A Beautiful Fate

by Cat Mann

  ****

  I finished my finals on a Wednesday afternoon, a day before Ari. He had an all-day physics exam on Thursday.

  I felt confident about my grades. Not that there was anything I could do to change them now. I had nailed down my piano piece, and for independent gym all I had to do was run five miles, so that was a breeze. Viola, Sophie and Emily left Wednesday night after we had a little Christmas dinner and gift exchange. They had loved the clothes at baio, making my shopping for them extremely easy. Since Ari had his exam on Thursday, we weren’t planning to leave for his house until Thursday night.

  On Thursday morning, I found myself with nothing to do. My friends had all gone home, my boyfriend was in class and I had no homework worrying me. I plopped down on the couch in the commons next to Rory and started watching The Today Show; Matt Lauer was carrying on about all of the great new gifts available for the holiday season. Christmas was only five days away and I had hardly made a dent in my Christmas shopping.

  “Oh, man, I have to do some shopping,” Rory said, nearly reading my mind.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “Well, c’mon, Ava Baby,” he said, pulling me up off the couch. “You drive and I’ll buy lunch.”

  After grabbing my purse, keys, phone and cash, we made our way down to my car.

  Our first stop was Tiffany’s, which was unbelievably packed with last-minute shoppers like ourselves. After a few deep breaths and some mental preparation, I made my way through the crowd to peer down at the glass cases displaying shiny and polished pieces of jewelry. I managed to find something Margaux might appreciate and I fell in love with a necklace that I knew would be perfect for Aggie. Rory kept drooling over an incredibly nice watch, so I quietly asked the sales woman to ring it up for me as well.

  Recalling that Andy’s study had caught fire earlier in the fall and that he had lost several books from his collection, I wandered into a bookstore to stock him up on some of the classics; classics including Zorba the Greek, his favorite. Then I went excessively overboard for Lauren and got her three pairs of shoes, some cute boots, a pair of flats and an awesome pair of running shoes that I immediately started considering keeping for myself. Next, Rory and I decided to hit up H&M and I bought Lauren some new clothes too.

  I had no idea what to get for Ari. As Rory and I sat down for lunch, I attempted to pick his brain for good gift ideas. He was no help at all.

  “I got him a sweater; you can go halvsies on it with me if you want,” he shrugged and chomped down on a corn chip loaded with salsa.

  Rory held up the sweater. It was nice, Burberry, but about three sizes too big. I had a sudden suspicion that he bought it too big on purpose so Ari would just give it back to him.

  “Uh, no thanks,” I said with a disbelieving laugh.

  The restaurant was packed with holiday shoppers, tables were pushed close together and people were shoved nearly one on top of another. I was, to say the least, uncomfortable. Out of the din came a voice, from the guy next to me as it turned out, complaining to some friend I could see only the back of, about how he had spent all of his cash on front-row tickets for the New Year’s Eve Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot show. And about how he had no money left to buy Christmas presents with. He added that he would like to sell the tickets quick for some ready cash.

  Ari and I are both huge fans of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot. I actually had tried to get tickets for the show a while back but they had been sold out since the day they went on sale. I couldn’t help myself; I had to have those tickets.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, interrupting their conversation, “I don’t mean to eavesdrop but you actually have front-row tickets for the New Year’s Eve show?”

  “Yep, best seats in the house. I had four but I sold two of them a week ago.”

  “How much are you asking for the two of them?”

  “Five hundred.”

  I bit down on my lip.

  “Do you have the tickets on you?”

  He pulled two concert tickets out of his wallet and handed them to me.

  “I’ll give you three hundred cash right now.”

  The man chewed on his lip in thought, “I can do four hundred.”

  “No dice. Three fifty -- that’s my final offer.”

  He hesitated, scratched the back of his head and leaned back casually in his seat. I thought I was going to lose the deal so I flashed a brilliant smile.

  “Deal.”

  Yes!

  I thumbed through the cash, handed it to him, took my front-row Vampire Weekend tickets, and slid them into my clutch.

  “Oh, my gosh, Ava, I cannot believe you did that,” Rory laughed and rolled his eyes.

  “When it’s Vampire Weekend AND Ra Ra Riot, our two favorite bands, the tickets are totally worth the price.”

  “And so is Ari I hope,” Rory said with an easy smile.

  “Of course he is!”

