The Innocent

by Michelle K. Pickett

  “You’re sure? This time, it’s not coming off,” he warned.

  “Put it on.” I wiggled my finger.

  He slipped the ring on my finger, and I admired it. A small diamond in the center with our names engraved—one on each side. It wasn’t an engagement ring. It was a promise ring, or some people called it a commitment ring. It was a symbol that we promised to be true to each other and to love the other unconditionally until… I didn’t know when. Until we got engaged, married, and then died, I supposed. It sounded like a good plan to me.

  “There.” A satisfied smile curved his lips. “It’s back where it should be.”

  He gave me a quick kiss—much too quick—and drove us back to my house, where Xavier was hanging around.

  “Be cool, okay? For me?” I asked Chay.

  “Hey, I’m always cool.” He leaned over and kissed me slowly.

  “Sure you are,” I said when he lifted his head. I put my hand behind his head and pulled him to me for one more kiss before we went inside.

  Xavier was sitting in the living room, talking with my dad. For some reason, it made me angry with both of them, although my dad had no idea what had happened.

  “Well, now,” my dad said with a big smile on his face. “I see something sparkly on a certain finger on Milayna’s hand.”

  Okay, I’m officially not mad at my dad anymore.

  I held out my hand for my dad—but mostly Xavier—to see.

  “It’s about time it moved from around her neck back to her finger. Glad it all worked out, son,” my dad said, slapping Chay on the back.

  “Me, too, sir.”

  “I think it’s about time you start calling me John. You’re going to be part of the family. You can’t go around calling me Mr. Jackson all the time. I keep looking for my dad.” He laughed at his own joke.

  “Okay, si… Joh… Mr. Jackson,” Chay stumbled over the words like they were all horrible cuss words.

  “We’ll work on that later,” my dad said, squeezing Chay’s shoulder. “What are you two up to today?”

  “I was hoping I could steal your daughter for the day.”

  “Sure, why not. You have a romantic day planned, Chay?”

  “I try, sir.”

  “John, remember.”

  “Sorry,” Chay said with a grin.

  I ran upstairs to change. It was the quickest change in history. I didn’t want to leave Chay and Xavier in the same room too long, even if my dad was there to play referee.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” I called, walking down the stairs.

  “You’re beautiful,” Chay said.

  I felt my face flush. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself,” I said, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him.

  “You two can be downright nauseating at times,” Xavier grumbled.

  “That’s young love for ya,” my dad said.

  I gave my dad a kiss on the cheek. “See ya.”

  “Curfew, Milayna.”

  “Dad—”

  I’d been living alone at college for six weeks. I wasn’t used to having curfews or having to report to anyone about where I was going, how long I was going to be there, and who was going with me. I knew my parents did it because they loved me, but I didn’t want to be loved quite so much.

  “Okay, okay, but at least call if you’re going to be too late.”

  I smiled. “I will. And don’t tell Mom about the ring. I want to surprise her.”

  “My lips are sealed,” he said. I smiled. My dad couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. My mom did all the Christmas shopping and didn’t tell him what she bought for anyone because he’d slip and tell them.

  “‘Bye, Dad. Xavier.”

  “Goodbye, sir… I mean John… Sir John.” Chay groaned.

  I laughed.

  We walked outside, and I realized Chay didn’t bring his car. I was too preoccupied by the funeral that morning to notice. “You want me to drive?” I asked.

  “I don’t have a car.”

  “What happened to your yellow one? I loved that car.”

  “Needed the money,” he said with a shrug.

  “Oh. Here.” I tossed my keys to him. “You drive. You know where we’re going anyway.”

  “No, I don’t. I just wanted to get you alone. I had no idea where we’d go,” he said with a laugh. “I want to go to my house to change, and then we can decide where we want to go.”

  “Okay.”

  Chay drove around the block to his house and pulled in the driveway. He put the car in park and turned to look at me. “You stay here, okay?”

