I take a deep breath before handing him the drawing. He takes it from me and slouches against my headboard. His breathing is uneven, but his eyes never leave the paper.
I know what’s going through his head, because it’s going through mine, too.
Mom’s shriek woke me up just before the slam of her brakes slid me to the floor of the car.
As I collected myself, Mom and Henry swapped seats and the car started moving again. But Henry was driving faster than he would, given that Mom was in the car. I still didn’t know what happened, or when I even fell asleep. I reach up and pat Mom’s shoulder.
“You okay, Mom?” I asked her quietly. She shook her head and said something that sounded like, “It can’t be them,” but I couldn’t be sure.
Flashing lights suddenly filled the dark car, the ambulances, patrol cars, and fire truck being the reason. I could see a shiny red sports car with a crunched up front end. This S-turn is so dangerous, which is why Mom refuses to take this road. Even though they posted the speed limit down to 25mph, people don’t listen, and there are accidents here all the time.
Henry pulled off to the side of the road and a bumper sticker caught my attention. It’s on the back of a dark colored Mazda and read, “Pittsburgh’s Biggest Fan!” with the symbols for NHL, NFL, and MLB. The “Pitt U” sticker in the back window froze my lungs. The “My Son Tackled Your Son” and “My Daughter Spiked Your Daughter’s Face Off” stickers broke my heart to a thousand pieces.
I jumped out of the car and took off running.
“Dad!” I screamed as strong arms caught me.
“I’m sorry. I can’t let you go over there,” A comforting, familiar voice said.
“That’s my Dad’s car!” I shouted through tears, “Sophie!!” I clawed and smacked at the arms as I struggled to get free.
“Jaz!” he yelled. “Stop right now! I can’t let you go over there. It’s too dangerous. Let them get ‘em out safely.”
“Are they…” My question fell flat and hung in the air around us. John is a friend of my Dad’s, a police officer.
“I…” He sighed and looked away for a minute. “It’s not lookin’ good, Sweetheart.” I let him walk me to the side of the road, where Henry was on the phone, and Mom was yelling at another officer.
I ignored the conversations going on around me, and watch as the firemen began to cut into the car to remove my sister. I couldn’t believe how big of a bitch I was to her earlier. She only wanted a daddy-daughter dinner. I’ll do her laundry, cook for her, help her recover, I’ll do anything.
I reach over and hold Mom and Henry’s hands as they remove my sister from the car and EMTs surround her. The firemen began cutting to get my dad out.
“Please Sophie, make it. You’re strong, just hang on. They’ve got you now,” I whispered, as I wiped tears from my face.
They retrieved my father from the car and one of the EMTs waved John to come over to them.
Movement on my right caught my attention. There was a guy in cuffs being led to the waiting police car. His head was hung over hunched shoulders and he was crying. It was also plain as day that he was stumbling drunk. He survived the crash with barely a scratch.
I looked back over to the EMTs and watched in horror as John came walking back over with his head also hung. With tears in his eyes and his head shaking, he said something that I couldn’t register. Mom started to fall to the ground screaming, but Henry caught her and just held on.
I slowly walked over to the gurneys carrying my dad and sister. Grabbing a mangled hand of each, I stared at the stars.
Why? Why now? Why tonight?
“I love you…” I said to them, as an EMT escorted me back to Henry and Mom. Leland ran over and hugged me tightly.
The drawing is that night.
There’s a boy holding onto a woman to keep her from collapsing to the ground. Police officers, fire fighters, and paramedics all busy attempting to clear the road and do their jobs. Two crushed vehicles, a young man being led to a police car in handcuffs, with his head hung in shame. There’s a girl standing between two gurneys, holding a hand in each of hers. She’s looking up at the sky, with tears rolling down her cheek. In the sky are two faces, Dad and Sophie’s.
With tears in my eyes, I glance at him to see how he’s holding up.
