by R. J. Rogers
I beam with pride. God, I love that man! “Well, I will definitely have to do that,” I say as I try hard to keep the cheesy grin from my lips.
“Since you appear to be doing alright, I’ll be off. Tell Dom that I would like him to bring you by later this evening though, just one last check and then tomorrow you will probably be able to start magic training and classes.” I smile excitedly at that thought. “Goodbye dear.”
“Goodbye Jean.” She shuts the door behind her just as Nic comes out of the bathroom at the same time.
He looks around the room, “did grandma leave already?”
I nod, and he makes his way to me. “Jean told me I should thank you though…”
“She did, did she?” He kneels on my bed, a dimpled smile on his face and a mischievous twinkle in his slate-grey eyes. “Uh huh,” I respond looking lovingly into his eyes. “But I’m not sure how I should thank you…” I add with a sly smile taking over.
“Oh, I can think of a few ideas…” He leans over and kisses me. I automatically wrap my arms around his neck and pull him back onto the bed with me. “You are so beautiful,” he whispers into my ear, his breath tickling against my cheek. He kisses my neck which causes me to giggle, cause there’s this one spot… sigh. I am so freaking happy! Nic groans into my hair, “you kill me.”
I was going to ask what he meant by that statement but then a thought just occurs to me, “I’m hungry!” Dominic rolls onto his side and laughs, one that rumbles in his chest and is quite contagious. “What are you laughing about?” I ask looking at him curiously.
“You’re a dork. Only you would think of food during a make out session.”
I look at him, trying to glare but well, it’s Nic. He scoots off the bed and puts his hand out for me to take. “Go get dress,” he says as he yanks me off the bed. “We’ll go over to my house. The guys are all dying to see you anyway. I’m pretty sure they are all in love with you, just so you know,” he states. I give him a ‘yeah, right’ look plus an eye roll and start to go to my closest. He still manages to swat my butt as I saunter off. This of course causes me to jump and laugh as I look for clothes.
*
Dominic takes my hand and we walk up the Salvino’s sidewalk together. He pulls his house key out and unlocks the front door. I couldn’t tell you what we’re talking about, but it has me laughing as we enter the front hall, just left of their living room. Even though I see Devon, Chris, Riley, and yes, Jessica, I see two faces that I don’t recognize. I stop abruptly as I stare at the only two adults who are well over the age of thirty. They totally have to be Dominic and Devon’s parents.
I am suddenly very shy and nervous as I look at them. Mrs. Salvino is absolutely breath taking and I am rendered speechless by her beauty. She looks like an angel. Long white-blonde hair cascades around her face, falling down the length of her shoulders and back. She is very casually dressed in a light pink blouse, black pants and bare feet. A woman after my own heart. I watch her a moment more before my attention is drawn towards Mr. Salvino as he turns from the oven with a casserole dish of something that smells absolutely divine in his hands and places it on the counter. I now know where Nic got those lovely eyes of his. He is literally the spitting image of Mr. Salvino!
“Why hello there,” I hear Mrs. Salvino say, a smile spread wide across her mouth, perfect white teeth showing as she does so. “Who’ve we got here, Dom,” Mr. Salvino adds offering a beautiful smile as well.
I smile and timidly say hi before Nic jumps in with introductions. “Mom, dad, I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Alina Hopkins.” A blush creeps across my cheeks as he says those words, but he pays me no mind as he continues talking. “Alina, I would like you to meet my parents, Lisa and Steven Salvino.”
I smile yet again and say hi once more. What I don’t expect is what they do next. They put down or stop whatever they were doing before we came in and make their way over to me, each hugging me and speaking excitedly to me. Yeah, my family is the exact opposite of this and I’m a little overwhelmed on how I should respond to it.
“Alright, alright, let the poor girl breathe,” Nic says as he takes my hand and pulls me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me, resting his chin on top of my head and smiling at his parents.
