by Mary Martel
I popped the lids off the jars and filled them halfway with the nails and razor blades, splitting them up evenly amongst the jars. The sharp objects kept the bad, bad things away.
I sprinkled the salt into each jar, roughly a teaspoon each, but I didn't exactly measure it.
I added the holly next. Each jar got one waxy, green leaf to itself. There were a few leaves left in the bag and I would return them to the basement so I didn't feel bad about being wasteful.
Second to last was the ribbon. I dug a wicked-looking knife out of the trunk and hacked away, cutting the ribbon into four separate pieces. Into the jar they went.
Using the same knife, I made a thin cut on the inside of my pointer finger, over a preexisting, thin white line. I held my finger over each jar and squeezed until several drops of blood landed in each jar. Unceremoniously, I dropped the knife back into the trunk and stuck my finger into my mouth. Didn't want to risk getting blood on my shiny new rug. That shit stained and I wanted to keep my room pretty.
I sucked on my finger until the taste of copper no longer filled my mouth. I despised the taste of blood, but I disliked ruining my things even more.
I picked my last object up—the white candle. I needed something else for this part, and I wouldn't find it in the trunk.
I sat the candle down on the rug beside the jars and stood up. In the bathroom, I found several of those small paper cups beside the sink and took a few of them.
I pulled open a drawer that had a bunch of my stuff in it like tampons and random hair ties and dug around until I found what I was looking for. A black BIC lighter with a green, happy-looking t-rex on it. Bingo, baby. I had these little buddies all over the place and I could still never find one when I needed it. Today was my lucky day.
Back in my bedroom, I sank back onto the rug before my trunk. I flicked my lighter to life after picking the candle up. I didn't even need the lighter, but I wanted to keep my energy up in case I needed to make a big move, with the Council anything was possible. I didn't want to deplete my energy doing parlor tricks.
I held the candle aloft for a minute while the wick burned. When the wax began to pool I held the candle over one of the jars and tipped the candle to the side, spilling wax over where the lid screwed onto the jar, sealing it shut with wax.
Not even enough to do an entire jar. I let it burn a little, and when there was a tiny bit of wax, I tipped it over and allowed the wax to drip into the bottom of one of the paper cups. Before the wax could harden, I stuck the butt of the candle in there and held it until the wax was solid. I left the candle there standing up straight and burning.
I picked up another candle off the rug and lit the wick. I repeated the process and stuck the butt of the candle into a tiny pool of wax in the bottom of another tiny paper cup.
When the wax pooled up on the candles, I picked them up, paper cups and all, and poured the wax over the jars, sealing the lids in place.
When it was all done, I was emotionally drained and exhausted. After my confrontation with Adrian, I must have been cruising on an adrenaline rush and now I was crashing hard.
I stowed away everything back inside the trunk, but the now sealed jars, and tucked the trunk away under the bed. I ran my hand smoothly over the top of the trunk and heard the lock click into place.
I decided to skip taking a shower and to even skip out on pajamas.
Standing, I scooped up the jars in my arms and carried them over to my dresser where I placed them beside my cellphone and the remote to the television. Tomorrow, I could finish what I started.
For now, I was going to bed. It was early, the clock said eight p.m., and still the house remained as quiet as a tomb.
I stripped down to my cami and underwear. I dropped the rest of my clothes into a neat pile at the foot of my stupid bed. Tomorrow they could go into the laundry basket in the closet Dash and I shared until one of us decided to do the laundry. Which would be Dash, just in case you were curious. If I did our laundry, he would get annoyed with me.
I didn't have to work at the shop tomorrow, so I didn't bother with setting an alarm on my phone. But I did grab the remote control off the dresser before crawling into bed directly underneath my dream catcher.
I got comfortable and turned the TV on. Going through my apps, I pulled up Amazon Video and went to my library. Tyson and I had a thing for sports shows and we'd watched all of Friday Night Lights. We'd moved from football to basketball and were now watching One Tree Hill.
I wasn't invested in the show yet, not like I had been with FNL, but I figured I just needed to watch more of it.
I set the sleep alarm on the TV to shut off in forty-five minutes and hit play on episode five.
I fell asleep five minutes in, and I still didn't like it as much as FNL.
I woke up briefly when large bodies pressed in on me from both sides, sandwiching me in.
"What's going on?" I mumbled drowsily, as I snuggled into the body in front of me. The person behind me wrapped their arm around my middle.
"Sleep, pretty girl," one of the twins whispered. I was too tired to tell which one had spoken. Usually I could always tell the difference.
"Sleep," the other one whispered before lips pressed against my temple.
I did what they said and I slept.
Peacefully.
And without dreams, even happy, fluffy ones.
Chapter Three
I Can’t Swim
"Just what do you expect me to do with this?" Addison asked curiously, as he stared down at the shovel in his hand that I had just handed to him. His hair looked white today and his blue eyes shone with mischief.
The twins always made for good company when I planned on doing something crazy. They usually never complained or asked questions either. Guess today wasn't my lucky day. Go figure.
"This is a whole new level of crazy," Abel told his brother with a happy little grin on his face. "We have the best girlfriend ever."
