I opened the car door and stood to watch Brad drive off. I wouldn’t be honest if I said I wasn’t disappointed. He was a great guy and I wished maybe that timing would have been different and I could have been that great girl for him.
After his car drifted off onto the main road, I moved from the spot I’d taken root in. So many things were going on. I needed to find Flynn. Avoiding Luke was on my priority list. As much as I needed to talk to him too, I wasn’t ready for that yet. However, I needed to tell someone about the voice before I forgot again.
Moving away from the front door, I walked towards the side of the house. Over the pristine lawn, I strode towards the back of the house. Once I was in the back, I paused to view the deck. Thankfully it stood empty. My eyes moved to a sand hill just passed the deck. On the high dune overlooking the beach where football was still being played, a lone figure sat.
Taking a deep breath I moved over to the lone wolf. He wasn’t an ally. But certainly he would be impartial. I sat next to Tom and he looked up at me.
“Here’s trouble,” he said.
Shocked those would be the first words he said to me, I said, "What's that suppose to mean?" He didn’t even know me to imply such a thing.
He laughed. It was a husky laugh that rolled in his chest like a growl. I was surprised such a sound would come from a boy like him. He had such an innocent look that made me decide it was a mask he hid behind. Tom had secrets I was sure, but right now I needed to know just what happened after I left. “Well I suppose you wouldn’t know because you weren’t here,” he said.
“Tell me,” I said with a bit of desperation.
“The way I heard the story was that Adeline kissed your boyfriend. You saw them and took off with some other guy,” he said.
I wanted to argue that point, but I guess I did run off. I wasn’t going to explain myself to him either, at least not at this point.
“I heard it was with the doctor,” he said and eyed me careful as if I would show some reaction. I didn’t because I could barely breathe.
“Your jilted boyfriend,” he continued.
"His name is Luke," I interjected.
“Ok, Luke followed you when you ran. He came back pissed and let Adelina know just how he felt about her,” he said then paused for dramatic effect as if I should comment at this point. I didn’t.
“Tony tried to calm his sister who at this point was crying and shouting back at him. She doesn’t take rejection well." Tony was the twins’ brother. I should have noticed the resemblance.
"Ok, nasty things were said between both of them and somehow your name finally surface. Tony being protective of his sister, clued into who you were. Understanding that you were Luke’s girlfriend; he decided to chime in about hitting on you earlier today.” Tom just looked at me. He’d caught the tail end of our conversation. “Then for the big reveal, Tony added how you made no mention of a boyfriend.”
Now I wanted to comment, but instead I put my hands on my head like I had a headache. I couldn't believe all this went on. I hadn’t led anybody on, had I? Yet somehow I felt as though everyone would think this was somehow my fault. I could tell Tom felt that way just based on how he told the story. I was certain that would be the consensus amongst the guest.
I wouldn’t have believed Tom, the boy who acted like he wasn't aware of anything besides whatever was going on in his head, was surprisingly full of information.” Tony then added that he’d be happy to wipe your tears once you returned amongst other things. At this point Luke took a swing at Tony. The punch connected before Flynn, I think that his name, stepped in between. Tony was down on the ground when Luke took off looking for you, I presume. After Flynn helped Tony up, he sent the Luca's packing much to the dismay of Adriana." he said in a long string of words.
My vision clouded as the threat of tears returned to my eyes. I held them at bay. There were no words for what I just heard. I searched the beach in the dying sunlight at playing figures tossing a football around and didn't find either Luke or Flynn.
"I'll give you some advice," he said.
After just listening to him, I wasn’t sure I wanted advice from him. "What," I said flatly not taking my eyes from the sand. I didn't want to see the judgment in his eye that I heard in his voice.
"Adelina is a spoil rotten. Luke seems like a good guy. Be honest with him about your feelings and don't string him along."
"I'm not," I said defensively. "I wasn’t trying to get with Tony. I didn’t ask Brad over. So what the hell was I suppose to do when I saw him kissing her." I wasn't sure why I was sitting here asking advice from a guy who looked like he had more problems than I did.
"If you trusted him, you would have waited for an explanation."
Idly, I began drawing pictures in the sand. He was right. I should have trusted him enough to ask the question. I knew Luke wasn’t the type to do such a thing. If it had been Flynn, then that would have been a different story. But hindsight is twenty twenty. I had been hurt by my own insecurities. “If it had been your girlfriend kissed by another guy, would you have waited for an explanation,” I said throwing it back in his face.
“If I’d trusted her and love her, yes,” he said matter-of-factly.
Thinking back, Luke hadn’t handle Paul kissing me very well either. But he hadn’t run away. He’d held in his anger that exploded out after he drank himself to a stupor. I looked up feeling Tom look at me. His mouth opened and he said, "Your boyfriend’s back.”
Squarely, I stared at Tom for the first time. His jaw was set as he returned my gaze. He wasn’t a pretty boy but he was certainly cute. I narrowed my eyes because what he said was weird. "How do you know that?" I asked.
