The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  I strolled happily through town to the outskirts, searching for the sign. I couldn’t help but grin when I saw it, even if it now read “Cookie’s.” It was exactly the same. It was long like a double-wide trailer and sat out in the middle of the dusty desert with broad wooden stairs in the middle of it. The sign was red and glowed in the night. I was exhausted from spending the night traveling, but it had been worth it. The exhaustion shook off as I ran up the stairs and through the doorway.

  The world stopped, almost like a push. Everything froze as the smell of the diner hit. I closed my eyes for the smallest of seconds, letting it all wash over me. The million memories of a happy childhood overflowing with normalcy, love, and kindness filled me again.

  “It’s not fancy, sweetie. You just seat yourself.”

  I opened my eyes when I recognized the voice and smiled at Lorna, the waitress who had always worked there. I had long suspected my uncle and Lorna were more than friends.

  “Hi, uhm, okay. Thanks.” I wanted to hug the older woman and dance around the diner.

  I recognized every patron as I made my way to the bar where I’d spent my entire life, sipping a shake after school, listening to them all bicker and razz each other.

  A man I didn’t recognize walked up and smirked at me in a way that crushed my fantasy life of being home. “Hey there, beautiful, what can I get you?” He wasn’t creepy but he was out of place. He looked about twenty-five with short blond hair and very tanned skin.

  “Did you get fired from Jersey Shore?” I narrowed my gaze, recalling him from somewhere.

  He laughed. “Spicy, I like spicy. You don’t look like you’re from here either.”

  “I’m from here.”

  “No way.” He shook his head. “I’d say Northwest by the sound of that accent, maybe even Canadian.”

  “You think you’re pretty good, don’t you?”

  “I am. You want a chocolate shake and a chicken burger with cheese, no fries?”

  I paused a moment before I laughed. “Okay, that was a close guess. Have we met?”

  “Yeah, I feel the same way but I don’t think so. I’m from the East Coast, so unless you’ve been there—”

  I froze, realizing exactly who he was. I’d met him in New York at the Roses Academy when I was the angry version of me. He was a shifter, a were-cat of some sort. He had left right after I arrived. We had only met twice. But only in that life, not this one.

  “Mitchell?” I asked softly.

  “Whoa.” He froze, taking a step back, still smiling but nervously. “We have met. Where?”

  “New York.” The way I said it took all the warmth from the room.

  “Oh.” His face dropped. “New York, as in New York, New York?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Small world.” He sized me up.

  “I still want my shake, dude.”

  “Maybe.” He smirked. “What’s your poison?”

  I raised my hands and waved my fingers at him.

  “Jazz hands?”

  “Yes.” I burst out laughing. “Basically.”

  “Name?”

  “Ari.”

  “Holy crap, I’ve heard about you.” His face lowered as did his voice, “Oh my God, wait a minute. Have we met before in one of the other worlds you’ve made? Is that how you know me?”

  “Yeah.” I couldn’t believe he’d heard of me.

  “What you doing here?”

  “I wasn’t kidding.” I glanced around. “I was raised here.”

  “No crap?”

  “None.” I shook my head, liking him so much more, or at least liking the fact I wasn’t completely alone.

  “You know Cookie?”

  “Yeah, he worked for my uncle for a few years before.” My smile faded as I remembered. “Well, before. He won’t know me now.”

  He leaned in closer. “Why are you back here?”

  “This is a better place for me. Roses Academy isn’t. I keep messing it up for everyone. As long as I’m near them, their lives keep getting turned upside down.”

  “Really?” He frowned and pulled his hand back. “I heard you couldn’t send us back. Just mess us up short term.”

  “I can alter our world by influencing humans involved with us. I won’t send anyone here back. I’m trying not to be noticed or notice the people around me.”

  “How’s that working for you?”

