The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  Bindley trekked down the yard. “Sergeant, you need anything?”

  “Yup, I need some lights and some pictures.” His voice was solid and steady and I wondered how he did it. I was sickened just guessing what had happened. He would have to pick it all apart until he got a story from all the gory details.

  When Bindley and a few other police officers had gathered, Williams looked at Shane and I. “Okay you two, we are going to need some statements. You know how this works. Shane, take her home and we will meet at her house in twenty minutes.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Home did sound good. Retelling the disgusting story, however, did not.

  It was worse than I imagined it would be.

  After we did get home and cleaned up, my dad rubbed my shoulders while my sister sat on the couch, seemingly horrified, as I recounted every moment of the party. I left nothing out, including everyone I had seen there, counting Aleksander as well, who was now wanted for questioning. I disputed his involvement as he had been with me while someone was obviously attacking her.

  Sergeant Williams and Shane both agreed he could have been an accomplice. I disagreed and argued that if he had been an accomplice, why would he bring me right to the scene of the crime? To which they both agreed he did it to clear his name.

  It did seem off that he had been at both parties when the druggings happened. It seemed even more off that I was the only person who had seen him. It was weirder yet that he had lied to me about saving my life. I remembered that, I was positive.

  Nothing about him was adding up.

  I went to bed that night after taking the longest shower in recorded history. I threw the red dress out, feeling no remorse for its untimely death. My head whirled around and around, playing the same pictures and what-ifs until I finally fell asleep.

  I woke more tired than when I fell asleep. I looked at the time and cringed. I had been asked to come down to the police station to look at pictures of criminals at eleven, and it was six minutes to. I climbed out of bed feeling woozy as if I would black out. I sat back on my bed as the stars cleared from my eyes cleared and I nearly got sick all over my floor. I took a few deep breaths and got up slowly to get dressed.

  My dad got a worried look on his face when he saw me coming down the stairs. “You look funny, kiddo. You still tired?”

  “Yeah.” I yawned. “I’m exhausted. What time did I go to bed?”

  He checked the clock. “Twelve hours ago. This must be draining you, all this craziness. Shane just pulled up.”

  “Okay.” His truck was parked outside the window. I struggled with the walk over to my shoes. “I don’t want to do this. I know Aleksander isn’t a bad guy. I have better instincts than that.”

  My dad smiled. It was weak and not even close to convincing. “You are a smart girl, but I think some of the darker elements in our world can fool even the wisest of us. When you get home, it’s bed for a couple of days, okay?”

  “Okay.” I wanted to go back to bed.

  He passed me a banana as I walked out the door. I hadn’t been eating again, and I could feel the weight falling off me after only a few days. The stress was bad for my health. I pulled my long locks into a loose braid and struggled down the front steps.

  Shane got out and opened the door for me. “You look beat, Aimes. After this is over you need some serious rest. The big dance is on Friday.”

  I scowled, not realizing so much time had passed since the whole poisoning thing. “I think they should cancel it. What with everything that’s going on, don’t you?”

  “No, normal is what we need right now. They just have to make sure the security is upped.”

  We didn’t speak on the ride over. I was annoyed and feeling sour. I flipped down the sun visor to check in the mirror. I did look awful, with huge bags under my eyes and puffy eyelids. Even my lips seemed a bit swollen. I didn’t need help in the puffy-lip department.

  We went inside the first door of the small brown building to a waiting area surrounded by what appeared to be Plexiglas.

  We were brought to where the sergeant sat at a desk, on the phone. He hung up and grinned. “We have a database of drifters and criminals from the area, if you just want to take a quick look to make sure that guy isn’t one of them. That would make our job a lot easier.”

  “Fine,” I muttered as he stood up and walked out of his office.

  “You can use the computer over here. It’s pretty straightforward. Scroll down and click to the next page.”

  “Okay.”

  He gave me a look. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. How’s Jaime this morning?”

