Broken (Book 1, The Watcher Chronicles, Paranormal Romance) (16 page)

“Wow, that is a collectable.  It must have made a dent in Joshua’s savings.”

“You think?” Caylin asks, her face lighting up.

“He must think a lot about you,” I tell her as she smiles shyly at the news.

“Hmm,” I hear Malcolm say.  “I’m sure he does.”

I immediately decide to make sure Joshua gets his chance
at an innocent romance with Caylin.  If left up to Malcolm, Joshua wouldn’t be able to see her until she was eighty.  We Calvin and Hobbes fans had to stick together to fight the injustices of the world, or at least their over protective uncles.

“Speaking of Joshua,” Mason says, “we should probably go back to headquarters and tell the others what we’ve learned.”

“Remind Allan and Angela about coming over for dinner Christmas Eve,” Lilly tells Mason.  “And you had better be here this year too.  No more excuses about work.  The world will continue to rotate for the few hours you spend with us.”

“I promise I’ll be here,” Mason says like he’s talking to a nagging mom. 

“Good,” Lilly looks at me.  “You’re more than welcome to come with Mason,” she suggests.  “There will be a lot of other Watchers present you might like to get to know.”

“Thank you,” I tell her, “but I have a family obligation
of my own to go to that night.”

“Family comes first,” she says looking at her husband and kids.  “But know that you have an open invitation to our home, which ever
one we might be occupying at the time.”

“Thank you,” I tell her, knowing she means it and isn’t just saying it to be polite.

“We will contact you if we figure anything else out,” Mason tells them all, holding out his hand to me.

As soon as my skin touches
Mason’s, I find myself standing in headquarters staring at a video feed of Lucifer talking to Faison outside my house.

“When did he arrive?” I hear Mason ask Nick and Joshua who are sitting in front of the control panel watching the scene as it unfolds.

“Not too long ago
,” Nick answers.  “I don’t think they’ve been talking for more than a couple of minutes.”

“Take me home,” I say to Mason, not caring that it sounds like an order
not a request.

Without argument, Mason grabs my
arm and phases us to my house.

“I
’m sorry we didn’t get to talk more at the hospital last night,” I hear Lucifer say to Faison. 

“Faison,” I
call as we come to stand with them.  Faison jumps slightly and holds a hand to her heart, obviously not aware that Mason and I just phased in.

“Jess,”
Faison smiles at me, not having a clue how much danger she’s in, “I just came over to see if you wanted to go out to lunch and found your friend here waiting for you to ask the same thing.”

Lucifer turns to me with an enigmatic smile on his face. 

“I wanted to check on you after what happened last night,” Lucifer says to me, his eyes sliding over to Mason.  “Mason,” he says in a greeting which lacks any warmth.

“I’m fine,” I tell Lucifer, desperately wanting to get Faison out of his presence.

“Why don’t you and Faison go on to lunch?” Mason suggests, coming to stand in between Lucifer and I in a protective manner.  “I would like to speak with Lucian about a private matter since he’s here.” 

I grab Faison by the arm and say,
“Let’s go.”  Silently thanking Mason for giving me a good excuse to get Faison out of harms way

As I’m dragging a bewildered Faison to my
car, I chance a glance over my shoulder and see Mason and Lucifer engaged in a staring contest which looks anything but friendly.  Once safely inside my car, I crank it up and drive quickly away from a possible nuclear explosion of wills about to happen in my front yard.

“Wh
o is that Lucian guy anyway?” Faison says.  “You never told me after what happened at the hospital.  Is he a Watcher too?”

“Listen to me carefully,” I
say, “if you ever see Lucian again, you walk in the opposite direction, ok?”

“Is he dangerous?” Faison asks
sounding fascinated.

“Yes
, and not in a good way.   He’s the most dangerous man I know,” I tell her, not having to exaggerate in the slightest.  “Please, don’t talk to him again if you can help it and for goodness sakes don’t let him inside Mama Lynn’s house.  Ok?”

Sobered by my words, Faison nods.  “I’m sorry, Jess.  I didn’t know.  He
seemed ok the way he took up for you at the hospital.  He certainly put the fear of God into Uncle Dan when he spoke to him.  And he looks so nice.  I thought he was someone you trusted.”

“Like they say, don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Faison is silent for a while as I drive us over to the Hollywood Café for lunch.

“So Mason
seemed awfully protective of you back there,” she says.

“Don’t read anything into it.
  Mason isn’t interested in me like that,” I say, even though I feel a small part of me wish he were.  “Besides, you know my rule.”

“Ugh, that stupid rule again?” Faison looks up to the
Heavens.  “Why can’t you make her act like a normal human being for once?”

“Who are you talking to?”

“God,” Faison says, closing her eyes.  “I’m sending up a silent prayer to ask that He make you give up your rule about not getting serious with someone until the Tear is closed.  Amen.”

“It’s a good rule,” I say defensively.  “If you’d ever lost someone to that thing, you would understand.”

Faison looks over at me and I see fire in her eyes.  I silently wait for the explosion. 

“I understand just fine
,” she says in a controlled voice.  “Who was the one who held you when you used to cry yourself to sleep because you missed your parents?”

“You.”

“Who beat up Wendy Shea when she picked on you for being an orphan?”

“You.”

“And who goes out to that field by your folks house every year to see if they’ll be returned or not?”

“You.”

“So don’t sit there and tell me I don’t understand what you’re going through Jessica Michelle Riley because I’ve pretty much been through it all with you since the day we met.”

Faison crosses her arms over her chest and looks out the side window.

