Lyla watched Chase leave then turned to go into the house. She sat in the front room staring into the cold fireplace.
“How are you holding up?”
Lyla turned to see Jaden walking into the room.
“I’m okay. How about you? Ever since I got into town your entire world went upside-down.”
Jaden smiled. “Yeah well, sometimes a world needs a little shake up. Ours was a bit complacent anyway.”
“Nobody needs imminent death as a shakeup Jaden.”
“No. But having a pretty girl enter it is fun in its own way.”
Lyla’s face turned red, she put a hand to her cheek.
Jaden smiled. “I like you and Chase together, you fit. Was it a shock? Yeah, but we’ll find a way through this. We have to.”
“Jaden, I’ve wondered. Could you see me the whole time?”
Jaden looked down then back up. His eyes were big and brown and looked a bit mischievous. “Yep.”
“So when your car door hit me….”
“Yep. It was hard not running out to see if you were okay. And before you ask, yes, it was me who pushed you into Chase in the hallway.”
Lyla’s eyes widened. “That’s what started everything. Why?”
“Chase is my brother. We grew up together. When my mom died he was the only person I could count on.
“Your Dad…”
“My Dad kind of went off the deep end, he wasn’t really around for a year. So when Chase could feel you around, I saw a pain in him that wasn’t unlike what my dad went through. My Dad and I are like family to him but you, you’re his. I could see it before Chase could, it’s one of my gifts.”
“What about his parents?”
“Chase will come back later and tell us they’re going away for a few months. It’s his senior year, most likely he’s going away to college and they’re leaving. Welcome to the Fountaine’s. The most selfish people in Lakeland.”
“I’m grateful he’s had you then.” Lyla smiled at him. “Jaden, will Kayla come around at all?”
Jaden leaned against the couch and flicked his finger at the fireplace. A flame erupted and overtook the logs. Jaden had a smart academic look like his father. Tall, broad shouldered and dark brown hair just as messy as Chases’, he wore glasses over big eternally sad eyes and had dimples that winked at you when he smiled. Nobody would guess he was one of the best football players on the team.
“I’m sure eventually. I just hope she doesn’t say anything she can’t take back.”
“I’m surprised you never held it against Chase.”
Jaden looked over at Lyla and contemplated his next words. “That would be ridiculous. Chase has never played with her emotions which is the only reason I would ever have of disliking him.”
Lyla instantly liked Jaden.
An hour later Chase walked through the back door to where Mr. M was teaching Lyla how to throw someone with her mind. Poor Jaden was the guinea pig. He picked himself off the ground and cracked his neck. He stood before them, flashing Chase a smile.
“You really like that punishment?” Chase smirked back.
“I can handle it. Bet you can’t throw me as well as Lyla.”
Chase raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Step aside, everyone.”
Lyla rolled her eyes. “I’m going in to make some sandwiches.” Lyla walked past Chase flashing him a smile.
He winked back.
Lyla went into the kitchen and watched the guys through the window being all macho and getting nowhere. Chase could barely get Jaden a foot off the ground, let alone make him fly. Lyla made the sandwiches, put them on a tray with some pickles and walked out. The minute Lyla was within sight of Chase. Jaden was thrown through the yard over the fence and past the neighbors. Hard. He landed in a soft heap of dirt from the beginnings of a pool.
Mr. M and Chase reached him first. Jaden was sitting half in and half out of the mound. He had dirt in his hair and all over his face. He looked up and smiled. Dirt was in his teeth.
“Hi guys! Where you come from?”
“Oh boy.” Mr. M and Chase walked over to Jaden and very carefully picked him up from both sides.
“I love you guys.” Jaden’s head looked a bit wobbly. “Your girl is really pretty.”
Chase looked over at Mr. M, alarm on his face.
“Jaden, how many fingers am I holding up?”
“Three.”
He was holding five. “Oh boy. Let’s get you back to the house. They carried Jaden through the yards to the back door. They helped dust off the dirt and placed him on the couch with a pillow and blanket.
