Blessed (Book 2, The Watchers Trilogy; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (8 page)

His words helped ease the tension I was feeling. I knew Brand loved me. Why did I keep thinking he would change his mind? I suppose it was because true happiness was a hard thing for me to accept, even when it was staring me in the face and holding my hand. I needed to learn to accept the love Brand felt for me and not question whether it would last or not. The one thing my time in Justin’s prison had taught me was that life was short. I needed to make the most of it while I still could.

Since it was lunchtime, Brand took me to a restaurant in Hyde Park called The Dell. We ate under the sun at a picnic table by the Serpentine River. It was such a beautiful day that there were loads of people in the park, trying to enjoy the last warmth of summer before fall rolled in and pushed the tranquil happiness of summertime to the side. After we ate, we took a stroll in the park and just talked.

I had never been very comfortable with guys before. Will was the only one I ever truly opened up to before Brand came into my life. It seemed odd to me that three of my four best friends were now men. I wasn’t completely sure Malcolm was a best friend, but he was certainly a good one with the potential for best friend status. I just wished he would stop thinking of me romantically. I was flattered, of course, but I didn’t think it was healthy for him. Perhaps after he learned Brand and I were engaged, he would understand that waiting for me to change my mind was a futile act.

When we got back to Brand’s house, it was late in the afternoon, almost evening. We went up to his bedroom and retrieved my dress so I could take it back home. We then phased back to my apartment. Because of the time difference, I knew it was probably sometime around ten o’clock in the morning in Lakewood. I saw Simon’s car parked beside my Mustang, and knew he must be visiting Tara. I decided to knock on the door before we barged in and possibly caught them making out on the futon.

Tara opened the door a few seconds after my knock.

“Hey y’all,” she said, slightly out of breath, which made me glad I had decided to knock on the door first. I saw Simon tucking his shirt into his pants as he stood from the futon.

“Did you have a good time?” Tara asked, going to stand beside Simon, letting us inside the apartment.

“We had a great time,” I answered, noticing the heightened hue of Tara’s cheeks from being almost caught in a compromising position. “Did you?”

Choosing to ignore my question, Tara took Simon by the arm and escorted him to the door.

“Why don’t you pick me up at five?” she told him.

“Could we make it six? I have a prior engagement.”

“It’s not another girl, is it?” Tara joked.

“Of course not,” Simon said smoothly. “It’s something for my mom.”

“Ok, I’ll be ready at six then. Don’t make me wait for you, though.”

“I won’t,” he kissed her on the cheek and left the apartment.

Tara leaned up against the door and sighed in contented bliss.

I really hoped things worked out with Simon. Tara seemed so happy with him in her life, and I desperately wanted her to be happy.

“So what are you and Simon doing tonight?” Brand asked.

The tone of his question instantly put me on alert that something was wrong. I could tell by the expression on his face that he was trying to hide what he was really thinking.

“We’re just going out to dinner,” Tara shrugged. “Nothing special.”

Tara pushed herself away from the door and walked over to me. “So, where’s the ring?”

“You knew?” I asked, completely astounded that Tara had known what Brand’s intentions had been last night, and hadn’t warned me or even hinted she knew about the proposal. I guess I was even more surprised that she didn’t try to talk me out of accepting.

“Utha Mae told me a couple of days ago,” Tara answered.

“How did she know?”

“What, you didn’t tell her?” Tara asked Brand.

He grinned guiltily and simply shook his head.

“Lover boy over there asked her permission first.”

“Was this the day after I got back?” I asked Brand. “Is that the secret you wanted to keep?”

“I wanted to have Utha Mae’s blessing first. I felt it was important to have her approval before I asked you to marry me.”

It all made sense now. That was why he wanted to stay behind when I went to talk to my mother, and it explained why they looked like they were sharing a secret when I got back. I could see Utha Mae and Brand keeping the secret, but I couldn’t believe Tara had actually kept it, too.

I showed Tara the ring on my finger and her jaw almost dropped to the floor.

“Dang, girl, you better watch where you swing that thing. It could knock somebody out cold!”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. Tara was probably right, though.

“Ok, you two love birds behave while I’m gone. I need to go get some groceries. Shouldn’t be gone too long, so don’t get too comfortable,” she said with a knowing grin.

“You’re a big one to talk,” I said. “It looked like you and Simon were getting awfully comfortable with each other before we arrived.”

Tara waved her hand at me like it was nothing, but I saw the blush on her cheeks as she headed out the door.

