Legacy of Secrets 01-Cursed Secrets (10 page)

“I’m sorry. It’s just one moment we’re
just friends
and the next we’re having picnic lunches. I’ve never been in a situation like this. I knew what the other guys wanted, but with you it’s all jumbled up,” I stared out the window, trying to push away the nasty memories. I shuttered involuntarily and he sighed.

“Lia, I wish you would realize that just because I’m a guy, it doesn’t mean I have ulterior motives. I genuinely want to be your friend. I would never hurt you and I won’t let anyone else do it either. Now, would you like to go running with me tonight? I know you haven’t wanted to go alone so I figured I could come along?”

“Sure, what time do you want to head out?” I huffed.

“Just text when you’re ready and I’ll be here before you know it. Be careful, Lia,” he smiled crookedly and my heart thudded.
Damn that smile and those gorgeous eyes.
I snapped out of my trance and laughed nervously.

“Thank you,
again
. I should be okay to walk myself to the door. See you tonight, Christian” I got out and practically ran into the house.

“Oh dear, what happened to you?” Nana asked. I probably had a handprint on my face. I sighed.

“Do you remember that boy, Dallas, that lives around the corner? Well his girlfriend confronted me about him going to jail. She decided to slap me and blame me for his bad behavior.”

“Oh dear,” Nana put her hand to her mouth.

“A friend of mine helped clear things up then brought me home. Everything will be fine, I think. You don’t have anything to worry about,” I sounded surprisingly calm for almost shooting fire from my eyeballs.

“Well good. At least you have a few good friends. Your grandfather’s in the kitchen, dinner is on the table. Go get freshened up and eat something. Maybe some food will help you feel better?” Nana thought a home cooked meal could cure anything. She wasn’t that far off, I truly loved her cooking.

I dragged myself up to my room and gathered my running clothes, MP3 player, and pedometer. I thought about Christian as I changed. Somehow he seemed to know me better than I knew myself. I had to be the worst friend he’s ever had. We spent a great day together, and then I kissed him and screwed it up. He said wasn’t mad, but he still acted strangely.

“Hey there, kiddo. I heard you had a fun afternoon,” Pops asked setting down the newspaper when I settled at the table.

“It was definitely eventful. Nothing too important, just another day in the life. How was your day?”

“Same as every day. Being retired leaves you with a world of options, but hardly any are appealing. You seem a bit off this evening. Aside from the tiff at school, is everything else alright?” he leaned toward me.

“I don’t really know. I just feel like, there are some things going on with me that aren’t quite normal. Sometimes things happen that don’t seem to be possible.”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, take for instance today after that girl slapped me, and please don’t think I’m crazy for telling you this…”

“I will never think you’re crazy, Lia. What happened?”

“Well it’s almost like I was so mad I could have literally, and I do mean literally, shot fire from my fingertips. It sounds crazy when I say it out loud, but that’s what it felt like,” I bit my lip.

“I see. First of all, sometimes our emotions are a big part of who we are. Secondly, have I ever told you the story about the Virgin Wives?”

“No I don’t think so.”

“This may not pertain exactly to what you’re going through, but it may explain some things,” he cleared his throat and began, “It is said that many, many years ago, during times of great peril and war, several young brides were told their husbands would not return from battle. Swollen with grief, they begged God to stop the pain. He spoke to the women, explaining that they had His grace, but their souls were broken. As a way of helping the women, God gifted them each a different ability that, if used properly, might help to mend their souls. Not understanding, the wives secluded themselves away from their brothers and sisters in mourning.

“After a decade or so, the wives witnessed the destruction of their people. God had gifted them with ways of protection, but they neglected his path. With renewed resolve, each woman found ways to stop the bloodshed and save the wounded. Slowly the women felt the pieces of their former broken selves meld together again.

“Their triumphs continued for many centuries until most of the fighting stopped. The Wives continued to dwell in their private sanctuary, having been gifted with immortality. Some say they still protect the weak and work to end the devastation of the world, but whether they were real doesn’t matter. The message here is that good can come from any evil.”

He stared at me for a moment, like he was expecting something. As the only father figure I had for the last ten very awkward years, he was really good at turning life lessons into fairytales with magic and happily ever afters. But I wasn’t a child anymore, and life wasn’t that simple.

“So basically, instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself I need to help others?” I asked.

“It’s a little more in depth than that, but that’s the general idea. Some people are given gifts and when one realizes her gift, she must share it to protect herself and the ones she loves.”

“Okay well if I had a gift I would use it. I’m just like everyone else. Well usually I am. Sometimes I just feel so…strange.”

“Just remember, Adalia, since your mother passed I’ve raised you as my own, but I don’t want you to forget where you came from. The stories of our past teach us lessons for the future.”

“Thanks, Pops. I’ll remember. I’m going to go for a run with a friend. I love you,” I kissed him on the forehead and padded out the door to do the one thing that did feel normal.

Christian was waiting for me at the back door. I smiled and walked around him to the beginning of the path. I felt awkward after the episode at school and the story Pops told me. I felt like everyone knew something I didn’t. He watched me carefully and I sighed.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to run. This is the only way I really know how to deal. Okay?”

“Alright, lead the way.”

I put my headphones in my ears and cranked up the volume. My body was sore. I hadn’t run in days, but it felt like months. He kept up and eventually I thought of nothing but my feet hitting the ground. We circled the trail a few times, neither of us tiring. Finally, I came to a stop about a mile from my house and did some stretches to ease the tiredness in my limbs. Christian followed suit.

“That felt fantastic!” I took the ear buds out and let them drape from behind my neck.

