by Leilani Love
Alex’s grin makes Kati shiver in response as he looks her over. His eyes pause when he gets to her chest, and she tightens her hold on the towel. She tries to stand a little taller and look down her nose at them, trying to imitate the look she has seen Violca give when some guy annoys her. “You have nothing I want to see. Make sure the door doesn’t hit your ass on the way out.”
They both move forward and Kati feels her back hit the lockers behind her. Her eyes widen when she feels the lockers behind her as she tries her best not to give into the panic that is starting to rise.
“I think it’s time we prove to ourselves whether or not that picture was photo shopped or not.” With that Alex reaches out and yanks the towel from her gasp and drops it behind him.
Squeaking, she tries to cover herself when she hears an unfamiliar voice, “Is this where the jocks hang out during lunch?”
Alex and Rick both turn to the voice and she notices them tense. Glancing over their shoulders she sees Eryk. Kati has seen him around, but since she keeps to herself, she has never talked to him.
“This is a private party, Eryk, you should leave.”
Eryk glances at Kati, and she thinks she sees a note of sympathy in his green eyes. She blushes, wishing she could just melt into the floor. Her one arm crosses her chest as her other tries to cover herself. Her legs squeeze tight together. Kati is sure she can actually hear the sound of her knees hitting as her legs begin to shake.
Eryk nods. “I don’t think you guys were invited either.” He smiles at them, his eyes narrowing. “If you want we can fight about it, pretty sure I could kick your ass before the teacher hears us.”
Rick and Alex glance at each other before Alex turns his back to her. “Next time Kati.” He says before walking out, bumping Eryk along the way.
Eryk slowly walks to Kati. Picking up the towel and wrapping it around her, he keeps his eyes on hers. “Are you okay?”
Kati nods, swallowing past the lump in her throat. “I’m fine, thank you.”
Eryk nods, the look on his face saying he does not quite believe her. “Why don’t you get dressed and I will wait for you by the door to make sure no one comes back, okay?”
Nodding, Kati waits for Eryk to get to the door. Sitting on the bench she feels her body shake. Hearing Eryk shuffle, she takes a deep breath and begins to get dressed, determined not to break down in front of him.
Chapter 16
A sigh escapes Eryk as he leans against the door. Picking up her sorrow, he shifts a little. He should have entered sooner but had to wait until the teacher walked past to not be seen. Running his fingers through his hair, he hears Kati walking toward him and turns, trying to smile reassuringly at her. “I was going to have lunch when I heard them, would you like to join me?”
Kati nods and walks in front of him, looking down. Following her out one of the side doors, he takes the other side of a bench she chooses. The smell of her nervousness fills the air. “I don’t think we have met yet, my name is Eryk.”
Kati looks over at him, smiling shyly. “I’m Kati.”
“Nice to meet you, Kati.” They both pull out their lunch and eat quietly. When they finish their sandwiches, Eryk looks at her. “Can I ask what’s up with those guys?”
Kati shakes her head, and he can tell she does not want to talk about it. “They’re just jerks.” He notices she fidgets with her fingers, playing with the side of her jeans. “Thank you for helping me out.”
Eryk smiles at her. “It was my pleasure, trust me. Maybe next time I will get to punch that smug look off their faces.”
Kati laughs and he grins. He has never heard her laugh before, and he enjoys watching how her face changes, relaxing, making her look more her age. Eryk had thought Kati and her sister were pretty, but when Kati smiles, she is prettier than her sister Eva. Glancing at his watch, he smiles. “I guess we should go back to class.”
Getting up, he swings his backpack over his shoulder and follows her to the door. “Hey you have Mr. Reynolds for math, right?” Kati nods and he smiles. “I don’t suppose you would like to hang out with me after school and help me with some of the problems?”
Ducking under his arm as she walks back into the school, she says, “I don’t know how much help I could be.”
He winks at her, stopping for a second. “Two heads are always better than one. What do you say, would you like to?”