“Lilly,” Brand said after Tara left, “we have a problem.”

This sent alarm bells ringing in my head. I knew I hadn’t imagined his tone or misread his expression earlier. “What’s wrong?”

“I think Simon is cheating on Tara.”

“What would make you say that?”

“When she asked him if he was seeing another girl, he lied to her.”

“Maybe he’s just doing something for another girl who’s a friend, and he doesn’t want Tara to know.” I knew I was grasping at straws, but I desperately wanted Brand to be wrong or to at least misunderstand his reading of Simon.

“I hope you’re right, but I don’t think so. I believe he’s cheating on her.”

I could tell Brand didn’t like telling me this news because he knew I didn’t want to hear it. If I didn’t want to hear it, Tara surely didn’t. Would she believe me if I told her the man she was falling in love with was a good-for-nothing cheat?

“We can’t tell Tara what we suspect until we know for sure. She’s so happy with him. I just can’t make her unhappy without being absolutely positive.”

“What do you suggest then?”

“Why don’t we invite them to your house for supper? Maybe we can ask him some questions that’ll tell us what’s really going on.”

“All right, but you should know that, if he
is
cheating on her, I won’t let him stay inside my home.”

“Oh, don’t worry. If he’s cheating on her, Tara will kick him out herself.”

While we were waiting for Tara to get back, I took a shower and dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a white button-down shirt.

When Tara got home from the grocery store, we told her we wanted her and Simon to come to Brand’s house for supper that evening. She thought it would be fun, and immediately phoned Simon to tell him the change in their plans. Brand and I went back to his house to get things ready.

I was a bundle of nerves by the time Tara and Simon arrived at Brand’s house that evening. Simon seemed impressed with Brand’s home and couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off my ring. I couldn’t blame him for that. The way the light danced off the diamonds was a bit distracting, almost like a lighthouse mirror reflecting shafts of light in all directions.

Brand prepared roasted lamb, sautéed baby spinach leaves, couscous mixed with pine nuts and dried cranberries, and a dish of potatoes roasted in olive oil, garlic, and herbs. I was surprised by Brand’s easygoing, almost-friendly banter with Simon throughout the meal. Tara knew I was nervous about something, though. I could never hide my feelings from her. She kept a wary eye on me and Brand during supper, listening intently to the conversation Brand was having with Simon. When the meal was over, Brand suggested to Simon that Tara might like a stroll by the lake while he and I prepared dessert.

Once they were gone, I asked Brand, “Well?”

“He lies easily,” he answered, taking out a fruit trifle we had prepared earlier from the refrigerator.

“How are we going to know for sure that he’s cheating on her?”

“I’m going to ask him.”

“You’re what?” I asked in disbelief.

“The easiest way for me to know for sure is to ask him a direct question, Lilly. There’s really no other way to do it.”

“Well, give me a minute with Tara first. I don’t want her to be blindsided by this. She thinks he’s a great guy. So did I, until you told me he was a liar.”

“I’m sorry,” Brand said, and I knew he was. “I can’t help what I know. Sometimes it’s not much of a blessing.”

I sighed. “No, don’t be sorry. It’s better if she knows now before things get even more serious with him.”

By the time Tara and Simon made it back in, Brand and I had dessert out in dishes on the table, waiting for their arrival. I pulled Tara aside and told her I wanted to show her something upstairs. I took her into Brand’s bedroom and sat her down on the bed.

“What’s wrong?” she immediately asked. “You’ve been walking on eggshells all night long.”

I paced in front of her, not knowing exactly how to say what I needed to.

“Brand can tell when someone is lying to him,” I finally said. “It’s one of his powers as an angel.”

“So?”

“He thinks Simon is cheating on you,” I blurted out, seeing no other way to say what needed to be said.

“No, he’s not.”

The conviction with which Tara made this simple statement made me stop my pacing and look at her. I could see the doubt of Simon’s fidelity on her face. She suspected what Brand thought might be true, yet her words completely contradicted it.

“Do you know that for a fact?” I asked.

Her silence only confirmed what her facial expression was telling me.

“He’s going to ask Simon straight out if he’s cheating on you. It’s the surest way for him to know the truth. I just wanted you to know before he did it.”

Without saying a word, Tara stood up and walked back down to the dining room. Simon was eating his dessert when she walked up to him and said, “Are you seeing another girl?”

I thought Simon was going to choke on the food in his mouth. He took a drink from his water glass and cleared his throat.