“I agree. Are you not tired? We ran about five miles just then, maybe more,” he asked puzzled.

“Not really. I’ve conditioned my body pretty well over the years. It takes a lot more than a few miles to affect me. I normally just do one loop, but I had to get it all out.”

“So this is like, your therapy?”

“I suppose so. It keeps me relatively in shape and I enjoy being outside. Most of the time I feel so claustrophobic,” I shuddered.

“I can see that. Well, I’ll run with you every night if you’d like. I don’t really want you out here alone, if I can help it. But of course that’s up to you.”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to go out of your way for me. We obviously don’t have to worry about Dallas anymore and I’m pretty sure I put Leslie in her place today. What else is there to worry about? It’s not like I have a list full of enemies,” I snorted.

“No, but it doesn’t ever freak you out? Running out here all alone?”

“Not really. Most of the people around here see me every night. There are a few who watch from their windows. I guess I’ve just always felt safe here. I wasn’t able to do this in Pennsylvania.”

“Do you mind if I ask why?” he hesitated.

“After my parents died I was even more of an outcast than I am here. The only people who didn’t fear me were a few close friends, but everyone else was impossible. It wasn’t safe for me in my own house. People would come looking for me, hoping to catch me doing something so they could either turn me in or kill me. When you live in a small town, mob mentality is like an epidemic. Anyway, none of that matters now. I can’t ever go back and I wouldn’t even if I had a good reason.

“Listen, thanks for coming with me. I know you have your trip coming up so it was nice of you to put everything off for tonight, but it just doesn’t feel right. I don’t want you to put every other night on hold for me, too,” I huffed.

“I’m not putting anything on hold. I wanted to come with you. Not just because you shouldn’t be out here alone, but because I like spending time with you. I won’t be gone long so when I get back we’ll be able to do this regularly. Should we make our way back?” he motioned toward my house.

We were both silent, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. I was strangely calm around him. Of course unless he started talking about things that made my stomach grow warm.

It was odd, though. I was always so hyper aware of myself around other people, but with him I didn’t really think about it. He never made me feel out of place or strange. Even with the episode at his house, he just picked up our conversation and didn’t question me much about it. It was nice.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?” I said hesitantly.

“Not at all, what is it?”

“When you kissed me back, you weren’t exactly acting surprised at first. What were you thinking?”

“I don’t really know if I
was
thinking. I just remember feeling. When I felt your lips, my mind pretty much went blank and I was acting before the fog cleared. It wasn’t until you pulled back that I could think again. Then I was just shocked.”

“Oh,” I said with a smirk, “Can I ask you something else? Completely unrelated to kissing you, I promise”

“Okay,” he chuckled.

“Do you follow me around? You’re always popping up out of nowhere. If you are, I guess that’s okay. I just want to know.”

He exhaled heavily, “Sometimes I do, but mostly it’s by chance. It’s not that I ever intentionally follow you. It’s more like I end up crossing your path here or there. I feel apprehensive if I don’t know where you are. Not that you have to tell me where you are, but in case you get into trouble I like to know where you are. That makes me sound like some kind of stalker doesn’t it?” he smirked.

“A little, but I don’t mind. I know you’re looking out for me. I just hope that while you’re gone I don’t cross paths with another angry girlfriend,” I laughed and nudged his side. He threw his arm over my shoulders, ignoring the shock I was sure he felt too, and walked to the rest of the way in silence.

We said good-bye and I tip toed up the stairs for a quick shower and a hopefully peaceful sleep. I fell onto the bed still wrapped in the towel and barely made it under the sheets before sleep claimed me. I dreamt of nothing but running all night long; the breeze in my hair, the ground under my feet, the sun on my skin. Occasionally Christian would appear beside me and I would laugh and run faster, leaving him in the dust. It was happy, carefree even. I yearned for it to be real.

Christian

“Do you have the spell I need?” I asked Austin over the video chat.

“I think so. I’m emailing it to you now, along with a list of items you’ll need that should also enhance the spell. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, so I’m going to send you a protection talisman overnight. It should save you from being sucked into any alternate realms that may open up. Trust me; you don’t want to do this without some type of protection. I really shouldn’t be letting you do this at all, but I can’t get away right now. The council is having some issues that require immediate attention. I wish I could trust someone else to help you, I’m sorry.”

“No worries. It’s not the first time I’ve had to try my hand at sorcery. It doesn’t hurt to try anyway; she’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I can’t put a finger on what she is exactly. It’s very irritating.”

“What happens when she has an attack?”

“I don’t know for sure, but it’s almost like she can manipulate energy or something. Everything she feels is projected outward and it’s incredibly strong. Most of the time she can push aside the feelings she wishes to hide, but others do get through. The incident at my house was strange. Energy seemed to rush to her with such an intensity it took
my
breath away. I’ve tried asking her where her powers stem from, but oddly enough she hasn’t a clue. She’s spent so much time hiding from herself that she hasn’t even been the slightest bit curious. It’s odd.”

“I’ll dig around and see if there’s anything in the records about it. I can’t recall anything, but it won’t be good when the council hears. They don’t like the unknown.”

“I know that’s what I’m afraid of. Thanks, my friend. I’ll contact you from Pennsylvania if I need anything else.”

“Will do, Christian, and be careful. This is heavy stuff.”

“I know. Thanks again,” I disconnected. My adrenaline was pumping with anticipation, but I couldn’t think about the trip yet. It was still several days away and I had too much to do. The tickle in my throat turned to an unbearable scorching pain. I had been living off elixir for days, double dosing when I was around Lia. I desperately needed to feed.