Until November (Until series)

by Reynolds, Aurora Rose

  “I know that,” I snap. “What the heck are you? The incredible hulk or something? Seriously, who opens a door to a bathroom like that?”

  “Dad pointed out that you were in here. I didn’t even think. I just had to make sure you were okay.”

  Now I feel bad. “Sorry, it just hurts,” I say softly, feeling like a total bitch. He always worries. Even when I'm safe, he worries, so now that I'm in danger I might as well handcuff myself to him.

  He kisses the mark. “So, why were you laughing?” he asks, wrapping me in hug.

  “I was laughing because I look like Harry Potter.” His eyes come back to my face and his lips twitch. I glare at him. “Now I’m going to have to give myself bangs to hide it so I don’t have to listen to your stupid brothers and the jokes they’ll make about it,” I say, pointing to my forehead.

  “They love you.” They did, I knew they did. We had become great friends. I knew if Asher wasn’t around, I could count on any of them to help me out with whatever was wrong. And they were not perverted, just brotherly. For that, I was thankful. Now Sven, he was a different story. He made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was handsome, or if it was just him as a person. Sometimes the way he looks at me or the words he uses makes it seem like he is coming onto me. But I saw him in action when me and Asher met him and the guys at the bar. I know that when he comes on to a girl, he doesn’t hold anything back. He is over-the-top aggressive and women still swarm him like a hive to honey. One day, when he meets a girl he’s serious about, she’s going to have to be really strong in order to deal with his personality.

  “I know they love me,” I grumble.

  “Is everything okay?” Mr. James asks from outside the door. I step away from Asher and open the door and Mr. James looks down at me. “What the fuck?” he asks, looking up at Asher.

  “It’s fine. I just need to put some ice on it and take some aspirin,” I say, stepping around him.

  “How did it happen?”

  “It’s either because your son is the incredible hulk or he has a thing for Harry Potter,” I say over my shoulder. I laugh when I hear Asher groan.

  “It’s my fault,” Asher says, picking me up and setting me on the counter, removing me from where I was standing in front of the fridge. “The door hit her when I shoved it open to get to her.” I watch him go the drawer and grab a baggie then back to the fridge. He fills it with ice then wraps it in a kitchen towel and brings it to me and presses it to my head.

  “Thanks, honey,” I mumble.

  “You’re welcome, baby. I'm sorry your day sucks.”

  “Me too.” He kisses my temple then looks over to his dad, but his eyes stop on the roses that are sitting on the counter.

  “Some guy delivered those?” he asks. I swallow and look at Asher’s dad. He hadn’t told him about the card. Mr. James looked at me then at Asher. “What aren’t you telling me?” Asher asks his dad.

  “When I pulled up, November came outside and found a card.”

  “Where is it?” Asher asks and I can see his body expanding, muscles bunching under his shirt. Mr. James hands Asher the card that is now inside of a gallon zipper bag. The card is open so you can see the inside and outside of it. Asher looks at the front for the second and sees that it’s a picture of New York then he flips the bag over and I can tell that he’s using all of his control to not rip the thing in half. “What does this mean?” Asher grunts out. He sounds wild and nothing like himself.

  I pull my phone out and Google the words that are written in the card. “The poet who wrote on my living room wall also wrote this poem,” I tell Asher and Mr. James.

  “We know the other poem is called November. What is this one called?” Asher asks.

  “Anticipation,” I tell them and get a shiver down my spine when I read them the poem.

  'Coming events cast their shadow before.'

  I had a vision in the summer light—

  Sorrow was in it, and my inward sight

  Ached with sad images. The touch of tears

  Gushed down my cheeks:—the figured woes of years

  Casting their shadows across sunny hours.

  Oh, there was nothing sorrowful in flowers

  Wooing the glances of an April sun,

  Or apple blossoms opening one by one

  Their crimson bosoms—or the twittered words

  And warbled sentences of merry birds;—

  Or the small glitter and the humming wings

  Of golden flies and many colored things—

  Oh, these were nothing sad—nor to see Her,

  Sitting beneath the comfortable stir

  Of early leaves—casting the playful grace

  Of moving shadows in so fair a face—

  Nor in her brow serene—nor in the love

  Of her mild eyes drinking the light above

  With a long thirst—nor in her gentle smile—

  Nor in her hand that shone blood-red the while

  She raised it in the sun. All these were dear

  To heart and eye—but an invisible fear

  Shook in the trees and chilled upon the air,

  And if one spot was laughing brightest—there

  My soul most sank and darkened in despair!—

  As if the shadows of a curtained room

  Haunted me in the sun—as if the bloom

  Of early flow'rets had no sweets for me,

  Nor apple blossoms any blush to see—

  As if the hour had brought too bright a day—

  And little birds were all too gay!—too gay!—

  As if the beauty of that Lovely One

  Were all a fable.—Full before the sun

  Stood Death and cast a shadow long before,

  Like a dark pall enshrouding her all o'er,

  Till eyes, and lips, and smiles, were all no more!

