Entangled (Entangled Trilogy #1)

by Anika Rahman

  “Rosemarie, I’m extremely offended that you think I’m trying to shun your questions. You know there is nothing else I would do than listen to you and answer all your questions. If anything, I think that you’re the one trying to avoid my questions, Rosemarie. Am I wrong?” James asked me curiously, lifting an eyebrow.

  “You’re partially wrong,” I said as he started laughing. His breath tickled my cheeks. I’ve never heard him laugh before but now I did. His laugh was so . . . enthralling.

  “All right. I might be wrong to a degree. Rosemarie, you have a way to make me feel all special again,” James said, finally getting his laughter under control.

  “It’s not funny,” I said, trying to step back and away from his embrace but he just pulled me closer. Oh boy.

  “What I’m trying to say is . . .,” James started as I leaned forward.

  “Rosemarie, I hereby declare that I am irrevocably in love with you. I love you, Rosemarie.” I can’t believe it. He called me Rosemarie instead of Rose. Again.

  chapter 5

  a fistful of nightmares

  I waited for him to go on, to finish his sentence. I was so on the edge and I hated being kept in the dark. I mean, instead of just taking your time, you should just blurt out whatever it is that you have to say. James was the kind of person who would take his precious time, but time is a luxury no one can afford.

  “Will you be my girlfriend, Rosemarie? I know how much you hate it when a guy isn’t straightforward so I just went out and said it. Will you be my girlfriend?” James asked in that beautiful compelling voice of his. I thought for sure that I would say yes then and there. Instead, I just stared at him as if he just transformed into a mermaid. Just imagine!

  “Please don’t look at me like that. I need to know what your decision is. Will you be my girlfriend? If no, then I will have a follow-up question for you. If yes, then I will have a different follow-up question. Please answer me. If you don’t want me anywhere near you ever again, then say the word and I’ll leave. I won’t even touch you anymore,” James entreated. He was really at the end of your tether.

  I looked down at his arms that were enclosed around my waist and then up into those beautiful eyes of his as if saying, you’re holding me now so . . . where did your promise go?

  “Right after you answer my questions, Rosemarie,” James said, taking the insinuation. What about Adrian? If I said yes to James right now, what about Adrian? I need to find out more about my past.

  “Please, say something. Anything. You can yell at me all you want just say something. I don’t like it when you’re quiet,” James pleaded once more.

  “James, I need to think about it all. You said it all at once and I just need to . . .,” I sighed. I looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes were the only thing that I could see and they were pretty. James’ eyes were pale baby-blue with shadowy black around the irises. His eyes seemed to beckon me closer to him.

  “Okay then, Rosemarie. I’ll give you until Friday. Until then, my love,” James said, taking my smaller hand in his and pecking each and every single one of the knuckles. So now he was going to call me love instead of Rosemarie.

  With that, I turned around and left. James had been watching me go but I really didn’t care.

  Once I went into the house, I had about two seconds to look up and see my older brother run up to me and cuddle me securely. He kept murmuring “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god” under his breath while I hugged him back, smiling slightly.

  “I thought that something had happened to you, Rose. You have a phone for a reason. Where were you? I was so scared and didn’t even know what to do. I called Maddie but she said that you were out with James. What did that little scum do to you? You have no idea what I’m going to do to that idiot, lil’ sis. Are you okay?” Elliot asked while I smiled the whole time. He was so overprotective, it was frustrating.

  “You think this is amusing? Rose, you don’t understand how hurt I’ll be if I lose you. I love you too much to lose you, Rose,” Elliot said and I immediately stopped smiling.

  I love you too much to lose you, Rose. You’re my everything and I can’t bear to be apart from you. I love you, Roza. I love you, said that deep, husky voice in my mind.

  Where did I hear that before? The dude had a hint of British in his voice. Abruptly, those blue-green eyes flashed across my mind. My whole world went spinning and I couldn’t concentrate on Elliot anymore. Just as I was about to fall, Elliot caught me.

  “Rose!” he exclaimed, his eyes filled with concern.

