Soul Remembered (Soul Series Book 2)

by Laura Winter

  That didn’t seem to satisfy Ellie. “I don’t get you two. You’ve been together for eight months and you’re already talking about marriage? This isn’t some topic to casually bring up. You’re still in high school. Have you considered all the other things you have to deal with?”

  “What other things?” Clara snapped. Her getting defensive right now wasn’t the best move so I squeezed her.

  Just relax. Let her speak and we can worry about it later.

  Clara growled in my head, but I could tell she wasn’t going to interrupt again.

  Ellie sat up straighter. “College? Money? Where you’ll live? If you want children? These aren’t exactly things you leave to chance or you’ll end up unhappy and fighting all the time.” Ellie bit her lip. Maybe she had dealt with some of this with Richard. She looked to me. “What did your parents say about this?”

  I shrugged. “I haven’t talked to them yet. It’s not like I proposed. I just brought it up so we could talk about it, isn’t that what we should do?” Now I felt myself getting defensive. I needed to follow my own advice.

  Ellie seemed to settle back into the couch. “Well, I think you need to think some of these things through before you make any plans like that.”

  “Okay, mom.” Clara turned to me. “I’m gonna go shower and then we can work on homework.”

  I would have followed her into her room but Ellie was watching me closely. I dropped my bag and sat down at the kitchen table to avoid any more uncomfortable situations. Ellie didn’t seem to care as she got up off the couch to join me.

  “Nate, I didn’t mean to upset you guys. I just want you to be sure. I worry about her, especially after Aidan. I know she doesn’t remember him, and I know you aren’t like him, but I don’t want to see her hurt. I’m her mother and I’ve always worried about her, even if she doesn’t remember me doing so,” Ellie said, hanging her head.

  “Wait, that’s why you’re upset with her? You aren’t bothered that she doesn’t go by Finnley, you’re bothered that she gave up trying to remember Finnley. You’re bothered because it means she won’t remember you.” I sat back in the chair. Clara really wasn’t listening in to her mom’s thoughts anymore or I’m sure she would have picked up on this.

  Ellie frowned. “Yes, but I’ve already offended her. I had a wonderful connection with Finnley, and I feel like I’m always comparing Clara to her. It isn’t fair, but I can’t help it. She’s my daughter, they both are, but I don’t know what to do. It’s not like this is in any normal parenting book.”

  “Ellie, I really think you should tell C about this. She really tries not to interfere with our thoughts anymore. If you don’t say something, she’s going to stay stubborn,” I said. Ellie looked up at me, frustrated and sad, and I knew I had to speak up for Clara because she never would. “C is really struggling right now. I know she pretends to be tough, but she needs help. She needs your help.”

  “She talks to you about everything,” Ellie said, slumping her shoulders. “How do I know what to help her with if she won’t tell me what she’s dealing with?”

  “You just said it. She’s your daughter. Even if she can read our thoughts, we can’t assume she always knows what we’re thinking.” I reached out and held Ellie’s hand. “As for what she’s struggling with, it’s something you two need to talk about in a safe space. What I can tell you is that she tries to be strong around us because she spent the early part of Clara’s life feeling weak. It’s not easy feeling lost like that.”

  “Nate, homework!” Clara shouted from the bedroom. I got up to join her but Ellie jumped up and hugged me before I turned away.

  “Thank you for all you do to help her. Please know I’m so glad it’s you with her.”

  I hugged her back. “She’s happy you’re back in her life, but I don’t think she knows how to show it. Give her some time.”

  7

  Clara

  I would have much rather spent the evening on a regular date than at the fair, and that’s saying something. Friday afternoon was hot and muggy and the fair smelled like sweat, fried food, and cow manure. I was a little annoyed at Glitch for volunteering Nate and I for a double date, but after dragging him along as our third wheel for eight months, we needed to help him out a bit. Besides, it gave us a chance to know Luci a little more.

  It was a good thing Glitch was the outgoing one because Luci was really nervous the entire drive. Still, Glitch’s lack of fear was probably the best thing for her. When we parked, Glitch ran over to get her door and hold her hand. As a joke, I raced over and did the same thing to Nate.

  “It’s about time you started acting like a gentleman,” Nate laughed. He kissed my cheek as we walked toward the entrance.

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “I’m just in a hurry to get food and you walk slow.”

  Once inside, Nate and Glitch lined up for food while Luci and I walked around some of the carnival games they had set up. It really was a pathetic showing, and most of the rides looked like they had been here since the sixties, but Luci seemed delighted to look around at them.

  “I love the fair,” Luci sang. “I’ve gone every year since I can remember, though it did seem more impressive when I was younger.” She leaned forward at the goldfish bags set up for prizes. Some of the fish had already expired in the heat.

