Dad was quiet for a moment before responding. “Your uncle was a good man,” he told me seriously. “Your mother and I both loved him very much. Truthfully, I don’t have a lot about him, but I’ll see what I can find. It might take me a couple weeks to dig it out of storage, but I’ll mail it to you when I do. As far as Anna is concerned, there isn’t much left to tell. You could always borrow the album Nadia and I made for Elyse, but I’m not sure how much help it would be. I know that must still seem strange to you, so I’ll accommodate the best I can.”
“Thanks.”
There was some rustling in the background, and I heard the garage door open when he said, “Listen, your brother just got home, and we need to run some errands, so I’ll have to let you go. I’m glad you’re settling in well, we’ll have to talk again real soon.”
“Okay. Bye, Dad.”
“Goodbye, sweetheart.”
I ended the call and set the phone down on the desk, plugging it in to charge. I’d set up the desk with my MacBook pro as a study station, and my lava lamp was heating up on the bed side table as Pandora played some music in the background. It was starting to feel like home, with all the personal touches I’d brought with me from Mobile. The lava lamp and beaded doorway were iconic to the bedroom décor and I’d even hung some posters on the wall.
Having my own room was not a luxury I expected when registering for this hall, but I was pleasantly surprised. It had a large window for natural light that overlooked the courtyard and a private bathroom, which was more than I could hope for.
As I was hanging up a dreamcatcher in the window, there was chatter in the other room, and I went to see what it was. “Lacey?”
My face lit up when I saw her and I ran to greet my newest friend. She turned at the sound of my voice and smiled, setting her luggage down on the floor. “Hey, Wynn!”
Her long black hair was clipped back on either side of her face, then pulled into a ponytail. Her lovely, Cubano skin was flushed after a day of travel, and her expression was tired. “I didn't expect to see you for another week or so at least!”
She laughed and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “Well, I thought I’d surprise you. A little bird let me know you were coming early and I didn’t want you to be here by yourself.”
“I'm glad you did! I stole the back room, I hope that’s okay.”
Lacey shrugged. “That’s cool. Love what you've done with the place,” she commented, gesturing to the new decor.
“Oh, thanks.”
“Lacey, aren’t you going to introduce me?” an older, curvaceous woman asked her from the doorway. She had the same dark hair as Lacey and smile lines on her cheeks. The family resemblance was too strong to ignore, so I assumed it must be Mrs. Dunaway. She had pale, blue eyes like her daughter. It was so iconic they reminded me of something … of someone….
I shook it off and plastered a smile on my face, hoping they hadn’t noticed my social awkwardness. When she smiled, laugh lines crinkled around her eyes and I took an instant liking to her. Lacey sighed, and took her mother by the hand to introduce us properly.
“Wynn, this is my mom. Mom, I’ve told you about Wynn — she worked on Brigadoon with me.”
“Ah! Bueno, Wynn! It's nice to finally put a face with the name. You take care of my Lacey for me,” she insisted firmly.
“Yes, Ma'am!” I laughed. “Actually, I was just about to change into some new clothes and head out. Do you need any help bringing stuff up before I go?”
Lacey shook her head as they began bustling around with her luggage. Part of me wanted to stay and help, but I also didn’t want to invade their private time together. Lacey and I could hang out all semester, but it was the last time she’d have to spend with her mom before heading back to Mobile. I didn’t want to take that away from them. Also, Dad had told me about a job board in the Student Center, and it was time I became a contributing member of society.
As they were sorting through her things, I snuck past them down the hall and made it to my room. It was blistering hot outside, so I changed out of the sweatpants into some blue jean shorts. My shirt was a black tank top with silver ribs printed on the front. I let my hair down from its ponytail and shook it out so it was falling in gentle, strawberry-blonde waves. “Welcome to college,” I told my reflection in the mirror.
It wasn’t something I’d wear to an interview, but for wandering around campus and checking out the postings, it would have to do. When I stepped back into the dorm, Lacey and her mom were arguing about her bedding, so I grabbed my messenger bag from off the chair and headed towards the door. “Can I get you anything when I’m out?”
“Nah, we’re good,” Lacey told me.
“Alright,” I said, placing my hand upon the doorknob. “See you when I get back?”
She nodded forcefully, though her focus was clearly on something else. “Yup.”
I chuckled as I shut the door and pulled the headphones from my pocket. For the first time, this whole process made me feel remarkably … adult. Realizing that almost made me laugh because nothing could be further from the truth.
The elevator would take forever, so I used the stairs instead, skipping down them happily and taking them two at a time. Fresh air would be good for me, and I was looking forward to stretching my legs.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped outside, the summer heat hit me like a slap in the face. Campus was practically a ghost town, since most students went home for the summer. It made things far less crowded than I expected.
As I left the complex completely and started on the street towards campus, there was a loud whirring sound from some industrial fans behind the wall. It added an interesting bass line to the music I was listening to. I’d actually found myself listening to a lot of jazz lately. Maybe it was just the mood I was in, but my taste in entertainment was changing. I couldn’t listen to pop music anymore. It just struck me as too peppy and upbeat. Death Before Decaf was up ahead; it was quaint and had a somewhat hipster feel about it with a chalkboard sign out front. The location could not be more convenient on my way to class if I had planned it. When I was walking by, I made a mental note to check it out soon and continued towards the bookstore.
