He nodded. “Sean had it commissioned the night she died. He wanted to memorialize her so we would at least know what she looked like.”
“That was sweet of him.” I rested my head on Trent’s shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around me. “If she died when you were born, how do you know all of this stuff about her?”
“When we were old enough, Sean told us what he knew about her, what she’d told him that fateful night. And then Jax insisted on tracking down our biological father.” Trent ran his fingers up and down my arm, the rhythmic motion soothing.
“That’s what you meant when you said you watched him.”
“Yes. We spent months following him. He was exactly as Sean had described him—drunk and mean. It wasn’t until he’d been in the town square with his new wife, berating her publicly, that we made ourselves known.” Trent released me, and I straightened. He took my hand and laced our fingers, his thumb rubbing along my knuckles.
“Were you… human when you approached him?”
“Yes. We were seventeen, weeks before our eighteenth birthday. It was one of our last human acts.” He smiled faintly. “Of course, he didn’t believe us that we were his sons, but we gave him a good scare.” He chuckled. “And then we returned to Sean.”
“And became vampires? Did you know all along what Sean was?”
“No.” Trent sighed. “He hid it from us until we were sixteen. He said he wanted us to have a normal, human childhood. We had the best nanny in the world. But we knew Sean wasn’t like us. He was always disappearing at random times, he’d never eat with us, and he’d never play outside with us when it was sunny.”
“But you can eat normal food. I’ve seen you do it.” I shook my head with annoyance. Of everything I could have picked up on, I chose food.
“Yes, normal food doesn’t harm us, but it doesn’t help us, either. It just tastes good. Especially bacon. The crispier the better.” He laughed. “Sean’s really never been a big fan of human food. I have no idea why.” His tone was thoughtful.
I scrunched up my nose. Bacon? Really? “Right. The heightened senses.” I couldn’t imagine what that must be like or how Trent wasn’t hypersensitive to everything. Seemed overwhelming. “So, at sixteen, Sean told you the truth?” I prodded, eager to hear the rest of his story.
Trent’s expression was impassive. An unsettling nagging gnawed at the back of my mind, and a tragic realization settled over me.
“And then what? You asked him to change you?” I swallowed hard.
For some reason, I’d assumed this had happened to him against his will, but Trent had chosen to become a vampire. He didn’t have to say the words for me to know that was the truth. Why would anyone choose this fate? I pulled my hand from his and stood. Crossing my arms over my stomach, I hugged myself.
A look of despair crossed Trent’s face. “We owed everything to Sean. Without him…” He paused. “I’m not sure we would’ve lived past our first birthday. And Jax being fiercely loyal, there was never a doubt in his mind about what he wanted.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Colt was repulsed by Sean.”
“And you?” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“I was torn. I wanted to be with Sean and my brothers, but I knew no matter what choice I made, I’d lose someone.” He approached me.
I stood frozen as he put his hands on my shoulders.
“The morning of our eighteenth birthday, we awoke to find Colt gone. He’d left a note saying he couldn’t bear to be around murderous monsters, but that he loved me and Jax, so he’d rather leave than make us choose.”
I stared up into Trent’s eyes. The normally crisp blue was stained with pain and heartache. Even a little bit of regret.
“Trent. I’m so sorry.” I had no idea how it was possible, but my soul physically ached for him. It wasn’t fair how much he’d lost. “You never saw him again?”
“No. He made it abundantly clear in his letter that he didn’t want us to go after him. We respected his wishes, but it wasn’t easy. Knowing our brother was out there somewhere…” He shook his head, sadness pouring off him in waves.
Unfortunately, I understood that kind of pain, too. My father had taken off without warning, and I knew he was out there somewhere. I just didn’t know where, and the not knowing was the hardest part.