“This is…” He clears his throat a few times. “This is what wouldn’t leave your head?” he looks at me, and I nod. He looks back to the drawing and sucks in his bottom lip as his chin quivers. “This is amazing. I love how you made Dad and Soph angels,” he starts to cry then.
I push the drawing aside, hug him to me and cry with him.
“It’s perfect, Jazzy,” he says into my shoulder. “One day, can I frame it and keep it?”
“We’ll see, Stud. I won’t promise, but if I end up keeping it, I’ll make another one just for you.” I smile at him. He wipes his face on his sleeve.
I spend the next half hour with him, reminiscing and enjoying the time together. Wiping my face again, the corners of my eyes feel as chapped as my nose. We say our goodnights, and I try to get some sleep.
***
Sleeping is useless, after trying for twenty minutes, I give up. Every time I close my eyes, I see bits of last night’s nightmare or bits from the night my life crumbled.
I turn on my desk lamp, pop in my ear buds and start working on the soldier again. My phone starts ringing around midnight. I glance at the screen and see that it’s Seth.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he asks me, sounding very groggy.
I frown. “If you thought I was asleep, why’d you call?”
“I’m just worried about you,” he murmurs.
“I’m fine, just drawing, go to sleep,” I assure him.
“Babe, do me a favor,” he speaks a little louder into the phone.
I smile at the warm feeling that comes over me when he calls me babe. “Okay, what’s that?”
“Put your drawing, pencil, and iPod away.”
“How did you…?” I begin to ask but he interrupts.
“Well, for one, you just told me you were drawing, and two, the last song you listened to was Flannigan’s Ball. When they sang the part about kicking some guy in the spleen, you imagined doing that to Derik, and the idiot who chose to drink and drive. I must say, you have an interesting taste in music.”
I have to laugh. “Okay,” I say, still smiling. “I did what you asked.”
“Now turn off your light and climb into bed,” he says.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Are you comfy?”
“I am,” I say as I lean back into my pillows. “Are you?”
“I could be comfier, but this’ll do for now.”
My mind races, thinking of how he’s lying down now, what his room looks like, his house, and how he could be comfier.
“Close your eyes and just listen to my voice for a minute, okay,” he says quietly.
“What, are you gonna do, sing to me to sleep?” I chuckle.
“I don’t think you’d be able to sleep if I did,” he laughs. “Just do it, please.”
“Okay, my eyes are closed.”
“Jasmine, when I saw you on your first day, I couldn’t look away from you. You were beautiful and I wanted to unlock all of your secrets. Then I felt your emotions, and I knew right there in the east hallway, that my life, as I knew it, was over. I was more than happy about that, and I still am. I have my soul mate, I’m complete. Just the fact that I can call you mine...” he trails off. “I don’t care how we spend our time, if we’re together, I’m happy. We have this connection that binds us together, but if that wasn’t there? I’d still want it to be you.”
By the time he finishes his speech, I’m sitting up holding my hand to my heart. If he were here, I would probably kiss him.
“I know you’re not asleep, but you’re awfully quiet, babe.”
“I’m here,” I whisper.
“Would you do me one more favor tonight?
”
I nod but realize that he can’t see me. “Sure.”
“Would you mind, going on a date with me Friday? We have a half-day.”
Good lord, he sounds like he thinks I’m going to say no after everything that’s happened between us so far.
“Of course, Seth. What are we doing?”
“I was thinking we could go to the city and have lunch. Then go to the art museum.”
That sounds exactly perfect! “And Miss Jaynie said you couldn’t dig through all of my thoughts,” I laugh. A perfect date. The only way it could get better would be a beach trip and a carnival all in one day.
“Well, I may not know you very well, but I have gotten to know some things about you. I hope it’ll be as perfect as you hope our first date will be.”
“Our first date,” I repeat. It sounds almost unbelievable to my own ears. “I can’t wait!”
“Alright babe, I’m going back to sleep. Sweet dreams.”