Mr. M motioned for everyone outside. “What the hell happened?”
“Lyla walked into the yard.”
Mr. M’s eyebrows rose, then he sat on the bench overlooking the rose garden. “Tell me what you felt.”
“I was trying to get Jaden off the ground. I remember the feeling of struggle then in one surge, all this power flowed into me. Like a kind of euphoria. I felt the rush of it, which was really intense, it was like being loopy happy. The spell magnified and before I could stop it, Jaden was through the yard.”
“No more practicing here. It’s too dangerous. We work on inanimate objects next not people.” He looked at Lyla and Chase, worry lines marking his forehead. “I saw your bag in there, is it a long trip this time?”
“Yep. They said a few months.”
Lyla couldn’t help but notice a twinge of sadness in Chase’s words. His parents were leaving much like hers had.
Mr. M nodded and walked away.
Chase turned and stared at the empty bench.
Lyla, unsure of what to do, came up behind him. “You know, this winter is pretty pathetic. Now Ohio, now that’s a winter.”
Chase turned and looked up at her. He pulled her down on to the bench and wrapped his arms around her. “You don’t say.”
Chapter 8
New beginnings
Spring break was almost done Chase and Lyla spent most of their time tending to Jaden who sustained a large concussion. They played card games or cozied up in the bedroom. The day before they headed back to school Chase pulled Lyla into the bedroom, pulled out a box and handed it to her. When she opened the box, a ruby ring in the shape of a heart with two small diamonds on either side was winking at her. Lyla gasped in surprise.
“Since ours are basically tattoos, I wanted you to have a ring from me. For us.” Chase slipped it on her finger.
Lyla threw her arms around Chase’s neck and kissed him. When they finally pulled away Chase smiled. “So I guess you like it?”
“Like it? I love it! It’s so beautiful, Chase.”
Chase gave her a warm smile. A knock came at the door. “Yes?”
“Come on out for dinner.”
Lyla started for the door but Chase pulled her back. He placed a hand behind her neck and pulled her up to his mouth.
“I love you Lyla. No matter what we’re up against, I love you.”
“I love you too Chase. I’m also hungry.”
Chase laughed. “Okay, food time.”
Lyla looked around the table at the new men in her life. Jaden was sweet and Mr. M was everyone’s protector and teacher. She trusted him implicitly. Then there was Chase. The equivalent to a Tommy Hilfiger model, he had no idea how much he made every girl he came in contact with daydream. Lyla’s stomach fluttered just thinking about him.
“What do you think, Lyla?”
Lyla was snapped out of her thoughts by Mr. M. “Think about what?”
Mr. M smiled. To be in love at eighteen was such a great feeling. It was something he had been lucky enough to have and to lose.
“I’ll be uncloaking you from the teachers but they’ll be a little confused every time they see you until you do your own charm, will that be hard?”
“No. No, it won’t.” Lyla busied herself with eating. A little flushed from being caught in her, own head.
Later that evening Lyla waited in the bedroom for Ch
ase. It should have felt strange but it didn’t. Just a few months ago she was a high school student living at home. Now she was a wife who would be fighting for her new life very soon. Lyla pushed all thoughts of death away and focused on what was to come.
Chase was talking with Mr. M about what to expect at school now that Lyla was uncloaking. She would draw a lot of attention just being new. Chase knew there was more to it. He knew there was not a boy alive who wouldn’t notice her. He wanted to tell her how to dress but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Why didn’t she own baggy jeans, big sweatshirts and have scraggly hair? Why didn’t he think to go shopping for her? She would have been miserable. The temperature was nearing the high eighties already and it was just April. God help him if he saw one boy cop a feel.
“Chase?”
Chase snapped back to reality and looked at Mr. M. “Sorry.”
“You look a little worried. Is this about Lyla?”
