Seeking Fate (Fated)

by Brenda Drake

  Daisy’s eyes traveled over Andrei’s body in front of them. She leaned closer to her sister. “It’s different. That was when I was talking to awkward, skinny Andrei, not tall, broad shouldered Andrei.”

  “Cheer up.” Iris’s gaze went to Andrei. “Our tour guide’s a hottie.”

  Maybe he’s afraid of me. It wouldn’t be anything new.

  Daisy wondered if things between Andrei and her would continue to be awkward. They’d been online friends. Finding time to talk was difficult with the six-hour difference between her home and his in Amsterdam, but they worked it out. Had some deep conversations about world issues. Shared a love for all things Avengers. Finally meeting should’ve been easy.

  She slid a look at him, her stomach feeling like it hadn’t landed, even though she’d touched down on the tarmac almost forty minutes ago.

  Come on, Daisy. It’s Andrei.

  He glanced over his shoulder at her, a smile tilting his lips, dimples hinting in his cheeks, and her stomach crash-landed.

  Yeah, more like Andrei 2.0.

  She needed to get over her shyness around him. They had work to do. Crina had told Daisy that there was only one firstborn alive in the Van Buren family. Only one with the curse. Only one they must find.

  Crina had cursed the Van Burens centuries ago after one of their sons broke her heart. There were tons of records through all those years. Daisy and Andrei searched the branches of the family, followed the paper trails of the distant relatives, which took forever. And possibly gave Daisy carpal tunnel and a neck kink after all the hours she’d logged on her mother’s PC at the flower shop.

  Over the years, they had found precisely three potential victims for the curse with possible blood ties to the Van Burens. And, of course, they didn’t live in the same city or town. They were spread out in different locations across Europe.

  The wind picked up, and Daisy peered at Andrei through wisps of her dark-auburn hair blowing across her face. He walked with confidence. Not the kind that seemed cocky, but more like he knew who he was. When they talked over Skype, he sounded sure of himself. She liked that about him.

  And there they were, finally in the same place together and she was blowing it. If she didn’t pull it together, their little adventure would be stormier then the dark sky above their heads.

  As if on cue, it was like someone unzipped the sky and let loose a fury of rain.

  Crap. There’s no way today could get worse.

  Chapter Two

  Andrei

  Rain slapped Andrei’s body. He didn’t mind, though. It was refreshing after being in the heat all day. He darted under an awning covering the bus waiting area. The girls rushed to his side.

  Andrei gave them a broad smile and nodded, water dripping from the tips of his hair. “The weather sucks lately.”

  Daisy’s gaze flicked over him and stopped. Right on his face. Her eyebrows knitted together as if she was studying him. And something in the pit of his stomach did a damn flutter thing. What was that? Guys didn’t flutter. And what color eyes were those anyway? Not quite brown, not quite yellow. Whatever they were, they were expressive.

  Hazel. That’s it.

  Iris pushed her drenched hair from her face. “Yeah. Now, all we need is backsplash from a car’s tires to hit us.”

  “Funny,” Daisy said, which didn’t sound as though she thought it was fun.

  Her shirt clung to her skin. The thin material revealed a pink bra underneath. She was a cute girl with her auburn hair pulled into a ponytail and a slight gap between her front teeth. Daisy was shorter and curvier with dimples punctuating the corners of her mouth. Her sister was taller and lankier with lighter hair. He preferred Daisy’s type.

  Why is it so off with her?

  She hadn’t seemed shy during their communications over the past two years. They had flirted a few times. He even stalked her social media accounts. She took some cool pictures of the flower arrangements she’d done. Maybe he needed to give it time. She could just be nervous.

  Hell, I’m nervous. And, I’m staring.

  He rotated and watched their bus approach.

  The bus pulled up, sloshing water over them, and Andrei couldn’t help a laugh, which only succeeded in deepening Daisy’s frown.

  Iris laughed. “Did I predict that or what?”

  “You did.” The chuckle was still in Andrei’s voice.

