by Noella Royce
I was practically panting with anger and they watched me with wide eyes.
"You blacked out while sewing?" Kristen practically whispered. "Really?"
"Yes, really!" I crossed my arms, wishing I hadn't told them. Their expressions were somewhere between awed and scared, and I took that to mean they thought I was falling apart. "That hasn't happened to me since I was twenty-four, and at the time it was aided by copious amounts of vodka." They were both still gawking at me, and I sighed and dropped my hands. "Come on, guys. I'm really confused right now. If I'm just nuts or suffering from a brain tumor, tell me and I'll sell my car to try to afford health care. The way everyone keeps shutting me out is going to drive me over the deep end."
"We can't," Amari admitted, face full of regret.
"Definitely can't," Kristen agreed. "We'd really love to but we both made an oath to Frank that we wouldn't say anything, and that we'd let him tell you more when it was time."
"And what is this more? Can't you give me a hint?"
They both shook their heads.
"Ugh, this is ridiculous!" I stomped my foot. I was doing that a lot lately.
I felt the swirl of fury and emotion that usually meant I was about to do something stupid, the tornado side of me that I'd sworn to myself I was going to hide away and never let out again. "You know what? I give up on this place. I wanted a new life in a nice, small town where the traffic wasn't ass and jerkface celebrities weren't telling me what to do all the time and I could start over like a normal person, but instead I find everyone knows things I don't and won't clarify what the fuck they're talking about ninety percent of the time and this isn't better than LA at all!"
"Veda—" Amari started.
"Ohh, what celebrities did you know in LA?" Kristen interrupted him, and I just stared at her helplessly. That was not the can of worms I wanted to open to anyone here, not anytime soon.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, losing the will to fight. "Look, I'll just take this up with Frank. Someone needs to—"
The bells on the door rang and a man with golden blond hair and a natty outfit of blue linen and a gray vest stepped into the store.
"Leslie!" Amari's voice was full of relief; I figured that was because he was pleased to have an interruption in the middle of my epic breakdown. He moved around the desk to approach his boyfriend. "Done with classes for the day?"
"I am." Leslie gave a blinding grin and kissed Amari on the cheek. "I have a late lunch appointment, but I wanted to stop by and see how you're doing. How's your day?"
"It was nuts for a bit, but we're good now. Where's lunch?"
"Oh, just over at Broco." He looked over at Kristen and I. We were both checking him out shamelessly. Of average height and with a trim and athletic build, Leslie cut an elegant figure. His linen pants and vest were perfectly tailored, and I suspected he had a very healthy cadre of admirers among his students. The anglophiles probably fainted at his feet, what with that smooth, posh-sounding accent of his.
As if hearing my thoughts, he met my eyes and gave me a little smile. I blushed in response. "New employee, I see. Hello, Kristen." He nodded at her and she chirped a greeting in return. "You must introduce us, Amari."
As he approached me, gliding smoothly through the aisles, I had a particular thought. Something about him reminded me of Adin, which was patently ridiculous. They were physically night and day, and there were several inches difference between them. And yet...
"I'm Veda," I said, scrounging up a smile and letting him take my hand. "Very nice to meet you."
As he murmured his name, the feeling intensified. I noticed how he had a similar watchfulness to his gaze, and a note to his voice that reminded me of the annoying hottie I was pretty sure was a criminal. Perhaps they were related in some odd, distant way? Or was this just another sign of my encroaching mental breakdown?
I thought he'd drop my hand, but instead, his eyes were searching my face. "So you came into town a couple of weeks ago, yes? From where did you move again?"
"I did; from California." Leslie's scrutiny was making me nervous. I carefully extracted my hand from his and took a step back. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I should really get back to cleaning up the store and the mess I made upstairs."
"Understandably; I'm so sorry to be creepy." His smile was apologetic and utterly charming. "Amari's just told me so much about you, good things only, of course."
"No problem, I'm sorry for being rude. It's been a long day."
"You weren't rude at all. Amari, don't you think she should join us for clubbing?"
"That's a great idea!" Amari turned to me. "We're going to Tangerine tomorrow for Pride Night. It's by far their best night, and you'll have a blast, guaranteed; we'll make you forget that you work there."
"I'm going too!" Kristen said. "We always have an incredible time."
"Thank you for the offer, but I don't know. I'm pretty tired this week." That wasn't quite true. I was tempted, I really was, but I had no wiggle room to be frivolous at the moment. Unfortunately, nights out were pretty damn expensive, and I barely had enough money to feed myself these days.
There was also the little matter of being gaslighted and kept in the dark by Kristen and Amari, although apparently Frank was the root of that problem.
Next time I saw him we were going to have a good, long talk, and I didn't care if it got me fired. This couldn't continue.
"It's going to be my treat," said Leslie. He fixed his blue eyes on mine and I could practically feel his charisma like a physical thing. "I'm sure your trip from out west was quite spendy, and you wouldn't want to waste your funds on something so silly as a club night."
"I can't let you do that! We just met."