“Faison,” I say, trying to draw her attention but she refuses to look at me.  “You know I love you.  I wouldn’t have made it all these years without you by my side.  Please don’t be mad at me.  I’ve got too much going on right now to be in any condition to handle that kind of added strain.”

Faison’s arms slowly uncross as she turns her head to look at me. 
“Just promise me one thing,” she says, “and I won’t be mad at you.”

“Anything.”

“If things go well tonight at the party with Mason, I want you to ask him out on a real date, not just one I set up for you.  And I mean a
real
, God honest date, where you get all gussied up and go out to dinner somewhere nice.”

“Why is it so important to you that I date?”

“Because everyone needs somebody, Jess.  You’ve been hiding from the world since we were kids, never letting a boy kiss you or even give you a proper hug from what I know.  You’re twenty-two years old and you’ve never been kissed by a man you care about.  That’s just not natural Jess.  Stop hiding behind the Tear and what Uncle Dan did to you, let yourself feel something for another person.”

“I love you and Mama Lynn,” I say in my own defense.

“That’s because you didn’t have much choice in the matter.  We wouldn’t have let you hide from us no matter how hard you might have tried.”

“So me asking Mason out is contingent on us having a good time together tonight, right?”

“Yes.”

“
What if we make each other completely miserable?  Am I still bound to this promise?”

“No, you can wiggle your way out of it but only if I see
that the two of you don’t have a lick of chemistry.”

I nod my head.  “Ok, I agree
to your terms.  Now stop being mad at me.  You know I can’t stand it when we fight.”

“I don’t like it either,” Faison says.

Suddenly, I do something I almost never do, sneeze.

“Are you coming down with a cold?” Faison asks.

I shake my head.  “You know I hardly ever get sick,” I say, just as I sneeze a second time.

“No getting sick,” Faison
firmly orders.  “You are not going to find a way out of this date tonight.”

I sneeze again and cough for good measure.  I groan inwardly because I know I’m coming down with something.  Whether I want to admit it or not, I actually was looking forward to taking Mason to the party that night.  As I pull into the gravel parking lot of the Hollywood Café, I suddenly have a coughing fit and
begin to resign myself to the fact that my plans for the evening will most likely not be happening.

By the time we make it back to my house, I know I’m running a fever.  Faison makes me get into my comfy
red Santa Claus flannel pajamas, take some medicine and crawl into bed.

“Rest is the best thing for you,” she says, placing a glass of water and a box of tissues on the nightstand by my bed.

“I need my phone,” I tell her, barely able to keep my eyes open I feel so tired.  “I should call Mason and let him know I’m sick.  I’m not making it to that party tonight.”

“I’ll handle that for you,” Faison reassures me.  “You just get some rest.”

I close my eyes and drift off into a dreamless sleep.

In the distance, I hear the ringing of bells
and begin to wonder if I am hallucinating.  Slowly, they pull me out of my sickness induced slumber and I realize it’s my front doorbell ringing.  I groan into my pillow and drag myself out of bed to see who it is.  When I look through the peephole, I feel my heart begin to race.

“Jess?” Mason says on the other side of the door.  “Are you ok in there?”

I rest my hot forehead against the cool wood of my front door and curse softly.  I run my hands hastily through my hair knowing I must look a mess but lacking the energy to care too much.  I open the door and find myself just staring at Mason in all his perfection.  He’s dressed in a well tailored dark blue suit, white shirt and silky blue tie.  I watch as his eyes take in my disheveled appearance in one sweep and suddenly feel a little nauseous at what he must think.

“I take it we’re not going to the party?” He says
, looking pointedly at my Santa Claus flannel pajamas.

“I’m sorry.  I thought Faison was going to call and tell you that I’m sick.”

Mason shakes his head slowly.  “No, I never received a phone call from her.  And you need to be in bed.  You look dead on your feet.”

“Thanks,” I say, trying not to take offense.  I
was pretty sure I looked like death warmed over and Mason just confirmed it.

“May I come in?”

“I don’t want to make you sick too.”

“I can’t get sick, Jess.  Even if you had the bubonic plague it wouldn’t affect me.”

“Come on in then,” I say, not sure why he wants to be with me in my current state.

After he closes the door behind him, we just stare at each other as we stand in the foyer.
  I get the distinct feeling he’s not sure why he’s there either.

“Have you had anything to eat for supper?”
He finally asks.

“No,” I say, sneezing into
the crook of my elbow as lady like as I can. 

“Come on
.” He gently puts his hands on my shoulders and turns me in the direction of my bedroom.  “Let’s get you settled in bed and I’ll go get something for you to eat.”

Mason escorts me to my room and tucks me
underneath the white down comforter on my bed.  He turns the nightstand light on which gives the room a soft glow.

“Would you like me to
turn your TV on to watch while I go get something for us to eat?”

“Sure, just start the DVD
that’s already in there.”

Mason goes to the TV mounted on the wall over my dresser
and presses the necessary buttons.  Before I know it I hear the comforting sound of the 20
th
Century Fox trumpets blowing.  Mason turns to face me just as the original Star Wars movie begins to play.

“I’ve never seen this one,” he tells me.

“Hand me the remote,” I quickly say as I prop pillows behind my back to sit up more comfortably in bed.  “It’s sitting on top of the dresser.”

Mason finds it and hands it to me.  I press pause to stop the movie.

“I can’t, in good conscience, let you leave my house tonight without at least seeing the first Star Wars movie,” I tell him, feeling that it’s my duty as a sci-fi geek to at least make him watch the very first Jedi adventure ever made.  “I’ll wait until you get back to start it.”