Awaken: Book 1 of the Dark Paradise Trilogy

by Isadora Brown

  “I took Andie shopping,” her mother snapped, her brown eyes burning. “When Andie got that internship at Phillip Enterprises, I took her shopping.”

  “That’s great. For Andie. What about me, Mom? What about when I got my dream internship? You didn’t do anything. Nothing! Is it because Andie’s internship is paid? You do know that the only reason she took that internship is because we needed money, right? Or is it because Andie looks like Dad and I look like you, and for whatever reason, I’ve disappointed you and Andie’s on this unreachable pedestal?” Keirah didn’t realize she was crying until she stopped talking and felt the hot, sticky tears trail down her cheeks.

  “What do you want me to say, Keirah?” her mother asked. She still kept eye contact with her daughter, even though Keirah was certain she wanted nothing more than to look away.

  “The truth.” Her voice, her eyes, her entire being was exhausted. “You owe me that much.”

  She watched as her mother rubbed her lips together. Judith’s dark eyes were enflamed by gold, glued to the hands resting in her lap. To anyone else, she looked like she wasn’t going to say anything, but Keirah noticed a breakage, a crack.

  “Keirah, I’m harder on you because you remind me of myself,” she said, her voice low, smooth, and cold. “Not because we look alike, but because when I was your age, I was like you. I didn’t sketch like you, but I wrote poetry.”

  “You know I sketch?” she asked, her voice cautiously hopeful.

  Judith’s eyes looked up, locking with her daughter’s. “I may be a hermit, Key,” she said, “but I still care about you.”

  Key. She had called her Key. A warmth Keirah had barely remembered spread through her and a tiny smile touched her lips.

  “I don’t pester you about things because you’re cool, calm, and collected like I was,” she said. “You have confidence that Andie doesn’t have. Andie needs to be reassured that she’s meeting my expectations because she thinks subconsciously that she never met your father’s and that’s why he left. She goes above and beyond in order to be perfect. She’s not perfect. She’ll never be perfect. You think I favor her, but I don’t. She just needs me more than you do.”

  “Then why do you pick on me?” Keirah asked, furrowing her brow. “Why do you point out things about myself that I can’t change? I wish I could put on more weight. I wish my breasts were bigger than a B cup. But they’re not. This is me. I’m happy with who I am, and I wish you would be too.”

  “I’m sorry.” The words were thick with a fog of guilt and her eyes were clouded with shame as she looked back down at her hands. They were words Keirah never thought she would hear. Finally, the fog lifted and she locked eyes with Keirah. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to be better. I’m not perfect, Keirah. I’m not going to be the perfect mother. But I’ll try. That’s all I can promise.”

  “I know I seem strong and tough and reserved,” Keirah murmured, “but I need you too.” Now her eyes latched onto the window, watching the rain fall.

  Her mother said nothing but she didn’t leave. For the moment, that was enough.

  18

  The rain persisted through the week. When the three girls met up the next day, Andie told them everything that had happened, from Keirah being stabbed to finding out about it from Commissioner Jarrett instead of her mother, and how insulting her mother had been when she did go visit her sister. Keirah was all right and was sent home the next morning. She had to miss school for the rest of the week and her internship was officially discontinued but at least she was recovering.

  Besides Keirah, Reese was only concerned about Andie’s welfare. The usually blunt, sassy girl was replaced by a frowning, bitter one who was going to hasten the onslaught of forehead wrinkles unless she started smiling again. When she asked her mother’s advice about how to cheer up Andie, Edina’s answer was simple. “Go shopping, darling. That always cheered me up when I was your age and I know how it cheers you up.”

  Armed with that information, Reese went to school Friday morning with a determined glint in her eyes. She was happy to see both Andie and Carey already in their seats so she wouldn’t have to repeat herself.

  “Reese!” Andie exclaimed as the blonde slid into her seat. “I’m so glad you’re here. I have amazing news!”

