Shades of Amber

by Morgan Smith

  “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

  A whimper escaped as he pulled me into his chest. My arms circled his waist of their own accord. He felt bigger, stronger. His voice had always gotten to me, but now it made me want to let down my guard.

  “I’ve waited so long for this,” he whispered against my lips.

  I mumbled something, but he swallowed my words. That was good since I might’ve said I still loved him.

  Our tongues tangled for a moment, and then I pushed him away.

  My boyfriend was dead; there was no way around that little detail.

  “Back to reality already, cher?” He flipped a light switch.

  I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes.

  We were in a closet.

  Troy looked solid in his navy button-down and charcoal trousers; smelled solid too. Just like the clean, sexy man that he used to be. I tried not to inhale as he leaned close, but his scent was slowly chasing the fight from my body.

  He caressed my arms up and down. It was soothing, but I couldn’t let him have the upper hand, so I surveyed the small room, frantic for an escape.

  Maybe I could whack him with a broom.

  “It was difficult to track you down at first. No one wanted to give up your schedule, but I can be very persuasive.” He took a step back as his gaze swept my body.

  “You’re awfully quiet. You should be happy that it’s really me, but since you ignore all of my phone calls—I should have guessed you wouldn’t let me into your life so easily.”

  I wanted to scream and throw things, but I couldn’t move. “I can’t believe it.” I straightened my posture and met his gaze. “What do you want?”

  He came forward.

  “Don’t. You’re not real.”

  “I am.” He reached for me, but I tucked my arms over my chest.

  “How can you be here?”

  He bit his lip. “Well, I took this fast road-beast called an automobile and arrived at this educational facility to see the girlfriend who hasn’t wanted anything to do with me….”

  “Shut up! That’s not what I mean.”

  He studied me.

  “What. Do. You. Want?”

  “You should know that by now, Jade.” He touched my cheek. “All I want is you. Your heart and your soul.”

  “You’ve had my heart, but no matter what you are, you will never have my soul!”

  He shook with laughter.

  I glared at him. “Go ahead, underestimate me.”

  “No, cher, you underestimate me. I’m different now.”

  “Yeah, you’re psychotic.”

  “Ouch, Jade.” He staggered back with a hand over his chest. “You wound me with your negativity.”

  “I have you to thank.” I barely finished my sentence before he had me pressed against the wall.

  “What is it you think I’ve become if you would call me a thing instead of a person?” He lingered for a several seconds, and then paced the room.

  What indeed….

  “You’re not the same man you were so… you tell me. What is it you see when you look in the mirror?”

  He rubbed a hand through his hair before turning his back to me. “I would if I could.”

  Lunging toward the exit, I twisted the knob and propelled myself forward. The bright hallway blinded me as I hurried toward the stairs. Despite my common sense, I glanced back, unnerved by the sight of him leaning against the doorjamb.

  He didn’t speak, yet his words echoed in my head. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Jade.”

  Once Burned

  Once burned, twice shy...

  That's how I feel when I think of my guy.

  The love of my life,

  my very best friend.

  He disappeared,

  then came back again.

  His love is hypnotic,

  His personality unique.

  But if I open the door,

  and share my love,

  My lifetime,

  Who knows what I’ll find...

  When his definition,

  And mine

  Are no longer the same kind.

  -Jade

  Chapter 9

  How could Troy be here?

  I drove down the street, willing myself to calm down. I’d always assumed he was just haunting me. I never considered he could be something else.

  He didn’t deny it.

  When the light turned red, I sent a group text to Amelia, Faith, and Mariah: meeting at my house, now please!

  Painful thoughts swarmed as I took full advantage of the designated 40 miles per hour.

  I’d spent so long trying to forget about him, and now he was back? How was I supposed to process this?

  My keys were still in the door when my friends dashed onto the porch.

  “Wow! You guys must have broken a record somewhere.”

  Amelia groaned from the physical exertion. “Hey, it sounded like an emergency.”

  “Oh, it is,” I said as they followed me to my square dining table.

  Mariah exhaled. “So what’s up?”

  I zoned out, unable to resist the memory of our rendezvous in the dark. If Troy knew how much I still wanted him, he would never leave me alone.

  My shoulders slumped. “Troy is back and he’s—different.”

  Faith choked on her gum. “Your Troy?”

  “Do we know any other handsome, slightly obsessive guys named Troy?” Mariah asked. “But Jade, did you hit your head or something? He’s been dead for over a year.”

  My brain conjures a scathing retort, but I settle for saying, “My head is fine. He caught up with me in the library a few weeks ago, then he started calling me, and today, he ambushed me outside of my class.”

  Amelia shook her head. “How is he different, though?”

  “Troy is really back?” Faith shook her head. “I thought you were dreaming. I’m sorry, Jade.”

  “I didn’t want to believe it either.” I took a deep breath. “Troy is flesh and bone. I just don’t think he’s human.”

