by Harold Wall
suspicious that you'd changed your mind so dramatically. She knew too much, how the hell did she know so much about me, about us?" Panic started to build within me.
"I don't know," Ash said, his voice soothing as if trying to calm a screaming baby. "Was there anything else?"
I was about to shake my head 'no', when another piece of the conversation hit me. "I have some unfinished business with them".
"She said something about having unfinished business with you guys. You in particular actually."
"Me?" Ash asked, confusion evident on his face, mixed with a little bit of dread. It wasn't the most encouraging combination.
"Yeah. But she didn't elaborate on what she wanted or why she was pissed at you. What if she comes here, Ash? What if she tries to find you?" I suddenly felt fearful. Whoever this
witch was, I'd experienced her power first hand, and it hadn't been pleasant. Even the thought of myself or Ash or one of the sisters having to go through what I had that night made me want to curl up into a very small ball and hide.
"Hey, hey, hey," Ash said, trying to catch my eyes with his as I panicked. "She won't. And even if she does, we'll be ready for her. There's no way she'll penetrate these walls, not
with all of Circle Daybreak on standby. Hell, she'd be crazy to try and get past Rashel."
I chuckled slightly at that. But still I couldn't help feel that she had already gotten inside the mansion. I saw her everywhere I turned; she was constantly lurking around the place.
Even if she was in my, she'd already gotten to me. I'd already let her in.
My expression must have still been one of fear, because Ash's face sobered slightly. "You'll be fine, Mare. I won't let her get to you."
It was only then that I realised my hands were still wrapped up in his own, my skin blazing under his touch. Then as if the result of a chain reaction, I was suddenly hyper aware of
how close we had gotten, his arm very almost brushing mine. And his eyes were still locked on mine, and I was drowning in them. But I was happy to, I would be happy to get lost
in those eyes forever.
It was the closest we'd been in weeks and I knew it was wrong but all I wanted was for him to kiss me. All it would take was for me to lean in another inch and we'd be there, the
great chasm I'd created would be gone. And I knew that I'd broke things off for a reason, and I knew that right now it was for the best, but it still didn't change the fact that I missed him with every inch of my being. We were soul mates for a reason. And I believed what Rashel had said. We belonged together.
I saw the exact moment when Ash too became aware of how close we were. A look of surprise crossed his face as if he also hadn't realised that somewhere during our conversation
the space between had grown smaller and smaller. For a second, joy and longing and anticipation flashed across his gaze, but in the next second they were gone.
He quickly released by hands as if the touch of them had burned his skin. My fingers were flooded with cold at the lack of contact. I wrapped them around my coffee cup so that he
wouldn't see the slight tremble that ran through them.
He pushed his chair back, putting distance between us, jumping to his feet and returning to where he'd stood originally against the countertop. He felt miles away, not just a mere
couple of metres.
Part of me was relieved that I'd had a lucky escape. I didn't need things to be even more complicated than they already were. But another part of me screamed inside, shouting at me for being such an idiot, for letting him slip away. Except he hadn't slipped away, I'd pushed him a way a long while ago. And one measly kiss wouldn't have changed that. It
wouldn't have changed everything that had gone on.
Ash ran a hand roughly through his hair, looking anywhere but at me. "Uh, I should, I should go to bed," he said, though he didn't move immediately.
"Yeah, me too," I agreed, not wanting him to catch on to the fact that I was purposely trying to avoid sleep. I was sure that if I were still down here in the morning, he would grow
a tad suspicious. Anyway, the longer I was down here, the more chance Rowan would wake up and realise I was gone.
I abruptly pushed myself up, the chair screeching against the floor in the process. I looked down at my empty mug and debated whether to leave it on the table or to put it in the
sink. I almost left it, but my need to not be an annoying housemate won out over my nervousness to walk past Ash.
