by Rue Volley
Michael tilted his head and looked towards the center of the room and saw a large chair. A pile of what had to be someone of importance left in it. He walked quickly and then with one long jump he landed in front of the chair as graceful as a bird landing on a tree limb. He looked at the pile of bone, dust and clothing slumped in the chair then leaned forward, sniffed it and stepped back with a strange look on his face.
“Caine?” he whispered and then he looked upward and sniffed the air again.
“No.” he yelled out as he left the room in a flash, ran down the hallway and up the wide and winding staircase to the jewel of Valon… the Tower Mirror. He slammed the doors open, with little effort and scanned the room… there he spotted her and ran to her and leaned down on one knee. He gently touched the rotting flesh and then stood up, staring at the tower mirror and the large hole underneath it. He jumped up on the edge and quickly glanced back towards what was left of Lucifer and then looked down into the black water that looked old and thickened with time. He leaned down and stared as a small glint of something floated to the surface and he extended his majestic wings as they tore through the skin on his shoulder blades, moving them slowly to steady himself as he reached into the water and pulled the browning paper out. He stared at it in his hands and then with one leap he jumped into the air, his wings slowly moving… still releasing small particles of dust that glistened in the sunlight and he dropped the torn piece of paper to the floor, as he dropped into the black water and disappeared beneath its murky surface.
The paper floated slowly to the floor of the tower room and written upon it was a few simple words...
My name is Rue Volley. I live in the sleepy little town of Calvary, nestled in a valley in Minnesota. The waters of Red Woods Lake lap right up to the edge of town, and then drops off in points, like a cliff beckoning a jumper.
***
I sat on the front porch, slowly swinging my legs and staring at the tickets in my hands. I can’t fully explain how excited I was to have them and how I would soooooo not allow myself to let Kai know just how much I love his gift. If I did that he wouldn’t shut up about how he rocks and it gets old… even though I have not had to hear about it in 8 months… all the time before that gave me enough for a lifetime. I leaned back and grinned as I thought about how Sam does… rock that is. Sam keeps Kai in perspective over all, she is the reason he went to school, has been successful at school and will be what he should be. Sometimes people need that… an assistant in life to keep them on track and remind them that they need to try even when they think they just naturally do it right.
I looked out towards the woods and took a deep breath, this is that time of year… when the sweet smells of the seasons change come floating out of every nook and cranny and I love it, although it also houses my Birthday. EEEEGADDD… my Birthday. I really don’t know why I hate it so much, it’s like something deep inside of me says, “Oh God… no.” In fact I can’t remember ever wanting to celebrate it although many do and take advantage of it being just ‘their day’. I don’t know, maybe I should, maybe I should just shake this gut reaction that I have to it and celebrate just once and take in the gifts and hugs and what not and enjoy. I mean, life is good. Even including Johnathan and Brooke’s break ups and Joshua’s lack of compassion about it. Other than that I am normal, Calvary is normal… nice and quiet, just as I would prefer it to be. I stopped thinking about that as I heard a car door and looked up to see Theo getting out of his car. He paused and took a breath too, enjoying the fresh new smell of crisper air and I grinned as I watched him and then stood up, leaning forward on the railing… leaving the boxed tickets to swing alone.
“Miss Rue Volley.” Theo said as he closed his car door and walked towards me quickly. I grinned and swung out to meet him as he bounded up the concrete steps and gave me his best hug. He let me go and I smiled at him, the grin being a little bigger than usual.
“Oh… and what has you so happy today?” Theo asked as he raised an eyebrow.
I glanced at the front door and then back to him.
“Kai and Sam are home.” I said as I swung back and acted a little more giddy than usual.
“Fantastic.” Theo said as he grinned at me. I stopped swinging and stared him down.
“I would have expected you to be more excited than that.” I said as I shook my head.
Theo leaned towards me and tapped my nose. I blinked.
“I knew.” He whispered.
“What?” I said as he opened the front door and looked back at me with that contagious Theodore smile.
“Yep… have for three weeks now.”
“No way.” I said as I crossed my arms on my chest.
“What? You must think that I am incapable of keeping a secret.”
I tilted my head and gave him a look that so verified that very fact.
“Huh… I should be insulted, but not today.” He said as he smiled. He pulled a box out of his bag and there it was… present number two.
“Oh no.” I said as I pushed my hair behind my ear and Theo leaned in, took my hand and placed the box on it. It felt heavy so I had to grab it with my other hand too.
“Ohhh.... Yes.” Theo said as he messed my hair up with one tousle and I sighed, trying to juggle the box in one hand and straightening out my hair with the other.
“You so did not have to do this.” I muttered.
“What? Oh please, can we just be happy for one birthday?” he asked me.
I half grinned and reminded myself that I did say… in my ever active mind… that I should try this time… try to smile, try to accept gifts, try to celebrate. TRY is a small three letter word… but so big to accomplish with some things.
Theo swung the door open with flair and grinned at me as Josh stepped out, smiling at him and then Josh looked at me, holding this box of whatever the hell in my hands. He sighed and stared me down.
