Everlasting Bond

by Christine M. Besze

  Katrina sat through English in a fog. She resented the class. And with everything going on in her chaotic personal life, the last thing she wanted to do was listen to work written by people who lived at least a hundred years before her. As the thought made its way across her mind, she couldn’t help but feel a bit hypocritical. After all, she was in love with someone who was in fact that old. And she couldn’t forget the fact that she herself had a past life around that time. Katrina kept her head down, as a smile of embarrassment played on her face. The more she thought about it, the more she found it harder to control herself. Before her giggles turned into a full on laugh-attack the bell rang and saved her from bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

  She was still in a bit of a daze when she made her way into history. During history, her attention span wasn’t any better. Cole's absence made her feel like a very big part of her was now missing. Even though she tried, nothing could make the emptiness go away. Flipping through the pages of her history book only served as a reminder of a past she had thought she had forgotten. She flipped through to another page when something caught her eye and she came to a sudden stop.

  It was a page filled with paintings commissioned by many of the wealthy families during the late 1700’s. Most of them were ones she’d seen many times before, but there was a certain one that stood out to her. Adorned with the same golden crest she had seen at Cole’s house, she’d recognize those perfect 4 anywhere. The painting was identical to the one hanging in Dr. Aldrich’s study, just smaller.

  Katrina’s heart jumped into her throat, as the image of Cole through the water-colored canvass gave her stomach butterflies. She ran her fingers over the cool slick page and tears fell down her cheeks. Seeing his picture made her realize just how bad she missed him. Her eyes traced over every inch of him in the painting. The longer she stared at his face the more she swore he was looking back at her. Seeing him in her book helped ease some of her pain.

  The bittersweet reunion was interrupted by the sound of Mr. Weber’s loud voice over the intercom. Katrina slammed the book shut and wiped her tears away before anyone saw. She threw it in her bag and tried to let Mr. Weber’s voice distract her, but it was too hard to understand. His voice was badly distorted. Only parts of his speech were audible. She heard brief references to the up-coming football game and other announcements that didn’t matter. When the bell interrupted him, she bolted for the door.

  Out in the hall, her tears came faster. She couldn't stop them. It was like an uncontrollable fountain of sadness. Katrina headed towards Stacy's last class and tried to calm herself down. The last thing she wanted was to have an emotional meltdown at school, of all places. She sniffled and wiped the last of her tears away. There was no mirror near by, but she knew her nose was red and her eyes were puffy. She hoped Stacy wouldn't notice. Unfortunately, Stacy knew her too well and was very perceptive. As soon as she made eye contact with her, Katrina could tell she knew something was up.

  “Hey, Kat. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I just got something in my eye.” Katrina chewed on her bottom lip and looked down.

  “You need to work on your lying skills. I know you well enough to know when something’s wrong.”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that?” She looked at her and snapped. When Stacy gave her a confused look, she added, “Just having a bad day, that’s all.”

  “What happened? Have you heard about your mom? She’s not worse is she?”

  “No, she’s fine. I just miss her.” Katrina felt bad lying to her.

  “Tomorrow night will take your mind off it. Getting some fresh air will help you feel recharged.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “Of course I am.” Stacy took a few steps and when Katrina didn’t follow she stopped and turned towards her. “Aren’t you taking the bus with me?”

  “Actually, Donovan offered me a ride home this morning.”

  Stacy gave her an awkward stare. “Oh.”

  “There you guys are,” Donovan’s voice interrupted.

  “Hello,” both girls said together.

  “I offered to give Katrina a ride.” Donovan turned to Stacy. “Would you like one too?”

  “She’d love one,” Katrina winked at Stacy.

  “Yeah, I would. Thanks,” Stacy said.

  “My car’s this way.” Donovan walked a little ahead of both girls.

  Hanging back, Katrina heard Stacy mumble, “Nice view.” Katrina stifled a grin. Stacy was as bad as a guy sometimes. Giving her a gentle nudge on the shoulder, Katrina kept walking to the car.

  She mindlessly started fidgeting with her amulet when pain ripped through her fingers. “Ouch.” The amulet was like a ball of fire against her fingers.

  “What’s the matter, Kat?” Stacy asked.

  Katrina could see both Stacy and Donovan staring back at her, looking confused.

  “Nothing, I just stubbed my toe.”

  “You know sometimes, I almost forget just how clumsy you can be,” Stacy teased.

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “Anytime,” Stacy cocked an eyebrow at her.

  Katrina shook her head and then hopped into the back seat. Stacy took the passenger one. Judging by the look on her face, Katrina knew she would have enough energy to keep a conversation going until they reached Katrina’s house. That left Katrina free to just sit back and relax.

  The ride went by faster than normal and Katrina didn’t realize they were at her house until she felt the car start to slow down. Katrina was a little relieved. She loved Stacy, but sometimes she was too much even for her. Undoing her belt, Katrina looked up and saw Donovan staring at her from the rearview mirror. He playfully rolled his eyes and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. The more they hung out with Donovan the more he seemed to be a perfect fit. It was like having part of her brother with her and she appreciated that more than ever.

  “Thanks for the ride.” Katrina grabbed her stuff.

