Just after we took off Sebastian asked me back into his office so that he could have a word with me in private. I dreaded going because I didn’t know what else could happen - it was going to be hard to top that my family had been deceiving me my whole life and that I’m a descendant of immortals. I knocked then walked in after he has allowed me to.
“You wanted to see me?” I asked as I stood in front of him. He smiled and motioned for me to sit.
“I didn’t want or need anything my dear but I do know that you need to have time away from eyes and everyone else’s problems. I won’t speak unless spoken to so just rest your head. We have a long flight a head of us.” Sebastian said as he pulled the news paper towards his face, smiling behind it. He didn’t like to show much emotion it seemed like but I could see a hint of a smile across his face which helped me in a way. I settled into a chair and I remained there until it was time to land.
Once we were safely back on the soil I was used to, I couldn’t help but to let out a sigh of relief at just the thought of being at home even though I knew that my “home” wasn’t what I once thought it was. I didn’t know what was real anymore, was I even real?
“Hey.” Jaryn said, pulling me back into reality.
“Yeah?”
“Call if you need anything alright. I’m gonna miss ya.” His words put a smile on my face but it wasn’t a true smile and he could tell. He looked sad as he pulled me in for a warm hug, one I was glad to give. If I was going to miss anyone, it would be Jaryn.
Once he let go Sebastian said his own good-byes in his own way; a dry smile and a warm hug. Ashwin practically had to force herself to look up at me with tears in her eyes but not being able to say anything nor could I. I didn’t know what to say to the woman who helped give me life and I couldn’t help but to be overwhelmed with sadness at that thought.
“I…” I started to say but I couldn’t finish my thought and Ashwin didn’t seem to expect me to. She forced a smile through her rolling tears but I never saw so much sadness in one person’s face. A short hug then she was gone, back into the plane waiting to return to her home.
“Well then I guess we’ll be seein’ ya or not.” Blake said to me in a weak attempt to rude to me in front of everyone.
“Or not.” I said with a slight. I didn’t hug him although I wanted to do nothing but wrap my arms around him, pulling me closer to his body but I didn’t because I knew that I wouldn’t have wanted to stop with a simple hug. If this was good-bye then I would want a good-bye kiss. I wanted to touch his lips just once more because I wasn’t sure if I was going to ever see any of them again, or if I wanted to see any of them again. The look on Blake’s face told me that he wanted to do the same but wouldn’t hurt his brother like that and I didn’t want to hurt Reid also. He already saw Blake holding me after I ran out of The Keepers chambers and when he saw his brother holding me he had a puzzled look on his face; he wasn’t sure what to make of what he was seeing but rather than saying something while with the others so close he kept his mouth shut.
“I’ll be takin’ ya home then.” Reid said after his also his farewells. He didn’t touch me - he didn’t even look at me until we both got into the back of the car. He told the driver where to go then he was silent again. My mind was racing with thoughts but I couldn’t focus on one thing or another. In fact it was Reid that spoke first and I didn’t think that he would. “So are you…okay?” he asked me. I didn’t know how to respond at the moment, I wanted to scream and cry more but I didn’t want to make the already tense situation worse but then I thought that I had a right to blow off some steam after everything that I had just endured over the past three days.
“No I’m not! I’m not anywhere close to being okay! I get taken away from my world for days and then just when I think everything is done and over with something blows my whole world out of the water, the rug gets pulled out from underneath me and everything that I’ve ever known is different. I don’t know who I am because who ever I was doesn’t exist anymore. My entire family has lied to me my whole life - I’m not theirs. I’m adopted and I don’t even know where to begin on processing that! I mean my mom has always told me stories about when I was in her stomach; putting the headphones on her belly and letting me listen to classical music…she lied to me just like they all have. I’m lost and I don’t know what to do now…” My words trailed into tears.