“A year later, we received word that he’d died in the war,” he said. “We never got to say goodbye, but at least we finally knew what had happened to him.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
Trent dragged his hands down my arms, gently disengaging the hold I had on myself, and took my hands in his. “None of us knew that Sean had already made the choice for us. He refused to change us, which made his guilt even worse. He felt responsible for Colt taking off, but Jax and I know the truth. It was our fault. Our arguing had pushed him away.”
“It’s not your fault.” Tears pooled in my eyes, and I squeezed his hands.
But I knew those were empty words—I’d heard them enough to know they held no real meaning. And suddenly, I wanted to open up to him, too. I wanted to tell him how I’d killed my mother, but he spoke again before I could work up the courage.
“Come here.” Dropping one of my hands, he tugged on the other, and I followed him away from his mother’s grave. He stopped a few feet away and turned me so my back was to his chest. “Look.”
It was only then that I realized we were on top of the mountain that was behind his house. I gasped and took a panicked step back, away from the steep edge, but was met with unmoving, hard muscle.
Trent wrapped his arms around me. “I won’t let you fall,” he whispered.
Everything inside of me warmed at his words, and I shivered at the feel of his breath against my neck. “If Sean refused to change you, how did you become a vampire?”
“Jax saw how hard Sean was taking Colt’s absence, and he knew it would be twice as hard when we eventually died, and like I said, Jax wanted to be immortal. It was all he talked about. Days after Colt left, Jax got himself into trouble. He stumbled home beaten and bloody and moments away from death.”
I gasped. “He forced Sean to turn him?”
“Yes.” Trent’s tone was clipped. “But before he’d let Sean save his life, he made me promise to change with him, and then he forced Sean to turn me first.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Jax forced you to become a vampire?”
“I could’ve said no.” He pulled me a little closer, his arms tightening around me. “But I’d already lost my mother and one brother. I couldn’t lose Jax, too. So, I agreed.”
“Do you regret it?” My breath caught.
“There’s only been one time in my entire existence when I regretted my choice.” He gathered my hair and draped it over my shoulder, exposing my neck. I stiffened. Behind me, he half groaned, half growled. “I’m not going to hurt you, Chloe.” He pressed his lips to the back of my neck, and my eyes fluttered closed.
No matter what promises he made, I couldn’t calm my racing heart. What if the smell of my blood was too much for him? What if he couldn’t control himself and bit me? I swallowed the lump in my throat, paralyzed with uncertainty.
“The day of Rachel’s funeral… the look on your face when you learned the truth.” He inhaled sharply. “In that moment, I despised what I was. I’d never wanted to be human as badly as I did that day.”
Without thinking, I spun around, rose up on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his, fully expecting him to kiss me back. But he didn’t.
He held me out at an arm’s length. “You’re not ready for that, or what happens next.”
I scowled. “I have been kissed before, Trent.”
His eyes darkened and narrowed. “And I’m not ready to hear about you and other guys.”
He was jealous? Seriously? He was the hottest guy I’d ever seen, and he was a vampire, which meant he could literally have anything or anyone he wanted—and he was jealous that I’d been kissed before. Wh
at a totally normal, human reaction. The thought almost made me laugh. Hesitantly, I closed the distance between us. He didn’t push me away this time. Instead, he took my face into his hands, brushing some flyaway strands of my hair behind my ear.
He pressed a tender kiss to my forehead. I leaned into him, wanting this moment to last. His lips lingered, and then, slowly, he dragged his hands from my face and down my arms until he slipped them around my back, yanking me even closer.
“You have no idea how hard it’s been to be with you and have to hide what I am.” He moved to kiss my cheek. “To want to give myself to you so completely but not be able to.”
My stomach dropped in a completely good way, and my heart rate sped up. He kissed the corner of my mouth, then pulled back. I groaned.
He chuckled and traced my bottom lip with his finger. “Soon, Chloe. I promise.”
I wanted to scream at him that I was ready for whatever would happen when we kissed, but I wasn’t going to beg him. I had no idea what would happen, and there was still so much I didn’t know. Maybe he was right, and I wasn’t ready. Taking things slow was a good idea, but at least after today, I’d learned enough to know he wasn’t a threat to me or anyone else in town. And that calmed a lot of my fears.