  Daisy sighed, pulled the front of her drenched shirt away from her skin, and shook it. Her sweater was unbuttoned so it didn’t get as wet, but one pant leg received most of the impact. “This is just great,” she said.

  Andrei hefted Iris’s suitcase up the bus steps, then Daisy’s smaller one, placing it in the bag holder behind the driver, before finding a seat near the front. Iris removed her backpack and slid into the chair across the row from him. Daisy shuffled down the aisle. The bus jerked forward before it took off, causing Daisy to stumble forward and land on her right knee.

  He hesitated, just slightly, before shooting to his feet and helping her up. She had nice biceps hidden under her sweater. He was careful not to touch any skin. When a changer fixed a bad fate, it stayed with her until she touched someone else and passed it on. Miri was worried that if Daisy were changing fates, she’d transfer a bad one to him.

  Daisy tugged away from him. “I’m fine,” she said, her head down, eyes averted from him. She fumbled with the strap of her backpack before grasping it and dropping on the seat beside Iris.

  “Thank you?” Iris whispered, not knowing Andrei had heard her.

  “Um…” Daisy glanced over at him. Those big hazel eyes, framed with thick, mascara-caked lashes, had a golden-starburst pattern around the pupils. They say the eyes were windows to the soul. Her eyes were sad. Maybe even scared. “I’m sorry. I mean, thank you.” She shoved her backpack under the seat in front of her.

  Did she smile? If she had, it was a small one. So faint that if he’d blinked, he would’ve missed it. What was going on with her? She definitely wasn’t the girl he fantasized about after their long talks. This Daisy wasn’t outgoing or talkative like the one on their Skype calls.

  If he were being honest, he was standoffish, too. He blamed Miri. Why did she have to tell him about Daisy’s gift and the curse right before he was to meet her?

  It was irrational to think she could actually change his fate, but both Miri and his grandmother believed she could. Their stories made him uneasy. They’d shown him pictures and records of fate changers from the past. Some of the photographs were gruesome. Women hanged, burned, and tortured with knives for practicing their trade. Tarot readers suffered as well. Before the twentieth century, religious radicals killed anyone they thought possessed magic. They believed it to be the sign of the devil.

  Iris leaned over to view Andrei better. “Daisy said you lived in Brooklyn before.”

  He adjusted in his seat. “I was born in America. My mom immigrated there before giving birth to me. Spent my summers in Amsterdam. I have dual citizenship. She died when I was fourteen, and I moved here to live with my grandmother. She’s a Romanian expat.”

  “How old are you?” Iris asked.

  “I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks.”

  Elbows propped on her knees, Iris rested her chin in her hands. “I see. How did you like it there? In Brooklyn.”

  “It was all right. I’m attending NYU in the fall,” he said.

  “Oh, Daisy will be nearby. She’s going to the Flower School.”

  Daisy seemed to be ignoring the exchange. She stared out the window, watching the city speed past.

  “I know,” he said. “We plan to meet up while we’re there.”

  She shot him a startled look. “Yes, that’s the plan.” Lowering her head, a chunk of her wet hair fell and draped across her face.

  She’s surprised. How come? We’ve talked about it many times.

  This was getting ridiculous. He wasn’t a stranger. She wasn’t one, either. Yet, something was going on. Maybe it was his
fault. His fear of touching her. Could she sense that? He glanced at her. She looked vulnerable—nervous—chewing on her bottom lip and tapping her foot.

  She peeked at him through those strands of hair that were somewhat red but bordering on brown and caught him staring at her. He averted his eyes to the window. A little too quick and obvious. If they couldn’t talk to each other, it would be one torturously long journey.

  Guess it’s up to me to break the ice.

  He rubbed his chin and looked back at her. “I plotted out our route on a map. I’ll show you once we’re in a less busy place—” He grabbed the armrests when the bus shimmied around a curve. “And less bumpy.”

  “That’s great,” she said, a hint of excitement in her voice. A slight lift at the corners of her mouth. He was getting through. “I did the same with this app on my phone. We can compare them and use the best one.”