Every now and then my thoughts would drift back to what had happened in Mobile — Elyse's death, losing Caleb ... everything. The hole inside me ripped open once again — he would never have let me wallow like this. Most of the time I could compartmentalize, but sometimes it snuck up on me. I wasn’t sure how I felt anymore, lonely and isolated didn’t even begin to describe it. It’s exactly how Aidan wanted me to feel so I’d come running back to him.
It wasn’t going to work that way this time; I had to grit my teeth and soldier onward.
I swallowed hard and pushed it to the back of my mind until I found the bookstore in the basement of the Ferguson Student Center. It was truly an impressive store, and less than a week from now it would be swarming with students all buying textbooks and school supplies. There were racks of clothes and merchandise, all with the Alabama logo. The red, cursive letter “A” would become like second nature to me soon enough.
Being away at school still seemed like such a strange and foreign concept — now that I was doing it, it just became part of life. I passed some people on the way who were involved in their own conversations, and I realized I still wasn't used to being around people. I'd been acting like a hermit the last few weeks and completely forgot how normal people were supposed to behave. Realizing this, I laughed to myself nervously and grabbed a shirt off the rack before heading towards the counter.
I smiled at the sales clerk as she rang me up and gave me a receipt — a red jersey t-shirt and some chocolate. Good job, Wynn. You know your priorities.
The job board had an opening at the Witt Rec Center right beside my apartment, so I grabbed an application. When my stomach began to grumble, I headed back and kicked one of the rocks with my foot, followed with my eyes to where it landed. Another shoe stopp
ed it before it even stopped rolling and a familiar looking man bent over and picked it up.
There, standing underneath the trees, as if he had never left, was Caleb.
“Caleb?” I gasped in shock. Was it even possible?
He stood up and smiled at me sheepishly, like a boy who'd been caught at mischief. The wind ruffled his shaggy brunet hair as his eyes flashed a piercing ice blue. He looked different somehow; his skin was no longer flawless and tan and his aura void of the inhuman sparkle, but he still maintained the piercing blue eyes and toothy grin I’d come to know and love. He looked positively ordinary. Human.
But it was him.
All the feelings I’d been suppressing came flooding back at once, and I ran towards him. Caleb’s face warmed into a glorious smile when he came to meet me in the middle and let out a painful grunt as I ran headlong into his chest.
My thoughts went around and around in circles as I buried my face in his shirt and let out a triumphant laugh. There were a thousand things I wanted to say and ask him, but they were trumped by the fact I was finally able to touch him. The feel of his arms around me was so incredible I couldn’t let it go, so I just reveled in it for a minute and smelled the musk of his human skin.
He kissed my hair, and I gazed up at him with my arms still wrapped around his chest and demanded, “How long have you been here?”
“I never left,” he responded.
I hugged him and breathed in the delicious new scent of him as the waves of emotions racked through me. He was here, and he was human.
Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks, and my hands were shaking by the time I finally released him. “I thought I would never see you again.”
He smiled and brushed a piece of hair out of my face. “Now that’s just crazy talk. I would always come back for you.”
I laughed another sob and told him, “Caleb, I'm so sorry. What I said to you that night, it wasn’t me. I never should have said those things, it was … it was … awful,” I bawled continuously. “I didn’t mean it. Please don't ever leave again. I nee—”
He silenced me by placing a finger on my lips. “You don’t have to apologize.”
I gazed up at him with teary eyes. “Yes, I do.”
“There will be plenty of time for that later if you still feel the need. Right now, I just want to make up for not being there at Elyse’s funeral — I should have been there to wipe away your tears.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and refused to fall apart again in front of him. The sound of his voice was so cathartic, it was making me weak in the knees and bringing up feelings I’d been suppressing. “What happened to you?”
Caleb gave a tired sigh and dropped his hands so they could be placed inside of mine. “The inevitable — I was growing tired of their games years ago. After what happened to your sister I just sort of snapped. I left the Order and have taken the opportunity to spend my time on Earth.”
Confusion arose like a fog as I contemplated what he said. Did that mean he was going to stay?
“Please tell me you didn’t do this because of me,” I begged him. “I couldn’t handle it if you did.”
Caleb eyed me sternly and responded, “You may have been the catalyst, but my reasons for leaving the Order go far beyond that. It’s something I’ve been struggling with for a long time. However, now that I am here, I was hoping you’d be willing to take me.”
“Of course I would! But you gave up everything. Your whole future, your happiness—”
“Don't I get a say in what will make me happy?” he interrupted, eyeing me tenderly.
“But ... where are you going to live? How will you...”
My thoughts were jumbled and in a daze as he cradled my face in his hands and caused me to look at him with another dazzling smile. “It’s all been taken care of.”
I let out an elated laugh and didn’t know what else to say. “A-are you sure about this? I'm a demon, and people around me get hurt. If I'm going after Aidan, he’ll know you’re my Achilles heel. They know how I feel about you and will try to use that against me.”
