“You can become my boyfriend,” she said enticingly. She got closer to him and bit her lips as she smiled. She felt provocative in a way that was not typical of her. She liked it though. He smiled back. “What do you think?” she asked as she placed her hand on his chest.
“You’re a genius,” he swallowed hard. Not kissing her required a lot of effort from him.
She took her hand off his chest and gave a step back. “Great. Remember, it’s just make-believe. We are not engaging in that sort of relationship.” She gave a pause to see the change in his expression. “At least, not for now,” she smiled sensually. “Have a good night, Ethan.” She was going to close the door when she remembered that she needed his number. “Wait.” She went to the living room, got a pen, grabbed his hand, and wrote her phone number on it. His hand was warm and touching it made her tremble with desire. “You’re not a caveman, so I suppose you’ve got a cell phone. Message me your number. I need to be able to contact you anytime, don’t you think?”
“Definitely.” He held her hand and pulled her closer. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest. “I can’t wait to be your boyfriend.”
“You’d better be a good one,” she smiled.
“I won’t let you down,” he smiled back.
She stepped back. “Good night.” She closed the door and went back to Mia’s bedroom. She lay on the bed. She couldn’t help smiling. She was happy Ethan was always around. She would like to have him even closer. She imagined her mother’s face when she introduced him to her. Alexis had never had a boyfriend before and having as her first boyfriend someone as handsome as Ethan was without a doubt an achievement. She would sleep well that night. She closed her eyes and let her mind work on her wildest dreams about Ethan.
She decided to go to the kitchen and get herself some water; she was thirsty. It was still dark. When she was about to go back to Mia’s bedroom, she saw a man standing at the top of the stairs. Her blood ran cold. It was the Oren. When she turned around to run to the door to call Ethan, the man grabbed her and pushed her against a wall. She looked at the stairs. She was puzzled by how he could have gone down that fast. He held her by the neck. She could barely breathe. He was strangling her. She hit the man several times, but she didn’t seem to be inflicting any pain on him.
“E… E…” she tried to speak, but she was too weak and about to lose consciousness.
“Ethan?” asked the man mockingly. “That one lying dead on the floor?” he asked maliciously.
Alexis looked at the direction the man pointed. She saw Ethan on the floor. There was a puddle of blood around him. Tears ran down her face. “Ethan!” she found the force to scream. He didn't move. She stopped struggling for her survival and closed her eyes.
“Alexis, Alexis, open your eyes.”
Alexis obeyed. Mia was staring at her. “You had a nightmare,” said Mia comfortingly. “Who’s Ethan?” she asked curiously.
“I don’t know.” She took her hand to her face. It was wet. She wiped it.
“Is it the man who attacked you?” Mia insisted.
“I don’t know, Mia. Thanks for waking me up,” she said gratefully.
“No problem. Do you want to talk about it?” Mia hated the feeling that Alexis was hiding something from her.
“Not now. I… I’ll try to get back to sleep,” said Alexis evasively.
“Okay, me too. Wake me up if you need me, okay?” Mia wanted Alexis to know she was there for her.
“Sure. Thanks again.” Alexis wanted to get her cell phone to see if Ethan had sent her a message, but she didn’t want Mia to see it. She would have to wait. She tried closing her eyes to calm herself down, but she kept seeing Ethan dead on the living room floor. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take Mia long to fall asleep. She waited about two minutes before getting her phone and going to the bathroom. She was too impatient to continue waiting. She closed the door and checked her phone. She was relieved to see there was a message from him.
“Sleep tight,” he had written.
“Are you okay?” she typed, counting that he would be awake.
He replied almost immediately. “Yes. Why?”
“The easiest way of getting to me is eliminating the one who protects me. I’m not the only one who is a target.” Every word she typed struck her as the bitter truth.
“I know. Are you worried about me?”
“Yes,” she answered. He sent a smiley face. “I had a nightmare. The Oren was here, and he had gotten you.”
“It won’t happen. I’m not leaving you,” he said reassuringly.