He stood and said absently, "I heard his car." he said then added, “I should go.”
I didn't hear a car and said, “Why,” not really knowing why I wanted to know.
"Because even though you’re really cute, you're not worth the trouble," he replied before walking off not giving me a chance to debate his words.
What he’d said was like a slap I really needed. I watched him head to the beach where the other guys were playing. I didn't turn back to see if Luke really would come. Rather I sat looking out at the fading sun. Something about how definitively Tom spoke made me believe Luke would find me soon. Terror rocked through my body. What was I going to say? Our relationship the last few days had been rocky at best. Could it survive the trouble I seemed to bring wherever I went these days?
I didn't wait long. The spot Tom had vacated was soon filled. I knew it was Luke without needing to look. I knew his movement and his smell. The air filled with that clean soapy smell. He didn't speak and neither did I. What was there to say? I tried to decide if I should ask what happened or apologize for my part in this first. Saying sorry had become second nature for me. Our banter began with him saying "You left." He said it so flatly it would seem that everyone really did believe this was my fault included him.
I countered with, "You kissed her." thus we began our back in forth much like a tennis match. Sometimes he served and then sometimes I served. Our conversation was made up of a string of short sentences straight to the point.
"Much like you kissed Paul."
"I reacted much like you did," I said remembering him drawing conclusions and getting drunk.
"I didn't jump in the car with Nina like you did with Doctor Brad ," he said snarling out Brad’s name.
"He's not a doctor yet. And besides I'd sent him away until I caught you kissing the enemy.”
"She kissed me not the other way around," he said angrily and I didn’t think all was directed at me.
"It didn't look that way," I said.
"How would you know you left so fast?"
"You wanted me to watch and then fight her or something?" I asked.
"No, trust like you said you did would have been good and fighting would have at least showed you cared.”
"I did trust you," I said using the past tense. “As far as fighting
it didn't do Nina any good.”
Ignoring my last comment he asked, "Are you interested in any of these guys?" He didn't have to elaborate on which guys he's referring to.
"Nothing happen between me and Brad," I said getting to the obvious point.
He answered my unspoken question next. “I only dated Adelina twice for Flynn so he could go out with her sister," he said.
That made me happy I have to admit so I answered his question next. "I was never interested in Brad or Tony," I said. I did find Brad an interesting guy but he was too old for me. And truly the kind of interest I felt for Brad was the kind of interest anyone might admit about someone unattainable. Sometimes you can admire the qualities in others they have that you would hope to find in someone for you.
"I'm not interested in Adelina." He added flatly.
I searched his eyes while he searched mine. A heat much like an inferno blasted through me. It was so intense I expected him to be thrown backwards by the explosion. He began to lean in and I still had my wits about me. "We can't," I said suddenly breathless.
His hand cupped my face as he drew me near. "We can," he said. And like that our fight had ended. When our mouths met I found myself falling as the succubus took control.
Chapter Twenty Nine
amorous (adj.) showing love, particularly sexual
Time surrendered to no one and I had no idea how much time past or what happened. But none of that mattered except that our connection had been broken. I looked up in the last of the fading light to see Flynn standing over us. I felt the sand all around me and was slightly disoriented.
“Can’t you both take it upstairs?” Flynn said.
Luke held a hand to block the light that bounced off the rolling water and said to him, “What do you want?”
“Need your help with starting the bonfire,” Flynn said through narrowed eyes.
Luke looked back at me. As much as I wanted to kiss him again, Flynn obviously wasn’t going to leave us alone right now. It seemed like there was something I needed to tell them both, but I couldn’t remember. “It’s fine. Flynn can’t help being jealous of our amorous feelings for each other,” I laughed. Flynn rolled his eyes. “I need to go inside for a minute anyway,” I added.
He leaned over and kissed me again before helping me to my feet. Too bad it had been a quick one. They headed down closer to the water and I headed inside. I wanted to find a place of solitude where I could sit and think about everything. I needed to get the succubus under control. I really needed to talk to Flynn and Luke about something. Maybe if I was alone I could remember what it was that I needed to share. What I did know was that I hadn’t been wearing the special balm, David had given me. Why did it appear Luke was immune to my demon? Why did I lose time with Luke? I had no idea how long we’d been kissing. I did know that I had to straighten my clothes when I’d gotten up.
I scooted quickly past the kitchen, dining, and family room. I took the alone time to explore a little before Luke came for me. The house was huge and had a couple of hallways that led not just straight but had a few turns. Most of the doors were closed. I’d opened a few to discover a pantry, bathroom, coat room, and an unoccupied office. The next door I opened led into a grand library.
Stepping inside, the room had to be two stories tall equipped with a ladder that slid down the wall of book cases. There was an antique desk in the corner turned at an angle to give the person behind it a view of the whole room. In the middle there were huge leather chairs that looked so inviting. Closing the door behind me, I realized just how tired I was despite my nap earlier. Releasing my entire pint up energy I fell into the chair with a thud.
