I nodded my agreement. “I know! It was so weird.”
“What did they talked about?” Juniper wondered aloud.
“If they talked,” Sadie pointed out.
“They probably didn’t,” I chuckled. “It was probably a macho-man-stare-down-each-other kind of thing. It’s how they’ve been the whole time.”
“We should have sent Mark with them,” Juniper declared a little sadly.
I whipped my head around, tangling the brush in it. “He wouldn’t have told us. He would have just said it was guy code not to tell girls, or something weird like that.”
She smirked, the shook her head. “I have my ways to make him talk,” she said coyly.
“Ewww,” Sadie exclaimed, throwing a pillow at her head. “No details, please!”
J held up both hands, showing surrender. “I’m not saying anything else.”
I turned my attention back to Sadie. “Why is this room so…not you?”
She rolled her eyes. “My mom and grandma decided to decorate it this way before I was even born. There used to be a crib in that corner,” she pointed to the far right, “for when I was little. They wouldn’t redecorate it for me, and every time I did it myself, they made me change it back.”
“Lame,” Juniper and I said in unison, causing us both to yell jinx. The giggles returned full force.
We spent the rest of the night talking, cracking ourselves up, and just being teenage girls. There was no curse, no Destroyers, no council, no taken parents, nothing that bad. We had much needed fun. Our eyes were tired from crying, our faces sore from smiling. We all passed out, falling deep into sleep our bodies desperately craved. For one night, nothing else was important.
Sadie
I crawled over Juniper and Olivia, careful to not touch them or wake anyone. Juniper once said she didn’t sleep much, but she appeared to be at the moment…or she could be faking and jump up and scare me at any moment. I moved a little faster at the thought. I slipped out of the room, keeping my feet silent, pulling the door closed without making it click. I crept through the hall, down the stairs, and past the living room where half the boys slept. I pushed the thoughts of Aiden from my mind, refusing to peek in there to see what he looked like when was sleeping. It was ridiculous, really, the thoughts my mind seemed to have.
The kitchen had two entrances. It was sort of a wrap-around room with one entrance coming from the living room direction, the other from the direction of Grandma’s libraries. I stopped dead in my tracks just outside of the right opening, noticing the small light above the sink was on. I eased in, careful to not make too much noise, but once again was stunned to freezing my movements.
Aiden stood with his back to me, sipping on a glass of water. His half clothed body held my gaze, his back muscles tight and taut each time he raised his arm. His disheveled, brown strands stuck out in all directions, his shorts sat low on his hips. My mouth was dry, dryer than the desert on a summer day. I stayed in that spot, but I must have made noise, because he turned suddenly. His eyes were like two pools on a sunny day as they slowly took in every inch of me in my tank and shorts. I wished I’d grabbed a robe in that second, but the appreciative expression quickly made me grateful I didn’t.
“Sadie,” his voice dipped lower than usual causing a chill to creep up the length of my spine.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was up,” I muttered. I tried to keep my eyes off his chest, but it was impossible. The smooth, hairless skin was calling to me, begging me to touch it. He was causing my mind to think things I didn’t want to think, didn’t want to deal with. Why? I had no idea, but I wanted it to stop.
He gave me a grin that could stop traffic. “No worries, I’m glad to have the company,” he said, inching closer.
I took a step back. I knew if he got in my personal bubble, nothing good would come of it. He noticed my hesitation, slighting his head and chuckling before taking a huge step, breaking right into my personal space. Breathing became difficult, thinking impossible. He stood there, staring at me with that smile, and I lost all sense I had. Before I could process what I was doing, I reached my hand out, grazing his skin from his shoulder to pushing more firmly as I trailed the length of his chest. His silky skin tightened under my touch, his head lowering dangerously close to mine. I pressed my palm flat as I felt my way back up to his neck, gripping his shoulder and sinking my fingers in his upper back. His forehead connected with mine, his breath hot on my face.
“Sadie,” he growled. He lifted his hand, intending to grasp my face.
