Soul Remembered (Soul Series Book 2)

by Laura Winter

  “Okay.”

  He looked at me, confused. “Okay what?”

  “I’ll finally give up fighting against you. I’ll let you in, I’ll let you help me. It shouldn’t have taken me this long, but I love you and I should have listened sooner.” I stood up and fiddled with the key.

  “Hold up,” he said, standing up and holding my hands before I could pull off my necklace. “I’m not trying to force you to do anything you aren’t ready for. I just want you to see things differently.”

  “But I need to be forced. Don’t you see how much I’m avoiding things? I’m not pushing myself enough. I went back to the clearing and it helped. This is the next step.” I slid the necklace off and watched it drop to the deck. The blue scar on my arm appeared, but my breath didn’t catch. I knew it wouldn’t, but that wasn’t what I was worried about.

  I slid my shorts off, but I hesitated at the hem of my shirt. If I could just get it off, I could jump in the water. I wouldn’t have to see anything and I would be fine.

  Just before I was about to give up, Nate wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into him, kissing me hard. His passion made me lose focus of everything around me, his tongue finding its way through my lips. I vaguely remember his hands sliding underneath my shirt and up my back, but I was more focused on my body buzzing from our touch. My hands slid around his shoulders and his lips slid down my jaw and neck. I felt a gentle whisper in the back of my head.

  Hey, C?

  Yeah? I didn’t let go of my grip around him as his mouth pushed back into my lips.

  Gotcha.

  He smiled under our kiss and suddenly we were falling. We crashed into the water, but he didn’t let go of me as we broke back through the surface.

  “Great,” I groaned, pushing him away. “Now I don’t have a shirt to wear back to the house.”

  I splashed him as his laughter turned to confusion and back to laughter. “Did I really turn you on that much?” His smile was too big.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “C, I took your shirt off, like, five minutes ago,” he said, barely intelligible through his laughter.

  I looked down and realized he was telling the truth. The purple and white suit was the only thing I had on as I floated in the clear water. I could see the scar on my stomach, a distorted blue line that wasn’t quite covered by the high-waisted suit bottoms. My hand slid over it, fingers brushing the raised bump, as Nate swam a little closer to me.

  “I told you that you’d be okay,” he said, pulling my hand off my stomach while his other hand rested on my cheek. “I’m sorry I tricked you, but I figured you were right. Instead of easing around the subject, I just went for it. I knew I’d be there if you needed me.”

  I slid my right arm around his back and leaned in, hovering right in front of his mouth. “You are in every way perfect, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you.”

  I traced my fingers up his spine. Even in the warm water, I could feel the goosebumps under my touch.

  “Always forever. And now you’re really stuck with me.” His right hand found my left and played with my ring.

  We hung just inches from each other, floating as the water calmed down around us.

  “Wait, where’d Luci and Glitch go?” I looked around, remembering that at one point there were four of us down here in the water.

  “They snuck back up to the house while we were making out to go have their own fun.” Nate smiled as he let go of me, swimming back toward the dock.

  “Can’t say we didn’t see that coming…” I rolled my eyes and swam to catch up.

  29

  Nate

  Clara was doing her best in the kitchen, trying to help me make dinner. I figured chicken piccata would be easy enough. I was about to leave her in charge of the chicken so I could make the sauce, but she reached out and grabbed my arm.

  “Wait, don’t leave me. I have no idea what I’m doing,” she said, looking terrified.

  I laughed and pulled away from her. “You’re doing fine, I’ll just be a minute.” I went over to whisk the last ingredients together and work on cutting some salad just as the timer went off. Clara jumped.

  “That means the pasta is done, right? That looks easy, let me do that instead,” she said, trying to hand the spatula over. I shook my head.

  “Nope, you finish that. You have to learn eventually. There are recipes I wanna cook for you, but I’ll need a second pair of hands for help.”

  She groaned and returned to poking the chicken. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I had turned off the stove while she wasn’t looking. The chicken had been done at least five minutes ago, but she really was trying to help. I dished up the pasta and Clara scooped the chicken on top. I put her in charge of mixing the salad while I started on the sauce.

  “Dinner in ten minutes!” I shouted upstairs. We hadn’t seen Luci or Glitch since the lake earlier. Clara laughed when we heard their feet scramble into the bathroom to shower.

  “Well, they finally said it,” Clara said, leaning against my arm as she watched me stir the sauce.

  “Said what?”

  “That they loved each other,” she sang.

  I switched my stirring to my left hand and reached my arm around Clara. “About damn time,” I laughed.

  They didn’t join us for another twenty minutes. Finally, they were the late ones. We didn’t wait for them, so Clara was already half finished with her food by the time they walked in holding hands.

  “Clara, I didn’t know you had a tattoo. You are such a badass,” Luci said, smiling as she sat down.