  “You know Ava, he really likes you. You should have seen him that day when he came to talk to me about you. I’ve never seen him like that before. I’m not gonna lie Ava, I did kind of have a thing for you, but when Ari told me that he loved you, I knew I couldn’t stand in the way of that.”

  My jaw unhinged and nearly hit the table, and I had to remind myself to breathe.

  “Oh man, I shouldn’t have said that. I just assumed that you two were there already. . .he’s going to kill me. Please don’t say anything.”

  All I could do was nod, smile and muster up a “sure” to put Rory at ease. Then a thought popped into my head. This is Rory; I can get anything out of him.

  “What did he say exactly?” I leaned in close on my elbows.

  “Oh come on, Ava, don’t do this to me.”

  “Please,” I smiled a toothy smile and batted my eyelashes playfully.

  “Ah, Ava, if he finds out, I’m dead.”

  “How will Ari ever find out?” I made my voice soft and sweet with perhaps just a bit too much inflection.

  Apparently, this is all the convincing Rory needed. He is more gossipy than a blue-haired lady after church. Rory scooted his chair closer and leaned in on his elbows.

  “Ari was nervous, Ava, I’m not going lie. I have never seen him like that before. Ari is always so collected and sure of himself. I had no idea why he wanted to talk to me. When he said he needed to talk about you, I was confused. I had never even really seen you guys talk together. I later found out that he had been sneaking behind my back at night, but whatever, I forgive him for that. Anyway, he told me that he loved you from the minute he first laid eyes on you. He told me he was sorry and that he had tried to ignore his feelings but he couldn’t manage to any longer. He said that he thought there might be a chance that you felt the same about him and he had to find out if that was the case. And he wanted my permission.”

  This statement took my breath away. “Oh, holy hell.”

  “So… do you love him, Ava?”

  “Yes, very much.” My cheeks flushed and my voice was small.

  After lunch, we finished our shopping. Rory got Julia a very nice gift, which surprised me, but I didn’t comment about it. We stopped by baio and I picked out some things for Ari, not really for Christmas but because I felt a little guilt about having pushed Rory to talk with me. I let Rory stock up on a few things, too. The greatest thing about Margaux and baio is that she sells the best pair of aviator sunglasses I have ever found. Ari was always borrowing mine and losing them, so I grabbed a handful for both of us. We went up to Margaux’s office, which was on the twenty-second floor of a building in downtown L.A., but she was too busy to talk with me so I left her gift with her assistant, Delia.

  We stocked up on ribbon, wrapping paper and tape and then headed back to the dorm and dropped everything on the bed in my room.

  My Morning Jacket sounded through my laptop speakers and we spent the rest of the afternoon wrapping the presents. Ari came from his last exam and eyed the floor of my room. I skirted my way through the piles, hopp
ing at times from foot to foot to reach him, bounced up on my toes and gave him a kiss.

  “We got bored and went shopping.”

  “I can see that,” he laughed and pointed to Rory. “Give me a hand with this stuff. Aggie will flip if we are late.”

  Ari and Rory filled up both my car and Ari’s Rover with all the luggage and gift boxes. My dorm room looked deserted by the time everything was all packed up. It seemed the only thing I was leaving behind was my old quilt, some books and random pictures of Mia and me. Rory drove the Rover, Ari rode with me in my car, and when we arrived at the house, the two of them spent the next half hour unloading everything.

  I sat down on a stool at the island and began to help Aggie with dinner.

  “Looks like you guys are moving in, Ava.”

  “Yeah, it does kind of appear that way.”

  She gave me a kind smile, tilted her head to one side and said, “Hopefully someday soon.”

  I smiled back the best I could. I did not intend to move into the Alexander’s home. I had always assumed that, as soon as I turned eighteen, I would move back to Canada or to Chicago – but that was before Ari, before I found out I was being hunted, before Mia died. Nothing was the same anymore and I had not yet tackled the issue of what I would do when the time came. I was still trying to get safely through the now. Maybe I could stick around in California, but I felt certain I would not be living in my boyfriend’s parent’s house.

  After dinner, Ari surprised Lauren, just as he had promised he would, by taking her out on his friend’s Catamaran to go whale watching. The trip worked out perfectly. Since I won’t step foot on a boat, whale watching was something the two of them could do together. Ari pleaded with me to come with but he knew there was no chance I would. I’m pretty sure that Lauren was happy about that. Lauren and I get along great, but I think she was having a hard time sharing her brother with me.

