by SM Olivier
“I can do that,” Troy volunteered. “I’m not really needed in the hospital as much any longer. I can set up a schedule to work with Micah.”
“Do we know any precogs that may be able to help Ella?” Jaxson asked. “Who can help Alex?”
“I can work with Alex. I was with Horatio when he worked on his,” Will explained. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I might be able to find someone for Ella.” Will frowned. “I haven’t talked to Megan in years, and I’m not sure she will want to talk to me, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.”
“Does Aunt Megan,” Jaxson cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Even talk to mom anymore?”
My head snapped up as I looked at Jaxson and Jace. They never talked about their mother. I always assumed she was dead. I thought they just didn’t want to talk about her.
I could see the tightening in Jace’s jaw. Clearly, he didn’t like talking about his mother or anyone that may be associated to her. “That’s not necessary,” he said his eyes ice cold. I felt a chill run down my spine. “I’m sure one of the communities have someone that can help her.”
Jaxson was staring down at his feet. “It wouldn’t hurt to try.”
Will ran an agitated hand over his face. “She is the only high level precog I know. I must swallow my pride. For Ella’s sake.”
“She left us before that woman left us. I don’t want her anywhere near Ella,” Jace crossed his arms across his chest.
“She can help us,” Jaxson squared up across his brother. “Aunt Megan loved us, and she left long before mom did. She never liked the institute. She knew it was harming us.”
Jace shook his head. “I understand you still miss that woman, but her sister isn’t a replacement.”
“That’s a low blow Jace,” Jaxson said balling up his fist by his side.
“That’s enough,” Troy stood in between them as he gave a pointed look at Alex. Alex looked frightened as he gripped Will’s arm. “Jace, go for a run, think about this with a level head. Jaxson, can you get Alex in the shower, before breakfast? He skipped his bath last night.”
I had never seen any of the guys fight with each other. They joked with each other. They teased each other. They argued, but they never came close to a physical altercation. It was kind of scary seeing them this livid. Jace was the first one to turn and leave. Jaxson took a deep breath before he turned to Alex.
“Come on, buddy,” he bade. “Let’s get in the shower so our breakfast doesn’t get cold.”
Alex pouted. “Do I have to? I can take one tonight.”
“Tonight’s trick or treating and we’re getting our pumpkins to carve after breakfast,” Will said gently.
Alex jumped off the barstool with a whoop—the argument, in his eyes, forgotten—and ran up the stairs.
When they left, I looked at Will and Troy. Troy broke eye contact with me and turned to get some coffee. Will looked immensely troubled. “Without going into much detail, because I feel the boys need to tell you…First, their aunt left them because of the institute, and it hurt them. Then their mother left us when we decided to leave the institute. That devastated them. Jaxson was a Mama’s boy, so he still misses her. Jace was older. He saw and heard more things. He had a better understanding of the situation. He handled them leaving differently. But Megan was a good woman. I wouldn’t reach out to her if I felt she would harm Ella.”
I felt like another bombshell was dropped. It only further showed me how much more I needed to get to know my guys.
After breakfast, Will took Micah, Patrick, Alex, Ella, Chip, and Nadia to the pumpkin patch a few miles down the road. He declined any of us going with him, so I helped Drake clean up the kitchen before I went to find Remy. I hadn’t seen him since last night, and it wasn’t like him to skip our Saturday morning run.
After looking in his room, I decided to head to the basement. Drake was out in the pool doing his morning laps. I knew Troy, Jaxson, Noah, and Jace had gone down to the basement to work out.
“Has anyone seen Remy?” I asked as I came down to the bottom step. “He’s not answering my text.”
I could tell that Jaxson and Jace was still at odds with each other. They were squared off once more. Troy and Noah had their arms crossed over their chest, in between them. All the conversation abruptly stopped.
No, it’s not obvious that I’m the topic of conversation, I inwardly snorted to myself.
Jace looked over at me with an inscrutable look. “I think he went to We 7.”
