“Umm, is Emmy glowing again?”
“Sprite, are you ok? What’s going on?”
“I don’t think she’s listening to us…”
“Pixie, can you stop for a minute?”
I hear the words but they don’t do anything to ease the rage flowing through me. It’s like I’m on fire and I want to explode so that everyone can feel my pain.
I turn for another pass and run smack into a hard body. I look up and meet warm chocolate eyes. I try to side step him, but he mirrors my movement, keeping me from going forward.
“Move,” I growl, needing to either stay in motion or break something.
“Trouble, look at me,” Clayton’s hands cup my face, bringing my eyes back to his. “I’ve got just the thing for you. But I’ll have to take you someplace else. Can we do that?”
I draw in a deep breath and nod slowly, pulling back in some of my rage.
“That’s it,” he smiles. “You’ve got this. We’re going to take a little drive, alright?” I nod again and he takes my hand, leading me to the door. I hear shuffling from behind me but no one speaks as we head outside and around the back to where Clayton’s van is parked. I try to keep my mind empty as he opens the door and helps me inside. I stare blankly out the window as we pull away from the cottage.
How could they let that happen?
How could they be ok with what was done to me?
“Just a little longer, Trouble. You’ve got this.” Clayton’s large hand envelopes mine, grounding me back from my spiraling thoughts.
The van stops and he squeezes my hand before releasing it.
“Give me just a minute,” he says before opening the door and disappearing into the night. I stare out the window at an older single story house in a small residential neighborhood.
My door opens and Clayton’s there lifting me out of the seat and setting me on the sidewalk. My hand is in his again as he gently pulls me along the walkway to the front door and inside. Work lights flood the main room, highlighting the emptiness. He removes his jacket and I hear it hit the floor.
“Now you need to wear protection for this, Trouble,” he tells me taking first one hand then the other and sliding something over them. I glance down, slowly flexing my fingers in the large tan work gloves. “I’m going to help you with the goggles and hard hat, and then you’ll be all set.”
I nod, even though I’ve got no idea what I’ll be ready for. He settles the goggles over my eyes and then carefully stretches the band around my head. Then a weight settles on my head. Hand on my shoulder; he leads us deeper into the house and into an old kitchen. The counters are chipped green Formica, with dark wood cabinets hanging at odd angles on the walls. He turns me to face an off kilter half wall by the doorway. Taking my hand, he closes my gloved fingers around a solid surface. I glance down and find myself holding a sledge hammer and I tighten my grip before looking up at him curiously.
“We’re working on demoing this kitchen for the remodel.” He reaches out to pat the half wall in front of us. “This useless thing needs to come out still. Go ahead and take a swing.” He backs away, still smiling at me. I look at the sledge hammer, adjusting my grip.
The first swing barely has enough force to dent the wall.
“That’s it, Trouble, Now try again.”
Grinning, I take another swing and relax the tight grip I’ve been keeping on my anger. It ripples through me as the sledge hammer goes through the sheet rock, leaving a large hole in its wake. Pulling back, I take a deep breath.
Why is this happening to me?
Swing and reset.
How could my Mom just abandon me?
Swing and reset
Did they know I was going to be kidnapped?
Swing and reset.
Were they involved with the Magi that took me?
Swing and reset.
Red floods my vision and I’m swinging faster, harder. All the confusion, anger, and uncertainty bubbling up inside me.
Why would an investment company be involved in trying to kidnap me?
Swing and reset.
My ears are ringing again, hot tears rolling down my cheeks.
What does any of this mean?
I keep swinging until my arm muscles start to give out and the sledgehammer becomes too heavy to lift. My breathing is ragged and my throat feels raw.
Had I been screaming? I didn’t know, but the fury inside me has died down a little. I let the head of the hammer hit the floor. Warm arms wrap around my shoulders from behind, protective energy enveloping me. I lean back into his embrace, letting the warmth radiate through my back.