  Reese shot a befuddled look to Carey who grinned in return, as though to say, “Yes, this is real. Andie’s happy again.”

  “What’s up?” Reese asked, dropping her bag by her feet.

  “You know how I’ve been helping Miranda plan Jack’s annual Halloween party, right?” Andie said, her pale green eyes shining emerald. “We decided on the Spirit Museum as the venue, reserved it for Saturday, the thirtieth, and now we’re coming up with themes. Anyway, here’s the best part. As an intern, I not only get to go to the party, but I get to invite you guys. I’m taking Keirah too.”

  Reese let a beaming smile eclipse her face. “This is perfect!” she said. “I was going to invite you guys shopping tomorrow.”

  “Really?” Andie asked.

  “Wait And,” Carey said, turning her head so she was looking at her friend. “Will Keirah come? She’s been through a lot lately and we don’t want to force her into anything.”

  “I asked her last night and she said she was down for it,” Andie replied. “Of course, my mother refuses to speak to me. She thinks I’m trying to guilt Keirah into it, as though I’m trying to make up for her injury.”

  “Make what up to her?” Carey furrowed her brow.

  “Since Keirah told me she was leaving in the middle of the night to go to the Abby Ward and I didn’t stop her, it’s my fault she got injured. Now Mom thinks I’m going to buy her forgiveness by taking her to this exclusive event.”

  “But it’s not even your fault,” Reese said.

  “You’re preaching to the choir.” Andie rolled her eyes. “Keirah has told my mom over and over again that she doesn’t blame me, but you know my mom. She likes to hold grudges.”

  “Do you think Keirah would come shopping with us tomorrow?” Reese asked. “She’s totally welcome.”

  “Probably not,” Andie said, shaking her head. “Keirah doesn’t like shopping, and when she has to do it, she does it alone because it’s faster that way.”

  “So what’s the theme?”

  “We’re still trying to figure that one out. Tradition dictates that it be a costume party with decoration colors of orange and black. Personally, I think that’s boring and overdone. Later today, I’m going to suggest my idea.”

  “Which is?” Carey asked, quirking a brow, humoring her friend’s flair for the dramatic.

  “The Spirit Museum isn’t just about religion,” she explained, curling her hair behind her ear. “It also deals with all sorts of mythologies. I was thinking that instead of doing the typical Halloween thing, the theme could be Greek Mythology.”

  “Oh my gosh!” Reese squealed. “That sounds so cool! Wait, so when we go shopping, should we get Grecian-style dresses or something safe, just in case they don’t go for your idea?”

  Carey snorted. “Like Andie would ever play it safe?” she drawled.

  It was days like this one when Reese missed Beverly Hills. The suburb had malls where she could get an entire wardrobe all in one place. Onyx, on the other hand, had various department stores lined up on both sides of Ledger Street, though they weren’t interconnected and there wasn’t a food court. It was a ritzy street, and as Andie pulled into a parking garage on the corner, Reese noticed a cluster of paparazzi camped out in front of Oasis, a jewelry store.

  “So what store are we going to first?” Andie asked as she got out of the car.

  “I’m thinking Padua. It specializes in Mediaeval, Victorian, Elizabethan, and Grecian-style dresses.”

  “Plus, they have the shoes and accessories to match,” Carey added.

  They spent two hours at Padua looking through and trying on dresses. Reese narrowed it down to three and as she waited for Carey and Andie to try on their own
clothes, hung her three potentials on a nearby rack. The pad of her index finger began to tap against the point of her chin as she began the mental checklist of the pros and cons of each one.

  “I like the blue one myself,” a voice said from behind her.

  She rolled her eyes, glancing over her shoulder. Gabe stood there, wearing a grey v-neck shirt and designer jeans with an eye-catching gold belt buckle that said FIRE in red letters.

  “What do you want, Gabe?” she asked as she turned around to face him, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Is that the proper way to talk to your date?” he asked. His lips curled to reveal his canines, a glint in his blue eyes.

