by Jeff Hale
I touched my mouth to his again, harder this time, felt him kiss me back, his hand coming to the back of my head. It lasted for the briefest moment before he pushed me to the side, rolling away from me to sit up on the bed. I lay on my side, breathing heavy and staring at his profile, both frustrated and relieved at his action.
“I’m sorry, Kat, I can’t, I just can’t. Even if I could justify it to myself as some way to get back at Nina, it would be stooping to her level and that wouldn’t be right or fair, to me or you. And even if that didn’t bother me, despite all the nasty shit he’s said to you, Aerick still loves you and I couldn’t do that to my best friend.” His gaze asked for understanding.
“No, Dave, you’re right,” I said softly, my mind in a whirl over his words, my Aspect back in hiding.
Aerick still loves me? I flopped onto my back, legs dangling off one edge of the narrow bed, hands off the other. Dave stood and I heard a low whistle. I looked at him.
“I am going to leave now,” he said tightly, his gaze running up and down the length of my body in a way that suggested he just might be reconsidering. I almost blushed, not having realized the picture I presented in my bikini top and skin tight cut offs, stretched out over the bed. “And while I might kick myself later, I’ll still know I did the right thing.”
“Hey, Dave?” I said as he opened the door. “Thanks, for not…” I couldn’t finish it.
“No problem, Kat.” He didn’t look at me.
“And Dave?”
“Yeah?”
“I still love him too. Talk to him for me?”
I saw him nod, then he was out the door, leaving it open behind him.
I lay there for several minutes, thinking about these new developments, but after the third time some drunken guy had stumbled into the room wondering if I was waiting for him, I decided to go back downstairs, maybe see if I could talk to Aerick. He was nowhere to be seen when I got down there, and when I finally found Celeste, she told me that she had come to the conclusion that he was a bit creepy, even if he was my ex-boyfriend, and that he had left.
I told her that I was going to leave too, gave her a hug goodbye, then headed over to Kris’s. She looked me up and down when she answered the door, and rolled her eyes.
“Jeezus, Kat, you’re running around almost naked any more these days!” She grinned at me as she led me into the living room.
“It’s the beginning of July, Kris, it’s frigging hot outside,” I complained at her, sitting on the couch and tucking my feet under me. I looked around. “Matt not here?”
She shook her head. “He’s actually gone quite a bit.” Something passed through her eyes, something a little sad.
I sighed and settled back into the couch. “So, what’s going on? Matt still pushing to turn you?”
She nodded.
“I hate to say it, Kris, but… why not? I mean, my mom did it, so she could be with my dad forever. I can’t personally say that I like the thought of you dying.”
She gave me that look that clearly wanted to know whose side I was on. “C’mon, Kat, I don’t need you trying to convince me too.”
“I know, I know, I just figured I’d say my peace once. I personally like the idea of you not being human anymore simply because I am too selfish to want to have to lose you some day. Be that as it may, I love you, and if you do this, it needs to be your decision, needs to be because it is really what you want, and not just to make the rest of us happy.” I shivered a little in the air conditioning. “And if you decide to stay human and grow old and die, I’ll be heartbroken, but I will make sure you have the most elaborate funeral ever and I will watch over any descendants you leave behind as though they were my own.” I sniffled a little; the thought of something happening to her always made me sad.
She snorted. “Well, maybe I should have you talk to Matt. He doesn’t seem to be of that sentiment. He thinks I should be perfectly happy being turned into a vampire so he doesn’t have to worry about me getting hurt, or dying. He says he couldn’t give a crap if I get old, or grey hair, or wrinkles, he just doesn’t want me to ‘leave’ him. I love him, I do, but I’m this close,” she held her thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart, “to leaving him while I’m still alive if he doesn’t let it be.”
I got up and gave her a hug, commiserating a little. Darien hadn’t been trying to make me not human anymore, but he had been hiding things, been an arrogant ass again, which finally led to me breaking it off with him. I sat back down and Kris turned on the television, obviously trying to drop the subject of Matt.
