings in good condition and looking nice was important to me. My bed had been messy since Thursday morning when I’d unceremoniously dumped my pretty comforter in a heap on top of my tangled sheets. This was not my norm. I took care of all my things because I never knew when I’d get new ones. Ever since I’d been given new bed clothes after we moved here I’d taken pride in making my bed every day because I never took any gift for granted, even something as simple as blankets and sheets. My room looked sloppy, but still barren. My bed looked unappealing and I wasn’t about to crawl into the tangled mess of sheets and blankets. In that moment, I realized I wasn’t physically tired but emotionally and mentally tired. How to heal those things? I wasn’t into meditation. I was into soaking in a bathtub full of hot water and bubbles though. I was a firm believer that bathtubs much like hot tubs held extreme magical rejuvenating abilities and I had a larger than normal bathtub in my bathroom. A soak in the tub might be just what the doctor ordered to sooth the emotional train wreck that was now my life.

  As I made my way to the bathroom I stripped off my clothes as I went. I stepped out of my flip flops, pulled my t-shirt up over my head and let it fall to the floor, unhooked my bra and let it slide down my arms. My leggings went next and I had to hop around awkwardly from foot to foot to get them off my legs and cleared of my feet. I started the bathtub up in nothing but my underwear and didn’t take them off until the tub was half way full and I slipped into the water.

  The top layer was made of fluffy, white bubbles that reminded me of clouds. I sunk down past the clouds and into the water. It was so very hot it burned. I loved it. My body immediately relaxed into the water. This was exactly what I had needed. Happy, I laid my head back and closed my eyes.

  I felt my troubles simply melt away. Quinton kept doing terrible things to people with magic in my name. Not my problem. It’s not like I was doing these things to people. What did I care? Most of the guys expected me to date them. Admittedly, this was weird, but it’s not like they could force me. If I didn’t want to date any of them I simply wouldn’t do it and they’d still keep me around no matter what. Problem solved. I had magic which made me special. I was no longer a normal girl and had never really been one in the first place. And nobody could take that away from me. It’d be mine until the day I died.

  And that, that right there, made all my problems seem a lot less important to me. Who cared about Chuck, I had magic. Granted, I didn’t exactly know how to use it yet, but I had it to use for when I did figure it out.

  With my eyes closed and a mind full of magic and all its possibilities I missed it when she came in. I had no idea how long she’d been standing there.

  I opened my eyes and screamed. My mother’s face hovered less than a foot above mine. I hadn’t heard her come into the bathroom or even my bedroom. I had thought I was alone in the house. This would teach me to not lock my bedroom door.

  My heart tried to beat out of my chest. Why was she here? Why hadn’t she told me she was coming home? How long had she been watching me? I shivered as I realized the bubbles had all dissolved, leaving my naked body on display. A body her eyes were running over with a cruel sneer on her beautiful face. Her eyes, so much like my own, were filled with a burning hot rage.

  “Wha-”

  She didn’t let me finish. Her hand appeared and she slapped me across the face. My right cheek stung from the force of the blow. Even kneeling over me she’d still put her weight into it. I wanted to lift my hand to press my palm to my wounded cheek but did not out of fear of drawing more attention to my nude body.

  She grabbed a fist full of my hair and yanked my head to the side.

  Leaning in closer to my face, she snarled, “You little bitch. Were you hoping I was Marcus? Are you the reason he sent me home? You and your tight, teenage body?”

  The fist wrapped around my hair tightened and she shook my head uncontrollably. The back of my head bounced off the bathtub. For a moment, my vision blurred and pain shot through my entire head.

  “Answer me,” she screamed in my face.

  The look in her eyes was the single most frightening thing I had ever seen in my whole life. Those eyes that had been filled to the brim with a rage so fierce it burned bright for all to see just moments ago now looked dead, vacant. The lights were on but no one was home. She’d never had dead eyes before, there had always been something going on, something visible in her eyes to be seen. She was smart, manipulative, cruel and a whole lot of insane. But never vacant and empty, dead in the eyes. Seeing it now, for the first time ever, it scared the shit out of me.

  She was crazy, yes, absolutely, but checking out entirely during one of her insane acts of violence on my person was an entirely new level of crazy.

  I feared for my life, my face throbbed and my poor head could take no more pain, it simply could not.

  I had to stop her, or at least try to stop her. The problem was I’d never fought back before. I’d run away from her plenty. I’d even curled up into a little ball and wrapped my arms around my head while I prayed whatever damage she inflicted didn’t hurt too badly and
wasn’t lasting. But fight back against her? Never.

  I didn’t know how and I wasn’t even sure I had it in me. Even when she hurt me I wasn’t sure I had it in me to strike back at her. Or anyone for that matter.

  “Answer me right this second,” she screamed in my face again. Spittle flew out of her mouth to land on my injured cheek.

  I blinked my eyes at her and realized I’d lost time to spacing out. I think my head injury had to be worse than I’d originally thought.

  I whimpered in agony as she pulled my head up by my hair again, dragging me closer to her face.

  “Ariel,” she screamed my name an inch from my face.

  I blinked again, slowly. This time opening my eyes in time to see her open hand rushing towards my face. She slapped me, over and over. She hit my cheek, my eye, my nose, my mouth, my ear. After the first one, I raised my arms to ward her off but it did me no good. She released my hair to claw at my arms and hands. She didn’t mess around and she had sharp nails. I bled every time she touched me. My hands, my arms, my nose, my bottom lip. They all bled thanks to her. I begged and pleaded for her to stop but she refused. I cried. I screamed. I even tried to shove her away from me. I asked for help from someone, anyone, and as soon as I did the water began to boil around me. It bubbled and gurgled loudly. It also burned, but oddly, did not hurt me. My mother paused, her hand in midair, ready to rain down another blow to my face.

  “What are you doing?” She screeched as her eyes bulged at the sight of the boiling water.

  What was I doing? Other than trying to live through this horrible moment in my life I had no clue.

  “What… What’s wrong with you?” She screeched. She let my hair go and sat back on her heels. “What’s happening to the water?”

  Wetness slid down my cheeks, blood mixed with my tears. My entire face felt as though it was on fire.

  I sat up and tried to scoot to the other side of the bathtub. I tried to get as far away from her as possible in the limited space.

  I didn’t make it far. She latched onto my hair with both hands and yanked. I flew backwards as the water shot up all around me. My body slid easily through the water as my hands went to the top of my head and I tried to pry her hands out of my hair.