The match started out all right, but after Jace made one simple mistake, Bryce laughed and my partner came unhinged. After that, Jace made miscalculation after overcompensation. He was out of control and there was nothing I could do to keep him from unraveling. I’d never seen him play that poorly before, and he was beyond consolation.
To make matters worse, Jerica and Abe went out to dinner after the match that evening and left Bryce, Jace, Mikael, and me to our own devices. Jace was utterly defenseless against the relentless mockery inflicted on him by Bryce. I urged Jace to ignore his brother, but it was like they had both regressed back to early childhood. The evening was a torment of name-calling and tantrums.
Finally, I could take no more. Jace was my best friend, my only real friend in the world, and I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. It was only a matter of time before magic reared its ugly head. I had some frightening visions of Jace blowing up the house if he resorted to magic. The more they argued, the angrier Jace became. I had to do something to break it up. Short of killing them both, I couldn’t think of a way to get them to quit their bickering.
Out of desperation, I did the only thing I could think of to distract Bryce. “Hey, how about that rematch? Your parents are gone, so they can’t interfere. Let’s go. You can humiliate me any way you see fit, but I have one condition.”
“You’re not fighting anyone,” Jace said, turning his attention to me.
“What’s your condition?” Bryce asked, smiling widely.
“If you say one more word to Jace about the tennis match, I’ll tell your mom about the bet,” I said.
“What purpose would that serve? Mom and Dad will be mad at both of us. Your buddy, Jace, will be in trouble too.” Bryce clearly felt he’d made his point. He started to turn away.
“They’ll be way angrier with you, though. You’re supposed to be an adult. You know—set the example. Don’t they hold you to a higher standard?” I knew I’d won the argument when I saw his smile fade. Mikael laughed appreciatively.
“Take care of Biscuit for me,” I said to Jace, wearing my best martyred expression. “And Gem, even though he’s mean and will probably claw your eyes out.”
“Biscuit and Gem?” Bryce asked.
“My cats,” I explained.
“You’re being a little melodramatic, aren’t you?” Bryce asked, laughing. I wished he would save his laughter for after the match. “Do you think I would really hurt you or that Jace would allow it? I can’t believe you were actually willing to go up against me based on a bet my brother made, or that you would sacrifice yourself for a guy who essentially tried to trade you for a truck.”
Okay, I guess it sounded stupid when he phrased it like that. A dark blush crept across my face, burning my cheeks.
Bryce spoke again, “I never intended to hurt you, Alisa. I was just messing with Jace and I’m sorry you got caught up in it. When we sparred before, it was just for fun. I would certainly never use our training sessions to hurt someone.”
He turned to Jace, speaking a little more sharply. “You’re lucky to have such a good friend. Maybe you should consider that the next time you try to trade her for the rights to my truck. You know what? Go ahead and use it if you want, but if you wreck it, you’ll need Alisa’s help more than ever. Help walking, help seeing, help drinking through a straw because your jaw will be wired shut. Stuff like that.”
It was like someone had flipped a switch and Bryce’s multiple personalities decided to play musical chairs. Or maybe there was some sort of mood stabilizing medication he kept forgetting to take. He caught me off guard with his constant shifts in temperament. I’d always dreamed of having an older brother, but after spending time with Bryce, I was sincerely glad I was an only child.
“You Americans are strange. Are all of your people this way?” Mikael’s awkwardly phrased, but accurate analysis broke the tension and enabled us all to have a laugh.
“No, just us,” Bryce admitted. He said something in French and Mikael threw back his head and laughed.
An obnoxious rap tune accompanied by a vibrating jolt signaled the end to our evening of fun. Jace fumbled in his pocket for the source of the noise, and upon retrieving his cell phone, dropped it twice before finally depressing the correct button.
“Rachel.” He nearly wept with relief upon hearing her voice. It was embarrassing to witness.
The rest of us were practically dead to him. He wandered from the room, speaking rapidly into his phone. Bryce rolled his eyes. The three of us watched a boring reality show on television for a few minutes until Mikael yawned and announced he was ready to go to bed.
When we were alone, Bryce asked, “What time do you need to be home?”
“Around ten,” I said wondering if he was trying to get rid of me. A silly high school student must seem pretty boring to a nineteen-year-old man of the world.
“I’m not trying to get rid of you, Alisa,” he explained, as if reading my mind. “I was going to offer to give you a ride if you needed one. Jace and Rachel might be on the phone for an eternity.”
“Do you like Rachel?” I asked cautiously.
Bryce seemed surprised by my question. “Yes, I do. I don’t know her very well, but from what I do know, I like her a lot.”
My cheeks burned with jealousy and rage. What a slap in the face. Bryce made it obvious on more than one occasion that he felt I wasn’t good enough for his family, but Rachel was accepted instantly. I remembered what Jerica told me about heritage meaning a lot to Bryce. Clearly, my lack of magical blood meant I was less than nothing in his eyes.