  You’re mine, Roza and nothing will ever change that. He can never take you away from me. No one can. You’re mine.

  Who is that? Every time I hear that voice, those blue-green eyes would flash across my mind. Only Adrian ever called me Roza and had those Blue-green eyes. I’m certain that it wasn’t him.

  “What’s wrong, sis?” Elliot asked. His eyes kept searching mine for some clue but my expression was impassive.

  “Nothing, Elliot. I just . . . need to rest. I’ve had a stressful day, that’s all,” I said upliftingly. However, he didn’t look anywhere near influenced.

  “You sure?” He asked, biting his lower lip, a gesture both of us inherited from our mother that showed how tense we were.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” I said, heading upstairs. Before leaving, I hugged him back again. “Hey, don’t worry about me. I’m perfectly fine and James didn’t do anything to me,” I whispered which instantly made him relax a little.

  No! You’re mine, Angel. He thinks he can have you but he’s wrong. I’ll be the one to win you over. There is no way, on Earth, Heaven or Hell, that he’ll get to you before me. Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo, Angel. Sweet dreams, said an awfully familiar voice.

  His voice sounded very familiar but I couldn’t determine where I’ve heard that before. It clearly wasn’t the other voice calling me Roza. What did Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo mean? I’m pretty sure that it’s in Latin but I am not very good at Latin . . . or other foreign language.

  Once I entered my room, I instantaneously went to my bookshelf. Once I blithely touched one of the books, the bookshelf instantly opened up like a set of double doors, surrendering me entrée to the pearly gates beyond my room. This was the only memory I had left of the previous eight months of my life. Only Elliot, Maddie and I knew about this place, no one else. I don’t want anyone to come wayfaring around this place.

  Once I infiltrated that place, the bookshelf quickly closed up behind me, leaving me unaided in the darkness. I turned on the lights and took a look around. The place was vast with plenty of space left over. The whole room was a mahogany color with other bookshelves and tables, almost like a library. The ceiling was really high up and had a golden chandelier hanging from it. The room didn’t have any windows to let the light in so you had to opt for the chandelier and the light bulbs. All the way to the far end of the left side of the room was an elevator. You can take the elevator to the backyard, a place where the other entrance to the wonderland was located. The walls had several photos hanging on it, some of them were very . . . memorable. This place could only open with my permission; it was almost like a secret hideout.

  The room was very uncontaminated and spacious. There was another set of doors beyond the library. Once you went through that, with my permission, you would have two corridors. One of them led to the kitchen, bathroom and the dining room while the other led to the set of bedrooms. Past the two corridors was a whole meadow-like place. The ground was filled with freshly cut grass and had a glass ceiling so you could look at the stars at night. There was even a set of staircase leading up to the indoor pool and the greenhouse. The whole place was like another house. I loved to come up here whenever I was upset, mad or just . . . troubled by anything.

  I hastily ran over to the table with the picture of the boy and the girl. The picture was taken in my background, last summer. It was a picture of me, gazing into his eyes while he leaned his foreh
ead against mine, scrutinizing intensely into my eyes. We looked like two people in love, but that’s not what frustrated me the most.

  I could only see the side of his face and his hair. He had curly auburn hair that fell onto my face since he was leaning his head against my forehead. I could still see one of his eyes which was an unwonted saturation of blue-green. It was so beautiful and compelling, that I felt myself craving to just nosedive into the picture. I wish that there was some way, just some way, to remember him.

  I felt my eyes burn with clandestine tears. Then, I felt someone’s breath fanning the back of my neck. Once I turned around, there was no one there.

  Don’t worry, Angel. Soon, you’ll be MINE and no one else will be able to take you away from me. NO ONE!

  Who is that? The voice didn’t sound very pleasant but instead, it gave me goose bumps; not the pleasant kind and not the unpleasant kind. His voice was so . . . entrancing. I quickly ran out of the place and back into my own room where I fell asleep, crying. That night, I didn’t have a warm dream. Just a heartbreaking nightmare, full of voices and strange things.

