Legacy of Secrets 01-Cursed Secrets

by Lisa Logue

  “So, are we finished?”

  “Um, I think so. I’ve never dissected a frog so fast. You really are good with your hands. I promise, I mean that as a compliment,” I smiled.

  “Thank you. Now let me go turn this in and we can get out of here.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Yeah, lunch is right after this and I’ve not eaten since this morning. Unless you have somewhere to be?”

  “Oh, that’d be nice. Thank you.”

  I watched as he almost floated over the ground when he walked. It was oddly graceful for such a big guy. Yet another quirk of this mysterious hot guy I was trying desperately not to fall in love with.

  Mr. Applegate nodded and Christian smiled widely. I moved to grab my stuff from the desk and noticed he was already carrying my bag.

  “Um, thanks. I can carry that myself though. You don’t have to.”

  “It’s no problem. You’re looking so faint, what kind of gentlemen would I be if I made you carry your books?” he smiled and he slid his hand to the small of my back. The jolt of electricity at my spine was as unexpected as it was pleasurable and I gasped.

  “Sorry, the formaldehyde must be getting to me after all,” he looked at me skeptically.

  CHAPTER 11

  We walked across the quad to the picnic tables, where a cute little picnic type lunch was arranged. He hummed lightly and smiled, sitting on the opposite side of me.

  “Are you not hungry?”

  “No I am. I just didn’t expect you to be so prepared. Were you actually planning on lunch with me or did you just decide to make me feel better after last night?” I grabbed a sandwich.

  “A little of both actually. Is it working?” he smirked.

  “Yes, I think so.”

  We ate in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company. It was nice to not have any expectations, but a part of me wished he would say something else about the kiss. I felt like a teenager. I giggled.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “I was just thinking I feel sort of like a little girl around you. You’re going out of your way to make me feel normal and aside from that you’ve been a complete gentleman. It’s just kind of like something I might read about, you know?”

  “I assure you that I am one hundred percent real. Much better than anything you’d ever read about” he winked and smiled wide. I laughed out loud.

  The afternoon was nice. Of course, any time I spent with him was usually great; it just passed much too quickly. Before I knew it, lunch was over and I looked around the quad as he cleaned up. Couples were lounging underneath the trees or walking hand in hand whispering things for only their ears. I envied them. I risked hurting Christian anytime he and I got too close. What made it worse was he actually wanted to spend time with me. I sighed as he offered his arm to walk us back inside.

  “Thank you for lunch. It was nice.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it. I will probably be going out of town again soon so I wanted to be sure that you and I could spend a little time together before I left. Of course, I’ll only be a button away if you need me, but I’m afraid I might be a recluse for the next few days. Planning these trips takes a lot of coordination and unfortunately much of my time. I didn’t want to leave and you think that I was angry with you. You do know I’m not, right?”

  “I do. I’m just too impulsive, as you said. I will have to work on better self control while you’re away,” I smiled.

  “I can’t say that I don’t enjoy your impulses. Let’s just see where time takes us, hmm?” he nudged my arm. I nodded and blushed causing him to laugh out loud.

  He led me to my class and kissed my forehead before disappearing. The weight of the day had lifted and I felt much better. We definitely had a weird relationship, but I liked it. There was something different about him I just couldn’t put my finger on.

  I settled into my chair and pretended to listen to the professor. The energy in the room was palpable and I didn’t care who knew. I didn’t intentionally try to reach out to others, but most of the time they were affected anyway. I would rather people feel happy than crying because of me. I smiled and the energy fizzled. Time for changes.

  The remainder of the day passed in the same fashion. When classes ended, I was almost floating with happiness. I didn’t know when I’d see him next, but I knew we’d talk soon. Hearing his voice would be enough to keep the happy feeling going.

  “You bitch!” I heard from across the lot. I spun around to see Leslie running in my direction.

  “What the…” she slapped me across the face, effectively cutting me off.

  “You know what happened to him! I know you do! You whore!”

  “I have no idea what the hell you are talking about!”

  “Oh right! So you didn’t know that Dallas is in jail? You live right down the street from him you lying bitch!”

  “You’re blaming me? I hadn’t been around Dallas in months and then he tried to rape me. I avoided him because crazy girlfriend drama isn’t exactly my bag,” my temper rose and the air started to ripple. My palms were on fire. If she raised her hand to me again I would hurt her, badly.

  “Ladies, I think we should calm down and take a step back,” Christian’s voice pierced through me.

  “Tell that to psycho bitch!” I spat, waiting for her to lunge.

  “Psycho what? Did she just call me…oh no…” she took a few paces toward me. I smiled deviously, knowing there was no way she’d win.

  “No!” Christian stepped in front of me and grabbed my hands hard. He stared straight into my eyes like he knew what I was thinking. I stared at him incredulously, “You could probably kill her, Lia. Stop this, now,” he whispered frantically.