“I’m aware of the risk I’m taking, but being here with you — loving you — is the closest thing to heaven I have ever experienced.”
Suddenly, my heart was beating fast, and my palms were getting sweaty. My head was telling me to be careful, that I needed to protect myself, but my heart … my heart was telling me something completely different.
My breath caught in my chest as he slowly began guiding my mouth to answer his. The way he touched me was a plea, begging me to not reject him, but leaving me the option to turn away.
I didn't stop him; my heart was too busy fluttering madly inside my chest. Our lips touched, and everything that had been keeping us apart melted away and sent my heart careening against my ribcage.
It was the most tender and intimate experience I had shared with anyone. The passion escalated quickly, and our lips fit together perfectly, like two halves of a whole. I gasped with pleasure when his fingers splayed against the small of my back, and I threw my arms around his neck.
Caleb pulled me close, wrapping his arms around my waist and I lost myself within his touch. I was in crazy about him ... and if anyone knew the feelings he instilled within me, I would surely burn in the fiery pits of Hades.
Someone once told me the ancient Romans believed that breath was the essence of life — when two lovers kissed it meant their souls would blend together into one. I could taste it on my tongue and feel it in the way we touched.
When his lips broke from mine, we both pulled away, gasping for air as he rested his head against my forehead. He looked at me as though I was the most precious thing in the world and brushed his fingers across my cheek. I looked up into the incredible pale blue orbs that were his eyes and breathed out nervously — I could get lost in the depth of them.
“I was wrong,” he whispered, glancing at my lips. “That was.”
The moment was stolen when his phone began to ring. He huffed in exasperation and pulled it from his pocket, sliding his finger across the buzzing screen. “Hello? ... Oh hey, kiddo.”
Caleb smirked, listening to the person on the other end and stepped away so he could focus on the call. “Yeah, I found her,” he said, glancing up at me with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it … yeah…”
I took a step towards him and asked, “Who is it?”
Caleb tilted the phone away from his ear and mouthed the word, “Nate.”
“What?” I grabbed the phone away from him and hissed into the receiver, “You knew about this?”
My brother laughed into the receiver and said, “Yeah, he called me a couple days ago. I told him where to find you. He wanted it to be a surprise. Listen, Wynn, Dad’s calling me for dinner, so I’ve got to go. I’m glad he’s back. Talk to ya later, sis.”
“Later.”
The line went dead, and I gave it back to Caleb sheepishly. “So, I guess I’m the last to know, huh?”
Caleb smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”
“It must have been difficult,” I offered, trying to coax some details out of him about how he’d gotten here and what happened to him since we parted. “What was it like fabricating a life out of nothing?”
He chuckled and took me gently by the hand as we meandered down the street. “Not sure yet. I’m still getting used to it.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but changed his mind and the conversation moved on to other things.
I paused on the sidewalk to look him in the eyes. “It’s weird seeing you like this,” I told him. “Human, I mean. I’m not used to being able to touch you, be with you….”
His blue eyes met mine as he ran his fingers through my hair and came down to kiss me on the lips. It was brief, yet tender, and released a swarm of butterflies in my stomach.
When he pulled away, I smiled sheepishly. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.”
“I hope you don’t,” he chuckled. “Because I plan on doin
g it a lot. You’re right, though, it’s been an adventure. Thankfully, I had some help. Otherwise, I’m not sure how this would have happened. There were a lot of logistics that needed to be addressed. I had to find a job, a place to live—”
“You have a job?” I asked him curiously.
Caleb raised an eyebrow at me and nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Of course,” I mumbled to myself embarrassed. “That was a stupid question, but who was helping you? Maybe I should send them a gift basket.”
He smiled, taking me gently by the hand and said, “I still have some connections in the Angelic Realm. Come here, I’ll show you everything there is to know about me.”
I grinned, enjoying the warmth of feeling my hand in his and felt a rush of blood bring color to my cheeks. “Lead the way.”
~ * ~
We talked the entire way across campus as he led me towards his place. I didn’t even question where he was taking me; I just followed him happily, discussing what he was doing here and why. He got a job as part of the grounds crew for a company here in town doing landscaping and rented an apartment just outside of campus. It was so unbelievably wonderful I forgot the reasons I’d been sad just a few hours earlier.
The whole time we were holding hands or touching in some other fashion. The feel of his skin on mine was nothing short of magical. He led me past a quaint little neighborhood of shops and restaurants to a large, white building that had paneling on the side and a bookstore in the front. “This is it,” he told me. “I live in the loft apartment upstairs. Come on, there’s some stairs around back.”
Caleb guided me around the side to a stairwell leading up to the second floor. The top of the garage had been converted into a patio, and he opened the door for me so I could poke around and take it all in. It was a comfortable loft apartment with an open floor plan — no walls, just open space. On one side, there was a kitchenette with a table and two chairs, and the other had a black futon set up against the wall. It was far from grandiose, but didn't feel claustrophobic either — it was perfect. I carefully made my way around the space to see what he had done, and my face broke out into a smile. “Do you like it?” he asked carefully.
The Devil's Due (The Earthwalker Trilogy Book 2) Page 3