Quicker than I'd ever moved in my life, I shuffled past him, dumped my mug in the sink, and made for the door. I'd make sure that I washed the mug up in the morning when I
came down.
"Night," I called over my shoulder as I left the kitchen.
"Goodnight," he called back.
When already half way up the stairs, I dared a peek over my shoulder to see if he'd exited the kitchen yet. He hadn't. The hall was as empty as it had been on the way down.
Rowan hadn't moved a muscle since I'd been away, and I was glad that she'd finally been allowed a decent nights sleep. I however didn't have the luxury of such a thing. Even if I'd
wanted to fall asleep, my brain was reeling too much anyway. The whole night had seemed surreal, I was almost afraid that I'd fallen asleep after all and I'd wake up in the morning to find it was all a dream.
I listened for a while to see if I could hear Ash walk past the door to his own room. But I didn't hear a sound. Not that I'd really expected to, not knowing how silently vampires
could move when they wanted to. And something told me that Ash wouldn't want to be heard.
"MaryLynnette!" Claudine shouted up the stairs, her shrill voice making me cringe. I groaned and shoved my face further into my pillow, trying to form a physical barrier around my ears.
"MaryLynnette, you get yourself down here right now!"
"Okay, I'm coming," I called back, annoyance making me snappy. God, what did she want now? Surely the weekend was excuse enough to stay in bed. Apparently not.
I pulled myself off of my mattress, and then proceeded to pad down the stairs. The floor felt cold against my bare feet as I made my way into the kitchen. Immediately I saw
Claudine leaning back against the counter, her mass of dark curls framing her frowning face. Behind her was Mark, fiddling around with the dishes.
"What's up?" I grumbled taking a seat at the small dining table. Claudine placed a mug of steaming hot tea in front of me, and I began to sip it gently.
I peeked a look at the clock on the oven and saw that it was almost eleven o'clock. Wow, maybe I'd slept in longer than I thought I had.
Last night I'd stayed out on the hill for hours looking up at the stars, wondering if maybe Ash was looking up at them too. Was he thinking of me?
Watching Claudine's angry face, I could only assume I was going to be in for another lecture on staying out past midnight. It wouldn't be the first time. It seemed that lately I was
spending more and more time out on the hill, each stargazing session longer than the last.
"I think you need to get out more," Claudine said, taking a seat opposite me. I stare at her in surprise. This was not what I was expecting.
Before I can open my mouth to respond, Claudine holds up a hand to stop me. "I know what you're about to say, but stargazing doesn't count. You need to go out with actual people,
socialise, have fun." I felt my lips form a pout. Stargazing for me was fun; people just didn't get how to appreciate the beauty that was right above us.
"I'm fine," I mumbled, taking a sip of tea to disguise my hurt. "I do see people. I see you, dad, Mark."
"You're turning into a hermit, MaryLynnette," she said bluntly, almost making me spit my tea out in surprise. In the background I could hear Mark snickering.
"I am not a hermit!" I protested. How could she think that? It wasn't as if I never left the house, in fact like I said, I'd been spending more and more time outside with the stars. And
<
br /> it wasn't exactly like I had anyone to hang out with anymore, not since my werewolf best friend went up in flames along with my truck after he tried to turn me into a werewolf as
well. I admit that I may have problems, but being a hermit wasn't one of them.
"Come on MaryLynnette, you never leave the house unless you're going to the hill by yourself, you never see any of your school friends. In fact have you even spoken to any of
them since the summer started?"
"Uh…yes. I speak to them all the time. You just don't see it that's all." Even I could hear the lie in my voice. Claudine raised her eyebrows at me, clearly not fooled.
"Well so what if I haven't spoken to them," I said, trying for a different approach. "No one speaks during the summer anyway, they're probably all on holiday anyway. It's not a big
deal."
"Mark speaks to his friends. He's always either round Ben's or with Jade, so don't go giving me all of that rubbish. You've been avoiding everyone for the past few months and you
know it." I began to retaliate again but stopped when met with her serious gaze. Since when did Claudine turn so motherly?