  * * * * *

  “Please, have some mercy, Lord! You surely don’t want this. I know you don’t,” begged my mother while I lay still in her arms. This was probably when I was a baby because I’ve never even been in my mom’s arms. Ever.

  Darleen Anne Fray Hathaway, better known as Darla, was my mother who died in a tragic accident. Only Elliot got to see her for the first five years or so of his life. She was about 5’10 and had strawberry red hair. She was very slim and definitely very beautiful. She had those signature pale gray eyes that all the ladies in her family had. My grandmother had them; my great-grandmother had them and so on. Elliot had even showed me a picture of her. I wish I could just see her in person. I had gotten her eyes and her figure, but Elliot had gotten the striking features and a hint of strawberry color from her hair. I just . . . wonder who this Lord is that she is talking to.

  “I am very sorry, Angel Darla, but there is no such force in the universe or in Heaven that can stop this. Your times are over for now. Either one of you has to die, either you or your daughter. Remember, no two of you can ever live at the same time. You do have the choice to choose who lives,” Lord said. I couldn’t really see her, only her profile.

  “Isn’t there anything you can do about it? From the beginning of time, all my ancestors died because of this stupid curse. All of us chose love over fate. This time, there has to be another way,” Darla pleaded. Lord looked a bit dismayed by her words, but showed no more emotions whatsoever.

  “Only one of you will be able to live. Hopefully, I will try to make sure that your daughter chooses the right person to marry and hopefully then, both of your future descendants can live. Who knows, maybe she can have more than one child with her future husband,” Lord said.

  “If she lives,” added another Angel whose voice seemed really familiar.

  “Do you wish to say something, Archangel Azrael?” Lord questioned.

  At last, Archangel Azrael took a step forward. Surprisingly, he looked just like James. The same pale blue eyes and the same blond hair. From my knowledge of Angels, Archangel Azrael is the Angel of Death.

  “If she dies, then the whole species of Earthly Angels will become extinct. How do you wish to achieve your goals then, My Lord?” Archangel Azrael asked.

  “Then I shall create some kind of power within her to help her survive. Remember, her soul is immortal and she has three mates. Don’t forget that. Step forward Archangels, this is your chance to help save a sister,” Lord ordered.

  “Well, why don’t you give her the power to reincarnate every 10 years or so. That way, the scale wouldn’t stay unbalanced, My Lord,” said another familiar looking Archangel. He looked exactly like Adrian.

  He was Adonael, Archangel of illnesses, healing and this is an angel of great compassion, bearing the power of Judgment upon unclean and evil spirits, but Mercy to souls that are plagued by them; hence, a great deliverer of souls bound up in shades and shadows, and great suffering.

  “Why not 50 years?” Lucifer said. He was beautiful, just as everyone described. He had beautiful blue eyes and amber brown hair. I’ve never seen him before so he doesn’t seem very familiar. Any Angel would fall hard for him.

  “How about 50 years for every time her actions kill herself and 100 years whenever someone or something else’s actions kill her?” Archangel Azrael asked, clearly enjoying this moment.

  “Alright! What do you think of it Darla? Do you accept? You are giving up your life for your daughter while your daughter is being gifted significantly. Do you accept? She will have three to choose from,” Lord asked Darla.

  “I-I accept. Take my life instead of hers, Lord,” Darla begged, tears furiously streaming down her face. “But promise me that my daughter will be immortal. She won’t die after my grandchild is born. Promise me that, Lord.”

  “Shouldn’t she be able to be immortal? For at least this moment again?” asked Angel Anael, the Angel of love and passion. She looked just like Maddie. Why am I dreaming of my friends being Angels?

  “Of course. I promise that she will have a guardian angel with her. Perhaps Angel Anael can be her guardian,” Lord said as Lord moved towards me, limp in my mother’s arms. Lord placed her right hand on my forehead while the whole meadow filled with a brilliant light so bright; the angels had to cover their eyes.

  FLASH.

