Elemental: The First

by Alexandra May

  I wrote it in my notes. Maybe I could persuade Hannah to take me there. The books that were of no further use I returned to the shelves, keeping back just two to take with me to Jez’s.

  I stowed it all back in my room before heading back down to tidy the kitchen before I left. As I put the stray plates in the sink I saw Morgan striding towards the house.

  Oh pants, this was all I needed.

  I should have bolted to my room while he was in the house. But I had a feeling I had already been seen. I kept my head down as I started to stack the dishwasher with glasses, then casually grabbed a tea towel and started drying the plates left on the draining board.

  Morgan was through the door, and he paused, appraising me for what seemed like the longest awkward moment. I took a deep gulp of air, putting the last plate away in the cupboard and started walking away when his voice halted me in my steps.

  “Rose, please stop.”

  I didn’t turn. My hands shook with nerves. I was more afraid of what he’d say next than what he would do.

  “Look at me,” he whispered across the room.

  I turned, unable to hide my pained expression of fear

  “Did you sleep okay?”

  I nodded.

  “You?” I croaked, my voice stuck in my throat.

  “Yes, I did,” he smiled faintly from one side of his mouth. “Thank you for asking.”

  I breathed. I had to get this over with, sooner or later, and then I could get away.

  “Morgan, I’m sorry about last night. I have bad dreams sometimes,” I whispered keeping my eyes to the floor, my fingers brushed through my hair in an embarrassed gesture. “I’ll try not to disturb you again.”

  I caught his gaze and puckered my cheek in mock stupidity and he faintly smiled. His lovely face dropped as a show of concern furrowed his brow.

  “You were screaming so loudly, I heard it from the cottage. I was afraid someone had got into the house and hurt you. I can’t believe that soldier boy didn’t look in to see what the racket was about.”

  “You mean my new found security? They’re not allowed to interfere, apparently. It was just me being stupid.”

  I wrapped my arms protectively around my body.

  “Rose, what did you dream that was so awful?” he asked kindly, moving closer, lessening our distance apart.

  I frowned, remembering. My eyes flashed across the floor again as I saw, once more, the angry face of my nightmare, and heard the shouts ringing in my ears. It was still so fresh in my mind. It was too much, I couldn’t bear it.

  I stepped back, away from him as my fear broke out in goose-bumps on my arms. A chill swept over me like a wave. I wrapped my arms tighter.

  Morgan saw my distress. “Okay, don’t worry. But you must tell me soon. How’s Henry?”

  “I don’t know. Still sleeping, I think. Collins is outside his room.”

  “Yeah, Daisy’s seeing the Chief Super right now. She told me what happened when I got home. In the meantime, I have something to show you. Will you come with me? Just to the cottage,” he flicked his fingers out, beckoning.

  I nodded and followed, swallowing my fear.

  Inside the cottage he motioned me towards his sofa and told me to sit. Something about his tone warned me to beware. What was coming wasn’t going to be good, I was sure of that.

  The cottage was unchanged apart from a small suitcase at the foot of the bed. Morgan disappeared for a moment and returned carrying a laptop computer. He placed it on the table in front and sat next to me.

  “There’s something I want you to see,” he said quietly as he pressed a button on the keyboard.

  I gave him a curious glance then watched the blank screen. It changed to a black and white picture showing the full expanse of this room from one corner. A picture from a hidden camera.

  I froze, and then put my hands to my face to hide my shock.

  “What is this?” I said gruffly through my fingers.

  “Just watch,” he answered. His frame was poised with calmness, and he continued to stare at the monitor. I looked again, watching his room from the camera viewpoint. Then to my horror I knew exactly what was going to happen.

  The camera had picked up my first entrance. In the view, I saw myself look around the room, stopping for a moment. A strange whirl of circles, silvery grey, poured out from my entire body, and I sought the plant from the windowsill.