“Rachel is good for my brother. Some men need an anchor—a person to stand by them and help them make the right decisions. Jace isn’t very bright, so apparently he needs two people to help keep his feet on the ground.” Bryce laughed at his own joke.
I was startled. Did he mean that I was good for Jace too? That I was his anchor?
“What about you, Bryce? Who’s your anchor?” I regretted the question as soon as I saw the expression on his face.
“My brother, Royce, was my anchor. I looked up to him. I worshipped him. I thought our family would fall apart when he died. I thought I would die too. The pain will never go away.” Bryce paused, and from his ragged and irregular breathing, I could tell he was barely hanging on to his emotions.
“A Warrior is supposed to be his own anchor. Before our training is complete, we have to learn to be alone, to depend only on ourselves for survival. A Warrior isn’t supposed to depend on another person. That’s why they give up the job if they get married. They can’t have conflicting loyalties. Like my dad. He gave it all up when he married my mom. Mom always felt Royce would have done the same—meet the right girl, get married, and get into a safer line of work. I think that’s one of the hardest parts of losing someone so young. You miss the things they never got to do. Like get married, have children, travel to a faraway place they’d always talked about visiting. My heart feels like it’s going to split open from the pain, but the anger is there too. I feel like he was cheated and so were the rest of us.”
Bryce’s rage made sense to me now. I could understand the pain of losing someone you love, but never considered the anger that would fill in all the holes left by despair.
“Bryce, I’m really sorry about your brother.” I tried to hold back tears. Sorry seemed so inadequate. It was probably the most overused word in the English language. Without thinking, I reached out and held his hand. We sat that way for several minutes, each lost in our own thoughts.
Jace often spoke about his oldest brother. According to Jace, Bryce and Royce had attended Central together for seven months. Bryce had always dreamed of attending WTB with his older brother, and for a while, that dream had become a reality—until it turned into a nightmare. I tried to picture Bryce as a little boy who looked up to his big brother, who wanted to be like him more than anything in the whole world. My heart broke for Bryce, a boy who’d lost his hero. And for Jerica and Abe, parent
s who lost the grown son who would always be their baby.
Bryce gave my hand a squeeze and released it. He moved closer to me, looking serious when he said, “I meant it when I told Jace he’s lucky to have you as a friend. You’re a good person, Alisa.” Bryce must have sensed my shock and embarrassment, because his next words were clearly intended to lighten the mood. “I wouldn’t have tried to trade you for a truck.” He smiled and I felt slightly disoriented.
“That’s high praise coming from you,” I said, trying to sound lighthearted.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Well, you never seem very happy to see me. I’ve always assumed you don’t like me,” I said.
“Why?” He seemed genuinely confused.
“Well, from the second I met you, you’ve made it clear I’m not welcome. I mean, just the other day, you pointed out once again that I’m not one of you. Right in front of Mikael.” My words were tumbling out, one over the other. I wasn’t saying what I wanted to say the way I wanted to say it.
“Okay, first of all, I was pretty shocked the first time we met. My brother had just been attacked. Trust me. I’m grateful you saved his life, more than you could ever know. By saving him, you saved the whole family. My parents wouldn’t have survived the death of another child. But you were a witness to our family’s secrets. Do you know how many people outside the magical community our family has trusted with our secrets? None. At the time, I couldn’t understand why my mother insisted on telling you about us.”
“Second, I truly did not mean what I said the other day. At least, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. You aren’t one of us. That’s a fact. But I can accept you for who you are. I know you don’t believe that, but it’s true.” Bryce took a deep breath.
“Third—and don’t think I don’t listen to every single word you say—why do you care so much that I said what I said in front of Mikael? Why do you care what Mikael thinks?” He sounded annoyed when he asked this.
Heat crept up my neck and spread across my face. How could I have known Bryce would be so perceptive? Why, oh, why did I have to mention Mikael? Now Bryce would think I was not only a loser who couldn’t get Jace to fall in love with me, but that I was a loser with a very short attention span. I didn’t want him to think I had a crush on his friend.
“Well, it’s just that… I don’t know Mikael and I…uh, don’t want him to think…” Smooth. So much for damage control. Every time I opened my mouth, I dug myself a deeper hole. I should have asked for a muzzle for Christmas.
“It doesn’t matter to him or any of the rest of us whether or not you have magic. Mikael likes you, or at least he did. He was asking all kinds of questions about you, but stopped when I pointed out that it’s illegal in our country for a man of twenty to pursue a fourteen-year-old girl.” A wicked gleam lit Bryce’s eyes and I choked when everything he said finally sunk in.
“Fourteen?” I sputtered. “I just turned seventeen. You didn’t really think…”
“Of course not.” He laughed.
“Then why did you tell him that?” I asked.
It took a moment for him to answer. “I have my reasons.” He stood up, checked the time on his cell phone, and announced, “Come on. I’ll drive you home. No telling how long Jace is going to be on the phone. Probably forever.”
