I close my eyes and wish there is a way I can erase those last thirty seconds or maybe find a shovel to dig myself a very deep black hole and jump in. His chest starts to rumble against mine from deep laughter, the sound a loving caress to my ears.
“Come on Flint! We’re here! Time is wasting; we need to get more candy!” Lyon forcefully grabs Flint’s wrist, the one that’s behind my back and supporting it. I start to fall forwards, but not before he reaches out again steadying me on my feet. I look up into his face, smiling in gratitude, but really hoping beyond hope that he would just wake up with partial amnesia tomorrow morning and that whole episode would be gone. I straighten my skirts back over the petticoat trying to busy my hands so that I don’t have to look back up at him with bright red, flaming cheeks.
Flint’s thumb and forefinger grips my chin I startle again, snapping my head back up. He doesn’t say anything, but looks intently into my eyes as if he is searching for something. I swallow thickly, captured in his captivating eyes unable to look away even if I had wanted to. I stay still, afraid to breathe, butterflies dance in my stomach. The moment between us is so intense my body is not able to process the meaning of it.
“Come on Flint! You’re taking too long! They are going to be out of candy if we don’t hurry!” Lyon goes back to tugging and urging Flint along. He takes one last second and runs his thumb up the line of my jaw before he breaks eye contact and turns to Lyon. I blink coming out of the haze.
I don’t think I have ever been as appreciative of Lyon interrupting something as I am in this moment. I put my hand over my chest, feeling the fast beat of my heart, trying to take deep breaths to calm myself down.
What was that? That intense feeling has happened with two of the guys now! Both of which, I’m supposed to be a part of an alliance with, that means I will be connected to them until our deaths. Like that’s not going to be complicated enough! That’s it; my libido is on a time out.
By the end of the night, with Flint slipping all that candy into Lyon’s bag it made Lyon win by a landslide. Of course, Lyon was proud to declare that every three seconds as he shoveled his hard-earned candy down his mouth. I usually don’t allow sugar this late at night, but it’s Halloween, I figure it was okay to bend the rules for one night.
We trick or treated up and down every street in Flint’s neighborhood, the biggest surprise was when he took us up to his front door. The guys were busy that night but Flint said they had got some Halloween stuff together for Lyon. ‘Some stuff’ was an understatement, what Flint actually brought out of the house was two full bags of candy, Halloween themed toys, and baked goods. I’m assuming it was Connor’s doing with the baked goodies. When Lyon’s saw it all, his eyes lit up like the fourth of July fireworks display as he dug around to see his treasures. It touched my heart, they didn’t have to do that, but the fact that they thought of him at all meant the world to me, and helped a bit more towards the new role and direction my life was taking.
We had arrived back to my house and I am one worn out witch and there is one sleeping Batman in Clark Kent’s arms.
Note to self: break in new shoes before doing something like this again.
We were a sight to see. Flint helps me get Lyon’s shoes off, carries him and put him to bed for me.
Once he comes down the stairs, I say, “Thank you for coming along with Lyon tonight. I know it meant the world to him. And well, that means the world to me.” I lean against the edge of my open door, only moving to allow him to get out. Once he passes, he faces me on our front porch.
“No need for thanks. I know how it feels like to be the sole person someone depends upon.”
I look down unable to make eye contact. “It was his first Halloween without his parents. I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to make it special for him. Halloween was Deacon’s favorite holiday so they used to go out just the two of them. They’ve done it ever since Lyon was old enough to understand. If it wasn’t for you, I’m sure he wouldn’t have had such a great time. So, I really do need to say thank you.”
“Pchelka, you are too hard on yourself. That little boy adores you and I have no doubt he would have loved to trick or treat with only you. You are doing a great job Dillon. I see that, I see you.”I nod, finally meeting his eyes, empathy and kindness shining in his.
He moves closer to me so he can raise his hand to my face, his thumb traces my jaw gently. I’m silent unable to form a response, his touch short circuits my brain. My eyes flutter closed.
