I didn’t let loose the levies protecting my heart, I didn’t shed a tear, but deep within, I realized it was only a matter of time before both would happen, and the force, in which they could, would be irreconcilable.
When she pulled away, she smiled softly and caressed a strand of bangs out of my face, tucking it behind my ear.
“Dmitri did what he had to do, and now you have things you must learn to do to protect those you love and will come to love. Don’t worry yourself about the past, you can’t live always looking over your shoulder wondering, ‘what if’.”
My eyes fell to Charms who was now purring and rubbing his little body on my legs.
“Silly cat.” I teased him as Olivia got up and left the room.
Dmitri’s horn honked and I found myself walking outside into the cool fall air, not wondering who it was. I knew it was him by the sensation that comes over me when he returns to my presence. It was like being in a storm and waiting for the lightning to strike somewhere too close.
He sat, pensive, behind the driver’s seat of his Charger. I ran my forefinger down the length of the cherry red hood and up the side of the windshield. I heard the locks pop, so I opened the passenger door and sat down in the black leather seat next to him.
“So what happens now?” I asked him, knowing his visit with Aerok had provided something we were missing.
“It’s not good, that’s for sure.”
“I suppose I should just get use to hearing those words come out of your mouth, shouldn’t I?”
“It isn’t always like this, Celia.” He countered, his hand reaching out towards mine. I pulled away before he had a chance to touch it.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s going to get any better, Dmitri. Every day, you have more creases on your forehead by the amount of worrying you have been doing. You argue constantly with Kyle, and you haven’t flirted with me once since the night Lisa and I cast that spell at the farm.” I realized then that I had been the one to bring the topic back up, and unavoidably admitted to the emotion I’d been fighting.
“Is that what this little attitude of yours is all about?” he shot back quickly, referring to how I’d pulled my hand back.
“No, but…”
“Celia…” he started, and then stopped himself, sighing as he looked out the car in the opposite direction, not saying a word.
“I didn’t mean it the way it came out, I know that…”
“That we can’t go there.”
“Right, I get that.” I said more sternly.
He turned back to me, “Celia, you have to understand something, and I need you to hear me.”
My head nodded, although, all I could do was stare at his lips.
“When I told you about Allura, I was opening up about a very real part of my heart that has had centuries to heal.” His hand didn’t hold back this time, he reached out, took mine in his own and pulled it up to his lips.
“I have to protect you, that is the most important thing I can do for you, I don’t think I can do both,” the words falling on the top of my fingers.
“Do both, Dmitri, I don’t think we can control who we have feelings for. It’s either there, or it’s not.” I said to him, giving in to the attraction that I genuinely felt for him.
“Then know that you are in real danger.”
“Why, because it’s there in the pit of your stomach? That every time you see me, or hear me call out to you in thought, your stomach does a little dance you can’t control. Yeah, I know exactly what that is.”
“Well then…”
“Tell me about Aerok, Dmitri, or I swear I’m going to do something you won’t be able to stop yourself from returning.”
He released my hand, and shifted in his seat. “Augusta has been seduced by a dangerous warlock.”
“Can we not just bring her back on our own?” I asked, my annoyance towards the previous argument now matching that of my own ignorance.
“Unfortunately, no, Dominic Kalvati is an old warlock, human, but old. He has managed to keep himself alive for longer than the immortal protectors are comfortable with.”
“How has he managed to do it?”
“Kyle believes he has made a pack with the Domskabi which enables him life. The more witches he provides for them, the longer he lives. But the most powerful witches are of your coven, Ciara’s coven. It’s only natural he would find the weakest link and prey on her.”
The huff escaped my lips before I could ask the question, “How is Augusta the weakest link?” wondering how any of my coven members could be considered weak.
“She has been suffering from a broken heart for more than a decade, her husband died in an accident which was meant for her.”
“Do we ever have peace?” my eyes rolling at the drama of it all.
“Yes, I’m telling you, this tension has been building for several years, but before Kalvati was powerful, the issues had been long since buried.”
“So Augusta is with Kalvati, how do we fix that problem?” I asked him, the discussion in my mind turning into a problem solving conference.
“I’m not sure we can.”
My lips pierced together, “When are we meeting then. All of us?”
“Next weekend, and I suggested we meet at the field on the farm.”
So it was set then, I would finally be meeting everyone and taking my place in a coven of powerful witches.
This is insane. I thought loudly.
“I bet.” He sighed softly. “Want me to pick you up tomorrow morning?”