"He's very generous." Amari sounded very proud. "That offer's not just for you; he means all of us."
"But—"
"I'm not taking no for an answer. You're coming and it's going to be fabulous, and if not, I won't stop you if want to leave at any time. Deal?"
It was hard to deny someone so relentlessly charming and so very British. "Deal. Thank you for the offer."
"Excellent." He kissed Amari again and moved towards the door. I went towards the stairs, wondering what I'd just agreed to.
The door opened, and I spun when I heard what sounded like a snake's hiss.
There was Leslie, with the open door in one hand, a snarl transforming him into a different man, and across from him was Adin.
"What are you doing here?" Leslie's voice dripped loathing, and now I was pretty sure he'd made that snake sound.
"Whatever I'd like," Adin said calmly. He brushed past the other man into the store. Leslie shot daggers into his back before cursing and letting the door slam behind him.
Amari went running after his boyfriend, leaving me and Kristen alone with Adin.
"Greetings," he said calmly, putting his hands in his pockets in what seemed a performatively casual gesture.
We stared at him, and I noted Kristen looked terrified.
Judging by everyone's reaction, I should feel the same way, and I had to admit he made me nervous. Still, I'd yet to see any behavior for me to be afraid of.
I might also have been blinded by his looks, though, because today he was wearing dark jeans and a long-sleeved red T-shirt that reminded me of the incredible jacket he'd worn the night I'd seen him and Erica. His long, lean body was framed to excellent effect by the sunlight, and that sharp face with those epic eyebrows was distractingly handsome.
Man, if he let me dress him up I could transform him into all manner of superheroes, anime characters, and video game protagonists. He'd be perfection.
His hazel eyes met mine and then narrowed. That expression made my heart beat with a fear I couldn't name and that stopped me in my tracks.
Kristen made what sounded like a strangled noise and scrambled past me to go up the stairs. "Hey, I'm going to clean the upstairs room for you, okay? You've been through enough today."
"But I—"<
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"I'm sorry," she mouthed before turning and fleeing.
Taking a deep breath, I remembered this was my job, and no strapping douche with a god complex, no matter how much he frightened my coworkers, was going to keep me from doing it.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"Probably not, no."
"Okay." Excellent. I desperately needed a break from interacting with Maywen's weirdest. He could find his own paintbrushes, or whatever else he needed. "I'll just be right up here," I indicated the register. "In case you need me for something."
He strode forward and I noticed he didn't have that same fluid, almost inhuman physicality I'd noticed the night before, although he was still awfully graceful and not quite normal. Maybe the exhaustion had fried my sight, who knows.
Soon he was looming over me and I resisted the urge to shrink from him. No intimidation, damn it! I was bigger than that! "You've taken my advice."
"Your advice?"
"To use your gifts."
"How the hell would you know?" He was freaking me out. Had Frank told him about my sewing?
"I could feel your power." This was said with a simple confidence that was just as annoying as the scared avoidance of Amari and Kristen.
"Okay, that's impossible."
"You know nothing of where the limits of 'possible' lie."
Hot damn, was he condescending.
The flames of my earlier rage at everything going on around me flared up again. "Look, mister." I poked him in the chest and he looked at my hand with bemusement while I tried to ignore how very solid he felt underneath my touch. Adin could take me down without even trying, and here I was alone with him. "I don't know what your damage is, or which of your drugs you've ingested before coming in here, but you can take your weird declarations and annoying glower and leave me the fuck alone, okay? Oh!"
The gasp was because he'd stepped very close to me, trapping me against the counter. Something bloody flared in his eyes. Shit, I really did need my head checked if I thought his eyes were changing color.
He glared down at me and I tried not to whimper or struggle, trapped as I was by those fierce, angry eyes beneath those dark brows. "You want to know what my damage is?" he purred. "Or have you already decided it must be drugs? Is that what you're using to explain everything that's happening to you?"
"I don't know and I don't care. I just want things to make sense," I said through gritted teeth.
"Sense? That's not something you'll find here, no matter how much you look. Maywen was built on a foundation of death, darkness, and chaos, and you're building yourself a spot in the center of a gathering maelstrom. They will no longer let you leave, and if the town goes down, so will you." There was that note of prophecy in his voice again.
"What do you mean, if the town goes down?"
He looked at me as if considering what to say next. I chewed my lip nervously and his gaze followed the movement, and the look changed to something deeper and hungrier. In response, my traitorous heart beat faster and I silently cursed him for being so good-looking and so sexy-smelling.
"You have to figure that out; if you can't, or if your incompetent minders won't help you, you're doomed."
"You came here to tell me this again?" I pushed at his chest, and this time he stepped back. He looked faintly amused, as if he could sense his effect on me. With his looks and how women probably reacted to him, he probably could. "A bunch of senseless bullshit I don't even understand?"
Adin sighed. "I am not allowed to say more."
"That's what everyone says!"
"Honesty is a rare commodity in Maywen." He gave me a half smile and his eyes glittered. "Have a good day, Veda. Stop struggling and start demanding and fighting. Hone your skills, and stay away from Leslie and the police. They will both use you, if in different ways."