She didn’t want to get too emotional, but what she had felt when seeing him dead was indescribable. She didn’t want to play games anymore. “Promise?”
“I promise.” He could tell that she was in anguish. “There is nothing in the world capable of making me miss the opportunity of being your boyfriend. I mean nothing but you.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t take that away from neither of us.”
“Good. We have nothing to worry about then. I’ll be out here when you wake up.”
“I wish you could be in here,” she typed, deleted, typed again, and sent it.
“Me too. Soon, I hope.” If she asked, he would go in there at that moment. He gave it a second thought. He wouldn’t. They wouldn’t be able to explain who he was and what he was doing there. That was one of the reasons why her idea of dating him was so good. He would be able to be around as much as she wanted him to without having to worry about giving explanations to others. “Try to get some sleep. Have a good night.”
“You too.” She doubted she would be able to get any sleep. So much had happened that day. She hoped her mother had had a better day.
The sunlight woke Anna up. Her temple was on Morgan’s chest. She could feel his hand slowly going up and down her naked back. She didn’t move. She wanted to savor the moment, so she kept her eyes closed. That was the happiest she had been in years. She wished all her mornings were like that. Anna looked at him.
“Good morning,” he beamed.
“Good morning. Do you have to go to work?” She didn't want anyone or anything to take him away from her.
“Unfortunately.” For many years, Morgan had made his job his priority. Not anymore. For the first time, since he had joined the police department, he wished he could call in sick.
“Wanna take a shower first?” She smiled. “No one likes a smelly sheriff.” She giggled.
“You are right about that.” He watched her walk to the bathroom. She was gorgeous. Her naked body was perfection. He pinched himself to make sure that he was not dreaming, but he regretted it soon afterward. If he were dreaming, he didn’t want to wake up. He got to the bathroom some seconds after her. Water was already running down her curves. He got in and kissed her. His hands gently caressed her most intimate parts.
“Morgan,” she whispered.
“Getting dirty before cleaning up,” he winked.
“Naughty,” she smiled.
“I’m just getting started,” he kneeled and licked her thighs. She moaned, loudly. Hopefully, Alexis was not home yet. She didn’t have to hear that. If only Morgan gave her the chance of controlling herself, but he was insatiable. They took the longest shower she had ever taken, nearly an hour. “I’m late,” he said calmly.
“Shouldn’t you be bothered by that?” she asked in a jolly way, aware of the answer.
“Of course not. It was for the best reason possible,” he kissed her. “What about finishing that bottle of wine tonight?”
“Uh, I’d love that, but I need to talk to Alexis.” Anna expected no objections from her daughter, but they had to talk. “I’ll try talking to her in the afternoon. I’ll let you know.” She wanted to see him again that day, badly.
“Please, do. I don’t want to go one more night of my life without you. There have already been too many.” He put a strand of hair behind her ear. “I gotta go. I’ll see you later, even if it’s just for a kiss.” He gave her a long kiss
. Anna walked with him to his car and kissed him goodbye. She didn’t care if anyone saw them together. They had nothing to hide and that pleased them both.
Alexis woke up eager to see Ethan. Even though she had barely slept, she felt full of energy. Hopefully, Mia didn’t expect her to stay for the day. She wanted to go to Adam’s. There she could have the chance to spend some time with Ethan.
“Sleepyheads, are you ready for breakfast?” asked Alicia, Mia’s mother.
“Ready!” said Alexis excitedly. She was starving. Mia didn’t show the same excitement though. She seemed exhausted. “Didn’t you sleep well?”
“I think I’m burning the pancakes. I’ll wait for you two downstairs,” said Alicia worriedly. She would hate to ruin what could be a perfect breakfast.
Mia waited for her mother to leave to answer Alexis’s question. “I… After your nightmare, I was under the impression that there was someone in the room watching us. I had terrible nightmares, and every time I woke up, I saw someone standing by my bed. It took me over a second to realize that it was my imagination.”