School. The only place I actually felt normal anymore. “Sure, just don’t wake me up before my alarm goes off. I would like to have a clear head in the morning, and I can’t do that when you come barging in.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
That night, it took too long to fall asleep. I turned on my side and stared at the red digital numbers on my alarm clock, 11:00.
There were too many thoughts swirling around in my head.
Olivia, Mom, Dmitri, and even Augusta seemed like puppets dancing from one thought to another.
Mom’s asterisks kept flashing back to me. It was like seeing images of puzzle pieces separately placed on a dark table. I wanted to take them and put them together but the image in my mind was fuzzy, and none of the pieces made sense.
Knowing that Augusta has been heartbroken over the death of her husband, made me feel connected to her. Had she mourned like I did, kept everything hidden deep inside, or was she the emotions on your sleeve type.
Was it another reason Dmitri wanted me at arm’s length, because loving someone just meant losing them in the end? Did I feel that for him? Love? Or was it just natural young infatuation girls of my age became afflicted with?
Admitting feeling butterflies in his presence was embarrassing but I suppose it would have been worse had he told me he felt nothing in return.
There is some hope in the end, I suppose.
My eyes closed, and I felt him, his thoughts at least. Was he too lying in bed, thinking of me?
“I don’t sleep, Celia…..and I always think of you.”
A smile stretched across my tired face, “I like knowing that.”
“I bet you do. Go to sleep, sweet one.”
Slowly, I felt the dream haze take me, but one last thought drifted past without hesitation.
“I don’t want to die knowing I will leave you alone, Dmitri.”
Waking up was not fun the next morning. It never really is when you find yourself having had less sleep than needed. I managed to get through breakfast and Olivia’s 20 questions before Dmitri honked his horn.
“Is this going to become a habit?” she asked.
“I’m not sure, but…” I trailed off, blinking slowly because she had exhausted her limit of pleasant question responses.
Her ear pierced, waiting for the rest to come out of my mouth.
“Yes.”
“I like that he is in my life.” The affirmation resonated more than I wanted
her to know so soon.
“That is one can of worms you should keep closed, my dear. One woman to another, you need to accept that he is not the type for you. And accept it quickly, because before you know it, your life will flash before your eyes and he will be exactly the person he is today.”
Nodding at her as I left, I accepted her words of wisdom, but what can I say, I’m a teenager, and I’m sorry but I won’t accept that everything is as it’s said to be. Change, while difficult it may be, can occur when we choose to accept it.
Dmitri, while ancient he may be, looks every bit the part of a high school student. Even his expressions were youthful when he spoke.
“Good morning.” He smiled as I got in his car.
“Good morning and let me state the obvious ridiculousness of my catching a ride when I basically live right across the street from school.”
“Oh, don’t be like that.” He laughed, pulling the car out of the drive and into the street.
“It is that obvious,” my hands flying in the air?
“You’re just worried Lisa will say something about us being seen together.” He baited.
“I think everyone is pretty much under the impression that we are a couple now.” I admitted sourly.
“Oh.”
“Haven’t you noticed how Trisha hardly speaks to me? I mean, I know there isn’t much interaction that occurs in photography class to begin with, but I swear at lunch she always sits the furthest seat away from me, so she doesn’t have to talk to us.”
“I missed something.”
My eyes rolled, typical reaction to the male gender missing the desires of a girl. “She’s had a crush on you since you enrolled, goof.”
Stuck at the stop sign, he threw me a sideways glance, “Now that, I didn’t see coming.”
“Of course not, you’ve been too busy paying attention to me to realize that another girl was pining over you.”
“It would never have worked out anyway, so she is better off.”
“Jeez Dmitri, what a way to cushion a girl’s affections.”
“Well” he said, his hands temporarily leaving the wheel.
“Go,” I almost shouted when the crossing guard signaled his turn to cross the road, into our high school.
“What should I do? Ask her to forgive me for only having eyes for another girl?” he asked innocently.
“I don’t know, but I feel you owe her an apology for being so cold to her affections.”
“I don’t see how it’s my fault. I never lead her on, never once suggested feelings for her. And I vaguely recall ever speaking to her for more than a request to pass a napkin.”
“You wouldn’t understand, Dmitri, for more than one reason. It’s a girl thing, but also the fact that in ‘this’ day and age high school is all about who you like and who likes you back. It would make things more comfortable between her and me if you went ahead and smoothed the field for us.”
“This is ridiculous.” He added, now sounding annoyed, getting out and closing his door a little too hard, the noise echoing across the parking lot.