  After Lauren and Ari left, Rory, Andy, Julia, Nick and I hung around and played poker until Rory started cheating and I had to cut the game short. We resigned ourselves to sitting on the back deck and watching the sunset. The stars came out and before long Ari and Lauren arrived back home. Lauren was grinning and bouncing all around Ari as they came through the big glass door. Ari pulled me up from the bench I was sitting on and into his arms. I took a deep breath of the freshly cut grass, sea and summertime he brought with him. My stomach felt giddy and did a little flip.

  “I feel as though I haven’t seen you all day,” he whispered, and then he put his mouth on my earlobe. I let out a little gasp and he took me by the hand and led me back inside the house.

  As soon as Ari closed the door to his bedroom, he turned around and pushed my back gently against the glass wall. Ari’s room looks down onto the deck we had just left. To everyone lounging along the glass wall we were like fish in a fishbowl, or so I thought.

  “The glass is tinted and the lights are off, Ava. They can’t see us.” His voice was deep and rough in my ear.

  He started kissing me softly again and then pulled back. I couldn’t move forward to meet him because he had his body pressed up against mine. He kissed me and then pulled away again, flashing a mischievous smile at the same time. Ari played his little game a few more times before I let out a sigh in frustration.

  “What’s the matter, Ava?”

  “You know.”

  “Mmm… no, I don’t think I do.” He kissed me again softly then pulled back away.

  “You don’t like it when I do that?” I shook my head no in response and he grinned.

  “What about this?” He moved his lips to my shoulder and very slowly made a trail of kisses all the way up to the little spot behind my ear. My mouth opened up to a little O. I could feel his kisses all through my body down to the bottom of my stomach and through to my toes. Ari slid his leg in between mine so they parted and he could push himself closer up against me. My eyes fluttered shut and I tilted my neck back, allowing my head to rest on the glass behind me. His hands searched my body while our lips danced around on each other’s mouths. Our breathing turned heavy and Ari lifted me up and wrapped my legs around him. My fingers knotted in his hair and I began to let my body take over, I wanted him so badly I thought I might combust. My eyes opened ever so slightly and I found Ari staring back at me. His expression had changed from needy to cautious and he put my feet back down on the floor and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips; putting an end to the passion.

  “This is a little bit harder than I thought it would be,” his gaze was careful as he brushed my hair out of my eyes.

  “Yeah, tell me about it,” I answered as I blew out a long breath from between my puffed out cheeks. Ari gave me a sweet smile and opened his mouth as if he were about to say something then shut it again, deciding not to. He brushed his thumb against my cheek then walked over to his bed and grabbed a pillow. I looked at him, puzzled.

  “I’m going to go sleep on the couch,” he said, giving me a goodnight kiss. I nodded; as much as I did not want him to go, I knew it was for the best.

  My body was frustrated and I tossed and turned over an internal conflict I was having with myself. I had never really thought about having a sexual relationship until I met Ari. But lately it seemed that whenever my lips met his, it was all I could think about. There was a part of me, deep down inside, that was urging, pleading, and begging the other part of me to wait and I couldn’t quite get that girl to shut the hell up and get out of the darn way.

  I lay awake for what felt like hours. I couldn’t get comfortable without Ari and a few times I seriously contemplated going off in search of him. I resisted, knowing that he was probably already peacefully asleep.

  At some point, I drifted off and as soon as I did, I found that my dreams were packed full. First I was pacing the old familiar hallway with my scissors. I knew by this time that I could not ignore these people any longer and I began walking into the rooms. Some of the people were lying motionless in their beds. I read the charts and saw that many of them had been in a near-death state for a while. I did what I had to do, what I could do, to ease them into their next world.

  Andy had told me that someone else might have been taking care of the terminally ill in my hospital dream since deaths had been occurring at a normal rate. He said that the family had been trying to track down the lost descendant of Clotho and that this descendant may have been cutting the threads. I admitted to having been negligent of my duty – I had had no clue that my dreams were anything but a reflection of the turmoil in my life. Andy supposed that the death rate had been more or less normal in the year prior to Perry’s death but that in recent weeks, the phenomenon of death had come to a halt, and Andy deduced that, although he never found out who the person actually was, the last known descendant of Clotho had been killed. With Perry gone, Andy looked for me with even more determination. Little had he known that I was right under his nose.

