“So what’s the deal with Xavier’s party?”
“I don’t know. He’s inviting everyone.”
“Why is he suddenly being so nice? What’s really going to happen at this party?”
“It does seem strange that they would have tattoos of the date.”
“We need to find out more. He likes you, so he’ll tell you anything.”
Ava sighed. “Mel, his answers are vague and he gives me the creeps. We have one more month until school ends and I’m trying so hard not to make it even more miserable. I’m done. He’s not a threat.”
“Don’t you think it’s strange that everything just stopped? Xavier’s bullying and the spying?”
“You don’t know if anyone is watching us. But I’ve not felt anyone since Barkley.” And Xavier in class, but she was getting used to him.
The doorbell rang, startling Ava. She opened the door, and inhaled a sharp breath. “I gotta go,” she told Melissa and hung up the phone.
Staring back at her, with relief in his brown eyes, was Peter. She’d missed his eyes, his unkempt hair, and the dimples in his cheeks.
“Peter?”
“Hi,” he sheepishly grinned.
She crossed her arms in front of her. “Why are you here?”
“I had to make sure you were okay. You weren’t at school all last week. I was worried about you.”
“Worried?”
“I thought Xavier had taken you. Given how chummy you two seem to be lately.”
The thought hadn’t crossed her mind that Peter would worry about her joining Xavier. She didn’t even think Peter still cared or thought about her.
She closed the door behind her, and leaned against the porch railing. “No. He didn’t take me. I didn’t feel like being at school last week.”
“Oh. Crap. It was the anniversary, wasn’t it?”
She nodded. “Yes. Is that really the reason you’re here?”
The look in his eyes grew tense. “I also wanted to talk to your dad,” he said with a serious tone.
“Why?”
“Ava, you’ve been skipping a lot of school lately and when you do come, you look like…well, you don’t look so well. I’m worried about you.”
“We haven’t spoken in three months. Why should you suddenly start caring?”
“I never stopped.”
“Well, you shouldn’t. I’m fine.” She hadn’t expected him to be at her house ever again. But seeing him made all the emotions wash over her. Ignoring him and secretly glancing at him in school was easier than this.
“I don’t believe you. I thought I could leave it alone, and I’ve tried for so long, but I can’t stand seeing you like this. No matter what, you don’t deserve this.” He stepped closer, until he was right in front of her.
Her heart faltered. “What are you talking about?”
“Thomas. I think he’s controlling you. Did he make you get back together with him?”
“No.”
“Why do you stay with him, Ava? I see how you are around him, and I know you’re miserable. I know it’s hard to talk about, but please, you know I’m still here for you.”
Be strong. “Thanks.”
An awkward silence fell between them.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
She spoke without thinking. “I miss you too.”
His gaze was deep, and she couldn’t look away. She gripped the wooden railing for support, while he stood dangerously close. He slowly raised his hand, and softly touched her cheek. Her pulse edged up a degree, and her insides twisted. No one had ever made her feel this way. It had been so long, but her feelings for him were still very much there.
“I can’t resist this temptation,” he said, and leaned closer. “I want to be with you.” His sweet breath made her jaw clench. She wanted to taste his lips, and feel his arms around her.
Her lips parted. She inhaled two short breaths and froze. No, no, no. She couldn’t do this. “Peter.”
He removed his hand, and stepped back.
She exhaled. Her heart throbbed against her chest. A surge of anger punched her, and her amulet warmed. She turned to stone. Thomas. Her phone rang, and she silenced it. Maybe she could make up an excuse by the time she got to the cabin. This wasn’t going to be easy.
“What is it?” Peter asked.
“Why did you do that?” It was easier being angry with him because then it masked what she really felt.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You almost kissed me. Why?”
“I wanted to.”
“I have a boyfriend,” she shouted and then pushed him.
“What am I supposed to do when I think about you all the time? This isn’t some cute high school crush. At least, it doesn’t feel that way to me.”
“I’m sorry that I seemed to have led you on.”
He stepped closer. “I know you still feel the same way about me as I do you.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Why do you let him control you? You’re better than that.”
She shoved him again and he stumbled off the porch. “Get out of here.”
“Has he threatened you? I’ve read cases about that. Girl can’t leave boy because he threatens her—.”
“Give it a rest,” she snapped. “He’s not abusing me.”
“They warned me about you being blind to the fact.”
Ava stood at the top of the stairs with her arms crossed. “They?”
He hesitated. “I spoke to someone. Anonymously. Look, it’s okay that you’re afraid. You just have to get away from him.”
“Peter, you don’t know what you’re talking about, okay? I told you we can’t be friends, so leave me alone.”
“You’ve changed, you know that? You don’t laugh anymore. You’re always on edge, like you’re expecting something to happen.”
“Don’t make me force you to leave,” she said. She tightened her fists, constricting the blood. They throbbed from the pressure.
Peter glared at her. The staring match and silence made her impatient. She couldn’t afford to be nice. She needed him to be safe from Thomas.
