I’ll just have something really light, she thought strolling to the refrigerator.
Avoiding the temptations of the other shelves, she immediately pulled open the vegetable crisper and took out a head of lettuce, a tomato, and a cucumber. She grabbed a knife from the counter and got out the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and some herbs to make a light dressing.
She removed a large salad bowl and placed it next to the cutting board in the middle of the island countertop and began slicing up the vegetables. Halfway through the cucumber, the phone rang, startling her and causing the knife to slice into the top of her left thumb. She instinctually stuck it into her mouth and began to suck as she reached for the phone. Her mouth was flooded with the metallic taste that she had never really minded, letting her know the cut was fairly deep.
Before she could read the display to see who it was she heard Chloe whimpering over the baby monitor. Taking the phone with her she headed for the nursery still sucking her bleeding thumb and glanced down at the display. It was Dr. Kline’s office.
Her heart started to pound.
Oh God. Please.
She paused in the hallway, bending over and placing her hands against her knees still holding the phone that she was terrified to answer. It was well past office hours, a call at this time could only mean something bad.
No, maybe it’s just an automated call to confirm our appointment tomorrow. She tried to reason the panic away, but before she could fully convince herself she looked down and saw the drops of blood accumulating at her feet.
Chloe’s whimpers were rapidly evolving into a full blown cry and the phone continued to ring.
Alexa attempted to remain calm and made a detour into the bathroom on her way to the nursery. She would have to let the call go to voicemail. If it was an appointment confirmation she could listen to it once she got everything under control. If it was something worse, well, she didn’t really want to think about that right now.
She quickly rolled out a few sheets of toilet paper and wrapped them around her bleeding thumb, applying pressure to the rather deep cut with her index finger. The makeshift bandage would have to do until after she attended to Chloe.
The phone stopped ringing just as she entered Chloe’s bedroom. It was dark enough outside that the automatic nightlight had come on, though there was still enough natural light coming through the open blinds for her to see Chloe standing in the crib with her arms outstretched as she continued to wail.
Alexa scooped her up and swayed her back and forth, singing softly as they moved to the rocker.
She started to lift her shirt for Chloe to nurse and cursed under her breath. She forgot about the supplement. Hoping that Chloe was tired enough to simply nurse and go back down for the night, Alexa decided against taking the time to retrieve a bottle of Dr. Kline’s special elixir.
She sat back attempting to get Chloe latched on to her left breast, but Chloe seemed to find the makeshift bandage on her thumb far more fascinating and kept trying to pull on it and get it into her mouth.
Just as Alexa decided to just switch her to the right side, the phone started ringing again. Taking a breath, she looked down at the display. It was Dr. Kline’s office again and there was no voicemail from before.
The panic returned and started to overcome her, but she decided in that moment, no matter what it was, no matter how awful or hard, she would be strong for her sweet baby.
With that, she swallowed the large knot in her throat, hit the on button and said in her most calm and cheerful tone, “Hello, this is Alexa.”
“Alexa, hello, it’s Elijah.”
“Um, who?” She replied, slightly confused.
“Elijah, Dr. Kline. I’m calling about Chloe’s test results.”
She had forgotten that he asked her to call him by his first name. She should have realized immediately when there was no telepathic chatter coming over the line.
“Of course. Doctor, I’m sorry, Elijah, please tell me, how bad is it?” Before he could respond she continued. “It’s really bad isn’t it? I mean it’s late, your office has to have closed hours ago and you’re calling personally, so just spit it out!” So much for remaining calm.
“It’s all a matter of perspective, Alexa. In my opinion, it is miraculous considering her age.”
“I don’t understand. What does that mean? Is Chloe sick? Is she, oh God, is it something,” she paused almost afraid to ask it out loud, “ life threatening?” Alexa was on the edge of the chair, gripping Chloe tightly with her left hand as she waited for his reply. Her entire life hung on his next words.
“No, she is not sick, Alexa, not in the slightest.”
Alexa sighed as she let go of some of the tension she was feeling and leaned back.
“Oh thank God!” The relief and gratitude washed over her.
He just called to tell me the good news so I wouldn’t worry.
“Alexa, there is more. I must speak with you, in person, as soon as possible. Tonight if there is any way you can.”
“What, why can’t you tell me whatever it is now? Is something wrong or not.” She was practically yelling and started getting worked up again as she realized her feeling of relief had been premature.
“There were some, abnormalities, in your blood work. Alexa, please, I need you to trust me. There are some things that you need to see to understand, that is why we must speak in person. I know it is a lot to ask, but I need for you to have a little faith. I am only trying to do what is best for Chloe.”
The doctor’s choice of words renewed that nagging feeling of familiarity that she had felt in his office earlier.
