Boxed Set: The Ink Series Volume 1-5

by Holly Hood

  Claude hurried down the steps in his robe.

  “If I’m not allowed to come in than where do you want me to sleep?” I scratched my head. “And where is Karsen?”

  “She’s inside trying to calm her nerves,” Nona griped. “You almost took her head off.”

  I crossed my arms planting my feet. “Everyone keeps saying that. But if that was true she wouldn’t be inside right now. And you’re Nona, since when are you mad about anything?”

  Nona’s red hair flitted in the breeze as she shook her head in disbelief, maybe because I was talking to her the way that I was. I wasn’t sure.

  “I may be Nona, but I am not putting up with this nonsense.” She took a step down the stairs. “The entire family was worried about you for hours. Not to mention the drinking and driving, and now my car.”

  I couldn’t believe she yelled at me. She never yelled at me.

  “Aren’t you the one always saying you’re rich?” I held my head as the honking continued. “And why is everyone on their porches?”

  “Because you hit my car and almost drove into my home!” Nona screamed.

  The horn died. Dad slammed my car door shut.

  “I don’t even know what to say right now,” he started. “What has happened to you?”

  Was he in fact going there? “Nothing, I was at a party. I had a little too much to drink and I thought I could drive home.” The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

  “You’re not old enough to drink,” he said, scolding me in front of everyone like I was a little girl, like he was perfect. “You could have killed yourself and Karsen.”

  “And I bet that would have made you all feel better,” I snapped. “Nothing else I do seems to work.”

  Dad started up the stairs. He shook his head in disbelief.

  “What? Is this too much for you, Dad? You can’t handle your drunken daughter wrecking your life?” The crowd was growing. “Only one drunk allowed in the family at a time.”

  Nona started down the stairs. “I am going to kick her ass.”

  “Leave her alone, Mom. She’s drunk.” Dad said. Nona stopped in her tracks.

  “This is me. What more can you expect growing up with you and mom?” I sighed; I didn’t care anymore if I hurt anyone’s feelings. I wanted to hurt his feelings.

  “I understand your upset, but now is not the time,” Dad said. “Hope, you know this isn’t you.”

  I tugged at my hair. “Stop saying that. This is me; I’m just good at hiding this to take care of you. This is me.”

  Karsen hurried down the stairs. She thought she could stop me, she thought she knew me like they all did. Maybe she did, but what was there to understand anymore about me? I didn’t know, so I knew they didn’t.

  “Your being an asshole right now, and my job as your best friend is to let you know when your being one.” She grabbed me by the shoulder. “Now shut up before you say something you can’t take back.”

  Ha. If she only knew I thought to myself. I pulled away from her and when she tried to grab me again I shoved her. She fell backwards into the sand.

  I didn’t bother asking if I could go upstairs and go to bed. That if they let me sleep maybe in the morning I would be tolerable. I knew I would be miserable in the morning, right now and maybe for the rest of my life.

  Chapter 15

  I opened my eyes. The sunlight filled the room and shocked my senses. I rubbed my eyes trying to focus.

  “Morning,” some strange guy said.

  I touched my hair and checked to make sure I had on clothes.

  The strange guy stood up, in nothing but boxer shorts. He stared at me, holding onto a bowl of cereal.

  “I’m Hutch’s brother. Mac.” He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. “You thought we slept together or something didn’t you?”

  “No. I just didn’t know where I was.” I said. “I was really drunk last night.”

  “Believe me, I know,” he said.

  What did that mean?

  Hutch entered the room with two bowls of cereal.

  I took the one he handed over and scooted over so he could sit down.

  “How you feeling?” he asked. He took a bite of his food.

  “I feel like I was hit by a car.” I rested the bowl in my lap. I wasn’t hungry.

  “You were really drunk last night. I got to say, I’ve never met a more stubborn girl.” Hutch’s brother left the room leaving us alone.

  “Whatever I did or said I apologize.” I didn’t even want to know what I did. I imagined it was horrible.

  “No reason to apologize.” Hutch shrugged. “It was kind of cute watching you tell me off, cry, and puke over and over again. Not to mention the hour long sob fest about Slade and your mother.”

  I covered my face with my hair. “I could die right now.”

  “A few years ago, I was at this bar in Colorado. I got plastered, took all my clothes off and tried singing to the jukebox,” Hutch said. He smirked, setting his bowl on the end table.

  “I would have rather done that than cry in front of someone,” I sighed. “I swear I am not as crazy as I seemed last night.”

  “I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you’re going through a lot. I think you have been through a lot too,” Hutch took my uneaten cereal and stood up. “I’m glad you felt you could come here.”

  I didn’t know how I got there. I was glad I made it and wasn’t laying on the sands somewhere. “Me too.”

  Hutch smiled. “What do you say we go for coffee? Try to kick the hangover’s ass before it kicks yours for the rest of the day.”

  I nodded anything was better than sitting there trying to forget how much of an ass I made of myself last night. I hardly remembered anything. But, it was probably better that way.

  After a few minutes of pulling myself together in Hutch’s bathroom I was ready to go. I thanked the heavens I could brush my hair and wash my face of all the smeared mascara. I even brushed my teeth with my finger and pulled my hair into a mess of a bun with a stray rubber band I found in one of the drawers of his bathroom.