“Fine. But when Thomas puts you in the hospital, don’t come crying to me.”
That stung. “Just go.”
With defeat in his eyes, he sighed, and then walked to his car. Ava stormed inside, slammed the door, and pressed her back against it. She took several breaths, trying to calm down. Her hands were shaking.
Ava couldn’t believe what had just happened. She wished she could’ve let Peter kiss her, like any normal, sane girl would have. She’d missed him so much, and the ache of not being with him returned.
Hours later, Ava apprehensively arrived at the cabin. She’d done nothing wrong. They couldn’t possibly have felt her, but she knew that was a lie. She hadn’t exactly mastered hiding her feelings from the necklace.
Just as she entered, Thomas seized her arms, and slammed her against the wall. “I know you were with him.”
“What are you talking about?”
His blue eyes glowered. “Don’t lie to me.”
“You’re overreacting again. I was at home with Dad.”
His hands squeezed harder and began to warm her skin. “I can feel you, Ava. Stop lying. I know he was there.”
She inhaled. His hands, like hot irons, burned through her sweater, and pressed into her skin. The stinging, scorching pain injected through her.
“Thomas,” she cried. “Stop. It-it burns.”
“Hey,” she heard Melissa yell. Seconds later, she tried prying his hands from Ava. “Stop, Thomas,” she demanded. “You’re hurting her.”
With a quick movement, he pushed Melissa away, forcing her to fall. “You will never see him again,” he insisted.
The shock of the pain paralyzed her, and she could not focus enough to think of water. She blinked but all she saw was blinding flashes of white.
“Thomas!” Lance knocked him back, and crashed onto the floor.
>
Ava collapsed to her knees. The pain was so intense and it was hard to hear everything that was said. Melissa moved closer to her, and checked her arms.
“You’ve got to stay under control,” Lance demanded.
“What am I supposed to do when she is with him?”
“Ava, is it true?” Lance asked, annoyed.
“He came over,” she choked. Even though his hands were free of her arms, the burning throbbed. “He just wanted to know how I was doing. And then he left,” she panted.
“See? Nothing happened. Jesus, Thomas, get a grip.”
Melissa examined Ava’s arms. “You burned her bad.” The green sleeves of her sweater were tattered, revealing a dark red color where his hands had been. Blood oozed in small amounts.
Jeremy kneeled down. “Are you okay?”
“I think you need to get this taken care of,” Melissa said.
“I-I’ll go to Savina’s.”
“No,” Thomas said, and got to his feet. “Oh god, Ava, I never meant to hurt you, I swear.” A string of obscenities flew from his mouth in anger.
She looked at him, disgusted. Jeremy and Melissa helped her to her feet. “I’m going.”
“No, please. How could I have done this?” He stepped closer to her, but Lance held him back. “Let me help.”
“Stay away from me,” she demanded.
“You’re not going to follow her,” Lance said. “You’re staying here.”
“She’ll go to him.”
“Right now, even as much as you are my brother, I’d rather she go to him. You cannot be like this with her. Ever. If she does not love you, you can’t force her.”
“But I love her.”
“If you really did, you would never treat her like that.”
Ava turned and Melissa helped her outside.
Melissa frowned. “This is bad. I’m sorry he did this to you.”
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Savina will heal me.”
“I’ll take you.”
“No. I’ll go alone.”
“You’re not going to Peter’s are you?”
“I don’t know.” But all she wanted to do was see him. “I’m through pretending.”
“You know I want you to be happy, but there’s no way you can tell Peter any of this. You know as well as I do it isn’t safe. And you know what will happen if you tell him.”
“He doesn’t know anything. I promise. I would not compromise us like that.”
“Have you two been seeing each other this whole time?”
“No. Today was the first time we spoke in months. I don’t know why he came to talk to me after so long. But I have to at least somehow explain it to him.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Thomas is too dangerous,” she cried. “I’m through with him. It’s like he is just taking his power for granted and using it to the extreme.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
“Please, Melissa. I just need to see Peter. Just long enough to tell him how I feel and then I’ll leave him alone for good.”
“What’s wrong with leaving it alone?”
“I have to tell him something.”
“What could you possibly say? If you feel so strongly about him now, how do you think it’s going to be when you leave him again? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Peter’s never hurt me.”
Melissa sighed, and opened Ava’s car door. “I cannot believe I’m letting you do this. Just don’t tell him a thing. And what will you tell Savina?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“We’ll keep Thomas here. Get that taken care of.” She nodded to her aching arms.
“Thank you.”
“If you say anything to him, you won’t be thanking me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
RULED BY SECRECY
As Ava drove, she contemplated whether she should actually go to Peter’s or not. But the thought of seeing him was like hearing the beep of an alarm clock in a dream—one that constantly sounded and didn’t end. She wanted to give into her feelings, finally. She also wanted to test her theory—that if she was in pain, Peter could somehow take it away. She wouldn’t know how to explain any of this to Savina anyway. Giving in
Pulling up to the curb outside Peter’s house, she cut the engine, and waited for a moment. What could she possibly say to him? Would he even talk to her after today?