  The hospital dream faded and I found myself in the weird running dream again. I was running through the woods, running fast. I was panicky, searching for something, but didn’t know what. Freezing cold rain pounded down on the earth and I had no shoes on, my feet were covered in slick, gritty mud. I could hear talking in the distance and I stopped, searching for the source of the conversation. The talking turned to screams and then I woke up, icy cold and trembling.

  Surprisingly, I had slept longer than I normally do when I have nightmares. I got up and threw on an old, gray, hooded Pepperdine University sweatshirt of Ari’s that I had adopted as my own. I brushed my teeth and splashed warm water on my face, then headed down to the kitchen. Aggie, Lauren and Julia were making cookies and Rory was seated at the island on a stool that was excessively small for him.

  “Finally,” he said with a humph. “I’ve been waiting forever – get your stuff on so we can go.”

  “What are you talking about, and where is Ari?” I asked, looking around the kitchen. Ari likes to sleep in, but the morning was half gone.

  “I
thought we were running,” Rory grumbled, “and Ari is asleep on the couch. What’s that all about?” I shrugged my shoulders. How embarrassing. What was I supposed to say – that I couldn’t control myself enough to sleep next to my boyfriend so he had to sleep on the couch?

  “Nothing,” I answered, and slipped out of the kitchen to put on my Under Armour and old running shoes before any more questions popped up.

  Rory pushed me harder and faster during the run. He left the beach for a stretch of rugged, hilly terrain. I was really beginning to like his style and the cross training we had been working on seemed to be paying off; I was lighter on my feet, more agile and could feel the strength in my back and arms as opposed to just my legs.

  When we got back to the house, I hopped in the cold shower and washed all the yuck from my skin and hair and got dressed. I arrived back in the main part of the house to find Julia perched on a stool in the kitchen with her head resting in her hands. She looked utterly bored. I took a seat next to her, breathing in the delicious smell of the cookies baking in the oven. Ari came in with a yawn and a stretch and scooped me in his arms.

  “Hey, Baby, good morning,” he gave a cute, sleepy smile, then planted a kiss on my lips.

  “Morning,” I grinned back at him. “I missed you last night.”

  “Did you now?” His eyes twinkled.

  “Mmm,” I nodded.

  Julia snorted and Ari peered over at her.

  “So,” he continued and looked back towards me giving me all of his attention, “Rory and Nick are having a party tonight on the beach and asked if I could help get some stuff together. You can come with me if you want.”

  “Umm…” I hesitated, making a sour face. Getting firewood sounded like the opposite of fun. I looked down at my toes and came up with a better idea. “I was thinking about going in to town and getting a pedicure.”

  “Pedicure!” Julia and Lauren squealed before Ari could respond.

  “Uh, yeah. You want to come?”

  “Yes, please!” was their very speedy response.

  In the end, I found myself at a spa with Ari’s mother, Ari’s sister, Ari’s Aunt and Ari’s ex-girlfriend – not exactly how I thought I would spend my day, but it was actually kind of fun. The four of them backed off from asking embarrassing questions and carried on about Christmas plans and the night’s party. Once our toes were dry, Gianna, Aggie and Lauren decided to head across the street to a giant department store for some last minute things. Julia talked me into sticking around and getting a facial with her. I really liked Julia, at least I thought I did until she opened her big, stupid mouth.

  “So what’s it like with Ari?” she asked casually.

  “Uhh, good…great I guess.”

  “Yeah, he can be really sweet, huh?”

  “Uh-huh,” I answered, not knowing where she was going with the conversation. She was his ex after all.

  “So… have you guys… you know?”

  Holy hell, what is it with these people? “Um, no, I’m not really like that.”

  She stared at me dumbfounded. “I don’t know why you would bother waiting, Ava; you’re only young once and besides Ari is great in bed. Believe me, it’s worth it.” She peered down at her freshly polished nails.

  I took a moment letting her comment sink in, my throat turned tight, my mouth went dry and I could feel the color drain from my face. Ari did tell me that they had been involved romantically, but I hadn’t known to what extent. I guess a part of me knew that they had had sex; I mean they lived right next to each other in the dorms and I’m sure she stayed with him at home on the weekends. Julia certainly is not shy. I guess I just never allowed myself to think about them as a couple.