  “Thanks for the t-shirt,” I said staring down at his old vintage t. “I had to get out of that top.”

  Hutch nodded. “I appreciated that top. You were stunning last night.”

  I walked alongside him down the boardwalk, the sun excruciating. “Last night, what I remember. It was like nothing I ever imagined.”

  Hutch agreed with me. “That’s the same way I felt the first time I realized I lived amongst such beings, made me feel less freakish.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever understand any of this. It’s shocking every time I see something so bizarre.” We took a seat at the Shore café in front of the big windows.

  Hutch sat down across from me. “It’s incredible and amazing.”

  I opened a menu. “I thought Karsen was going to kill that friend of yours.”

  Hutch lifted his own menu. “K?”

  I nodded. “He’s a rude guy.”

  Hutch didn’t deny it. “He’s complicated. But he has a purpose. Everything has a purpose.”

  I rubbed at my temple hoping our waiter would appear soon. “If I remember right he said he came here because of you.”

  Hutch nodded. “He wants my help”

  I leaned in. “With?” Now wasn’t the time to get secretive.

  “He thinks I can fix his problems. But little does he know I am not the guy for the job.” Hutch opened his menu and studied it. “He wants something back.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.” I wondered why Hutch couldn’t just speak in English and not circle around the answer.

  “The less you know about his issues the better off you’ll be. He’s not your average guy, if you get my drift.”

  I rolled that around in my brain. “He’s supernatural?”

  “Of the most complicated kind, and he feels he was wronged by a girl. I think every man’s problems all lead back to love. Even the ones who don’t like to admi
t it,” Hutch said with a grin.

  “Love, who needs it,” I said.

  “Each and every one of us, what is life without love?” Hutch arched an eyebrow daring me to say otherwise.

  “So much better,” I argued. “Love hurts, no matter what kind it is. It always ends up hurting.”

  Hutch shook his head. “Your words say otherwise. Last night I think I figured you out.”

  I gave Hutch a dirty look. “Yeah right.”

  “You want more than anything to feel loved. The kind of love that is unconditional.”

  What did he know I thought to myself as the waiter came over ending our chat? “I’ll have a coffee, black.”

  “I’ll take a green tea,” Hutch said. “Am I right?”

  I pushed my hair behind my ear. “No. You’re not right. You’re not even close.”

  “Then please explain it to me. What do you want?”

  I wanted a lot of things. “I want devotion. I want love. I want to be the best thing that happened to someone. So vital they would die without me.”

  “That’s love, Doll.” Hutch said. “The most insane kind.”

  I dropped my chin to my palm. “The most unobtainable kind.”

  The waiter placed my coffee in front of me. I watched the steam swirl.

  “Can I tell you a secret?” Hutch asked. He shook a packet of sugar looking at me. “I’ve found myself becoming more and more infatuated with you every time we spend time with each other.”

  My cheeks warmed. I couldn’t look away.

  “Am I wrong to admit that you affect me like no other?” Hutch slid his hand across the table and took mine. “It’s weird to say that.”

  I squeezed his hand. “I think it’s cute.”

  Hutch rolled his eyes at my smile. He didn’t like that I found his confession cute. I focused my attention out the window trying to wiggle away before I said something awkward back.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t like him.

  I gasped almost spitting my coffee. “What is he doing?”

  Hutch followed my glare. “That’s Tucker and your father right?”

  I nodded unable to speak. What was my dad doing with him, I didn’t know but I wanted to find out. I wanted to explode, I gripped the table getting ready to take off out of the diner and confront them right in front of everyone on the beach.

  Hutch grabbed me before I could take off. “Get control of yourself before you do something stupid.”

  “After everything I have been through because of Tucker he continues to talk to him?” I dug my nails into my palm. I couldn’t hold down the anger. The cream and sugar rattled against each other.

  Hutch let me go and grabbed the container before I made an even bigger scene.

  “You have to control the anger,” he said. “Or it will destroy you. There are some things you can handle with magic and some things you have to handle as yourself.”

  I sat back down. He knew more then I knew. If I went out there on the beach I knew I would regret what I would do, even if the thought of doing something mean and evil to Tucker sounded so perfect.

  “Fine. When I get back home I will talk to my dad as his daughter nothing more,” I promised Hutch standing up. “I got to go.”

  Hutch dropped money on the table and stood up following me outside. “Take care of yourself. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

  “Of course I do,” I grinned. Hutch took me by the chin. I let him kiss me on the cheek. “And thanks, Hutch.”

  He stared at me confused. I squeezed his arm. “For making me feel special. You’re a great guy.”

  “No, you’re just a great girl and I like to point that out,” he said with a smile.

  I waved and headed down the boardwalk back to Nona’s.

  Chapter 16

  Nona and Claude were gone.

  I paced the wooden floors of her elegant dining room, waiting for Dad to come home. I didn’t care how long it took, I would wait.

  I needed to know what Tucker was doing with him. After everything going on I could paint a dozen scenarios and I didn’t like a single one of them.