Kati tilts her head before nodding. “Sure.”
Eryk feels like he won a small battle. “Great, how about I meet you out in front when school gets out.”
Kati nods and they hear the bell that signals the end of the period. “Okay.” Eryk watches as she walks down the hall. He follows her to make sure she gets to her class without incident before heading to his own class.
Violca checks her phone, having a weird feeling that something is going on. Rubbing her chest for the third time in the past hour, she is sure something was hurting one of her sisters and she has a funny feeling it is Kati. She doesn’t believe in psychics, but sometimes she wonders if her mom was right about people having connections. Violca swears sometimes she can feel her sisters’ pain or if something is bothering them. The oddest thing is when one is sick or has a cut, it almost feels like she takes some of the pain into her. AnnaBelle swears, when they met, Violca healed her scratch when she fell off her bike, and that was how they became close friends.
She knows Kati is going through something, but she has refused to talk to her about it. Violca does not want to push her, but finds it hard to see her sister hurting and not have any way to help her. Eva, lately, also seems to have something on her mind, but Violca knows that Eva is more open than Kati. If she doesn’t come right out and say something, it won’t be long until she does. Eva for the most part, is an open book.
Seeing Linda, Violca smiles up at her and grabs her purse from in her desk. Linda is wearing a red blouse today with a black skirt that hangs just to her knees. Her hair is pulled back in a bun that’s held together by those little Chinese sticks, a few loose hairs around her face pull off the look. “Sorry I am running late today, meeting ran late.”
“I know how those meetings go, I knew you would be running late. I’m just glad I get to go have lunch, I am starving.”
Linda laughs as Violca heads to the door, smiling when she sees Brandon leaning against his cruiser, parked in front of the building in a tow away zone. He smiles, showing her his dimple on his left cheek, before opening her door. “Few more minutes and I would have left without you.”
Laughing, Violca slides into Brandon car. “No you wouldn’t have.”
Brandon chuckles. “Okay, you are right, I wouldn’t have, but I would have been grumpier.”
Violca shakes her head. She’s glad Brandon called her for lunch. She found herself often wondering what Chase is up to and she welcomes the distraction. He told her he would try and call her today, but so far she hasn’t heard from him. Shaking her head, she tries to focus on what Brandon is telling her as they head to lunch.
Having messaged Eva earlier that she would not need a ride after school, Kati stands outside the front, near the parking lot. She is not sure what car he drives or where he parked. Turning, she sees Melissa coming out of the school. When Melissa sees her, she smiles a snide smile before flipping her hair. Kati notices a few of the girls from the cheer squad following her and bites back a groan.
“Well if it isn’t Kati. Got tired of hanging out in the bathroom stall?”
Kati hears the girls behind Melissa giggle and feels her cheeks heat up. Before she can even think of something to say, she hears Eryk. “Sorry I took so long Kati.”
Melissa turns around, her brown eyes looking at Eryk, smiling coyly. “Eryk I didn’t know you knew our dear friend Kati.”
Eryk glances between the two before smiling at Melissa. “Actually, I know Kati very well.” He winks at her before reaching past Melissa, taking her hand. “Are you ready to go, baby?”
Kati can feel her cheeks heat up as she le
ts him lead. The surprise look on Melissa’s face is priceless. Her mouth opens and closes before a superior look crosses her face. “Well when you want to upgrade, let me know,” she says before turning and walking away with her friends.
Eryk rolls his eyes, keeping her hand in his. He leads her to his car, a red Altima, opening the door for her. Once she is in he closes the door. When he slides in the driver side he shakes his head. “I hope that was okay back there. That girl Melissa seems kind of…”
Kati finds herself grinning, finishing for him. “Bitchy?”
Eryk laughs, backing out. “Exactly.”
Most the drive to his house is spent in light conversation. Eryk mainly asking some questions about her family. When she tells him her parents are dead and that her sister is taking care of them, she is surprised to hear that he is also being raised by his brother and feels an instant kinship with him.