  Mariah rubbed her shoulder. “Since when has Troy ever been human? Sexy, yes, but that boy has fewer morals than—well I’m not sure, but he was never a saint.”

  “That’s not nice,” Amelia hissed.

  “What the heck? She just said he’s back, so it’s not like I’m speaking ill of the dead!”

  “I want my life back.” I rolled my eyes. “Now, I kind of wish he was a ghost, at least he wouldn’t be able to physically come after me.”

  Faith’s usual smile was nonexistent. “If he’s not a ghost, then what else can he be?”

  Mariah shrugged.

  “I’m afraid to find out.” Amelia massaged her temples with her fingers. “What can we do?”

  I stared at the ceiling. “Faith, aren’t you in a class about urban myths?”

  “Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”

  “Have they talked about things that don’t cast reflections?”

  A charged silence filled the air.

  Faith paled slightly, so I gripped the edge of my chair as the other girls leaned forward.

  When she didn’t speak, I waved my hand in her face. “What?”

  “Dear God.” She withdrew the rosary from her blouse. “If this real, I don’t know what we can do to protect you.”

  My lips pressed into a thin line. “The situation is real, but how can I protect myself when I don’t know what I’m up against.”

  “He can’t be this. It’s impossible.” Faith drummed her fingers on the table. “He faked his death to toy with you or something.”

  “No. He is stronger, faster, and scarier. Now spill.”

  “There was an entire chapter on Vlad Tepes.”

  “Dracula?” I rubbed my forehead. “Come on, Faith. Am I supposed to hang garlic and—I’ve seen him at school—during the day.”

  “My professor says it’s not impossible that vampires exist because most legends start with reality.”

&nb
sp; There were no words. We just stared at her until the knocking started.

  Would the day get any—nope, I would not finish that thought.

  I made my way to the door as thunder interrupted the fourth knock. Looking out the window, I turned back to them and shrugged. There was nothing but the dreary sky. After a few seconds, I headed toward the table, practically shedding my skin when the pounding started again.

  My fists balled as I hurried toward it. I jerked the door open, realizing too late that my only protection was the locked screen.

  Troy stood there in all of his dark grandeur, looking as dry and crisp as when he accosted me at the school.

  I looked past him to the stormy sky. “What do you want?”

  He gripped the wooden doorframe. “I already told you what I want.” His voice lowered. “And I don’t think your friends want to hear all the details of our relationship.”

  I snorted. “Our relationship? What planet are you on? You’ve been gone for two years and because you feel like it, you think you can just waltz back into my life and take control? Over your dead body!”

  His gaze bore into mine. “Okay,” he said with a smile that held a thousand secrets.

  I was leaning too close to the screen. “Wait, what?” I glanced in the living room and saw my girls armed with frying pans and cooking utensils as they used the couch as a shield.

  When I turned around, he was looking past me. I followed his gaze and saw the same scene in the mirror.

  He sighed. “If you intend to run from me, you should invest in better bodyguards, cher.”

  I crossed my arms. “We could defend ourselves better if we knew what you were.”

  Troy smirked as he caressed the wooden frame. “What I am? I am the same man I was—only better.” He pulled his hand away, revealing a splinter.

  I cringed “Better…how?”

  His expression turned earnest. “I’m older, wiser; I’m certain you are the only woman I will ever want.”

  “Well, it’s too late, I don’t want you anymore. And you’re not the same.”

  ¤¤¤¤

  …Troy…

  “I’m not the same?”

  Wild curls swayed as she shook her head.

  “I am the same, Jade. When you wound me, do I not bleed?”

  A drop of blood formed as I plucked the wooden shard from my index finger.

  Jade stared at it for a moment and then fainted.

  It was the perfect opportunity.

  The screen door almost came off in my hand, but that would’ve raised more questions. Our eyes locked as Faith slipped a pillow under her head. She had the most compassion, next to Jade.

  Rocking on the balls of my feet, I fought to control my tone. “I can help her.”

  Amelia and Mariah glared, but remained silent.

  I took a deep breath and tried to gain Faith’s attention. “She hit her head pretty hard, let me do something. She might have a concussion.”

  Amelia groaned. “This is your fault to begin with! And unless you learned medical training while you were dead, we don’t need you.”

  “She’ll always need me.”

  Faith moved toward the door, but Amelia grabbed her arm.

  “Earth to Faith! What are you doing?”

  She paused. “I think we should let him help her.”

  Amelia’s jaw fell. “Why the heck would we trust him?”

  “You’re right.” Faith shook her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  I punched the doorframe. This was going to be more difficult than I expected.

  ¤¤¤¤

  Jade

  Even in the darkness, I could sense his presence. I should have known Troy was more than a ghost all along. The temperature always spiked, as if his very soul was on fire.