“We should head back to the school. It’s almost four,” he said.
“Already?”
He held out his hand, and I took it. Scooping me up into his arms, we were back at his house faster than I could put my arms around his neck. He set me on my feet, and we walked like normal people toward his truck; I assumed because he didn’t want to risk Old Man Moore seeing him move so quickly. He opened the door for me, and I climbed into the passenger’s seat.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to explain,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” I placed my palm on his cheek. “But you still have a lot left to tell me.”
He grinned. “I know. And I will.” He removed my hand from his cheek and placed a kiss to my palm before stepping back and closing the door.
I had to be crazy. Not because I was planning to spend the weekend with a vampire, but because I was way too excited about it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
Party Disaster
AFTER SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, ABBY AND I followed Ellie to her house. “Are you sure you’re up to this?” I asked as Abby pulled into Ellie’s driveway.
Abby shut off the car. “Yeah, I’m actually looking forward to it.”
“Good.”
We followed Ellie into her house, where she introduced us to her mom. She reminded me of my mom, which threatened to ruin my good mood. I tried to laugh and joke and have fun with the girls as we got ready for the party, but it was hard when all I could do was wish Mom were still around. Everyone said, with time, the pain of losing someone I loved would lessen, but I didn’t buy it. I would never get over losing my mother.
“Wow, look at you girls.” Mrs. Morrison whistled as we entered the kitchen.
Ellie laughed and spun around to show off her carefully chosen outfit of bedazzled jeans, black tank top, matching denim jacket, and black knee-high boots. She did look stylish. Unlike me, who wore plain jeans, a solid, long sleeved pink shirt, and boring old sneakers.
“Have fun at the movie, and don’t stay out too late, okay?”
“We won’t, Mom, don’t worry.” Ellie gave us a conspiratorial smile.
A movie and stopping for pizza was our cover story for the night. Gina had the brilliant idea to tell Ellie’s mom we were seeing a movie that Gina had already seen, so if Mrs. Morrison asked about it, we could answer knowledgeably. It was a flawless plan.
We left, and Ellie talked the entire way there. I kept stealing glances at Abby. She’d been sociable at Ellie’s house, but now she was closed off again.
“Does anyone know if Isach is going to be here tonight?” Gina asked as we parked the car and piled out.
Ellie groaned. “We’re here to have a girls’ night. Not pick up guys.”
Gina shrugged. “What can I say? He’s hot.”
“Too bad for you he’s got his eye on Chloe,” Abby said, shooting me an accusatory look.
Whoa. Where had that come from? Based on the way she’d been looking at him the other day—completely smitten—it wasn’t hard to guess she liked Isach. But where did she get the idea that he liked me? We’d only spoken a couple of times, and I wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy with him. Besides, Abby knew I liked Trent.
“He’ll be here,” Abby confirmed. “I invited him, and he said yes.”
“So, you’ll be with him all night,” I said.
Part of me wanted to wring her neck. Ellie had invited her so she wouldn’t be home alone, lost in her grief, and what did Abby do? Invited a guy so she could ignore all of us? Granted, I’d invited Trent, but I wasn’t going to ignore my friends in favor of him.
Abby grinned. “What’s so wrong with that?”
I shook my head and followed Ellie toward Bushnell Falls. The place was packed with cars and people. I didn’t realize that many kids attended the high school. Battery operated lamps lined the outer edge of the falls, and loud music filled the night air. The atmosphere was electric.
A large group of people near the base of the falls were dancing dangerously close to the water, their bodies gyrating and moving in sync to the music. I watched in fascination, wondering who would be the first to fall in.
“There they are.” Nick waved to us.
Luke was beside him, sipping from a plastic cup as they made their way toward us.
I gave each of them a hug. “Is that beer?” I asked, pointing at Luke’s cup.
