Entrelacen (22 page)

What the hell was that about? Everything was
great like two seconds ago, and then he flipped. I’ll
never understand how the male mind works. He’s
right though; he just didn’t have to be a jerk about it.
Maybe I shouldn’t have let everything happen last
night. Maybe I should have let him go home. Not that
I regret having sex with him, but the feelings have
intensified. How could I be so stupid and think that it
would be okay?

Taking a few breaths, I look at my messy bed,
sigh, turn around and walk out, closing the door on
everything that could have been. This is the right
thing to do. This has to be done. I can’t have any
distractions. I was potentially jeopardizing my
purpose by getting worked up over Logan. So what if
we don’t have a future? We had that one moment, and
that’s enough. Right?
It’s just a week until the full
moon April. You can get through this
. That is the
mantra repeating in my head. I can do this. If Logan is
still around after this week, then I’ll be the clingy girl
I promised myself I would never be. I'll throw myself
at him if I have to. He will have no other choice but to
have me by his side.

To say the car ride is tense would be an
understatement. The fact that every channel on the
radio is playing “Closer to You” by Adelitas Way only
makes the situation worse. So I play the CD I have in.
Can you guess what song plays first? If you said
Adelitas Way, you would be right. Skip. Next song is
by Trapt, called “Ready when you are". I guess I’m
not going to catch a break. I let the song play because
it’s an awesome song.

I make it to the store in record time. Granted
we only live a few miles away, but today the sooner
he gets out of my car, the better. There are a few cars
in the parking lot. I hope my Snow White is inside
waiting with a stack of books for me to read, so I can
get my mind off of Logan. Gran is in the store when
we walk in. She takes one look at us, shakes her head,
and walks to the back. I mentally sigh. Maybe I
should just quit. I love this store though. I love the
books, the energy, Gran…Logan. I look around to see
if the kids are waiting for me yet. A few are, and the
others are searching for books.

I feel someone staring at me. I get the chills,
and the hair on my neck stands up. I look around and
see nothing strange in the store. I turn around and
look outside. Standing next to my car is a guy I’ve
never seenbefore, and he’s too beautiful to even try to
describe. He’s smiling at me in a way that is meant to
be inviting, but everything inside of me is cringing. I
look to my right and see Logan by the coffee staring
at the guy outside like he knows him. He definitely
knows the guy, but he’s not happy that he’s here. He’s
pissed. I turn to look back outside, and he’s standing
in front of me. The door is the only thing that is
separating us. His eyes are a deep brown color, and
they have a dark shadow underneath them. His skin is
pasty white and flawless. His lips are blood red. They
don't look good on his face. He tries to push the door
open, and my hand automatically goes up to the glass
to halt the movement.

He smiles, and his eyes narrow. He tries to
push again, but the movement is stopped by my hand.
He’s starting to scowl, and I’m completely confused
because this guy is so big that he should be able to
force the door open. I can see in the corner of my eye
that Logan is trying to make his way over to me, but
the kids keep stopping him. I’m grateful for their
distraction. I don’t need him to fight my battles.
Whatever is coming for my kids is going to have to
get through me first.

The man starts to move his lips like he’s
saying a spell. I see his hand turn red as he places it
against the glass on the other side of mine. I know I
should be scared. I know I should back away, but I
just concentrate on everything I know about myself:
the love I have for the boys, the determination to keep
them safe, and the knowledge of my bloodline. These
words pass through my mind, and I know it’s for
protection.

But with your help I shall be
strong
And banish all that do me wrong
Send them away,
send them

I say it under my breath. It must be a spell
because a white light starts shining around my hand,
and I feel heat. He wasn’t expecting me to do that
because his scowl changes to shock. His hand drops
from the glass, and he disappears from my view.

I look over at Logan, and he’s staring out the
window. I can’t see what he’s looking at from where
I’m standing, but it’s safe to say that it’s our little
friend. I can tell by the anger rolling off of him.
Before he gets a chance to corner me, I turn around
and head towards the back room to talk to Gran.