  “Same thing as you and the other girl. She is out like a light, no signs of waking up, and vomited for hours before passing out completely.”

  “Was she raped?” The words left my mouth like I was spitting out a bad taste, but I had to know.

  “I can’t disclose that kind of information, sorry. I will say she’s lucky you guys arrived when you did. I’ve had my men searching with the dogs for your friend Aleksander and his crowbar. Only the crowbar has turned up. The dogs haven’t found a single scent to track, even off the crowbar.”

  Shane frowned. “You found it near the house?”

  “Yeah.” The sergeant nodded. “Two hundred yards over, with no trace of anything on it. It wasn’t used anyway. The reason I’m telling you this is that he may seem like a nice guy, but I want you to ask yourself why no one else saw him that night. Why didn’t he come back to make sure you were okay when he didn’t catch the guy? Why would he leave you with a hurt young woman alone in the bushes in the first place? Especially, if he had no intention of catching the person who hurt her.”

  I was sick to my stomach as his words whirled around in my head. They made perfect sense.

  Disappointed, I scrolled through the photos that were mostly ugly mug shots of seedy-looking people. In the background I could hear the sergeant try to sell the police force to Shane who was in the far corner. He sounded like a recruiter.

  After a while I heard them walk back to me. “How’s it going in here?”

  I frowned. “No, no, and more no. He isn’t in here.”

  Williams shrugged. “Well, you can’t always strike gold with the first hit. Keep in touch about anything you remember, and I’ll let you know anything I can.”

  The sergeant picked up a brochure for becoming a cop and handed it to Shane. “Son, I’ve never told a single person they should take a look at this. I think you’ve got something.”

  Shane smiled. “Thanks. I’ll look at the website tonight.”

  He opened the door and we left. The cold air didn’t seem to snap me out of the haze I was stuck in.

  “I need some sleep, Shane.”

  “I’m taking you home now.” He opened the truck door and helped me inside. I felt everything but noticed nothing.

  Chapter 17

  A is for Adultery, Infidelity, Treachery, Faithlessness—

  “Aimee,” music sang in my ears. “Aimee, you need to wake up. I don’t have much time left, and I need to talk to you.” It sounded less and less like music, and I realized I was dreaming. My toes no longer touched the sand, only sheets, and my head was on a pillow with drool under my lips.

  “Dad?” I licked my lips, certain I’d heard a man talking. The headache was back behind my eyes and I couldn’t control my vision. Had I been drugged again?

  “Oh no,” I moaned. “Not again.” I yawned and one eye opened. I blinked and both eyes started to cooperate. As the fog cleared and I was able to focus, I saw something.

  I opened my mouth to scream.

  His hand went to my lips.

  Aleksander was holding me hostage.

  My gaze darted around the room but slowed when I realized I was still at home. He was in my room. Could you really be hostage in your own room?

  His intense blue eyes pleaded with me while his hand continued to cover my open mouth. I didn’t like people’s hands
near my mouth, and this was twice with him. I cringed, closing my lips.

  “Please, Aimee, don’t scream. Let me explain.” His voice was a whisper, “I’ll take my hand away if you promise not to scream.”

  “Fine.” I agreed through his fingers. I was in too much pain to scream anyway. My eyes gaped about, taking notice of my open window. He had climbed up and inside to talk to me.

  It freaked me out but at least I was still in my room.

  Even if he was here to hurt me, my family was downstairs. At the very least, my sister could attack with curling irons and hairspray, and he would get one hell of a makeover.

  He remained hovering too close to my face. “Does your head hurt?” he asked worriedly.

  “Yeah. It comes and goes. Right now it’s really bad.”

  He put his hands up to my head. “I can’t heal you, but I can take the pain from your head. You’ve been doing too much. You’re tired.” His words made no sense to me and I wanted to pull away, but his touch on my head stopped all the agony.