  I didn’t know what I was more upset about, the fact that I was so slow to figure out past history, or the fact that Julia was telling me how amazing my boyfriend is in bed. I knew one thing for sure: if she said another word about Ari in bed, her perfect nose would be broken in a matter of seconds.

  I was saved, or Julia was saved I should say, by Gianna, Lauren and Aggie. They came into the spa and showed us some of the things they picked up across the street. I paid the woman for my toes and facial and drove us back without saying another word.

  When we got back to the house, the guys were still gone. I sat down at the piano and began to play, hoping music would calm me down some. After a few minutes, Ari snuck in and sat down by me, planting a kiss on my cheek. I may have overreacted but I could not help the way I felt. I was angry and annoyed and, at that moment wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. I stood up and walked to his room, shutting the door behind me. I curled up on his chair and attempted to talk myself out of crying.

  Ari came in after me.

  “Ava, what’s the matter? Are you ok?” he asked me, so nicely that it was hard to stay mad at him. Somehow, I managed.

  “I know this is your room and your house, but can you just leave me alone? I don’t feel like talking to you right now.”

  “Ava, what happened? What’s wrong?” he begged, and tried to take my hand in his.

  “Don’t touch me,” was my only reply. With that, he stood up and left, shutting the door behind him. I could hear his voice; it was full of anger as he reached the kitchen packed with people.

  “What the hell did you guys do to have Ava so pissed off at me?” he asked heatedly.

  The kitchen went quiet and moments later Aggie spoke up, “Ari, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

  “Whatever, Ava won’t even look at me now. What happened?”

  “Oops.” I could barely hear Julia say it, but I knew it was her voice.

  “Oops! Oops? What the hell is ‘oops,’ Julia? What did you do to her?”

  “I didn’t do anything, Ari, but I guess I did get a bit carried away talking to Ava about you.”

  I could hear Rory’s booming laugh.

  “Julia,” Ari’s tone softened in an attempt to calm down, “What did you say to her?”

  “I dunno, personal stuff I guess.”

  “What did you say?” he was yelling at her now.

  “Personal things about you and me, Ari – do I have to spell it out for you?” she snapped.

  Rory’s laugh got much louder and I could hear a few giggles from Aggie.

  “Holy hell, Julia, you are such a freaking idiot!” Ari shouted. I could envision him pulling his hair with both hands.

  “I just thought it was harmless girl talk; I had no idea Ava didn’t know,” I heard her say.

  “Julia, just leave.”

  “Whatever!” I heard the door slam shut behind her. I watched from Ari’s window as Julia stormed out on to the deck. She patted her dewy eyes with the sleeve of her knit sweater and ran out on to the beach.

  Ari opened the door to his bedroom. “Ava Baby, please… I am so sorry.”

  “Whatever, Ari,” I retorted. “You lied to me.”

  Shock, pain and a thousand other expressions washed over Ari’s face. His voice dropped to near silence, “I would never lie to you.”

  “You lied by omission, Ari. We both agreed a long time ago that that was lying.”

  “Ava, seriously please, I am so sorry.”

  “Ari, just drop it. I tried to be nice to her and all she could do was talk about how great you are in bed. I can’t even look at you right now.”

  The color drained from his face and I instantly felt bad for what I had said. He hadn’t really lied to me. If I had asked him for the details of his and Julia’s relationship, he would have told me.

  “I am so sorry,” he pleaded, and his face looked tortured. All I could do was to turn and face the other way to hide my tears.

  Ari left me alone, as I had asked, shutting the door behind him. I stayed in his room for the rest of the afternoon. I skipped dinner, knowing that my stomach couldn’t handle any food at the moment.

  Rory poked his head in a little after dark and sat down beside me. “You comin’ to the party?”

  “Ye
ah, right. There is no way I’m doing that.”

  “Please, for me? I promise I will hang out with you all night; I won’t leave your side.”

  I chewed on my lip and thought it over. To be honest, I was feeling a little bit better. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was still utterly disgusted, but it wasn’t going to hurt anything to get out of this room for a while. “Fine, give me fifteen minutes.”

