Carly had more opinion on the matter, but chose to keep it to herself. “You’ll have to ask her. Well, I’ve got a book to finish…”
She headed upstairs and locked herself in her room, turning up Green Day before she stepped over to her window to look out over the raging Great Lake below. Damon was ever in the back of her mind, though Carly was still waiting for him to make some kind of move. He had to have a plan, didn’t he, if he’d traveled all the way across the world to search for the skull?
She closed her eyes and targeted the skull in her mind. Though the talisman was seven miles away, hidden in Abel and Ether’s attic, Carly could see it plain as day in her mind. It was safe and sound, protected. Even if everything else was topsy-turvy, the skull was safe.
At least I have that, Carly reconciled. At least if everything else falls apart, the skull’s not going anywhere.
* * *
Carly was late for homeroom Monday morning, but that was intentional. It was easier to avoid Gabe if there was no time for small talk. But with Katia at his side, Gabe didn’t seem up to talking. The two of them kept to themselves all morning, and Carly pretended not to notice.
“They’re quite the pair, huh?” Esther noted as she walked out of the classroom with Carly. “I guess this is our new normal.”
“Something like that.”
“I was going to grab coffee at the resort with Crys and Sharla, if you’d like to join us.”
“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” Carly agreed. “I just need to throw a couple things in my locker.”
“Cool, I’ll wait for you in the lobby,” Esther replied.
Carly veered away from her down the hall and rounded the corner to an arguing Gabe and Katia. They didn’t seem to notice her, and she slipped back out of sight. Their conversation, however, urged her to linger in the shadows.
“We’ve discussed this already,” Katia hissed in her obnoxious accent. “I told you, Gabriel, not to talk to her anymore!”
“Katia,” Gabe sighed in defeat. “We’re just friends. I don’t feel that way about her.”
Carly could hear in his voice that he’d meant it, and it sent rivers of disappointment rushing to her heart. She’d made her choice and Gabe had made his, but it still hurt that he was so adamantly over her.
“You say that, but then there she is all the time. If you’re really just friends, you shouldn’t be so interested in spending time with her.”
“Katia, please, it’s not like that between us.”
“Good, because I want her out of the picture.”
“You can’t push someone out of the picture who’s been in the picture my whole life,” he said. “Crystal is more my sister than my friend, so you have no reason to be jealous.”
“She’s more like your seriously hot friend who calls you all the time,” Katia argued. “And I’m not jealous. I have no reason to be jealous of anyone because there’s no one like me. But I do find it pathetic the way she hangs all over you, always trying to get your attention.”
“She’s not trying to get my attention because she doesn’t have to. Crys and I are just friends.”
Carly hadn’t expected them to walk around the corner just then, or for Gabe to walk right into her. A spark arced through the air between them, and Carly jumped back. He’d surprised the hell out of her, sure, but there was more to it than that. Gabe’s mind had been wide open, enabling Carly to see the extent to which Katia controlled him—and it was nothing short of terrifying.
“Carly,” Gabe choked with wide eyes.
“Carly,” Katia echoed, pushing Gabe back as she took a step between them. Her gaze flicked to the hematite pendant at Carly’s neck. “Can we help you with something?”
Carly felt a warning in her heart, a voice telling her this wasn’t the time to fight. Considering the voice belonged to her mother, Carly listened. “Nope, just meeting some friends. Bye.”
She hurried back to the lobby where Esther was waiting, and kept her red flags to herself as she rode along to McCabe. Katia had not only worked to knock Carly completely out of Gabe’s life, she was attempting to sabotage his relationships with his other friends, too.
Carly settled into a coffee shop table with her friends, her attention captured by the raging Great Lake outside. She understood its madness in a way she hadn’t when she’d first come here. She understood what it was like to be turned over and pulled apart and broken all at once.
“It sounds like we’ll have a wedding to attend soon?” Crystal spoke with an eager smile from the seat beside Carly. “Will you need help shopping for dresses? Because I’d be happy to volunteer my services.”
“That’s right, I’ll get to buy a new dress,” Sharla realized. “Plus, another new dress for the engagement party Sunday night. When I think about it that way, maybe it won’t be so bad.”
“And you’re getting a sister out of the deal,” Esther pointed out. “That part of it’s got to be pretty cool.”
A sister, Carly thought, looking to Sharla. “Maybe that part of it won’t be so bad either?”
Sharla grinned back at her. “Maybe not.”
Carly was able to see then how divided her group of friends had become since she’d broken up with Gabe. She’d predicted they’d take sides, but hadn’t anticipated the extent to which it would drive them apart. She determined then to protect her friendships to the same degree she’d been protecting the amethyst skull. “Sharla, my dad suggested you and I should head to Duluth Saturday to get stuff for the party. Esther, Crys, why don’t you come with us? It might be nice to hang out without the boys for a while, don’t you think?”