“Okay Gran. I know you know what just
happened out there, so don’t try to deny it. How did I
know that spell, and why the hell was a light radiating
out of my hand?” I manage to get out my question
before having an anxiety attack.

“Calm down April, and sit down,” she sighs.
“The reason you knew the spell is because it’s inside
of you. You know things you don’t realize because it
has been passed through your blood from generation
to generation. As for the light, a witch's power
manifests differently for each individual. Maybe your
power represents something bigger and is viewed by
those who know of magic as a white aura or light.”

Okay. That makes sense, I think. So I
’m a
witch. I knew that, butIt’s different to actually
experience being one. I have to wrap my head around
this because if I can do that again, my chances of
saving my family are greater. I know I can save them.
Walking away from Logan was hard, but at least now
there’s hope.

“Okay. Okay, I can do this. I have to do this.
So I’ll get random images in my head when I need
something? Is that what you are saying?”

“Basically yes. You can learn things by me, or
you can just rely on your intuition," she speaks like
this isn’t a big deal.

“Gran, you have to realize you grew up in this.
I knew about it but have never actually practiced it, at
least not knowingly. This is a huge deal for me. You
do realize that, right?”

“Child I’m not worried about what is coming;
It’s already here. It’s here, just like it was for Logan 5
years ago. The thing you fail to realize is that it never
leaves. It just focuses its attention elsewhere when
they’ve lost the battle with the one they seek.”

“Do you think I should take the week
off? I
love this store, and I don’t want to quit, but I need to
be able to be around the boys. Distractions can’t
happen,” I say sadly. “We both know my biggest
distraction is in the other room.” The last part comes
out as a whisper. A few new cracks are forming on my
heart. Right now, in this moment, I wish I was a kid
again. You can cover up skinned knees with band aids,
but you can’t cover the cracks of a broken heart.

Gran looks at me like part of her is breaking
too. We’ve all become so close in the short time that
not seeing each other every day is hard to imagine. “I
think that would be the best option April. You will
always have a job here no matter what happens.
Handle what you must and then come back. I know it
seems like all is lost, but remember that love always
finds a way.”

I shrug because I’m not sure I would be able to
use my voice right now. I know that walking out the
door right now is the smart thing to do, the right thing,
but why does it feel so wrong? Before I can think
about things further, I walk over to Gran and hug her.
“Thank you for everything Gran, but I think I need to
go right now before I change my mind and jeopardize
everything. I love you, and I’ll see you soon.”

“I know child. I love you too. Don’t worry.
Everything will work out. You’ll see. I expect you in
this shop bright and early in a week with donuts," she
laughs.

I offer her a smile. Now I need to try to go
back out to the front of the store without Logan seeing
me. I peek out and see that he’s occupied reading to
the kids. Biting my lip, I walk out of the new age
section and down the aisle that leads straight to the
door. I make it to the door, and when I push it open, I
turn back for one last look. He’s staring right at me
with a look of hurt.
You have to do this April. No
distractions, remember?
Dropping my gaze, I turn my
head, push the door open, and walk out.

I know that no one noticed the
white light coming from April’s hands or
the protection spell that she said guarding
everyone in the store. That doesn’t bug
me. What bugs me is the fact that I
couldn’t make it over to her to help. She
doesn’t need this added stress in her life.
Whatever she said in her spell made him
walk away, but I made sure to keep watch
on him.

Once he got out of her vision, he
turned and looked right at me. I knew
him. He was the same guy who gave me
the choice four years ago, the same guy
who put me into a coma. I can’t prove
that obviously, but I know it was true.
What is he doing back here, and why
April? He smirks and salutes me as he
walks away. Then he’s gone out of my
sight, but I know he’s still out there
somewhere. I can feel him.

