Luminescence Trilogy: Complete Collection

by J. L. Weil

  I unfolded the piece of paper, a hall pass excusing my tardiness. How convenient. She grinned, reminding me of Gavin, mischief gleaming in her dark blue eyes.

  “Thanks,” I said jumping off the table. “You’re as bad as your brother.”

  “Not quite.”

  Never before had I cared about what I wore. Now suddenly nothing in my closet was right. It wasn’t stylish enough. Not sexy enough. It was all so boring like the old me.

  The new me, she wanted to be vibrant, daring, and alive. She wanted to be noticed. And most importantly, she wanted to be noticed by Gavin.

  “Austin,” I said into my cell phone the instant he picked up. “I need your help. I have nothing to wear.”

  “Say no more. Tori and I will be there in seconds. And babygirl…don’t make any decision without me. I got this.”

  I needed an intervention—a fashion intervention. This classified as a crisis.

  I couldn’t figure out if calling on the dynamic duo was going to be epic or a disaster.

  Like my two personal fashion angels, Tori and Austin arrived at my house in record time. They ransacked my closet, my dresser, and under my bed, leaving no crevice unturned. Clothes were tossed everywhere. Not a corner, nook, or cranny was left untouched by their mayhem. To top it off, the outfit they pulled together had me blushing before I’d even tried it on.

  “I can’t wear that,” I protested.

  Austin shoved the clothes in my hands. “Can. And will.” He steered me into my conjoining bathroom.

  Closing the door behind me, I picked up the jean skirt. Was this even mine? On a heavy sigh, I wiggled the skirt over my hips and then looked to see where the rest of it was. The skirt gave a new definition to mini—it was micro mini. I hoped I didn’t drop anything, because I might end up being tonight’s entertainment. And a peep show was not part of the deal.

  This had to be a joke.

  I held up the black top, a sheer, very off-the- shoulder number. Pushing my arms through the sleeves, I slipped it over my head and checked myself out in the mirror.

  I am going to kick their ass.

  Storming out of the bathroom, I shot painful daggers at Tori who was sitting on my bed filing her nails.

  She glanced up, her expression pleased. “You look freaking hawt.”

  I peered at myself in the full-length mirror. “I look worse than Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.” I put my hands on my scanty covered hips and faced her. “I look like a hooker.”

  “A smokin’ hot hooker,” she assured. “Here, I brought these over. You can borrow them. They’re purrfect.”

  I took the pair of knee-high stiletto boots from her outstretched hand. “Oh yeah, right. Like I am not going to break my neck in these.”

  “Just put them on, you baby. I’m dying to see how they look.” She was literally doing a happy dance in the middle of my bedroom floor.

  What the hell.

  I bent over, a feat on its own, and slipped my foot into the boot, zipping them up. They had a pretty pattern on them with a peek-a-boo toe in the front and at the heel. I was sure they cost more than I made in a month.

  “You got a tattoo!” Tori exclaimed, squealing from behind me. Her hand was already pulling up my shirt. “When were you going to tell me?”

  Oh, shit. I’d forgotten, and this skimpy ass top gave her a bull’s-eye shot of my back.

  Austin popped around the corner. “Our Brianna got a tattoo? Get out of here. Let me see!” he demanded, worming his way in between us.

  Feeling naked and vulnerable, I’d completely forgotten about my new body decoration. I shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.” I pushed my shirt back in place. The bigger problem was, this outfit left nothing for the imagination and barely covered the necessary parts.

  “Are you kidding me? Does your aunt know? Of course not,” Tori said, answering her own question.

  What on earth ever possessed me to think I’d ever be able to hide this from them? I chewed my lip. “No one knows…except Gavin, and now the two of you. And I expect to keep it that way.”

  “Please. My lips are sealed.” Tori air-zippered her mouth shut. Ha, I thought. That would be the day. “Where and how? I need details. You aren’t eighteen yet,” Tori rambled, over-excited.

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “Gavin might know someone.” I waited to see if either one of them would noticed anything peculiar about the tattoo, like the fact that the rainbow ink swirled in movement.

  “You have a fake ID,” Austin guessed. “Can he get me one?”