She opened the door and fumbled out of the car, trying to ignore the throbbing pain. As she carefully placed her jacket over her arms, the uneasy feeling of someone watching her returned, and then she froze. Had someone followed her or had they followed Peter? She looked around the quiet well-lit neighborhood.
A few porch lights were on a few houses down. There wasn’t a single movement or sound. She put her hand on her car door handle. She needed to get out of there, but then a light behind her flicked on. The door opened and she turned around.
Mr. McNabb carried a bag of trash. “Ava? Is that you?”
“Hi,” she said. “I know it’s late.”
“Are you okay?” She guessed that she must not have looked very well, given his reaction. He lifted the lid off the plastic trash bin at the curb and shoved the bag inside.
She nodded. “Is-is Peter—.”
“Come on in, he’s upstairs in his room.” He invited her in with his hand and they walked up the sidewalk together. Just before she entered, she no longer felt the mysterious presence.
“Thank you.” Ava forced a smile, and then walked passed him and up the stairs.
She appeared in the doorway of Peter’s room. He wasn’t there, but the shower sounded across the way. The nightstand lamp filled the spacious room with a soft yellow light. She crossed his room and peered out the window to see if she could see anything, hoping she hadn’t led anyone to his house, but nothing stirred.
Easing herself on his unmade bed, she lay down and cuddled with one of his pillows in an attempt to ignore the agonizing burn. She closed her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” She jumped at his sharp tone, and sat up.
Peter hesitated in the doorway. His wet hair stuck out in different directions. She noticed how sexy he looked in just his gray jogging pants and tried not to stare at his smooth bare chest. Her heart thrummed against her ribcage.
She met his warm brown eyes and his jaw relaxed. “I came to talk about today. And the past few months.”
“What’s the point? I think you made it perfectly clear earlier that you feel nothing for me.”
“I came to tell you the truth. This isn’t some crush for me either.”
He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Why should I care now? Did you finally realize I was right about Thomas?”
“Peter, there’s been so much going on with me and I can’t tell anyone about it. It hasn’t been easy. So much has changed and I’m not the same person I once was.” The words spewed from her lips as tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t realize so much emotion had bottled up inside her. “I don’t mean to play games with you. I just don’t know what to do.”
His eyes softened, and he sat down next to her. “I’ve noticed you changing, but I’m not talking about the front you’ve been putting up for me. You seem stronger and more aggressive actually. What’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“You can tell me anything, Ava,” he said.
She shook her head. “It’s not that I don’t want to, I just can’t.”
“Why?”
“I’m afraid of you…” Getting killed. “Look, if I tell you anything, they’ll hurt you.” She euphemized it for him.
“Who? Your friends?”
“No.”
“Who?”
“I can’t say.”
“Okay.”
She looked away and they sat in silence for a few minutes.
“I don’t understand why we can’t even be friends. I’m so frustrated by it all. It’s been so hard
for me these past few months without you. I know that sounds ridiculous.”
“It doesn’t. I’ve wanted to be with you,” she whispered. “But we can never be together.”
“Why? What is this hold that Thomas has over you? There has to be a way around this.”
The conversation with her dad flashed in her mind. No, no, no, she argued with herself. Peter needed to stay out of this. “There isn’t.”
“Does your dad know how Thomas treats you?”
“Yes.”
“And he’s okay with this?”
“No. Dad doesn’t like Thomas.”
“He doesn’t own you. I mean, if it comes down to it, we can call the police on him. Or talk to his parents. Or—.”
“No.” She looked up into his worried eyes. “We’re not together anymore, but it’s complicated. I’m bound to them. There are things that we’ve done, and things we have to do, but I can’t tell you what they are.”
“What are you talking about? Bound to them? What does that even mean?”
“I can only tell you that there would be dangerous consequences if you and I were together. I can’t promise your safety. I couldn’t bear to see you get hurt.”
“Is he forcing you to stay with him? Would he come after me again?”
She honestly didn’t know if he would, but she wouldn’t put it past him. “I wish I could tell you my situation,” she said, and her eyes welled up again.
“What kind of danger are you in?”
Feeling him so close made her want to forget all her inhibitions and kiss him. She hadn’t even felt the throbbing in her arms. Rebellious tears streaked down her face.
“Ava, what is it?” He swept her hair away from her face, which sent a shiver up her spine. She made herself stop crying before the necklace would glow.
“I knew this would be hard. This isn’t fair to either of us, but I just had to come.”
“I can’t imagine what kind of situation you’re in. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe from him. I just want to be with you. I can’t explain it.”
“I know. But please realize that Thomas isn’t the one you have to worry about. I just needed to tell you how I feel.”
“Would your friends seriously hurt me?”
They threatened before, but she wondered if Devon and his Cimmerians were still watching them. She couldn’t take any chances. “Not my friends. There are others, Peter.”
Under A Blood Moon (Elemental Enchanters) Page 21