“Yes. I just….I…”
“You haven’t had to deal with anyone else as competition.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you really truly worried?”
“Look at her, I mean, what if she likes the attention? What if she realizes she made a mistake or is resentful because she wants to play the field?”
Mr. M laughed. “Play the field? Oh Chase, are you serious? Have you had a good look at yourself lately?”
Jaden was walking by at that point. “What’s up?”
“Chase is worried.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Yes he is, he’s worried.”
Chase ran a hand through his messy hair, agitated.
Jaden stood in the doorway and leaned against the frame. “Worried about what?”
“Lyla is uncloaking tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Then it hit Jaden. “Oh, you think she might like someone else, that her real soul mate is out there? That she’ll look at some guy in the hall and say, ‘yeah, it’s him, that’s who I should be with’. Is that it?”
“Well, when you put it that way, it seems pretty stupid.”
“It is, you’re like Apollo, get over it. Good night.” Jaden waved a salute goodnight and left.
“Nothing like a little perspective from your brother eh?”
Chase laughed. “Yeah.”
“Seriously, this whole thing is just insecurity. Don’t weigh yourself down with it, it’s a wasted emotion. What you two have most people would kill for.”
Chase stood. “Thanks Dad.” Chase laughed, but the words really did mean something. “Ya know you really have been my Dad all these years. Thanks for that.”
Mr. M was caught off guard and unable to speak. He nodded as Chase left the room. “Well I’ll be.” He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.
Chase came through the door and his heart stopped. Lyla looked sad staring out the window. She looked up at him and smiled, a sparkle coming to her eyes. Chase sat down next to her and picked up her hand.
“Hi.”
Lyla leaned forward and kissed Chase. “Hello.” She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s tomorrow.”
Lyla sat back. She had absolutely no idea what he meant by that.
Chase saw her confusion. “I don’t know. I guess I just have to say it. I’m nervous about school. Nervous about how I’m going to act.”
“What do you mean? Is it me?”
“Yes and no.”
Lyla’s heart felt like it stopped. Chase was worried about them together at school. She repeated the words, ‘I will not cry’ over and over in her head... “I could home school, I suppose.”
“What? Oh god, no. It’s not that. How could you possibly think I wouldn’t want you there?”
“You do want me there?”
“Yes!” He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit. “I don’t know how I’m going to react when everyone sees you….and when I mean everyone, I mean the guys.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t want the jerks at school to like, I don’t know, fawn all over you.”
“So you’re acting strange because you don’t want people to meet me?”
“I want you all to myself, there, I said it.”
Lyla melted and smiled all at the same time. She didn’t say anything, she just kissed him. “I can live with that.” She whispered.
Chase picked Lyla up and carried her to the bed. “I like this married stuff.”
She giggled. “You do?”
“Yeah, I get to see you last thing at night and first thing in the morning. And nobody can get pissed at me for doing the things to you I plan on tonight.”
Lyla giggle screamed and hid under the covers where Chase followed.
The next day they arrived at school a little early. Mr. M arrived before them to get the beginning of the spell started.
First class was Ms. Waters.
Lyla and Chase walked in hand in hand and sat down.
“Hello.” Ms. Waters approached Lyla.
“Hi.” Lyla began her charm in her head while keeping eye contact. It worked, Ms. Waters was like butter for charms. Her eyes glazed over slightly.
“Oh hello, Lyla, how was your spring break?”
“Fine, thank you.”
She motioned at the two. “You and Chase? Yep, makes sense. Pretty people always find pretty people. In your case though, you’re both nice, too. Good luck!” She jangled away.
Lyla’s mouth fell open.
Chase leaned over. “She’s the easy one.” He smiled and braced himself. There were a lot of guys in first period. A lot of big football players.
The students filed in. Most glanced Lyla’s way, a girl hit her desk on purpose. Lyla flicked a finger and the girl fell. Spell completed. She looked over at Chase, a slight shrug. Chase however was trying not to howl with laughter. That was the captain of the cheerleaders. She had also been the prettiest girl in the school until Lyla showed up.
