In Embers (The Ember Series Book 3) (9 page)

As I gave up on finding my fire the world fell heavy on my shoulders again. This was going to get much worse before it got better. I knew it in the pit of my stomach. Avery was too powerful, too arrogant. He’d never stop until he got what he wanted. My past had caught up with me again and endangered everyone I loved. Now, my mistakes involved Asia’s new family. She was completely right though. The only way this ended, I mean really ended, was with no more Avery. She had already killed his younger brother for me, but I couldn’t let her kill Avery. The problem was I wasn’t sure I could stop her though. Should I even try? He was a cancer on this Earth.

“We need a plan. Tell me all you know about the girls,” I said, soaking wet.

“Max, we’ll figure this out together.” She slid her drenched hair back in a swift flip and pressed herself into me completely. “I love you.”

“I love you, too…”

“Nobody hurts the ones I love,” she cursed, and the building hurricane around us backed up every word. We moved back into the safety of the ships cabin and discussed our options.

Later that night I dreamt of Uncle Frank. He came to me with a smile and a hug. As he welcomed me to his old arms I felt safe. It felt like it used to. I tried to tell him how much I missed his smiling face, but he waved me off with one hand and that ominous warning…

“Trust the pain, my son.”

I barely slept the rest of the night. His words always brought the truth no matter how much it might hurt. I’m sure tomorrow would be no different.

~ Love Is A Battlefield: Pat Benatar ~

Wednesday morning - 7:55 a.m. - January 4
th

Walking in my house I could already feel my mother’s judging eyes on me. I had spent all night with Asia and never called to let her know I was okay. Yes, I was an adult, but she was still suffering from a mountain of guilt for not being around the last ten years, so I tried to cut her some slack. Thankfully, my little king, Oz, bounced up to me first. His tiny paws clicked away along the floor before he jumped at my kneecaps to pick him up.

“I guess you missed me too, huh,” I let his slimy tongue welcome me home. He softly yipped in my arms as my mother walked up with a large cup of coffee.

“You didn’t call,” she said hurt. She handed me the hot cup waiting for me to say something. I just stared at her with my tired and sleepless eyes. “I can see you didn’t get much sleep last night.” She was right. Asia and her enchanting storms had a way of keeping my attention until the break of dawn. Last night was no different.

From the corner of my eye I saw the briefcase my lawyer had given me. It was resting along the side of the couch. Even though I was in a rush, I took a moment and grabbed it into my hands. Quickly, it found a spot on my lap and I inhaled a long gulp of oxygen. My mother wandered over, curious about the bag’s contents.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. The lawyers left it for me. I think it’s just legal stuff, you know, tying up loose ends.” I closed my eyes and clicked its latches open. Stacks of papers awaited, mostly lawyer mumbo-jumbo. But one handful of documents were different. They had a red post-it note attached to the front of them. The post-it had my name written across it. I picked the pages up and thumbed through them.

“It’s a copy of Uncle Frank’s will,” I said, numb. My eyes read the pages as quick as possible. When I was done, I couldn’t breath. “He left me the house and everything in it.”

“Really?” my mother half smiled. I didn’t know how to process this yet. I slid the documents back into the case and readied the lid to be shut tightly
, but something distracted me at the last possible second. A key.

“Is that a locker key?” I asked aloud.

My mother looked over my shoulder and nodded yes. “Looks like it.”

Reading the inscription along the back of it, I realized it belonged to a P.O. Box locker at the local post office. I guess my uncle had one last adventure for me.

“Can I borrow the car?” I asked, with a small yawn.

Annoyed, she snapped, “Why?”

“I have a breakfast date.”

“A date? You just walked in the door. At least take a moment to tell me where you were all night…or with whom…”

“I stayed at Asia’s last night. She filled me in on all the drama I missed.” I tried to smile.

“Oh.” Her arms crossed quickly. “I guess you’re meeting her for breakfast then…”

“Nope,” I smiled, and snatched up her keys. I set down my coffee, stuck the locker key in my back pocket, and scratched Oz behind his furry ear. “Come on, big guy…let’s get you out of this prison for awhile.” He barked, and followed me out the front door with a new bounce in his step.

“Max, where are you going?” my mother begged.

