“It’s a process. Let’s just say you’ve earned the right to move up to the next level.”
He beamed.
“I’m glad you’re so excited about this,” Violet said. “Ras, do you know where Professor Henry lives?”
~
Jade couldn’t brush off Violet’s comments all through her creative writing class. Instead of focusing on the rock on the table in front of her that she was supposed to be bonding with and describing intricately, her head spun with the insinuations about Logan.
Could he actually have dated that woman? And if so, why had he kept it secret from Jade? She’d never directly asked him about previous girlfriends, but he’d led her to believe that she was the first serious relationship he’d ever had. Jade could deal with exes, but dishonesty was another issue altogether. If he’d hid this from her, what else might he be hiding?
At the end of the class session, she turned in the sheet of notebook paper with her poorly lacking description of the rock. The assignment had been to not only build a fictional world around the object but to create at least three character conflicts inspired by it. Hers fell far short, but at the moment she didn’t care.
She pushed out of her chair when class ended, shoved her book bag over her shoulder, and exited the building. She’d just have to ask Logan straight out.
Walking across the campus to the history building, she clenched her hands into fists. When she passed through the deserted faculty wing and entered Logan’s office, he glanced up from his computer. His face softened into something like relief.
“Hey. It’s good to see you.” He stood to embrace her, but Jade bristled. He pulled back. “What’s wrong? Everything okay with your mom?”
“She’s the same,” Jade said. She kept her voice even, but frustration simmered inside her.
“Okay….”
Jade folded her arms. “Do you know a woman named Violet?”
Logan blinked, visibly taken aback at her question. “Yeah. She’s the—”
“Assistant to one of the professors in the history department?”
“Uh, yeah.” He looked like he was going to ask how she knew that, but Jade spoke before he could derail her train of thought.
“You’ve known her a long time?”
“Well, several years, I guess. Is that a long time?”
“Years? Yeah. I’d say that’s a while. How did you meet?” Jade controlled her breathing, slow in and slow out. His answers would either disprove Violet or confirm her allegations.
“She was a student in one of my classes back in Boulder.”
“Boulder?”
“Back when I worked at the University of Colorado.”
Jade swallowed down the lump that rose in her throat. “So it’s true.” She was unable to keep her gaze on him. Her eyes flicked to the door, roving the wood grain pattern. She visually traced the lines and felt something inside her wither.
“What’s true? What are you talking about?”
“She said you two dated.” Jade thought of Violet’s comment about Logan being a good kisser. She felt something molten rising inside her, and she had no way to cool it.
“What? No! That’s completely untrue.”
Jade arched a brow.
“I would never get involved with a student. I mean, we were friends, and she came to me for help, but—”
“You were friends?” The confirmation squeezed Jade’s gut like a fist. She tried to picture Logan talking in quiet corners with this girl, quizzing her the way he’d done with Jade last year. His eyes fixed solely on her as he passionately walked her through the material. And how could she believe things with Violet hadn’t gone further?
“Yeah, but—”
“I’m a student, Logan.”
He blinked. “Okay?”
“You just said you wouldn’t get involved with a student. But that’s not true. We’re dating.”
“That’s different.” Logan raised his hands, palms open.
She narrowed her eyes. “How is it different?”
“You were never my student.”
“Sounds like a technicality.”
“It’s not the same. If you were in one of my classes, I wouldn’t have—”
“You wouldn’t be dating me?”
Logan swallowed, his eyes darting around the room. She’d lured him into a trap with that one. “No. I wouldn’t,” he finally said.
“So you’re telling me you two never had a relationship. Does that mean you also didn’t see her last spring?”
“I—wait a minute. Do you mean at the campground?”
Jade stared him down. “Is that where you ran into each other—supposedly by accident? She said you helped her with something. How exactly do you arrange something like that without it being on purpose?”
“I was camping and I heard screaming. I had to go shoo a badger out of her tent.”
“So you were in her tent?” Jade’s hands went to her hips, and she felt her body leaning forward, her voice growing harsh.
“Well, I had to help—”
“You seriously expect me to believe this? You said you’d never been with anyone. Logan, you lied to me!”
“Whoa, hold on.” He stepped forward with his palms upturned. “I’ve never lied to you, Jade. Never.”
“You and Violet have a history. But I thought I was your first girlfriend.” A sudden flash of anger stirred within Jade.
“You are my first girlfriend!” Logan’s face flickered with a dark look, something Jade hadn’t seen before. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath as if fighting down something inside before he could continue. “My ‘history’ with Violet isn’t more than us being college acquaintances.”
“You said you were friends.”
“Friends, yes. Okay. We were friends.”
“Does she know your secret—about your strength?”
“No. Of course not.”
“And you’ve never kissed her?” She felt petty, but the question exploded from her lips before she could stop it.
“I—” Logan clamped his mouth shut. His eyes met hers, and she saw guilt in them.
Jade stared at him.
“Okay, listen. Violet tried to come on to me. I had no idea she was going to kiss me, and I stopped it immediately. But yes, it happened.”