“So,” she said several minutes later, tapping her fingers on the arm of the chair. “Nina came over and talked to me.”
“Hmph. What did the skank want?” I asked, using Kris’s favorite term for Nina.
“She really does feel bad about what’s happened, Kat, and she doesn’t want to lose your friendship.”
I gave Kris a sideways glance, wondering what in all hell Nina could have said to her to get her to be the least bit sympathetic. “I don’t care. I don’t want to have anything to do with her, she’s hurt me way too much.” I waved a hand. “If you want to play nicey nice with her, that’s up to you, and I won’t hold it against you either, just don’t bring her around me.”
She just nodded slowly, looking like she wanted to say something else, but deciding not to. We spent the next few hours watching movies and chatting about things other than the men in and out of our lives, then I went home and went to sleep.
Sunday I spent working on a term paper for Bianca’s class, while Alex was in and out of the apartment all day. Apparently there was something that Darien had been wanting to discuss with him so he spent the greater part of the afternoon with him, leaving me to do my homework undisturbed.
Monday after class I got a phone call from Celeste wanting to know if Kris and I wanted to come down to the Circus Circus Adventuredome and hang out for the afternoon. Travis and his whole little entourage would be there as well, but it sounded like fun to me. I called up Kris, who jumped at the idea as well; anything to spend some time away from Matt. I picked up Kris and we headed out, actually pulling into the parking garage just as Celeste, Travis, Kevin, Tiffany, and Erin were getting out of Travis’s vehicle. They waited while we found a spot, and then we all walked into the building together.
I didn’t feel quite as underdressed when I saw the other three girls. Tiffany and Erin both sported bikini tops, Erin in an extremely short black skirt and Tiffany in cotton short shorts. Celeste was wearing a pale blue halter top that tied with strings across her back and around her neck and a pair of white cut offs. Both the guys were wearing jeans, but Travis had on a dark blue polo shirt while Kevin wore a pale blue button up over a white t-shirt.
We all made a direct line for the rides, Kris and I riding in the same car or compartment together for most of them. I noticed that Celeste seemed to be acting a little odd at times, almost as though she were nervous, not quite herself, but I put it down to a possible argument with Travis. After we’d hit all the rides at least once, we headed to the snack bar area to get something to eat.
“I wanted to talk to you about Darien,” Kris said from next to me as we sat on a bench to eat.
I took a bite from my hot dog, sighing and rolling my eyes skyward, pausing midchew as I thought I saw someone on the Ferris wheel that looked all too familiar. I swallowed the bite. “What about?” I asked, not taking my eyes from the Ferris wheel.
“He really didn’t know about what your dad had done. He came over all upset, wanted to know if Matt knew about it. I hate to admit, he kinda did, I guess your dad originally asked Matt to kill Aerick.” There was shame in her voice.
I almost snorted soda out my nose, turning my eyes to Kris and losing site of the person in the Ferris wheel. “He what?!”
She nodded solemnly, slurping slushie through her straw. “Yeah, Matt told him no. I guess he knows Aerick somehow, from a long time ago, says they’re friends.”
“Really? News to me.” I looked back up, spotted the person of interest again. “Did Matt know about the other guy that my father sent after Aerick?”
“He says no,” Kris answered, shrugging. “I think you should talk to Darien, though, Kat, he’s really hurt that you won’t believe him.”
“Yeah, maybe, I’ll think about it anyway.” I watched the Ferris wheel go around. The others were ready to head back to the rides. “You guys go ahead, I’ll catch up.” I put a hand on my stomach and scrunched up my face. “I need to hit the restrooms, I think the rides might have upset my stomach a bit.”
Celeste gave me a sympathetic look, Kris gave me an odd look and a shrug, but they all headed off while I moved into position to await my prey.
Sure enough, when the Ferris wheel stopped, Aerick climbed out of one of the cars and made his way cautiously towards the water log ride where the others had gone. I stepped out behind him as he passed me.