After hanging up with Seth, I breathe a sigh of relief. He would want me, even if we didn’t have this strange connection.
I lie back and close my eyes. Sleep finds me quickly.
Chapter 9
Speechless
Seth walks me to my homeroom, and Tony meets me at the door when the bell rings.
“You look better this morning,” he smiles brightly.
I roll my eyes. “Well, I’ve had some time to wrap my head around the fur,” I raise an eyebrow, and he laughs.
“I’ll meet you here to walk you to second,” he bats at my pony tail before darting away. Swallowing my growl, I walk into class.
As I look through my bag, I realize I left my English book on my desk. Shit! I have English next!
I move my bag to my lap and sneakily text my uncle to see if he can run my book to school quickly.
Mr. Hare starts his lesson on the nuclear era, and try as I might, I just can’t focus on it today. My mind drifts back to last night. Seth said that I made him complete.
I’m his soul mate.
When I’m around him, everything feels right, and even if we don’t talk, I still find myself smiling. It’s honestly a bit weird for me. He’s my first boyfriend. Er, soul mate?
Why do those words fit with him? And why do they scare the shit out of me?
The class phone rings, shattering my thoughts.
“Jasmine?” Mr. Hare calls as he hangs up the phone. “You’re needed in the office.”
I stiffly nod and try to keep my fear of the empty hallways at bay. He smiles and hands me a pass as I walk to the front of the room.
Whoever built this school must’ve been a demon’s best friend.
I’m currently on the second floor of the school in the South hall. The office is on the first floor in the North hall. I groan, and briskly walk to the stairwell.
I make it to the office just fine and grab my English book from the secretary. Choosing the closest set of stairs, I run up the flight of steps and push open the door to the second floor. Footsteps echo behind me, thundering down the hall towards me. My breathing kicks up as I push myself into a faster jog and try unsuccessfully to swallow my panicked fear.
The footsteps get faster and sound closer, threatening to catch me. Hairs on my arm begin to rise as my panic rises.
I turn the corner and take off in a sprint to get to the other end of the hall to my class.
The footsteps are running after me and I feel eyes on my back. I glance over my shoulder, and nearly scream when I see an empty hallway. My body chills, goosebumps spread over me like wildfire, and the temperature around me drops significantly. It’s like I’m sitting in an ice bath. Seeing my classroom, I pant as I slow my run and slide into a locker just before the door to my class, feeling my skin crawl. I bite my cheek in a vain effort to calm down and yank the door open to the safety of my class.
Everyone stares at me.
Casting my eyes to the floor, I hand Mr. Hare the pass, before returning to my seat.
This is going to be a long day.
When the bell rings, I meet Tony just outside the door. He takes one look at me, sniffs and growls.
“What happened?” he spits, as his eyes start darting around the hallway.
“I had to go to the office,” I say quietly and push him, so he doesn’t make me late.
He rolls his head on his shoulder and cracks his knuckles one at a time.
“You could’ve waved me out to walk with you.”
“Like you told me which classroom you’d be in?” I shrug. “It doesn’t matter now, it’s over, in the past already. Let’s get moving before we’re late.” I start walking away from him, and hear him grumble something about Alpha and a tail. I ignore him as we walk in silence to my class.
What does he expect me to do when it’s in the middle of class? I can’t very well whip my phone out before responding to the teacher, or play peek-a-boo waiting for him to notice me in the hallway. I get they’re supposed to be protecting me from this type of thing. I just don’t get what I’m supposed to do when it’s a situation like that.
Do I tell the teacher they’re protecting me from a soul-eating-demon?
Not likely.
***
When school ends for the day, Seth walks me to Henry’s car to get my tote bag, in silence so that I can prepare myself for what I’m about to do alone. Henry, Tony, Barry and Flynn meet us at the doors when we enter the school again.
“What are you guys doin’ here?” I ask in confusion.