  “Not great. The girl in the corner is like maybe thirteen and pregnant, the man at the table behind me is a drunk and possibly a drug addict, and I know for a fact that the guy in the red jacket is abusive to his wife. I could change it all. One push and they would have different lives and stories.”

  “Heavy responsibility. On one hand you leave it, knowing their lives will be ruined, or you send them back and change every footprint they’ve made.”

  “That’s it, in a nutshell.”

  “Let me get you the burger. Food always makes me feel better.”

  “Right.” I chuckled. “That’s ‘cause you’re a shifter.”

  Lorna walked behind the counter, interrupting our discussion. “Mitch, let’s keep the flirting to a minimum.”

  He smirked at me. “She’s an old friend, Lorna. You’re still my favorite girl.”

  Lorna looked at the ring on my hand. “Oh, you went to the same college.”

  “Oh yeah. Same institutional training.”

  Lorna smiled. “Well, I pity a pretty girl like you being stuck listening to Prince Charming here day in and day out.” She winked at Mitch who grinned wickedly. He was smoking hot, like all shifters. He was tall, built, tanned skin, and dark beautiful eyes. If I recalled correctly, he was quite the ladies’ man. His smile was electrifying with perfect teeth and juicy lips as he gave me a weird look.

  “What?”

  “I can smell them on you.”

  “What?” My eyes flashed up at him, startled. “Who?”

  “Lucas and a little Ben, I think. That’s some kinky crap.”

  “Not as kinky as you think.” I lowered my gaze, fighting the redness in my cheeks.

  He reached forward and rubbed his thumb over my hand. “If you need any help getting rid of that smell, you let me know.”

  I shivered and laughed nervously. “You are trouble. What I need is a job, not another shifter boyfriend.”

  “Work here.” He shrugged. “Cookie is looking for a waitress. Lorna’s leaving for the summer.”

  I spun around and brazenly grilled Lorna who was waiting on the table behind me. “You’re leaving for the summer? Where are you going?”

  “Oh, my sister’s place in Arizona. She needs me to housesit for her. Why?” She answered like it was normal but frowned when she realized we didn’t know one another.

  “I need a job.” My voice came out squeaky.

  “I take it you knew Lorna before.” Mitch laughed. “Might want to dial it back a little.”

  “I know. It’s hard. I know them all. Where’s my food, slacker?”

  “Keep your shirt on, well, unless you really want to take it off.”

  “No.” I cussed him out under my breath, knowing full well he could hear everything I said.

  Chapter 23

  Like father like daughter

  Aimee

  I arrived back at the house to check in with Lydia and felt it immediately. Something was up.

  I walked in slowly, noting the guards were still there, but wondering if someone had gotten through them. We could all sense when Annabelle was panicking about something. The ghost could haunt the house when she wanted to.

  I didn’t make any noise as I walked into the kitchen to see Lydia sitting at the table with red eyes.

  “Hey, what’s going on?”

  Lydia sniffled. “Ari—she left today and I can’t see her in the city, and Lucas lost her trail at the airport.”

  I couldn’t have cared less, which earned me a glare from Lydia as she read my thoughts. I sat next to the older woman and hugged her tightly. “Al
eks told me. I don’t see the big deal though.”

  “Ari is one of us, Aimee. It matters.”

  Lydia had grown very attached to Ari in the time she’d been at the house. I personally couldn’t bear to listen to the constant religious dribble coming from her lips.

  “Where are Luke and Ben?”

  Lydia sobbed harder. “They attacked each other and blamed one another for her leaving. They left too. Everyone left.”

  The room shifted and I smelled him before he even got the words out.

  “Ari sent me a text.”

  I turned, glaring at Dorian.

  Lydia gasped. “You’re my father?”

  Getting up, I nodded. “That makes so much sense, those black soulless eyes.”

  Dorian didn’t take the bait or offer up a snarky comment. “I never knew. I dated her mother, well obviously years ago. Ari looks nothing like the woman. I didn’t know her mother died because of me. I have never actually had one be with child before. I’ve always been careful about that.”