  I turned my attention back to Leslie, “If you want to hit me, than hit me. But even if he wasn’t in jail, I would have told the cops anyway. Why don’t you ask me a question I can answer? How about ‘why don’t you and Dallas hang out anymore?’ Because I wouldn’t let him screw things up with you. Or how about ‘were you sleeping with my boyfriend?’ The answer to that one is no. I haven’t slept with Dallas since well before you two had gotten together. I am not one of those people. I know my boundaries. So next time, before you assume, maybe you should look beyond what people say and actually ask the questions you need. Anything else?”

  She stared back dumbfounded. “N…no, I’m sorry. I just…I just want to know what happened, and I just thought…”

  “No, you didn’t. He was my friend Leslie. I didn’t want this for him either, but I can’t excuse what he did. You just need to know how to leave the past in the past,” I pushed Christian aside and took a step toward her. “I will tell you this once and please don’t take this too harshly, but if you ever lay a hand on me again, I will hurt you. Do not underestimate me,” I walked away.

  “Well done,” Christian caught up.

  “How do you keep popping up when crazy people threaten me?” I asked furiously.

  “I have to say I’ve just been in the right places at the right times. Possibly saving you from a murder charge today, don’t you think? You’re too pretty for prison,” he winked.

  “Bullshit. I want to know how you could possibly think I’d kill her. Don’t lie to me. It doesn’t work well for your karma,” I spat. He was much bigger, but I stood my ground.

  “Lia, you know I can feel what you feel. You may not intend to kill her but we both know your power could get out of control in an instant. I’m sorry,” his words did nothing to pacify the rage. The fire was boiling so hot I was seeing red.

  He turned toward me with wide eyes, “we need to get you out of here.”

  “Why should I? She deserves to be taught a lesson and I’m tired of hiding from everyone; these ungrateful bastards.”

  “Lia, your eyes are as bright as flames and your skin is beginning to turn red. Look at yourself for crying out loud!” he half whispered.

  I looked at my hands and gasped, “Oh my god, I don’t understa
nd.”

  “Come on, I’ll drive you home. I promise I will help you, okay?” He took my trembling hands slowly as I looked up at him. He led me to the car and we sped off, leaving the shocked faces of our peers behind.

  With the window rolled down as far as it would go, I closed my eyes to concentrate. The smells and sounds of the world zipping by eventually worked to fade the fury that came dangerously close to spilling over. I sighed, opening my eyes to his tight smile.

  “Well the good news is you aren’t red anymore. The bad news is you look a bit green. Are you feeling alright?”

  “No, I’m freaked out. Why does this stuff keep happening to me? I just want to be normal. Without having all of these crazy things happening or almost killing or maiming people. Is that terrible to ask for?”

  “Normal is a relative term. What’s normal to one is abnormal to another. You, however, are asking to be plain. Plain is overrated. You just need to learn how to control your powers.”

  “Wait, my what?”

  “Your powers. What else would you call what happened back there or what happened at my house yesterday? Do you think most people can manifest fire from nowhere?”

  “Well, no. I don’t know.”

  “Don’t think for one second that because you’re different you should be ashamed. Everyone has something that makes them unique and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “I still can’t understand why you aren’t running away from me?”

  “You don’t scare me. There are plenty of other things to be afraid of. I also understand your pain. As I told you yesterday, I’m not going anywhere. I would appreciate it if you would give me the benefit of the doubt here. You really are quite stubborn aren’t you?”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just one moment we’re just friends and the next we’re having picnic lunches. I’ve never been in a situation like this. I knew what the other guys wanted, but with you it’s all jumbled up,” I stared out the window, trying to push away the nasty memories. I shuttered involuntarily and he sighed.

  “Lia, I wish you would realize that just because I’m a guy, it doesn’t mean I have ulterior motives. I genuinely want to be your friend. I would never hurt you and I won’t let anyone else do it either. Now, would you like to go running with me tonight? I know you haven’t wanted to go alone so I figured I could come along?”

  “Sure, what time do you want to head out?” I huffed.

  “Just text when you’re ready and I’ll be here before you know it. Be careful, Lia,” he smiled crookedly and my heart thudded. Damn that smile and those gorgeous eyes. I snapped out of my trance and laughed nervously.

  “Thank you, again. I should be okay to walk myself to the door. See you tonight, Christian” I got out and practically ran into the house.

  “Oh dear, what happened to you?” Nana asked. I probably had a handprint on my face. I sighed.

  “Do you remember that boy, Dallas, that lives around the corner? Well his girlfriend confronted me about him going to jail. She decided to slap me and blame me for his bad behavior.”

  “Oh dear,” Nana put her hand to her mouth.

  “A friend of mine helped clear things up then brought me home. Everything will be fine, I think. You don’t have anything to worry about,” I sounded surprisingly calm for almost shooting fire from my eyeballs.

  “Well good. At least you have a few good friends. Your grandfather’s in the kitchen, dinner is on the table. Go get freshened up and eat something. Maybe some food will help you feel better?” Nana thought a home cooked meal could cure anything. She wasn’t that far off, I truly loved her cooking.

  I dragged myself up to my room and gathered my running clothes, MP3 player, and pedometer. I thought about Christian as I changed. Somehow he seemed to know me better than I knew myself. I had to be the worst friend he’s ever had. We spent a great day together, and then I kissed him and screwed it up. He said wasn’t mad, but he still acted strangely.