Alexa looked down at Chloe, trying to make sense of everything. She had been so distracted by the phone call that she hadn’t noticed that Chloe was no longer nursing yet had remained completely quiet. As her mind started to process what she was seeing, she tried to pull her thumb, the one that she had cut deeply only minutes before, from Chloe’s mouth. As she pulled, Chloe’s hands gripped on more tightly, holding her thumb in her mouth with an unusual amount of strength while she continued to suckle. Completely horrified, Alexa felt a sharp pain and yanked harder, freeing her thumb from Chloe’s mouth and her hand from her tiny grip. The action caused Chloe to giggle, her mouth wide, revealing her bloodstained tongue and teeth. Alexa stood and placed Chloe on the floor. Taking another look at the mess of blood, her first thought was to get a towel to wipe the dark liquid from Chloe’s mouth before she swallowed it, and then she saw them. Two new and rather unusual teeth. Canines that were abnormally long and had not been there earlier in the day when Alexa had last seen the inside of Chloe’s mouth.
She simply stared as the phone slipped from her hand and clanged against the floor sliding under the crib.
Alexa remained frozen in place staring at Chloe, with blood, her blood, dripping down her little chin as she reached for her favorite Ernie doll. The faint sound of Dr. Kline’s voice finally pulled her focus away and Alexa scrambled down to her knees to retrieve the phone. Once she had it back in her hand she put it to her ear and remained on the floor, sitting with her back against the crib as she looked at Chloe who had stood up and was walking toward a tub of toys in the corner. As far as Alexa knew, Chloe had only just learned to crawl before their lives got turned upside down two weeks ago. Now she walked as if she’d been doing it for months.
“Alexa? Alexa, are you there? Is everything all right?”
By some miracle, Alexa found her voice through the shock and managed to sound somewhat normal. “Um, yes, yes, I’m still here, I, I just dropped the phone.”
“Can you meet me here then or should I come to you?”
“We’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
✧
Alexa hurried to the bathroom and quickly bandaged her injured thumb to stop the bleeding and cover the puncture marks left by Chloe. She then grabbed a towel, wet it a little in the sink and returned to the nursery to wipe the mess from Chloe’s face and then the floor.
Thank goodness for hardwood flooring that was easy to clean. As she removed the last remnants of blood, Tilly appeared and sensing Alexa’s anxiety walked over and leaned into her leg. Alexa rubbed the top of her head. “It’s okay, girl, everything’s okay,” she said more to reassure herself than anything else.
She scooped Chloe up, and as much as it pained her to admit about her own child, held her at a bit of a distance out of fear. She was so frazzled by everything, she forgot to grab the diaper bag before heading out the door to the garage.
As she loaded Chloe into the car, never taking her eyes off of her, Alexa ran through the possibilities in her mind. She lifted Chloe’s top lip to get another glimpse of her new teeth, feeling both curious and terrified. How would she explain this to Dr. Kline, or anyone for that matter? To her relief, and confusion, they had miraculously disappeared.
Okay, the most likely explanation was that she was having a nervous breakdown, had completely lost her mind, and had imagined the whole thing.
Maybe I’m schizophrenic, that comes on later in life, right? In your twenties. Or maybe I’m just hallucinating?” It really wasn’t hard to seriously consider that possibility. She had been hearing voices in her head for over a decade, perhaps she wasn’t a telepath, maybe she was just crazy.
Alexa closed the back door, took a breath and rushed around to hop in the driver’s seat. She looked back at Chloe who was strapped into her car seat and starting to doze of as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
The most comforting scenario was that this was all just an elaborate dream. Alexa had realistic dreams all the time. She was probably at home in bed the night before their appointment with Dr. Kline making this entire crazy occurrence up in her subconscious mind.
Of course that didn’t explain the throbbing pain that she was feeling in her arm where she continued to pinch herself. Nor did it account for the marks on her thumb.
In that moment, Alexa decided she would just have to figure it out somehow. No matter what was going on, Chloe was her child and she would do whatever it took to help and protect her. As afraid as she was for Chloe and herself, she knew she needed help, so she hit the button to open the garage door, took a deep breath, gripped the steering wheel and backed down the driveway to make her way to the only source of help that she could think of. Dr. Kline.
While part of her actually hoped that she was certifiably crazy, Alexa knew deep down it was all real. Just like she had known that night. She had spent months trying to convince herself it had been a dream, but she had always known the truth. Perhaps that was why she hadn’t completely fallen apart when her nine month old baby started drinking her blood. Or when she noticed the two new teeth that had popped up in minutes. Or the puncture marks on her thumb. Or when Chloe got up and walked as if she had been doing it for months.
Some part of her had always known, always expected something extraordinary from Chloe. Of course she had assumed it would just be the telepathy that she had already witnessed which Chloe inherited from her. She had spent so much time and energy focusing on trying to get over Ethan that she completely blocked out, or at least ignored, what she knew had happened that night. What she knew he was capable of. Just thinking of it made the spot on her neck throb and sent a little jolt between her thighs.
CHAPTER 6 - An Unexpected Gift
The morning after their trip to the zoo, Alexa watched with disgust as the trashy waitress strutted away after taking their order. She had practically offered herself up to Ethan for breakfast while Alexa considered kicking her in the throat. Like a true gentleman, Ethan simply ignored her advances and placed his order, keeping his attention completely focused on Alexa.
“I think you should move in with me.” Ethan said as he smiled broadly at Alexa across the table showing off his adorable dimples.