  “I knew you would.” He smiled then.

  The corners of her lips went higher.

  There it is. The smile she flashed for every pic shared on her Snapchat. The one that made her nose turn up at the end.

  Damn, she’s cute.

  “It looks good on you,” he said.

  She gave him a puzzled look. “What?”

  “Your smile,” he said. “You should do that more often.”

  She pressed her lips together, trying to stop her smile. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “How about, thank you?” Iris said, leaning forward again.

  “Thanks,” Daisy said, barely moving her full lips.

  Daisy rested back against her seat, stretching her arms above her head, her wet shirt pulling tight against her chest. She bent over and reached for her backpack, her shirt riding up and exposing two dimples in the lower part of her back. She unzipped the bag and removed a hoodie from within. Iris caught him staring at Daisy, and she quirked a knowing grin. He turned and stared out the window again.

  “So, where are we going?” Daisy raised her voice over the roar of the bus and the chatter of the passengers.

  He glanced at her. “To my grandmother’s. She’s excited about your visit. Been cleaning and preparing for weeks, even though it’s just for a night. Made sarmale for lunch later, which are cabbage rolls, and papanash, a dessert. Miri said your grandfather was Romanian.”

  “Yes, he was. My grandmother wasn’t, and she’s the one who cooks, so we never tasted Romanian food.” Daisy removed her wet sweater, shoved it into her bag, and slipped on her hoodie.

  What’s wrong with me? Stop staring already.

  “Too bad.” He faced forward and rubbed his hands up and down his knees. “But we’ll fix that soon. You hungry now? We can grab something at the baker’s on the way.”

  “I’m starving,” Iris said as the bus pulled up to their stop.

  Daisy scooted to the end of her seat and gazed out the window. “Where are we?”

  Her face lit up and he could see that something special he’d gotten to know over the years. That drive to know everything. To digest as much as she could about whatever interested her.

  “Watergraafsmeer. It’s a short walk from here.” He stood and staggered down the aisle to grab the suitcases before the bus stopped.

  Daisy and Iris followed him.

  He dragged Iris’s heavy bag down, and it landed with a loud thud, nearly breaking his back. Daisy’s was lighter, and he set it next to the other one, his hand resting on top of it.

  “Here, let me take this one,” Daisy said, reaching for the handle.

  He pulled his hand away barely avoiding her touch.

  That was close. Did she notice? She’s not acting like she did.

  “We’re here,” Daisy said.

  Her words hadn’t registered. Not until an older woman behind Iris scolded him in Romanian to move. He dragged Iris’s suitcase down the row and lifted it as he pounded down the steps to the road.

  Bicycles rushed by on the sidewalk and he yielded for them. It took a while to get used to them when he first moved to Amsterdam. They were like roaches crowding the streets and speeding over the pavement. He learned fast that pedestrians had to watch out for them, not the other way around like in the States.

  Daisy stepped off the bus, breathing heavily. “I’m so tired, I could sleep right here.”

  “You have jet lag,” Iris said, dragging her feet over the cobblestones to them. “I told you to sleep on the plane.”

  “I did.”

  “Not enough.” Iris slipped the strap of her purse over her head. “You were too busy with those notes.”

  Iris’s eyes were stuck on a store window as she fixed her hair. While Daisy slowly turned on her heel, eyes wide, taking in her surroundings with those same fresh eyes he had when he first came to the country. The appreciation showing on her face caused a smile to twitch on his lips, remembering all the excited stories she’d tell him about the trips she went on with her family. Not a single detail missed. No matter what dark thing was happening in her life, she always noticed the beauty around her.

  “This way.” Andrei waited for another bike to pass before heading down the sidewalk with the girls trailing him. The smell of hot bread hit his nose before the bakery’s yellow sign came into view.

  “That smells so delish.” Iris passed Andrei and got in the line that formed outside the doors.

  “I’ll stand against the wall with the bags,” he said, finding a spot without parked bikes crowding the area.

  Daisy put her bag next to Iris’s suitcase, and those sad eyes glanced up at him. “Do you want something?”