“Can I ask you how it is you became so popular with everyone?” When she doesn’t answer right away, he continues, “I know it’s none of my business, but I think hearing your side of the story would be better than one of them telling me there side and probably be the true version.”
Kati looks at the window and keeps her eyes focused on what they are passing. “Last year Melissa thought it would be funny to take pictures of some of the girls younger than her in the shower. Once she took mine…”
Kati stops trying to figure out how to finish the story when Eryk replies, “Did she get in trouble?”
Kati shakes her head. “No, I thought if I just let it go they would get bored and leave me alone, but so far that hasn’t happened.”
The rest of the drive is in silence. When they pull up, she follows him up the stairs. “My brother actually gets off early today. He should be home soon.”
Kati smiles and he points toward the kitchen table. “Let’s work in here, I think it has the most room.” Eryk hurries over and moves a few papers and folders as she takes out her book. Turning to the correct chapter, she pulls out a piece a paper and begins to work on the current assignment.
Chapter 17
Scott pulls up to the house. He sees Eryk’s Altima and remembers that Eryk texted him earlier saying he was bringing the middle sister, Kati, over to do math homework. He had also told Chase to make sure that he did not randomly show up.
Scott walks up the stairs, catching the faint earthy smell that is similar to Violca, but instead of the faint lavender, he smells honeysuckle. Scott’s cat seems to have an instant reaction to the scent and he follows it inside, wondering why his cat suddenly seems to be so near the surface.
Stepping into the house, he walks through the living room, hearing Eryk’s deep voice asking a question, followed by a softer feminine voice that causes him to almost purr at the sound. Scott shakes his head before entering the kitchen next to the dining room where he sees Eryk and Kati, heads both down as they work on their current math problem. Eryk glances up, smiling at him. Kati’s head slowly comes up and looks right at him. When her blue eyes lock onto his, Scott feels all the air leave his body, like a punch in the gut. “Kati, this is my brother, Scott, who I was telling you about.”
Kati smiles shyly.
He hears Eryk clear his throat and realizes he is just staring at her. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you, Kati.”
Eryk gives him a weird look before going back to his homework. Scott runs his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out why he is having such a weird reaction to this young girl. Walking back out of the kitchen, Scott decides to head upstairs to take a shower, maybe that will wake him up.
Scott has been staying up late trying to help Chase research the girls’ history. No matter what database they look in, they can’t find anything before their parents. It’s like their family history was erased and whoever did it, sure as hell did a good job. No matter where he’s looked, the link to get more information is listed as under construction or has been moved. That same message comes up no matter what they do.
After his shower, Scott puts on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Heading back down stairs, he again smells Kati in the kitchen. He walks into the living room, determined to ignore them and tries to flip through the channels, hoping that television drowns them out.
Despite his best intention, he can hear his younger brother say something about how he is glad she was able to come over and help him since he is having a hard time figuring out the homework on his own. Her soft reply makes him smile. Listening intently to them, he frowns when he doesn’t hear any noise.
Getting up, he walks to the kitchen, his excuse being, he needs a beer. Walking in, he sees Eryk leaning over Kati and growls loudly. Without thinking about it, he takes the few steps to Eryk and grabs him roughly by the collar, pulling him off her. “What are you doing?” he says between gritted teeth, feeling his cat right below the surface as his teeth lengthen.
Eryk’s eyes widen and he can smell Kati’s fear. Instantly he lets go of Eryk. The thought of her being afraid of him causes him instant regret. Eryk rubs the back of his neck where Scott grabbed him. “She was just showing me the steps she took to get the correct answer.”
Scott looks at Kati and swears when he sees her big blue eyes rounded in fear. He looks back at Eryk then at Kati, not knowing what came over him or how to explain it, “I am sorry, I…”
Kati bites her lower lip before whispering, “Eryk, can you please take me home?”
Eryk nods and walks past Scott, not even looking at him. Fighting the urge to punch the wall and swear, Scott mumbles another apology before walking out of the kitchen, down the hall. Using the back door, he steps out of the house and paces.