“Want me to open it up? I mean if you hate it, I can drop it…break it and take the blame.” Josh said as he continued to grin.
“I appreciate the offer… but no.” I said.
“Okay… but I tried.” Josh said as he sat down on the porch swing and stared at me. I bit my lip and looked at the box as I heard Theo’s voice go up an octave in the house and knew that he was welcoming Kai and Sam home. I walked to the swing and sat down, letting the box just sit on my lap and Josh shook his head and then touched my face and I looked at him.
“Is there ever going to be a happy Rue… when it comes to your birthday?” he asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I mean, you don’t talk about it… do you want to?” he asked me.
I looked back to the box and then shifted my weight to face him.
“I just, I don’t know. My birthday has never been a celebration for me. Getting older should not be for anyone I guess.” I said.
Josh narrowed his eyes.
“Seriously? Is that your worry? Getting older?” he said.
“It’s not like we get any younger Josh.”
“You are only 18.” He said as he started to laugh.
“I know, but next year 19 then 20 then on and on.” I said as I leaned back.
“Unnecessary.” Josh said as he took the box from my lap and laid it on the porch.
“My feelings don’t fall under that category.” I said.
“This time they do… listen to me he started to say as he turned me towards him and touched my face with his fingertips. I looked down and then into his eyes, beautiful and laced with thick eyelashes. I focused in on his lips and he spoke again.
“I see people die often… sometimes it is old age, sometimes accidental but the worst are the young and you want to know what that tells me? What I take away from seeing that kind of stuff?”
“What?” I said.
“That life is short, and yes… we get old, if we are lucky enough to and some freak accident does not come along and snatch us up, but growing old is a luxury Rue, life is unpredictable and
sometimes cruel, but aging should not be a worry.” He said.
“Yeah… we will see what you say about that when I get wrinkles, and gain weight…”
He leaned in and kissed me gently on the lips and I leaned into it. I had to, his lips were so inviting, warm and not to mention soft. I started to hear my heartbeat in my ears and he stopped and looked into my eyes.
“I will still love you all wrinkly and gross.” He whispered.
I hit him on the shoulder and he ‘owe’d’ as he laughed as me. I stood up and grabbed the box that Theo had given to me and looked at him on the swing as he snickered.
“You are older than me so I would think that the gross will infect you before it does me… then I guess I will just have to find a younger man, minus the pot belly and stuff.”
“What?” he said as he watched me walk to the steps.
“Yes, I would have to guess that you maybe have five good years left before things start going downhill and when that happens… well, I will just have to start looking around.”
“No you will not.” Josh said as he stood up and looked down at himself.
“Yep… oh.” I said as I walked up to him and touched his face. “Oh boy, looks like the sun is starting to cause some aging there.” I said as I half smiled.
Josh touched his face and then chased me off of the porch and I yelled as I tried to stop him from grabbing me, but he grabbed my waist and we dropped together into the grass… the box rolling out of my hand and sliding away from me.
I laughed as he tickled my sides and then he pinned my arms above my head and I stared him down.
“You are a brat.” He said and I giggled.
“You are an ass.”
He kissed me again and this time I forgot about where I was, that it was daylight, and that I was in my front yard with my parents in the house. That Kai and Sam were home… even my birthday… everything faded away with his lips against mine.
Chapter 3
Party Poppers
I sat in my room, staring at my window and held the gift that Theodore had given to me. I smiled as I pulled the bow apart and popped the top off; knowing that Josh’s offer to break whatever Theo got me was so not needed. Theo, unlike some people, had a keen sense of style and I had no doubt that he gotten me something awesome. I pulled the top off and stared down into a box of tissue paper and smiled, it was a deep blue… my favorite color, and I gingerly lifted the tissue aside to reveal whatever waited under it. I took a breath and smiled as I pulled out a framed picture and stared at it. The frame itself was enough to cause pause, it was black, with a lot of detail and by the looks of it, cost more than needed… but honestly, it was the picture that made it as special as I knew it would be.
I touched the clear glass on the front of the frame and smiled. In the picture I stood, along with my parents, Kai, Samantha… Joshua, Theo and Johnathan and I looked at all of our faces. This picture was taken only a few weeks after I was released from the hospital, after the accident and we all looked so happy, so at home… and so much the family that I knew that we were. At that time I still had the ‘dreams’, the weird ones of water and mirrors and colors… lots of color. I also had this odd feeling that everyone in my life had been there much longer that I knew they had been. It is a strange thing to have deja vu every single time you think about anything and I so had that for months after the accident… mainly with Joshua Barrington. My almost instantaneous feelings for him were somewhat overwhelming and yet again I felt as if being with him was exactly where I should be.
There were those… including my parents, who thought perhaps it was some sort of weird ‘hero’ infatuation that I had with him… I mean he did save me and all. They might have thought that my feelings for him would soften or fade, but they didn’t… in fact they became more intense as time marched on and I think that they just settled into it as everyone else did. Maybe it helped that Kai started to see Samantha, or that Theo was so lovable and easy to talk to… who knows, but what I do know is that they are my family and will always be, no matter what the future held for any of us.