  His hands were hot. My head nearly broke into a sweat as he touched either side. His eyes stayed focused on me, and in the seconds it took to notice the pounding was lessening, I realized I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his smile. His upper lip was fatter on one side making his lips always appear crooked. I wanted to suck that top lip. I blushed, wondering why I was thinking that and cleared my throat as he pulled his hands away.

  “Well?” He smiled with the bigger side only, giving me a proper crooked smile. “Is it gone?”

  “Yeah.” I needed to snap out of it. His affect on me was ridiculous.

  Something about him being close to my bed and my being in nothing but my underwear and a tank top, made the feelings more awkward. But my mind wanted to wander off and contemplate things it shouldn’t. Especially, when I was sort of seeing Shane. I wasn’t Alise for God’s sake.

  “Aimee, snap out of it.” He raised his voice.

  “What?” I switched back to reality.

  “You’re daydreaming again.”

  “Sorry, I’ve been funny lately.”

  He looked distracted by me too. His eyes were burning as he watched me. I realized he was waiting. He might have asked me a question and I had missed it. I shrugged at him, hoping that would be a satisfactory reply and we could move on.

  He leaned in very close, I was taken aback but I didn’t budge.

  What had he asked?

  His hot breath tickled my lips. I gulped, realizing what it must have been.

  He never closed his eyes, even though he was inches from my face. My eyes went blurry as he got closer. I could imagine the taste of his mouth. He smelled like heaven. It was the smell of fresh air mixed with something I couldn’t place. I wanted to fight my body and my urges and pull away from him, but I was a snake caught in the music of his pungi. He had charmed every inch of me, inches I hadn’t known existed.

  After an unusually long moment, he moved in the last inch and his lips brushed mine. It was so soft, I couldn’t stand the torture. I leaned in, but he seemed to pull back, keeping our touch light. His soft lips brushed mine. His tongue slowly grazed my lips, sending a shiver up my spine and then down again. I didn’t know what was happening but the control I worked every day to maintain was gone. I wasn’t in charge. I had no sarcasm for the situation; it was raw emotion. I understood ragged breath as mine became inconsistent. I didn’t need air—I needed his kiss to deepen and relieve me of my built up tension.

  He pulled away though, leaving me hanging there. He smiled like a light had switched on. It lasted a second and then he sighed. “Aimee, I’m cursed.”

  “So.” I didn’t care. Bad luck had rained down on me for so long, it didn’t matter if he brought more to the table. To be completely honest, it was probably me that made him feel cursed.

  “No,” he continued softly, “I mean I’m like an angel of tragedy and accident.” His words never made their way to my brain. They stopped at my ears, stuck. My mind flooded with whispers of impossible things such as I knew he was an angel.

  His lips moved and I could hear him talking, but was unable to comprehend. I was stuck on angel.

  He grabbed my bare shoulders and gave me a slight shake. “Aimee, I am an immortal. Do you understand?”

  “No.” I cocked an eyebrow, watching his lips move. Internally, I was freaking out. The thoughts created panic in me, but it went nowhere.

  “Watch.” He stood up, suddenly taking his warmth away. He stood by my door and held his hands out. He grinned at me one second, and in another he was across the room, right in my face again. It wasn’t a big room, but I hadn’t even seen him take a step. “See.” He knelt at my bed again and smiled. “I’m not like you.” His voice was a whisper.

  I didn’t know what to say. He’d lied to me about so many things. I didn’t understand why he had to go to such extreme lengths to make up stories. Not when the plain truth was there in front of me. I was dreaming.

  “I don’t know how to be with you, but I can’t seem to be without you.”

  “Why are you lying to me?”

  “I’m not.”

  “None of this is real. I need sleep.” I yawned again.

  “No, you need to wake up.” He pulled me to him and picked me up. I tried to fight him, but his expression had grown stern. He eyed my open window, and before I could properly talk him out of a murder-suicide, he jumped.