  Glitch sat down next to her and eyed the food carefully. “Wait, what parts of this did Clara make?”

  Clara frowned and folded her arms. “Hey, I’m half done and haven’t died yet. I thought I did good…” She actually looked a little offended.

  “C,” I said, reaching out to take her hand, “you did a great job. Don’t listen to him.”

  “Oh, this is amazing,” Luci said, looking surprised as she took another bite.

  “If it’s good it means Nate was the one who did most of it,” Glitch replied, digging into his plate. Before he took his first bite, I saw his nose pinch closed as he dropped his fork. “Hey!”

  Clara laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him, Luci joining in as she realized what had happened.

  * * *

  We sat out on the back porch, watching the night sky as the fire pit started to fizzle out. Glitch and Luci had taken the blanket to go sit on the dock, each of us giving each other some privacy. Clara leaned in closer, resting her head on my chest.

  “You were right. This is exactly what we needed,” she sighed. “I’ve been so obsessed with figuring things out about our powers, but it doesn’t matter anymore. We have each other and we don’t have to worry about people coming after us.”

  I smiled. “It’s a different world for us now. Sure, these powers make us unique, but they aren’t our lives. We are still people, and we can still have a life away from The Complex.”

  Clara sat up and spun on top of me, sitting on my thighs. Her blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight, just inches from my face. “Nate, I get to marry you,” she said, her smile growing.

  “I know. I was there when I asked you,” I said, sliding my hands over her hips as she pressed her chest into mine, kissing me deep. I was starting to lose motor function as her tongue moved over my lips. Her breath was warm as she lifted away.

  “Even if we didn’t have this Blue Soul connection, even if I had Finnley’s memories, I would still find you. I always knew you were who I was looking for.” Her hands moved down my chest.

  “From the minute I saw you, I felt the same. The only thing I would change would be that month apart. I think I’ll always regret how I handled things after the gym. It might be the biggest mistake I’ve ever made, and I swear I’ll always listen to you from now on.”

  She sat back and bit her lip. “But that part makes us, well, us. It w
asn’t fun, but it did bring us closer. We made it to the other side, and we have over and over again, which makes me believe in us getting through everything.”

  “As long as we are together, there’s nothing we can’t get through. Always forever, I love you.”

  I pulled Clara back into me as she wrapped her hands around me, digging her fingers into my shoulders. I picked her up carefully, walking us back inside as she clasped her legs around me for balance. I had barely closed our bedroom door when she had pulled my shirt over my head. She couldn’t take her hands off my skin and I didn’t want her to.

  Usually she would toss me back on the bed, but tonight she let me lead as I moved her back. My hands moved along her sides as we dropped back onto the mattress, moving together, perfectly in sync. I reached up to move her necklace out of the way before sliding off her shirt, but she paused.

  Slowly, she took her hand off my back and held the key in her fingers.

  I reached up and held her cheek. “You don’t have to…” I could feel her heartbeat racing through her skin.

  Clara thought for a second before pulling it off her neck, her purple hair catching and sliding over her shoulder as she tossed the chain to the nightstand. She looked back at me. “But I can, because of you.”

  Clara smiled and her fiery blue eyes drew me back in. I was completely lost in her, feeling every movement she made. I never wanted to pull away from her touch as she let me take over. Our skin burned with energy as the Blue Soul coursed through us, bringing us closer and deeper into each other. We were perfect.

  Sound of Fire. This Century.

  * * *

  I woke up to the lights turning on and Clara’s hand reaching over my side. Something didn’t feel right… or sound right. There was shuffling on the other side of the room, but Clara was still next to me in bed.

  “Glad I waited so I didn’t interrupt you during something else.”

  I knew that voice.

  I shot up and made eye contact with Jackson who was swinging Clara’s necklace back and forth as he held it up. I didn’t have time to question what he was doing. I reached forward to send a shadow to grab him but nothing would respond. Then I saw why.

  Somehow while I was asleep, he had stuck one of his cuffs on my wrist. I looked over to see Clara gripping the comforter that was resting over her legs. She had one clamped on her wrist too.

  Thank goodness I had put my boxers on before I fell asleep. Clara was wearing my t-shirt and an old pair of shorts as she pulled the blanket up around her chest.

  “I’m going to get this thing off and kill you,” she growled.

  Jackson sat down in the chair across from us, still watching us with a sly grin. “You try anything now and my two helpers upstairs end your friends. They looked so peaceful sleeping together too. Such a mess that would be.”

  “What the hell do you want? What are you even doing here?” My anger was boiling over. I wanted to run across the room and beat the shit out of him. I should have let Clara do it back at the Imperium. But if he wasn’t lying about hurting Glitch and Luci, I couldn’t risk it.