  When I opened my eyes, my spirit was hovering in the corner as my friends surrounded my body. My gaze went to Troy. He was in a crimson haze.

  I was thirteen when my Aunt Cinda taught me about auras, but I didn’t think they were real. I had never seen one; I just wanted to learn something cool.

  The swirl of red suited him. He was strong-willed, powerful, passionate, and full of barely controlled rage. He was desperate to get to me, and in a way, I was grateful for this unexpected moment of clarity. It gave me the upper hand—for once.

  He was a beautiful specimen: all male, but there was danger and darkness in him. My breath caught as I realized how much my heart still ached for him.

  A few months ago, I would have traded anything to see him again, but now I couldn’t erase his fiery aura from my mind. If his essence looked like that when he was kept from what he wanted… what would it look like, and what would he do when he found out he could never have me?

  As I pondered my new thoughts, he paced back and forth, his patience lessening by the second.

  How dangerous was he?

  As if someone flipped a switch, his anger melted into something else. His eyes transformed from a dark, hooded anger to a sparkling hazel.

  It made me nervous.

  “I need to go, but I hope you move her so she can wake up on something soft,” he said with an edge to his voice.

  Faith stared after him until Amelia spoke. “Well, he was right about one thing… Faith, Mariah, you get her arms and I’ll get her legs. Let’s get her upstairs.”

  They all agreed, and before I could see anything more, I was sucked back into my body. Panic gripped me when I tried to open my eyes, but it was no use. Had I hit my head so hard that I slipped into a coma? I could hear their concerned voices as they fussed over me, so I tried to relax and come up with a plan.

  ¤¤¤¤

  …Troy…

  My night was looking up.

  I tapped the glass until a startled Faith opened the window. “Don’t scream.” My voice soothed her panic. “You are going to invite me in, and then you will sit in that chair.”

  “Please, come in.”

  I climbed through the window and gripped her shoulder. “When you hear your friends, you will forget everything that happened since they left.”

  “I will forget everything,” she said as I moved toward Jade’s bed.

  A mixture of triumph and desire coursed through me as I gathered her in my arms. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this.”

  We were two houses away by the time their screams filled the air. I stepped out of the shadows when a black Cadillac pulled to the curb.

  “Good evening, Charles.”

  He nodded and opened the back door. “Mr. Montague.”

  I placed Jade on the seat and slid beside her as he shut the door. The hem of her T-shirt rode up as she curled up with her head in my lap.

  It didn’t matter that she’d forced me to take extreme measures. She was here now.

  I brushed her hair from her face as we sped down the highway.

  She was an angel when she slept.

  ¤¤¤¤

  Heart & Soul

  You're my heart,

  My fire.

  What else do you expect

  When you deny your desire.

  I want your heart,

  And your soul.

  Nothing else can save me from the cold.

  Say you'll share with me one love,

  One lifetime.

  Give me your heart,

  And I'll give you mine.

  Think of me,

  As I think of you,

  And I promise,

  I swear,

  Our love will stick like glue.

  -Troy

  Chapter 10

  Jade

  First, there was darkness—then there was Troy.

  It was a beautiful illusion.

  The world moved around us as we sat in the back of his luxury car. We locked eyes for a long time before his lips curved up. He seemed surprised when I lifted my hand, but then he allowed his cheek to rest against my palm. “You feel so real, but I have to let you go,” I whispered as I shut my eyes. �
�I need to wake up now.”

  My lashes fluttered three times before I realized I wasn’t hallucinating, and then there was screaming.

  “Shh, hush now, Jade.”

  I leapt to the other side, startled by the voice in my head. “What are you?”

  A smile crossed his face as he reached for me. “You should rest. You’ve had quite a day.”

  I stared at the amber ring on his index finger as his thumb stroked my hand.

  His smile widened as he tucked my bangs behind my ear. “You don’t know why it looks familiar do you?”

  I shook my head like a sheepish child and kicked myself for the way I was acting.

  He couldn’t be that hard to resist, but the longer I looked at him, the more I wanted to give in to temptation. If the eyes really were the windows to the soul, his were doors to the abyss.

  I wanted to look away, but his hand caressed my hair, keeping me still as the other circled my wrist. Before I knew it, I was seeing a memory reflected in his eyes?

  It should’ve been a hallucination, but it wasn’t.

  The sun was bright as we played at his beach house. The air carried dozens of scents with the breeze, tickling my nose as if I were there again. That had been one of my favorite summers. A large tree shielded us from the sun as he pushed me in a white swing. Back and forth I went, until he pulled me to a stop and kissed me.

  I didn’t know he would disappear from my life a few months later.

  Blocking out his memory, I tried to project one of my own—the day he left me.

  It took all of my concentration to make the vision as vivid as a movie. I wasn’t sure he caught it until his grip tightened.

  My gaze hardened as I thought about that dark, rainy day. I should have suspected that something was wrong because he’d been acting differently.