  Rory gave me a wink then kicked back in Ari’s room. I grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom to get dressed, fix my make up and put some life back into my hair. I put on some cute jeans with a pair of slouch boots and a faded BRMC band tee-shirt and headed back to Ari’s room to fetch Rory. I slipped on my favorite cardigan and followed Rory out to the fire.

  The beach was full of people. Rory found us a free spot on a log and kept me entertained by telling hilarious stories of how he learned to surf. Then, out of nowhere, he turned serious and said, “He regrets that, you know?”

  “Huh?” I said, caught off guard by the quick turn in conversation.

  “Ari. He regrets the decisions he made in his and Julia’s relationship. Don’t tell her but Ari wished he had found you first. He and Julia started as friends and he should have kept it that way. I know he wishes he had. I heard what Julia told you about the two of them and, yeah, she is an idiot sometimes, but knowing her, she probably was just trying to be nice. I’m not defending her, but you should forgive them both. Ari is a complete wreck over this whole thing. What doesn’t pull you apart will only make you stronger. Do you want to break up with him over this?”

  “No,” just the thought put me in a panic.

  “I didn’t think so. He is right over there, please forgive him and move on from this. You can’t change the past, Ava. But you can work together on your future.” Rory pointed across the beach. “He can’t take his eyes off you and he is making Lauren hang out with him; I’m sure he is driving her absolutely nuts.”

  Rory always has a way of making me feel better. I threw my arm around his massive shoulders and gave him a little half hug.

  “Thanks, Rory. You are such a good friend.”

  “Yup, that’s what they all say, Ava Baby.” He pulled me to my feet. “Now c’mon, please don’t make him wait any longer. He is really dampening the mood of my party.”

  I rolled my eyes and took a step towards Ari, standing there on the other side of the fire.

  “Lauren!” Rory roared from behind me, “make a break for it now!”

  I watched as Lauren slid away from Ari and ran with a giggle towards Rory; they had probably been planning her escape all night. I made my way over to Ari and he looked at me with that adorable half smile of his, the one that melts my heart.

  “Hey,” he said quietly. I gave him a smile as I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest, breathing in his delicious scent.

  He kissed the top of my head.

  “I miss you, and I don’t want to be mad at you anymore.”

  “I did lie to you, Ava. I didn’t realize it, but you are right. It will never happen again.”

  A morbid part of me wanted to know the whens, how’s and whys of Ari and Julia’s relationship, but I pushed the curiosity away. Knowing would only make things worse for me. His past was just that. Rory was right, there wasn’t anything I could change about it. . . and besides, who was I to judge?

  Ari pulled my chin up and brushed his lips on mine; the tenderness lasted only a second. My lips were aching for him and I kissed him back with much more vigor. Ari wrapped his arms around me, bringing me closer to him, and then pulled me through the crowd of people to walk together down the beach towards his home.

  In the house we went straight back to Ari’s room and as soon as he closed the door behind him, we picked up right where we had left off the night before. He placed my back against the wall, his body pressing firmly against mine; his hands were locked in fists around my hair. A low moan escaped my lips. He never stopped kissing me. He moved me over to the bed and climbed in beside me. My heart thumped through my chest.

  When I woke up the next morning, I had fewer clothes on than I probably should have had, but then again so did Ari. I closed my eyes and remembered all the places Ari had kissed me and how his lips never left my skin. Nevertheless, we had still managed not to let things go too far.

  I breathed in a sigh of relief, taking in my attire. At least I still had on my underwear – a little, black, thin-strapped tank with some cute black panties. Ari was still sleeping, our bodies were tangled together, and he had only a pair of boxers covering him. We had never made it under his sea of covers. I could have stayed there forever, listening to the beating of our hearts and the rhythm of our breaths. I closed my eyes and snuggled in even closer to him. I felt a soft, feather-light touch caress my thigh.

  “Holy hell, Ava, you are so beautiful,” Ari’s voice was sleepy and raspy. I opened my eyes and looked into his. I ran my hand down his chest and he closed his eyes softly, his breath hitching in his throat.

  “Stay in bed with me today,” he said. “Please. . . just you and me and the blankets. And those panties,” he added, wrapping his palm around my bottom.

  “That sounds tempting, but it is a very bad idea for you and me to be in this bed any longer than necessary,” I said, moving his hand back around my waist. “Besides, I’m sure at any moment one of your obscure relatives will come barging in demanding your attention.” Just as I said this, Ari’s door eased open, revealing Nick and Lauren, both of them decked out in full wet suits.