Reid placed his hand on my shoulder but I couldn’t help but to pull away from him. I didn’t mean to hurt him by pushing him away but I didn’t want sympathy. All I wanted was the life that I knew back but that wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t say anything else until we stopped in front of my house. He started walking me up to the door but I stopped halfway, not wanting to go into a house to a family that wasn’t really mine.
“They’re still your family Nora. Just because they don’t share the same DNA with you doesn’t mean that they’re not family. They’re the ones who have always been there for you, taken care of you. They’re family Nora.”
His words made sense to me and I proceeded to the door knowing that he was right; they were my family no matter what but I also knew that there was a whole other family that I had - one that I didn’t know if I would ever see again just because it hurt so much. Finding out in that I was related to the Hollings was shocking enough being told by Cade but then to realize that I had been lied to my whole life about being a Langdon was something on a different level.
“Thank you Reid.’ I looked up seeing the house that didn’t have any lights on anywhere. Everyone was dead asleep.
“Of course.” Reid said. He then moved in for a kiss but I quickly dodge it.
“I…I really like you Reid but right now, after everything that’s happened I just kind of wanna be alone. I need to sort some things out on my own. I don’t want you out of my life but I don’t want to string you along either so for now I think we should just keep our distance and then after a while we can…”
“Be friends.” He said with a smile although it had a said undertone. I felt so bad for him yet I wasn’t going to miss him as much as I was going to miss Blake, he was the one my heart was aching for. Reid had a place in my heart but he wasn’t who consumed the most space.
“Yeah, friends.” I agreed. Maybe this was my way of letting him go before he got truly hurt if for some reason he found out what had happened between Blake and I while in Spain. Just as I opened the door Reid handed me my very dead cell phone. I clutched it tightly as if it was a connection to my real life. He said that he had forgotten to give it to me when he had first arrived. I thanked him before turning and going inside a home I wasn’t sure I felt comfortable in, leaving Reid on the steps and slowly walked to my room where I stopped dead in my tracks. It seemed like I had just caught my breath and then it was stolen from me again because of the gift that was left for me. Once again I seemed to had lost the ability to move my body. There on my bed laid the legendary katana - the immortal killer. It had disappeared when the sick man had vanished from the chamber. I remember that I noticed it was gone but I was suddenly faced with talking myself out of a very sticky situation.
I didn’t know why it was here but I was suddenly terrified.
Without thought I quickly pulled my cell phone in and called one person who I know I could trust with this information but wouldn’t complicate my feelings. “Hey, it’s Nora. I have a problem and you’re the only one I think that can help.”
Eleven
The next morning I woke up which I was more than happy to do after realizing that I had been taking my normal, boring life for granted. I could have had it a lot worse; I could be dying or I could be living forever with demons like the Hollings. I didn’t know what was worse but the only thing I knew at that moment was that I was happy to just be alive although I knew that there were some things that I was going to have to work on myself.
The one part of my night, besides breaking up with a guy before we even started dating, was the surprise that was
left for me. I didn’t know who or what had left the katana on my bed, finding it when I had left Reid on my doorstep for the comfort of my own room; leaving his world far behind. Not knowing what I should do with it I called the one person that I knew I could trust and wouldn’t give my life the added drama I was trying to avoid for the time being - Sebastian.
“Yeah I don’t know where it came from, it was just here.” I said to someone who I now knew was related to me as soon as I found it laying on my bed.
“That is strange. I’m going to do my own research here to see if I can find out more about it for it still a mystery to us all and if that thing is the key to our mortality or lack thereof then we need to know everything there is to know about it.” Sebastian explained. He always had a way with his words. He could even make the harshest words sound like the best news.
“Do you think it could be The Keepers for some unknown reason?” I asked.
“Honestly I don’t know but I’ll see what I can find out…if they even tell me. You know how like just love us Hollings butting our noses in where they don’t belong.” He said and I did understand. I saw witness to that when they were in Spain. I was sudden slightly shaken up by what he had just said “us Hollings” Was he also including me in that statement? Sebastian must have heard me be taken back because he asked if I was okay randomly.