I followed him out to the living room and waited by the door while he told Jace we were leaving. I wondered if Jace cared. I decided to harass my parents about getting my driver’s license. Up until that moment, I’d been pretty content to bum rides or walk to get where I wanted to go. Standing alone, waiting for my best friend’s brother to drive me home, I decided I was tired of always depending on others. Besides, if I’d been driving myself back and forth, Mikael wouldn’t have believed I was only fourteen.
I smiled, thinking about what Bryce said about Mikael asking about me. If only that were true. Bryce certainly had a sick sense of humor.
Bryce came down the hallway with Jace in pursuit.
“You sure it’s okay for Bryce to drive you? I can call Rachel later if you want me to take you home.” I appreciated Jace’s efforts to prioritize our friendship.
“It’s fine, Jace. Call me tomorrow. And tell Rachel I said hi.” We hugged briefly while Bryce stood by the front door, looking impatient.
Bryce led me out to his truck, his hand resting gently on the small of my back. He opened the door for me and helped me in. The spot on my back where his hand touched me tingled with warmth.
We rode in silence. I felt as nervous and uncomfortable as I did the first time Bryce drove me home. When we pulled into my driveway, he told me to wait while he opened the passenger side door. He walked me to my front door and grabbed my hand before I went inside.
“Hey, I enjoyed talking to you tonight.”
“Yeah, me too.” I couldn’t seem to make eye contact.
“Alisa,” Bryce said. I could feel him willing me to look at him. When I met his eyes, it seemed like he changed his mind about something he’d been about to say. “Good night.” He turned and walked to his truck. I stood in the chilly night air and watched as he drove away.
Chapter Fourteen
Rachel
My brother, Jeffrey, moved to Atlanta three years ago to attend culinary school. His visits home were regular while he was still in school, but after graduation, he couldn’t come home as often. His job at the hotel restaurant meant he worked many holidays and weekends. As the newest pastry chef, Jeffrey was required to work on Christmas and New Year’s, so we decided to come to him. Since there was no way we could all fit comfortably into his tiny studio apartment, my mother booked a room at the fancy hotel where he worked.
Mama dragged us all around the city, pointing out every place Daddy had ever taken her to. She sounded so much like a tour guide, I had to stop myself from busting up with laughter. To his credit, Jeffrey refrained from mentioning that he’d lived in the city for three years and probably knew more about it than she did. I enjoyed her walk down memory lane for the most part, but my thoughts kept drifting to Jace.
Mama, Jeffrey, and I had just sat down to dinner after a long and exhausting day, when I felt a familiar tug at my mind. While I was proud of Jace for holding back as long as he had, he’d picked the worst possible time to connect.
“We’re just sitting down to dinner. I’ll call you tonight.”
“I can’t wait that long. I miss you,” he pleaded.
“I miss you too, but now isn’t a good time.”
I turned my attention back to my mother. She was in the middle of interrogating Jeffrey, and I desperately tried to find an excuse to interrupt her. She could be very overbearing, and poor Jeffrey was squirming with discomfort.
“Who said you could stop taking your pills?” she asked a little too loudly. A couple of fellow diners turned to stare.
“Calm down, Mama. I’ve been fine for two years. I stopped seeing the doctor. It was a waste of money,” he said, looking apologetically at the waiter who’d approached to take our order. My mother waved the stoic young man away.
“Boy, why didn’t you call me if you didn’t have the money?” she hissed.
“It wasn’t about the money. Those pills had side effects. They didn’t help at all. They just made me feel worse,” he said.
“I don’t want to be getting another late night phone call to drive all the way to Atlanta to bail you out of trouble,” she said, referring to an incident during his second year of school.
“You won’t,” he replied in a hushed voice.
“Do you know how it felt for me to have to see you in that condition? Paranoid, irrational—you said people were out to get you.”
“Can we talk about this later?” he asked.
My mother glanced around the crowded restaurant before nodding curtly in Jeffrey’s direction. I felt sorry for him. Mama wasn’t easy to get along with. It was no wonder he had a mental breakdown a couple of years ago. At the time, I believed my mother’s as
sessment that Jeffrey was unbalanced and in need of medical intervention. Now I wasn’t so sure.
After dinner, we stood outside the restaurant and waited for a cab. Mama started in on him once again. “Maybe you should move back to Oaktree if you aren’t going to take care of yourself.” Jeffrey squeezed his eyes shut and I knew he’d had enough. So had I.
“Mama,” I said. “Can we see the High Museum while we’re in town? Isn’t that where you met Daddy?”
“Of course, baby. Did I ever tell you the story about how he proposed to me on top of Stone Mountain? Oh, Rachel, we’ll have to go there before we head home.” Her eyes went misty and my brother flashed me a grateful smile.
We headed back to the hotel and Jeffrey went home to his apartment. My cell phone rang just as my mother was climbing into bed. I ignored the call and switched off my phone.
Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) Page 12