  Lord took her hand away from my forehead, leaving my mother lying on the ground. She wasn’t breathing so that means that the transformation was done. Our lives have been switched. Before everything went dark, I thought I saw both Azrael, Lucifer and Adrian trying to move forward to get to me, but I wasn’t there to see who got to me first.

  * * * * *

  The following morning, I woke up from that horrible nightmare where my own friends were angels and I got to live through my mother’s death, in angel form. My whole head hurt and the weird thing was that the nightmare looked so vivid. I felt as if somehow I was there, but not exactly . . . there. Azrael, Archangel of Death, looked so much like James and Archangel Adonael looked so much like Adrian. Yet neither of them was completely like the Angels. Why that random nightmare? I never asked for it. My mother died in a car accident, or so I‘ve been told. The weird thing is, I only remember the part where my mom told Lord to make me immortal and everything after that seems . . . blurred.

  * * * * *

  When Biology class had started, just to aggravate us, Mr. Moore had begun talking about everyone’s love life. That man had no life.

  “So, James, tell us about the first time you fell in love with someone,” Mr. Moore asked, smiling broadly while looking at me, although, he was requesting James.

  “Okay. The first person I fell in love with was a girl. I have loved her for about three to four years and she didn’t love me back. She didn’t even notice me, ever. I tried to stay away from her so that she can be happy, but it never worked. I tried to befriend her little by little. When I finally asked her to be my girlfriend, she rejected me. Am I not hot or something? Why did she turn me down? Am I not the kind of guy that she would go out with?” James finished off. When he was asking the questions, he looked directly down at me. I could tell that he was asking me those questions. Everyone in the class hooted, getting the hint while I still looked into James’ eyes, never blinking. I even felt my cheeks turn bright red and that got him to smirk.

  After the end of the day, James stopped by my locker to pick me up. Even though I had told him that I could go home by myself, he kept telling me that he wanted to drop me off at home. He didn’t have to, but he wanted to.

  “Technically, I didn’t reject you and it’s not that I don’t think you’re not hot or anything, I just need to think about it,” I said, breaking the awkward silence as we walked arm-in-arm.

  “So you think I’m hot?” James smirked, tugging on my arm and pulling me closer.

  “I didn’t say that,
” I simply responded as my cheeks started to blaze.

  “So . . . what is it going to be? What is your decision?” James asked. Now this was a real nightmare. I guess I should at least give it a try. Maybe he can help me find out more about my past. Maybe not, but it’s still worth a try. What have I got to lose? What is the real reason for him asking me to be his girlfriend?

  “James, I’ll be your girlfriend,” I sighed as James grinned and pulled me in for a tight hug. When he finally pulled away, he grinned at me.

  “I love you, Angel. I’ll see you tomorrow,” James said, settling for Angel as my nickname. He quickly kissed me on both cheeks before heading home. As I headed for the door, I couldn’t help but think about the real reason he asked me to be his girlfriend. Surely, he couldn’t really love me, can he? No one ever does so why did he start to show interest in me all of a sudden? I need to find out his real plan before anything else. Does he really love me? Or is it just the . . . sweet talk to use me for something else? Would he do that? James wouldn’t really do that, right?

  chapter 6

  practice makes perfect

  It’s been exactly two weeks since my decision. James and I are still in a relationship but we act more like friends around each other, very . . . awkward friends that is. We rarely talk and when he does try to make small talk, someone interrupts. Every time I try to talk to a guy, James would magically appear by my side and wrap his arms around me. He would even kiss me on the cheeks and then gaze deeply into my eyes in such a way, there was no escape. Once I am able to break free from the gaze, the guy wouldn’t be there anymore. Possessive, much?

  Once Maddie had found out about all of this, she had just wished me luck. Every time Adrian was around, James would make sure that he had his arms around me. I wonder if they knew something, anything about my past.

  As I opened my locker, a white little envelope fell out of it. Once I picked it up and opened it, there was a little note in it. The note was more like a mini card, a pale shade of apricot color with a darker shade of apricot vining around the edges while little flowers bloomed from the little vines. It was beautiful. The writing was a script like handwriting that I instantly recognized as James’. The card read: