Destiny, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #3)

by Michelle, P. T.

  I instantly lower my hands to the stretching line. “Don’t you dare!”

  “What?” A mischievous grin slides up his face right before he lets go.

  As the line bounces upward, my body starts to lift off the thin seat. I yelp and almost forget everything I’ve learned, but then suddenly, I elevate my arms and tighten my stomach muscles, forcing my frame to remain centered as my butt reconnects with the line once more.

  A few bounces later, the line settles. I glare at Drystan. “That was not nice.”

  He shrugs and steps closer, folding his arms. “You control your own center, Nara. Well, so long as you don’t let outside forces influence you.”

  I can tell by his serious expression he’s talking about more than slacklining. I open my mouth to make a snappy response but something pops and my seat suddenly disappears.

  “Nara!” Drystan jerks forward, catching me on the way down.

  We land in a tangle of limbs with me lying on top of Drystan. He quickly clasps my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m good.” I roll off him onto my back, my breath sawing in and out as I stare at the broken slackline. “I’m really glad I hadn’t tried any tricks yet. This is why you don’t leave these lines out in cold weather.”

  Drystan’s gaze locks on the broken line as he scrubs a hand through his windblown hair. “I’m sorry. I guess it can’t handle the kind of extreme weather changes you have here in Virginia.”

  I shake my head. “This weather is not normal for us.”

  Rolling onto his side, Drystan leans on his forearm. “Speaking of ‘not normal’ there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

  “Okay.” I raise up onto my elbows and try not to look tense. There’s so much that’s “not normal” in my life lately, I have no clue which part he’ll ask about.

  “The last time you and I combined our powers—when I found Ethan’s lost phone—I got this flash of me kissing you.”

  Despite the “Oh, shit! How can he be seeing that?” going on inside my head, I manage to laugh it off. “Ha, that’s odd. Maybe it’s from a dream you had.”

  His brow puckers and he shakes his head. “It was a bit like a dream in that it had a sort of surreal feel, but I haven’t dreamed this. You’re dressed up like the night at the dance, and I smell your shampoo and I remember the feel of your lips against mine.”

  “Wow, um…that’s vivid.” I sit up and brush the dead leaves off my elbows to keep from having to look him in the eyes.

  Drystan blows out an unsteady breath and sits up too, staring into the tall pines. “I know this is going to sound crazy.” His attention swings back to me, curiosity reflected in his hazel eyes. “But have you had a dream like this?”

  I quickly shake my head and lie. “You know I only dream my next da—”

  He touches my chin and shakes his head. “What I’m trying to ask in a round about way is…have you ever wondered about us?”

  His mouth is curved in an adorably lopsided, sincere smile, not the sexy one he uses to entice the girls at school. I think of Ethan and how angry I am that he didn’t tell me about that kiss with Danielle, and that I had to find out from her. The humiliation tightens my chest.

  “I have.” Drystan’s fingers trace under my jaw. “Many times.”

  When he starts to lean close, I press my hand to his chest and push back slightly. “I won’t do that to Ethan.” No matter how mad I am at him right now.

  Drystan cups his hand over mine, his expression serious. “Maybe it’s time for you to start putting Nara first.”

  “There you are!” Matt bursts into the clearing, then leans over to catch his breath. Glancing between us with a raised eyebrow, he shrugs and continues, “If it hadn’t been for some guy who remembered seeing you two head in this direction, I would’ve never found you. Drystan, your class was moved to today. The guy who runs the gym had to reschedule. He called to tell you he’s e-mailed the people signed up to let them know about the change. Most of them have already confirmed they’ll be there in…” He glances at his watch. “Fifteen minutes. You can take my car. Lainey’ll give me a ride back home.”

  I quickly stand and brush off my shorts. “Better get going, Drystan. By the time you get there, your class will be ready to start.”

  Drystan moves over to the tree and gestures for Matt to boost him up so he can take down the slackline. Casting a regretful half smile my way, he says, “Thanks for the run. I needed to blow off some steam.” His eyebrows elevate. “You’re welcome to come to class if you’d like.”

  I smile and shake my head. “Thanks, but I have some errands to do. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

  As I turn into my driveway, Lainey pulls in right behind me. Before I can hit the garage door button, she’s out of her car and standing beside my window.

  “Oh no, you don’t, Nara Collins.” Pointing to the ground, she narrows her gaze.

  Sighing, I step out of my car in the driveway. “What’s wrong? Why do you look mad?”

  Lainey huffs and tugs her purse higher on her shoulder. “Matt told me he walked up on you and Drystan kissing. Is that why he and Ethan were fighting this morning? And why the hell didn’t you tell me you had a thing for Drystan? I feel like you’re not telling me anything going on in your life lately. That’s not what best friends do. They share things.” Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she takes a deep breath after her tirade and softens her tone. “Don’t you want to know if Matt and I have had sex?”

  I grip her wrist. “Jared wasn’t your first?”

  “Nara! No, I never did it with Jared. Though not for his lack of trying.” Rolling her eyes, she sighs heavily. “This is what I’m talking about. It feels like we’ve gotten away from sharing. That’s the best part of being a ‘best friend.’”

  If only I could share everything, Lainey. Hooking my arm around her neck, I pull my friend toward my front door. “Come on. Let’s have some girl time.”

  Houdini immediately greets Lainey with huge slobbery kisses. To her credit, my “easily grossed out” friend doesn’t gag like I expect her to. Instead, she gets on her knees and hugs Houdini’s neck tight. Then she grabs his jowls and baby talks to him.

  “You’re such a big cutie. I can’t wait to bring Lochlan over to visit with you. You boys will have a blast.”

  I smile, picturing her father’s Jack Russell and Houdini romping in the front yard.

  Once Lainey settles on the stool next to me in the kitchen, I turn to face her. “Have you and Matt had sex yet?”

  Lainey shakes her head. “We’re close. It’s a big commitment for me. It’s why I never gave it up to Jared. As much as I had the hots for him, something just didn’t feel right, so I held back.” A look of evil triumph flits across her face. “It drove him nuts.”

  I nod, thinking about Ethan and me. “It’s good that you’re taking your time. I think it’s a gut thing…that you’ll know when it’s right.”

  Lainey’s smile brightens. “It’ll definitely be with Matt. I just don’t want to rush everything too fast.” Tapping me on the nose, she says, “Now tell me about Drystan.”

  I shake my head. “Matt is dead wrong. Drystan and I weren’t kissing. He was leaning close trying to convince me to kiss him when I told him that I would never do that to Ethan.” Glancing away, I mutter, “Even though I’m really mad at him right now.”

  Lainey grabs my hand on the counter, her eyes wide. “What did Ethan do?”

  “It’s not what Ethan did. Technically he didn’t do anything.”

  Lainey jiggles my wrist back and forth on the smooth surface. “The suspense is killing me. Just spit it out, Nara.”

  I hold her curious brown gaze. “Danielle told me in the hall today that she and Ethan kissed.”

  Lainey frowns. “Wait, how can Ethan kissing Danielle technically not be ‘doing anything’ in your eyes?”

  Ugh, I didn’t think through how I was going to explain this without revealing Corvus rela
ted stuff. “Because she kissed him out of the blue, surprising him. He didn’t kiss her back.”

  “Ahh, I see. If Ethan’s innocent, it sounds like Danielle was trying to crawl under your skin and make you question your relationship.”

  I grimace and draw figure eights with my finger on the counter. “Well, it worked. Ethan and I just had the biggest fight we’ve ever had.”

  “Because he didn’t kiss her?”

  “No, because I had to find out it happened from her and not him.”

  “Whoa!” Lainey raps her knuckles against my knee. “I admit Ethan should’ve told you. That was definitely a screw up on his part, but are you really going to let her win?”

  “What do you mean ‘let her win?’”

  Lainey scooches her stool closer until her knees touch mine “Don’t you see…if she can’t have Ethan, she’s making sure you don’t either.”

  “But you don’t understand. There’s just a lot—” —you don’t know.

  My friend clasps my face and presses her forehead to mine. “Do you love Ethan?”

  I cup shaky hands over hers and nod, a hard lump in my throat.

  Releasing me, Lainey squeezes my hands. “Then talk it out with him. How else are you going to tell me about the great sex parts later?”

  When I sob out a laugh, she smiles and hops off the stool. “I’ll bet he’s left you a zillion messages. Have you even checked?” Before I can move, she pulls my phone out of my backpack and turns it toward me. “Mmmmm hmmmm.”

  I have several missed calls and a couple of texts from Ethan’s phone.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Nara

  So far Mr. Wicklow hasn’t tried to contact me, which I’m thankful for, but since I’m still not sure if my phone’s being monitored or I’m being followed, I wait until it’s dark to leave and take a long, meandering path to Ethan’s, entering his neighborhood the back way.

  Ethan’s backing out of his driveway as I turn down his street. Disappointment grabs my chest and I let off the gas a little. Where could he be going? He hadn’t tried to contact me since his last text several hours ago. My fingers grip the steering wheel tight as he turns out of his neighborhood. Pushing on the gas, I follow.

  The last place I expected to end up is the downtown mall. I park my car on a lower level in the parking deck and keep my distance as Ethan makes his way up the alley and into the brickyard area at a brisk pace. I follow, but quickly step into the entrance of a card shop when Ethan pauses and glances over his shoulder.

  Taking cover behind a card carousel, I’m surprised to see him enter an Irish pub called McCormicks. Based on the people entering behind him, it’s a college-aged crowd. Is he meeting Danielle here? Is this another hunt to find Harper? I hang out in the card shop, pretending to browse for another five minutes before I decide to go get my fake ID.

  By the time I return from my car, the line waiting to get inside McCormicks is now several storefronts long. I wait for a half hour in the long line before I get to the entrance and pay my cover charge. The place is packed with people trying to find a seat or wall space to lean against in the dim light. Everyone’s apparently here to listen to the band Weylaid, which I’d heard several guys and girls talking about in line. The band is warming up on the stage in the low light.

  “We’re just about ready,” a dark-haired guy says into the mic. “Oh, and we have special guest Adder here tonight as well, so get ready for a rockin’ evening, folks.”

  Several girls yell out Adder’s name and a few even scream. I’m standing on my toes trying to scan the crowd for Ethan, but it’s just too dark to see anything but shadows. The drummer begins tapping his drumsticks at the same time the stage lights start to slowly brighten. The crowd goes crazy, clapping, whistling, and hollering, and I’m relieved too. At least I can see better now.

  The loud music starts up, guitars, drums, and keyboard melding together in perfect harmony. I find myself tapping out the beat with my toe as I start scanning heads down in the far corner, looking for Ethan’s broad shoulders.

  The lead singer begins the song and my gaze is drawn to him briefly. He has a nice voice and I really like the Southern rock feel of this music. It’s exactly the kind Ethan would like. I continue my search through the crowd while enjoying the lyrics. I’ve made it halfway through the room when another voice joins in the chorus. The deep resonance gives me chills and feels strangely familiar. My attention instantly snaps back to the stage, pinging to each of the band members, looking for the source.

  When my gaze lands on Ethan sitting on a stool playing the guitar and singing, my knees give out. A guy behind me grabs my arms before I make it all the way down. Hauling me upright, he yells over the music, “You okay?”

  I nod and thank him, but quickly return my focus to the stage. Even though I try to hold them back, tears trickle down my cheeks as deep hurt swirls. Why didn’t Ethan tell me about this part of his life? He’s so talented, his voice sending goose bumps across my skin and chills down my spine. I would have come to every event. Every damned one!

  My emotions ride the full gamut as I shoulder my way a bit closer to listen to Ethan sing backup and play so fiercely: sadness, pride, excitement, happiness, joy, elation, frustration, confusion, depression and then back to even deeper sadness. While he’s playing, he’s so caught up, it’s like he’s in another world. Unfortunately it’s a world that doesn’t include me. It makes me wonder how much about him I really do know. Has he only shared surface stuff with me like Danielle did with him? Is that a Corvus thing?