  “What are you talking about?” she snapped, narrowing her eyes.

  “Your mother didn’t tell you?” he asked her in an innocent voice that wasn’t natural to him. He took another step toward her and cocked his head to the side. “I told her I wanted to take you to Phillip’s party, but she told me you were already going with your friends. Luckily, I managed to persuade her to have you meet up with me at the party and spend some time together.”

  “My mother does not make my decisions for me,” Reese said. “And in your response, I didn’t hear one mention of the word date.”

  “My father is one of the most important men in the city, Reese,” he said. Not once did he look perturbed, shaken. He had no problem maintaining eye contact with her either. “Second to only Jack Phillip. Even though my father’s older by twenty-five years, the two are close friends. Now, your father works for Phillip, doesn’t he?”

  Reese said nothing but her stomach started to drop. She did not like where this was going.

  “You don’t have to answer,” he continued. “I know he does. See, I know everything that goes on in this city. I knew you’d be shopping for your dress for our date in a couple of weeks.”

  “Did you?” Reese asked, slowly raising a brow. “I have a feeling Henry knows a lot more about what goes on in this city than you do.”

  “Henry?” His tone darkened, his flawless face contorted into something early. “How do you know Henry?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “It is my business, actually,” Gabe said. “See, we’re going to meet at Phillip’s party and we’re going to be together. You’re going to dance with me and I’m going to hold your hand.”

  “You will never touch me,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said, reaching out to grab her chin with his fingers. “Unless you want me to tell my father that your behavior doesn’t reflect the values of Phillip Enterprises which would get your father fired, you’ll do whatever I want you to.”

  Reese was about to respond with a punch to Gabe’s nose when someone reached out and grabbed Gabe’s hand. “Now, now, Gabe,” a soft but firm Scottish brogue said. “That’s no way to touch a lady.”

  Immediately, Gabe dropped Reese’s chin and clenched his jaw. Both he and Reese turned to face Henry. Reese had no idea why he was here, why either of them were here, but she was thankful for Henry’s presence. Somehow she knew Gabe wouldn’t try anything with Henry there.

  “What are you doing here?” Gabe asked, his voice as cold as his eyes. Though he was speaking to Henry, his eyes were locked firmly on Reese, as though he was afraid she was going to disappear right in front of him.

  The question was something Reese wanted to ask both of them. It was just too much of a coincidence that Gabe and Henry were here in a shop that specialized in historical gowns at the same time she and her friends were, shopping for dresses they would wear to Jack Phillip’s party. A party Gabe would be attending.

  “I really don’t think that’s any of your concern,” Henry said in his smooth, silky voice. He spoke with his usual nonchalance, as though he was making small talk. Despite his tone, Reese saw his eyes constrict so instead of a deep, dark brown, they were a pure black. “Now, don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

  Reese glanced back at the dressing room, but saw no sign of Andie or Carey. Maybe that was a good thing.

  “You can’t tell me where I can and cannot be, Charles,” Gabe said, a challenge flashing in his eyes.

  Reese glanced back and forth between the two, wondering what the root cause of tension between them was. If Reese had to guess, Gabe, so flawless and strong, used to having and exerting power, was now being challenged and perhaps topped by Henry, so slight and mysterious. She pulled her brows together, wondering how Henry attained his power and how powerful he had to be to have dominion over Gabe.

  Reese didn’t think it was possible, but Henry’s eyes darkened even further at Gabe’s usage of his first name. What was it about his first name that Henry didn’t like? Charles wasn’t even a bad name, especially if he went by Charlie. Chuck, on the other hand …

  Gabe’s eyes narrowed at the look on Henry’s face. His face was lined, hard as stone, cold as sleet. She flinched at the sight of it. He looked … evil. As clichéd as the phrase was, she couldn’t think of another way to describe it. He looked older, wiser, darker. She hoped he would never turn such a gaze on her. What surprised her even more than that was Gabe’s reaction to it. Her mouth dropped open when she saw Gabe swallow. It was small, subtle, but there was a glimmer of trepidation in his eyes.