  “Ah, yes. Scarring the kids for life with dead fish and creepy clowns.” I turned sideways to avoid walking into some people. They continued on without acknowledging me. “Wow, excuse you.”

  Luci laughed. “You’re thinking of a circus for clowns. I take it you aren’t too thrilled to be here?”

  I shrugged. “I prefer to avoid crowds whenever possible.”

  Even with a crazy power source to help me, it was hard to focus enough to block out all the thoughts. This was a larger crowd than the gym.

  As we continued on to the next stand, the guy sitting in the dunk tank whistled. “Hey! Purple hair and hot chick. You two a couple or something?”

  “What’s it to you?” I glared at him as Luci froze in stunned silence.

  He smirked and eyed us up and down, focusing a little too long on our chests. The guy was probably a few years older than us with clearly nothing better to do with his life. My guess was he used to be hot shit in high school but would never do anything productive with his life. “Yeah, I bet you two have lots of fun together.”

  I growled and turned to keep walking but the next thought that ran through his mind was absolutely disgusting and infuriating. I spun back around and walked up to the booth, pulling Luci back with me.

  “What are you doing?” Luci asked under her breath, trying to pull me back. I was too strong for her and pulled my arm away.

  “He shouldn’t get away with disrespecting anyone like that. I’m going to teach him a lesson.” I glared at the nervous guy selling tickets. “How much?”

  “One throw for a dollar, five throws for three bucks,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. I could tell he disliked the guy as much as I did, but if he wasn’t going to say anything about it, what was the point?

  I wasn’t afraid to stand up to him. I slapped a dollar on the table and picked up a ball.

  “You should know this game is rigged,” the guy in the tank chuckled. “It’s nearly impossible to hit the target and it’s another challenge to actually get that rusty thing to dump me. Besides, you’re a girl. You’re just going to embarrass yourself.”

  Oh, he shouldn’t have challenged me either.

  “We’ll see about that,” I said through gritted teeth.

  I wound up and fired the ball, expecting to use my powers to help guide it, but I didn’t have to. I nailed the target with a loud clang and his seat gave way, sending him splashing into the tank. Water dumped over the edges as he popped above the surface, coughing. I walked up to the edge of the tank.

  “You should really think twice about opening your mouth next time,” I hissed.

  He glared back and tried to splash me but I easily
stepped to the side, embarrassing him even more. I laughed and spun around, grabbing Luci’s hand to pull her away with me.

  “Oh my god, how did you do that?” she asked, jogging to keep up with my long strides.

  “Remember all the rumors that went around about me? Well, I sold my soul twice. Once so I could have a sharp tongue and another time so I could be good at overhand sports. Don’t tell the last demon I didn’t actually have a soul to sell him,” I replied, winking at her.

  “You are literally my hero,” Luci laughed.

  We spotted Glitch and Nate sitting at a table and made our way to them.

  “Don’t go to the dunk tank tonight,” I said, reaching over to steal Nate’s hot dog before he could smack my hand away.

  Nate rolled his eyes. “Oh no. What did you do?”

  “Nothing that creep didn’t deserve,” Luci said, brushing off the incident, but the boys suddenly got defensive.

  “Wait, which guy? What happened?” Nate gripped the table.

  Glitch stood up and tried to locate the dunk stand. “Yeah, who do we have to beat up?”

  “I already took care of it,” I said, shrugging. “He was being rude and disgusting so I dunked him.”

  Nate relaxed. “That’s my girl.”

  “Still, that’s shitty,” Glitch grumbled as he sat back down. In a bold move, Luci reached over and took Glitch’s hand.

  “Thanks for offering to beat someone up for me,” she said, smiling.

  Nate and I made eye contact and grinned.

  I love you. Nate winked at me.

  Always forever, my fellow insomniac. I winked back.

  * * *

  Nate and I sat on a bench in front of the ferris wheel, watching Glitch and Luci wave to us on the way up. Our fingers were stuck together as we leaned on each other, despite the hot weather.

  “Those two are so cute together,” I said, squeezing Nate’s hand.

  He laughed. “I never would have thought that by our senior year either of us would have dates to prom, let alone be spoken to by girls.”

  “Now look at you,” I said, leaning away. “You were so nervous that first day and now you’re taking me on dates and talking about marriage.” I frowned. “I meant to ask when we got a minute alone. What did your parents say about all that?”

  Nate shrugged. “They agreed with Ellie about waiting until we have a better plan.”

  I could tell by the tone he was pretty upset about that. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about it right now.” I was about to lean back into him but he shifted up next to me.

  “No, we should talk about it,” he said, setting his shoulders back. “I love you and I want to marry you. Sure, we don’t have all the answers right now, but we have each other. Why can’t we talk about this stuff?”

  “Nate,” I sighed. “I love you, and I want to marry you too, but I’m scared about what I’m going through right now. What if our parents are right about having a plan? I don’t want what I’m dealing with to be a burden or strain our relationship somehow. What if this makes things worse?”