  I rolled my eyes. Boy could he ever, which was beside the point.

  Austin looked, really looked at me for the first time since I came out of the bathroom. “Girl, you are going to bring him to his knees. Look at those legs. Who would have guessed babygirl had legs like that.”

  “Me,” chimed in Tori. “Someone is going to get lucky tonight,” she sung, winking at me. God, she was worse than a guy. Every thought somehow started and ended with sex.

  “Tonight is going to be unforgettable,” Austin declared, pulling us in for a group hug.

  I didn’t doubt that.

  Chapter 21

  THE FIRST STIRRINGS OF BUTTERFLIES fluttered into my belly. I was upstairs in Tori’s bedroom finishing my hair, while a swarm of people gathered below. I was taking my sweet old time, not entirely prepared to embrace my skanky side just yet. But, if Sandra Dee could do it, so could I. There is a little bit of bad girl in all of us. Maybe more in some than others.

  I thought about what Sophie had told me about my aura, and the dark spot. I might have more darkness inside me than I knew. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d done something. What if there was evil lurking inside me? What if I was capable of darkness—dark magic?

  I shuddered at just the thought.

  When Tori, Austin, and I left for Tori’s house, I didn’t leave without out a fight. They forbid me to wear a sweater. Such cruelty. My aunt was on one of her routine date nights with Chad, missing the drama. He seemed good for her. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about her when I was off to college.

  College. I was light years behind my fellow classmates on the whole college submissions. My mind this year had been filled with boys and magic. There hadn’t been thoughts of my future. Now, with it looming in front of me, I was screwed.

  And my aunt knew it, too.

  Just the other day I’d woken up with an enrollment packet to UNC Wilmington, Lukas’s school. It might have once been my first choice, and obviously my aunt’s, but now…I wasn’t so sure. I wasn’t sure of anything.

  My reflection scowled in the mirror as I wound the curling iron around my hair. A few more chunks and this was the best my hair was going to get. I ran my hand through the curls, shaking them out. “Here goes nothing,” I muttered, taking once last look at myself.

  My heels clicked on the tile floor as I weaved down the hallway. An interior designer had decked out Tori’s pad in the spirit of Christmas. Lighted garland hung over the doorway arches, down the banisters, and alongside the fireplace mantels. Snowflakes hung sporadically from the high ceilings, and a Christmas tree adequate for Times Square twinkled in the corner. What was usually the music room had been cleared out for a dance floor and DJ.

  Tori’s dad’s wallet knew no end. He pulled out all the stops for his little girl.

  Leaning against the stair railing, a group of girls giggled wildly behind me.

  Rianne and her posse of hoodrats.

  Oh, goodie sugar plums.

  “Looks like someone forgot to take the trash out,” Rianne goaded with a sneer. Her eyes filled with ridicule and disdain.

  “Apparently. They let you in,” I grimaced. She deserved so much more. I ignored the clunking of heels as her minions trailed her down the hall. Far. Away. From. Me.

  Where the hell were my sidekicks?

  I was about to hunt them down when tingles skirted the back of my neck and the tattoo at the small of my back warmed. My eyes darted to th
e doorway.

  Gavin—looking so insanely hot, my heart melted at the sight of him. He walked through the door with a rock-star swagger, gaze sliding over me from head-to-toe, lingering in some parts longer than others.

  My pulse darted all over the place as I waited near the stairs. There was a flutter deep in my chest. He made my head swim, my knees tremble, and my blood boil.

  My composure rocked, a small smile crept over his lips when he reached me. Mesmerized, I could barely pull my gaze from him, but his eyes traveled up at something over my head. I lifted my head. Mistletoe hung directly above us.

  I blinked. “Oh.” I couldn’t help it. I stared at his kissable lips. The silver hoop rolled as he played with it. And I knew without a doubt he was going to kiss me.

  Gripping the banister, I could do nothing but hold on as a gazillion pearls of anticipation beaded through me. He pressed his lips against mine in a feathery kiss that left me aching and starved for more. One was never enough.

  My breath got stuck somewhere between my lungs and my throat. Dazed, my eyes fluttered open.

