Blood of Cupids (15 page)

I don’t know for what I was waiting. It was silly to think
that he’d come throwing stones at my window in the middle of the night, but the
schoolgirl fantasy refused to stop its constant play in my thoughts. Aunt
Kathryn stayed at my side, walking me to and from class, through the seminars,
the labs, the midterms, and the study groups. I don’t quite know from whom she
believed she could protect me, but the company was nice for a change. Without
Ryan, I really had no one. The one time in my life I finally opened up to
another person, it ended in disaster. The likelihood of me trying again was
dwindling each day.

“Did you grab your toothbrush?” Aunt Kathryn called from the
living room.

“Got it! You?”

“Nope!”

“Good thing you reminded yourself then, huh?”

We were heading home for Thanksgiving weekend. I had a few
days off from class, and Aunt Kathryn had been pushing to have a big family
dinner. I think she missed my Dad. She still refused to drop any hints, but I
could read her almost as well as she could read me.

“Maybe we should take separate cars.” I suggest.

“Thinking about sneaking off on me to find your mystery
lover?”

“No, I told you that was over.”

“Uh, huh…”

“I was thinking, you know, maybe you could stay home. I only
have three weeks of class until winter break. It’s silly for us both to be
here.”

“You’re lucky you’re pretty, because I think that concussion
messed with your brain. Come on, we’ll take my car.”

“Don’t you miss him?”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh come on. Don’t pretend that you’re hiding some grave
secret from me. My mom’s been dead for almost twenty years. I think it’s okay
if he moves on.”

Her face wrinkled and her tears took black mascara on their
trail. She was so dramatic, but I loved it.

“You knew? You knew this whole time? Well not the
whole
time,
but really? And you never told anyone? How did you keep this in?”

Did she want me to answer any of these questions or was
this all rhetorical?

She continued on, “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner,
baby girl. We were trying to protect you.”

“You guys really got to stop it with the protecting.”

She cocked her head to the side, instantly becoming her
standard sarcastic self. “I’m sorry, didn’t you just get the ability to move
your arm back because you, oh wait…what was it? Oh right, you were shot.”

“Okay, enough from you.”

She grabbed me in a bear hug. “You know I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” I choked out.

“I want to be here with you; I want to make sure you’re
safe. I’m not only doing this for your dad.”

It was sweet, touching, but I couldn’t allow this to
continue for the rest of my life.

“But I need to figure out things on my own.” I plopped down
on the couch, ready for my confession. “This is the life you chose. This life
fulfills you. I see that. You love taking care of the girls and how the boys
all show you respect. You love the camaraderie of all the women who wait for
their men to come home at night so they can wipe the blood off their faces and
kiss their scars.”

“Why are you talking like this, Gracie? It’s your family
too.”

“But it’s the life I was born into. I had no choice. And
I’ll continue to have no choice as long as I stay in it.”

“Grace, I was born into it too. Do you know how many times
I’ve thought about how different my life would’ve been had I been shoved into
foster care instead of your granddaddy taking me in?”

“Okay then, so you can understand me.”

“No, because what you’re saying is nonsense. This is your
family. You’re royalty in our little society. The club needs its princess.”

“I will never be comfortable walking around with a ‘property
of’ patch or sporting a black eye because I spoke out of line.”

“You know your father would kill anyone who touches you.”

“Not if I were an ol’ lady to one of the members. Then I’d
be fair game.” The conversation was working me up. “I can’t, Aunt Kathryn, I
just can’t.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m a twenty-three year old grad student with red hair and
freckles from central Pennsylvania. Do you know what people think when they
look at me? I can tell you for sure that no one has any clue about the life I
lead. No one can understand me. But I want to open up to someone. I want to be
able to step outside my door without having to look over my shoulder to make
sure no one is following me.” I pressed my lips together as I rolled up my
sleeve. My voice cracked. “And I don’t want to keep reliving that night every
time I see this scar.”

She took my hand in hers. We were silent, both blinking
tears from our eyes.

“Are you running away?”

“After the semester.”

“To where?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“With the boy?”

“Ha,” I laughed, “not with the boy.”

“Can I convince you to stay?”

I turned toward her, giving a half-hearted smile. “Please
don’t tell.”

She threw her arms around me, and I back. When the moment
was over, I took her shoulders in my hands and offered my goodbye.

“I’m taking my car. Meet you at home.”

“I’ll leave in a few minutes. I should probably fix my
makeup. I’m sure I look like a bat.”

“A bat?”

“You know, with the…” She made a weird gesture with her
hands as I laughed at her ridiculousness.

I was really looking forward to having a few hours to
myself. I had finally told someone that I was leaving. It was now real. Lost in
thought, I rounded into the empty garage. It looked as though everyone had
already deserted the city for the Thanksgiving festivities. My footsteps
echoed, the sounds only being swallowed up by a few lonely vehicles. I hit the
button on my keychain, unlocking my car, and took the five or so more steps
toward the driver’s side. Stopping at the door, I heard my footsteps continue
their echo. The dimly lit garage darkened as if only the lights above me had
been hidden.

A swift hand covered my mouth.

I couldn’t scream.

“Grace. Grace. It’s me. Don’t shout.” I whispered to her in
the vacant garage, her hot breath beating against the palm of my hand. I’d
flipped her around, pushing my hips into hers and pinning her up against the
car.