“Yeah I’m fine…I better get to bed, I’m pretty jetlagged. I’ll keep in touch.” I said before ending the call.
After thinking about the night before longer than I thought I should have I stood from her bed and headed for the shower. The warm water beating down on my bare flesh seemed as if I was born again, washing off everything from the last few days. Once I felt clean enough I got out, dried off and got myself dressed. I wore my normal; comfortable jeans, a band tee and a pair of wore in shoes. I trotted down the stairs like I hadn’t been missing for days. While in Sebastian’s office on plane ride home he had advised me that The Keepers had placed a glam over my family so they would never know that I had been gone. That was a gift all on its own. Not having to think up a lame excuse to why I had been gone for days. My parents might not pay attention like they used to but they did still care. Reid was right, DNA or not they were my family.
“Morning sweetheart.” My mother said as just as I made it to the last of the stairs. Although I put on my normal grin I didn’t quite feel the same way as I used to. Knowing you’re adopted can defiantly change your perspective on things such as family. I wasn’t going to deny the people who had raised me but I couldn’t help but to hold some bitter feelings towards the people who had lied to me all these years.
“Morning mom.” I said as I sat in one of the two stools, next to my brother who didn’t even look over at me. Nothing had changed but now that I knew that I wasn’t really his sister it made more sense to me on why he never acted like I was really his family, like I was a stranger. He knew all along that I had been adopted because he was older than I was. Sean always cared about me, letting me borrow his car and celebrating the normal things families did together but other than that he didn’t seem to care for me outside of the house – acting as if I wasn’t around have the time unless I directly talked to him. “Morning Sean.” He looked at me oddly, giving me a semi-smile.
“Hey.” He said before turning back to his pop-tart and morning comic strips. He made me miss Jaryn.
Woofing down my cold cereal faster than normal, I then grabbed my book bag then headed off to school. For the first time I didn’t mind going to school. I wasn’t going to worry about what Adam was doing and I was just happy having a normal day. I was early enough to where she could even swing by the café to grab a cup of coffee. I waited in line for only a moment when I reached counter I was greeted by Charlie who seemed to be thrown off by my presents.
“Nora where have you been?” he said, practically barking at me like he was my father. I was shocked. I didn’t know what to say.
“What are you talking about?” I asked more than confused with what he was talking about.
“You’ve been gone for days, Trish has been worried sick. I mean she’s called your cell and nothing.”
“Oh I broke my phone but it’s fixed now, I’ve gotta go or I’m gonna be late. I’ll see you afterwards.” I yelled from the door. I was stunned at what had just happened. Not knowing what to think I ran off, hurrying to school I readily grabbed my books out of my locker and jumped as someone slammed their hand on the my locker door, closing it, luckily my hand wasn’t in the way. Trish had snuck up to me and didn’t look happy.
“Hey.” I said, trying to sound normal but by the look on her face she remembered that I had been MIA for a few days.
“Hey? All I get is a ‘hey’ after you’ve been gone for days? I couldn’t get a hold of you by phone or online. Where the hell were you?” Trish snapped throwing me back a little. Before she could say anything the first bell rang, signally class was to start soon. I told her that they would talk later and I had to go because I couldn’t be late for math classes for I would get detention.
Rather than going to class right I hurried outside where I was alone, I needed a moment to think and that’s when I realized what must had happened. The Keepers put the glam on my family but no one else. I was stumped on what to tell Trish, Charlie and anyone else that asked. Not being able to think of anything I just decided to avoid them both until she could figure out something to tell them or until they forgot but I wasn’t betting on them to do so. The day passed by and I was lucky enough not to run Trish and on the way home I skipped over going into the café like I normally would and hide in the comfort of my bedroom. Rather than doing my homework like I should have I passed out, not waking up until my cell phone vibrated. After rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I grabbed my phone and saw who was calling; it was Reid. He was the last person that I wanted to talk to. I just couldn’t deal with everything yet - the lying, the secrets I couldn’t tell, the history that I was a part of and the fighting between brothers.