I nodded. All these secrets shrouding us was suffocating me. “Okay, well I’m going for a run.” It kind of hurt me that Remy hadn’t even let me know that he wasn’t going to be here.
I had a feeling Molly’s visit had upset him in some way, but I hated feeling like I was constantly being shut out. I hated that Jaxson and Jace had never told me about their mother. I understood their need to handle their emotions the way they felt was best, but it also made me feel like they didn’t feel like I was worth the effort to be confided in.
I tightened my shoe strings on my running shoes and did a quick warm up, put on my headset, and turned on Drake’s iPod before I headed out towards the road. My feet on the pavement was oddly therapeutic. I was still troubled, but at least I had an outlet for all these negative feelings.
I should have been more aware of my surroundings, but I was careless. I hadn’t seen the dark van parked off on an old access road beneath the billboard advertising Knightstown. My music was blaring in my ears, and I knew I was running at a much faster pace than I generally did. I was pushing myself hard. I was running from the demons and insecurities in my head.
One moment I was running on the road, and the next it felt like I had hit an ice patch. My feet went out from under me, and I didn’t have the time to stop myself from falling hard to the pavement. I felt and heard the resounding crack to my head. I tried to roll over to my knees and blinked in confusion, my vision blurring. What the hell happened?
I saw five pairs of feet and legs surround me. “Quick, someone inject her before she can protect herself,” a timid nasally voice demanded in a panicked voice.
I tried to compel them to leave. Nothing. I then tried to erect my forcefield. Nothing. I held up a shaking arm, trying to produce a fireball. Nothing. I took a deep breath trying to focus on any of my gifts, but they were eluding me.
Through the fog in my head I saw a beautiful girl with black cropped hair squat down in front of me, her elbows braced on her thighs. She wore black makeup, including her lipstick. Her eyebrows, nose, lip, and ears were covered in piercings. She gave me a cruel smile before she looked up at her companions.
“This little thing is someone I should fear?” she scoffed as she extended a finger towards me. An electric bolt shot from her fingertip, and I felt like I was struck by lightning as my body convulsed uncontrollably in pain. My hands went out from under me and my face connected with the pavement this time.
I gasped in pain as the residual effects of her gift wracked my body. My vision was doubled. I felt a warm stickiness running down the back of my head and neck from my original fall. My whole right side of my cheek was already swelling. It made it even harder to look out of my right eye.
“Knock it off, Static,” another voice reprimanded her. “The boss wants her in one piece.”
Real original nickname, I scoffed inwardly.
“She will be,” another male voice said with chilling glee. I braced myself for more pain as I felt my body engulfed in ice. I felt like I was being plunged into freezing water. “Just slightly broken.”
I felt so close to blacking out as I looked up at the billboard. I was unable to focus on any of my gifts. The pain in my body was too great. Jaxson! I screamed.
“Blake, what’s wrong?” his voice came to me immediately.
“Help,” I gasped. “Billboard.”
I thought I was being offered a moment of respite as the ice left my veins. “Is that all you have,” I mumbled. My voice sounded slurred even to my own ears. I couldn
’t access my gifts, but I needed to stall for as long as possible. I knew they were here to get me. There was no way in hell I was going to be separated from my family and friends again.
I heard another female laugh to my left. “She’s got balls, but mine are bigger,” she said smugly before I saw weeds from the side of the road begin to crawl towards me. The long vine-like foliage wrapped themselves around me to the point that I could barely breath. The vines constricted painfully around my chest and throat.
When I felt the vines finally recede from around me, it felt like everyone was so far away. It felt like I was seeing everything through a blurry tunnel. I thought I saw Drake as a force field was erected around me, successfully separating me from my tormentors. I heard the chaos and shouts, before I finally allowed the pain to take me away
I came to as I was being carried into the bathroom. I looked up at Drake and was instantly lost in his blue eyes. He should take his glasses off more often, I thought. I reached up and touched his face. He hadn’t shaved today so the blond and light brown stubble was rough against my palm.
