Leticia

by Lindsay Anne Kendal

  “I want you to stay.”

  “If I see the nicer side of you a little more then maybe I could be persuaded.”

  “I told you, you will.”

  “Yes, but what you say and what you do, are completely different things.”

  “I’m trying,” he sighed.

  “You know, we both do that a lot?” I laughed.

  “What?”

  “We just seem to be sighing all the time.”

  “I’m sure, when this is over and done with; we’ll laugh and smile more.”

  He didn't stay in the room much longer, but he did kiss my cheek before he left. Now that put a rather large smile on my face. Of course I waited for him to leave the room before I got excited about it.

  The following morning I woke up to Nancy shouting her head off. I got dressed quickly and ran down the stairs. She was in the kitchen with Jackson and Tristan. I stood watching them for a few minutes before Nancy even realized I was there. Poor Jackson couldn’t get a word in.

  “... you say you’re doing it because you care and I understand that, but this is crazy; all for a girl who doesn’t even know how you feel. What do you hope to achieve?” Nancy was shouting at him.

  “She doesn’t need to know, not yet anyway.”

  “I’m going to say one thing before I go out,” Tristan said to him. “I know you’re scared of being close to someone, but think of it this way... think of a flower early in the morning, it’s probably scared of getting frost bite... but it still opens.”

  “What?” they both asked confused.

  “In simple terms, you’re scared of opening your heart to her, of showing her the real you, but you have too!”

  “Why didn’t you just say that?” Nancy asked.

  “I dunno, I thought it sounded good, but obviously not, anyway see you later.”

  I stayed silent and watched as Tristan walked out of the room. Nancy was about to start with Jackson again, but they both noticed me and she stopped.

  “How long have you been there? what have you heard?” Jackson asked coldly.

  “Hey I just got here,” I lied, putting my hands up as though in defense.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” she shouted. “You can tell this idiot brother of mine that he’s.... well... an IDIOT!”

  “Erm, Jackson it seems you’re an idiot this morning,” I smirked.

  “It’s not funny,” Nancy shot at me.

  “Right, well I’ll leave you to it.”

  “Oh no you don’t! You need to tell him he can’t do it, it’s stupid, reckless....”

  “Whoa hang on, do what? What the hell are you going on about?”

  “He wants to go out hunting these guys down on his own; he wants all of us to stay here...”

  “Why?” I asked him.

  “To keep you safe.”

  “You’re not doing that.”

  “You know what, I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have just done it and told you afterwards.”

  “I’d have killed you myself!” Nancy almost screamed at him.

  “You can’t just take off Jackson,” I told him. “You can’t do that to us, if anyone should do that it’s me and if I said that’s what I was going to do, YOU would go berserk!”

  “Only because I don’t want you getting yourself killed.”

  “And I don’t want you getting yourself killed either.”

  Jackson stormed out of the kitchen and headed towards the study. Nancy looked at me, frightened and upset.

  “He cares about you so much Leticia; he is so frightened of someone hurting you... or worse. If anything happened to you it would destroy him...”

  “Yeah,” I laughed. “OK.”

  “I’m serious! I know how he is with you sometimes and I’m sorry he’s like that, I wish I could stop it.”

  “So do I, but I can’t get him to show his feelings, they’re locked up too tight and I don’t have the key.”

  “Just because you don’t have the key to a locked box, doesn’t mean it can’t be opened.”

  I walked away from her and went after him. I barged into the study and slammed the door shut behind me. He nearly always came in here when he was in one of his moods.

  “You cannot do this,” I told him, walking closer to him. “You can’t put yourself at risk.”

  “You assume I would be killed, I doubt that though.”

  “Yeah because you’re so tough. Look, there are a lot of them, it only takes one of them to get a lucky shot off and you’re dead.”

  “You have more to live for than I do.”

  “What a load of crap!” I almost screamed. “You have a family, friends, they all love you, a nice home, cars, money, youth...”

  “None of that means anything when your heart is lonely Leticia!”

  “Then stop being an idiot and find someone, that’s no excuse for what you’re doing. What about your family’s hearts, it would break them. Don’t you care about that?”

  “Of course I do, Jesus, do you think I’m that cold hearted?” he scolded.

  “At this moment in time, yes!”

  “How the hell can I be cold hearted when all I want to do is protect you?” he came closer and closer to me. He was so close; I had to go almost cross-eyed to be able to focus on him properly. “All I want to do is keep you safe,” he breathed.

  “I understand that,” I almost whispered, reaching up and stroking the side of his face. “And I’m grateful, I really am, but I don’t want you getting hurt. If we’re gonna do this, we do it together. OK?”

  “Yeah OK.”

  He stayed close to me for a few more seconds. I let my hand fall so it was now against his chest. I looked him straight in the eyes, getting lost in them for a moment. I could feel his heartbeat, hard and fast. I so desperately wanted to kiss him. I imagined him kissing me, my stomach was doing cartwheels.