I rolled my eyes and handed my pepper twin a shovel that matched his brother's. His black hair looked almost dark blue in the sunshine and his green eyes practically glowed in his pale face.
"Relax, boys," I said as I rolled my eyes. "It's not like we're going to be burying bodies or anything like that."
"Bummer," Abel muttered under his breath, making my lips twitch in amusement. "This is a lot less exciting now."
I shrugged, not caring if he enjoyed himself or not. I hadn't invited either of them along with me. They'd attached themselves to me like a suckerfish to glass and these boys were going nowhere. If he didn't like where things were going, then perhaps he should really think more before jumping in with both feet.
"Boo hoo," Addison mocked his brother. He didn't seem to have a problem with his shovel, he was simply curious. "You're acting like a baby."
Oh lord. Not this crap again. If they started fighting with each other, I would need to take those shovels away from them before they started dueling and someone got seriously hurt.
"Boys," I started, hoping to shut it down before things went south. Sometimes they listened to reason, but distracting them was always a better idea. "How about we get down to business before someone sees us standing out here in the backyard with shovels and they come out to drag me back inside so they can lock me up in my room?"
They both held their shovels up and grinned at me.
"By getting down to business," Abel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "do you mean we're gonna get naked out here on the grass and finally do the deed?"
I ignored this, but there was no hiding the blush that likely burned brightly on my cheeks.
"We really only need the one shovel," I told them. "One of you needs to put one back. If you want, we can alternate at each place so that way you both get to dig holes."
"Why exactly are we digging holes?" Addison asked curiously. "You never did tell us what we're doing."
Because at first I didn't think it was any of their business. I still didn't.
&
nbsp; I shrugged in answer and started to walk away from them, around the house and into the backyard. And I stopped short with my mouth dropping open.
The entire backyard looked to be under construction. A giant hole had been dug not far from the back porch. A mound of dirt was piled up on both sides of the hole. I stepped up to the edge of it and stared down into the dirt. It was deeper on one side, the side farthest away from the house. The side closest to the house was shallower, maybe four feet deep at most.
"Speaking of burying bodies," I joked. Or so I hoped I was joking, you never knew with this crew. "How many dead people do you think would fill up this hole? And where in the heck did it come from?"
Maybe Quinton had decided on how he wanted to deal with the Council, assuming he'd been told like I had instructed, and he'd taken a page out of Rain's book. Fuck, there were dead bodies in the basement already, so why not the backyard as well?
I kicked at the pile of dirt and small chunks sprayed down into the hole.
"Quinton decided that since you're here now, we need a pool. Only the best for you, pretty girl."
Say what? For once since waking up this morning, the looks on their faces were dead serious.
I didn't need a pool. I didn't even know how to swim. I had gone to the beach a handful of times in my early teens, but I'd never gone into the water past my knees. There'd also been a public pool you could pay to use not far from the last apartment I'd shared with Vivian. Sometimes I stood on the outside of the fence with my fingers gripping the wire and I'd watch everyone else as they had a good time, acting carefree like they didn't have a problem in the world. I couldn't even afford to get in if I'd wanted to and I didn't own a bathing suit.
Maybe I did now though. Who knew what in the hell was actually hanging up in my closet these days.
The beach had been better because I'd actually been able to get my feet wet and the sand between my toes had felt amazing. I never went out past my knees, not just because I couldn't swim, but because I had an insane fear of sharks. People who were attacked by a shark and then later went on to whine about how they couldn't believe they'd gotten attacked in the first place were complete and total assholes.
"I can't swim," I said distractedly while wondering if I'd still have a fear of sharks in a pool as well. If it got deep enough, probably. Irrational, I knew, but that was how fear worked sometimes.
This pool idea had to go. Pronto. If it stayed they'd force me to get in there and no way in hell was that going to happen.
"What?" they both asked in unison. "Who doesn't know how to swim?"
Obviously me, because I'd just said so, that was who.
Considering their parents died in a plane crash where not everyone died in the initial crash, but plenty of people either drowned or were eaten by sharks, I didn't think this conversation was one we should be discussing.
We couldn't bury anything close to this monstrosity. Perhaps it should be closer to the house anyway.
I walked away from the hole and the mounds of dirt surrounding it. There were small rocks under the back porch, which I thought were ridiculous. Did they look pretty under there? Sure. Were they going to be outrageous for me to put back so other people didn't know that I had disturbed them in the first place? Absolutely.
I pointed down at the rocks. "Here. This is the perfect place to dig a hole. One of you get to it. Chop chop."
"You're joking, right?"
"Pretty girl," Abel cooed, "you know I love you like nobody's business, and normally I'd give you anything you asked for, but today it's just not going to fly. I'm sorry."
This was why boys weren't always worth it and I often found myself with a headache.
I turned around to stare them down and slammed my hands down on my hips. "Let me get this right. You both follow me out here demanding to know what we're doing when you weren't even invited along in the first place, and now you want to argue with me and tell me no, you can't do it? And you're sorry?"
I threw my hands up in frustration and I wanted to tip my head back and scream up at the sky. Not at the twins, just to let out my emotions.
"I'm not messing with Quinton's rocks," Addison told me, sounding like he thought I was crazy. "He just put them down and he's taking this whole backyard makeover way too seriously. The pool isn't the only thing he's planning for back here. Now that you and Dash are all moved in and tucked away, he thinks this is gonna be your forever home."
A forever home sounded kind of nice and terrifying all at the same time.
Abel nodded, agreeing with what his twin had said. "It's true. He's obsessed with making sure the rest of your life is absolutely perfect and that you have all the things you never had growing up. This place is going to look picture-perfect when it's all said and done."
"We're not complaining, because we live here too and I'm already envisioning spending my days laughing by the pool and living out my best life. But..."
I closed my eyes tight and bit my bottom lip to keep my emotions at bay. In true Quinton behavior, he went out of his way to be sweet to me without even telling me about it. I loved that prickly asshole so much.
Still, I didn't want a pool.
"Fine," I sighed and opened my eyes. "We'll dig a hole just outside the rocks so as not to disturb Quinton's aesthetic. Get to it, boys."
They looked at each other, having a silent conversation I wasn't privy to. Addison shrugged and Abel stepped forward with the shovel. I pointed to a spot on the grass and Abel started digging.
I shrugged the backpack I hadn't used since I'd dropped out of high school off my shoulders and carefully placed it on the grass at my feet. I sat beside the bag and stretched out my legs, spreading out and getting comfortable on the soft grass.
Addison dropped down beside me. He stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his feet at the ankles. His hands went into the grass behind him and he leaned back, totally relaxed and unconcerned as we watched his twin dig a hole in the ground.
I sat forward and pulled the backpack into my lap. The jars inside clinked against each other loudly. Abel paused with the shovel in the ground, his combat boot pressed down. His head slowly turned to the side and a curious eyebrow quirked up.
"What's in the bag?" His twin asked beside me.
"At least now I know how big to dig the hole," Abel grumbled.
I unzipped the bag and pulled out a jar, leaving the other two in there. I already snuck down to the basement and stuck one in the dirt down there where Vivian had been buried.
Even though I was no longer afraid to be down there, it still gave me the creeps to be messing with that dirt. Maybe I shouldn't have put a jar down there because it seemed wrong on some level. I'd done it anyway because there hadn't been another place I could think of that would be better to hide it where someone else wouldn't find it.
"Do I even want to know what you've put inside that jar? And how many more of them do you have in that bag of yours?" Addison inquired.
"I've got one for Julian and Damien's house, and another for Rain's cabin. I'm not messing with the shop because of all the weird stuff that was found in the basement when Ty first bought the place. That's some really bad juju I'm not about to mess with because it scares the crap outta me."
Addison reached over and plucked the jar out of my hands. He turned it around, studying it.
"Curious," he murmured. "I can feel an energy coming from inside it. It's warm and protective feeling, makes me almost feel safe just holding it in my hands."
His words made me happy. Hopefully that was what it was supposed to do. That was the thing about spells that always worried me, you never really knew exactly what you were going to get out of it.
A shadow fell over me right before Abel's shovel slammed into the grass beside me, sliding right into the dirt below.
"Give me that," he ordered and plucked the jar out of his twin's hands. He didn't even spare the contents a glance, he just walked over to the hole he'd dug and unceremoniously dro
pped the jar.
I flinched as the jar thudded in the dirt, expecting it to be broken into a hundred shattered pieces.
I pushed myself up to my feet and walked over to stand over the hole Abel had dug for me. The jar lay on its side in the dirt, completely intact.
I kicked my foot out and dirt mixed with grass flew down into the hole, partially covering the jar.
Abel tugged on the sleeve of my hoodie. "I got this, honey. Go back and keep my twin company."
He called me honey. Super sweet. And he was looking after his brother. Even sweeter.
I grinned at him as my hand went to his bicep. I squeezed gently and stepped into him. "You're such a good brother and such a sweet boyfriend." I flicked my tongue out across his bottom lip. "Love you lots, Abel."
His eyes widened and he started blinking quickly. I wasn't usually so open with my feelings and voicing them, so when it came out of my mouth it always seemed to take them by surprise. Eventually, they'd get used to me being open with my love for them. But I never, ever hoped they stopped feeling overwhelmed with goodness when they heard it.
I walked away from him. Not because I wanted to, but because he'd asked me to take care of his twin and I would give him anything he ever asked of me.
Stepping around my backpack, I walked up to Addison and plopped down into his lap. He grunted and wrapped his arms around my middle. Whatever, buddy, I didn't weigh that much. He probably weighed over twice as much as I did, he was a big guy. They both were.
I snuggled into him and my hands pressed against his stomach. Slowly, they moved up his body, my thumbs swiping across his nipples, and further up. I stopped moving at his shoulders and my fingers curled in, holding on. He sucked in a sharp breath. His hands slid down my back, going straight to my ass. He picked me up and pulled me against him. My legs wrapped around his waist and I blinked up at him slowly, wondering how we'd gotten here. We were outside, anyone could come along and see us. Instead of freaking me out like it normally would, it sent a slight thrill through me.