“Good night Dillon.” He whispers. I can feel his warm breath on my lips, his touch lingering for another second before he removes his thumb and starts walking down the steps. My eyes open, I instantly move my hand to the last spot he touched trying to preserve some of its warmth.
“Night Clark.” I call out loud enough that I earn a grunt of laughter from him, but he doesn’t turn around. I go back inside and lock my door and turn off the porch light. I lean against the wall, butterflies flapping around my stomach like crazy.
Wow, did that really just happen?
I shake my head, bending down, finally able to relieve the poor soles of my feet from the shoes. Just as I finish, my phone vibrates in my pocket of my dress. I go to grab it, having a fleeting silly notion that Flint might have texted me.
Okay, yeah, I really need to calm down. I pull open my texts and realize it’s from the other guy who also makes my insides go crazy. Shit.
Everett Techie: Hey, are you busy tomorrow evening? I am kind of anxious to get started on completing the alliance.
Me: Yeah, I’m free.
Everett Techie: Okay good, want to meet at your house tomorrow say around 7ish? I figure if you are in an environment that is comfortable to you it might make things easier. Oh, and Connor said he would make dinner so no need to worry about that.
I look around the house and suddenly see all of the things that need to be cleaned.
Do I really want them over here? Well, I mean, I guess it does make sense to be here since Everett said I could have side effects and discomfort when I form the first few alliances. Truthfully, I would rather be here in case that happened.
Me: Sure, just come whenever it’s convenient for you. I will be back from work around the same time Lyon gets home from school, which is around 3:30, so any time after that is fine.
Everett Techie: Okay sounds good; I will let you know at least 30 minutes before I head over. Goodnight Dillon, Sleep well.
Me: You too, Techie Guy.
I strip out of my costume and fling it in the direction of my dirty clothes basket in my laundry room. I grab a pair of comfy shorts and a tank then move towards my cabinet of cleaning supplies.
Might as well get it done tonight, Monday’s suck in general, I didn’t need to add cleaning on top of it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“I know every one of my personal demons by name.” - Connor
Tucker
“Do you think they will like chicken alfredo?” Connor glances over his shoulder at me while hovering over a pot of boiling water ready to put the linguine noodles into it. He’s wearing his favorite apron which is black, comes down to his thighs and says; ‘May I suggest a sausage’ with a hand underneath the script, its index finger pointing downwards. We all hate it which is why it’s his favorite.
“Well let’s see,” I start ticking points off on each of my fingers. “There is chicken, noodles, and cheese. We know how much kids like noodles and cheese, and I’m sure Dillon will approve of the fact that you are adding chicken, so yes, I think chicken alfredo is okay. Plus, I think you will get bonus points for the garlic bread and chocolate cake for dessert.”
The cake looks so good. Maybe he won’t notice if I have only a little bit?
My eyes unconsciously keep looking towards the fridge where the cake is. Connor outright laughs, he must have caught that thought.
“I will notice if there is a bite missing Tuck-a-roo. We all know you have the biggest sweet tooth, well second to me. Your little bit re
ally means half the cake. Nuh-uh, don’t even think about it, took me half the day to make it. Bug off!”
“Stupid alliance.” I grumble under my breath. Connor laughs again. I growl playfully at him. He shakes his head, smirking at me.
He dumps a bag of noodles into the pot. I’ve learnt a long time ago that the easiest way to Connor’s heart is by complimenting his cooking. I laugh as he adds a flip to his wrist with a dramatic flair as he stirs the noodles. I look to the clock on the wall.
“I’m going to see if Ev needs us to do anything else before he heads over.”
“Only Ev is going?” Connor stops mid-way from putting the lid over the boiling pot of noodles, his eyebrows rise in disbelief. “I didn’t slave away over the stove all day not to eat what I’ve cooked.” He accentuates with a smack of the lid as he puts it on the pot.