  “That sounds a lot more threatening than the last poem he left,” Asher says, looking at his dad. I look toward Mr. James and notice that his face is blank. “What do we do?”

  “I need November to tell me about the delivery and anything that she can remember from when she was attacked in New York. I also need to know if either of you have noticed anyone out of place or someone who made you uncomfortable.” I look from Asher’s dad to him and see that his body is still ready for attack. I lean forward on the counter and grab his shirt at the back and drag him toward me. Once he’s close, I wrap my arms around his middle and lay my head on his back. I feel his hands rest on top of mine then he takes a deep breath and his body relaxes.

  “I need to go out to the car and get my note book. When I come back in, we can talk.”

  Asher turns, facing me and pulls me closer to him. “I'm really sorry about this,” I mumble into his chest, letting his smell relax me.

  “Don’t apologize about this. It isn’t your fault.”

  “Maybe I should lea—”

  The words are not even out of my mouth before he cuts me off. “Don’t even fucking think about leaving me.” His arms go super tight around me like he is expecting me to vanish into thin air. “I will track your ass down and drag you back here. I want you to listen to me.” His hands hold my face, and his lips come closer to mine. “Dad is on this. I'm on this and now I'm putting Kenton on this. We will find out what’s going on and who is doing this. And while we’re doing that, you will be safe.”

  “I would die if something happened to you because of me,” I whisper my biggest fear and then do a face plant into his shirt.

  “Baby,” he says, running his hand down my back. “The worst thing that could happen is if you left me and I had no way of knowing that you were okay. I won’t let anything happen to you and I will make sure that nothing happens to me either. Do you think that I would let something happen to myself, knowing that there are about six guys that I know waiting to take my place?”

  “You know you’re crazy, right?” I ask in all seriousness. Only he would say one of the reasons he was staying
safe is so random, non-existing guys don’t try to take me away.

  “No, I'm selfish. I know what sleeps next to me every night. You are mine, November. Until the day you leave this earth, you are mine. And I take my responsibility very seriously.” What could I say to that? Before I say anything, his dad comes in the front door carrying a notebook and a file.

  “Alright, let’s get started,” Mr. James says, setting his stuff down on the island and pulling out the stool to take a seat. Asher kisses my forehead then jumps up next to me on the counter, grabbing my hand.

  I tell them about the delivery then about the attack. Then I remember the roses that had been outside the apartment door when I got home from the hospital. I had never gotten flowers, and my mom would get them all the time from whatever man she was seeing, so I assumed they were for her. I took them into the apartment and left them on the counter. I never even thought about them again until that moment.

  “White roses,” I whisper to myself.

  “Pardon?” Mr. James asks.

  “White roses were left outside my apartment door after I was attacked. But I don’t think they were for my mom.”

  “Why do you say that?” Mr. James asks, and I remember my mom’s shocked face when she opened the card.

  “The card said, ‘I'm sorry.’ We both assumed they were from the guy she was seeing, the one that took me to the hospital. That he was sorry for what happened to me. But I remember she seemed shocked by the apology. Like, I don’t know, that he wouldn’t do that, you know? Like he wouldn’t apologize. When I was packing my car later that evening, the same boyfriend who I thought the flowers were from stopped by to drop off Beast. He had kept him while I was in the hospital. He didn’t want him to end up at the shelter. He made me pinky promise him that if I was going to give Beast away, he got first dibs. I remember thinking that he was a really good guy and hoping that it would work out for him and my mom. He hugged me then got in his car and left. I thought that maybe he was busy. I left a few minutes after he did, so I'm not sure what happened with him and my mom.”

  “I'm gonna need your mom’s number, and the contact information for the detective in New York who was working on your case,” Mr. James says, and I nod my head in agreement.

  “I have a friend who’s been looking into things,” Asher says, and I look over at Asher. I never knew this. We talked about what happened to me, but he never told me anything about someone looking into it.

  “You do?” I ask, wondering when he had asked someone to look into it.

  “Yeah.” That was all he said while pulling me closer so he could kiss my forehead.

  “Okay,” I say slowly. “When were you going to tell me about that?”

  “Right now.”

  “Don’t you think that I should know about things like that?”

  “You know now.” I narrow my eyes and he brings my hand to his mouth, kissing my fingers that are wrapped around his. “Nothing has happened in the last few months. We were not even sure if the break in had anything to do with what happened in New York.” That is a good point. We didn’t know anything. I don’t even know why I cared. I was grateful that he was looking into it.

  “Have they come up with anything?” I ask, hoping that some detective was using his skills so I didn’t have to live my days worried about my life being in danger, or worse, having Asher or either of our families in danger.

  “Nothing new. They know it was an isolated incident.”

  “So, do they have any idea why this is happening?”

  “No, baby.”

  “Do you think someone is stalking me?” I ask, looking at Asher then his dad.

  “I'm not sure what’s going on. And before I jump to any conclusions, I need to talk to the florist who delivered the flowers and ask about the person who placed the order. Then I need to contact your mother and find out what she remembers from the night of your attack. I also need to contact the officer who was handling your case and see if there are any cases are similar to yours.”

