"Over an hour ago. I came to take you home."
We walk the horses past him into the barn. They don’t like the smell of him or something because they snort and start to rear. He scowls and backs up until we have them penned.
"Guess Helen was right when she told me not to let him ride if he ever showed up looking for you."
I nod to Clari, still looking at Alastair.
"Seriously, why are you here?"
"You didn’t answer your phone…"
"That's not her fault; the trail I took us on has no cell service."
He gives her a look that would scare anyone… except for Clari, while she defends me.
"I wasn’t blaming her, I was just saying I did try to call her first but she didn’t answer. I came to make sure she got home safe. We do have school tomorrow and a project due. We don’t want to be late or miss our presentation."
"If you stay the night, Helen said she will drive you to school in the morning."
That is a hint if I ever heard one, and right now it sounds like a good escape from a situation that I am completely unsure of.
"She's coming home with me."
Clari turns a glare on him that would have turned him to stone if she was a witch.
"You won't tell her what to do. I'm her family…"
"So am I."
He grabs my hand and starts tugging me out of the barn, leaving Clari frozen in shock inside.
I expect yelling, scolding, or something, but Alastair just keeps a death grip on my hand and trudges down the road, dragging me along. Dragging because I am almost running and still going a snail's pace compared to him.
"Alastair…"
He turns towards me to where I am about to drop. Helen actually lives across town, she is in the country and we are in outskirts of suburbia; I am exhausted from trying to keep up enough so I won’t be dragged behind like a rag doll.
"Sorry."
He slows down and I stop, taking a few breaths. I am so tired. I hadn't been in terrible shape before, but I am underfed and have lost so much weight during the week at school where I hadn't really eaten.
"I forgot how much you declined from not eating. You eat now, so that should help."
"Help… with what?"
"Training."
"Training?"
He nods. He does know one-word answers aren’t real answers, right? Hasn't anyone taken the time to explain that to him?
"What kind of training?"
"Your gym teacher said you like yoga. Mother does as well, so you will do it with her in her garden. I will teach you self-defense. Vampire martial arts. You won't be able to do the moves exactly, being human, but I can alter it to work as self-defense from the supernatural rather than offense."
"Why bother?"
"Even if you can't win, the point isn't to win."
"Then what is the point?"
"To stay alive long enough for us to come to get you."
"Why would you?" I am not huffing now. Now I am not breathing at all.
"Because you're family and we don’t leave family behind. No matter the situation."
That is the end of the break as we continue on at a pace I can keep up with but am not able to speak during. When we arrive home, Alastair pushes me onto the couch and tries to tuck me in. It is a horrible, horrible excuse for tucking someone in, but the effort is sweet. He gives up, frustrated, and turns out the lights, heading upstairs. Tomorrow my furniture will be delivered and set up. I will have my own room, in my new home, but best of all, I will be with my new family.
Chapter Seven
Life settled into a pattern after that. I spent weekdays at school, afternoons doing homework, yoga, and learning self-defense. I spent Sundays with my sister, learning to ride. Alastair always comes and always sits outside the barn; no matter how long we are gone and he drags me home after I return from my lessons with my sister. The horses hate him and he refuses to go inside and wait with Helen no matter how many times she invites him. He is not comfortable enough to fake being hospitable. Saturdays are my free time. I read, started an herb garden in the backyard, and try to get Alastair to loosen up. The last is the hardest task of all.
"I am going to miss my yoga with your mother if you don’t let me go."
"She knows I am showing you something important."
It is the last week of school. I am looking forward to summer vacation. One: it is warm. Two: even though I love school, I am looking forward to more time with my sister. Three: I am trying, failing but trying anyway, to explain the concept of sleeping in to Alastair.
"What is it?"
"A surprise."
He is no help. We take the path to his dojo but instead of forking left, we go right. I don’t remember this path. It is new and it leads right to a small looking cottage. The cottage is built of logs, with a chimney, and plenty of fresh ground ready for planting.
"What's this?"
"It's your space. Mother and I had it built. It’s a cottage with some bookshelves, a small kitchen with an island, lots of cupboards and counter space and all the tools you need to make your potions. Also, a separate room with a lock, which you choose and set, for your ingredients. We had the ground prepared for planting, but left it blank so you can choose what to plant. We weren't sure if you would grow your own ingredients or preferred to buy them and plant flowers…"
Alastair instantly stops talking and tenses as I practically launch myself at him. He still isn’t used to hugs. Fiona has embraced the hug and is up for as many as I am willing to dish out. Though Fergus has adjusted his attitude a bit, I still am not entirely comfortable with him so I don’t even try hugs. Alastair is so uncomfortable receiving them from me; I don’t try often to give them, choosing to save them for special occasions.
"Thank you, Alastair."
"Mother paid for it."
"But you told her what I would want."
Somehow I know it is true. Alastair reads me fairly well and knows a lot about me, especially since we have spent the remainder of the school year getting to know each other better. He is bad at opening up, so I make up for that by being extra good at it so he will know everything about me and feel more comfortable sharing. So far it is still mostly me volunteering information about myself, but he is getting better at asking questions.