“Yeah, last I heard Ev wanted to go by himself. Something about not wanting to overwhelm Dillon; I don’t think he is convinced that she’s absorbing everything as well as it seems.” I try and glaze over the basics of what Ev and I had talked about earlier.
“But we all heard her man, sure she had a moment of freaking out, but in the end she did accept it. More like, she got the steel determination in her mind that this is what she is meant to do now that Deacon is gone.” Connor props his hip on the side of the stainless-steel stove and crosses his arms over his chest, like he is settling in for the long haul of working this out, until he gets his way.
I lift up my hands trying to placate him, because there isn’t enough time before Ev has to leave and I need to make sure I have all the books he wants me to share with her on the history of the Mikroelementy. “Look don’t start with me, I’m just telling you what he told me; if you have a problem with it, go talk to him.”
“I think I will,” Connor says as he uncrosses his arms and starts to head towards the kitchen. “Would you watch my noodles please, they have about five more minutes left before they need to be strained.”
“Connor, no I can’t, you know how bad I am at this stuff.” I start to freak a bit, because the only extent I have with making something yummy is when I add coffee grounds and water to my coffee machine in the morning.
“You’ll be fine Tucky, five more minutes though! Don’t screw up my hard day’s work.”
“Then don’t leave me here to watch them!” I try one last time furtively, because dammit, cooking! He just keeps marching forward like a man on a mission and flicks a dismissive hand over his shoulder.
Great, looks like I am stuck, thanks buddy.
Five minutes to the second later I turn off the stove top and take the pot to the sink where Connor has already placed a strainer over the drain. Bless the spirits for small miracles; somehow, I manage to only fumble my way through draining the noodles and rinsing them without anything major happening. I stand staring at them, watching the steam swirl around the air, frowning. I’m stuck on what to do next.
Connor, what next? I try to channel into him, but I’m met with a force that blocks my mind.
That asshole is blocking me out.
I brush my hair away from my forehead trying to remember anything else that could work. After a minute of careful consideration, I decide to put them back in the pot and on the stove; I also throw in a bit of olive oil for safe measure, hoping that it will help keep the noodles from sticking.
“That is my extent on cooking everyone!” I proudly announced to, well the empty kitchen as I place the lid over the pot and walk away. I still need to make sure I have everything together for Ev. I check the clock again; I have almost no time left to search out the remaining books. I look back longingly towards the stove as I head to our library/office in the house and hope Connor will hurry up, as much crap as we give him for being our house bitch and cook, I really don’t want his days’ worth of work to go to waste. I’m a sucker for good food, and he makes some of the best food I have ever tasted.
***
“Alright Tuck-a-roo, you need to go make yourself presentable, we leave in ten minutes.” Connor barges in the office starting me. I hit my head on a shelf I’m currently under looking for the last book on Evs list.
“Ow, shit” I wince as I rub the now growing lump on top of my head. “Where the hell are we going Con?” I take in his appearance and notice his apron has gone and he has changed into a light blue shirt and black jeans.
I turn back to the massive dark oak shelf, which holds books filled two rows deep. I breathe in the old book smell. I’ve always loved it. I resume my searching for the last book.
“Dillon’s of course!” He perks up with his cheerful tone; the tone, I know as victory.
Startled once again, I jump back up and out, this time thankfully missing the shelf.
“What do you mean Dillon’s? I thought you wanted to go, why do I have to go?”
“You’re telling me, you don’t want to go over there and see what happens?” Connor stares me down while raising his eyebrows up high, almost comically.
“Of course I do, but what happened to not wanting to put added pressure and all that stuff that Ev was preaching?”
“Well,” Connor marches up to me, plucking a piece of paper from my hand that has the list of books I’ve been searching for, he answers while reading it over. “To be honest, I simply pointed out that while I understood the worry of overwhelming her, but he can be a little intense, and he might need us to help since you know, I’m the amazing, funny one with good looks, and eh, I suppose, you’re pretty good with your element so you can do your voodoo creepy stuff and calm her down if she goes into overload mode.” He smiles proudly at himself and walks over to a smaller bookshelf closer to the open door and proceeds to run his finger along the spin of the exposed books.