“What in hell do you think you’re doing?” I demanded, crossing my arms and glaring at him, although I wasn’t sure I managed to keep all the amusement from my eyes. My heart gave a sharp thud at being this close to him.
“Uh… stalking a poor teenage girl because I think she’s my dead lover?” He gave me a sheepish look. “I know, it’s pathetic.”
“Just a little. But also understandable. Didn’t she ask you to stay away from us?” I asked him, glad for once that he wasn’t calling me names or yelling at me, or looking at me with hate and disgust in his eyes.
“Yeah,” he muttered.
“Because?” I prompted.
“I creep her out,” he mumbled guiltily.
I knew I was enjoying myself at his expense but I couldn’t help it. “And this is helping that image... how exactly?”
“I know how it looks, it’s just that… she came into my office, and she didn’t act…” He wasn’t quite sure how to explain it to me, but I understood what he was getting at.
“Like herself? Yeah she does that sometimes,” I told him, glad that we could talk calmly, civilly. “Especially when she’s around people she doesn’t know, or feels like she can’t be herself around. It’s odd when it happens, but it does on occasion, mainly when people throw her.”
Irritation passed through his eyes. “Oh, like you know?!” he snapped out.
So much for civil and calm.
“Whoa, Aerick. Don’t take it out on me. You’re the one that’s never around! That’s not my fault!” I shot back at him, letting anger heat my voice.
“Yeah so you don’t even let the relationship cool off before you go slut yourself out and have a threesome?” he accused spitefully.
Damn the man, I wanted to smack him for continually accusing me of things I didn’t do.
“I did wait!” I said hotly, stepping forward so I was inches away from him. “Waitasec. What threesome? Who told you I had a fucking threesome?”
“That threesome you had with those weretigers. Dave told me all about it! Not to mention you couldn’t have the decency to even let me know you were going to move to Europe with Darien!”
Looked like Talon had thought the better part of discretion was to not say anything to Aerick. Couldn’t exactly blame him, but someone had misinformed Aerick again.
“What? Dave told you Nina’s little fucked up lies? Dammit! Look, that threesome never happened, and I’m sorry,” I sighed, I was not going to go into details about why I had gone to Europe, it was none of Aerick’s business, “but I can’t tell you about what happened over in Europe. Just know that I went there because I was needed, me and Alex both. I didn’t move over there with Darien.”
“Then you keep her from me?”
“I didn’t know it was her!” I objected, quelling the urge to strangle him. “Dave promised he was going to talk to you. Damn that man, I’m going to kill him when I see him.” I blew air out past my bangs, then sighed again. “I didn’t know, Aerick. I really didn’t. If I had, I would have found you, believe me, I would have. Knowing that Serena was alive, and knowing how you felt about her, you don’t think I wouldn’t have come to find you, no matter where you were at? You don’t think I’d tell Merlin himself to shove it because you needed to know? I would have. In a heartbeat.”
“Really?” He seemed skeptical.
“Yes. You really think it’s her?” I looked over to where Celeste was waiting in line for the boats with the others, wondered if I could actually be selfless enough to stand back and watch him be in love with another girl. I thought I could, but I wasn’t sure.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I’m just not sure yet. I want to believe, but I have my doubts. Especially since Lucien can’t read her.” Aerick shook his head in frustration and stared at the ground.
“He can’t? That’s odd,” I remarked softly.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding.
“I better get back. Kris and I need to go anyways. I told Celeste we couldn’t stick around for long, pack business,” I told him, making up some excuse to get out of there that wouldn’t let him know how much it hurt to see him chasing some other girl, even if it was Serena.
“Nina you mean,” he said with some contempt.
“Yeah,” I lied. I remembered what Kris had told me and figured I would try to help a little. “Look she still loves Dave, tell him that will you?”
“Sure. Whatever.”
“She does.” I at least believed that part myself. I took a breath and figured I might as well open myself up for more pain. “Just like I still love you, Aerick. Whether you believe me or not, it’s the truth.”
“That really is too bad,” he replied, and I thought I heard a trace of sadness in his voice.
“Why?”