I looked past her to Mark who had been listening intently in to our conversation. When his blue eyes met mine he just shrugged and said, "Don't look at me, Mare. I actually agree
with her."
Traitor, I thought to myself. I had to give him some credit though; his eyes had held some sympathy for me. I took a deep breath. "So what do you propose that I do? You can't
force me to hang out with people."
Claudine nodded her head slowly, taking in and processing my words. Finally she spoke up. "Why don't you go with Mark to the Redfern's, you always used to be round at the
farmhouse. I'm sure the girls will be delighted to see you. Mark tells me that they're always asking about you." Yeah, as well as calling me, and texting me, and sending me messages via Mark. You'd think that once I'd stopped replying they'd get the message. At one point I'd seriously considered changing my number.
"Uh, I don't think they'd_"
"They'd love to see you," Mark interrupted. I shot him a glare but he only smiled darkly at me over the top of his mug. Before I could argue anymore, Claudine slammed her hands
softly against the table, a bright smile illuminating her face. "It's settled then, you'll be going with Mark to the Redfern's and you're going to have a wonderful time." Unlikely. "I'll
drive you," she said perkily before rising out of her seat.
"But," I tried again, but was immediately cut off. "No buts. Now hurry up and get ready, if you're not down here in half an hour I'll drag you down those stairs myself."
I scowled at her but quickly rose out of my seat and made my way back to my bedroom. I didn't doubt that she'd act on her threat.
Once I'd washed and brushed my teeth, I flung on a pair of jeans and a simple tshirt. Only five minutes had passed since I'd found out that I'd be visiting the Redferns, but already
a small amount of anxiety was starting to creep through me.
It'd been maybe a couple of months since I'd actually seen them, more than that since I'd talked to them. But there was a reason and a pretty good one at that why I'd been
avoiding them. They reminded me too much of him. Ash Redfern, my soul mate that I'd sent away in order for him to right all of the wrongs that he'd committed. I knew it wasn't
an easy task, maybe even an unfair one. He was a vampire after all, one who'd only recently seen humans as something other than just food and playthings.
Before I'd met him I never knew you could care about someone so much, and I'd never realised how much I could depend on someone before I sent him away. Oh god, why had I
done that? I never would have done it if I'd realised being apart from him would hurt this much. It was times like these that I really hated the soul mate bond. I'd gotten on just fine
before I'd met him, but then everything had changed.
And now I can't even stand to be around his sisters because they remind me too much of him. It'd been almost six months since he'd left, but it seemed like a lifetime. In all
fairness I'd lasted about three months with his sisters before it became too hard. I'd constantly be picking out the features each one shared with him, little things they'd say that
sounded so much like him. I wouldn't be able to focus on a conversation, my thoughts would be consumed with the image of him, and remembering the fact that he wasn't here by my side like he should be. I didn't even know where he was now. He could be anywhere. It's not like he called or anything, not even to tell me he was okay. That was the reason I'd
decided against changing my number, hoping that maybe one day he'd contact me. Surely he couldn't be gone for that much longer. I knew I was the one who'd sent him away in
the first place, but now all I wanted was to have him back. One thing was for certain. Soul mates were never meant to be apart.
"Mare! We're leaving!" Mark called up the stairs. My breathing hitched slightly as the butterflies in my stomach increased. Oh god, this was it. I'd have to endure another day of
thinking about him, being reminded of him. When I was alone in my room I could easily keep my mind occupied on other things, whether it be a homework project or astronomy. I
could almost forget that Ash had ever entered my life; I could go back to before.
"Relax, MaryLynnette," I told myself taking calming breaths. "It's just one day, you can get through one day." I would get through one day. I wouldn't let my thoughts be consumed
with Ash. I would have fun.