It is a start. One, Fiona seems to appreciate it, as Alastair's teachers has told her he is finally starting to fit in at school and make friends. Honestly, it is more like he hangs out with me and I am making friends, but he says it would be better for his parents not to know the difference.
Still, it is so sweet of them to do this for me. They are getting better at being a family; Fiona explained they needed to work at it and she wanted my help. I am a terrible teacher, I let us teens get away with more than most parents would. In return, they have officially made me one of them… I even have my own space now.
Alastair:
"You're still hugging me." Sometimes it takes pointing out the obvious to get her to realize it.
"I know."
"Why?"
"I'm waiting for you to hug me back. I'm not letting go this time until you do."
I could easily break her hold but everything has been going so well. Mother is ecstatic to have another female around, especially the getting hugged part. Father is warming up to Amber because of how happy mom is all the time. For me, it is a new experience. I still don’t see Amber as my sister, but she is a part of the family. So I hug her back. I haven't before and it is surprisingly easier than I thought. I knew the motions are easy but I have never before hugged someone to show affection.
Showing affection is not something I do. My parents know I love them, so there is no reason to get emotional about it every other minute. But I remember my mother's speech only a couple of months ago. About how Amber hadn't known she was loved or cared for so we have to show her we are family and care. So I hug her back, squeezing tighter and longer than I would have with anyone else. She goes both slac
k-jawed and armed for a moment before smiling and hugging me once again even tighter than before.
"Thank you, Alastair."
I am not sure how someone can be so pleased that they thank me for a hug. I’d have thought she is picking on me, but Amber never does that. She is not overly serious but she never jokes about things like this. She doesn’t pick on me at all; likely she is still a bit afraid.
She is doing well in self-defense classes but I am going easy on her and she knows it. Mom has suggested we just try to build muscle on her before teaching her much of anything. We have been working on putting meat on her bones for months and it is showing. She now looks healthy and normal instead of being all skin and bones. She still has a ways to go, and every time she needs new clothes she apologizes profusely while mother gets excited about another shopping trip. I would have laugh, but I know I will never live it down with either of them.
"You're welcome. Let's go inside. If anything you will need is missing let mom know. We asked the potions teacher at school for a list of tools, so I doubt anything is missing though."
She releases me and skips inside, humming to herself, eyes wide with wonder over every little thing.
Amber:
"Fiona, I'm getting ready to go!"
I stuff my extra brush and toothbrush in my bag with my clothes. My friend Selene, a siren, is throwing a girl only weekend slumber party. Fiona gave me permission to go, but wants me to say bye first. I know she really just wants a hug and to give me money, so if we go shopping at all or out to eat I won’t be broke. I have an allowance but she likes me to use that for whatever. This is a girl's weekend which means shopping, which falls under what parents pay for. She has some weird rules for a parent. Sounds more like teen rules to me, but hey, whatever makes her happy.
"Do you need some money?"
Yup, I knew it. "I have my allowance!"
I run down the stairs, shoving my sandals into my bag and putting my sneakers on.
"Here, take this. You shouldn’t have to use your allowance…"
"What is it for if not to use?" I am not sure she understands the concept of allowances.
"You always buy ingredients with it even though I tell you we will pay for those…"
"Okay, I get it; I will take your money and buy something girly with it. Selene insists we do makeovers this weekend, so I am sure I will come back with all manner of makeup that they will teach me to use. Apparently Heather lacks style and I lack the ability to be sexy."
"You are too young to be considered sexy."
"I am sixteen in a week; apparently I should be attracting boys. Since I am not she's worried. At least she tells me I am not a lost cause. She told Heather she wasn’t sure what could be done with her."
Heather is a nature witch. A.k.a. hippie with power. She is against makeup because of animal testing. I am with her on that, so Selene's mom has found a place that only sells all-natural stuff, that is not tested on animals. Heather has agreed, so I no longer have an excuse to refuse a makeover.
"As a mother, I am not really sure how to respond to that."
I laugh. "Yeah, boys are so much easier to deal with."
She smiles and nods.
"Alastair can be quite stubborn, so I guess that depends on your point of view. Will you please make sure you tell him goodbye and promise to make up your training when you return? He was in a full-on pout because you will miss your training. I think he's too afraid to come right out and say he will miss you."
I roll my eyes. "Its three days and two nights. I will be back before my birthday."
She shrugs and puts her wallet in her purse, pointing to the backyard. I sigh and hurry. My ride will be here any minute.
I run to Alastair's dojo. Summer has only two weeks left. I have trained with him the entire time and gotten stronger. He is a stickler about schedules though and he is in a fit that I am throwing mine away for 'three days of frivolous activity'. His exact words.
"Alastair."
He ignores me and continues to punch the bag he has hanging. Good thing those Are reinforced and made specifically for vampires. Though he might punch through it anyway, as angry as he is.
"Hey, I am only going to be gone for three days."
"I know."