“You found me,” I breathed in relief. My body was still riddled in pain.
A look of sorrow and regret entered his eyes. “I was done with my swim and found out you went out by yourself. I tried to catch up with you, but I was too late to stop the worst of it. Luckily, Gavin, Jemmy, and Rachel were on their way home. Then Micah showed up to teleport you back here, while we went after the people trying to get you.”
“Why the hell was she out by herself?” I could hear Will curse from my bedroom.
I was unable to hear their response as Noah came into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Drake had turned on the shower and was waiting for it to warm up as I lay naked in his arms. He gingerly walked me under the warm showerheads. He was carrying me like I was make of glass.
Noah stripped down to his boxers. “We’re so sorry Blake,” he muttered as he stepped in front of us. He methodically started to lay his hands on my face, my hands, my arms, and I sighed in relief as that pain receded. He touched the back of my head last. “Anywhere else?”
Drake cleared his throat as he slowly lowered me. “Her back and hips,” he said his cheeks stained red.
I should have been more self-conscious being naked in front of them, again, but I was still shaking from the shock of the morning. They were stripped down to their boxers, and I felt no shyness or embarrassment. They were my connections.
Noah placed his hands on the only physical areas that hurt.
I sighed in relief once more and leaned in closer to Drake, wrapping my arms around his middle. I saw Noah reach around Drake and grab my shampoo. I almost groaned in pleasure when he massaged my scalp with the shampoo.
“You have blood in your hair,” Noah explained as he gently worked it through my hair.
“It’s becoming an awful habit,” I tried to joke.
Noah groaned as Drake began to run his hands up and down my back. “Don’t quit your day job, Blake. You really scared us this time,” he murmured with regret lacing his voice. “We’re never leaving you alone again.”
I could still hear the muffled shouts of Will through the bathroom door. “I was careless.” I sighed. “I should have been paying attention, or taken the route on the property, but…”
“You were too worried about Remy, Jace, and Jaxson.” Noah reached around us to grab the conditioner. “Troy and I have already told Jace and Jaxson that we need to air everything out…but…”
“Jaxson still misses his aunt and mom, even if they abandoned them,” Drake finished quietly. “And Jace thinks he’s been coping with it correctly.”
I tried to shrug, “I understand why it’s hard to talk about our demons, but I wish they could talk to me about it, if or when they felt the need to. I feel like my life is pretty much public knowledge, but not theirs.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Noah hedged.
“Oh yeah,” I said slightly upset that it seemed like he was defending them. “Who in your circle of friends doesn’t know Molly is Remy’s cousin? Does anyone in your lives not know Jax and Jace’s mother and another significant female in their lives, are still alive?” After a moment of silence, I continued. “Just as I thought,” I said bitterly. “The person that should probably know these things, doesn’t.”
“They will,” Noah sounded contrite, and then he said confidently as he ran his fingers through my hair with the conditioner, like a comb, “When they’re ready.”
I had to stifle the growl of frustration. I counted to ten and then I nodded. “I can accept that.” I closed my eyes, feeling beyond tired. I couldn’t let my anger and hurt fester. “I just don’t want to always be in the dark. I feel like you guys know pretty much everything about me,” I finished quietly.
Noah finished washing my body with my loofah and body wash. I was nearly sleeping on my feet by the time they were finished.
I woke up sometime later in my bed. I felt like I was in a vice grip, before I realized it was Jaxson cuddled against my chest. He was asleep, his long black lashes fanned across his cheeks. I reached up and caressed his cheek.
He slowly blinked his eyes open. A look of relief spread across his face. “Hey beautiful,” he croaked huskily, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Hey there,” I responded quietly. “What time is it?” I asked looking around. All the curtains were drawn, making it difficult to see what time of day it was.
He lifted his arm and pushed the side of his watch, the green light briefly illuminated the face of the watch. “1:22,” he stated as he dropped a kiss on my nose. I could feel a tremor wrack his body. “Please don’t ever scare me like that again. When we got back here, you looked dead.”
