She was still muttering in dark tones beside me. “I’m starting to think we should have let Caleb come with us, like he wanted. At least he knows how to drive.”
“Chill. And uh, ‘fountain of eternal life?”
“Whatever.”
I turned my attention back to what I loved best after Sara: driving my car. It was specially equipped for me, and gave me a sense of freedom I didn’t feel in the rest of my life. And if Sara was going to screech and moan the rest of the trip, so be it. My beloved car and I would be taking us to the airport, and then Sara and I would face whatever came next.
Seven
Overall, the trip to the airport was very Zen for me. I got the chance to drive my car, which I loved. I just hoped my baby would be okay on the airport parking lot. Even with all the screeching from Sara—Slow down! Stop on yellow! Oh, my God, you just blew through that stop sign!—I had a blast.
And then there was the flying. I hate to fly, really truly, despise it. I mean, if men were supposed to fly they would have wings. Just saying. So I did the normal thing and knocked myself with some pills prescribed just for this purpose, and slept the whole nightmare through like a baby.
And now I looked much better than Sara, who was constantly yawning. But eventually, to my chagrin, she perked up after we’d grabbed our luggage.
“You don’t have to look so cheerful. It hurts my feelings,” I grumbled.
Sara was practically jumping up and down, twirling a pair of keys.
We had to rent a new car and unfortunately, that meant she got to drive it.
“Phoebe, you know I love you to pieces, but you drive like a maniac. On speed.”
I huffed.
“And I don’t want to wind up wrapped around a tree, thank you very much.”
“We are in the desert now. There are no trees.” I deadpanned. Exaggerating of course, but still, it worked.
“Whatever,” she replied, rolling her eyes.
We entered the first hotel we saw, one that was practically across the street from the rental company and checked in.
The receptionist was overjoyed by Sara’s presence, of course, trailing after her like a dog in heat. He didn’t even register me standing nearby, but that was just fine by me.
“Do you need help with your luggage?” he asked, already in motion.
I rolled my eye. Some things were universal. Where ever we may be, men are men and were interested only in things that were skin deep.
And Sara, always the kind soul, simply smiled.
“That won’t be necessary,” I snapped, getting his attention for the first time. There was an obvious shock on his face when he took my appearances in but he quickly tried to mask it, and then proceeded with looking anywhere but at me.
I’ve seen that routine so many times I was used to it. Yup, some things were always the same.
“Are you sure?” he asked her again.
Annoyed, I replied before she could. “Yes.”
Sara picked hers and so did I, and he moved out of my way like I was contagious.
Moron.
The truth was, I didn’t want heat boy anywhere near our luggage because of the ancient gong. Maybe I was a bit paranoid, but for a change, I had a bona-fide reason. All kinds of crazy ran in our family and we were on a secret mission.
I started walking toward our room when Sara stopped me.
“Hey Phoebes, look at these,” she gestured toward a rack with brochures, pamphlets, and advertisements for all kinds of attractions.
“Oh come on, Sara. We’re not here to sightsee. Besides, those things are always lame. ‘The World’s Largest Acorn’ or something.”
“Come here,” she insisted, gesturing quickly.
I went reluctantly but gawked when I saw they had a pamphlet about a complex of caves some miles away.
Wondering if that was too big of a coincidence, I skimmed over the prints. There was a drawing of natives with spears fighting a red-haired giant and a man with wings. A bit of sensationalism about giant cannibals that once lived there, but were eventually burned by local tribes, took up a paragraph or two.
Sara hung over my shoulder, reading along. “Oh, my God, Phoebe!”
“I know an excellent guide if you are interested.” The receptionist had apparently decided to follow us after all. “But you should know it’s a dangerous tour,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said, grabbing everything they had on the subject, which wasn’t much. “We’ll think about it.”
“Have a great day, Miss Sara. Call if you need anything.”
Always polite, Sara thanked him as I refrained from smacking him over the head with the pamphlets.
Being a bigger person, I simply walked away.
We settled in, and because we decided to start with our search early in the morning, we had a whole day to kill. So of course we chose to stay put and go to the pool.
We had our choice of indoor or outdoor pool but since the outdoor pool was empty of guests, we chose that one. Though it was surrounded by a cream-colored block fence, I could see some grayish-brown mountains off in the distance.
Under normal circumstances, I would have found the scenery quite bleak, but there was the sun. The glorious sun. It felt divine after the bitterness of Chicago’s winter. The winter that refused to pass even in spring time.
So, in spite of being a bit self-conscious in my swimsuit, I was happy for the opportunity to enjoy the warmth this climate provided. Sara had shaken her head at my one-piece black suit when she’d appeared in her floral bikini, but she let it slide.
Smart girl.
I immediately chose a lounge and just let the sun claim me while she went in the pool. I couldn’t help but take a minute to admire my tattoo, something I’d been doing frequently since I finally saw it for the first time last week. Fortunately, Sara and I both had skin that healed really fast, so after just a little over two weeks, we were fine to be a the pool, whether swimming or just kicking back admiring my ink.
I had to admit, it looked amazing against my skin. And Gabe was right. I simply adored it.