Maybe that is my problem with birthdays, I mean… really at the core of it. It isn’t me being all moody and depressing, pouting and kicking my foot, acting like I just can’t handle any attention at all. It so is not like that. What it really is, is the thought of aging and losing people that I love. Sometimes I wish that I could freeze time right where it is and live in this moment forever. I smiled as I looked at the picture in my hand and then I stood and walked it to my vanity and placed it down, rubbing my fingers along the edge of the frame and closed my eyes, making one fleeting wish that this moment, the one captured in the photo, would be how it always will be… me and my family, together… forever.
I looked up when my door opened and smiled. Josh stood there and grinned at me as he took his ever cute position of leaning on my doorway. I pushed my hair behind my ear and glanced back at the photo and he did too. Then he walked up to my Vanity, next to me and looked down. He smiled at the photo and leaned in.
“Oh look, Johnathan is in this one.” He said.
I laughed and tapped him on the arm and he stood up.
“Of course he is.” I said as I cleared my throat.
“Ya know, he is like the guy who just pops up at weddings and no one knows him, but everyone just lets it happen as he eats the food and dances… badly I might add… and hits on the bridesmaids.”
I laughed again and walked to my closet. I opened the doors up and stared at my clothing, placing my hand on my hip.
“There will come a day that you like him Josh.” I said.
“Oh, I doubt it… seriously.” He said as he stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I pushed him off and turned to face him.
“You need to try to be nice… just try it out, it’s actually pretty cool.” I said as I grinned at him.
“What? I am nice…I just don’t get the whole ‘let me go to Rue’s and whine about my lack of romantic skills’ thing. It gets old.” He said.
“He likes to talk to me.” I said as I turned back to my closet and leaned in on my tippy toes. Josh looked at my butt, or as I refer to it as… my lack of butt, and grinned. He sighed and looked up at me as I turned back quickly with a shirt in my hands and he cleared his throat and stepped back, letting me know that he was in fact eyeing me like a pervert.
“Were you eyeing my butt?” I asked him as I tilted my head.
“Nope.” He said.
“Uh huh.” I said as I raised my eyebrow and walked towards my bathroom. He watched me and walked up to my door as I started to close it. I looked up at him and he grinned, that grin that gets me every time…exposing his crooked canines.
“What?” I asked him.
“I think I could help you… in there.” He said as he glanced behind me towards the shower.
“Are you serious? My parents are right downstairs.” I said.
“No… they are not… in fact everyone is gone right now.”
“When?” I asked.
“Like thirty minutes ago.” He said.
“Where did they all go?” I asked. Josh smiled and opened the door, stepping in as I backed up and felt the sink behind me.
“Top secret.” He whispered as he leaned down and looked at my face. I felt my heart beat jump up and I just knew that the ‘red thing’ that happens right below my neck on my chest was sure to follow. When I get flustered, that is a sure fire sign as it starts to look like sunburn on my paler than pale skin and Josh totally noticed and his grin became a little more sinister than usual. I rubbed my chest and turned to see that I indeed had the red thingy on my chest and sighed, trying to muster up some irritation, but Josh stepped up behind me and I glanced upward, I had to, since he was so much taller than me, and looked at his reflection. Damn… does he really have to be so pretty?
Josh bit his lip and touched my side as I felt a vibration flow through me and I turned and shook my head.
“I don
’t think…”
And he kissed me.
“My parents will be…”
And he kissed me again.
“I really just…”
And he kissed my neck as he lifted me onto the edge of my sink and leaned in, causing a little more vibration than usual in me. I felt his hands move slowly down my back, and he rested one hand at the base of my back and with one quick motion he pulled me forward, bringing parts of me that should not be against his, well… too close, just way to close to be safe in any way. I sighed as he let his lips leave my neck and he looked into my eyes and narrowed his, as he continued to hold me against him.
“Josh.” I whispered.
He closed his eyes and then he kissed me and instead of stopping it, I allowed him to kiss me as he always wanted to, deeper and more passionate than I felt comfortable with, but for some reason, I let it happen this time and as he kissed me, he placed his right hand behind my head, I wrapped my legs around his waist and he trembled… as I did. This was by far the farthest we had ever gone to show how we felt towards each other… and maybe it was my birthday thingy, maybe it was my sentimental thoughts of wanting to freeze time… but regardless, he snatched me up, the kissing becoming a bit too crazy and we were on my bed before I even knew it, but the crazy grabbing and sighing continued up until we both heard Jonathans voice call out and Josh ‘ahhhhh’d’ so loud it made me blink. I shook my head and tried to stand up, but my head felt dizzy and I had to steady myself on the side of my bed and try to regain some sense of balance. Josh rolled onto his stomach and yelled into the pillow and I brushed my hands through my hair, giving what I thought would be a straightening… but it wasn’t. It was a hot mess as was Josh’s hair and then Johnathan stepped up to my doorway and stopped dead as Josh rolled over and placed his hands on his face.
“Oh… sorry, am I interrupting?” Johnathan asked and Josh and I spoke at the same time.