Jade spun, unable to look at him. Her gut felt like it was full of writhing worms. They climbed up her throat and fought for release. Her chest heaved with deep breaths as she gasped for control. But there was no control to be had. Not here, not now.
“It was nothing, Jade,” he continued. “It lasted maybe a second, and it meant nothing.”
Violet’s smug expression came back to Jade, the triumph in the woman’s face taunting her. Jade’s arms clenched tight, from shoulders to fists. The venom rose like bile in her throat. She spun on her heel and faced him. “Why—” White hot anger kept her from finishing her thought as she stared him down.
The expression on Logan’s face flickered like a flash of anger igniting behind his eyes. “It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t ask to run into her, and I didn’t ask for her to accost me.” His hands gestured emphatically. When he realized it, he lowered them. But his jaw flexed, and a vein in his forehead pulsed.
“I don’t care!” Jade’s voice had risen, and she didn’t try to contain it. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?”
“There was nothing to tell!” Logan’s tone matched hers, revved to an uncharacteristic volume.
All the frustration inside her leapt out. She hurled her book bag across the room, and a sound escaped her lips, almost a growl. All her muscles tensed with fury.
A matching growl from across the room swiped her attention, and Jade turned to see Logan grab his office chair and hurl it at her. The desk was in the way, and the chair tumbled on top of it, then ricocheted into the hutch nearby. Splintering wood from the cabinet rained down, and the wooden shelves fell, crashing into the computer monitor. Shards of glass spewe
d forth. Books scattered, their ripped pages fluttering through the air.
Jade froze, eyes wide.
Logan’s body went rigid in a hunched-shoulder posture. The truth hit Jade like a punch to the gut. Her emotions were controlling him. Again.
The thought should have made her clamp off the explosive emotions, but her anxiety only mounted. The frustration and anger were still there, but now fear rippled through her body too. It fought for the reins over her mind. Her head buzzed with electricity, with the weight of all that was on her shoulders. Her power was too great. She couldn’t stop it.
She gripped her head in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. Her breaths came in quick gasps.
“Jade—” Logan’s voice had a frantic pitch that sent daggers through her. It forced her eyes back open. His brow was scrunched in worry, his hands still clawed into fists, and his shoulders still curved like a furious animal about to spring.
Everything she felt was seeping into him, and he had the strength of a tank. What would he do if she couldn’t stop her feelings? He’d already partially destroyed his office, all because of her. It could only get worse from here.
She scooped up her bag, hurrying past him as he reached for her. Her hand found the door, grappled with the knob. She gave one quick look back, shaking her head at him. “I can’t do this, Logan. I don’t know how to—I’m not…I’m not good for you.” She pulled the door open.
“Jade, wait—” Despite the tormented look on his face, he reached a hand toward her. His other one braced against the desk as if restraining him.
“Please don’t argue. I’m—” She swallowed, realizing the power of the words she was about to utter. The finality of them. “I’m breaking up with you before anyone gets hurt.”
“Wait, dammit!” It came out in almost a roar, and the ferocity made Jade take a step back. She was on the threshold now.
“No, Logan. I can’t stay here—it’s too dangerous. Just please—do me a favor and don’t call me.” As hard as that was to say, it would be easier that way. She pulled her gaze away before he could answer. Then she dashed into the hall.
She didn’t stop running until she’d made it to her car. If he’d followed, he hadn’t caught up to her yet.
With a shaking hand, Jade started her car and peeled out. She didn’t know where she was going, but she had to get away.
Violet slapped Ras’s hand away from her foot and swiped the bottle of nail polish. “That’s the worst pedicure ever! I should make you go to beauty school.”
“I can do better—just let me try again.” He grabbed the bottle of nail polish remover and scooted closer on the sofa.
“No. Just—” She almost said “just leave me alone,” but instead she huffed out an exasperated sigh. He seemed to take everything literally, and she wasn’t through with him yet. “Give me some space, okay?” She crossed the sprawling living room, plopped down in one of the dining chairs at the table, and went to work touching up her toenails. A glance over her shoulder gave her a glimpse at his slumped figure, complete with a pout on his lips. Oh, brother. The high from her confrontation with Logan’s tramp earlier that day had worn off, and she was getting sick of Ras’s hovering.
As she was finishing her last nail, a soft throbbing crept up the back of her neck, working its way into her skull and increasing in tension. The tidal wave was coming—she could feel it.
It always began this way, sneaking up on her with tender fingers, stroking her sore wound before sinking its scalding spike into her head. She capped the bottle of nail polish and hobbled across the kitchen with her toes upward to keep from smearing her nails.
She spotted the orange container. The bottle of pills was a comfort like a treasure in her hand. Her thin fingers curled around it for a moment, and she admired the fresh tan dusting the back of her arm—a week at the tanning beds had made a difference. Turning her hand palm upward, she let her gaze trail to the prize, savoring the moment for an instant before she cracked the lid and gulped down a generous portion of the pills. A soft chuckle rose in her throat as she got a flashback from The Lord of the Rings. Though she was no Gollum, this was indeed her precious.