  “Big swell today,” Lauren said. “Let’s go.”

  Ari let out a sigh, but before he could answer them, Rory came pushing his way through the door. He had his running gear on and clearly was waiting for me.

  “I’m gonna leave you, Ava! Now c’mon, I want to get this run over with so I can join ‘em.”

  Ari covered me up with the blankets, then he barked at them all to get out, adding that we would join them in a moment.

  “Sorry, there is no sense of personal space or privacy around this house.”

  “Oh, I know,” I replied with an eye roll.

  Rory and I ran a quick three miles, but he still managed to kick my butt. When we got back, he rushed into his house to grab his board and I took a seat by Aggie on the beach to watch them surf. Even though I hate and fear the water, watching them play around with each other was fun. Ari was so cute while giving Lauren pointers. He is a natural in the water, but I had no way to judge just how good he was. I almost wanted to join him…almost but not quite.

  About an hour later, Julia sauntered down the walk and took a seat on the beach next to me. I had not spoken to her since she made me angry the day before, but I hoped that I had gotten the point across that she and I were not at the moment les amis.

  She was clueless and all smiles, as usual.

  “Hey Ava, listen,” she said, popping her gum. “I just want to say I am sorry for yesterday. I really like you and I hope we can be friends. Ari is right I was a complete idiot… I had no idea that…”

  I throw my palms up to stop her. “Ok, Julia fine; just stop talking about it.” What Ari ever saw in her I’ll never know.

  “K!” she said with a smile, throwing her arm around my shoulder and bringing me to her for a hug.

  Ari noticed Julia’s arrival and came up the beach, shaking his wet hair out. He pointed his finger at Julia, “I thought I told you to stay away from her.”

  “Ease up, Ari. I told her how sorry I am. We’re friends again, it’s ok.”

  He looked at me with a questioning gaze and I shrugged my shoulders and bit my lip.

  Aggie seemed to think that the conversation was just hilarious. I guess from an outsider’s perspective it kind of was. She laughed and got up, brushing the sand from her bare feet and hands and began to walk back to the house. Ari made his way back to the water, leaving Julia and me alone.

  “I promise, Ava, that I will be on my best behavior from now
on. I can really use a friend who isn’t related to this family, you know what I mean?”

  “Yeah, I guess I do,” I answered. And I did honestly feel that way. If not for the fact that she used to date Ari, Julia and I probably would have been friends long ago.

  As we sat together in the sand, she started to open up a little bit about herself. Julia is a descendant of Cassandra, princess of Troy. Cassandra had been acknowledged by the Greeks to be the second most beautiful woman in the world. Her beauty was compared to that of Aphrodite. Julia’s father, like mine, had been greedy and had been swayed by wealth and power to join the Kakos. He soon realized what a huge mistake he had made. He fled, taking his family to England, but to no avail.

  “It was the middle of the night.” Julia’s voice was quiet and a bit shaky. “My mom rushed in to my bedroom. She threw her palm over my mouth and pulled me under the bed. She hid me from the Kakos. She shoved a crumpled note in my hand and told me to stay put, not to move or make a sound until someone found me. The Kakos found my mom in my room, my dad tried to fight him off and save my mother but my dad was no match for that kind of evil. I heard their screams. I could see everything happen through a slit in my frilly, pink dust ruffle. I was too scared to close my eyes. I witnessed everything. The man had a knife; he struck them both so many times. Their blood pooled on the floor and eventually, their breathing, cries and muffled moans stopped and I was alone.

  I waited under the bed for two days. I was afraid the Kakos was still there waiting for me. A police officer found me covered in my parent’s blood. I couldn’t speak I was so scared and traumatized. My hand was still balled up clutching my mother’s handwritten note. On it was Andy’s phone number. The police officer took me to a hospital and a day later, Andy showed up for me. I remembered him from when I was really little. Before we had moved away to England, my parents used to take me over to the Alexander’s house on Sundays so I could play. I loved their house and the fact that there were so many kids my age to play with. Andy took me away from England and the bad memories and added me to his family. He gave me my own room and clothes and friends. I got to go to school with Ari. The Alexanders saved me. Ari saved me.”

  Julia closed her eyes as she finished recounting her family history and I saw a small tear slip down her porcelain cheek. I put my arm around her and she put her head on my shoulder.