What the fuck happened? His brother might have been a little closer than was appropriate, but he was not doing anything wrong. Besides, what if they were doing something? They were the same age. Growling low at the thought of his brother touching Kati, he hears the car start and kicks the wall. “God dammit,” he says, fighting the urge to follow them.
Kati looks out her window the entire ride back to her home, giving him directions when they come to a turn he needs to take. She is shaking, not sure what happened between Eryk and his brother. Was Eryk the type of kid who took advantage of girls, is that why his brother was all over him? Or was his brother some weird psycho who beat on his brother?
When they get to her house, Kati opens the door and feels Eryk’s hand on her arm, causing her to jump. “I am sorry, Kati, about what happened?”
Kati nods, biting her lower lip before asking, “Does he do that a lot?”
Eryk shakes his head. “No, he has never done it before actually.” There is a pause as if he’s trying to think of the right thing to say. “He has been working really hard lately and is under a lot of pressure, but that still gives him no reason to act like that.”
Nodding, she opens the car door. “I, um, will see you at school tomorrow.”
“Okay. Again, I am really sorry for my brother.”
Kati tries to give him a small smile before getting out of his car. Closing it, she practically runs to the front door. Violca will be home soon from work and Kati would prefer not to tell her she went to a guy’s house she barely knew and that his brother pulled him off her even though nothing was going on. Walking in the house, she quickly heads to her room, avoiding Eva who calls after her from the kitchen.
Chase pulls up to the house and sees that Eryk’s Altima is not there and wonders if he is still taking Kati home. Walking into the house, he notices Scott sitting in the living room with a beer in his hand. “Where’s Eryk?”
Scott looks up at him and by the look on his face, Chase can tell he is upset. “He is taking Kati home.” Taking a big swig of his beer, he shakes his head. “Man, I don’t know what happened, but I think I fucked up?”
Chase frowns. “How the hell could you have fucked up? Did you tell Violca something you shouldn’t have?”
Scott shakes his head. “No, when Kati was here, I almost punched Eryk for tou
ching her.”
Chase starts to smile until he sees Scott’s face and hears him growl, his eyes narrowing on him. “I don’t understand, he’s not the type of kid to take advantage of a girl. Why would you care if he was touching her? What happened?”
Scott stares at his beer, his thumb stroking the top. “I don’t know, she smells like honeysuckle and I…”
His voice trails off and Chase thinks about it for a second before smiling at him. “Did you imprint on our very young witch?”
Scott growls, shaking his head. The idea had obviously never entered his mind. Chase tries not to smile as he sees his friend thinking about what he just said. Suddenly Scott growls, “Shit.” The sudden outburst causes Chase to laugh.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do now? She is too young to claim and if Viktor finds out…”
Chase shakes his head and walks to the kitchen. “I think you need another beer and I am going to join you.” Grabbing two beers from the fridge, he opens them both before walking back into the living room. Handing one to Scott, he smiles. “Think this is karma for you teasing me about getting to close to the older sister?”
Scott takes a drink of his new beer. “Viktor is going to kill us both.”
Chapter 18
Violca walks into the house and instantly feels the tension coming from inside. Walking down the hall, she sees Eva sitting in her room. “What’s going on, why is it so quiet?”
Eva shrugs. “Sari and Angel went next door to play, and Kati went right to her room after she got back from studying at Eryk’s house?”
“Who’s Eryk? I don’t think I have heard of him.”
“He’s new to the school, cute and seems nice so far. I didn’t know he and Kati knew each other until she told me she was going to his house.”
Nodding, Violca walks over to Kati’s room. Standing outside, she takes a deep breath. Violca really wishes she and Kati were closer. She always feels like she’s saying the wrong thing. Knocking on her door, she waits a second before letting herself in. Kati is sitting in her bed, sketchpad in her lap, her hair down blocking Violca’s view of her face. “Hey, how was school today?”