I pulled back, snapping my head and shaking it a few time to lose the fuzzy feeling he gave me. My lips opened to speak, but I stopped. He gave me a confused expression that melted my heart, so I did the only thing I knew to do. I ran back upstairs.
Aiden
Watching her go cleared my mind, causing confusion to take precedence. Sadie Tabors, the girl that sassed and snapped at me pretty much every day, just felt up my chest. And oh, man did I enjoy it. Her soft, smooth skin felt like satin on my body. I’d been minutes…no seconds, from pressing my lips to hers when she just ran off. I may not be able to remember much from the three years I missed in high school, but I knew from the few months with Sadie and Olivia that teenage girls were nothing to laugh about. Confusion, paranoia, heartache, and desire all came to mind just from talking to one. I couldn’t imagine dealing with this day after day. I downed the last of my water, rinsed my cup, and tiptoed back to the living room. I figured Sadie went back to bed, but I wondered if she would tell anyone about what just happened.
###
The morning was Sadie-free, something I wasn’t prepared for. Juniper and Mark left for school, but Sadie insisted her parents pull her out to be home-schooled, according to Scott. Olivia had Kyle call and request her leave of absence for a sick relative. I didn’t like all the lies floating around because they were worried about what would happen with me. It settled wrong in my stomach, leaving me queasy.
“So, we have to go to the council headquarters?” I heard Liv saying as I tuned back in to my surroundings.
Anna nodded, rummaging through the cabinet for something. Her back was to us, but something was different about her. She wasn’t as headstrong and take-charge as she had been. Dark circles shadowed her eyes. “It varies. They move it every so often. I’ll have to find out where it is before you four make the journey.”
“Four? Who’s going?” I asked, intrigued.
All three people in the room stopped what they were doing. Anna rested her hands against the counter, Olivia downshifted her gaze, and Scott ran his hands through his hair. I gave them all a questioning look, wondering if I really wanted the answer.
“Me,” Scott started, “Livvie, my sister…and…you.”
“Me?!” I shouted, standing abruptly. “I’m no good to you. I don’t have any of your powerful stuff or anything. I’ll die.”
Anna turned, and gave what looked suspiciously like an eye roll. “They won’t kill you, Aiden. The council is good for the most part.”
“For the most part, yeah that sounds comforting,” I said sarcastically, sitting back down.
Scott stared at me. His eyes held something…anger…regret…questions. I couldn’t fully comprehend, but there was definitely something troubling him.
“Are you ok, man?” I inquired. He’d sat and tried to make friends with me at lunch yesterday. I thought things were going smoothly. Maybe we wouldn’t be enemies after all.
“Do you two have something you want to tell me?” he asked, voice flat, eyes hard.
Olivia peered up at him, her lashes looking longer than usual against her light skin. She placed her hand on his arm, squeezing gently, “What’s going on?”
He glanced at her, eyes full of emotion. “I heard you last night,” he whispered.
Her eyes grew wide, her lip quivered. I knew why he was mad. She hasn’t told him about me kissing her.
“Scott, I’m sorry, ok? It was a moment of weakne
ss, but I know now it was confusion. I don’t really have feelings for her that way, besides, even if I did, she blew me off seconds later. She pushed me away, declared her love for you, and I left. Please, don’t be mad at her. I take all the blame,” I told him.
“I’m not mad about the actual kiss,” he said, voice strained. “I heard enough to know it was nothing…I want to know why no one told me? Were you going to keep this from me, Olivia?” he questioned. The pain dripped from each word he spoke.
“I’m sorry. I was going to tell you, but then Aiden was taken and I didn’t know how. It wasn’t intentional,” she cried.
His fingers swiftly swept her tears from her cheeks, his voice smooth as he comforted her. “Ok, Livvie. I’ll trust you,” he said, then turned to me. “As for you…you get off this one time. Next time you touch my girl, I’ll break your face.”
I nodded, “I can deal with that. Again, sorry, and promise it won’t happen again.”
“It better not,” he snapped. He gave me a hard glare, then held out his hand for me to shake.
I took it, letting him grip me tighter than needed because I deserved it. I should never have touched her knowing her and Scott were together, how important they were to each other. It was all my fault, and I was thankful they forgave me.
“It won’t,” Olivia said softly. She gave me a soft smile, then turned to a gaping Anna. “Sorry you had to hear all of that.”
She pursed her lips and shrugged, “You kids heard worse than that from me yesterday. It’s nothing, trust me.”
“What happened yesterday?” I asked interest piqued.
Olivia told me she’d tell me later, quieting me for the rest of the morning. I finally found Sadie in the library, but she left the room before I could speak to her. This was going to be a very long day.
Scott
The days passed slowly after Aiden was taken, only to be returned. Grandma couldn’t figure out quite where the council was hiding, and Sadie was desperately searching for the solution to our dilemma while keeping up with her studies. Her birthday was merely days away, and Livvie and I were conducting some last minute shopping for her small get together.
It was late September, the leaves were changing, falling, and Livvie’s birthday was also fast approaching. She didn’t care, though, because Sadie’s sixteenth birthday was ruined because of everything going on, she claimed. I knew Sadie wouldn’t mind having a smaller party, but Livvie always thought of others first. She wanted Sadie’s sweet sixteen to be all that it could, and it obviously tore at her heart that it wasn’t, it couldn’t be.
We leisurely strolled the aisles of the local party decoration store, me bored, her busy planning. She picked things up, inspected them for what seemed like hours, only to shake her head and put them back. Frustrated, I wandered off, aimlessly looking for something to entertain myself. I found the jackpot, a whole aisle crowed with pink, frilly “sweet sixteen” deco that seemed to jump out at me and try to take over my soul. “Livvie,”I called, backing away slowly.
She rushed up, hands still empty, “Yeah?”
I swept my arm out, guiding her to the aisle. She took one step, looked around, and turned away.
“What are you doing?” I called. “This is what we need.”
“It’s all pink,” she said, brows raised like I should understand something I wasn’t getting.
“Annnnd?” I threw back.
“Sadie likes purple. She can’t stand all the frilly pink stuff. We need purple and…black or gray.” Spinning on her heel, she sauntered off.
She drove me nuts, but watching her walk away was enjoyable. Her hips swayed, her hair swung. I groaned inwardly, kicking myself for being so whipped by a girl, and hurried after her.
“This one,” she grinned, face beaming.
The whole aisle was black, gray, and white décor. I shrugged, still not understanding the whole party thing, not really wanting to, and followed her. She picked up napkins, plates, cutlery, streamers, balloons, and a whole armload full of other stuff that I had no idea what to use it for. She filled my arms, then hers, and still needed more room.
“Scott, we need a cart,” she informed me, looking expectant.
I chuckled, “Ok, I’ll go get one.”
She giggled, gave me a smile that would melt any man’s heart, and I was a goner. I rushed off to the front of the store, happy to drop the load of stuff. I quickly found my way back to her, my eyes bulging when I saw she’d laid her belongings down and now had yet another arm full of things.
“Why do we need all of this?” I questioned, bending to pick up the things on the floor. I threw them hastily in the cart, then grabbed the things she held. She was so small, I was afraid too much would overwhelm her and she’d drop it.
“To make Sadie have a special birthday,” she sighed, rolling her eyes at me. “Your mom told me I could be go buy decorations since I needed out of the house, and I’m not going to disappoint her. Do you know what would happen if your mom decides she doesn’t like me?” she was talking fast now, her words blurring together as her hands joined in the speaking. “Then your dad doesn’t, then Anna wonders why she liked me, then Santos, then Sadie, and bam, you have to choose between me and your family. I won’t let that happen, Scott Tabors.” She moved forward, her pointer finger pushed into my chest.