Over my shoulder I smiled. “Treasure hunt! Then, I have a date with my daughter.” Swiftly, I stuck Oz on the passenger’s seat and started up the car. With a crank of the car stereo knob I let the music serenade me. I was exhausted, but optimistic. My world was on the verge of imploding again, and I had no idea how I was going to react to Sam and her smile, but I felt a sliver of happiness engulf me. I couldn’t wait to see my daughter’s big green eyes and feel her warm touch. I had a ton of questions for Sam also, and my pulse raced with the thought of getting some answers. This morning would be a good one…or so I’d thought.

After an awkward few minutes at the post office, I climbed back in the car and patted Oz on his head. I stared at the small box in my hands, confused. Why would Uncle Frank leave this for me? My hands closed around its red edges and hid the tiny white tag that was attached to the box. Written along the tag, in Frank’s handwriting was two words…YOUR CHOICE. I popped open the box and fell silent. After a few minutes of losing all train of thought, I closed the lid and placed the box inside the glove compartment. With a renewed purpose, I drove off toward Sam’s place.

Kai greeted me first at Sam’s front door. The way he opened it up made it obvious that he had spent the night there. Were they living together again? What was going on?

“Aloha, Max.
” Kai smiled, nervously.

I glanced back over my shoulder at King Oz as he dangled his sno
ut out the open car window. He sniffed the morning air with a small whine.

Turning back toward Kai, I said, “Hey.”

“I know you had a brunch date with Madi and Sam, but I need to talk to you first,” he spoke cautiously.

I didn’t like this at all.

“About what, Kai?”

He turned me back toward my car and closed the door behind him, then began to walk with me. Oz came to attention from the car window. Even he could tell this wasn’t going to be a good conversation. Finally, he asked, “Are things better with your mom?”

I lied. “Totally.”

“Good! You must be getting settled again at the house. So happy, Bro…”

“Kai, what the hell is going on? Just say what you need to say.” I was officially moody. From behind us came a determined voice. One of my favorite sounds in the world.

“Max, you’re here,” Sam ran up to us as if she were uncomfortable.

“Yes.” I smiled.

“
Kai, I told you I’d talk to him.” She frowned.

Crap.

Sulking slightly, he said, “Sam, he needs to hear it from me.”

“No, Kai!” she snapped.

“Max needs to hear what?” I growled, while pushing myself in between them. Kai stepped away from me, but Sam seemed to pull closer my way.

“Not here, not now,” she scolded.

With my temper fully awake now, I demanded, “Tell me.”

Kai stared at me and then Sam, afraid to speak. Sam took my hand in hers, softly.

“Max…”

“Say it. Say what you’re not saying.” I was done.

Sam froze, afraid to hurt me. As a cool wind rushed past us, sending Sam’s strawberry scent into my nose, Kai finally spoke up.

“I’m moving.”

After an awkward moment, I said, “That’s great, Kai.” My sarcasm was as thick as the humidity in the air.

“We’re moving, Max. Sam and I.” His words stunned me. I couldn’t move.

Slowly, I asked, “What?”

“I’ve been offered a job back on the mainland…in Seattle. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. A fresh start.”

“Good for you,” I growled.

“A fresh start for Sam and I,” he dared to say.

Almost snarling, “Why do you need a fresh start?”

“Come on, Bro, you even have to ask?” Kai asked, cringing. Was this a joke? Had everyone just given up on me while I was locked away? Was I still cursed? I turned to find Sam’s breaking face.

“I wanted to talk about this…alone,” Sam said, hurting.

“About leaving?” I mumbled.

“Yes.”

Ignoring Kai’s betraying eyes completely, I asked the scariest question in the history of scary questions, “And what about Madi?” I knew the answer before either of them said anything.

“Madi too,” Sam said, putting me out of my misery.

“Max, let me explain…” Kai started to say, but I shut him up with one look. The tears in my eyes were too hard for him to take.

“No. You don’t get to talk anymore, Kai. You don’t get to talk to me ever again!” I stormed past him wishing I was still able to create a fireball. I would have jammed it down his throat at that moment.