  He smirked. “You look…dangerous.”

  I toyed with the necklace at my throat, needing something to do with my hands. They were itching to pull him back. “Thanks, I think,” I managed to say in a breathy whisper.

  He interlocked his fingers with mine as if it was the most natural thing ever. “She’s really outdone herself,” he said surveying all the glitter, thousands of flickering candles, and lighted bulbs. There were people strewn around the great room, hanging out in the hallways, and gathering around the food in the kitchen.

  “That’s putting it politely. I thought it looked like Frosty exploded. Everything with Tori is over-the-top.” Including the lack of supervision. Her dad and his barely legal wife, Mariah, were at one of their own holiday events.

  In my mind, they were nuts to leave us alone. It was only a matter of time before their house was trashed. Or we were trashed.

  He chuckled. “Poor Frosty.”

  “I bet this doesn’t even compare to the parties in Chicago,” I said, thinking how boring our little shindig must be in Holly Ridge.

  He pulled us down on a recently vacated couch. “Considering the people I hung out with…uh, they weren’t exactly your run-of-the-mill teenagers. It feels good to have a little normal every once in a while. We need it to stay grounded.” His deep blue’s pointedly caught mine.

  Got it. I needed some normal. Easier said than done, I thought to myself. “Tori and Austin saw my tattoo.” I waited for his reaction.

  He was as calm as ever—nerves of steel. “And you were worried they might notice something different about it?”

  I nodded. It hadn’t mattered that he had told me otherwise. “It’s really hard not sharing this huge part of my life with them. We’ve been through everything together, and not being honest with them feels in some way like I’m not being a good friend.”

  “I wish I could tell you that it gets easier, but I think you’re doing the right thing by not telling them. Sometimes to protect those you love, you have to keep the truth hidden. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” There was concern in his eyes.

  “I know,” I sighed heavily, laying my head on his shoulder.

  We sat on the couch together, our legs touching, and watched the crowd come and ago. I was content, and welcomed the calmness inside me, until Gavin stiffened. The familiar prickles in the air announced another witch had arrived.

  Lukas.

  I didn’t need to glance up to know it was him. Everything in Gavin’s body language told me what I needed to know.

  I moaned, suddenly feeling like I was walking on pins and needles. I was going to puke.

  My head lifted just as Lukas and Tori strolled toward us. They looked striking together. Her long legs were accented by deathtrap heels and a blinding, sparkly, strapless little number. Lukas was in his college pretty-boy swag. I squeezed my fingers against Gavin’s. Lukas might look like the boy next door, but it was the bad boy next to me who made my heart sputter. I was starting to really realize what that meant to me.

  I loved Gavin. I never doubted that love, not until Lukas had come along and blurred that line. Finding what my heart truly wanted had been an unexpected struggle.

  Lukas’s lips spread into a crooked grin as his eyes met mine. “Wow. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you in a dress. Wow.”

  I wanted to slide under the family room rug. He looked at me like I was the only girl in the room, totally disregarding Gavin’s presence.

  Tori, utterly clueless to the sudden tension, was glued to Lukas’s side. He didn’t seem to mind. She laid a hand on his arm, oblivious to my panic. “I take full credit. Our Brianna lacks fashion sense.”

  My mouth fell open. Oh no, she didn’t. True, clothes weren’t high on my priorities, but did she really need to throw me under the bus like that? What I wouldn’t give for a hoodie at this moment.

  Introductions were unnecessary. From the glint in their eyes, they both knew who the other was, and I wasn’t about to make an awkward situation any more awkward. The room suddenly got smaller, and the air crackled with thick tension like a radioactive experiment gone horribly wrong. I was suffocating from it. Or it could be because I stopped breathing.

  Lukas’s dimples twinkled. “It isn’t the clothes that make a person; it’s the person that makes the clothes.”

  I choked.

  “I need a drink,” Gavin grumbled in a foreign voice devoid of any emotion. He promptly stood up, and I watched him walk away. I’d been doing that a lot lately.