  I thought I heard something outside and ran to the window. He still wasn’t home.

  I sighed; taking off up to my bedroom, I grabbed clean clothes out of the dresser. If I was waiting I would at least shower. I needed to rinse the filth off of me after my night of partying.

  A night I hardly remembered. I wasn’t proud of myself for getting wasted. I woke up feeling terrible. I was sure I caused a lot of problems. I undressed and opened the glass door of the shower. The water hit the marble tiles and steam filled the room. I closed my eyes enjoying the hot water as it rained down on my head. All my worries swirled down the drain. I knew they would be back as soon as my shower ended.

  I started lathering my hair, thinking about parts of my life I hated to think about. I thought about Georgia. I changed so much, Karsen was right. This girl was not me.

  The fact that it happened so fast was ridiculous. I couldn’t believe someone could lose their way so fast. I didn’t even like the new me.

  I rinsed my hair and cut the water off. I feared I didn’t know who I was anymore. Back home I did, I was part of a family, with two parents that pretended they loved each other, and music, dancing and friends. I laughed a lot. And I smiled at the little things. I didn’t smile anymore.

  Dad used to be someone I relied on. I used to know he was there for all of us and I was free to just be a young kid without a care in the world.

  I wiped at the mirror.

  “Look at you,” I said. “You’re pathetic.”

  I combed my wet hair and hurried to get dressed.

  I headed down the stairs, scouring the first floor for any sign of Dad. I reminded myself no matter what happened I needed to stay in control and not lose it.

  The screen door opened.

  “There’s more out in the car,” Elliot told me. He carried the groceries into Nona’s kitchen without even a hello.

  “Is dad with you?” I asked, looking at the door.

  Elliot came back through. “We took Nona’s Mercedes for groceries.” He said, short and to the point.

  “I wanted to talk to him.” I noticed Elliot’s expression; he wasn’t thrilled.

  Dad came in the door. “Elliot, I can’t carry all the groceries myself.” His eyes settled on me.

  I put my hands behind my back trying to keep calm and hold it together. It was bad enough my family treated me like a freak of nature.

  “Hope says she wants to talk to you,” Elliot told him. “Can I take off so you two can get the drama done and over with?”

  “I can help carry the rest of the groceries in with you,” I said.

  Dad sighed. “Tell your brother if you see him to be home before dark.” Elliot nodded taking off out the door before Dad could change his mind.

  I followed after him down the stairs. “Where are Nona and Claude?”

  Dad grabbed bags from the trunk. “They took the car into the body shop to get repaired. She is still upset with what you did.”

  I held it together. “I know, believe me I know, it took a while to remember everything that happened but I remember and I feel bad.” I never intended on wrecking my car or Nona’s. That wasn’t me.

  “Do you remember pushing your best friend last night and taking off?” Dad headed up the stairs. I grabbed a bag and followed after him.

  “Yes, and I will deal with Karsen later.” I dropped the bag on the counter. “I’m here to talk to you.”

  He walked out of the room making me chase after him once again. “I thought you said everything you needed to last night. You mean you have more insults to throw at me?”

  I took a deep breath; he made it hard to stay composed. “I was angry.”

  Dad let out a dry laugh. “You know they say the truth comes out when you’re drunk.” He slammed the trunk shut. “Maybe the truth came out.”

  I crossed my arms watching him go up th
e stairs. “Are you going to talk to me or berate me?”

  “Say what you have to say, Hope. I have a lot of things on my plate for the day,” he pulled out two loaves of bread and put them in the bread basket.

  “I saw you talking to Tucker.” There I said it. I wasn’t about to beat around the bush anymore. He was making me nuts and I couldn’t take much more from him.

  Dad nodded. He didn’t deny it; he wasn’t even surprised that I brought it up.

  “Yeah I did.” He bent down and rifled through a bag. “We talked about you. About how ever since you met Slade you’re a different person.”

  Heat coursed through my entire body and filled my cheeks with fire. “And you thought talking to Tucker was the right thing to do?”

  Dad opened a bag of chips. “Your little meltdown last night got around town. Tucker came to me. He wanted to help me help you.”

  I swore I was hearing things. “Tucker wants to help me. Oh this is just bizarre.”

  Dad chewed as if he was thinking about telling me or maybe forgetting the whole thing. “I tried to stay in denial about everything that has happened to you. But I can’t and I know I need to come to terms with the fact that you’re a different person.”

  I shook my head.

  “And it’s all because of that desperate punk that thought he could convince my daughter to fall in love with him so he could ruin her life for the sake of his own,” Dad sighed. He wiped his hands and started on the groceries again.

  “His name is Slade. And you know nothing about what happened to me.”

  “I know you’re not yourself anymore,” he said. “You’re not the girl I raised. You’re reckless and angry.”

  “Slade has nothing to do with why I am angry, Dad.” I couldn’t understand why nobody could see that. Why were they all so quick to blame Slade for everything bad that happened in life?

  “He has everything to do with everything. And I know how to fix it.” He shut the drawer. “Tucker says every witch has a connection, a maker. Slade is the one who did this to you. And if Slade is no longer around than I get my daughter back.”