"Don’t be mad. I promise I will make the training up to you."
"You already said that."
"Then why are you still mad?"
"It's irresponsible to go off with a siren and nature witch alone. You three are targets."
"If someone attacks us in the makeup aisle, it'll be a crazy human after the same shade eyeliner. Thanks to you, I can totally take her now."
I smile and stand behind his bag, peeking around. "You aren't going to hit this thing really hard with me behind here are you?"
He sighs and drops his guard.
"No."
I bounce out from behind the bag and give him a hug. He returns it. He is getting better.
"Thanks for worrying Alastair, but I will be fine. Believe it or not, I survived almost sixteen years in the human world before joining this one. In the human world, predators aren't as likely to attack girls in a group; I will make sure we are always together, even in the bathrooms. We will always have our cells with us and fully charged. If anything happens, we go straight to the nearest store clerks and call the police and here. Don’t worry, I will be fine. Just don’t go too hard on me in training when I get back. I might get soft after three days of rest."
"Then you shouldn’t go."
I laugh as he releases me and looks at me seriously. "Trust me, shopping is an exercise, and don’t forget all those women I will be fighting over eyeliner for."
I head towards the door and he follows.
"I don’t understand the need for makeup."
"Heather and I made the mistake of saying the same thing to Selene, so she launched into a huge debate with us and planned this weekend. Next time she picks a battle, I am just smiling and nodding. I like my girl time but I think after this I will have girl overloaded. I get enough with your mom wanting to go shoe and purse shopping every other week."
"Amber, your friends are here!"
I hear Fiona and book it towards the house. "I'm late!"
I hug everyone goodbye and jump into the car. Selene is sixteen so she has a license and can drive with us in the car.
"Hey, sorry, I had to soothe some ruffled feathers."
"Alastair is such an older brother. He treats you like you are five."
"I think he is in love with her."
I roll my eyes. Heather and Selene can never agree on Alastair's and my relationship. We are family but not siblings. It is confusing to anyone not living in the house. Fiona gets it; she is family but not my mom per se. My friends can’t get it so they try to label it. Heather always goes with sibling and Selene goes with lovers… shocker there.
"It's not that. He's mad that I am missing training. He thinks I will get soft and lazy in three days."
"Well, amen to that! A girl shouldn’t have to do all you do! You eat like a horse and all because you are learning vampire martial arts, plus yoga and gym classes during the school year. And your sister is giving you horse riding lessons. And I know your free time goes to tinkering with the potions you make and sell to the hill's hospital. How you haven't died from exhaustion yet is beyond all comprehension! Why can't you just count calories to keep your figure, like the rest of us do?"
"I don’t want to be skinny; I want to be able to defend myself."
"Girl, I get it, I just don’t get it."
I am not sure Selene understands at all, no matter how many times she says that. Heather looks at me and rolls her eyes. We are all completely different and not exactly who people think would become a trio, but somehow it works.
Selene is pretty, popular, prissy. Heather is environmentally conscious, down to earth and does tons of volunteer work at animal shelters and plant-a-tree foundations. I am a nerd. I am a straight-A student, I like readin
g. I am the scholar always trying to learn everything about everything. None of us is anything alike, yet we make it work despite that.
"Okay, so the shop my mom found is fabulous."
Selene, ever the one to change any subject to that of beauty related products.
"We still have to find a clothing store the hippie here will approve of though because I refuse to be seen with you in those rags anymore."
"They aren't rags…"
"Honey, you cannot call them clothing. They sag and hang and are so baggy."
"That's a fashion choice. I don’t do tight and revealing."
"Well, I demand that we at least buy you both something for the back to school dance. I will even pay for it if I can pick it out."
I sit in the back, just silently chuckling at the familiar argument. Heather wears all these baggy, comfy clothes, whereas Selene always dresses like someone on a runway or in a magazine ad. I tend towards tees and jeans. Selene deems me not beyond hope because jeans make your butt look good. She threatened to burn my tees though. Heather needs more work than me so she hears the talk more often.
"Selene, why not just go to the store she usually goes to, but look for something you approve of rather than trying to find a store that meets all of Heather's animal and environmental requirements."
"I will accept that."
Selene and I both look at Heather like she has lost it. She fights Selene tooth and claw over clothing. It is suspicious, her giving in so easily.
"Good, then let's do this."
The next few hours are long and tedious.
"Let me take a pic so you can send it to Fiona. You know she will want to see."
I toss my cell to Selene and pose, sitting in a chair. I got a haircut and style, had my makeup done for casual outings and got a new outfit. Very tight jeans, knee-high brown leather boots, and a tight, sequined, purple top. I don’t have tons of curves, but thanks to a push-up bra and this shirt you can’t tell.
I send it to Fiona and debate sending it to Alastair as well, with a sarcastic message about missing my training for this, but I knows it won’t end well. Fiona, on the other hand, text back that I look so beautiful, older and tells me to tell Selene she has succeeded in making me sexier. Poor Fiona still is not sure how to take that.
Adopted Into the Supernatural Page 6