A couple minutes later Mrs. Salvino announces that dinner is ready, and we should all ‘come and get it’. Chris, Devon and Riley all give me a hug as they walk by, Jessica on the other hand offers me one of her death glares and sits in between Chris and Devon. It takes every ounce of energy not to utter the word at the tip of my tongue… let’s just say it rhymes with witch!
I sit in awe as everyone around me eats, drinks and jokes about the day’s events, sharing stories and laughter. I am absolutely in love with the scene playing out before me. I have never experienced the family emotional bonding like this. My heart aches for my dad and my bestie. Yes, I have purposely left out mentioning my mother. She has probably already gathered hunters and is on the warpath to hunt me down.
As dinner comes to a close, I remind Dominic that we are supposed to stop by his grandmother’s house and once again I’m bombarded with hugs, farewell’s and goodbye’s. “It was such a pleasure to meet you Alina.” Mrs. Salvino says as she wraps me in the last of a line of hugs, “thank you for keeping that smile on his face. I haven’t seen him this happy in a very long time.” She whispers so that only I can hear her. This makes me pleasantly happy.
Walking to the door, I had to promise multiple times that I return to visit with them again. Dominic and I got into his car and drive off to grandma’s house.
Chapter24
“No! That is all wrong! You’re not concentrating!” Jessica yells at me. If this wench yells at me one more time, I swear to God I’m going to punch her. To Hell with this magic training. Let me show this bitch what a hunter can do! I growl out loud in frustration. She’s so enjoying pointing out EVERY SINGLE ONE of my mistakes. Dominic comes over to me just as I start to storm towards Jessica, takes my chin in his hand and forces me to look him in the face.
“Hey babe, how bout we call it quits for today? It’s a lot to take in on your first practice.” I nod my agreement and with one last glare back at Jessica, I march back to my apartment. Don’t think for a moment that I miss the smug smile she throws back at me.
I push my door open hard and it slams into the wall, leaving an indentation of the knob on the wall as it ricochets off and goes to swing close on itself. I clench and unclench my fists several times, taking deep breathes as I do so. I have never actually hated someone before, but I guess there’s always a first time for everything, right?
Nic comes up behind me and places his hands upon my shoulders, trying to massage some of the tension out of my body. I spin on my foot to look him in the eyes; “why is Jessica the one that has to train me? Why can’t you?” I whine. “She’s the best at training other witches. Jessica can read magic really well and is great at being able to asses which area of magic a witch will excel in.”
“Well she may be good at what she does but seriously someone needs to have a chat with that girl before I go all ‘hunter’ on her ass!” I really don’t mean to shout at him. Really, it’s not his fault. But damn that girl! He chuckles before placing his hands on either side of my face and kisses me calm.
Placing my hands against his chest, I push him to arm’s length. “You know that’s really annoying right?” I mean really, can’t I just be mad for a change. Instead he steals my anger, replacing it with his calming touch nearly making me forget what I’m angry about. He grins at me and I’m almost tempted to punch him.
“I have an idea on how to brighten your day,” Nic says as I allow him to pull me close once more
“Do tell.”
“I was thinking we could finally take that road trip, you know, find that library.” I jump up and down, clapping my hands in giddy excitement. “Yes please.” He laughs because, yes, I’m a dork.
“Alright then, meet me at my house in one hour. I
promised the guys they could tag along.”
*
Standing in front of the Salvino’s front door, I hesitate to knock. Looking around for a moment I really take time to appreciate my surroundings. Dawning realization that I’ve never actually seen their house in daylight hours. A brick two-story split level, with white trim, two-car garage, greenery surrounding the drive and pink and purple flowers of some sort line the sidewalk that Nic and I walked up last night. Four vehicles are parked strategically on the driveway as well. Couldn’t tell you what any of them are except the dark blue 2019 Jeep Renegade, because it’s the car I wanted to buy.
I see a bird fountain sitting in their front yard which I hadn’t noticed with prior visits. Next to the fountain is a very large oak tree with a rope swing tided to it. I will fully admit that I totally want to jump on it and have a go. My inner child dying to come out and play. As I’m geeking out over the swing, the door opens up and I sort of feel like I’ve been caught red-handed with my hand in the cookie jar.