Stunned, I waited for him to say something. I saw the change in him, the moment he realized he’d scared me.
“I’m sorry.” He offered.
While it was easy for me to nod my head, accepting his apology, I wondered where it had come from.
“We’re going to be late for 1st period if we don’t start walking.”
Further in the parking lot, Lisa and Cassidy were walking our way. “Hi there, I would have picked you up had I known you wanted a ride.” Cassidy insisted, casually.
“Oh, no, this was just random. I think Dmitri was just being a gentleman.” I said to her, looking back at him, “I will catch you later.” Our conversation would keep, and maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult later for him to see my reasoning.
Turning back to Lisa and Cassidy, I felt a little lighter, tension wise.
“Guess who was raving about you last night to Justin.” Lisa started the conversation.
“No telling.”
“Jason Williams mentioned to Justin that he’d managed to get the notes from Carla for one of his classes, and apparently he went on and on about how he’d only passed the exam because you basically told Carla to give him the notes.”
“Gotta love how things work.” I mumbled.
“What’s that suppose to mean?” her curious tone showed me she hadn’t a clue of how Carla felt about Jason.
“I didn’t make the suggestion to Jason to use the notes, Carla did. Do the math, Lisa.” I teased.
Her eyes widened followed by a soft biting of her lower lip. “I really did it this time.”
“I’m sure Jason will give up quick enough. It’s not like Dmitri is going to make it easy for any of the guys to hang around.”
“Hold up, so is that an official statement?” Cassidy’s voice peeked.
“We are not an item, but he has shown a protective nature that mirrors a dog peeing on his tree.” While it was sarcasm, I meant to display, Cassidy took it as an affirmation that Dmitri and I were a couple.
The first bell rang and I waved goodbye to Cassidy before hustling with Lisa across campus, to calculus.
Half way through class, Lisa received a text message from Justin. She covered her mouth just before she flipped her phone to share the screen with me.
Cassidy had posted a status update on her Facebook page just after I said goodbye to her.
[Well ladies, seems our new McHottie of Hernando High, Dmitri, isofficially off the market. #ThanksCelia]
The sinking feeling hit the pit of my stomach before I could even process the status update.
I didn’t do that! I told Dmitri, knowing somehow he would hear me.
Don’t worry about it. It’s probably better this way anyway.
It came to me rather peculiar, But how could it be better that everyone think we are in a relationship?
Because now you don’t have to act…and I can have a reason to spend more time with you to protect you.
The logic was there….at least at first it seemed that way.
Who’s going to protect my heart then? It was a valid question, one which he did not answer.
The remainder of calculus was a bust. I couldn’t focus on the content and it was pointless to ignore all the looks.
The hallway on the other hand was worse, especially when I past Trisha on the way to computers.
“Eeeeek! I’m so happy for you!” Carla jumped in her seat for me as I got to our computer center.
“It’s not really a big deal though; we are just seeing how it goes as friends. You know how the story always ends up getting twisted.” I tried making it go away but then she showed me Cassidy’s Facebook feed.
There were literally dozens of comments, both good and bad.
“Kids are literally eating this up. It’s like a real life soap opera, the two of you.”
“Yeah, a bunch of daytime drama for you, what’s for calculus dear? Oh, you know a bunch of numbers and stuff. That’s nice dear.” I joked, using two different voices. Dmitri’s the obvious old timer tone.
“Don’t listen to the naysayers. There is always someone out there that wants everyone to be miserable.”
“Yeah, I got darty-eyes from one on the way here.”
“Really, Who was it?” her curiosity thick with dangerous gossip undertones. That tone should come with a warning label. Something like, ‘if you hear this tone, zip your mouth for extreme possibility that whatever you say can and will be spread across the world like a wild fire.’
“No one, forget I even mentioned it.”
She didn’t forget it though. Who could? I mean, a statement like that would figuratively eat away at me until I was outright asking who I meant.
So by the end of class, Carla had managed to find an opening to ask again. “Whoever it was must have a really big crush on Dmitri, is it someone we know though? Lunch isn’t going to be uncomfortable, is it?”
What could I do? I found myself shaking my head, “It should be fine, and I have class with her before lunch anyway. Maybe I can smooth things over.” And there you have it. All Carla needed to do was process of elimination who was in my photography class and the light bulb would spring back on before we could say goodbye.
“Oh, My, Goodness, Trisha will be fine. I don’t think she really liked him all that much. I mean, what has she had, like maybe 2 conversations with him?”
Broken (The Immortal Coven Book 1) Page 12