  I frowned, unable to see him as the vulnerable saint he was trying to be.

  Lydia stood and walked to him. “It was an accident, Dorian. It’s been two decades. Nothing can be done about it now. We just need to find her.”

  “She messaged me to tell me I was her father. I disregarded it. I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say.”

  I felt sick, hating him even more. “So Ari, your kid, reached out to you after discovering she actually has a family member alive and you ignored her? She’s a friggin’ orphan. At least you’re consistent. I’d hate for you to try to convince me of your love for her when really, I already know exactly the sort of man you are.”

  He snapped back to the Dorian I knew too well, leaning in and snarling at me, “I brought you into this world, Aimee.”

  “Try to take me out, Dorian.”

  He was gone as quickly as he had appeared.

  “Why do you have to provoke him?” Lydia glared at me.

  “He’s evil.”

  “No,” Lydia argued. “I can see inside him, every secret. He isn’t evil. He’s selfish sometimes though.” She sounded distant.

  I hugged her, patting her arm. “We’ll find Ari. I’m sure Luke is sniffing every plane as we speak, like some kind of bomb dog looking for the one she was on.”

  “Yes, well, he does love her an awful lot. It’s Ben I feel truly sad for. Ari sees him as a brother and nothing more.”

  “A girl can’t make herself love someone when she has given her heart away to another. Ben will find the girl he’s supposed to be with.” I said it, not defending Ari but myself.

  Lydia scowled. “You didn’t?”

  “What?”

  “You broke things off with Aleks and saw Shane?” She didn’t sound disappointed the way I’d imagined she would.

  “I did.”

  “I’m sorry about your father, Aimee.”

  “Yeah.” I bit my lip. “Me too. He’s dying and it’s my fault. I waited too long to be with him. He’s been alone for so long. I’m going to move back and spend some time with him if it’s all the same to you guys. I’ll check in, and have my phone.”

  “Okay.” Lydia squeezed my hand. “Of course, my dear.”

  I went to my room to gather my things and thought about the events from the last few days. I wondered if it wasn’t better for Ari to be gone. She had managed to ruin everyone’s lives with just one push. I couldn’t help but wonder what else had been different the other way. My father probably wasn’t sick, and Shane was my boyfriend.

  Until she ruined everything.

  Chapter 24

  Fresh start in an old haunt

  Ari

  The sun set in the desert between two huge hills, lighting the sand and dunes on fire. From the rooftop where I sat I had a full view.

  A small part of me wished Lucas were there to see it. I wished we were normal, just a boy and girl in love. We could settle in the desert and live a simple life.

  Everything simple was gone.

  I never had big dreams so it was literally like losing everything.

  My simple town with simple friends was now filled with strangers. I would have to make friends of them all but not become too close.

  I could never get too close to anyone. I couldn’t let them know the complexity of who I actually was.

  But no matter what, my heart would always belong to Lucas. There was no getting over him. Even the simple flirting that had occurred between me and Mitch over the past few weeks of working together couldn’t distract me from the fact I was in love. I would always be in love. But I would never be with my love.

  Mitch was funny and he understood what it was like to be different. He was a harmless sort of fun I enjoyed being around, like how Ben was for me before this version of me came along.

  “It’ll get easier. Your heart eventually forgets what it’s like to be in love.”

  I glanced back as Mitch climbed onto the roof of the restaurant with a mug of hot cocoa—my favorite. I took the mug, remembering Annabelle’s. Missing them all hurt but I brushed it off.

  “Is that why you’re here?” I took a sip.

  “I was in love with a girl. She was on the wrong side of the demon tracks. Anyway, she tried to recruit me. I tried to recruit her. I tried to get Daniel to help convince her. We captured her. But in the end she refused.”