  He was scared. Gabe was really and truly scared.

  Gabe looked back at Reese and while the corner of his lips quirked into a smirk, his eyes were still hollow. “I’ll see you on the thirtieth,” he stated, his confidence slowly returning to his features. “Make an effort to look beautiful.” His smirk deepened, so it was true, and he walked away, leaving Reese alone with Henry.

  “I really don’t like that guy,” Reese breathed out. She couldn’t suppress the shudder if she tried.

  When she looked up at Henry, she found him staring at her, his brows knitted together. His eyes had softened—no longer were they black—and he looked at her as though he was searching for something on her face, an answer to a question she didn’t know to ask. When he finally locked eyes with her, he took a step back, distancing himself from her.

  “He seems to really like you,” Henry mused, a small, knowing smile on his face.

  Reese couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I don’t know why,” she muttered. Henry said nothing, but narrowed his eyes as though to say, “Really?” Reese blushed and looked away. “I’m not stupid. I know I’m pretty. But besides that, I have no other attributes someone like Gabe would want, especially since I mouth off to him every chance I get.”

  “Lucas Burr, Gabe’s father, owns a stable on the outskirts of the city,” Henry said. “A few times a year, he gives his son steeds that need taming. It is a pastime he relishes, even more than wooing members of the opposite sex. Now he finds himself in a predicament where those two things have combined.”

  “Did you just compare me to a horse?” she asked. An amused sparkle touched his irises, but Henry said nothing. “How do you know that?”

  Henry shrugged. “It is as you said,” he explained. “I know everything.”

  Reese pushed her lips together, trying to figure him out. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “I find it hard to believe both you and Gabe both happen to be in the same place as I am.”

  “Smart girl,” he murmured under his breath. He tilted his head to the side so his feathered hair fell into his face. “Let’s just say I’m keeping an eye on my interests.”

  This answered nothing, and in fact, left Reese with more questions. Did he mean that Padua was a store he somehow controlled? Or was he referring to her? If the former, what could an eighteen year old guy want with a dress store? If the latter, what could he possibly want with her, especially since he barely even knew her? She rarely saw him in school and never saw him out of it, save for that one time she followed him. If anything, Reese would have assumed Henry was avoiding her up until the point where he intervened with Gabe just now.

  Reese clenched her jaw and turne
d her attention back on Henry. “If you know everything, tell me how I get Gabe to leave me alone,” she said. “He’s threatening my father’s job.”

  “I can take care of Gabe,” Henry said, a dangerous inflection touching his voice. “All you have to do is ask.”

  “For a price, right?” She arched a brow.

  He said nothing but smirked his response.

  Reese was almost tempted to take him up on his offer. If Henry dealt with Gabe, she wouldn’t have to worry about him crying to his father, spreading lies about her and her behavior, or trying anything. But something stopped her. Just because Gabe was bad didn’t mean Henry was good. He might have helped her today, but she wasn’t about to trust him anytime soon. She got off easy with their last exchange, and she wasn’t about to risk it again. She had dealt with guys like Gabe back in Beverly Hills and she’d deal with Gabe too.

  “I don’t think so,” she told him. She took a step toward him and had to tilt her chin upwards to maintain eye contact. “While I appreciate the offer, I know you have something up your sleeve that would somehow screw me over.”

  His grin widened and his eyes shined. “Better me than him,” he said, his voice decidedly lower.

  Reese ignored the throngs of goose bumps that jumped up. “I don’t want to hear you turning around and offering Gabe the same deal, either,” she said in a firm voice. “Because me and him? That’s never going to happen.”

  “No,” he said, nodding his head once. “It’s not.”

  A shiver slid down her back. She felt herself relax, even under his penetrating gaze. Though she didn’t know him well, she could tell by the tone of his voice that he meant it. Perhaps she trusted him more than she gave herself credit for.