“What’s up Ali?” Devon asks standing in the door way.
I turn and smile at him, “oh nothing, was just admiring your guy’s home.” I feel like such a dork. “You guys’ ready to hit the road?” I ask trying to distract him from my dorkiness.
“Most definitely but first, I promised mom that I would get you inside, so she can see you before we leave.” I bite my lip at his statement. I’m so not use to having to deal with parents, I mean seriously, I grew up in the Academy. I nod my head and follow him inside.
Entering the hall, I scan the connecting rooms to see if Nic is close by, but he isn’t so I take a deep breath to try and relax my nerves before I continue following Devon into the kitchen area. “Alina!” Mrs. Salvino states elated. “So glad to see you again so soon, dear. I’m just finishing up making some snacks for your trip. I also tossed in some different juice drinks and water for you guys.” Her smile couldn’t be any wider if she tried.
“I’m going to go check on Nicky and the guys,” Devon says to both of us before slipping out of the room. That sneaky little turd! Totally going to slap him for leaving me alone because I know he does so on purpose.
“Gosh, thank you so much Mrs. Salvino. You really didn’t have to go to all that trouble though.”
“Nonsense. I’ve got to keep those boys from getting hangry while on the road. Besides I really don’t mind. Just keep those boys in check now you hear.” She laughs as I look at her perplexed. Thankfully, Dominic enters just then, saving me from any further chit chat I would endure.
“Hey hon, you ready?” I look over at him and nod that I am. “Awesome, let’s roll!”
“Hang on Mr., not so fast. I’ve made you guys snacks to take with you. They’re in that blue cooler on the edge of the counter. Also, I expect you all to be on your best behavior. And for Goddess sake, do not embarrass Alina! I like her, and I would like her to come around and visit us. I don’t need you yahoo’s scaring her away.” She winks at her son and then walks over to me where I once again find myself in another of her embraces. I would love nothing more at the moment than to squirm out of it, but I also like her and don’t want to offend her by doing so.
“Alright mom, can I please have my girlfriend, so we can get on the road now?”
She releases me but not before whispering, “take care of my boys.” I step back from her, make the slightest nod, saying I will and then Dominic and I go to the car and hop in.
Chapter25
Our ‘road trip’ totaled a whole whopping 9 minutes and 10 seconds. If you were to look inside the cooler that Lisa packed for her boys though, you would have thought we were going to be out on the road for days. Don’t get me wrong, we totally devoured all the yummy goodness that was inside the container. With full bellies the guys are now content to torture me as they all begin singing obnoxiously loud to some pop tune that’s on the radio as we pull into the public parking-lot.
I am slightly shocked to see the house looming before me. From the dream I had, I was under the impression that I would be staring at some cathedral type building but instead, I’m looking at one of the last remaining houses built in 1644. It is what today’s typical cape cod; colonial style homes are based off of. Dominic throws the car in park and looks to me with a grin; “you ready to do this?’
Taking a deep breath in, I exhale slowly, open the car door and hop out. Nic comes around to me and takes hold of my hand. We wait for Devon, Riley and Chris to tumble out and then we head inside. We are automatically shushed upon entry because even though the outside is a house, it’s all library on the inside. “Where should we start?” Riley leans over to me and whispers. I shrug a ‘don’t know’ and then whisper that maybe we should split up to cover more ground.
All of the guys wander off and I am left standing in what has become known as the Lothrop room. I would love nothing more than to soak in the moment. My hand is itching to slide along the walls, touch the hard wood floor because I want to feel history. Yes, I am a nerd. But I mean come on, I am standing in a place that is 375 years old!
Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply trying to get a feel for my surroundings, wanting nothing more than to absorb the history into my very being. I know, corny right. Suddenly my eyes snap open. I can’t see anything though, just a tunnel vision of white light. I can feel my legs moving so I know I’m walking but I’ve no idea where I’m going. The light is pulling me, leading me somewhere. I can’t stop myself from moving and so my journey continues. I can feel myself walking down some steps, but these steps feel different than the wooden ones I walked on earlier. The steps feel firmer, maybe cement, I’m not quite sure. I come to the end of the stairs and can feel uncarpeted floor underneath my feet. The atmosphere has changed, like a cool damp feel has settled around me. Where ever I am, the place has a familiar feel. Again though, I am still unable to see anything beyond the tunneled light that is my sight currently.