"Sure, okay, whatever. Just go sell your drugs or whatever weird illegal thing you do around here that scares the crap out of people so much."
He scowled. "I am not a drug dealer."
Ah, so he did have a weak spot, and it appeared to be his job. "Yeah? Then what are you? A pimp? Contract killer? Gigolo?"
"Classics professor."
I blinked. "Really? Where?"
His scowl deepened. "At the university, you daft woman."
"Seriously?" My mind couldn't comprehend the thought of this bizarrely attractive and intimidating man teaching students. He also appeared far too young. "You're a teacher? How don't you scare the fuck out of your students on a regular basis?"
With narrowed eyes and an expression that suggested murder, he slammed out of the store.
I grinned, pleased that I'd finally said something to upset him as opposed to the other way around. Now if my heart would stop beating so hard I could get back to my job and start trying to forget the effect he had on me.
I started to get serious about tidying up the shelves, trying to keep my mind focused on the work. So far that day, I'd blacked out, made a skirt, been given weird directives by oddballs, and basically told by my coworkers that my boss was hiding something major from me. "For fuck's sake," I muttered as I reordered the sketch books.
The door opened and Amari walked in, eyes darting around as if looking for someone. "Sorry about that, Veda." He rubbed the back of his head and looked abashed. "I had to talk to Leslie for a while."
"You mean you weren't just waiting down the street for Adin to leave before you came back?" I smiled at his guilty look. "Yeah, I thought so. Kristen ran upstairs, so you're not alone."
As if on cue, there was the sound of someone on the stairs. "Is he gone yet?" Kristen peeked her head around the corner.
"Yes, the big bad wolf is gone. You're all safe now, and he didn't eat the little piggy you left behind." Kristen looked at her feet and her lip trembled, and I felt a flash of guilt.
I was being bitchy, but man were they being immature. I looked at Amari. "What's the problem between Leslie and the world's scariest classics professor?" His eyes shifted and I sighed. "Let me guess: You can't tell me, right?"
He shook his head. "I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise. We had to swear, and promises are taken really seriously in Maywen."
"More so than in other places?"
"Other places don't swear on the river," Kristen whispered. "You can never break a promise made in witness of the Agrimony."
"Wonderful to know."
Wincing at my sarcasm, Kristen bowed her head and handed me my finished skirt, and I took it from her. Something in me buzzed as I touched the soft garment and my outlandish theory shifted from brain tumor to some sort of drug woven into the fabric itself. Hell, it was as good an explanation as anything else. "Thanks for cleaning up; I appreciate it."
"No problem," she practically whispered and moved to the other side of the store.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. Why was everyone in this town so hellbent on driving me mad?
When I got home, I found Breanna at the kitchen table, drinking tea and reading a very serious looking book that she slammed shut as soon as I entered the room.
Something about that motion, and the stress around her dainty mouth, told me she'd been waiting for me.
"Hello." I put my bag down and tried to smile. As I sat in the chair opposite her, she removed the book and placed it on the floor. Wow, she liked her books big and old-looking. "How was your day?"
"My day was fine, thank you." Her tone wasn't unkind, which made it worse. Sometimes anger was easier to deal with than disappointment. "How was yours?"
"Long and weird," I admitted. I thought about making small talk and showing her the skirt I made, but that would just delay the inevitable. "Hey, I'm glad you're here."
"Oh?" She lifted her pale eyebrows.
"Yeah. I haven't had a chance to update you yet on the situation with that money I'd been expecting." I looked down at my hands and explained everything that had happened with the lawyer. Her lips disappeared even further and her eyes narrowed throughout my expla
nation.
"That," she said primly, "is the stupidest trust I have ever heard of."
"I know, right?!" At least she understood that much. "I can't believe someone lured me out here with the promise of an inheritance just to hit me with a collection of some of the most ridiculous provisions I've ever heard of. How is it even legal?"
"It shouldn't be."
I winced at the tone of her voice. "I'm sorry, Breanna. I know I made promises I couldn't keep. I can pay a bit of it today, and will give you a check every week to cover the security deposit. If you give me a chance, I will catch up." This wasn't strictly true. I'd crunched the numbers, and I'd have to live off of ramen for six straight months to both pay her back as well as cover my monthly rent. I needed to find another way to make money. "But if that's not okay, I understand if you need to kick me out. If you just give me a couple of days I'll find other arrangements." What those were, who the hell knew. I'd probably go to my new coworkers and Frank. All of my pride curled up in a mewling ball at the thought, but I'd do what I had to.
My roommate was watching me thoughtfully, and the look in her eyes made me feel two inches tall. I could practically hear her thoughts, and they were about how I'd let her down by making promises I couldn't keep. "You'll pay me on a weekly basis?"
I nodded vigorously.
"And you won't fight me if it's not enough and I have to find a new roommate who can cover the full costs?"
I nodded harder.
She paused, and I wondered if I was about to be kicked out. Was I going to end up living in my car?