  “Anytime.” Donovan gave her a big smile.

  Katrina climbed out and turned around to wave. “Bye.”

  Stacy and Donovan both waved back. Katrina walked a few feet when she heard a car window roll down.

  “Call me later!” Stacy shouted.

  “I will.” Katrina turned and watched them drive away. She stood there for a bit after. Her eyes wandered around and found nothing except for trees.

  “Alone, again,” she muttered to herself. Katrina turned to head inside, when she heard what sounded like a twig snap. She froze. It echoed loudly from somewhere off in the distance. “Hello!” She tried to keep her voice calm. “Is someone there?” Standing there for what seemed like an eternity, she strained to hear any sign of movement. There was none. “Just great. I’m starting to hallucinate.”

  Moving up the front steps and into the house, she shook her head. Lately it seemed she was becoming a basket case and it was starting to get on her last nerve.

  As she stood in the entry, she hated how empty the house was. The only sound she could hear were the low buzzing sound of the refrigerator and the ticking of her mom’s apple clock. Katrina was desperate to hear another voice. She took her phone of her backpack and went to dial, but she panicked. What if Jake answers? She hadn’t thought of that. That changed her mind and she slammed the phone shut. She went to set it back down when it vibrated in her hand.

  “Hello.”

  “Kat?” A strange, yet very familiar voice was on the other end.

  “Jake!” she gasped.

  Hearing the sound of his voice for the first time in a couple weeks, her heart stopped. She suddenly felt very embarrassed for being afraid to call him. His voice was like music to her lonely ears.

  “It’s me, Kat.” His tone sounded very smooth and confident.

  “It’s so good to hear your voice. Are you—okay?” Katrina hesitated, unsure if that was an appropriate question.

  “I’m good.”

  “Where are you?”
/>   “Not far.”

  “When can I see you?” Katrina couldn’t contain her excitement. It was the first conversation she had with any of her family since all of the chaos began and the suspense was nearly killing her.

  “When it’s safe. I promise.”

  “It better be soon.”

  “Don’t worry. It will,” Jake laughed.

  Hearing him alive and laughing should have been enough to make her happy, but something was off. Jake didn’t have his usual boyish laughter. This one was more of a deep grunt. It reminded her of her fathers laugh. Fighting tears, she tried to ignore it and not ruin her excitement. Instead, she asked, “How’s mom?”

  “She’s fine.”

  “When can I see her?”

  “Soon.”

  “Have you heard from Cole?” Her heart froze at the desperation in her voice. Until then she hadn’t said his name out loud and it made her body tense.

  “Andrew's been keeping in touch with him. He’s okay.”

  “You have to give me more. I’m dying here.”

  “I’m sorry, Kat. I can’t. I’m not sure it’s safe.”

  “But Jake—” Katrina tried to refute, tears welling in the back of her throat.

  “I can’t talk long, but do something for me.”

  “Anything.”

  “Be very careful and don’t trust anyone!”

  “No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

  “Don’t be so stubborn,” he chuckled. “I have to go.”

  “Wait!” she screamed into the tiny receiver, but it was too late. Jake’s end had gone dead.

  Once more Katrina was left confused, frightened, and alone. Tears came faster this time. Loneliness was killing her. She had been going crazy, waiting for any news from them and all Jake could do was leave her wondering, scared and alone. Frustrated, Katrina decided the best thing for her to do was to keep herself occupied.

  She wiped her tears on her sleeve and grabbed her backpack on her way into the living room. Catching up on the schoolwork she’d been behind on was the huge distraction she needed.

  Before she plopped down on the floral sofa, she emptied the contents of her school bag out onto the small wooden coffee table. The next hour or so she forced herself to devote to coherently writing her English paper, which was already a week late. Mr. Marsh had been understanding, granting her an extension in lieu of her mother’s accident. She was grateful to him for the understanding, but she still had no desire to finish the paper.

  Everything went smoothly until she worked on the last page. Katrina heard the Jenkins’ dog, Scooter, start to bark. Annoying dog! She’d recognize his high pitched yelp anywhere. He rarely ever barked and Katrina wondered what had him going so crazy.

  She walked over to the window and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Brushing it off, she sat down and threw herself back into her paper.

  Before long, the sun was beginning to set and the living room was becoming dark. Katrina took that as a sign to take a much needed break. She packed up her stuff and threw them back into her backpack.

  Hunger started to creep in and Katrina headed into the kitchen. Glancing over her options for dinner wasn’t very productive. Since the accident, her mother had been staying with Alaric and the cupboards were pretty much bare. Katrina herself had no desire to go grocery shopping, so this left limited choices. She was forced to decide between either peanut butter and jelly on stale bread or a can of chicken soup. Neither option appealed to her, so she shut the cupboard door.

  She moped back into the living room and tried to take her mind off things by watching some television; that did little to help. With all of the food advertisements her stomach only groaned louder. Her hunger was starting to scream at her for food. It felt like her stomach was beginning to eat itself.