  Austin came out of nowhere and plopped on the couch, putting his arm around me. The cushions sunk under his weight. “What crawled up his gorgeous butt?” Then his eyes roamed over Lukas like a mouthwatering piece of candy. “Oh, I see. You must be the other guy.”

  I elbowed Austin in the gut. He was not helping.

  He grunted. “I’ll pretend like that didn’t happen.” Looking up at Tori and Lukas, Austin said, “You must be Lukas. I’ve heard all about you.” The words rolled off his tongue. Austin was in his element: drama.

  “Any friend of Brianna’s is a friend of mine,” Lukas replied.

  Austin raised a brow, already under Lukas’s enchanting spell.

  What this party needed was time for things to simmer down before it started to boil. After what I hoped was adequate downtime, I went on the hunt for Gavin. Somehow we all needed to co-exist.

  The only place I had left to search in this massive house was the kitchen, which I’d been avoiding. It was jam-packed with bodies.

  Sure enough, there in the corner of the kitchen was Rianne with my Gavin. Over the last few months he became mine, and I wasn’t a sharing.

  His back to the counter, Rianne was pressed up against him, attaching herself like a leech. There really were no nice words to describe the way she was throwing herself at him. Her leopard skirt was shorter and tighter than mine. I don’t even know how that was possible and still be covering anything at all.

  It was like a punch in the gut, seeing them so close. She whispered in his ear, and all I saw was… red. Hot jealousy whipped through me, burning in my veins. Her sickening sweet laugh made me want to pull her tongue out. I was going to embarrass myself.

  I stopped dead in my tracks. Neither one of them noticed me. A million voices talked at once, but for me, the room went silent with nothing but their voices. Power swam inside my veins, and it was very hard to rein it in, but I knew losing my control now would be detrimental.

  “Where’s your girlfriend tonight?” Rianne asked, walking a blood red nail up Gavin’s shirt. “I didn’t think I would get you alone.”

  I was going to break her bloody finger. Totally eavesdropping, I waited at the tipped of the doorway holding my breath.

  His eyes hardened to stone. “What girlfriend?”

  Those words stung my heart worse than a thousand jellyfish. I couldn’t be in that stuffy room another second, not with the sto
rm that started to brew inside me. So I ran as far from the kitchen as possible. Hot and cold all at once, ran for the door, needing air and distance. There was a sea of people blocking me from escaping, and in my haste, my ankle twisted viciously. Pain exploded, making my eyes water.

  Damn shoes.

  What are all these people doing out here? I was about to have a magical mental breakdown and they were laughing, having fun.

  Hobbling mostly on one foot, I seethed as I pushed people out of my way. As unreasonable as it sounded, I couldn’t help but be infuriated by their laughter and general happiness.

  The crisp rush of the night air washed over me like a blanket. Millions of stars sprayed the sky above, but my mind was too bogged down to appreciate their beauty. The cold burned my lungs as I dragged in a ragged breath. I needed to calm down. The swirling of magic vibrated in my fingertips and hummed between my ears.

  I never heard Lukas come up behind me, until his soft voice was whispering in my ear. “Careful, your eyes are starting to glow. And we know where that leads.”

  Whipping around, I glared at him. “Shut up,” I hissed, in no mood for grief.

  His lips twitched, holding up his hands. “Hey. I’m not the enemy here, but I pity whoever pissed you off.”

  My control snapped. I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

  Thunder snarled in the air behind me, lightning split across the yard, striking a nearby tree. The sound was deafening. Over and over again, the sky was aglow in a power display of light, and the ground under my feet shook with violence.

  There I stood, in the middle of it all, shell-shocked.

  Oops.

  Lukas put a tentative hand on my shoulder, examining the destruction I caused. “Let’s get you something to drink. Plus, I could really use one. Your friend has been smothering me all night.”

  I nodded, and let him lead back inside the house, completely numb inside.

  One drink turned into two, two into three, and so forth. The shock had worn off, and I no longer felt anything.

  And I was drunk as a skunk.

  Like every great teenage party, someone had spiked the punch. The only difference this time was, bad girl Brianna didn’t give a rat’s ass. Bad girl Brianna told good girl Brianna to take the night off and go to hell.