Alexis's enthusiasm was gone. She was now sure the Oren had been in the house. They were vulnerable. Ethan was underestimating their enemies. She wanted to comfort Mia, but she didn’t know what to say. She needed reassurance herself.
“What did you dream about?” Mia asked curiously. She was intrigued that they both had had nightmares.
“Uh, there was a man in the house. He was strangling me when you woke me up.” She didn’t want to give more details.
“Was it Ethan?”
“No,” Alexis answered on impulse. “Ethan was a guy trying to protect me. Why?”
“Because the man in my nightmares said that Ethan would die. He kept repeating that he would get you both.” She watched Alexis’s expression change from confusion to despair. “What are you hiding from me, Al?”
“Nothing. I… I am just astonished at such huge coincidence.”
“If you are going to lie to my face, at least come up with a better lie,” said Mia angrily. “I thought we didn't keep any secrets from each other.”
“Mia…”
“Don’t. Don’t bother to lie again. When you’re ready to tell me the truth, I’ll be willing to listen and to forgive you for not having been honest in the first place.”
Alexis had no words. She was lost. She didn’t want to risk their friendship. Besides that, not telling Mia what was happening could put her in danger. "Let’s have breakfast first. Your mom is waiting.”
“Will you talk to me after it?” asked Mia skeptically.
“Yes.” Alexis locked herself in the bathroom and sent Ethan a message. He had to know that the Oren had invaded Mia’s dreams. She also texted her mother letting her know that she would go to Adam’s in the afternoon. Ethan needed to find his way into her life as soon as possible. Having to hide was getting harder and harder. Chances were that they would only see each other at night that day. If he were her boyfriend, they could be together anytime she wanted to be with him which was pretty much all the time.
She went downstairs with Mia. Alicia was waiting for them, she had a huge smile on her face as usual. Breakfast was great. Alicia asked if Alexis would stay for lunch and Mia answered for her. She would, Mia had decided. She was so impatient that she kept cutting Alicia short which made Alexis uncomfortable. Not able to take it anymore, Alexis suggested that they went to Mia’s room, so she could explain to Alexis the school assignments she would have to do.
When they went up, Mia quickly closed the door. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“Why don’t you have a seat first?” Alexis looked at the bed. “It’s a long story.”
“Stop stalling,” she said harshly. “Tell me what is going on, Al.”
“Ethan is the man who saved me at the park.” Words came out of her mouth as quickly as possible, without pauses.
“You met him?” Mia was shocked. She didn’t know which was worse, the fact that Alexis had some sort of relationship with a murderer or the fact that she had kept that a secret from her.
“Yes. He came to me.” Alexis waited for Mia to say something, but she just stared at her. “He is protecting me.”
“From what?!” Mia asked furiously. Alexis shrank a bit. Mia took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Al. I… Look… I know this must be hard for you and I understand that my behavior only reinforces your idea that you should not tell this to anyone, I apologize, but this is not easy for me either. I won’t interrupt you anymore. Please, just tell me what he claims to be protecting you from.”
“Promise me you won’t tell any of this to anyone,” Alexis begged. If her mother found out about Ethan, her plan of dating him would go down the drain, and seeing him would become nearly impossible.
“I promise, Al. Have I ever told any of your secrets?” she asked sweetly. She didn’t want to fight with Alexis.
“I know you haven’t. I…,” she let a tremendous amount of air come out of her mouth. She had to stop putting her foot in her mouth or else she wouldn’t get Mia to understand her side. As they had a couple of hours before lunch, Alexis told Mia the complete story, including all details, but her flirting with Ethan. When she finished, all that was left was an awkward silence.
“Has he started training you?” Mia asked curiously.
Alexis was surprised. Mia seemed to have accepted the whole story much better than she had. “Not yet. We’re starting tonight. Mia, don’t you think… uh… everything Ethan said is a bit weird and unrealistic?”