  “I heard them die, Ava. I didn’t do anything to save them. I was such a coward.”

  “You weren’t a coward, Julia, they would have killed you, too and you know it. You did the right thing.”

  “Ava, I am scared for you. I’ve seen the Kakos in action. I know what they are capable of.”

  “Promise not to tell anybody, Julia?”

  “Promise.”

  “I’m scared, too. I keep telling myself that nothing has really happened. I keep pushing my mother’s death back to the recesses of my mind. I allow myself to accept happiness here. I am too happy and too comfortable and just want to relish what I have.”

  “Ava, the deaths of your parents were very real. The danger you are in is very real. Be diligent. . .don’t let the Kakos sneak up on you. You won’t stand a chance.”

  I let Julia’s warning sink in a bit, then made my way back up to the house, knocked all the sand off my body, and went in to clean up.

  By the time I was clean and sand free, everyone had gathered together on the deck. I found Ari lying on the hammock, talking to Thais, Nick and Andy. He pulled me onto the hammock with him, making me feel safe and that I was the only other person in the whole universe. While we rocked gently back and forth, Andy talked with his son about the Kakos and their possible whereabouts. Ari listened carefully, responding from time to time to his father’s comments, all the while stroking my hair and running his fingers up and down my arm. He talked to Andy in a low and gentle voice, never taking his eyes off me.

  Ari’s parents, along with the rest of his large family, were never annoyed by his lack of attention. They watched him watch me, and they smiled. At first, I didn’t know how to react. No one had ever been this affectionate with me before, but I loved the way he made me feel, so I didn’t protest.

  One time, when we had first started dating, I woke up from a nightmare and found Ari already asleep by my side in my dorm room. (My “being proper” had lasted a total of one week. We were totally unable to be apart at night.) I asked him how he had come to feel so comfortable around me, knowing how much I like my space and how seriously I communicate to other people that I prefer they keep their distance.

  “They don’t understand you like we do,” he said simply. “People are born with an ability to sense danger, you know… like when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up or when you get goose bumps.” He trailed his soft fingers up my arms and little bumps appeared like magic. “You may cause some people to feel in danger, because, honestly Ava, you are incredibly dangerous. You can zero in on anyone and take him away.”

  I looked at him with a frown. “I’m not like that.”

  “I know you aren’t like that, but you could be, and deep down inside people possess the primal urge to keep their distance. I think the rest of us can’t help but want to be near you; you draw us to you as a flame draws a moth. We can feel your power. You are our hope. . . and it is in our blood to honor you.”

  “How could you tell I was like you?”

  He paused for a moment, considering my question.

  “Well, we all suspected something. There are a lot of Greeks here in Dana Point whose bloodlines have been so washed out that they don’t even know they are Greek, let alone descended from an ancient deity. I don’t know what I thought you were, but I knew that I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

  His admission made me blush a little and I was thankful for the darkness.

  “I can see why it may bother you,” he continued, “to have people cross the street when they see you coming. But I think you might like the alternative even less,” he said.

  I considered his own dilemma.

  Although Ari has never given me the breakdown of who he is, I know he is the descendant of Adonis and Aphrodite. Adonis was the mortal God of beauty, and people flocked from all over to be near to him, especially women. When Ari and I are out together, I see people stare at him, or take a step toward him, just wanting to be near him. Ari often finds himself caught in conversations with perfect strangers; they feel the need to tell him their whole life story. No wonder Ari has perfected the art of conversation. He has had years of practice, and is always kind to people who come up to him.

  We complement each other nicely that way. I keep most people away, and people who do approach Ari don’t feel comfortable enough with me around to talk with him too long. Lauren has the same effect as Ari; she is the most popular fifteen-year-old girl I have ever known, and she’s always in trouble because of it. She is always sneaking off at night to some party somewhere and there’s usually a boy involved.

  “How come I can’t kill the Kakos by cutting their thread at night?”

  “Hmm?” Ari had fallen back asleep.

  “I can’t kill them at night in my dreams like I can anyone else. Why?”

  “Mmm… You can. They are just harder to find. You find people by locating souls, but the Kakos don’t have souls. You are the only one with the power to end their lives. The trick is going to be to get them close enough to death for their threads to be visible. He pulled me closer, kissed my eyelids and fell back asleep.