“I raided my dad’s stash before I left the house. Want some?” He held the cup out to me.
I sniffed it. “What is it?”
“Rum.”
I scrunched up my nose. “No thanks.”
Luke laughed. “Suit yourself.”
“Let’s go dance.” Abby tugged on my hand.
Giggling, we joined the crowd of dancers. The music vibrated around me, pulsing through my veins, snapping me out of my thoughts for the first time all day. I put my hands over my head and let out a loud whoop, which was met with several more. I flung my head back and swayed to the rhythm of the music, losing myself in it.
I had no idea how long we danced, but Ellie, Tonya, and Gina eventually joined us; and the five of us had a great time. Nick and Luke were even out there, too. Although they were just standing there, swaying back and forth like blades of grass in the breeze.
“Hey.” Someone nudged my shoulder, and I turned around.
“Isach.” My stomach flipped over on itself. I had hoped he wouldn’t show up tonight. I looked around for my friends, but they’d gotten lost in the crowd.
“I wasn’t going to come until Abby told me you’d be here.” Isach stepped closer.
A sharp pain shot through my chest. No wonder Abby had been so bitter earlier. I didn’t like Isach the way Abby thought I did, and the very last thing I wanted was to be in some twisted love triangle.
“I’m not staying much longer,” I said, even though I had no idea if that was the truth.
Isach’s eyes sparkled in the darkness, and I was mesmerized like I had been that first day I met him. There was an undeniable pull between us, the same kind of pull I’d felt with Trent, only this was stronger in a different way. A bad way.
With Trent, I wanted to be near him, to succumb to the inexplicable pull, whereas with Isach, I felt like I didn’t have a choice, like he was making me do things I didn’t want to do. He put his hands on my waist, and before I knew it, we were dancing, our bodies touching and grinding to the beat.
Isach lowered his mouth to my ear. “Wanna go somewhere a little quieter?”
Before I could say no, he took my hand and pulled me away from the crowd. I attempted to free myself, but I was nowhere near as strong as he was. Fear choked me as I glanced around, mentally willing someone to see me and intercept us. I did not want to be alone w
ith him, but no matter how loud my brain screamed at me, I couldn’t form the words. It was almost as if I’d been rendered mute.
He led me to a clearing near the edge of the falls where it was less crowded and much quieter. It was also darker, and people were taking full advantage of that fact. Couples were scattered about in various positions, limbs entwined.
Isach put his hand on my lower back and ushered me away from all of them and toward a pickup truck with the tailgate down. A small group of nine or ten people were there. I prayed someone would see us and call out to me, break whatever spell he seemed to have me under.
And then Ellie waved to me. “Chloe. Over here.”
Relief swamped me. I’d never been happier to see her. Without waiting for Isach’s response, I rushed toward Ellie. “What happened to you?” I asked.
“I was hot.” She laughed. “I left to find something to drink, and when I went back, you were gone.”
“Sorry,” Isach said from where he stood beside me. “I stole her away.” His hand still rested on my back.
His touch sent chills through me, and not the good kind. I stepped away from him and fanned my face with my hand. Ellie’s gaze darted back and forth between me and Isach, and I could only imagine what she was thinking.
“So, did you find anything to…?” From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Trent.
He walked toward me, Jax by his side. Dressed in jeans and a plain black T-shirt, Trent made my mouth water. My throat closed, too, making it impossible to breathe or speak.
But when Trent’s gaze locked with mine, I swore I was going to collapse right there in front of everyone. His gaze was smoldering, possessive. Angry. I swallowed hard and licked my lips.
It seemed as though he moved in slow motion, each step taking him farther away from me instead of bringing him closer. I wanted to reach out to him, to call his name, anything to let him know I wanted him here with me.
Trent’s eyes flashed to Isach, then back to me. I’d forgotten all about Isach. I moved to step farther away when he grabbed me around the waist and turned me to face him.
Eternal Curse: (The Cursed Series, Book 1) Page 17