I let the call go to voicemail. When the call finished I forced myself to listen to the message. “Nora I know I need to give you space after everything that has happened so I wanted to let you know that I’m leaving, I’m going back to Ireland for a while to try and patch things up with the family. If you need anything please call.”
The called ended without a goodbye.
That part alone hurt me in a way but I brushed it off. When I got up from the bed the sun was still up but barely. The days were becoming longer which means the seasons were changing. My school year was almost over, my senior year ending but it wasn’t soon enough for me. Now that I knew everything I wanted out sooner than expected that way I wouldn’t have to keep up the fabricated story of my life.
Days turned into weeks and those weeks where I didn’t hear from any of the Hollings, other than Sebastian to check up on me. Although I was lying to Trish and Charlie both I honestly didn’t feel bad about it because it wasn’t just a secret that I was keeping for The Hollings, it was a secret I was keeping about myself and I wasn’t talking to them much anyways. My cell phone was blowing up but I never responded. I didn’t know what to say to either of them about anything they were asking me about. The last thing I wanted to do was talk anyways, at least about my own issues.
After two weeks of being home I was approached by someone I never thought I would talk to again; Adam. “Hey.” He said as he walked up to me while I was sitting outside the school reading a book. I looked up in shock on seeing who was asking for my attention.
“Um hey, can I help you with something?” I asked him. He threw his backpack down next to me and sat with his back against the brick wall as mine was. I didn’t know what he wanted. He hadn’t talked to me in weeks and suddenly he was taking a seat next to me looking as if he wanted to talk. His sweet face was still sweet. His blond hair and blue eyes brightened my day suddenly – not in the way it used to, it was in a different way. Maybe, I thought, we could still have some kind of a f
riendship. If he was allowing himself to be pulled back in then I felt as if he was still invested enough to our friendship.
“Trish wanted me to talk to you. I mean were not even together anymore and I’m still being pulled into your drama.” He said with a laugh. I shrugged my shoulders towards his lame attempt at a joke to lighten the mood.
“You didn’t have to get involved.” I advised him.
“Yeah but I kinda had to, Trish was worried enough to actually beg me to talk to you because you won’t talk to her or Charlie. She’s freaked that she did something to piss you off or something.” Adam explained. I should have just talked to her because I knew that this was going to happen; Trish was thinking I was mad at her for something and it had nothing to do with her.
“Shit, no I’m not mad at either of them. I just…I’ve been going through some personal things and I wasn’t ready to talk about it.” I explained my actions hoping that he would take my excuse.
“Well if you’re going through something then who else is better for a girl to talk about things with than your best friend. She’s really upset. You should go talk to her.” Adam told me as he stood, throwing his bag over his shoulder.
“Thanks Adam.”
“And if you ever need anything you know I’m always gonna be here for you, even though I was total jerk. I shouldn’t have done what I did to you. I mean I shouldn’t have just broken up with you without talking to you more. Something more than just saying it’s over. We’ve known each other forever, we have too much history, don’t ya think?’ I could tell those words were hard for him to get out. ‘Friends?”
“Yeah, sure, why not?” I said although I hoped that this choice of being friends wouldn’t come back to bite me. After Adam had left I packed up my backpack and slowly but surely walked to the café where I knew Trish was working that afternoon. She had worked every afternoon since I had come back, I assumed to keep her mind off of me and my lack of communication skills lately. I couldn’t help but to pause for a moment just as I walked into the door, scared of facing her suddenly hit me. I could stand up to a crazed man welding a katana and all power immortals but I was afraid to face the girl who had been my best friend forever. “Can I get large mocha?” I asked her. Without looking up to see who was ordering, because she already knew she threw out a bitter remark.
Immortalis - Book 1 (The Keeper's Immortals) Page 12