Megan’s scrutinizing eyes narrow on me and she deliberately
answers
,
making sure to
include
him
in her
repl
y
,
“
It was, but they took the Shelby to the new house a couple of days ago.
Marc
was right there too, asking questions to the movers. The movers work for your dad, so of course you know they didn
’
t give out any information whatsoever.
”
Lisa shoves in the last item of cloth
ing, shutting
the suitcase and seats herself on the bed across from me, her next breath she confesses,
“
I feel sorry for Marc, I really think he didn
’
t know what was going on, in fact
,
one night a couple of days ago, the same day your car was shipped, he came by my house and Dawson tal
ked to him.” She and I stare at each other solemnly, she knows I don’t want to hear this, but knowing Lisa the way I do, she’ll state her feelings openly and honestly
regardless.
“
Dawson
took Marc out on the balcony
, but
I was sti
ll able to hear them talking.
Like I said, Alyss
a
... Marc looks bad and this is what I saw
and heard
that evening
.”
* * *
Dawson asks Marc,
“
So, how are you holding up?
”
Finally
,
after a few moments of random pacing Marc takes a seat and runs his hands over his
unshaven
face.
“
I
’
m here...
”
languidly
glancing up to
Dawson
.
“
She doesn
’
t answer her
cell
, she hasn
’
t come to pick up any of her things,
it
’
s
like she j
ust vanished with
out a trace.
”
“
That
’
s what our kind
generally do
when we get hurt.
”
Dawson skims a monopolizing look over Marc and steeples his fingers together as his elbows rest on his knees, deep in thought
,
severing the silence between them
,
he states,
“
Look Marc, I
’
m not going to judge you
,
nor am I going to tell you what to do. Alyssa needs time to recover.
”
“
How much time
,
i
t
’
s
almost been three weeks,
Dawson
.
”
Dawson
senses
me
looking;
he glances up and shoots a weak smile at me.
“
I don
’
t know your reasons, but I think by now you know just how strong our bonds are. This is a world of magick, Marc. You see, I will do anything to protect Lisa from any harm, even from myself if need be.
It
’
s
the only thing that holds importance to me. If w
e
don
’
t protect ourselves with the fierce instincts insid
e us then we become nonexistent
.
”
Dawson
pauses,
“
Between the mundane world and ours there is no choice, your blood pumps the same as mine
,
perhaps even more so because you can do things that are extraordinary even in the witch world. If you don
’
t protect Alyssa, your
lifemate
, then you hold no life in the witch world. Alyssa is not exposed to the mundane world by choice.
It
’
s
not for the pleasures of attending high school that she goes. She is there to learn how to survive in a hostile environment.
You see, there is a choice that you need to make. We live in the witch world and we avoid the humans, they are dangerous to anyone or anything that is different. Not all humans
, but
as a society they are very dangerous. We have all made that choice. We are living a
witch
es
’
life and think in witch ways. What are you?
The whole Kelly thing has made Alyssa question who you are. Where do you stand Marc? You can
’
t live in both worlds, so, once you make that decision, you will know what to do next. Right now, you
’
r
e
thinking and living like a mundane.
”
Lisa sits on the bed Yoga
style
and
finishes with a doleful smile. I
never want anyone to hurt
, but I can’t feel sorry for Marc
. I still carry so many emotions inside from betrayal to anger and everything in
between.
* * *
We are conclusively settled in our new house
, it only took six or so weeks to
get everything unpacked and appeari
ng like a
real
home
,
here in
the equality state of
Wyoming
.
Living closer to the Arcane makes me feel a bit more at
ease;
it
’
s always been the one place I have wanted to attend. The
“
actual
”
Arcane is
cloaked
and the mundanes will never know it even exists. So, Marc may not be able to find me ever again, except maybe
at
the
drag strip
.
My father sits at our dinning room table having breakfast when he announces to me,
“
Alyssa, we are shutting down the track next week.
”
S
wirling my
Bavarian wild berry
te
a with a spoon in a lazy daze, I
feel ready to move on with my life. I also realize
that since
I have the crimson crescent mark, no one will want to be with me. That is perfectly fine with me. After everything
that’s
happen
ed,
I find myself talking
more
with David about anything and
we are becoming close
r
friends. Draggi
ng myself out of my
daydreaming haze I peer
up to my dad.
“
Alyssa, are you listening to me? I want to run the track one more weekend before shutting it down. I was hoping, I could have some help. Can I count on you?
”
“
Dad, I
’
m sorry, just distracted I suppose
. Sure, you can always count on me. I
’
ll be there.
”
“
You know that
’
s one of your greatest qualities, always being there for others that need you.
”
“
Thanks D
ad,
”
I grumble back
without another thought to the matter
.
Once Friday rolls around I
’
m extremely pleased that my
Shelby
has all the missing parts in it and as always when my car is ready, I
’
m anxious to try it out at the track.
“
Alyss, I will be at the track early to get all my paperwork straight, will you be able to get there about an hour before the first race?
”
“
No worri
es D
ad, I
’
ll be there,
”
I reply
nimbly
as I wipe down my car, I stand
back, shifting around the car seriously
debating if I have time to wax it.
The
passenger
door and
side
window are completely new on the
Shelby
and the paint job is so good even I can hardly tell it was ever damaged.
David and I have talked about that incident, which he feels so
awful
about
. He thought at the time he was moving on with a new
potential
relationship and everything would fall into place with Naomi. As we all know the
falling into place
never happened.
I am grateful to David for saving me when I felt like a part of me died. Marc being with Kell
y the way he was just
devastated me beyond words. So as the weeks pass nobody speaks a
single
word to me about Marc anymore. Which I soon find comfort in. David shows me friendship, I know he will always want more and perhaps one day I may see it as a
curse by being crescent bound. I
will not be involved with anyone ever again. I guess
it
’
s
just something I will have to live with, perhaps in time the annoying
, bitter
ache that seems to cling to me will diminish as well, a girl can
only
hope.
Chapter 26
Tonight is
strangely familiar
with the cool and
crisp
sensation
outside,
I love it.
The wind whirls
dark strands of hair around my face and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt
that whe
n the temperature drops down a bit
my
Shelby
runs
faster than normal, so I
’
m anxious to race
. We open the night with our traditional run down of the rac
ing
line up. Dad sits behind his desk in the office as our crew, Dawson, Lisa, David, Megan
,
and I kick back.
Dad flips through the sheets and begins to instruct,
“
Okay
,
Dawson
,
I have you
racing
third ag
ainst an Eclipse and Alyssa you
race sixth against a new Chevy Camaro SS.
Anyone have questions?
”
The room is quiet, a good sign an
d it means we can hit the track
.
Having some major work done to the
Shelby
may make it lift a
t
least a couple of feet off the ground. I want to keep it on the ground
, but
give it all the power I can. It should add some excitement
for
tonight.
I
head to the stands with Megan, Lisa
,
and David, watching a few races before
I have to go prepare
for my race.
The crew and I inspect the
Shelby
and the guys have already changed the tires for the race. I know
everything is A- Ok
. I grab a cloth, pull out my
iPod
and start cleaning off my car to the beat. Megan
’s
remix
of
,
“
Thunder Struck
”
begins playing a
nd I must say the girl does have talent.
David walks up,
“
Hey, want some help?
”
Throwing him a
clean Zwipe microfiber cloth is my answer, h
e begins wiping off the windshield.
David moves around the car in almost a sulking manner, deciding to goad him for the streaks he leaves across the glass,
“
Hey,
you’re not helping, you’re making it worse. Y
ou need to use my
Black Magic
glass cleaner to
do it right
.
”