  I bit the inside of my cheek. I knew that some days it wasn’t easy to be around me. If I couldn’t figure myself out, I couldn’t imagine what I would be like to constantly be around. I didn’t have answers about myself, so how could I make him take on that pressure too?

  “C, I asked you to let me help you so we could do this together. We’re a team, you and I, and that means you don’t have to deal with this alone. I want to be there for you, but I’m asking you to be honest with me all the time. I’ll do it too. That’s our plan. That’s how this works. We’ve been through hell, you more than most, but we’ll figure it out together. I want you by my side.”

  He searched my eyes, a new hope filling his. He was right. It was easier to fight my demons when Nate was with me.

  I smiled. “Okay. I promise to let you in, even with the hard stuff. We can do this.”

  Nate dropped off the bench and knelt in front of me. “Clara, I love you, you crazy insomniac. I want to spend always forever with you. I promise I’ll get you a ring one of these days, but for now, will you marry me?”

  I laughed and pulled him up off the ground. “Yes, but only because you have great taste in music.”

  A few people who had just seen our awkward proposal clapped as we kissed, but most everyone ignored us. Nate sat back down on the bench and put his arm around me, sending a warm buzzing through my body. He was happy. Really, truly happy, and it was contagious.

  “Should we tell Glitch and Luci when they get down?” I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder to feel more of that buzz.

  “Yeah, probably. Wait, where are they?”

  I lifted my finger to point at the top of the ferris wheel. “Full on making out up there.”

  “Wow, he gives us so much shit for kissing in public,” Nate groaned.

  “Now we can make fun of how cliché it is to make out on a ferris wheel,” I laughed.

  Nate leaned away from me and narrowed his eyes. “You want to do it too, don’t you?”

  I could feel the smile grow on my face. “Yeah, kinda.”

  “Come on then, sexy,” Nate said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the ride.

  8

  Nate

  We ended up on the seat in front of Glitch and Luci after Clara let a few people on before us. She excitedly hopped in, pulled the safety bar down, and spun around to look at them.

  “So, who initiated your make out session?” She asked with a huge grin.

  I turned around in time to see Luci’s eyes widen and her face turn a bright red. Glitch seemed unfazed as he slid his arm around her shoulders.

  “At least I had the courage to kiss her first,” he said, sticking his tongue out at me.

  Alright, Clara said in my head, unimpressed by Glitch’s jab. You can be the one to tell him.

  “Well,” I started, sticking my tongue out at him in response, “at least I had the courage to propose to C five minutes ago.”

  The ride started to move again as both of their eyes got wide. “Wait, what?” They asked in unison.

  “Yeah, Nate proposed… in public,” Clara laughed.

  “Where’s the ring?” Luci asked, slightly confused.

  Clara shrugged and turned back around. “I don’t need another thing to lose.”

  I put my arm around her. “I told you I’d get you one.”

  “Congrats, you weirdos,” Glitch chuckled. “Good luck telling your parents about this.”

  I overheard Luci not so quietly whisper back to him. “Wow, I’ve only been hanging out with you for a week and I feel like I’ve seen everything.”

  “We don’t really skip a beat around here,” Glitch replied. “Once you’re in, you’re stuck with us.”

  “Does that mean I’m in?” she asked, excitedly.

  Glitch didn’t answer her so I assumed they probably went back to kissing. I adjusted my shoulder as Clara sighed and leaned her head in.

  “You okay?” I asked, pulling her in tighter.

  “Yeah, I am,” she said, moving the conversation into our heads. I’m just thinking about everything we’ve gone through to get here. I don’t think I say this often enough, but thank you for getting me here.

  I kissed the top of her head. C, we got through this together. We have a whole life ahead of us that we get to share, and I’m always going to be thankful for you. Always forever.

  Clara scooted closer to me. “You know what I just realized?”

  “What?”

  “I think I’m afraid of heights.”

  Now I noticed her tight grip on the safety bar. I pried her fingers off and stuck my hand in hers. It was sweaty, but I didn’t care.

  “I guess I’ll just have to keep you distracted,” I said, grinning.

  I pulled her face into mine as her free hand gripped my shirt tight.

  9

  Clara

  Nate and I decided not to tell our parents anything when w
e got back. They were already frustrated we were considering marriage because we were in high school. I think my mom was probably concerned that I still wasn’t really me, but I stopped caring what she thought. Also, if we had told them, it would have been unfair. I was supposed to spend the entire day with our moms and that would have just been brutal. At least Luci was saving me from doing it alone. We met her at the front of the mall after lunch.

  “Luci, thank goodness you’re here. They’ve been talking nonstop about necklines and hair since this morning. I don’t understand anything,” I groaned, sliding my arm through hers.