  “Asher already found that out. They said it was isolated.”

  “Yes, they did, but he was talking about the attack. I'm talking about the flowers and the messages,” Mr. James says.

  “Smart.” I smiled at him and he shook his head, chuckling.

  “In the meantime, I want you to be extra cautious when you’re out. I also need you to make a list of people that you have dated. There might be someone who wasn’t ready for your relationship to be over.”

  “That’s simple. I dated my ex fiancé and Asher.”

  “I mean anyone you went out with, even if it wasn’t serious.”

  “I know, and it was only my ex and Asher. I never dated in high school. My mother wanted me to work, and if I wasn’t working, I had to be home. I met my ex during my sophomore year of college and I dated him until I caught him with my mother. After I broke it off with him, I needed time and I was never really interested in anyone, so I didn’t date. Before the attack happened, my boss made me sign up for a dating service, so I did that, but I haven’t even checked the activity of that account.”

  “Do you have the account information?” Asher asks and I can see his jaw tightening.

  “Yeah, it’s in my phonebook.”

  “So, you didn’t think about closing the account since we met?”

  I rolled my eyes and looked at him, wanting to determine if he was being serious.

  “I haven’t even thought about it.” His eyes narrowed. “What? You’ve been keeping me busy,” I shout, throwing my hands in the air. “I'm sorry if I haven’t thought about a dating site that I didn’t even want to be a member of.”

  I hear Mr. James laugh from across the kitchen and I look up at the same time as Asher. Mr. James put his hands in front of him in a stay back gesture and laughs harder. I laugh, and Asher’s eyes come to me.

  “You think this is funny?”

  “Um…no?” My answer sounded like a question, and I start laughing louder.

  “What did I tell you about laughing at me, baby?” he asks. I see the look in his eyes, so I jump off the counter and start to run to get away from him. Sadly, his legs are longer and his speed faster, so I didn’t have a chance to escape before I was lying on the floor and his big body was pinning me down, tickling me.

  My head is thrashing back and forth. I am begging him to stop and then Beast comes over, not to help me, but to assist Asher in his torture. He is licking my face while Asher tickles my ribs.

  “Are you going to close the account?”

  He keeps up the tickling. ”YES!” I screech my agreement about the dating site. “Please stop. I'm going to pee.” I was finally able to say a full sentence. He stopped immediately. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom without looking back. When I am walking back toward the kitchen, I hear Asher and his dad talking.

  “I want this shit done.”

  “Call Kenton and ask him to make November a priority. You can always send her to him to keep safe.” Hmm, that’s interesting. I’ve been wondering what Kenton did, but every time I ask about it, I get the run around.

  His laugh held no humor. Then he answered, “He met November at the Christmas party and was getting ready to go in for the Kenton kill when I told him she was mine.”

  “He would never cross that line and you know it.”

  “The only thing I know is that I want this shit done.” He growled. “I'm too selfish to send her away. I wouldn’t be able to function knowing she was staying with Kenton.” I heard him take a breath. “If things escalate, I’ll take her to the cabin.”

  “Your cousin is a good man. He’s also one of the best at what he does.”

  “I don’t give a fuck. You were not there. You didn’t see the way he looked at her. I know Kenton better than anyone. And unless something else happens, she stays here with me.”

  “Your jealousy could end up getting her hurt,” His dad whispers and my heart starts beating double time.

  “I would never let any
thing happen to her. I have my fucking reasons for not trusting anyone with her.” I needed to quit eavesdropping, but it was like I was glued in place. “We don’t even know what’s going on. The only thing we know is she was attacked in New York. That may not have anything to do with what’s happening here.

  “The card shows the New York City skyline. I think whoever is doing this knows her from New York. We don’t know if the attack and the things happening here are connected, but since she’s been in Tennessee, she has had two separate instances where she has been left poetry. The thing is messy. We just need to clean it up and put the pieces together. I'm going into town to the florist. I’ll call and let you know if I find out anything from them.

  I could hear the frustration in Asher’s voice. In the meantime, I'm gonna talk to my friend in Jersey and tell him about what happened today.”

  I walked out of my hiding place in the hall just as Mr. James was opening the front door. He tipped his head in my direction, his eyes soft on me. “I want you to be extra careful.” I could tell that his tone was not that of the sheriff, but as a man who cared about me like a daughter. “If you’re out, you need to watch who’s around you. If anyone makes you feel even the slightest bit of unease, you go somewhere where there are a lot of people and call me or one of my boys. As I told Asher, this whole situation is a mess. I just need to see if I can dig anything up that will straighten everything out. In the meantime, stay safe.”

  “Thanks for everything.” I walk to him and hug him around the waist. He gives me a one-armed hug, his other arm full with his notebook, his plastic bag with the card inside, and a coffee cup.

  “I'm sure Susan is going to be stopping by soon and will want to see for herself that you’re safe.” He was not wrong. Susan was a momma bear and very protective of her cubs. Since being brought into the family, she has taken me under her care and made it known far and wide that if you messed with me, you would have to deal with her.