“And how is your humor supposed to help things?” I ask, not even wanting to give him validation of touching on his good looks statement.
“Chicks dig humor, and if your voodoo fails, most of the time humor can break the tension.” He shrugs his shoulder as he pulls a book off the shelf and turns around to walk back to the desk, plopping it forcefully down upon the pile of others. I raise an eyebrow at him and look at the cover, shaking my head.
“How…” I start but promptly cut off by Connor.
“Don’t under estimate my greatness Tucky, you guys would be lost without me.” His hand lands on my shoulder and pushes me towards the open door, “Now off you go to make yourself presentable.”
“What’s wrong with…” I cut my sentence off as I look down and realize that I do indeed need to make myself a little bit more presentable. I’m in plaid pajama pants and a white crew neck tank. “Nevermind.” I mutter.
“Sure. Oh, by the way, good job with the noodles, I knew you had it in you.” I puff my chest up a bit with the compliment but quickly deflate it. I’ve been spending too much time with him lately, this night out could do me some good.
***
Connor
“Nope, nothing,” I announce from the back seat when I get Flint’s voicemail once again. “You know I would expect this of Zep since he is gone more than he is home, but Flint is the last person I would expect to not answer his phone.” I hang up, pocketing my phone. We pull into Dillon’s driveway and I take in a deep breath then let it out slowly, it’s time to start this. I’d be lying if I said I’m not nervous.
We found our Manipulator, and it’s a girl. Ev is worried about Dillon not having the reality of the situation settle in, when in all honesty; I think, it is us who really hasn’t let the true meaning of it set it. We have a complete alliance; the thought both worries and excites me. I’m worried because Ev keeps mumbling about the fact there hasn’t been a complete alliance in over twenty years, and what he hasn’t let slip from his mouth, I have picked up through his mind. Death. It seems like when someone becomes a Manipulator and an alliance is formed it is always overshadowed by death. I try not to project my morbid thoughts as I pick up my bag that contains covered dishes, full of the food I’ve be
en cooking all day. I look towards the beach house and try to switch my thinking back to the more pleasant ones.
I know each one of us have been thinking it over the last forty-eight hours, but I can’t explain the feeling my soul has had since everything has been brought to the surface. We have found our missing link, we were now complete. Though, I know I should be more focused on why it’s a girl, not to mention a direct link of being the sister of our previous Manipulator, my soul can’t help the feeling of how right it feels. I know the other guys are feeling the same or at least something similar. Hell, the mood had been lifted up since Dillon and her catastrophe came into our lives. Even Zep, when he’s around, is showing a sense of happiness and accomplishment.
“….and don’t force it.” Ev finishes, looking at me and Tucker seriously.
Whoops, looks like I’ve missed a lecture. I shrug. Oh well. Probably for the best.
“Look who you are talking to,” Tucker holds out his arm which contains a plastic bag full of paper plates napkins and disposable utensils. Dillon shouldn’t have to clean up if I have cooked. Ev’s eyebrow twitches when his focus goes from Tucker to me. “Not really the best example with Connor, but you know me, forcing things is not my forte unless I am made to.”
I feign being prickled by the accusation, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ev sighs, “We love you for who you are Connor, but let’s try and let Dillon and Lyon warm up to you a bit before you go full Connor mode on them.” I nod my head in agreement, not really putting up a fight because I can be a little intense. I know every one of my personal demons by their names.
“I understand man, I was just messing with you, and I don’t want to be a hindrance when we are trying to move forward.” Ev gives me one of his crooked smiles and I know he realizes that I wasn’t offended.
“Well, let’s not drag this out, come on.” Ev says as he grabs a back pack, struggling to put it on his back, as if it’s been weighed down by books. It probably is.
Controlling the Elements (The Manipulator Series Book 1) Page 20