“I would think that if the corpse of the man Ethan killed along with its vestiges hadn’t vanished, or if you hadn’t been attacked inside your own mind, or if I hadn’t had nightmares with a man I have never seen before and who repeated more times than I would like him to that he would kill you and Ethan. So much weirdness happened these past few days that I don’t doubt any of the things he told you.” Mia’s eyes were fixed on Alexis’s who seemed a bit disappointed. “Do you want him to be a lunatic?” Alexis shook her head. “Why the disappointment, Al? Shouldn’t you be relieved and feel comforted by the fact that I think he’s telling you the truth?”
“I guess… it’s just that… I… It would somehow be easier to think that they are all insane instead of believing that my father hid who he was from my mother and me. We never really knew him. And this is the worst of all.” She felt tears coming to her eyes. Mia held her hand trying to comfort her. “In addition, if I ever have a child, she will have to protect a freaking amulet from evil creatures. My life will never get back to normal, Mia. No college degree, no regular job, and most likely not a long life. And to make things even worse, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay in Grasslin. If I do, won’t I be risking the safety of the ones I love? Can I protect the amulet from here? Will there always be magical beings after it? Will I always be a target?” Her face was wet with her salty tears. “Wouldn’t it be easier if Ethan was nuts?”
“I suppose it would.” Mia hugged Alexis. “You can count on me, Al. You don’t have to do this alone,” said Mia sincerely.
“Thanks.” She hugged Mia more tightly. It was a huge relief to share everything that was going on with her. She was lucky to have Mia as a friend.
VII
“Do you honestly think you’ll get her on our side by attacking her?” she was infuriated.
“She needs to know that she is a target,” Phillip said sharply.
“You are just getting her closer to Ethan. If she falls for him, things will be much harder for us.”
“That depends on us,” he said maliciously.
“What do you have in mind?” she asked curiously. She didn’t like Phillip’s constant arrogance, but he was clever, so his ideas interested her.
“There is a thin line between love and hate, darling, and for our luck, he hasn’t been completely honest.” He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “You need to get her closer to you, Denise. Show her a bit of magic, make her trust you. Take advantage of t
he fact that Ethan doesn’t know who you are. I’m setting the stage for you to shine, not for me. Let her fear me and run to you. You’ll be her savior, her guiding light. Mark my words, if we do as I say, she’ll be ours,” he said confidently.
“We can’t fail, Phillip. Our survival depends on that,” said Denise worriedly.
“I know. Do your part; I’ll do mine,” he said coldly. He walked to the back door. Deep inside he didn’t like to be mean to Denise, but he couldn’t show any weaknesses. He had to be demanding. The future of their kind relied on their success in getting Alexis to join them. “Nice house, by the way.” He opened the door and left. Being polite wouldn’t hurt either.
Denise got the phone and called Adam. He agreed to send Alexis to Denise’s to help her unpack as soon as she got there. Denise sat on the couch and closed her eyes. There was so much at stake. She thought of everyone who depended on her. Alexis was a good person, and Denise did not doubt that she would help them if Ethan didn’t corrupt her. She had to be faster than him. Patience was not her strongest suit though. She got the phone and called Adam again.
“Hello,” he answered.
“It’s me again, Adam,” said Denise smiling.
“Hey, Denise. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you.”
He didn’t seize to surprise her with his always flirtatious mood. “Could you give me Alexis's phone number? I’d like to invite her over for lunch,” she said sweetly.
“Oh, sure. Tell her she doesn’t need to come here. She can go straight to your place. Just a minute I'll get her number.”
“Sure.”
Adam had to look for Alexis’s number. He was sure he had written it down somewhere. “Here. I’ll give you her cell phone number, okay?”
“That’s perfect.”
“757-8767. How do you like the house?” he asked cordially.
“Oh, I love it.” She thought about inviting Adam for dinner, but she was afraid of Phillip’s reaction, although she owed him nothing. She decided to do what she wanted. “Would you like to come over for brunch tomorrow?”
The Defender (The Elkavians Book 1) Page 8