  “No, thank you. I ate earlier.” He leaned against the wall.

  She started to turn away when Elena and two of her friends approached him, walking as Romanian girls did in heels—full of confidence and sway.

  “There you are,” Elena said, draping her hand over his shoulder and leaning in close. “You naughty boy. I thought you were meeting us at Maurice’s the other night.”

  The girl was clueless. Beautiful, but missing something vital. Like sensitivity. He met her at a party a year ago, and it had been a month since they last went out. He’d woken up the next morning dressed in one of Maurice’s superhero costumes and couldn’t remember what had happened the night before. He had missed taking his grandmother to his cousin’s wedding. Bunică was disappointed in him, and he vowed never to do that to her again. Which meant, he had to give up Elena and her partying friends.

  Andrei had gotten into trouble following the wrong group in Brooklyn, and he regretted it. He’d caused his mother many headaches, and her sudden death didn’t give him time to make it up to her. He was determined to make Bunică proud. She and Aunt Miri were all he had left in the world.

  He glanced at Daisy. She stood there watching Elena with an expression on her face as if she’d just bitten into a lemon.

  Elena noticed her, too. “What? Is this your new girlfriend?”

  Daisy snapped out of her daze. “I’m not his girlfriend,” she said. “I mean…um, we’re just friends. Excuse me.” She spun around and joined Iris in the queue.

  Elena returned her attention to Andrei. “Why are you bothering with such a plain girl?”

  “Plain?” He looked over her shoulder at Daisy. Even after traveling on a plane for hours, she was gorgeous. Daisy didn’t need to pile on makeup or wear uncomfortably high heels to look good. Hers was an effortless beauty. “I wouldn’t call her plain,” he finished.

  A frown slowly turned down the corners of Elena’s lips. “Don’t disappoint me again. Be there this Saturday. I’ll make it worth your time.” After a quick kiss on his lips, she flipped around and sauntered off down the street with her friends mimicking her walk. Most expats worked at fitting in with the more casual Dutch, not Elena. She wanted to be noticed.

  Daisy gave him another disapproving look as she moved inside the bakery.

  She thinks I’m not the same person from our chats.

  Two years. That’s how long they’d been talking. He belie
ved she was the only one who actually knew the true him. Never had he told anyone how obsessed he was with poetry or that he played the viola. But knowing someone online was different from real life. There were outside influences, expressions that came with the words, and body language that spoke more than what was shared on the screen. Maybe they just needed some time together. Time to show each other their true selves.

  As he waited for the girls to return, Andrei people watched.

  An older woman shuffled down the sidewalk, crooked and bent over a cane. She disappeared around the corner into the small alleyway between the buildings. Daisy stepped out of the bakery and followed the woman.

  What is she doing? Giving the woman money? She’s too trusting.

  He started to go after her, but the suitcases stopped him. If he left them, they wouldn’t be there when he returned.

  Iris exited the shop clenching a white bag and a throwaway coffee cup. She glanced around until she spotted Andrei. “Where’s Daisy?” she asked, approaching.

  “She took off around the corner—”

  Just then, Daisy came out of the alleyway and weaved through the crowd.

  “Where were you?” Iris asked when Daisy reached them. “Your nose is bleeding.”

  Daisy touched her nose, then looked at her fingers. Blood glossed the tips of her fingers. Iris dug into the white bag, pulled out a napkin, and pinched a corner between her fingers. She waved it for Daisy to take, careful not to touch hands.

  Iris narrowed her eyes on Daisy. “You were changing someone’s fate, weren’t you?”

  Is she serious? Andrei pressed his back against the wall trying to get away from Daisy. As if she could spread the plague.

  Daisy held the napkin to her nose. “You don’t understand. She was homeless.” She must’ve noticed Andrei’s action or the worried look on his face. “What? Do you think I’m going to hurt you? Relax. I won’t. I used an insulator. It absorbs the bad fate.”

  “Daisy, what are you saying?” Iris stomped her foot. “He doesn’t know about that stuff.”