“Why would you ask me something like that?” he asked.

“Just answer the question,” Tara said, completely expressionless.

“No, honey, you know I don’t want anyone else but you.”

Tara looked at Brand. “Is he telling the truth?”

Brand hesitated for a moment and finally shook his head no, obviously regretting being the bearer of bad news. Simon looked scared all of a sudden. I watched Tara closely. I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be.

I saw her eyes travel to the fireplace in the living room. Without saying a word, she stalked over to it and picked up the fire poker. I heard the scrape of Simon’s chair as he hastily stood from it.

“Now, listen, Tara,” he said, slowly making his way to the front door. “Who you gonna believe? Me or him?”

“Him,” she said, walking toward Simon with a determination I’ve never seen in her.

Before I could stop her, she ran toward Simon and started hitting him across his back, yelling curses at him. Simon stumbled his way to the front door and ran for his car, once outside.

Tara stood on the front porch, brandishing the fire poker like a sword.

“You better run you good-for-nothing pile of dog crap! And don’t ever let me see you again, or I’ll make sure you regret ever meeting me!”

By the time I reached Tara, she was already crying. She leaned against me as I brought her back into the house and sat her down on one of the couches in the living room. Brand stood back from us, letting me comfort her as best I could. I knew he felt guilty for causing Tara so much pain. I would have to try to make sure she understood it was for the best. If their relationship had been allowed to progress much further, I knew it would have been that much harder for Tara to do what she just did.

As it was, I was glad I could be a comfort to her in her time of need. She’d held me so many times over the past couple of years after I lost Will, and then again when Brand broke up with me, mistakenly thinking I would be safer without him in my life. I was happy to just be there for her and hold her as the sting of Simon’s betrayal sunk in. It was almost as if I could hear her heart break from losing someone she thought she could trust and build a relationship with. I knew in time she would find someone worthy of her love, and hoped it would be soon.

CHAPTER SIX

It took about thirty minutes for Tara to stop crying. Brand busied himself in the kitchen to give us time alone. I’m not even sure what he was doing, to be honest. My complete focus was directed towards Tara. I told her she was better off knowing what kind of guy Simon really was before they got too serious.

She finally sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“How come you ended up with Prince Charming and I got stuck with the toad?”

The rattling in the kitchen stopped. I glanced over at Brand and saw him smiling down at the glass plate in his hands, obviously pleased to be compared to Prince Charming, every girl’s perfect standard for male courtship.

“Your Prince Charming is out there,” I tried to reassure my best friend. “When the time is right for you to find him, he’ll show up.”

“I just don’t understand how I could have been fooled like that,” she said. “I’m usually better at telling if someone’s just saying what I want to hear.”

“I think you did know,” I said truthfully. “You just didn’t want to admit it to yourself because you wanted it to work out so badly. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Brand came into the living room with a pile of cookies on the glass dish I had seen him holding earlier.

“Have one of these,” he suggested to Tara. “I promise they’ll make you feel better.”

“What are they?” Tara asked, taking one of the dark chocolate cookies off the plate.

“They’re chocolate, chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter and macadamia nuts.”

Tara took a bite out of the one in her hand and immediately reached for another one. There were at least a dozen cookies on the plate Brand sat down in front of her on the coffee table, and I think she ate them all in half as many minutes. Brand brought her a glass of cold milk to help wash them all down.

“See?” Tara said, drinking the last of the milk. “Prince Charming knew exactly what I needed.”

Brand took the now-empty plate and glass back into the kitchen with a satisfied smile on his face.

There was an unexpected knock on the door. Brand answered it and, without a word, motioned for our visitor to step inside.

“Hey,” Will said to Brand, but quickly turned his attention to Tara and me when he saw us. “I just came by to see if you guys were able to go have those tests started today.”

“Allan is performing them now,” Brand answered, closing the door behind Will. “We’re going back tomorrow to find out what he discovers.”

“Mind if I tag along?” Will asked Brand.

“Not this time, Will,” I answered, not wanting the news to come from Brand. I didn’t want Will to think Brand was the one who didn’t want him to join us. “Allan asked that we not bring you into his home.”

Will seemed to accept this answer a lot better than I thought he would. I could only assume he had expected it.

“That’s all right. Just let me know what he finds out when you can. What happened to you?” he asked Tara, seeing her puffy, watery eyes.

“She found out Simon was cheating on her,” I answered, wanting to spare Tara from having to say the words aloud.

Will sat down beside Tara and put a comforting arm across her shoulders.

“You’re better off without him then,” he told her. “Don’t waste your tears on a fool.”

“I just need to stop thinking about it,” Tara sighed.

It broke my heart to see her so dejected.

“Well, come on then.” Will stood and pulled Tara to her feet. “I’ve got just the place to forget about stupid ex-boyfriends.”

“Where are you taking me?” Tara asked, sounding excited and worried about Will’s plans at the same time.

“Somewhere you’ve always wanted to go. Just keep a hold of my hand. See you guys later.”

And they were gone.

“Where do you think he took her?” Brand asked, taking me into his arms and nibbling on my neck. How did he think I could answer coherently with him lighting every nerve in my body on fire?

“I have no idea,” I said, wrapping my arms around his back, enjoying the sensations his touch always ignited in me. “But I hope they won’t be back for a while.”

“Mmm, me, too,” Brand said, finding my lips with his.

Before I knew it, Brand had picked me up, laid me down on the couch, and gently lay down beside me, never breaking the contact of our lips. I felt his fingers run through my hair, holding my head as he gently plundered my mouth with his. One of his hands slowly made its way across my cheek and down my throat, to the buttons of my shirt. I felt him undo three of them and stop. His lips soon followed the same trail his hand just made, planting small warm, wet kisses across my chest.

I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted him to keep going.

There was a loud knock on the front door. “Hello?”

We both let out a sigh of frustration at the sound of Malcolm’s voice.

With a growl, Brand lifted his weight off me and practically stomped to the door. I couldn’t help but giggle at him. He was like a bear that had been woken before the end of winter. He yanked the door open.

“What do you want, Malcolm?” Brand asked tersely.

“I did what you asked,” Malcolm said, stepping across the threshold, ignoring Brand’s openly-hostile glare. “You can’t imagine what a pain it is to have to knock when I know you’re both in here.”

I quickly stood from the couch, and kept my back to Malcolm as I hastily re-buttoned my shirt. When I turned back around, Malcolm was taking in my disheveled appearance with a critical, unpleased look on his face.

“Did I interrupt something?” he asked innocently, knowing full well what we had been doing.

“What do you want, Malcolm?” Brand asked again, trying his best to contain his irritation with my friend.

I didn’t think it was possible, but I loved Brand even more in that moment. I knew Malcolm got on his nerves, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, but he suffered through it all for me. He knew how much I cared for Malcolm, and how much I wanted us all to get along. The effort he was making for me was never plainer.

“I just came by to tell you they removed everything from the clearing today. I thought you might want to know.”

“It could have waited,” Brand grumbled.

“Well, I’m not going to lie. I wanted to see Lilly, too,” Malcolm said, leaving Brand’s side and walking over to me. I guess I had a few stray hairs sticking out from my head, because Malcolm gently smoothed them down for me. His hand traveled down my left arm and took my hand. The smile on his face soon vanished as he felt what was on my ring finger. He looked down at it.

“What’s this?” he asked confused.

“Brand asked me to marry him last night, and I said yes,” I explained, hoping my news wouldn’t hurt him too much.

“When are you supposed to be married?”

It was the first time I had ever seen Malcolm look worried.

“Not until I’m finished with school.”

“Thank God,” he said under his breath. I was sure Brand hadn’t been able to hear it. He was still standing by the open door, eagerly awaiting his chance to throw Malcolm out of his home.

Malcolm let go of my hand, not wanting to look at the ring any longer. “Will said you were supposed to take Lilly to see your friend to do the genetic profile today. Who was it?”

“Allan Westwood,” Brand answered.

“Allan?” Malcolm asked, surprised. “Does he still refuse to leave his house?”

“Yes.”

“Did you at least take Lilly to the London Eye while you were there? I would hate to know that Allan’s house was the only place she went to on her first visit to London.”

“That’s where I proposed.” I could tell Brand felt a small bit of satisfaction telling Malcolm this, and it seemed to have the desired effect.

Malcolm kissed me on one cheek and walked back to the door. “Let me know what Allan finds out,” Malcolm said to Brand. I heard Malcolm say something low to Brand, but it was too soft for me to make out what it was exactly. The only words I heard were ‘four years’. The look of irritation on Brand’s face quickly turned to the expression he used to hide his true feelings, completely unreadable.

“See you tomorrow, dearest,” Malcolm turned to me and winked before walking out the front door.