Barry takes the lead and starts walking towards the art room, seeming to ignore my question. I glance to my brother and silently ask him the same question, with just a look.
Henry sighs, “It’s not a big deal, Jazzy.”
“Really? I thought you’d just wait outside the door, but you brought these guys, too.” I’m not really that angry about it. I don’t care, since I really need all the support I could manage, but I was thinking support from my brother. Not everyone and their brother.
“We heard about what happened this morning,” he begins to explain.
“And because of the latest attack, you’re not getting rid of us,” Flynn finishes for Henry, who nods his agreement.
“Well, you can’t come in with me!” I shout to them. Seth squeezes my hand.
“Tough shit, Jaz, we already talked to Mr. B. I had him last semester,” Tony says with a grin. “He’s cool with it.”
“As long as we don’t interrupt the session,” Flynn adds.
I pinch the bridge of my nose as I stare at the floor. “There’s really no getting away from you is there?” I mutter.
Barry snorts. “You’d think someone would appreciate this kind of protection. Not everyone is so lucky to have body guards to ward off demons.”
My mouth pops open as guilt washes over me and I want to apologize, but Barry opens Mr. Becker’s door and silently enters. I watch as the guys silently file in and take seats. Seth glances over his shoulder and nods his head for me to come in with him. I’d rather the floor just swallow me up and eat me whole.
I enter the extremely silent room and wait for instruction from Mr. Becker. Everyone is so quiet, that when Mr. Becker speaks, it’s nearly a shock to my ears and causes a slight flinch, that doesn’t go unnoticed from my protection detail.
“Afternoon,” he says, “Jasmine, what do you have for me?”
“Where’s the lake painting?” Henry whispers.
I glare at him and pull a painting out of my tote. “I didn’t bring many paintings, mostly drawings.” I shrug, and hand Mr. Becker my watercolor garden, while Seth goes to the back of the room.
Seth comes back with my lake and hands it to Henry, while Mr. Becker looks over my watercolor.
He examines my painting for so long, that I begin chewing on my thumb. Seth walks over to me and runs a hand down my arm. Through the tingles, I feel a sense of calm. He’s trying to tell me to relax, I realize almost belatedly. I smile to him, and he smiles my favorite smile.
“This piece is good for a beginner in watercolor. It’s warm and light, and feels like spring,” he smiles, and my heart sinks just a little bit. “You could put this in your portfolio, but if your strength isn’t in watercolor, then I suggest we stick with your strengths.”
I nod. He makes sense. It still stings that my watercolor isn’t up to par with my lake scene, but he’s right. Watercolor isn’t something I do a lot of, or am very strong in.
Next we go through a few of my acrylic paintings, a dragon, a beach sunset, and an under the sea painting.
The giants and Henry have grouped on the other end of Mr. Becker’s desk, making my piles for me. I smile watching them. They look at each one, point, and whisper about it, before Flynn puts them into the “yes” or “no” pile. Barry catches my eye, points to the dragon and gives me a thumbs-up. I cover my mouth with my hand to contain my giggle.
He’s such a guy.
I pull out my folder of drawings, hesitating on the protective sheath that hides the physical image of memory that’s forever ingrained in my mind, and tugging the ink sketch out instead.
Before I know it, I’m tugging out the protective sheath and slipping out the drawing that’s closest to my perpetual ache, and handing it to Mr. Becker.
Seth slides a chair over and forces me to sit while Mr. Becker starts to ask detailed questions. Feeling like I’m on auto-pilot, I answer all of his questions. Seth places his hand on the top of my shoulder and lets his thumb graze the bare skin on my neck, giving me a welcomed feeling of peace.
Mr. Becker clears his throat a few times. “It’s not very often a student creates a piece that affects me like this,” he pushes his glasses higher up his nose. “This is real, it’s life. And life isn’t all sunshine and daisies.” I blow out a harsh breath and blink away tears. “Yes pile,” he says to the guys.
True Connection (The Soul Mate Series) Page 11