Of course it was not the most ideal way of meeting, but I
had to make sure I wasn’t followed or drawing attention. I assumed she would be
spending the holiday with her family, so I snuck out early and sat at the
bakery across the street, awaiting her departure. I quietly followed her into
the garage, ensuring that no one would be joining our little meet up.

I peeled my hand from her lips.

“You scared the hell out of me, Ryan. What was that for?”

“I’m sorry, Grace, I needed to make sure you were okay.”

“What’s everyone’s deal with having to protect me? I can
take care of myself, now go away.”

I didn’t know what to expect, but I thought she’d be a
little happier to see me. I was certainly happy to see her. My body felt alive
again as it pressed up against hers.

“What? Why?”

“Umm, maybe because this little meet and greet could get
either one of us killed?”

“No, I was careful. I walked a mile, took a cab another two,
walked again, and a cab took me the rest of the way. No one would have been
able to follow me. ”

“That’s ridiculous. Get off of me.” Her jaw pushed forward.
Why was she angry with me?

“No. No.” I didn’t understand why she was fighting me. I
didn’t want to get off her. I framed her face in my hands, tracing her freckles
with my thumbs and calming her down. “But that’s what I wanted to talk to you
about. My Pops and uncle still don’t believe that you had nothing to do with
the raid. I don’t know if they’re planning something, but if they are, it
involves you.”

“What?” She seemed anxious; her breathing became shallow.
“How so?”

“I don’t know. I lashed out at my uncle when he made any
suggestion of involving you, so anything that goes down, I’m sure they’re
leaving me out of it.”

“Oh my God, Ryan, do they know…about us?” She was hesitant,
obviously as confused about our relationship as I was.

“They know we’d met before the match and that I didn’t know
you were a Brennan, but yes Grace, they’re not idiots.”

“This is not good.” She sank down, allowing my knees to
catch her hips.

I bent to meet her, resting her head in my hand. “Hey, it’ll
be okay. We’ll get through this.”

She looked up at me, her blue eyes swollen and bloodshot
from previous tears. I cradled her in my arms while we sat, embracing on the
cold concrete floor.  

“Where have you been? You left without saying goodbye.” She
whispered into my ear, sending chills down my back.

“Everyone has been a bit on edge at the club. I wanted to
make sure you were kept out of it.”

She nodded, but I knew it wasn’t a good enough answer. I
took her chin in my hand and lightly kissed her lips. “Grace, I was trying to
get over you.”

“Oh.” Her voice cracked on the vowel.

“But I couldn’t,” I continued, “no matter what I tried, you
stayed with me.”

I couldn’t gauge her reaction. Her eyes bore into mine, and
I’d never seen such a serious look.

Her lips moved. “Run away with me.”

“What?” What was she suggesting?

“After the semester. I’m getting out: California or
something. I don’t know, but I want you to come with me.”

“Really?” I couldn’t believe she was asking this of me. This
might finally be my chance to get out, to get away from it all.

I looked deep into her eyes, making sure she knew the
severity of her request.

“Okay.” I said.

“Okay?” The energy between us began to calm.

“Yes. Okay.” We broke into short bouts of laughter, unable
to grasp what we had both just promised.

I drew her closer to me, swinging her from side to side. I
brought her softly to the ground and leaned over her, enraptured by our silent
conversation. I lowered my lips to hers, taking what was about to be mine
forever.

“Ryan,” she sighed, “I have to go home now.”

“When can I see you again?”

She looked to the ceiling, calculating. “My semester is over
December 20
^th
. Meet me here.”

“Right here?”

“Right here.” She giggled and brought my head back to hers,
stealing a kiss before sitting up.

I helped her to her feet and pushed her back up against the
car. Each word was broken up by a taste of her lips. “Then…December 20
^th
…just
you…and me…forever.”

Her hands moved fast, our talk of escape obviously making
her hot. We were like two teenagers, hormones raging, needing more of each
other every time we met. Her hands slid up my shirt, the soft velvet of her
skin making me swell with excitement. We were lost in the anticipation of each
other’s bodies. We didn’t even hear the footsteps.

A light chuckle preceded the words. “Well, well, well,
Gracie. I thought your secret relationship was o—”

We both turned quickly toward the suddenly stopped voice.

“Aunt Kathryn!” Grace was startled, awkward, and unable to
find any more words.

“Grace, get over here.” She was staring at my bare side.
Grace had pushed my shirt up to my chest, and her hands were now frozen in
place.

“Aunt Kathryn, it’s okay. This is—”

“He’s a
Cupid
, that’s what he is Grace. Get the hell
over here.” She must have seen my tattoo.

“Please, don’t freak out.”

“Oh my God, baby girl, you knew? You knew who he was? And
now you’re down here…you know I have to tell your father.” She started sobbing.

“No.” Grace let go of me and stepped to her aunt. “Please,
you can’t. Please don’t tell him.”

“You don’t get it, Gracie. This is very bad.” She looked
around. “I have to go.”

She ran up to the exit and out of sight. Grace began to
chase after her, and I after Grace. We reached the outside and looked around
the empty streets. Which way had she gone?

“Can you grab my car?” She tossed the keys at me. “It’s a
remote start.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she ran off on foot. I
sped back down the decline, and pushed the button on the remote. The images in
front of me morphed into slow motion. My hands instinctually moved to cover my
face as the car shattered into flames. Someone must have set a bomb that was
triggered by her ignition.

And I knew exactly who had done it.