  “Why? Are your parents upset with me, too?”

  “What? No! They don’t even know about the thing with Xavier. It’s just… they aren’t home.”

  I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Oh, really?”

  “No, and don’t get any ideas. I don’t know when they’ll be back.”

  “When will they be back, Chay? I know you know.”

  He blew out a breath. “Okay, some time tonight. But—”

  “I’m coming in.” I was out of the car and to the front door before he could finish his sentence.

  I saw him sigh before climbing out of the car. He walked to the door, leaned one arm against the house with his hand curved over his head, and rubbed the back of his neck with the other. He looked at me and grinned. “You’re trouble, you know that, Milayna?”

  “What? I’m just going to have a Coke while you change. What’s the harm?”

  “None, as long as the Coke stays in the kitchen.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

  “Of course. Where else would it be?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  I shrugged a shoulder and smiled.

  Chay unlocked the door and moved out of the way so I could go inside. “The Cokes are in the refrigerator.” He pointed at it like I was slow. “The kitchen table is there.” Again with the pointing. “Get a Coke from there, move to here, and stay.”

  I laughed. “Yes, sir.” I saluted him.

  He leaned down and kissed me. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured against my lips.

  Wow, if he wants me to be good, he is gonna have to stop doing things like that. His lips moving against mine and his breath blowing over my lips is totally sexy. If he didn’t stop, I was going to have to bring out the big guns—I just need to figure out exactly what those are first.

  “Hey,” I whispered, walking into his bedroom.

  Chay looked up, sighed, and dropped his head. “Milayna, you’re supposed to wait in the kitchen.”

  “No, technically the Coke is supposed to wait in the kitchen. Besides, you’re dressed. Almost.”

  Geez, it should be a crime for him to look that good. Jeans unbuttoned, shirt hanging open, bare feet… sinfully sexy.

  “C’mon, Milayna, if you get caught in here, our parents won’t trust us.”

  “Chay, we’re adults. You’ve lived on your own. I’ve lived on mine. We’ve earned the right to make certain decisions.” I walked slowly around the bed, trailing my fingers over the top of the quilt as I went. I stopped in front of him.

  “Yes, but this is their house…”

  “Shh.” I put my fingers to his lips, letting them linger there, moving over his full bottom lip. They parted. My fingers fell away, replaced by my lips—tentative at first, and then bold, demanding.

  I plunged my fingers through his hair. My tongue darted into his mouth, the tip flicking against his. He moaned deep in his throat. I ran my hands over his chest, pushing his shirt over his shoulders. My fingernails grazed down the bare skin of his back and around his waist. I pulled the hem of my shirt up and over my head when his hands snaked out and grabbed my wrist. I froze and looked at him in question.

  He shook his head quickly. “We can’t.”

  “Huh?”

  “I gave your dad my word.”

  “I didn’t,” I said, pulling my shirt off and letting it drop to the floor.

  Chay groaned and bent down to pi
ck it up. When he stood, I let my bra flutter to the floor. “Damn it, Milayna, what are you trying to do to me?” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Get you to have sex with me.”

  He pressed my shirt to my chest and held it there. “I told you, I can’t. It doesn’t matter that I want to. Ah, damn, that… it’s killing me right now not to. But I gave your dad my word. So here,” he said, pushing the shirt tighter against me. “Take this before I change my mind.”

  “You’ll change your mind,” I said with a smile.

  “Milayna, please,” he ground out.

  I sighed loudly. “Okay. But you should know that this could damage me for life. The first time I throw myself at a guy and he rejects me because of my father. Yeah, this is definitely gonna put me in counseling for sure.”

  Chay burst out laughing. “Well, counseling is a small price to pay for me keeping my word.”

  “So you say. I say screw your word and screw—”

  “Please don’t finish that sentence,” Chay said with a chuckle.

  “Me,” I finished, smiling.