“I’d love to,” Esther replied. “But I’m helping out at the resort on Saturday. Small price to pay for my freedom and access to Mom’s credit card.”
“Bummer,” Sharla sighed as a barista dropped off their orders. “What about you, Crys? We could use your discriminate eye.”
“I’m in,” Crys agreed, blowing on her latte. “If you’re sure you don’t mind the company.”
“Mind?” Carly laughed. “Like I’m capable of dressing myself.”
Crystal cracked a smile. “You are, but I’d still like to help.”
* * *
Carly mulled over what to do with the amethyst skull as she endured afternoon classes. Even now, she had a lock on it in her mind, her connection to the object never wavering. So far, both Abel and Esther remained resistant to its lure. So far, the skull was safe. But that didn’t stop the lurching feeling in Carly’s gut, nagging her to have her next move planned.
It emanated from Gabe’s demeanor how submissive he’d become to Katia. Though Katia sat with her back straight, alert as she surveyed her surroundings, Gabe was hunched over in the seat in front of her, his body as folded as his mind. He was a different person in a different world, but how?
What about Gabe made him so susceptible to Katia’s devices? Obviously, there was physical attraction, but it went beyond hormones. Was Katia using something more to control him?
The bell rang, indicating the end of the school day, and Carly took her time packing her things. She wanted Gabe and Katia out of the room and out of her thoughts. The skull was safe, and that’s all that mattered. At least, that’s what Carly told herself as she pushed down her jealousy.
“I’m off to meet Jeremy, but maybe we could hang out sometime this week?” Esther suggested, walking with Carly to the door.
“I’d really like that,” Carly agreed, ignoring her sea of peers as she navigated the high school hallway. She remembered when she’d had their problems. Life had been so easy then. “You could come over after school tomorrow.”
“You don’t want to come over to my place? You sure seem to be avoiding it, considering… Unless you’re just avoiding the person who lives across the hall from me. Speak of the devil.”
“Carly, hey,” Abel said, stepping in beside his sister.
“I think that’s my cue to leave,” Esther said. “Good luck with all this.”
“Later,” Carly called after her, and reluctantly looked to a frowning Abel.
“Can we talk?” he questioned, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. “Or is your plan to just keep ignoring me and hope I get the hint?”
She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I… Outside?”
Abel nodded, and led the way out through the main entrance. He kept on down the block, waiting to speak until they were well away from the dwindling after-school crowd. “I spend a lot of time thinking about Paul, about the similarities between us.”
Carly gave him a sideways glance. She hadn’t been expecting that.
Abel quickened his pace down the sidewalk. “I do it because I want to learn from his mistakes. I know the guy’s successful and everything, but he’s not perfect. None of us are.” He heaved out a sigh, shaking his head. “I thought I was the kind of guy who could deal with all this drama, but I’m realizing I’m not, Carly. And considering how you’ve been avoiding me, I think you’re probably over it, too. At least, with me.”
“Abel,” she croaked out, though she had no follow-up. She hated that he was making this so easy.
“I deserve to have a girl fall for me the way I fell for you,” he continued, focused on the street ahead. “I deserve to have her think about me incessantly and wish I’d give her just five seconds of my time—and not because of some supernatural connection that I still don’t understand. I want someone who wants me in the same capacity, and you just… don’t. So, even though I really like you and I really want to be your boyfriend, I have to walk away. I have to let you go. That way, when I do find the right person, I can give her all my heart instead of just fragments. Whoever she is, she’ll deserve that much.”
The hardest part, the part that really tore Carly open, was the eloquence with which Abel was ending this. He really was a great guy—
“But I’m not him,” Abel ruptured her thought with abrupt cynicism. “All I have to say is, good luck to the next poor sap who tries to win your heart—he’s going to need all the help he can get.”
“Abel—”
“About that secret we have,” he spoke, an image of the amethyst skull flashing across his thoughts before he closed them off from her entirely. “That goes beyond you and me—that affects the group. I hope by now you know I would never do anything to jeopardize any of us.”
“Of course not,” Carly replied.
“And regarding Paul… If it is true, that he’s my… It’s not just his secret; it’s my mother’s secret, too. I hope you respect her enough to keep it.”
“Certainly.”
He stopped to face her, and she nearly imploded under the pressure of his gaze. “I really do hope you figure out what makes you happy. I’m just glad I didn’t waste any more time believing it could be me.” Abel must’ve considered that the end of it, and turned to cross the street and head back toward school.
Carly could go after him, kiss him, convince him to change his mind. But why, when he was right? Instead, she did what was best for them both, and let him go.
I hope you find her, Abel, the girl you deserve. And despite the tear sliding down her cheek, Carly meant it.
twenty-three
“That’s it—you two are over?” Sharla asked Carly as they walked out of the resort coffee shop later that evening.