“Max, wait,” Sam reached for me. I walked up to my car and got in the driver’s side. Oz greeted me with a whimper and a messy lick of his tongue. Kai and Sam watched me from the driveway. For a moment Sam and I locked eyes and it looked as if she was about to come over, but she stopped herself at the last second. I broke my stare from hers and started the car. The radio came on, serenading me with a familiar song. I listened for a moment as my desperate heart tried to comprehend what it had just been told. Sam was leaving me. She was taking our daughter away from me…with him, my best friend. What the hell was going on? This morning was supposed to be a beautiful day with my daughter, a breakfast date to catch up with her. Not this frustrated truth. The song on the radio built inside my head filling me with something that surprised me.

Confidence.

Usually I would just run and hide. Accept this turn of events and feel sorry for myself. But not this time, not now. This turn of events changed everything. I concentrated on the glove compartment and its secret tucked inside, and a truth awoke inside me.

I still wanted Sam.

I still needed her. Even though I loved Asia and her protective storms, I couldn’t shake my feelings for the island girl next door. This was my battlefield. This was love. Love was war. Sam was worth the fight.

“Sam,” I whispered to the windshield. Kai had begun to lead her back to the house with his hand locked around hers. I threw the car door open and scooped Oz up in my arms. I flew across the driveway and announced, “No!”

Both of them turned to find me already in their precious bubble. I shoved Oz into Kai’s arms and quickly snatched up Sam’s hand. Her eyes came alive with surprise.

“Max?” she gasped, as I pulled her from him.

“It’s my turn!” I scolded Kai. Rushing back to my car with Sam almost in my arms, I swiftly placed her in the passenger’s seat and stomped across the hood of the car until I reached my side.

“Max, what are you doing?” Kai called out, upset.

“Back off!” I yelled. “Sam and I have to talk. No best friends! No wiener dogs! Just her and I!” I said, as fact. Sam watched me as if I was insane. With a thump of my chest, I repeated, “Sam and I.”

Kai looked on as I revved the car up and spun out in the driveway. As I did, I stuck my head out the window just enough to scream, “Take care of Oz, I’ll be back for him later!” Oz’s ears tucked backwards a little, but Kai reached down and scratched underneath them, just enough to calm him. With a shake of Kai’s head in disappointment, I tore my eyes from the rearview mirror and found Sam’s worried emerald eyes.

“Max, what’s going on?”

“This isn’t how you and I end.”

She held my gaze with tears welling up in her eyes. I pushed the car faster, gaining more speed down the road.

“And you know I’m right,” I proclaimed. Her face fell flush and she pulled her wavy blonde hair behind her ears before reaching out with her hand, and grasping one of mine. Heat bubbled up in my gut and I felt a hint of the old Max. With a crooked smile I squeezed her hand tightly and drove far away.

~ Again: Lenny Kravitz ~

Bamboo Forest: Hana Highway

The shade of the towering stalks of bamboo were welcomed and needed. As a building storm had emerged on the horizon, so did the unrelenting island humidity. Wiping the sweat from my neck quickly, I turned to pull Sam closer to me. Her freckled shoulders had filled with tiny beads of moisture and her thick hair had already began to cling to her bare skin. My hands slid down her arms, teasing the fabric of her tank top gently. When my fingers found the belt loops to her jean shorts, they twisted themselves around the denim.

“Sam,” I whispered, in a desperate breath. She leaned into me for a moment, teasing me with her softest touch.

“Max, we need to talk.”

“No. You’ll just say something I don’t want to hear.” I pressed my body against hers. “We can talk later.”

The bamboo clicked together in the light breeze as we held each other, both of us afraid to start the conversation that needed to happen. Finally, she pulled away from me, but held onto one of my fingers tightly.

“I can’t do this.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“I just can’t. You don’t understand,” she wilted.

“Sam, after everything we’ve been through, after all we’ve done for each other, why can’t we try? Why are you leaving without even giving us a chance?” I asked, point blank. Thunder echoed over the tops of bamboo trees. She looked up into the slivers of light peeking through the stalks and frowned.

“I have to.”

“But why?” I asked, trying to pull her closer to me. “I haven’t even got to be a father to Madison yet.” That hit a nerve, and she started to cry.

“You’re making this harder than it needs to be, Max.”

“I’m making it harder?” I asked, in shock. “I need to know why you are leaving me. I deserve the truth. All of it, Sam.”

She let go of my hand and turned from me slowly. “Okay.”