  “Tell Nancy she can stop worrying,” he finally spoke, walking away from me.

  “You tell her, it would mean more coming from you.”

  He stood at the window in silence. I was just about to turn and walk away when something outside seemed to get his attention. He motioned for me to come over.

  “Look,” he said pointing towards the back of their garden. “Can you see him?”

  “See who?” I asked confused.

  “We’re being watched.”

  I looked across the back of the garden, between the rows of trees they had running along the back fence. Finally I spotted him.

  “What’s he doing?” I asked.

  “Looks like he’s on the phone, which is good, it means he won’t know we’ve spotted him yet.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “Kill him.”

  “I guess I should have known you’d say that.”

  “Yeah you should,” he said before walking out of the room.

  I was going to go after him but he pulled the door shut behind him. He obviously didn't want me following. I watched out of the window, waiting to see what he would do. Jackson sneaked up behind him, turned the guy around to face him and gripped him by his throat. He lifted him about a foot of the ground with one arm, and not two seconds later the guy went limp. Jackson must have snapped his larynx killing him instantly. At least he didn't suffer, but knowing that didn't make me feel any better. He tossed the guys body to the ground like it was garbage, then headed back towards the house. He looked so cold. Did a human life really mean so little to him?

  “Another one down,” he told me, walking back into the room. “And before you say anything, no I don’t care that he’s dead, no I’m not bothered that I killed him. As long as you and my family are safe I honestly don’t give a crap. If you want to think badly of me that’s up to you.”

  “I’m going out.”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know yet, just out.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yes!”

  “Do you think that’s wise?”

  “I don�
�t know and I don’t care, see you later.”

  “Leticia...”

  I didn't respond. I just walked out of the room closing the door behind me. I know he was only trying to keep me safe but his heartless, care free attitude toward these people’s lives got to me. It was me they were after and I still cared. I walked out of the house and towards the main road. On top of hating Jackson’s attitude, I was also finding it really hard to spend so much time with him, well actually, with everyone. I wasn’t used to being around people so much. I’d been on my own a long time, so to go from that to suddenly being around someone, anyone, most of the time was a big thing to deal with.

  Luckily nobody followed me. I desperately needed some time to myself with my own thoughts. My head was like a car crash, mangled, messed up. I wished I’d never met Luke, I wished I’d never told him what I was. I could have been living a nice life now instead of having all this crap to deal with. Alright, so I wouldn’t have been able to stay with him too long, he would have noticed I didn't age, but I could have enjoyed our time together. Then again, he said he would love me no matter what. How was I to know he would react the way he did? I knew he would be scared, nervous, but I also thought he would have been intrigued, fascinated. Oh how wrong I was.

  The good thing now was that I was around other paranormals. I didn't have to hide; they knew what I was before I even knew they existed. That made me smile; it was nice to not have to hide. It helped that I liked them all too, Nancy was so lovely, down to earth and kind. She was very girly too; she always looked nice and had her make up on. Not too much though thankfully. Tristan was kind, supportive, encouraging and proud of what we all were. He held everyone together when they could easily fall apart. Jackson, well, what can I say about him? He was straight talking, blunt and I’m going to sound like I’m contradicting myself here, but even though sometimes he could act as cold as an iceberg, he had a good heart. To look after his sister from such an early age, kill his own father for her and then to look after me, showed how big his heart was. He just needed to open up to someone who wouldn’t hurt him, who would love him for who he was and not what he had. Who would love him and respect him as much as he would them. I was starting to hope that person might be me.

  Chapter 23

  I was standing next to the little reservoir near Hade Edge. The view in front of me was beautiful, the glowing city of Holmfirth and further in the distance the lights of Huddersfield. I could have easily stood there all night basking in the beauty of it all.

  “Leticia,” I heard a male voice say.

  I looked around me, but there was nobody there. Had I imagined it?

  “Leticia, Leticia,” I heard it say again.

  “Hello,” I shouted.

  “They’re coming Leticia, you must leave,” a soft, almost distant female voice took over. “Run.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Run!” the voice echoed.

  I didn't need to be told again, I ran back in the direction of the house, constantly looking around me to see if I was being followed. I didn't stop until I reached the house.

  I burst through the door, slamming it shut behind me.

  “Tish?” Tristan frowned, walking quickly over to me. “What’s happened?”

  “I don’t actually know.”

  He took me into the living and sat me down. He called for Nancy and Jackson and went to get me a glass of water. Nancy looked worried; Jackson was staring at me, a slight look of concern on his face. As soon as Tristan returned and I’d caught my breath, I told them about the experience.

  “It’s spirits,” Nancy gasped. “They’ve taken to you.”

  “What?”

  “Tish these hills are alive with spirits, ghosts, whatever you wish to call them. They are supernatural, they shouldn’t be here and therefore, they will protect others in the same...”

  “What, so ghosts look after us too, is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

  “We’re all classed as the same thing, have you never seen one before?” Tristan asked.