  I shuffled uncomfortably on the settee, I could barely watch as I saw my arm rise up, almost disfigured, and my fingers poised downwards sinking grey silvery shoots into the plant pot.

  I gulped. Oh boy, I was deader than the deadest man in dead-land.

  Morgan was unperturbed in his seat, scarcely moving, only to flick stray glances in my direction. Once my form finished on the monitor, he closed the screen down and took my hands lightly in his.

  “I’m not angry with you. I just wanted you to know that I knew about your gifts,” he said calmly, peering into my eyes. “Before this, before last night and before you showed me the box.”

  I stayed silent, thinking, trying to understand his words. I looked down at his hands delicately holding my own.

  “You said I could trust you,” I whispered.

  “You can, with anything.”

  My heart was telling me that Morgan was good and everything he said was true. But my head told me I had to be cold, calculating but most of all I had to be mean. My head ruled over my heart, I had no choice. I needed distance, this was getting too claustrophobic.

  “How dare you spy on me,” I fired back cruelly and leapt from the sofa to the other side of the table.

  He got up, surprised by my reaction, but still calm.

  “When I saw you leave my house on that first day I had to find out what you were doing.”

  “You have no right to have hidden cameras in here! This whole estate has enough cameras already, and now I find that there’s soldiers everywhere and I’m being tailed everywhere I go. Did you know about that? Did you ever even think to tell me? Or that I had a right to know? My every move is being watched; do you have any idea how that feels?” I shouted in turmoil.

  “But Rose, you must understand, this is my private home. You shouldn’t have come in here,” he said heatedly.

  “Is that all that’s important to you? Fine! I won’t ever come here again, and do you know what? I don’t even want to.”

  He gestured to the computer. “Have you anything to say about the footage?”

  “No,” I said, blinking quickly. “I have nothing to say, it’s none of your business.”

  “You can’t deny your own actions. Rose, you didn’t come in here to see my poor dying plants, there was another reason. Just tell me and I’ll delete the episode.”

  His eyes widened as he pleaded for answers I couldn’t give him.

  I gritted my teeth and glared. “I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

  “Okay, was it the box you were looking for or something else?” he said, calmer now.

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “So, we’re finally coming back to this again. Rose, just talk to me. I’m trying to be your friend,” he said with despair in his voice, his arms imploring me.

  “It’s personal. I can’t discuss it, I’m sorry,” I answered coldly.

  “That’s not good enough. Not for me,” he sucked in a breath quickly, in frustration.

  Morgan sighed, and stepped closer again. So close that I could feel his warm intoxicating breath on my skin.

  And as we argued my head spun in a whole spectrum of emotions.

  I wanted to be mad but I couldn’t.

  I wanted to be cruel, to push him away, but I couldn’t.

  I wanted to yell and scream that he was being unfair but I crumbled.

  His beautifully sculptured body was so enticing and his eyes, oh his eyes were glistening at me in a tenderness I had never known.

  I tried bitterly to unleash my full anger at him but I was weeping inside, and
the tears were rising in my own shame.

  Because most of all, in that moment, I wanted to reach up and hold his cheek in my palm as I had done in that tender moment last night. But all the words I wanted to say wouldn’t come out, my insides knotted up so tightly I couldn’t think straight.

  He broke the moment of silence. “You used your gift on me last night.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said angry and quick, gritting my teeth. “I was trying to make you feel better. My mistake. That won’t happen again either.”

  He looked mystified, and his shoulders tightened. “I know you don’t mean that.”

  “How do you know what I mean, you barely know me,” I fired back.

  “Because last night you felt something when we touched, as I did,” his voice quivered, and his face was soft again. He fixed his gaze into my eyes, and suddenly I felt like I was drowning in the pool of his eyes.

  I spoke slowly, my voice tone flat. “I didn’t feel anything, I was half asleep. Whatever you thought was happening wasn’t real.”