“You’re going to be ok, Trouble. I’ve got you,” Clayton murmurs in my ear. I let go of the handle and turn in his arms. Burying my face against his chest, I sob. Unable to stop the tears, as sorrow replaces my anger. He’s rocking us, his arms tight around me. “I’ve got you. Let it out. It’s going to be alright.”
I cling to him, letting his words roll over me. The anger that has kept me warm fades entirely, leaving me shaking as it hits me just how alone I am, how unlovable I must be for my parents to let this happen, for them to just leave me to the whims of the monsters that are out there.
“Oh Trouble, you’re not alone. We’ll never let you be alone.” Clayton soothes, rocking me in his arms. “You have more strength and love inside you than you know. They are fools if they can’t see how special you are.” I blush, realizing I must have been saying the thoughts in my head out loud. I try to pull away, but Clayton holds on tight, refusing to let me go. “We love you, Trouble… I love you, so very much. You have no idea how much you’ve done for us. For me. We would never let you face this alone. We’re here for you. For as long as you want us, we’ll be here.” I look up and catch flashes of green swirling across my vision as I meet his gaze. The warmth and sincerity in his eyes make me catch my breath.
“Why?” I can’t manage more than the one word, even knowing I should have more. He groans, resting his chin on the top of my head.
“God, I wish I could bring back your memories. Then you’d know why we love you so much. You’d remember what you’ve done for us over the years. Come, sit with me.” He moves back, letting his arms fall away from my waist. I realize the goggles, hat, and gloves are gone; he must have taken them off me at some point, but I don’t remember it happening. His huge hand takes mine and he pulls me out of the kitchen and back into the brightly lit front room. The lack of furniture doesn’t stop him from taking a seat on the floor and leaning back against the wall. I move to sit down next to him, but he pulls me down into his lap, wrapping his arms around me again so my head is resting on his chest.
“My parents split up when I was eleven. It was the end of the summer, and you’d just left the island a few days before. We were supposed to go to the beach that day, but a storm rolled in and the twins’ parents had decided that would be a good time to have a family meeting, so it was just me, Bast and Samil. My parents had just purchased this house, intending to flip it. I wanted to show it off to the guys and that seemed like the perfect time. The three of us headed over on our bikes. It was pouring by the time we got here, so we left the bikes on the back porch and climbed into one of the broken windows.”
“We explored the basement then headed upstairs. The storm was really raging at that point, thunder and lighting, the works. We made it upstairs and then split up to check out the house. I was in the kitchen and the guys had disappeared down the back hall. It had probably only been five minutes before Bast came running into the kitchen like he’d seen a ghost. He grabbed my arm and started dragging me to the back door, but Samil wasn’t with us, and I wasn’t going to leave without him. Bast told me we needed to get out now, that we weren’t alone in the house. Samil appeared about then, agreeing we needed to get out of here and that my mom was in the house.”
“They were frantic, trying to get me to leave, but I hadn’t seen my mom in weeks, cause she’d been working on a deal on the mainland.
So I pulled free of them and ran through the house looking for her. This room was empty so I was heading towards the bedrooms, figuring that she must be showing someone the house. She did that some times to generate early interest. The master bedroom door was partially open and light spilled through the crack, so I headed towards it, ignoring the guys as they whispered behind me. I pushed into the room and froze. My mom was naked on the floor, fucking some stranger. I must have said something or made a noise, cause she looked up and stared straight at me. I couldn’t breathe. I ran out of the room, shoving Samil and Bast out of the way. I took off into the rain, just running. I ran till I couldn’t run anymore. I was so angry. At My mom for betraying me and my dad. At the guys for trying to hide it from me.”
“When I finally made it home, I could hear my parents yelling at each other. I didn’t know what she told my dad, or if he knew before I got there but I was out of control. I rushed into the kitchen, breaking anything I could get my hands on, screaming at her for cheating on my dad. When I couldn’t scream anymore I locked myself in my room and refused to come out.”