  “Yes I’ve seen them, in fact, when I was away for all those years I spoke with a few of them. I used to watch the old army legions marching through Longdendale Valley. Men that died while building the old railway tunnels would sometimes sit with me for hours.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah. There’s a lot of history around here and secrets.”

  “If these hills could talk, oh what secrets they could share,” Jackson added.

  “How true,” Tristan agreed.

  “Well, anyway, I think whoever those people were they saved your neck from something,” Nancy said to me.

  “Yeah, but what if they come here again?”

  “They die!” Jackson shot, then walked out of the room.

  “We’ve taken quite a few of them out already. That guy, that Adam, he said there was only about thirty or so didn't he?” Tristan asked me.

  “Something like that.”

  “So there shouldn’t be very many of them left, unless he is constantly recruiting.”

  We were interrupted by loud banging coming from upstairs. I decided to go and see what Jackson was up to. He was in one of the spare rooms, looking through boxes and dragging trunks from under the bed.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “It’s called being prepared.”

  “Meaning?”

  He didn't respond, he opened one of the trunks, inside were guns. He pulled another out and threw open the lid, it was crammed with ammunition.

  “Oh my god, where the hell did you get all that?” I gasped.

  “What does it matter, they’ll come in useful.”

  “We can’t just mass murder countless amounts of people Jackson.”

  “Actually we can its called self-defense.”

  “I can’t agree to this.”

  “That’s your problem, but it’s not all about you. They’re also coming for my family now and I will protect them any way I can, regardless of the consequences.” he thundered. “Do you agree with that?”

  I didn’t respond, what could I say? In a way I knew he was right, but still...

  “Look, I’m not one for enjoying killing people, I never have been, but I will do what is necessary,” he told me. “Regardless of what you think. I hope you can respect that.”

  “You should never have helped me,” I sighed.

  He walked closer to me and put his hand to the side of my face. “Leticia even if I could have foreseen all this I would have still helped you. I wouldn’t have left you.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “You might not believe this, but meeting you is one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

  “No?”

  “No,” he breathed. “I wish I’d met you years ago.”

  He came closer and closer to me, and I found myself holding my breath. He cupped my face in his hands, looking deep into my eyes.

  “Am I interrupting something?”

  I turned around to see Tristan in the doorway, a huge smirk appearing on his face.

  “No,” Jackson responded, letting go of me. “Nothing.”

  “Oh, shame. Well since I’m not, maybe you can sort me out some guns, Nancy too.”

  “Yeah sure, I was going to anyway.”

  “We’re going to have a look around the grounds, just to check nobody is lurking.”

  He smirked again and then left us alone.

  Jackson didn't come back over to me. He took to rummaging through his weapons and getting the right ammunitions out of the trunks. I went downstairs and made myself a drink. I sat in the kitchen, my mind working overtime, but I wasn’t thinking about the ones who were trying to kill us. All I could think about was Jackson. One thing was for certain, if Tristan hadn’t just appeared he would have kissed me. Why else would he have been moving so close to me? That actually made me really annoyed with Tristan. I mean, talk about bad timing. He’d just ruined the m
oment. Having said that though, once he had left the room again, what was to stop Jackson trying again? He was nervous, that was obvious, I’d even go as far as to say he was scared.

  “Have I got one?” I heard him say as he walked in the kitchen.

  “What?”

  “A drink?”

  “Sorry, I’ll make you one now, I thought you’d be up there a while.”

  “It’s OK, I’ll do it myself.”

  “Sit down!”

  To my surprise he actually did as he was told, and I made him coffee. I sat down again facing him. He didn't look at me, in fact he was trying his damnedest to look anywhere but my direction.

  “What’s the matter with you?” I asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Oh right, are we going cold again?”

  “No.”

  “That means yes!”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “Are your weapons all sorted?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you need help moving them?”

  “No.”

  I lost my temper. I jumped out of my seat so quickly that the chair went flying half way across the room. That made him look at me.

  “I’m sick of this. This stops now!” I shouted.

  “Don’t shout at me in my own house.”

  “Fine,” I said grabbing his arm. I dragged him outside into the gardens at the back of the house. “Here we go, is this better? Now we’re not in your bloody house and I can say whatever the hell I want.”

  “Piss off.”

  “Time to make a decision, either stay an asshole or stop. You can’t keep doing this to me; one minute all kind, loving and caring, and the next like you don’t give a shit. It’s like you’re just not interested.”

  “Really?” he started. “What about you? You’re all understanding one minute, you understand I have problems opening up, saying what I feel. You say you’ll have patience with me and then I get this crap...”

  “You can’t keep using that as an excuse!”

  “It’s not an excuse, it’s the truth!”

  “I can’t do this anymore.”

  “Well you know where the door is.”

  “Yeah I do, I’m about to use it.”

  “Oh here we go, go off in a mood.”

  “Well it makes a change it’s normally you doing it,” I shot, making my way towards the door. “I’ll get my things and go.”