“Because I think you’re too much trouble to be worth it. Especially with emo wolf around.”
I didn’t let him see how much his remark stung me. At least Darien thought I was worth the trouble.
“I hope you’ll change your mind one day,” I said, glancing back over towards Celeste. “But it’s probably a moot point anyway with Celeste around anyway.”
“Not necessarily.” He gave me a pragmatic if not too happy look. “If that was actually Serena, then maybe you’d be right. But since it’s not her, not in the strictest sense anyway, then I’m not sure I could be with her. Besides which, being with me would be too dangerous for her.”
I looked back to the group again, my gaze on Kris. “I know what you mean. Believe me, I know. I’d better go. See you around?” I asked hopefully.
Yeah, that’s a girl, Kat, just keep yourself open to get hurt more.
“Maybe. Here’s my office address.” He pulled a business card out of a pocket and handed it to me.
“A business card? Are you kidding me? You do remember that I’ve been to your office,” I reminded him, laughing. “Knight and Angel Services, security, investigations and renegade exterminations,” I read out loud.
“Yeah, a bit corny I know, but it was Raven’s idea.”
“Raven? You’re working with her?” My mouth dropped open.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You fucking her?” I asked him suspiciously.
“No,” he answered me, and I thought he was telling the truth.
“Have you fucked her?” I pried.
“Uh. No? Not that stupid, believe me, I know the consequences of fucking a fae,” he said.
I sighed in relief. “Good. Smart boy. That poor guy she is with…. I’ve seen her around town with some guy, he looks familiar but I can’t place it. Anyway, someone really should have told him…” I shivered as I pictured them again.
“Yeah. That would be Jacob. A friend of mine from school. You should remember him, he was working for the Vixens at… Prom.”
Prom. When Aerick had abandoned me. Oh, I’d found out later he was chasing a demon, but the memory still stung. “Oh. Yeah. No. I remember him now. Poor guy. Anyway, see you around.” I didn’t want to discuss Raven, or Prom, anymore.
I made my way ov
er to the others, where they were still waiting in line. Celeste and Kris both asked if I was feeling better, and since I’d already told the little white lie of an upset tummy, I continued it. After seeing Aerick, after knowing that he would probably still be watching Celeste, I suddenly didn’t want to be here anymore.
I dropped Kris off at home and went back to my apartment. Alex was gone again, so the place was empty. Too empty. I turned the television on, dropped onto the couch and grabbed the remote, flipping absently through channels. I would find something that looked somewhat interesting, watch it for a while, the get bored and begin channel surfing again.
My cell phone rang about an hour later, vibrating at me from my pocket, interrupting my disinterested viewing. It was Celeste. “Hey, Celeste, what’s up?” I asked, forcing cheerfulness I didn’t feel into my voice.
“I…” Celeste paused for a moment and I could hear voices in the background and beeping machines.
“Are you at the hospital?” I asked her, alarm going through me. “Did Travis do something to—”
“No, Travis didn’t do anythin’. It’s Aerick, actually,” she said, and I could hear the strain in her voice.
“Is Aerick in the hospital?” Now I could feel panic threatening.
“No! But he got hurt, I don’t know how bad though. It was all so frightenin’.”
“What was?” I demanded.
“Well, after we left the Circus Circus, Travis caught Aerick followin’ me and they started ta get inta it, but it jus’ got worse. Some shifters attacked Aerick. They hurt Travis real bad and threatened ta hurt me, and Tiff and Erin. But Aerick saved us. There were so many of them, Kat, and I was so scared! And one was a big bear an’ he seemed determined ta kill Aerick, but Aerick, he killed them… all of them! And then he told me…” She halted her half-panicked rambling for a moment and I could hear her sniffling back tears. “He jus’ disappeared inta thin air. I don’t know where he went, Kat.”
A big bear. Henry, it had to be. And he’d gone after Aerick even after vowing to leave him alone. Anger surged through me hot on the heels of fear for Aerick. “But you’re okay?” I asked her. I could really care less about Travis.