“Mom left that night. Dad told her to get out and that he’d have their lawyer start working on the divorce papers. She tried to talk to me before she left, but I didn’t want to hear it. Couldn’t hear it. There was nothing she could say to make me listen to her lies.”
“Dad took me out of school and let me stay home. He worked something out with the principle for me to do homeschooling. The twins would bring over all the class assignments each week. My dad would make sure I did them either online or by taking them to the school himself. I wouldn’t see anyone but my dad. The twins would sit outside my room every day, telling about what they had done and what had happened in school. But I wouldn’t unlock the door and let them in. I didn’t want Bast or Samil in the house at all. My dad would make them wait on the porch when the twins came over.”
“When winter hit, my dad and I went to the mainland and stayed with my Uncle Frank. He ran a gym and would take me to work with him while Dad met with the lawyers. Dad spent most of the winter doing odd jobs, since he couldn’t bring himself to work on this house where my mom’s betrayal had come out.”
“Working out at the gym gave me something to focus on. A couple of the regulars took me under their wing. They taught me how to box and use the machines and weights. The twins would call every week. My dad answered their calls and put them on speaker phone and made me sit with him while they talked on and on. I had to meet with the lawyers and a court appointed councilor. My mom was fighting to have me come live with her, but I couldn’t even look at her knowing she destroyed our family. It was spring before they finally came to an agreement. The judge awarded Dad full custody with Mom’s visitation limited to supervised visits. Once the weather was good enough for Dad to get back to work, we returned to the island. The twins were there at the docks to meet us. Samil and Bast were there too, but I still couldn’t look at them. Not knowing they’d seen my mom like that and tried to keep it from me. Dad got me a gym membership here, and the guys followed me there, even though I still wouldn't speak to them.
“When the summer started, I went to work with my dad or went to the gym or locked myself in my room.” He falls silent and I glance up at him. He’s staring off into the distance, clearly lost in the memories.
“So what happened?” I ask after a few minutes of silence.
He shakes his head and smiles down at me. “You happened, Trouble. Summer came and you brought us back together. Helped me see the truth and forgive the guys, to move on from my mom’s betrayal. I still avoid going to see her, but I’m glad we found out the truth. Dad is much happier with my step-mom. There is real love in our house now. Not lies and silence.” I rest my head on his shoulder and smile.
“I’m glad it worked out for you and your dad, but I can’t believe you still have this place.”
“Dad never wanted to work on it after what happened. He got it in the divorce settlement, but said it had too many bad memories for him. When your family stopped coming out for the summer, we were all at loose ends. There are only so many times you can go through war games with the twins’ parents,” he laughs. “Once my dad felt we were old enough, he started bringing us to help out with his jobs. He taught us how to restore houses. By the time we were fifteen, he let us start working on this place. We did the outside first, and have been working our way to the inside ever since. And look at you; you took out that half wall for us like a pro.”
I laugh, shaking my head at him.
“You know you’re ridiculous,” I tell him. Clayton flashes me a smile.
“You needed a way to release all that anger. No better way to do that than to demo something.” I smile back at him.
“Thanks for bringing me here, and talking to me. It means a lot that you care.” I do feel lighter after taking out my anger on the wall. It doesn’t matter what decision my parents made or why. They aren’t worth crying over. They’ve barely been there since I got out of the hospital anyways. It doesn’t matter who was involved in the “incident”, the guys are here to help me prevent anymore psycho attacks and keep them from turning me into a zombie battery.
“Think you’re ready to head back? Or do you need some more alone time with the sledgehammer first?” He asks wiggling his eyebrows. Laughing, I shake my head.
“No I think I’m good for tonight. But now that I know about this place, I might be asking you to bring me back.”
“Any time Trouble. Come on; let’s get back to the cottage.”
“Could you take me back to my place instead? I’m beat and I don’t think I can talk about this anymore tonight.”