Carly took a drink of her vanilla soy latte, her afternoon with Abel playing over in her mind. “We’re still friends, I hope, but… I think I need some time to get myself figured out, to figure out what I really want. Then I can worry about a boyfriend.”
Sharla snickered as a black Jetta pulled into the small parking lot. “It must be nice, having too many boys to choose from.”
Not even a little bit, Carly thought as Gabe got out of his car. She ducked into her own, hoping to avoid him. If she avoided Gabe, she’d hopefully also avoid whatever drama he brought with him—including Katia. Thus far, Carly had managed to stay under her radar; it was best to keep it that way. And that meant walking away, even though deep in her heart Carly longed for the parts of Gabe she hoped were still in there somewhere.
While Carly had intended to avoid Gabe, Sharla hadn’t gotten the memo. She remained behind the Jeep, where Gabe stopped to meet her. On impulse, without understanding why, Carly jumped out of the vehicle and skipped around to take a protective step in front of Sharla.
Carly attempted to pierce Gabe’s mind, but couldn’t. So, this was the version of him she was dealing with. No wonder instinct had instructed her not to leave Sharla alone with him.
“Gabe,” Carly spoke in an even tone. “Sharla and I were just leaving.”
“And I was talking to Sharla,” Gabe growled back.
“My dad’s leaving Sterling, I guess,” Sharla said with a grimace as she stared down at her coffee cup. “He’s barely spoken to me since he got here, and he’s leaving the day after Mom’s engagement party.”
“Why would Damon tell you that?” Carly pressed Gabe.
He shrugged, a smug smile at his lips. “Damon didn’t tell me anything—my girlfriend did. For the time being, Damon’s business is done here. But my dad and I are thinking of flying out there soon, so at least I won’t have to be away from her for long.”
“You are moving to Romania,” Carly whispered, her guard dropping right alongside her heart. It was one thing to reconcile that the only boy she’d ever loved was with some other girl, but it was quite another to picture him on the other side of the world, living a whole new life without her.
Sterling, Minnesota without Gabe Hutchinson just didn’t make sense.
“Moving?” Sharla hissed. “When did this happen?”
“Who told you that?” Gabe laughed. But something about it left Carly unsettled. “Howard, probably? I don’t know how he manages to get his wires crossed. We wouldn’t be moving until after I graduate next year. For now, we’ll fly out for spring break and then summer break. Like Dad said, we have to test the waters and see if it’s something we really want before we make a permanent decision. But from what I understand, the shapeshifters over there live like royalty, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to turn it down. You should think about coming with us, Sharla. I’m sure your dad wouldn’t mind if you tag along.”
Sharla let out an exasperated groan that housed the many nuanced levels of her frustration. She wasn’t some tag-along; she was Damon’s only child. Why the hell wasn’t he acting like it?
“You’d really leave?” Carly asked, too stunned by the reality of Gabe’s absence to keep her composure. “You’d really move all the way across the world and leave everyone behind?” Even me?
The casual manner with which Gabe looked at her sent icy chills into Carly’s heart. She’d wanted him to move on and let her go, and he had. But the individual he’d moved on with set off alarm bells.
Alarm bells and concrete evidence are two different things, Carly reasoned. So far, the only real harm that had been done was a man ignoring his daughter for his new family. It sucked, what Carly was going through with Gabe, but in time, she’d get over it. Sharla shouldn’t be expected to get over the way Damon was mistreating her.
“Aren’t you leaving as soon as you can, too, Carly?” Gabe wondered. “Wasn’t that the plan all along?”
“I think it’s time to go, Sharla,” Carly determined.
“Why are you leaving when you know what I want?” the words poured from Gabe’s mouth, but not in his voice. Damon’s hoarse tones boomed through Gabriel’s lips as his hand clamped down around Carly’s right wrist.
She felt pain but for a moment before white-hot lightning sparked between them. Whatever connection Damon had established with Gabe couldn’t shut out the physical reaction Gabe had when touched by his first love. The shock sent both Carly and Gabe flying backwards—Gabe into the rear of his car, and Carly back on her own rear, though her right wrist seemed to take the brunt of the fall.
“What was that?” Sharla asked as she gaped at Carly.
“In the car,” Carly
barked in instruction, ignoring Gabe as she hopped to her feet. There was another car pulling into the lot then, and it captured his attention long enough for both Sharla and herself to get safely in the Jeep. There was no thinking, only acting as Carly locked the vehicle, jerked back out of the spot, and pushed on the gas toward the main road south to Sterling.
Carly was halfway to Grant Manor before she noted how much her hands were shaking. Her right wrist was already turning purple and echoed in pain. But none of that mattered in comparison to the stunned look on her passenger’s face.
“What happened back there?” Sharla managed, though her gaze was fixed out the window.
“I’m not quite sure,” Carly admitted.
“That wasn’t Gabe.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Legends: Bloodline Book 2 Page 22