Despite my avoidance of them I had actually missed the sisters, even Kestrel who I was sure didn't particularly like me. I'd missed Jade's outgoing nature and Rowan's easy going
one. Maybe today wouldn't be so hard after all.
I took a deep breath and began to descend the stairs once more, armed with the knowledge that I'd be okay. It'd be good to get out and socialise with someone besides Mark.
Hopefully it wouldn't hurt too much.
"Call me when you want picking up," Claudine called as she pulled away from the farmhouse in a cloud of dust. I looked nervously up at Mark before ascending the porch steps and making my way to the door, careful to avoid the hole in the wood. I felt a pang of longing shoot through my chest. I'd missed this place.
Just as Mark raised his hand ready to knock, I grabbed his arm in a sudden flare of panic. "Mark, wait! What if they don't want me here? What if they're angry that I shut them out?"
"Mare, relax. They're not going to be angry. I wasn't lying when I said they'd love to see you again, I think they really have missed seeing you around. And besides," he said with a
shrug. "What're they going to do, send you home again?"
"They're vampires!" I hissed. "They can do a lot more than just send me home."
With a roll of the eyes and an exasperated sigh, he rapped on the door despite my look of worry. "Trust me, Mare." Mark said, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"Everything will be fine." I gave him a reluctant nod, just as the door swung open.
Before I could even take in who had opened it, I was almost knocked off my feet by a blonde bomb shell. Jade's arms tightened around me, pulling me into a suffocating hug. "I
thought I heard you out here," she squealed. "It's been so long and we've all missed you so much, even Kestrel said she missed seeing you. Can you believe that? Kestrel? I know
you're having a hard time, what with Ash being away and all, I couldn't imagine being away from Mark for this amount of time." I couldn't focus on any of her words as I was to
busy concentrating on my lack of oxygen, thanks to her airtight hug. I was pretty sure my face would turn blue at any moment if she didn't let me go soon.
Thankfully, Mark came to my rescue, drawing the small girl off of me. "Whoa there Jade, humans need air," he said pulling her into his chest and softly kissing the top of her head.
Seeing
them like that felt like someone had jammed a knife right into my heart. I had to supress a groan. Ash and me should have been like that, being all cute and coupley. Of
course I wasn't exactly sure if Ash was the sort of guy who would take part in cute coupley stuff, but a girl could dream.
"Oh, my gosh, MaryLynnette I'm so sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?" Jade gushed, pulling me out of my thoughts. I couldn't help but smile at her concern. I really had missed her.
"I'm fine," I laughed. It felt so good to laugh; I couldn't remember the last time I'd properly laughed.
Rowan soon appeared in the doorway, Kestrel at her shoulder. My unease suddenly returned. Just because Jade was glad to see me didn't mean the other two would be. "Hey," I
said awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"Hey," Rowan returned, taking in the scene before her. Although her greeting wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Jade's had been, she didn't look hostile or angry in any way. She looked more surprised than anything, and it wasn't easy to surprise a vampire.
"Look, I'm sorry about," I started, but was soon cut off by Rowan shaking her head, dismissing my apology. "You don't have to apologise, MareLynnette. We understand why you
felt as if you needed to keep your distance. It can't be easy being separated from your soul mate, even if it was your own decision." The look in her eyes was that of such kindness,
and her voice was filled with so much sincerity that I felt the beginnings of tears prick the back of my eyes. Everything seemed too good to be true.
"So, you're not mad at me? You're not angry that I ditched you guys, or anything?" I asked, still not quite believing it. Rowan smiled warmly at me, and out of the corner of my eye
I could see Jade beaming. "Don't be silly," she said, stepping closer to me. "We could never be mad at our brother's girlfriend."
I had to fight the urge to wince, but luckily as Rowan pulled me into a hug, not quite as tight as Jade's, I brushed it off. I couldn't blanch at every mention of Ash. They said that
time heals all wounds; I wondered when I would finally stop hurting.