When she tapped the pills into her hand, she frowned. There was only one to spare. She checked the label on the bottle and cursed aloud. She was out of refills. Grabbing her phone, she punched in the number for her doctor. Her hand shook as she waded through all the menus and sub-menus, pressing extensions until she was sent to the main office. A message greeted her, telling her the office closed at noon on Fridays.
She cursed again, slamming her phone down on the kitchen counter and pressing her palm to her forehead. The pain thundered behind her eyes, closing in. Her other hand still clutched her last dose of pills—she’d moved up to five of the little, egg-shaped capsules. A debate warred in her mind, but a thickening fog made it difficult to think. Should she save the pills? Try to ration them?
Maybe she could send Ras off to steal more for her. But sneaking into a pharmacy would require careful planning, and Ras didn’t have the skill set. He was sure to get caught, and if he did, she’d have complications to deal with. She needed a more covert strategy. Violet stared at her hand, considering.
The colored threads flickered. One fizzled out, then another. An alarm went off in her mind, jarring her against the fog and the rolling heat. The rest of the strands vanished in a bunch, and she glanced up into the living room. Her eyes fell on the back of Ras’s head.
“What the—” He pushed off the couch in a rough motion, shaking his head like he was shrugging off his own lethargy. His dark eyes narrowed at her. “You little bitch!” He rounded the sofa and came at her, hands outstretched, ready to hurt her.
Fear came at her, cold and quick. Violet slammed the pills into her mouth and swallowed in several gasping coughs. A thick powdery substance lined her throat. She needed a drink, but her focus was all on Ras as he closed the gap between them.
Why was he so mad, she wondered. She’d given him something to live for. Someone to please. Suddenly, it all hit home. Ras didn’t just return to normal when her threads disappeared. He remembered it all—everything from when he was under her spell.
A moment after the pills had scraped their way down her throat, the colored threads burst from her hand again. She zinged them toward Ras. Like heat-guided missiles, they found their mark around his head and latched on, diving deep into his skull.
His expression relaxed. Violet took a deep breath. Twofold relief encased her. The looming pain began to pull back, and her hold on him returned. She watched him for a moment, just in case.
His brows rose in question, and his eyes widened. “Can I do anything for you?”
Violet gave him a curt nod. “Get your keys. We’re going to the pharmacy.”
He drove, and Violet sat in the back seat of his Honda. She savored the relief from the close call and the sensation of being chauffeured.
At the drugstore, Ras escorted Violet inside, and they waited in line together. She scoffed at the notion of having to wait for these plain folk in front of her. Finally, it was their turn.
“I need this refilled,” she said, handing the bottle to the pharmacist, a man with horn-rimmed glasses and a bad cowlick spiking the crown of his dark hair.
The man examined the bottle and typed at his computer. “You’re out of refills,” he said. “You’ll have to contact your doctor to request more.”
She needed to influence him the way she did Ras. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she pulled several of the colored threads free, angling them toward the man. They flitted over him, but as with Logan, they didn’t take hold. She was closer here, within an arm’s reach, so it must be more than simple proximity. Not eye contact. Not distance. Not intention…. She frowned, trying to remember what had happened the first time. Ras had been moving furniture at her apartment. Had he bumped into her with the sofa? She wasn’t sure, but it was worth a shot. Maybe touch was the key.
“Miss?” The ma
n was watching her, waiting for a response. The pill bottle rested in his outstretched hand.
She reached to grab the bottle, cupping her hand over his so that their palms connected. She felt nothing, but a warm halo of colors engulfed his head the same way they had with Ras, telling her she had access to the pharmacist now. A moment later the threads seeping from her fingers tugged away from Ras and connected to him. The pharmacist’s mouth curled in a goofy grin, confirming him as her newest acquisition.
Violet heard a spew of curses behind her and spun to see a fuming Ras pushing past people and toward the store exit. Somehow in the transfer of energy, she’d lost him. Frantic, she cast her net back toward Ras. The cords stuck, gripped him, pulled enough to make him turn to face her.
“Miss—please step aside to let the next customer up.”
Violet turned and saw that now she’d lost her hold on the pharmacist. Dammit!
She pulled the reins back, tossing them at the cowlick guy again. They caught and transformed his expression into pliable willingness. Ras sent her a glare.
“Getting out of here while I can,” he muttered, striding away.
What the crap? It only worked on one person at a time? Violet cursed under her breath but saw the other customers shooting her confused and suspicious glances. She’d have to handle Ras in a minute. She stepped up to the desk, leaned forward conspiratorially, and spoke to the pharmacist softly enough that other customers wouldn’t hear. “I need you to refill this.” Violet tapped the bottle on the counter. “Matter of fact—give me two refills.”
“Anything else?” He gave her a gleeful smile.
“No, no, just hurry.”
“Coming right up.” He did a little hop as he left. Three minutes later he returned with her goods bagged in a crisp, stapled sack. He paused at the register, perplexed about how to proceed.
“I paid in advance,” she said, letting her voice rise so the people behind would hear. When the pharmacist’s confusion didn’t fade, she leaned forward and lowered her voice again. “This one’s on the house, right?”
Enchanter: The Flawed Series Book Four Page 9