After about a minute in the room, I realize my body is no longer moving of its own accord. As this realization hits, the top half of my body is flung back like I was just punched, arms fly out wide and my head back. My body right’s itself and with it, my vision. The scene before me is the spitting image of my dream. I am in the cellar where I found The Book of History! A giddiness is bubbling up inside me. Could this really be happening for me right now?
My eyes are drawn to one corner of the four walls and I can see the shimmering light peeking out from one particular stone. I quickly walk over to it, kneel to the ground and begin to work the stone lose. Pulling a little too hard, I end up on my butt with the rock clasped against my chest. I laugh at myself because, my God, I’m graceful. I place the stone on the floor and on my knees, scoot across the floor back to the now open space in front of me.
Desperately I want to put my arms in the hole, but I have second thoughts. What if? I release a breath that I unknowingly held and said bleep it! I squeak out because there is of course spiderwebs I have to deal with before placing my hands upon it. The Book! I pull the book out, place the stone back where it belongs and then make my way back up the stairs. I’ve got to find the boys.
I find them loitering by the drinking fountain. “What are you guys doing? You’re supposed to be looking for the book.” Yeah, I’m a *itch. I just enjoy harassing them. They all stand up straight, look at me and then jump to the defense. “Aw man, we looked everywhere.” Riley said wide eyed.
“Dude, I looked!” Chris exclaimed.
“I swear, we looked over every inch of this place.” Devon whines.
Dominic just looks at me. His expression says he knows I’m up to something but just not quite sure what. I can’t keep the excitement from my face for long and produce the book from behind my back seconds after giving the guys a hard time. “No way,” Devon exclaims. “Why were you harping on us if you already had the book?”
I laugh, “because it’s so much fun, dummy.”
“Well, do you want to take a look at it?” Nic asks eagerly.
>
“Um, no. Not here anyway.” I look around and see four sets of eyebrows raised all silently questioning me why. “It was catastrophic when I opened the book inside of the library, within my dream. I thought it might be a bit smarter and safer to open at home, maybe at Grandma Jean’s house.”
“Alright then,” Dominic says. “Let’s head home.”
*
I am so anxious to get back. The nine-minute drive feels like an hour of pure torture. The closer we get to Jean’s home the higher my anxiety gets. “Finally,” I sigh when the drive way comes into view. Barely giving Nic a chance to put the vehicle in park, I’m flinging my passenger door open and hopping out. “Will you guys hurry up,” I shout over my shoulder as I stop at the front door.
Devon is the first of the guys to meet me at the door. Instead of a key like I thought I was waiting for, he just turns the knob and lets himself in. I follow suit and walk in behind him. “Grandma, you here?”
“Dev, is that you dear?” We can hear her voice faintly from the back of her house. “Yeah gran, and I’ve brought you some visitors! Where are you?”
“Out back sweetie.”
Upon hearing that we all make our way through her kitchen and out onto her back porch. “What brings you all by?” She looks to us all curiously. At this point I basically slap the book down on the little table she is sitting by. Not on purpose mind you, just all the pent-up excitement coursing through me, makes it quite hard to hold onto the book, practically slipping out of my hands.
“Oh my, what do we have here, dear?” She runs her hand over the brown leather binding as she looks into my eyes. I can’t help but smile with pride. “Is this what I think it is…” Jean stares at the book in awe.
I nod my head, “I must admit I’m a little nervous to open it because of what occurred in my dream, but I thought if you and I were to open it together we may be able to deter any incidents.”
“I feel there is nothing to fear from the book dear. However, I can feel that it doesn’t want anyone but you to open it up. It is as if it is beckoning you, calling for your hand alone.”