She started to choke on the drink of orange juice she had just taken as her eyes widened in surprise.
In a flash, Ethan was next to her patting her back as she regained her composure. His warm hands on her back certainly weren’t helping with that.
“Are you all right, Amor?”
“Well, um, that depends. Did you seriously just ask me to move in with you?” She lifted her wrist to check the time on her nonexistent watch before looking up at him. “Considering that we met, oh, I don’t know, about twelve hours ago, that would be beyond crazy. So the logical conclusion is that I imagined it and am suffering some kind of mental break.”
Ethan chuckled as he slid back into his seat. “Too fast? It’s just, I thought about you all night. I couldn’t stop thinking about you long enough to concentrate on anything else. It is incredibly distracting. I will never be able to get anything done, so I thought the best solution would be to have you with me as much as possible.”
Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a long black velvet box. “I have something for you.” He slid the box across the table, while Alexa just continued to stare down at it, completely shocked and uncertain what to expect.
When would he possibly have had time to get her a gift? Tentatively she picked it up and pried it open slowly, gasping at its contents.
“Oh my God, Ethan. I, I don’t understand, when did you do this? How did you find this? It’s so beautiful.”
Ethan stood and removed the platinum necklace from the box, moving to help Alexa put it on.
“So you like it?” He said smiling broadly as he brushed her hair to the side and dropped the delicate pendant, composed of two intricately carved dolphins, against her chest. They had white diamond eyes and were facing the center holding a ring from which dangled a rather large solitary blue diamond.
Alexa’s initial thought was that she couldn’t accept it. It was obviously real and must have cost a small fortune.
As if he had read her mind, after securing the clasp at the back of her neck and pressing a gentle kiss on the tender skin, he said softly into her ear, “Please do not say you cannot accept it. Since I am certain you have already decided to crush my heart and refuse my offer of cohabitation, for now,” that part in a tone implying it was inevitable, “then you must accept my gift to soothe my ego.”
“Ethan, it’s just so perfect, but it’s too much. I don’t deserve this.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders and with his mouth so close she could feel his warm breath on the sensitive skin behind her ear as he spoke. “Amor, you deserve everything. And that is precisely what I intend to give you. I only ask for one thing in return. A promise. You must promise to wear this always. You can adjust where you clasp the chain in the back to hide it beneath your clothes if you wish, but you must never take it off. Please promise me this.”
He then began kissing the back of her neck along the trail of the chain, sending little shivers down her back. That was so not fair. She would have promised anything with his lips touching her like that. A low moan escaped her throat followed by her whispered response. “I promise.”
With that, he pulled her out of the chair wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close and burying his face in thick waves of her hair that was still gathered to one side. “Thank you, Amor.”
If she was being honest, as absurd as it was, her refusal of his original proposal wasn’t completely heartfelt. In fact, she probably would have run off to city hall and promised to love, honor, and obey if he had requested it. After a moment, he took her hand and slid back into his chair, placing their joined fingertips on the tabletop, grinning triumphantly.
God he was beautiful. From his sexily tousled hair to his full sensual lips, he was perfect. And his eyes, so deep and soulful, Alexa felt at once lost and at home looking into their depths.
✧
Reluctantly, Alexa pulled her hand away from his grasp and ran her fingertips over the cool metal of the dolphin pendant on her skin, gently grasping the diamond for a moment before looking up. “When you called this morning you said we needed to talk and last night you said you want us to learn about each other b
efore we took the next step. I told you a lot about myself, but I know so little about you, so tell me. Tell me what I need to know about Ethan Kellar.” Once again, Alexa pushed with her mind, concentrating and seeking Ethan’s stream of consciousness. Again she hit a barrier, the same as the night before.
Ethan ran a hand through his hair as he sighed and leaned back in his seat. He wanted to be honest with her, about everything, yet he was so afraid of how she would react and what it would mean. His secrets were not his alone and there would be consequences of revealing them if she were to choose to reject him.
Sensing his conflict, Alexa placed her hand over his again in an attempt to comfort him. The contact sent a bolt of electricity up both of their arms. His eyes, which only moments before were filled with concern were now clouded with a passion that matched her own.
Pulling his hand back slightly to gather his thoughts, Ethan cleared his throat and said, “My life is very complicated. It is difficult to explain. There are things that could make our relationship, challenging.”
“What things? Your work, your family?”
“Yes, both of those things.”
Again being practical, Alexa decided to approach the issues head on.
“Okay, so first, tell me what it is that you do?”
“I work for my family, for my parents, managing the family foundation.” That explained the large donation to the zoo.
Right then, Alexa really wished she could hear Ethan’s thoughts. She could feel that he was being evasive, but still trusted him despite that fact.
“Wow, so you must be very close.”
Ethan clasped his hand in front of him and stared down at the table. “Actually, no, we do not speak often. In fact we had not spoken or seen each other in many years. I keep them updated on foundation business via email or through couriers that deliver documents and get signatures when necessary. It is very complicated. They have certain expectations of me that I have no desire to live up to, especially with regard to my romantic attachments, but I went to see my mother last night, after I left you.”
Choices of Fate (Fate Series) Page 6