  Unfortunately, there was no screwing of any kind. We left right after that. Chay couldn’t usher me out the door fast enough. You’d think I was a carrier of the bubonic plague or some other deadly, disfiguring disease the way he practically dragged me from the house. If I hadn’t seen—and felt—his response to me in the bedroom, I would have been offended. As it turned out, I was kind of flattered.

  “Want to go get something to eat?” he asked, shoving me into the car.

  “Sure. I’m hungry.”

  We stopped at a little diner we used to go to all the time. It was an all-American-type diner. Our waitress wore roller-skates and there was a working jukebox in the corner. It looked like a rerun of Happy Days threw up and that was what came out. I loved it. Plus, they had the best chili-cheese dogs in the state of Michigan, which was what I ordered every time we ate there—a foot-long chili-cheese dog—minus the onions—and French fries. Truthfully, I wanted onion rings and extra onions on my hot dog, too, but I wanted to kiss Chay more and I didn’t want onion breath when I did. I was taking a big enough risk by eating the chili dog. So I didn’t get the onions but I got the kisses, and they were astronomically better.

  “It’s been four days since Vann,” I said around a bite of hot dog.

  He took a drink of his pop and nodded. “I know.”

  “Do you think demons have a time for mourning their dead like we do?”

  Chay laughed, but it came out bitter. “I doubt it.” He reached across the table, took my hand, and kissed my palm. It sent jolts of electricity to every nerve ending in my body.

  “That tickles,” I whispered.

  He smirked.

  “You can’t do things like that and not expect me to try to seduce you when we’re in a house full of beds.”

  He laughed. “I’ll remember that.”

  “Any guesses on who it might be?” I asked.

  “Don’t do that, Milayna. You’ll drive yourself crazy with worry and you know there’s no way you can predict what they’re going to do next.”

  I nodded. He was right. I knew he was. It just wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear. I wanted to know where to focus.

  “The night the hobgoblins told me Mae died…” I cleared my throat, looking to the side. “They said Azazel was going to target everyone in my life unless I turned. That he’s going to make me watch everyone who means anything to me die… and then he’ll kill me last.” My gaze found his then. I felt the electrical current wash over me just seconds before the bridge linked us together. I sucked in a breath when his emotions hit me. They were so strong that I had no trouble picking them up. It was almost as though he laid them out, knowing I’d come and take a peek.

  “What do you see when you do that.”

  I blinked and ended our connection. “Um.” I shook my head and looked down at my plate. “I don’t really see anything. It’s more a feeling.”

  “And what did you feel?” When I didn’t answer, he reached for my hand, threading out fingers together. “What did you feel? You just did your freaky connection thing, right? You plugged in and got an instant update about everything I’m thinking?”

  “No, it doesn’t work like that. I mean, yes, I kind of plug-in, I guess. But I can’t read your mind. I mean, I don’t know what you’re thinking. I just…” I blew out a breath and shrugged. “I feel what you, or whoever, are feeling. That’s all.”

  Chay chuckled and gave my hand a soft squeeze. “That’s all? And what did you feel?”

  I smiled quickly and looked down. “You’re sorry,” I whispered. “I can feel your anxiousness that I don’t believe how sorry you are for leaving.” I leaned forward and grabbed his other hand. “But I do. I mean, I wish it had been different, but I get it. I know you’re sorry. You don’t have to keep worrying.”

  He swallowed hard, his adam’s apple bouncing in his throat. “What else?”

  “Um, you’re scared. You’re scared that the Four Brothers will hurt me.” I tilted my head and watched him. “You’re not scared for yourself, though. Just me and Ben…”

  “Yes. And?”

  “Chay, it’s,” I sighed. “That’s all,” I said finally.

  He grinned. “No it’s not. First, I know what I’m feeling, so I know that’s not all. And second, you are a piss poor liar.”

  I laughed and nodded. “Yeah, okay, you’re right.” I pulled my hand back and took a drink. “You’re worried that you’re going to hurt me.” I watched his eyebrows knit. His grip on my hand increased. “But you shouldn’t be.”