  “Don’t do that. Don’t pretend like it didn’t happen. We shared something last night. Rose, it was amazing, can’t you see that?” his brow gathered above his eyes, and I stalled for a moment taking in his meaning, comprehending the admittance of his feelings.

  Tears welled up quickly as my voice broke finally. I wanted to hurt him now for the shame I felt, and he had no right to make me feel this way about him.

  “You know, ever since I came here everyone has been singing your praises. “Morgan’s great,” “Such a trustworthy person,” “Morgan will look after you,” “He’s dying to meet you.” And you know what? All these people are wrong. You’re nothing like they say you are. You’re a conniving deceitful person who pretends to be my friend. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

  I was at the door ready to run, when his hand on my arm caught me off guard. I stopped, yanking it out of his grasp.

  “Get off me,” I said forcefully.

  “Rose, please,” he said, his hands high in surrender. “I’m not your enemy, I would never hurt you. You must know that.”

  He gently held my arms, pinning them tightly to my side. My tears finally fell freely, I blinked, trying to stop their flow but I couldn’t.

  “What do you want from me, Morgan? I can’t give you anything.”

  “Don’t cry. I don’t want you to cry anymore,” he whispered and pulled me tightly into his arms, holding me close. My breath caught as his hand pushed the middle of my back against his body, and in that moment I lost all the will to fight. The seconds felt like minutes as he cradled me so close.

  The sensation of his nearness brought alive a passion inside that I had never known, and never thought could exist. I swallowed quickly while deep in his embrace. My arms encircled his body as I passionately ran my fingertips across his back. I felt him shudder in response.

  The begonia plant brought me back to reality. My glance caught it in the windowsill as a flower opened fully in front of my eyes.

  What was I doing?

  I withdrew my arms from him and backed away again, his surprised face questioned me but I opened the door and ran back to the house before he could say anything.

  I didn’t want his affection; I didn’t need it right now. There was too much going on, and if I had stayed in his warm tight hug I knew I would have kissed him.

  I just managed to sneak a text to Pritchard as Hannah came up the driveway.

  “Hey you!” Hannah said cheerily.

  “Hey! Someone’s in a good mood!” I said. Hannah sat with a happy glow about her.

  “I saw Jez this morning. He’s in a better mood now he knows about Henry Cole,” she said coyly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so hyper.”

  “Good. Did you talk about anything else?”

  She smiled but didn’t answer.

  “Hannah! Come on! Did you talk about you getting together?”

  She nodded and her grin spread across her face.

  “That’s great! It’s about time!”

  She laughed and handed a helmet to me.

  I groaned.

  “Come on, girlfriend! Let’s go have a picnic!”

  I laughed and got up behind her, gripping tightly. “Tell me about it later!” I shouted over the noise of the engine.

  She nodded. “Okay, let’s go!”

  The ride to Shearwater was hairy; the dual road we travelled on was the main road from Bath to the South of England. We took a turning off to Shearwater that took us through forests of maples and oaks, all glittered their leaves in an array of greens, golds and reds.

  These should have been halcyon days, and days like today, moments like these truly were. I could breathe again, in the greenness of the woods. I felt at peace here.

  When we were near, the lake shimmered in the sunlight, fragmented as it hit the light winds sending ripples across the blue and green water. It was a mesmerising view. The air smelt fresher here, and the shaded areas brought the fragrant smell of wild flowers.

  We passed through a barrier to prevent cars entering, and paralleled the lake for a mile. The lake house was easy to spot in the distance. It was the only building and jutted out to the waters edge. Under a shade of trees I spotted three or four people sat on the ground. Someone had been thoughtful enough to bring blankets and cushions for us to sit on. I spotted Mira straight away and waved, I was excited to see her again.

  On the edge of a small clearing, we stopped and parked in the shade. As soon as we rid ourselves of helmets and bags, we joined the small gathering.

  Mira had jumped up on seeing us, and she smiled widely. “You’re here!”

  “Hi everyone,” Hannah said warmly to the crowd.