I couldn’t help but be amused by her. She was adorable. Her red hair was pulled away from her face, her green eyes bright with emotion. She was short, small, and a total firecracker. I loved it. “Ok. It won’t happen either way, but ok. Continue,” I instructed, bowing before her.
She laughed, swatting her hand at my arm as I rose. She finished the aisle, then continued on to the cake decorating aisle. She spent longer than I anticipated in the store, spending more than I imagined, but we finally left the agony that was birthday shopping.
“Now, we need a present,” she said happily after buckling herself in my truck.
“What?” I gasped. More shopping? I wasn’t prepared for this. “Have Juniper take you. There’s a reason I don’t go shopping with Sadie and this,” I said, eyes wide, hand moving in a circle between us, “is it. I don’t like this. It’s boring.”
She bit her lip, trying to hide her true thoughts. “Ok, ok. I surrender. I’ll go with Juniper, but…” she paused, and I groaned. “You still need to get her a present,” she reminded me.
I nodded, “I know. She is my sister, ya know,” I said, grinning.
She smiled. I backed out of the spaced, directing the vehicle to the highway back to Arrow Rock. We chatted, sang, and laughed the entire ride home. It was nice, for that small space in time, the few hours of the day, to pretend we were a normal couple.
Olivia
Tensions were high, emotions out of control. Sadie worked desperately to find some information, any information that told her we could fix the fact that I was the descendant. Scott pretended it wasn’t a constant force looming over us, threatening to take all we held dear. Anna didn’t speak of it much, but I saw the dark circles, heard the snap to her tone. She was worried.
Aiden…something was going on with him. I knew he was worried about The Crimson Calamitous, but I suspected him and Sadie had some sort of confrontation. She avoided him like the plague, and he chased her like an animal would prey. Juniper snuck her way to Anna’s house every few nights to check on things after her parents went to sleep. How they didn’t hear her, I wasn’t sure, but she managed to not get caught. Mark was almost as busy as Sadie, calling relatives and friends of relatives to see if they possessed the missing puzzle piece. The one thing we were desperately trying to find, the location of the council.
I hid all the decorations away as Sabrina instructed, then searched for Sadie. My nosiness was getting the best of me, and I needed to know what transpired between her and Aiden. As usual, she was hidden away in the secret library. Her long dark hair created a curtain around her face, her legs pulled under her, a huge book in her lap. She heard me come in, but she
must have thought I was Aiden, because she inhaled sharply, snapped her head up saying, “I told you I don’t want to talk about this.”
Her chocolate brown eyes widened, her mouth moved to form an “o.” “Hi, Liv, it’s you.”
“It’s me. What don’t you want to talk about?” I questioned, smiling widely and seating myself directly in front of her.
“Nothing,” she said all too quickly, then buried her head back under her hair.
“Sadie,” I said, gently pulling on the book so she would stop reading.
She reluctantly let go, lifting her face to peek at me. She appeared distraught, embarrassed, and confused. Her brows were furrowed, her eyes dilated, and she kept pushing her hair behind her ear, looking anywhere but my face.
“Talk to me. I won’t tell anyone,” I urged, giving her a warm smile.
She granted me one in return, then started picking at her nails. “I kind of touched Aiden’s chest the other night in the kitchen,” she whispered, muttering almost incoherently.
I cocked my head to the side, unsure if I heard her right. “You what?”
“I touched Aiden’s chest…the other night..in the kitchen,” she hissed, watching the door closely to make sure no one came barreling through.
I covered my mouth in shock, huffing out a few breaths. I was not expecting her to say that. “Well…did you like it?” I hissed back, grinning widely.
Her eyes widened even more, I didn’t think it possible, and a slow red crept up her cheeks. “Olivia!”
I shrugged. “He is cute. What happened…exactly?”
“The first night you guys were here, I couldn’t sleep so I was going down to get some tea. He was standing there, no shirt on, drinking water, and it was like I was possessed, Liv. I just reached out and touched him when he came closer. I mean, who does that? I’ve lost my mind.” She rambled on, her cheeks growing a deeper red with each word.
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