Sam started to walk down the pathway of worn wooden planks tucked into the muddy soil. With a flip of her hair she found me over her shoulder. Her head nodded for me to follow
, but I was already shuffling toward her. When I caught up with her she let me only close enough to hear her, just inches out of reach.

“Max, you know what I did the most when I was gone, when I was kidnapped?” she asked, worried. I shook my head no, not speaking. “All I did was think about us.”

“Me too.”

“No, you don’t understand. I thought about all that’s been wrong with us,” she said, cold and direct.

“What do you mean?” I asked, reaching for her hand again. She slid her hands in her back pockets.

“Our story, Max, our heartbreaking love story, is the reason I ended up in that prison away from Madison…”

“Sam, I never meant to hurt you…ever. I never meant for you to be separated from Madison. You have to know that,” I begged.

“I love you, Max. Completely,” she said.

“I love…” I tried to say, but she stopped me with a pout.

“You love two girls.”

That sledgehammer of truth almost knocked me over. I wrestled with my words, “But, Sam…”

“I’m right, aren’t I? I know you love me, Max, I can see it in your eyes. I can feel it when you touch me.” Her hands came out from behind her and slid my falling bangs behind my ears. One of the locks of hair slid back down in front of my lips.

I whispered, “I do love you.”

“But you love her too.” Her eyes held me in a prison of jade green. “You love Asia.”

I couldn’t say anything. She was right. She always was. One of my favorite things about Sam. Maybe she was right about leaving too.

“When I was in that prison all I could think about was the safety of our daug
hter and how if I had never met you, she wouldn’t be here. But if I were to hide her from this situation, she wouldn’t have to grow up in fear,” she said, with tears in her throat.

“Fear?” I gasped.

“Yes, fear! Fear of losing her parents to these ridiculous events. Fear of never knowing her family,” she exhaled. “Fear of her father leaving.”

“Leaving?”

“With her,” she said, turning from me. “Leaving with Asia.” And as if on cue, the sky darkened as a soft sprinkle of rain peppered us. The smell of the wet bamboo rushed through the pathway, stealing my thoughts for a moment.

“That’s why you need a new start? That’s why you’re leaving? Because of what I might do?” I asked, almost disgusted. “Sam, let me get this straight, you’re leaving me, taking my daughter away from me, because
I
migh
t
leave her?” I was confused. I was angry. “That’s bullshit!”

“No it’s not!” she spit back.

“Yes it is!” I ran up to her and pulled her in close so I could see what she was hiding from me. Her eyes told me everything. “You’re leaving because of you!”

“What?” she pulled from me.

“That’s right! You’re not hightailing it off the islands to make a better life for our daughter with my so-called best friend because I might leave, you’re running because you’re afraid of losing me again. Admit it!” I said, with a stomp of my foot. She stepped back from me with pain washing down her face.

“Can you swear to me that I’m the only one? That I’m enough? Can you Max?”

I leaned down closer to her and I could feel her breath on my chin.

“Samantha…”

“Can you love me and only me? Me, the girl-next-door. Me, the mother of your child. Me, the lyrics to your song.” She fell into me, her lips sliding against mine. I kissed her slow and true. Time fell away and we held each other like it was possibly the last time we would have the chance to. She was beyond right, I loved her to the bottom of my soul, but I loved Asia too. Feverishly, I pushed the paralyzing truth to the back of my mind and lived in the moment. It was all I could do to keep me sane. After an hour of reminding each other of how strong our bond was, I kissed her on the forehead and whispered, “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Quickly, I made my way back the car and popped the trunk. I reached in and removed my guitar from it and ran back to Sam and our private hideaway. As I walked up to her she started to cry again.

“Max, are you going to sing for me?” she asked, with a soft kiss to my cheek. I smiled and swept my fingers along the strings.

“Are you still leaving?” I asked, coyly.

She whispered, “I don’t know.”

My lips pushed against hers once more. Afterward, I sang for her. Only her. But as I watched the tiny sparkling raindrops gather along the black surface of my guitar, I knew this wasn’t the end. Nothing had been resolved. I was still trapped. Still spinning between the one constant truth. My heart belonged to two different women. Asia, the storm that made me who I was inside and fed my fires, and Sam, my one true soulmate.

What the hell was I going to do?