  “Rose, you remember Debbie, organiser extraordinaire of the finest picnics; we met at the Catchers Call.”

  I did remember Debbie but not her name at the time. She was tall, and svelte, her face partly hidden behind a curtain of long red hair.

  She grinned as she continued opening wicker baskets of containers, sandwich boxes and salad bowls, placing them into the centre of the blanket.

  Mira continued. “And this is Lucinda.”

  The second girl seemed timid and was small, her wavy blonde curls bounced around her thin but stunningly pretty face.

  She waved a hand up and said Hi.

  “And this is Sean. You met him at the coffee shop too.”

  Sean stood up and put his hand forward so I shook it. He was short with rounded red cheeks and a dimpled chin but sported a cheeky grin.

  “Film Club, right?” I recalled vaguely.

  “Well remembered, glad you could join us.” He guided me over to sit next to him on the blankets.

  Hannah was greeted by everyone with a cheery welcome and soon we were sitting in a circle around the plates and open containers of food. Debbie took all the lids off and told us all to help ourselves. There were chicken legs, spare ribs, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, potato salad, fruit salad, nut salad and so much more, I hoped there would be others coming to join our gathering. We certainly wouldn’t finish it all.

  Soon we were all feasting and munching, I had to give Debbie all credit. The food really was delicious.

  “So, how are you liking Warminster so far,” Debbie asked.

  Should I mention the weirdness, and the tailing of the army, and Morgan, the strange dreams, Henry Cole, the oddness when Aiden held my hand? No, keep it simple, I thought inwardly suppressing a giggle.

  “Great, thanks. I used to come here on holidays so it’s not completely strange,” I said. “I always used to love coming here. Mira, Hannah and I used to play together.”

  “That’s right,” said Sean. “I remember Daisy telling me. I bet it’s changed a lot though since you were here last.”

  “A little. She’s still in the same house but it’s so much bigger than I thought, but the town hasn’t changed much,” I said back.

  “Do you have any hobbies?” Lucinda asked. I was
unsure but her tone seemed dull, her eyes didn’t smile at all. “What do you like to do?”

  “I like running,” I said, wracking my brain for something interesting to tell them. “And history, and the odd party of course, shopping, music, films. That’s about it!”

  “I can’t stand running,” Sean answered, and everyone giggled. His heftiness had already told me that he wasn’t a fan. “But I like films and there’s a cinema in town. We’ll have to go sometime.”

  “Sure, what kind of films do they show?”

  “Mostly arty films but they do find the odd box office film,” he said. “You have to catch them quick and get the tickets days in advance.”

  “Oh, okay,” I said, glad I had found someone else with a similar interest. “I’ll give you my mobile number and we can arrange something.”

  “Great. You have no idea how dull my summer has been so far,” he said, picking up a plate of sandwiches and offering them to me. I took a couple, and nibbled.

  Mira was chatting to Debbie about someone I hadn’t heard of called Spencer. Lucinda sat quietly looking bored.

  Hannah reached into a basket and pulled out bottles of water. We each took one. “We should make a toast. Here’s to a great summer and to Rose,” she looked at me while speaking. “We’re glad you’re here!”

  “To Rose!” they all cried, then everyone clanked their bottles together, mine included.

  “I like your earrings, they’re really pretty,” Debbie said to me, and I thanked her.

  I fingered my ears trying to remember which ones I had put in this morning. I felt the ruby stones, my salvation when my headaches occurred.

  “So how was last night at the Watch?” Sean asked. “Did you go?”

  “It was okay actually, better than I thought, chanting notwithstanding.”

  “Rose arranged a bet and I won,” said Mira, clearly still delighted.

  “I hadn’t noticed the signs, everyone stood on them, Mira had an unfair advantage,” I said.

  “Not so!”

  “Aiden turned up with his buddies. He chatted to Rose most of the night,” said Hannah.

  “Oh be careful with Aiden, he’s a nasty piece of work,” said Sean.