Curling my legs under me, I reached for the small table that separate the chair I was in with the chair on my right. On the table was a stack of books. Curiously, I appraised the first book’s bindings I surveyed it. I didn’t think I could have been more surprised by the titles that graced each book I touched.
Why would Luke’s father have books like, ‘Witches, Warlocks and Wizards’, ‘Myths and Legends Surrounding Vampires’, ‘Everything You wanted to know about Nephilim’, ‘How to Survive a Succubus Kiss’, ‘How to Summon a Demon’, and a few other titles that dealt with Fallen Angels and Banshees.
Each book was larger than your average text book. Additionally, each was artfully leather bound. The leather of each varied in color from dark red, rich brown or midnight black. The text on the spines of the book was either embossed in gold or silver. When I picked up the first book I wasn’t surprised by the heaviness of it.
I sat back with the spell caster book and opened it touching the first page of parchment that despite the look of the book was written in type face. No author was listed but somehow it didn’t seem odd. There was a table of contents, but I skimmed past it turning several pages until I landed on one of interest to me.
Wiccans – Humans who study witchcraft as a form of religion.
Witches – Humans women born of some magic who must
use words and objects to cast spells.
Warlocks – Human males much like witches born of magic.
Wizards – Demons with the power to cast magic from thought.
I wasn’t sure if I was a believer in the author’s hierarchy, but it was interesting. However after skimming a few more pages, I laid the book down instead on the table in front of the chair so I could move to the next book.
This book was about Vampires. I was a bit more interested in this book. I wasn’t quite sure of their existence which seems odd because I existed. Vampires were certainly a lot like a succubi if it was true they survived on human blood. Some may consider human blood the life force of a person. Succubus and Incubus like my mom and Flynn survived on the invisible human life force. That got me thinking, did they steal the human spirit. But I pushed that thought aside. It was seriously creepy.
Much like the book on spell casters, this book boasted no author and despite its mysterious leather bound cover and parchment paper this book too was type faced. I pushed past the first chapter on the history of vampires. In other circumstances, I may have spent the time to read that chapter, but I was anxious to push through. I knew there was another book I really wanted to see more. Why I didn’t just pull that book first could be because I was scared. But I also wanted to see the validity of the others to get a sense if these books were fictional or not.
This book was approached differently than the first I’d opened. So I was left with wondering if the authors were different.
Myth or Legend: Vampires can only hunt and exist in darkness?
Reason would say that if vampires were daywalkers the human
population would be greatly reduced.
Myth or Legend: Vampires can only enter a human home with
permission?
Reason would say if vampires were night creatures and human
are tucked away in their homes alone at night, this legend would
be protection for humans in their vulnerable sleep.
There were other myths and legends. I briefly glanced at talked about garlic and running water. But I found again that I wasn’t really excited about reading this book either. I did follow the author’s logic and quite enjoyed they way the information was presented in a thought provoking way. I set the book on the top of the spell caster book in front of me.
The next book I opened was titled Nephilim. There was writing I didn’t understand below the name in symbols. I wasn’t really familiar with the term Nephilim so I opened the book expecting much the same type face as the other two books. I stopped when I saw that the book was hand written on parchment. The script was elegant and bold. The first sentence read:
Nephilim are the offspring of an angel and human woman.
I snapped the book closed. For whatever reason I couldn’t look past the book and maybe because it was hand written it was more fact than fiction. I hastily put the book down on the finished pile in front of me. If there was time I might pull it back o
ut. I dusted my hands off as if I’d touched something awful. I wasn’t a religious person but something in those pages bothered me without me even reading it.
I stopped putting it off and picked up the next book. I yawned deeply, feeling just how tired I was. I sat the book in my lap after I repositioned myself in the big leather chair. I lovingly touched the cover tracing the name succubus. I took more time and care with this book. I was happy to discover that this book was not hand written. However like the others, no author was listed. Later, when I had a chance I would look to see if these books were one of a kind.
If I thought this book was going to be a history lesson I was sadly mistaken. But then I should have understood from the title. I read almost from the beginning digesting each word. But the book came from the perspective of a potential victim and not from that of a succubus. The title should have clued me into that. It spoke of the beauty and allure of the demon comparing it to the compulsion of a vampire. It spoke about quickly breaking a kiss and never sleeping with one. It talked about the after effects if you didn’t die from their attack, but nothing in the book was of any use for me. I’d hoped that maybe I might find some bit of knowledge that would open my eyes. But really there had been zero to help my plight. I didn’t read the entire book. After several pages it had been clear there was no point. I set the book down.
I didn’t pick up anymore books. I leaned back in the chair slumping in its comforts. I closed my eyes to think why such strange books would be in Luke’s house. Was he researching me or maybe his father was? I mean Luke hadn’t been in this house much longer than I had recently, yet these books were sitting by this chair. Luke’s father was a pastor of a large church and it seemed sacrilegious for him to be reading them.
Beg for Mercy - kindle edition v3 Page 28