  I cringed, knowing what that meant. Daniel had told me that all who didn’t join or control their urges were put down.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Me too.” He sat beside me. “It’s cool. Well, it’s not but what can I do? She didn’t think twice about murdering people. She was old, really old. Sometimes the older they are, the more they forget how to be human, you know?”

  “My real dad is really old. He came here with Lorri.”

  Mitch turned his head sharply, his eyes widening. “Dorian is your dad?”

  “How’d you guess?”

  “You look like him, and he came with Lorri. The list of angels that fell is pretty short. He’s really your dad?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s not a nice guy.”

  “I know. Aimee, my friend, hates him so much. He changed her and made her murder a young girl in the woods on her first day. He said it was a lesson to show her what not to do. She told me he called people sheep.”

  Mitch put a hand on mine. “Stay away from him. He used to be around my girlfriend and my friends all the time.”

  “I will.” I wondered why Lorri allowed him to be with the Roses if he was so evil. I sipped my hot cocoa and sighed. “Do you still miss her, your girlfriend?”

  “Every minute. That’s why I’m here. Daniel thought maybe I should just hang here in the middle of nowhere and enjoy being around normal people for a bit. I think he wanted to make sure I didn’t go rogue or to the dark side.”

  I joked to lighten the mood, “Well, they do have cookies.”

  “I do like cookies.” He chuckled, giving me a sideways glance.

  I finished my cocoa and stretched back out on the roof, waiting for it to get dark enough to see the stars. There was nothing like a desert sky.

  Mitch lay back with me. His hand reached out for mine again. The tiniest part of me wanted it to mean something beyond the strength and gratitude it really was. He liked not being alone as much as I did. But the reality of it was I would never be over Lucas. Not ever.

  “Cookie sure seems to like you,” Mitch muttered.

  “He was a dear friend to our family before I changed everything. It broke my heart to lose him. I came back for him. For him and Lydia. I was alone after I left Lydia’s, and in my heart I always saw this as home.”

  “Did you get an apartment?”

  “Yeah, it’s a dump, but I’ll get it squared away.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, even if it’s hard to be reminded of your life before.”

  “Me too.”

  We didn’t speak after that. Maybe it had
gotten too awkward or personal or maybe because the stars started to pop out.

  Either way, we lay there and watched the sky darken and the stars appear, one by one.

  I drifted off to sleep, enjoying every second of the dry heat and fresh air.

  When I woke it was with a start. I couldn’t recall leaving the roof of the diner, but I was in my own bed. I swore I’d fallen asleep on the roof. My eyes scanned the small apartment, but I frowned, seeing no one.

  “Mitch?” I spoke softly, worrying that he not only knew where my apartment was, but he’d brought me home. I was still wearing my waitress clothes, which was a relief.

  He didn’t answer me.

  I rested my head back on the pillow, wondering where he’d gone.

  I reached over to the tiny wooden jewelry box on the old nightstand. The box was one of the few things I’d brought in my small backpack from Portland. I opened it and perused its contents.

  The shiny white stone, the earring, the necklace, the ring, and a piece of paper that said “LOVE” on it. The box was filled with all sorts of different little trinkets or pieces of jewelry. For every person I’d sent back, one thing had remained. I couldn’t understand why, but something always stayed behind. I kept everything. I reached down and touched the rosary, remembering the hatred I still had for that one. I wanted to keep it separate from the other pieces, but knew it would only have power if I gave it power.

  I closed the box and slipped it under the bed. I didn’t want anyone to see it. I didn’t want anyone to see how many there were. It made me uncomfortable that Mitch had been in the apartment when I was sleeping.

  My fingers tingled, remembering how amazing it felt to push someone. I knew I would have to do it soon.

  I glanced at my bedside table expecting to see a cell phone. I wished for a second I hadn’t thrown it away. I knew I’d had no choice, but it was annoying not being able to text Aimee and have her take me to an alley and push a drug addict. My lip trembled as I thought about her. I missed her. I missed old us.

  I went back to sleep until the alarm went off to get up.