  Annoyed, she shut off the television and was about to go upstairs, when she was startled by the loud echoing of her doorbell. At the same time she could feel the warmth of the amulet against her chest. It flickered a fiery red color against her shirt. The sudden noise mixed with the fire of pain made her jump. She took a moment to steady herself. Pushing the feeling of uneasiness the amulet brought to the back of her mind, she went to the front door. As it opened, Donovan was waving two overstuffed white plastic take out bags from Chow's Chinese restaurant in front of her.

  His chocolate eyes glistened against the moonlit sky. “I thought you might be hungry.”

  “Starving actually,” Katrina smiled. “Come on in.”

  “Hope you don’t mind? I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a little of everything.”

  “A little of everything sounds good.”

  Katrina felt a bit guilty accepting Donovan’s dinner invitation, but at the moment, she was grateful to have his company. Then there was the groaning in her stomach. Her hunger outweighed any coherent thought she had at the present moment.

  Finishing up dinner, Katrina felt much better. She was happy to have a full stomach again. It made her think much more rationally.

  She and Donovan both went into the living room and sat on her mother’s floral sofa. It barely fit into the petite room, but her mother had to have it—even if it did look like someone threw up pastel flowers all over it. Sitting up, Katrina realized just how full her stomach was. She had to adjust herself to keep the feeling from becoming uncomfortable.

  “Thanks again, for dinner.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Donovan smiled back at her.

  The two sat quiet for a little while, as the sound of the nightlife just outside the window invaded the tiny space. The stillness stiffened into uncomfortable stares and Katrina sat trying not to fidget with her hands.

  “Katrina.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t think I’m being nosy, but my aunt wanted me to ask.”

  “Ask what?”

  “She’s worried about your brother. She said he’s been out since your mother’s accident and she just wanted to make sure he’s all right?”

  Uh-oh! She wasn’t expecting him to ask that. She had to think of a believable excuse and quick. “He’s been really sick and since my mom’s accident he went to stay with my grandmother two towns over.” She forced herself to believe the words as she said them.

  “So, you’ve been home alone this whole time?”

  “Pretty much.” Don't bite my lip!

  “That has to suck. Aren’t you lonely?”

  “A little, but I don’t want to ask Stacy to stay with me every night. I know she has a life.”

  “True, but you know I’m here too.” He reached out for her hand. Staring down at his hand, Katrina was taken by surprise at how different it felt compared to what she was used to. His touch wasn’t the same arctic feeling as Cole’s. Instead, it was like holding warm soft velvet between her fingers.

  “I appreciate that. Thanks.”

  “Believe me. No one understands better than I do about being alone.”

  “Being the new kid has to be tough.” How could I be such an idiot? He probably thinks I’m a selfish brat.

  “It can be. But, it also has its advantages.” Donovan lifted one side of his top lip into a slight grin.

  “Like what?”

  “I get to be the mysterious new kid.”

  “Ah. A man of mystery,” Katrina laughed.

  He joined in her laughter. “Exactly.”

  “Sometimes I wish I could have a fresh start like that. It’d be nice.”

  “Yeah, I totally get it. But, I meant what I said. I’ll be here.”

  “That means a lot.”

  Donovan looked at the clock and jumped up. “It’s getting late, I should go.”

  “Okay.” Katrina stood up and walked him to the front door.

  Before Donovan left, they went over their plans for tomorrow night. He was halfway out the door when he stopped and turned. His eyes looked right into hers as he grabbed her hand and pressed it to his mouth in a gentle kiss.

  �
�Good night.”

  “Good night,” Katrina said, blood rushing to her face.

  Still a little shocked, she watched him walk to his car. He gave her a friendly smile and waved before getting inside. Katrina waited until his car made it onto the highway before closing her front door.

  She was exhausted. All she wanted to do was sleep. She walked upstairs and went right into her room. Changing clothes took much energy that she didn't have. Instead, she threw herself on her bed and passed out on top of the plum comforter.

  Chapter 15

  Katrina hadn’t moved an inch. Rolling out of bed she realized she was still wearing her clothes from the night before. Exhausted, she slowly grabbed her toiletries and headed towards the bathroom. Not feeling up to spending most of the morning bathing, Katrina made her shower quick.

  Refreshed and ready to start her day, Katrina strolled into her room. As she finished throwing the last of her clothes on, a car horn honked out front. Then the sound of Stacy’s loud voice yelled for her. “KAT-KAT, YOU BETTER BE UP!”

  Katrina winced. Great, she's going to piss off Mr. Jenkins. Katrina grabbed her bag and hurried down to meet them.

  Stacy was too much that early in the morning. She was an overdose of excitement that Katrina wasn't ready for. Her hands were propped on the edge of the window and she was leaning out head first. One slip of her grip and she’d be kissing the ground. Donovan was sitting calmly in the driver's seat, humoring Stacy and her big mouth.

  “Morning.” Donovan’s voice was smooth and gentle. Katrina smiled at him and climbed into the backseat.

  “Hey Kat, we brought you breakfast. I snagged the last of the blueberry.” Stacy held out a brown paper bag proudly.

  “Thanks.” Katrina nodded a silent thank you in Donovan’s direction.

  Soon the smell of Rosie’s fresh baked scones filled the car and made Katrina’s mouth water. Rosie made the best in town.