It was also a butterfly, but unlike Sara’s, mine was emerging from its cocoon, suspended on the flowering branch of a dogwood tree. It was simply beautiful and I almost burst into tears when I saw it for the first time. I had gone almost nuts out of curiosity but, it was worth it. And it really touched me that he saw me in that way.
“Phoebes, stop admiring your leg and join me,” Sara called out.
“Nope. I’m good.”
Actually, I was better than good, I was in heaven. I always had to cover myself in the summer and was constantly on the verge of having a heat stroke but, I realized that I really liked warm weather.
“Please?” she whined.
I shook my head.
It’s not that I didn’t know how to swim, because I did, sort of, and the water wasn’t that deep at any rate, but it was difficult with the wig. I didn’t want it to get wet. Not when it finally looked the way I wanted.
“Come on!” She gave me her best puppy-dog eyes, and I almost caved. Sara gave really good puppy-eyes.
And then I saw it. The canine was standing on the other side of the fence, looking at me. I rose to a sitting position.
Sara followed my gaze.
“My God, Phoebe, look at him!”
Oh, I was.
“Do you think it’s the same animal that attacked that frat boy?” she asked.
“Um, no, Sara. That would be crazy,” I replied immediately. “Do you really think he ran all the way here?”
Sara laughed and lightly smacked the side of her head. “Duh, I don’t know why I even said that. Airplane brain.”
“Airplane brain? Is that a thing?”
She swam closer and splashed a bit of water up at me. “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
“I think the title of that story needs to be changed from airplane to airhead.”
“Hey!” she yelled and tossed more water at me
.
I quickly ducked. “Watch the wig, chicky!”
She stuck her tongue out at me and swam away. As I watched her swim, I had to admit that a part of me still wondered. That weird animal—hard to tell if it was a stray dog, starving wolf, or a straggly coyote—really did look like the one we’d seen.
Of course, it all went down pretty fast in Chicago and all those animals probably looked alike, but the way he was watching me gave me chills. It stood too calm, and just stared without blinking. Like he was waiting for me to make the first move.
Which was crazy talk. I was getting as bad as Sara.
After a few minutes, she swam back and got out of the pool, giving the canine a side-eye. “I don’t like it,” she said, wrapping herself in a big fluffy towel. “Let’s get back to our room.”
“Yes, let’s.”
The animal didn’t move, silently watching our progress. It was bizarre, familiar and unnerving at the same time.
But maybe we were just freaking out for nothing. We were in Arizona, after all—their natural habitat.
Sara was still pretty shaken when we got to the room so I went with a time-honored distraction: Food. I grabbed up the local menus and delivery pamphlets that were left on the bedside table.
“I’m starving. Let’s find something to eat.”
“Sure,” she replied, only half listening.
We both jumped when her phone rang. Okay, maybe I was shaken too.
It was Caleb, and she put him on speakerphone so we could all talk.
“Miss us already?” I teased.
“You bet!” he said. Then, “Could you do me a favor?” He suddenly sounded a bit unsure.
“Sure,” Sara said.
It was silent for a few moments, and Sara looked at me questioningly. I shrugged. I didn’t have the faintest what was this about.
“Go on,” I encouraged.
“Could you, like, look out the window?” he asked.
Frowning, I pulled the curtains away and we both peeked.
“Unbelievable,” I mumbled.
There he stood, in the flesh, waving and grinning like a fool.
Sara jerked open the room door, which was her only indicator she was annoyed, and let him in.
“Hello ladies. Did you miss me?” He smiled but I could tell he was a little nervous.
I shook my head. ‘Unbelievable,’ I thought again.
“What are you doing here,” Sara asked a tad too forcibly.
I was annoyed too, but her behavior struck me as a bit off. Was there something going on between them that I wasn’t aware of?
It was possible, because it was Sara. Guys were always throwing themselves at her. Why would Caleb be any different?
Ok, that was way too bitter, and besides, it wasn’t like it was Sara’s fault she was beautiful, and Caleb was a friend. He, too, deserved better from me.
Caleb just shrugged. “It was the damn cold. It was killing me, so I thought, why the hell not?”
That ticked me off again. He couldn’t just hijack our adventure because it got a little too chilly for his taste.
“So, do you mind if I join in?” He asked, sheepishly flashing one of his most radiant smiles. The Arizona sun had nothing on those watts.
I looked at them both. This was my time with Sara, and now, if I was right about those two, I would be the awkward third wheel. But before I could utter one word, I realized I couldn’t. Because this was Caleb I was fuming about, my own teddy bear. Caleb with his goofy smile and warm hugs. One could not be angry at him for a long period of time. His whole persona wouldn’t allow that kind of thing.
I think the only person alive that was completely immune to his natural charms was his sister, Cassandra. And she was kinda bitchy. But I guessed that was because he got all the friendly genes, being the first born and all.
“Fine,” I allowed. “You can stay.” I noticed Sara exhaled while I spoke, as if she’d been waiting for my confirmation.
Caleb beamed again. “Let me get us something to eat and drink. Then we can have some real pool party.” He emphasized his words with some goofy moves.