  The ground flashed and then I didn’t see anything. My grip on him hurt my hands, and I sensed I might throw up any second. We moved so quickly, and at the same time, didn’t move at all. I couldn’t see anything. The motion was too much for me to bear. I closed my eyes and there was a big bump and I was lowered to soft sand. I heard and smelled the ocean. We were at the hidden beach. I knew that because it was sandy, rather than rocky. On the Northwest Coast we did anything we had to in order to find one. It was the only one I knew of.

  It had taken a single second for us to get there. Or had it? Maybe I had blacked out. It was a forty-minute hike through the roughest terrain from the side of the highway on the outskirts of town. Had he hiked with me in his arms? Maybe we drove. Had he drugged me again?

  Was I dreaming?

  The night air was cold against me. The sand sat firmly beneath me, but I still had to touch it to be certain I was really here. A million thoughts flashed through my head, mostly warnings.

  I looked at Aleksander who stood with his arms crossed, watching me silently. He stayed several feet back.

  Before I could even decide if it was what I wanted to do or not, I jumped up and started to run from him. My bare toes hit the sand and dug in as I screamed, “Someone help me. Please someone help me. It’s Aimee James. Please help me.”

  Aleksander was in front of me somehow, like he was toying with me. I ran back the other way but again he was in front of me. Defeated, I dropped to my knees and started to cry. “Are you going to kill me?”

  “No.” He walked to me slowly with his hands out as if he were approaching a crazed person with a gun.

  I wished for a second I had a gun, but I wasn’t entirely sure whom I would shoot, him or me.

  He dropped to his knees in the sand. His hand reached out to my face and lifted my chin slowly. “Aimee, I told you this once before—I could never hurt you. I am here for you.”

  I cried harder. “Oh my God. It’s like City of Angels. I’m dying. You’re here to take me to Heaven, aren’t you? That’s why no one else saw you at the party. That’s why—wait, you saved me though. Did you mess up?”

  “You could say that.” He pulled his huge blue sweater off and put it over my head. I pulled away from his grasp, but I was dressed in it before I could argue. The warmth of the sweater was relaxing.

  “Can you give me the five minutes I need to explain?” He put his hands on my arms.

  I nodded. My lips refused to agree. I was in danger.

  “I’m here because you’re not coping. You and your family called to me when
your mom died in the accident.”

  “Called?” I sobbed. I couldn’t control myself or understand what he was saying, but it contradicted everything I knew to be true in life. Well, except for the fact we weren’t coping. That part was true.

  “Spiritually.”

  “No.” I trembled.

  “I have five minutes.” He huffed. “The reason I lied to you about being a social worker was that I couldn’t tell you what I was. Your mom’s death triggered a series of events that never should have happened. It wasn’t her time. Just like the night you choked and I saved you wasn’t your time. I was called to stay with your family to make you feel safe and help you heal. I was to ensure nothing else happened as a result of her death.” He held me tightly, not giving me an inch of space to struggle or flee while he told me the fairy tale.

  “I don’t-don’t understand.”

  “I got to you too late that night. You saw me because you were a spirit. That changes the whole thing. Once you see an immortal, it gets easier.”

  “I saw you before I died.”

  “Shane’s bloody yard doesn’t make it easy on me. That shaman’s land is blessed, making it almost impossible for my kind to cloak properly there. I was at the party and when you saw me watching you, I left to stay with your dad. I sensed you cross into the otherworld, and I got there as fast as I could.”

  I had stopped crying and started to giggle uncontrollably. He gave me an alarmed stare. It made me laugh harder. I couldn’t stop myself. My side hurt so much but even the pain couldn’t make the laugh stop. I fell over into the sand, rolling as I roared.

  “Dear God.” He started to smile and laugh at me. “You’ve lost it, haven’t you? This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and I’ve pushed you over the edge to insanity.”

  I didn’t know how to cope with anything he had told me and laughing was making me feel better.

  Tears rolled down my face until finally I was able to get ahold of myself. I lay there in the sand and heaved for air. “The stupid shaman story was true?”