“Hey, are you new?” The center on the football team, weighing in at two hundred and eighty pounds of pure muscle leaned over to Lyla from her left.
“Yes, she is.”
“Oh hey Chase!”
“Hi Bubba.” Bubba Hoffman was an avid book reader who played football because he was good and came from a long line of players. Secretly though, he wanted to be a historian. Chase was good friends with him. Lyla looked away to the front of the classroom. Bubba motioned to Chase, “She with you?”
Chase smiled and nodded his head yes.
Bubba raised his eyebrows, smiled and gave him the thumbs up.
After class Chase draped his arm around her shoulders. Nothing said, “She’s mine, hands off.” Like this gesture, Lyla thought. Chase walked her to class gave her a quick kiss and dashed off to his. Lyla wondered how long it would take for Chase to ease into her being visible. She took her usual seat at the back of the class. The teacher stopped by her desk and Lyla made eye contact, success.
Lyla was sitting next to a girl who was chipping her name into the desk. “Hey.” The girl muttered, her hair was blue, her lips black and her eyes drawn into points despite the fact that the real shape was big and round. Her nose ring was a skull and her arms said that occasionally she cuts designs into her skin.
“So you and Chase, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Kayla know?”
“You and Kayla friends?”
“Yep. We’re buds, we hang.”
Lyla could see that. “She knows.”
“Lemme guess, that’s why I couldn’t get a hold of her all weekend, she’s like, sulking.”
“Uh, maybe?”
“Yeah. Later.” The girl got up and moved seats. Lyla was secretly relieved.
By lunch Lyla was ready to see Chase. Her second period was bad. Third she was seated next to a red-headed full bearded Neanderthal who stared at her the entire class. Fourth she tried to sit in the back again but accidentally bumped a girl who was talking a mile a minute. The gir
l turned and screamed, “Oooh! A newbie! Hi! I’m Abby!” The rest of the period she talked, and Lyla heard nothing the teacher said.
Lyla was sitting on a table outside facing the football field. Chase came up behind her and kissed her on the cheek. “How’s your day been?”
Chase sat on the seat of the table in-between Lyla’s legs. He put his arms on her legs and wrapped them around her back. It was such an intimate gesture Lyla wanted to blush.
“I think I might prefer cloaking.”
Chase laughed. “That bad, huh?”
“Not all bad. Second period I sat next to one of Kayla’s friends though.”
Chase winced.
“Yep, exactly. She moved seats. Third a red-headed giant wouldn’t stop staring at me and fourth a girl named Abby wouldn’t shut up. All-in-all I love school.”
Chase broke out in a grin. “You have to learn what we all got years to perfect.’
“What’s that?”
“Who to avoid.”
Lyla giggled.
Harley looked over at Chase and Lyla. “Look at them, they’re so happy.”
Brendan looked over as did Jaden, who smiled.
“You should see them at home. I’ve never seen Chase so happy. He whistles all the time now. That part is kind of annoying.”
“I’m glad he found her. I really am. There was always something about Chase that made me sad.” Harley kept staring at the two who had no idea anyone else was around.
“Why?” Brendan looked at the pixie, his girlfriend. “He lives in that big house, has two parents and anything he needs or wants. Heck, he has a cooler car than me.”
“Yeah, his car does blow yours out of the water.” She smiled at Brendan who scowled back. “The one thing he never had was that maternal mom thing. Lyla gave him that.”
Jaden and Brendan stared at Harley.
“Okay so I’m in a psych class right now, but it’s true.”
Brendan smiled at Harley. He reached over and tugged one of her braids. She in turn blushed.
Jaden looked over at Chase and Lyla. “Everyone is screwed up one way or the other it’s how we fix it that makes us and right now he’s fixing on sliding his hand a little too far up the right side of her skirt.”
Hurricane (The Charmed) Page 10