I had to smile. He was such an idiot.
“Get me a diet coke,” Sara said.
Caleb gave her a funny frown. “I meant, like…get some beers. Maybe some tequila, for Arizona’s sake?”
“Tequila?” She and I both asked at the same time.
“You’re legal now, remember?” He spoke in a slow but perky tone, as if we were toddlers. “And we never got a chance to properly celebrate that monumental thing. Come on, it would be fun.”
Sara and I never were the drinking kind but...
“Okay,” I shrugged. I guess one night of fun wouldn’t kill us, and if tomorrow something went wrong and that cave actually did kill us, I’d still tried something new and fun. Win-win.
I grinned at Sara’s shock.
She slowly smiled. “Okay. I’m in.”
Caleb clapped his palms together. “Great,” he replied. On his way out he noticed the info about the caves.
“This looks cool. I always wanted to go somewhere like that, tell some scary stories. Freak everyone out a little,” he said chuckling. “We definitely need to check it out,” he added before closing the door behind him.
“Sara,” I started.
“I had no idea he would join us,” she said cutting me off.
“I know, I wasn’t about to suggest otherwise.”
“Oh.”
This wasn’t going to be easy. I took a deep breath then spilled it out in a rush, “But I don’t want him in the caves with us tomorrow.”
“Why not?” She argued. “It might be better if we had a man with us.”
“Oh, I can’t believe you just went there. This is not 1950.”
Besides, that helped our parents marvelously.
“And also, this is about our family. I know he is our friend, but this was kept a secret for a reason.”
Concern and disappointment flashed over her face before settling into resignation.
“You’re right.” After a pause she added, “I’ll talk to him.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
A little while later, I was back in my poolside chair, drinking Caleb’s famous party cocktail, which is a glass of beer with a dash of beer, and munching on a veggie slice of pizza.
Caleb and Sara were in the pool, and I knew by the way she chewed her bottom lip that she was about to break the news to him.
“Caleb,” she started.
I really tried not to eavesdrop but it was too hard not to.
“Phoebe and I decided to go and visit the caves tomorrow.”
“Oh, yeah? That is so cool. I’m game.” His enthusiasm was so pure I wanted to shout at Sara to stop but knew I couldn’t. We needed to do this alone.
“Well, about that…”
She paused, and I prayed she stayed strong. Sara wasn’t particularly known for that. She’s so sweet and gentle she usually gives in pretty quickly. One pout from Caleb could crumble her.
“It’s very important for Phoebe and me to go alone. It a way of honoring our parents.”
He stayed silent.
“I hope you understand.” She looked up at him with those big doe eyes, and I didn’t see how he could refuse her but, he continued to stand stock-still. She put her hand on his arm and then he did move slightly, as if receiving a small shock.
“But if you want, we can go together as well,” she said more cheerfully, then chewed her lip a little before adding, “Just not tomorrow.”
His whole face fell. And even with just one eye, I could see how disappointed he was.
“I understand,” he said.
Sara looked at me, and I could see it clearly that her next words would ruin everything. She was going to take it back.
But then Caleb recovered. Once again his cheerful self, he started splashing Sara with water and laughed while she screamed, trying to get away.
I sighed. All was well again.
I could return to my meal.
But then he stopped.
That bloody coyote-dog thing was back again.
“What do you mean, back?” Caleb asked.
I didn’t even realize I had spoken. “Just some crazy animal,” I replied “He’s a bit of a peeping tom.”
He frowned, looked at it.
“I know about your plan, but do you think it’s safe for you to go alone tomorrow?”
The more cynical creature would assume he only tried to wiggle his way back into our trip, but I knew he was genuinely concerned.
“Nah, we’re good. We’ll have a guide.” I lied like a pro.
Sara looked at me in confusion but luckily he didn’t see that and she recovered quickly. “Yeah, that’s right.”
And I almost groaned. Sara couldn’t lie her way out of a paper bag.
“Okay,” he said, giving the coyote one last glance. “You win.”
But it was obvious how unhappy he was about that.
“We always do,” Sara said, surprising him from behind. She jumped on his back and dunked him completely.
Caleb came out sputtering water and gasping for air. He looked in complete shock. The whole scene was so comical I shook with laughter. His eyes narrowed in my direction, the excessive water was still dripping from his hair and into his eyes. “What are you laughing about?”
“Nothing,” I tried to answer between giggles.
“You are so next, sweet cheeks,” Caleb said stalking my way.
I sobered immediately. “You wouldn’t dare,” I warned.
His smile was predatory. “Oh, you really shouldn’t say that.” He fake-growled, leaping out of the water and grabbing my ankles at the same time.
I squeaked, startled by his nearness. He moved with the speed that I wouldn’t have thought possible, and certainly not for someone his size.
And just like that, I was airborne as he jumped back in the pool, taking me with him.
I promised all kinds or retribution coming out, wiping water from my eye so I could drown the bastard.
They both stood behind me so I twirled, but their weird behavior made me pause as well.
I realized what was going on when I noticed Caleb holding my wig.
Instinctively I touched my bald, scarred head.
Reluctant Gods (The Awakening Book 2) Page 6