I turn to look at April and see her
disappearing into the back room. Good,
she’s going to talk with Gran. These pesky
kids want to be read to, so I sit down and
begin reading. I’m almost done with the
second book when I notice her. She’s
focused with her head down and walking
straight for the door. Just when I think
she is going to keep going, she stops. I
know she can feel me looking at her. She
turns around and looks right at me. It
takes everything in me to remain seated
and not get up to hug her. To take that
look of defeat off her gorgeous face. Her
eyes show the fight within her. She is
debating, and I know the moment I lose.
Her eyes aren’t their normal hazel; they
have changed to light brown. She’s made
her choice, so she turns and walks away
from me without another glance. She is
gone.

I finish the book I was reading and
pretend that nothing had just happened. I
can’t believe she wouldn’t even say bye.
How could she do that, especially after
what happened between us last night? I
can’t be mad though. I know that. I was
just as cold this morning, but I just didn’t
expect that from her. I check out all of the
customers. Once the store is quiet, I make
my way to the back to talk to Gran.

“Well hello to you too Logan. You
can’t find it. It will reveal itself to you
when the time comes.” She sounds angry
and annoyed with me.

“Well, that’s crap, and you know it
Gran. Sorry for the attitude, but April
just left without telling me anything. I
know I was busy, but she just… left.” I can
barely bring myself to say it.

“She has her own problems that she
needs to deal with boy, as do you. You
can’t fault her for leaving you before you
could do the same to her, can you?”

She has a point. I know I can't
blame April, but that doesn’t change the
fact that my chest is aching. The very
thing I didn’t know I was missing for so
long is now gone. It was taken from me. I
didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.

“I know Gran. You're right that I
can’t be upset with her, but I’m hurt. I’m
allowed to feel that.”

“You both think this is the end.
Maybe this is the beginning of something.
Give it a week Logan. You might be
surprised at what happens.” She gets up
and walks out the back door.

Great. Gran is pissed at me. April
walked out on me. The day just keeps
getting better and better. I need to put
everything to the back of my mind and
try to figure out how to find whatever It’s
that I’m supposed to protect. That will
keep me occupied and keep my mind off
of April.

It’s almost closing time. I'm here
working by myself with very few
customers, so I start cleaning. I lock the
door as soon as the last college kid is out.
Then I turn on some music and start
shelving some books. It reminds me of the
time I caught April cleaning and dancing.
So much for not thinking about her.

I start thinking about conversations I
had with Mom before she died. I
remember her talking about the amulet
that she was supposed to protect. Maybe
that will be my clue. She said she never
found it after Dad took it from her. He’s
in jail, and I refuse to go see him, even if
it would help me. I remember her saying
it was silver with an onyx stone in the
center, and it had rubies and diamonds in
a unique pattern around it. I let out a
heavy breath. “I could use some help
here,” I say to no one in particular.

I finish up at the store and head
home.
Alone.
It’s been two days since I’ve seen
April. Gran didn’t tell me she was taking
the week off. That makes me worry even
more about her. April loved the bookstore.
She was at home here. If she stepped
away from that, its either because of me
or because something major was about to
go down, and she didn’t want me to be
part of it. Whatever the case is, I miss her.
The kids she read to every day miss her.
Gran misses her, and I think she blames
me for April leaving. Hell, I blame myself
for her leaving.
I’m off today, so I’m just lying on
my bed thinking about how three days
ago everything was perfect. I had a
beautiful girl lying next to me and was
having fun with three amazing kids. The
future looked great. Starting to doze off, I
turned the light next to me off and let my
mind wander. I’ve been so wound up
getting ready for a fight that I haven’t
relaxed since that night, the amazing
night with April underneath me and her
skin pressed against mine. The way her
lips felt against my neck, the way her
hands clawed my back, and the way she
said my name drove me crazy. GAW, it all
felt so good
So much for relaxing. I get up to
take a shower. A cold shower.