Brand calmly closed the door and stood there for a moment, staring down at the doorknob still gripped in his hand.

“What did he say to you?” I asked, worried now by Brand’s continued silence.

My question seemed to break his trance, and he finally looked at me.

“I’d rather not say, if that’s ok with you. He’s just jealous.”

Brand came to me like a broken man and hugged me close. I wasn’t sure what was wrong. I did the only thing I could think of to make him feel better.

“I love you,” I said, hugging him as tightly as I could.

He pulled away from me just enough to look at my face, as if searching my eyes, almost expecting to see some doubt of my feelings for him there.

“I know,” he whispered. “I love you, too.”

“Then stop looking so sad.” I cupped his face in both my hands, bringing his lips down to mine. It was the only prodding Brand needed in order to find his way back to where we left off before Malcolm’s interruption.

We spent the rest of the night at Brand’s house.

While I was taking my bath the next morning, I wondered where Will and Tara had phased to the night before. I could only assume Will had spent the night helping Tara forget about Simon. I was curious to know where he had taken her, though. When I stepped out of the shower and toweled off, the steam in the room was making it hard for me to see. I went to the small window by the vanity and opened it.

It was a beautiful late September day. The sun danced across the surface of the calm lake waters. The sweet sound of birds singing wafted through the window as a gentle breeze off the lake helped dissipate the steam in the room. It was an almost perfect morning. I quickly changed into the clothes I’d brought into the bathroom with me, and set about drying my hair with my towel.

The buzzing of a bee next to my ear first alerted me to its presence. As it flew past my face, I saw it was a yellow jacket. I swatted at it, trying to get it to go back out the window, but it nimbly avoided my hand. Before I knew it, the bee stung me on the side of my neck and promptly flew out the window. I looked in the mirror to see how bad the sting was. I could see the puffy red spot where it stung me, and watched in horror as it bulged into a large black polyp that soon disappeared as if it had been completely absorbed by my body. Once it was gone, you couldn’t see any indication that I had been stung at all.

I felt the first effects almost immediately. My vision blurred and my head felt like it was about to explode off my shoulders. The last thing I remembered was hitting my head against the tub as I fell unconscious.

Nothing made sense after that. I felt completely paralyzed. I couldn’t hear, see, or feel anything around me. I had no concept of time. It felt like I was locked inside a dream with no way to wake up. I wanted to cry, but couldn’t even find a way to do that.

After a long, long time, I finally saw Malcolm appear to me. He stood out like a beacon in the darkness of my mind. I wanted to run to him and ask him what was going on, but knew I didn’t actually have a physical form to do such a thing with.

“Lilly?” he asked. “Are you here?”

I wanted to yell to him that I was here and to keep talking to me, but I couldn’t.

“Listen, I’m not even sure this is working, but I had to try. We have you in the hospital. You’re in a coma.”

A coma?

“Dearest, try to tell me what happened. I pray you can see me now. I’m trying to share a dream with you. Honestly, I feel a bit stupid at the moment, but I had to try something. We can’t figure out what’s wrong with you. Brand found you lying on the floor of his bathroom a few days ago.” The look of anguish on Malcolm’s face told me that the situation was worse than I could have imagined. “The doctors here say you only have a few more days to live if they can’t find out what’s wrong. They’ve run tests but can’t figure out what’s causing the deterioration.”

Deterioration? What was he talking about?

“Whatever is in your system is slowly shutting down all your organs. Brand and Will are out now, trying to find a way to cure you before it’s too late.”

I wanted to yell to Malcolm about the yellow jacket sting, but couldn’t find my voice. There had to be a way to communicate with him and let him know what happened. But how?

“Dearest, please find a way to tell us what happened. I know you can do it. You have some of our abilities. Try to use the dream to show me what happened,” he pleaded.

I could see that Malcolm was close to tears. It was then that I truly understood how dire my situation was. I tried to concentrate my thoughts and swim to the surface of my consciousness. But every time I thought I could feel a way to communicate with him, I fell even deeper into the darkness of my subconscious. Eventually, Malcolm faded from my mind, and I was left alone again.

I don’t know how much time passed until I saw Brand appear. Unlike Malcolm, who simply appeared against a black backdrop, Brand recreated the moment he proposed to me on the London Eye. He stood alone in the glass bubble, so handsome in his tuxedo. Everything was perfect, except for the dead look in his eyes. I wanted to run to him and tell him everything would be all right.