Clayton rolls his eyes. “Sure, but you’ll need to let them know.”
I sigh, knowing he’s right, but not really wanting to start a conversation about it. I pull my phone out of my pocket and shoot off a group text.
Me: Hey guys, thanks for everything tonight. I’m beat so Clay’s gonna take me back to my place. We can talk more about the lawyer bullshit tomorrow.
Vampire Jared: Sure thing Pixie. Hope you’re feeling better.
Nerd Ian: Works for me, I’ll have more info tomorrow anyways.
Rock Star Samil: I’ll bring your bag with me when I come over later.
Angel Sebastian: Whatever you need Sprite.
Me: You guys are the best, and yes I’m feeling better. Now that wall... Not so much.
I snap a quick picture of what’s left of the half wall and add it to the text.
Nerd Ian: Ouch!
Rock Star Samil: Good job Em!
Vampire Jared: Damn girl, remind me never to piss you off
Angel Sebastian: It’s dead Jim
I snort and roll my eyes. Only Sebastian would be geeky enough to make an original Star Trek joke.
Tank Clayton: Who knew the wall was a red shirt
I shove my phone back in my pocket and climb to my feet.
“Let’s blow this joint, Papa Bear.”
Clayton laughs, grabbing the sledge hammer and protective gear from the kitchen.
“And you were rolling your eyes at our Star Trek jokes, Trouble?”
I shrug, trying to hide my smile. “Yes I was and one bad joke deserves another.” Clayton shakes his head at me and puts the gear back on the table by the door.
“Come on Trouble, Let’s get you home”
It only takes twenty minutes for Clayton to get us back to my house. Pulling up in the driveway, he shuts off the van and turns to me.
“Do you mind if I spend the night here? Who knows how long it’s going to be before Bast and Samil show up.”
“Of course not. I told you before, you guys are always welcome.” I hop out of the van, pulling out my phone to disarm the house. Thank goodness for fingerprint log in. I hadn’t memorized the new code Ian had set up Sunday after Mom left.
Me: We made it, night guys
Rock Star Samil: See you in the morning
Angel Sebastian: sweet dreams.<
br />
Vampire Jared: Night Zzzz…
Nerd Ian: Good night Emmy
Tank Clayton: I’m spending the night at Troubles’ see you all tomorrow
I shut off my phone and head upstairs, Clayton close on my heels. Pausing at my door, I flashed him a smile.
“Thanks again, Clayton.” He closes the distance between us and wraps me in a tight hug.
“No thanks needed, Trouble. Now go get some rest.”
Smiling, I return his hug before stepping back and letting myself into my room.
In less than 10 minutes, I’m ready for bed. I wave to the camera before shutting off the light and crawling under the covers. Closing my eyes, I force my thoughts away from my parents, the lawyer, and mysterious companies. Instead I concentrate on the meditation Samil had taught me till I drift to sleep.
Clayton
∞
I wait till Emily is safely in her room before making a sweep of the house and double checking that everything is secure.
What the hell is going on with her family, this shit just gets stranger and stranger. I almost wish I was at the cottage with the guys, just so I’d be there to hear the updates from Ian, but Trouble shouldn’t be alone. And if I’m honest with myself, I enjoy having her undivided attention, even just for one night.
We never had gotten around to talking about what happened at the dance, but that's probably for the best considering everything that’s happened since then.
I head up to the room I’d chosen and stare at the ceiling. I didn't like talking about my parents break up, or the aftermath, but I felt better for sharing it with Emily.
“Clayton, I’m going to the mainland today, are you sure you don’t want to come? Your mother wants to take you to lunch.”
“No” I roll over and pull the pillow over my head.
“If you’re sure…” Dad says, still lingering in the doorway.
“I’m sure.”
“Well, try not to spend the day in bed, Kiddo. I’ll be back late, but there’s plenty in the fridge if you get hungry.”
Tempest of Change Page 9