  “For someone who claims she can’t read minds, you’re doing a good job of it. What else?”

  “What am I? A carnival game?” I laughed. Chay watched me with a small grin. I fidgeted in my chair. For some reason I was more uncomfortable than he was, considering he’s the one who had someone snooping in his emotional closet. “Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “Love. Okay? You have a strong current of love. It’s like it runs through the other emotions you have, not independently of them. I don’t know what that means. I don’t sense that in other people.”

  He stared at me, seemingly digesting what I’d told him. Finally, he smiled and kissed my hand. “That’s because everything in me loves you. My love for you can’t be independent because it’s ingrained in me. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t love you.” He leaned back and flopped his arm across the back of the booth. “So there you go.”

  “Only you would end probably the most beautiful declaration of love with ‘so there you go.’ It was romantic until you dropped that.” I laughed.

  Lady. Holding her throat. Hot dog.

  My stomach started to clench and I dropped my head into my hands.

  “Oh, geez, I’m having a vision.” My stomach churned. I could feel the chili-cheese dog I ate slosh around inside it. A very unladylike burp worked its way up, and I covered my mouth just as it slipped out. Chay looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I shrugged a shoulder.

  I pushed the rest of my chili-cheese dog away. I knew if I took one more bite, I was going to hurl right in the middle of the dining room.

  Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea, I thought. I grabbed my hot dog and ate it as fast as I could. The vision kept swimming in my head.

  The lady choking on her hot dog… her friend screaming for someone to help her. The woman collapsing on the floor while other people stood and stared as her face turned a grotesque shade of blue.

  “What are you doing?” Chay asked, watching me scarf down my lunch. “We have all afternoon.”

  “I know.” I held up a finger. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”

  My stomach felt queasy. I heard the woman laugh and looked over at her. Her hot dog was in her hand. My mouth started to water… the kind of saliva that accumulates just before someone pukes. The lady lifted her hot dog to her mouth. I could feel myself start to gag; it wouldn’t be much longer. The lady stopped to
say something to her friend before she opened her mouth to take a bite. Just as her hot dog reached her lips, I spewed my chili-cheese dog all over the floor. It hit the tile and splattered around our tables, landing on neighboring diners’ pant legs.

  The room erupted in a collective “gross” or “disgusting.” The woman who was going to choke on her hot dog threw it down and pushed her plate away. The vision cleared.

  Chay just stared at me and then started laughing. “That’s a new trick,” he said. “I haven’t seen that one.”

  “Yeah, that one’s new. Let’s get outta here before they stage a revolt and sacrifice me to the chili-cheese gods,” I said, only half joking.

  Chay left a bigger-than-necessary tip for our waitress, I suspect to make up for the puke surrounding the table.

  We were wiping off what remained of my refunded lunch before getting in the car when Chay looked at me. “You had a vision in there?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “About?”

  “Some lady was going to choke on her hot dog and no one was going to help her.”

  “So you embarrass yourself and make yourself physically uncomfortable—puking isn’t exactly fun—just to help the lady?”

  “I have to—you know that.”

  “You could have simply talked with her.”

  “No, I ran that scenario through my mind. It didn’t change anything.”

  “You can do that? Run through different actions and their outcomes?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

  “Can’t you?”

  “No wonder Azazel wants you to switch sides so bad. No, I can’t, Milayna. I don’t know of any other demi-angel who can. How far are your visions?”

  “What?”

  “How far can you see? How far do your visions reach?”

  “Oh.” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I saw you in Houston and New Orleans, but that doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean you were there. It just means I wanted you to be there so we could find you.”

  “I was in Houston. I was in Houston for most of the time I was gone, working for an oil company. On a rig in the Gulf. Your visions are strong enough to see from Michigan to Texas. Azazel’s mouth must be watering with the thought of turning you.”