“What happened? I know Drake said he arrived there shortly before Rachel, Jemmy, and Gavin showed up, but how did Micah get there? He was at the pumpkin patch.” I ran comforting hands along his back.
“I called Dad and told him to send Micah to the billboard,” Jax explained. “Drake had the forcefield protecting you, and Gavin was tapping into your gift, but,” he cleared his throat. His voice came out thick. “He said it was really weak. He felt like you were slipping away. He thought you were dying. He was able to keep them occupied until Micah brought you back here and we arrived there.”
I shuddered. “I was running, I didn’t even see them. I slipped on a patch of ice that came from nowhere. I fell and hit my head, hard. I couldn’t get my bearings. I was unable to use my gifts. They wanted to inject me with that damn drugged balls that those women had in them. They didn’t need to, I was…helpless to stop them,” I felt tears on my cheek. “Those sadistic bastards decided to toy with me and electrocuted me, it felt like they poured ice through my veins, and had weeds nearly strangle me to death. I thought I saw Drake before I passed out.”
He gently kissed my tears away and pulled me closer. “Anyone of us could have acted like that. There were five of them, and they took you by surprise, but they won’t be preying on anyone else ever again,” Jaxson said with a voice full of steel.
Chapter 24
“How much trouble am I in,” I asked Jaxson as I slid on a pair of jeans.
He was laying on my bed, his arms braced behind his head. We had talked for a little while longer before I decided I needed to face the music and see how the children were doing. I had wallowed in my own misery long enough. It was a terrifying experience, and I knew it would continue to haunt me until I learned to cope with it, but I knew me. I knew the longer I dwelled on my demons, the larger they got. I needed to stay busy, keep my hands and mind busy.
Today was Halloween. I should be down there carving pumpkins with them. We planned to make pumpkin seeds. We wanted to make ‘spooky’ treats with them.
Jaxson looked confused for a moment. “Dad was upset that you went out there by yourself, especially with everything that’s going on, but he was furious with us. I thought I lost the fear of my father, until today. I swear he was thi
s close,” he said as he held up his thumb and forefinger mere centimeters apart in illustration, “…to spanking and grounding us.”
I couldn’t help but giggle, even if the situation had been grave. “So, no spankings or grounding, for me.”
Jaxson sat up suddenly and slid to the side of my bed. He bit his bottom lip, and I could see the desire enter his eyes. “Why do you like spankings?”
I paused as I pulled a soft sweater over my head. I cocked my head to the side in thought. “I don’t know. My dad was a huge believer of spare the rod, spoil the child. However, I rarely needed them. I wasn’t a bad kid. Ornery? Mischievous? Yes.” I answered him, knowing exactly what he had meant.
He mocked growled at me before lunging at me. I squealed and tried to run from him. He was faster and bigger. “You know that’s not what I meant,” he gently nipped my ear.
I squealed again. “I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.” I paused dramatically. “Although, with the right guy, I can imagine it might…intrigue me.” I flirted with him.
“So, help me, Blake,” he growled in my ear. “If I find out you allow one of them to spank you, before me, I…I…”
I pushed away from him gently and placed my hands on my hips. I wanted to tease him, but I was slightly perturbed at the idea that they would share our most intimate moments. “You’ll what? Are you telling me that you guys act like a bunch of old woman in a knitting circle, swapping stories about me?”
He had the grace to blush and duck his head. “No,” he held up his hands. “Honestly,” he insisted. “We never tell each other what goes on behind closed doors, but that doesn’t mean we don’t assume things.”
I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easy. “And you assumed I haven’t been spanked yet?”
“Well I—” He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts. “I don’t know. I just.” He looked down at his feet before digging his hands in his front pockets. “I just want to know what it’s like to be with you, completely. Left to my imagination, I assume none of the other guys would want to rush you into stuff like that.”