  “Did you really think I’d let four teenagers get away without paying for what they did at the Imperium? I don’t want anything to do with your friends upstairs, but you,” his eyes fixed on Clara, a dark hunger sparking behind them, “you are responsible for releasing the Cold Soul. Where is it now?”

  Clara shifted, uncomfortable by Jackson’s stare. “We trapped it. You don’t have to worry about the Cold Soul anymore.”

  Jackson shook his head. “But the power is still out there. Even if it’s just a power source, it got out twice and it will fool someone again. I’m not about to trust the idiot who released it again to be the one to protect it.”

  “Oh, and you’ll do such a better job? You couldn’t even find the source until we were unlucky enough to cross your path,” I growled.

  I moved my arm around Clara’s hips protectively. She was shaking, partly in anger and partly because she didn’t have her powers. She didn’t need to feel weak right now, not after we had made strides with her scars.

  “The Cold Soul seems to be drawn to people with your gifts. You two are dangerous.”

  Clara shivered under my grip at Jackson’s last word. We were used to hearing that from The Complex, and with this Blue Soul power, we were extra charged.

  She tried to regain her composure. “So, what happens? You threaten our friends to get us to tell you where it is?” Clara hissed, gripping the blanket tighter.

  Jackson just smiled, pissing her off even more. “I’ve actually already gotten what I need, I just wanted to see if you’d tell me yourself,” he said, standing up and moving to the edge of the bed, leaning down in front of her face. “I don’t have to threaten you because I’ve already won. How does that feel? To be ten steps behind me? To have already lost?”

  Clara loaded her head back, planning to slam her forehead into his nose, but suddenly her hands shot up to her neck. I heard her try to gasp for breath, unable to keep herself from convulsing. She clawed and clawed, coughing and unable to breathe. Her face was already red as Jackson’s lip curled. He continued to glare at her, making her fight harder to get oxygen.

  “Stop!” I screamed. “We’ll give you whatever you want, just stop, please!” I was pleading, unable to help as Clara still clawed at her neck, trying to fight the invisible hold Jackson had over her.

  Finally she inhaled sharply, gasping as the color faded from her face. She heaved, sweat rolling down her face as she sucked in oxygen as fast as she could.

  “What the hell did you do to her?” I asked, sliding her back against the headboard so I could move between her and Jackson.

  He stood up and brushed his shirt off like it was nothing. “Your girlfriend doesn’t fully understand what she can do with her gifts,” he snarled.

  “How would you know what I can or can’t do with my powers?” Clara’s voice was hoarse as she continued to breathe heavily.

  Jackson reached down and lifted our bags to the bed, ignoring Clara’s question. “Get dressed. Or don’t and I’ll drag you out of here half naked. I don’t care either way,” he said, folding his arms.

  “What are you doing with us? What happens if we refuse?” I reached back and found Clara’s hand.

  Jackson raised his eyebrow. “Let me see. You two can’t use your powers and I have two people upstairs ready to kill your friends if you don’t listen. What part of that scenario makes you think you have any power to ask me questions? You can come with me and leave your friends alive or dead. Your choice.” He sat back down in the chair and kept his eyes on us.

  I turned to look at Clara who already had her eyes locked on me. She was terrified and powerless, but I didn’t let her see that I was just as scared. I needed to be the tough one now.

  “Nate,” she whispered, “he said he already got what he wanted. Does he have the Cold Soul?” Her eyes darted between me and Jackson.

  “I don’t know, but we have to go with him. We can’t risk Glitch and Luci.”

  I locked my fingers through hers and turned around. Jackson was still looking at us as I dug through my bag to get clothes. Clara did the same in hers. We stood up to change in the bathroom, but Jackson jumped up and stopped us.

  “Nope. Do you think I’m an idiot? There’s a window you can climb out of. Change, now,” he said, impatient. We had to do what he asked.

  As we walked out into the living room, two more guys were standing and waiting while another two came down the stairs.

  “What did you do to them?” Clara asked, her voice still scratchy.

  “Don’t worry, princess,” said one of the guys coming downstairs. “They’re still just sleeping. If you stay quiet, we don’t have to kill them.”

  Five against two, when the two didn’t have powers. It wasn’t a fair fight, especially because the guy who spoke looked like he could have been a professional wrestler. The other three weren’t exactly small either.

>   Clara growled and actually bared her teeth as one of the other guys came toward us. Jackson dug his fingers into her upper arm as the guy zip-tied her hands together. The professional wrestler did the same to mine.

  “Now, can’t have you try anything during our trip,” Jackson said, smiling.

  I didn’t have time to react as he stuck a needle in Clara’s neck. She wobbled, but I couldn’t catch her because I felt the same thing happen to me. I felt the prick and immediately the room faded to black as I crumpled on top of her.