  Mr. Wicklow had said Corvus are hard to get to know, difficult to talk to. All this time I thought he was wrong, that he didn’t know Ethan like I did. But as I watch this side to Ethan unfold before my eyes, I start to question everything I thought I knew about the boy who stole my heart.

  I’m just as mesmerized by the songs they play as everyone else, though my fascination comes with soul-searching realizations as the band ends the current set with the lead singer fading out and Ethan soloing the last few lyrics to a crowd-cheering crescendo.

  Everyone jumps to their feet, applauding and cheering while the band takes a twenty minute break. I hop into an empty seat looking for Ethan. He’s no longer on the stage, but making his way down the side stairs. Once he reaches the floor, a dark-haired girl flies into his arms. Ethan stumbles back and grips her waist.

  Heat and fury wash over me when she pulls back and says, “That was fantastic! I can’t wait to hear you sing You Slay Me.” But it’s when I see her profile that my chest feels as if it’s collapsing inward. It’s Danielle. She knows about his music? And she’s heard him play before?

  Suddenly the room is too small. There’s not enough air and my lungs feel as if they’re shrinking like fast leaking balloons. I stumble out of the chair and shove my way through the people crowding around the bar to get a drink before the next set starts.

  As soon as I find a break in the crowd, I run for the main door, and slam into a group of three guys entering as I try to exit. The one with curly brown hair grabs my arms and laughs. “Whoa, where’s the fire—?” He dips down to see my face better. “How do I know you?” Eyes lighting up, he glances to his friends. “Remember Ethan’s girl from the woods?”

  Straightening, he yells out, “Hey, Adder, your girl’s here!” Then he points to the top of my head, grinning.

  Ethan’s Adder? I push past the guy and his friends, then burst through the crowd waiting to get in. Rain has started in a light drizzle, but I don’t care how wet I get. I need to breathe or I’ll collapse before I can make it to my car. Bending over, I put my hands on my knees and take a deep gulping, lungful of air. The temperature has turned colder since I entered the pub, and each inhale I take feels icy and harsh.

  “Nara!” Ethan’s voice calls over the crowd, jerking me upright.

  I take off, then turn down a side alley as the rain starts to come down faster, soaking my thin, loose sweater. The boat neck slips down my shoulde
r as I run. I jerk the clingy, wet material back up and try to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. I don’t want to see or talk to Ethan right now.

  “Nara, wait!” Ethan says at the same time he grabs my hand.

  I try to tug free, but he pulls me through a side door into some kind of back hall that’s stacked with wooden boxes and smells of pine cleaner, old building and paint.

  As soon as I’m inside, I yank my hand away and stare down the long hall past the wall lined with crates full of beer bottles. I can’t face him. Can’t look into his eyes. It’ll hurt too much.

  “Why are you here?” he asks quietly.

  I jerk my eyes to his, my fury on high boil. “Is that all you have to say? I just watched Danielle throw herself at you. Surely you can think of something better to say than that?”

  Ethan’s gaze narrows and he moves closer, backing me against the wall. Just a few inches separate us. The smell of his aftershave makes my heart thump, but I refuse to look at him. Instead, I stare at his black t-shirt boasting the slogan Bringing the A to Weylaid.

  Ethan places his hands on the wall on either side of me and lowers his eyes to mine. “First of all, you said it right. Danielle threw herself at me. It was either catch her or we’d both fall. I guess you were too busy leaving to see me pull her off and set her down.”

  “She knew about you being in this band, Ethan, and so did your guy friends, which is a hell of a lot more about you than I know.”

  Water drips off Ethan’s hair as he slowly shakes his head. “I’ve never told anyone about Adder. The guys found out on their own, much to my annoyance. And Danielle must’ve followed me. Tonight’s the first time she let me know she was here. When I’m in Adder mode, I usually zone completely out.”

  The meaning of the slogan on his T-shirt hits me with a wave of renewed sadness; he’s been in the band long enough to have his own shirt. “Why didn’t you tell me about your music?”