  “Hey there, kiddo. I heard you had a fun afternoon,” Pops asked setting down the newspaper when I settled at the table.

  “It was definitely eventful. Nothing too important, just another day in the life. How was your day?”

  “Same as every day. Being retired leaves you with a world of options, but hardly any are appealing. You seem a bit off this evening. Aside from the tiff at school, is everything else alright?” he leaned toward me.

  “I don’t really know. I just feel like, there are some things going on with me that aren’t quite normal. Sometimes things happen that don’t seem to be possible.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Okay, take for instance today after that girl slapped me, and please don’t think I’m crazy for telling you this…”

  “I will never think you’re crazy, Lia. What happened?”

  “Well it’s almost like I was so mad I could have literally, and I do mean literally, shot fire from my fingertips. It sounds crazy when I say it out loud, but that’s what it felt like,” I bit my lip.

  “I see. First of all, sometimes our emotions are a big part of who we are. Secondly, have I ever told you the story about the Virgin Wives?”

  “No I don’t think so.”

  “This may not pertain exactly to what you’re going through, but it may explain some things,” he cleared his throat and began, “It is said that many, many years ago, during times of great peril and war, several young brides were told their husbands would not return from battle. Swollen with grief, they begged God to stop the pain. He spoke to the women, explaining that they had His grace, but their souls were broken. As a way of helping the women, God gifted them each a different ability that, if used properly, might help to mend their souls. Not understanding, the wives secluded themselves away from their brothers and sisters in mourning.

  “After a decade or so, the wives witnessed the destruction of their people. God had gifted them with ways of protection, but they neglected his path. With renewed resolve, each woman found ways to stop the bloodshed and save the wounded. Slowly the women felt the pieces of their former broken selves meld together again.

  “Their triumphs continued for many centuries until most of the fighting stopped. The Wives continued to dwell in their private sanctuary, having been gifted with immortality. Some say they still protect the weak and work to end the devastation of the world, but whether they were real doesn’t matter. The message here is that good can come from any evil.”

  He stared at me for a moment, like he was expecting something. As the only father figure I had for the last ten very awkward years, he was really good at turning life lessons into fairytales with magic and happily ever afters. But I wasn’t a child anymore, and life wasn’t that simple.

  “So basically, instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself I need to help others?” I asked.

  “It’s a little more in depth than that, but that’s the general idea. Some people are given gifts and when one realizes her gift, she must share it to protect herself and the ones she loves.”

  “Okay well if I had a gift I would use it. I’m just like everyone else. Well usually I am. Sometimes I just feel so…strange.”

  “Just remember, Adalia, since your mother passed I’ve raised you as my own, but I don’t want you to forget where you came from. The stories of our past teach us lessons for the future.”

  “Thanks, Pops. I’ll remember. I’m going to go for a run with a friend. I love you,” I kissed him on the forehead and padded out the door to do the one thing that did feel normal.

  CHAPTER 12

  Christian was waiting for me at the back door. I smiled and walked around him to the beginning of the path. I felt awkward after the episode at school and the story Pops told me. I felt like everyone knew something I didn’t. He watched me carefully and I sighed.

  “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to run. This is the only way I really know how to deal. Okay?”

  “Alright, lead the way.”

  I put my headp
hones in my ears and cranked up the volume. My body was sore. I hadn’t run in days, but it felt like months. He kept up and eventually I thought of nothing but my feet hitting the ground. We circled the trail a few times, neither of us tiring. Finally, I came to a stop about a mile from my house and did some stretches to ease the tiredness in my limbs. Christian followed suit.

  “That felt fantastic!” I took the ear buds out and let them drape from behind my neck.

  “I agree. Are you not tired? We ran about five miles just then, maybe more,” he asked puzzled.

  “Not really. I’ve conditioned my body pretty well over the years. It takes a lot more than a few miles to affect me. I normally just do one loop, but I had to get it all out.”

  “So this is like, your therapy?”

  “I suppose so. It keeps me relatively in shape and I enjoy being outside. Most of the time I feel so claustrophobic,” I shuddered.

  “I can see that. Well, I’ll run with you every night if you’d like. I don’t really want you out here alone, if I can help it. But of course that’s up to you.”

  “Thanks, but you don’t have to go out of your way for me. We obviously don’t have to worry about Dallas anymore and I’m pretty sure I put Leslie in her place today. What else is there to worry about? It’s not like I have a list full of enemies,” I snorted.

  “No, but it doesn’t ever freak you out? Running out here all alone?”

  “Not really. Most of the people around here see me every night. There are a few who watch from their windows. I guess I’ve just always felt safe here. I wasn’t able to do this in Pennsylvania.”

  “Do you mind if I ask why?” he hesitated.

  “After my parents died I was even more of an outcast than I am here. The only people who didn’t fear me were a few close friends, but everyone else was impossible. It wasn’t safe for me in my own house. People would come looking for me, hoping to catch me doing something so they could either turn me in or kill me. When you live in a small town, mob mentality is like an epidemic. Anyway, none of that matters now. I can’t ever go back and I wouldn’t even if I had a good reason.