Cursed (Book 1, The Watchers; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (25 page)

“It’s the only way
they can be explained.  They had to be planned by someone because I was always
told when they would happen.”

“I thought it was
odd you were always there to save me.”  This new bit of information helped
answer what I had been wondering about for years.

“So you said you
each fell out of grace with God for different reason.  What was your reason,
Will?”

“Pride mostly.  I
followed someone who made me think God made a mistake when he created humans.” 
Will took in a deep breath before continuing.  “Lucifer had us convinced your
species was beneath us, that we shouldn’t have to follow God’s order to protect
and guide you.  When our Father asked us to bow down to you, we rebelled.  I’ve
had a lot of time to regret what I did, but it doesn’t change the fact I turned
my back on Him.”

“So what are you? 
The real Will said you took his body over that night in the lake. Are you like
a demon, like in the Exorcist movie?  Did you possess him?”

“If there had been
any other choice, I would have taken it,” Will said visibly defensive.  “But
you two were out there all by yourselves.  I’d never taken over the body of an
innocent before but it was either take his body or let you die.  I couldn’t let
you die.”

“Why?  Why was I
more important than him?” I demanded.

“I don’t know.  At
the time I was just following the orders I’d been given.  I was supposed to
protect you no matter what the cost.”

“Ordered?  By
who?”

“Lucifer.  He sent
me to watch over you.  He was the one who told me when things were going to
happen that I needed to protect you from.”

“How did he know?
Why am I important to him?”

“I honestly don’t know. 
I’ve asked him a thousand times but he always refuses to answer me.”

“So the devil
wants to protect me and someone else wants me dead but neither of you know who
that is or why.  Is that about right?”

“Yes,” Will said. 
“We don’t know who wants you dead or who has the power to do the things that
have happened to you.” 

“We’re trying to
figure it out,” Brand said.  “That’s one reason I went looking for Malcolm the
other day.” 

There was a moment
of silence.  I couldn’t think of anything else to ask.  I needed some time
alone.  I needed some time to think things through.

I stood up from
the rocking chair.  “I’d like to be by myself for a while.”

“I don’t know if
you should be alone,” Will said.

“Why not? 
Michelle’s behind bars and Malcolm didn’t kill me earlier.  He doesn’t seem
like someone to change his mind on a whim.  Neither of you have any idea who it
is that’s been trying to kill me the past few years.  I don’t think I’m in any
danger tonight.  I’d really just like some time to think things through.”

“Let’s go, Will.” 
Brand stood up.  “If you need us, all you have to do is call.  You’ve seen how
quickly we can be here.”

“Thanks.”

I walked to the
bathroom and shut the door behind me.  I listened intently to any sound they
might make during their departure but heard only silence.  I counted to ten and
opened the door.

They were gone.

I stepped out into
the now empty living room.  It was then I noticed Brand left his tie and jacket
sitting on one of the chairs at the dining table.  I quickly picked them up and
took them to my room stuffing them underneath my bed.  I didn’t want to have to
explain to Tara why his things were here.  I had already decided I wouldn’t
tell her anything I’d learned that night.  She would probably think I’d lost my
mind if I started spouted things about fallen angels and vampires to her.  I
wouldn’t blame her.  I was having a hard enough time believing it myself. 
Maybe after I came to terms with what Brand and Will had told me, I could share
my knowledge with her.  It was the first time I’d purposely kept a secret from Tara.  It didn’t feel good.

By the time Tara made it home from the dance, I had taken a shower and was sitting on the futon staring
at the TV but not really watching the program playing across the screen.

“Hey girl!  Did
Will bring you home?”

She looked so
happy, almost effervescent.  She plopped into the rocking chair and started to
take off her shoes.

“No, I walked
home.”

She looked at me
sternly.  “I wish you hadn’t done that, Lilly Rayne Nightingale.  What was Will
thinking letting you walk home?  I thought after he took you out of the dance
that maybe you’d found a way to forget about Brand for a while.  What
happened?”

“He tried to kiss
me.  I ran.  He didn’t have a lot of choice.”  I shrugged my shoulders. 

“You should have
come back to the dance.  I would have come home with you.”

“By the time I
thought about it I was already half way here.  Anyway, it looked like you and
Simon were having a good time.”

Tara sat back in
her chair.  “Yeah, I think that boy has potential.” She smiled.

I stood up. 
“Well, I think I’m going to go to bed.  I’m kinda tired.  I was just waiting up
to make sure you made it home safely.”

“Sweet dreams,
hon,” Tara yawned.  “I’m gonna go take a shower and head to bed too.”

I went to my room
and crawled underneath my covers.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep right
away, but I needed to be alone.  My mind was racing with thoughts.  Some time
in the early morning hours, I finally fell into an exhausted slumber. 

The next morning I
got an unexpected call from my mother.

“Hey sweetie, I
wanted to call and see if you were busy today.”

“No, not too
very.  What’s up, Mom?”

“Do you remember
Bob, my friend with the car dealership that I bought the Solstice from?”

I thought I
actually did remember Bob, an ex-marine who still wore his blonde hair in a
buzz cut.  Sometimes it was hard to keep my mom’s boyfriends straight though. 
“I think so.  Why?”

“Well, I told him
what you’d been through and he happened to mention he had a car that might be good
for you.  Do you have time to come and see it?”

“Sure.”  I was
actually glad to have an excuse to get out of town for a while.

“Great!  Why don’t
you come on over when you can?  I’ll be home all day.”

“Ok, Mom.  See you
in a bit.”

“Drive safe,
sweetie.”

When I told Tara what my plans were for the day, she immediately gathered up all our dirty clothes so
she could come with me and use Utha Mae’s washer and dryer instead of having to
use the laundry mat at the apartment complex.

When we got home,
I helped Tara take the clothes into Utha Mae’s and went over to my mom’s
trailer.  She was so excited to show me the car Bob was saving for me. 

“We all heard what
happened to you on the news, Lilly,” Bob said when we got to his car lot.  “You
just can’t ever tell what nut jobs are in the world.  Real sorry you had to go
through all that.”

“Thanks.”  I was a
bit uncomfortable around Bob.  He had that seedy used car sales man vibe about
him.  Though, I did get the impression he was just trying to do me a favor.  Either
that or get back into my mom’s good graces.  He took us over to a well
maintained candy apple red 1965 Ford Mustang with white convertible top.

“I got this car
real cheap.  The fella needed money quick and took the first thing I offered
him.  His grandma died recently and he found this sittin’ in the garage.  It’s
like one of those urban legends, really.  You almost never see cars like this
in such good shape. What do you think?”

“Well, it looks
really nice, but I don’t think I can afford it.”

“Tell ya what. 
I’ll sell it to you for what I paid for it.  Could you afford $4000?”

“Are you sure? 
You could probably sell it for way more than that.  I wouldn’t want to cheat
you out of money.”

“If you can pay me
$4000, it’s yours, Lilly.  No strings, just a straight up deal.”

It didn’t take me
long to jump on his offer.  I wrote Bob out a check fast, before he had a
chance to rethink the bargain he was giving me.

When I drove up to
Utha Mae’s trailer, I honked the horn to get their attention.  They were both pretty
impressed with the deal I got.

“Well, who knew
Bob Granger had a heart,” Utha Mae said in amazement.

“He can be nice
when he wants to be,” my mom said.  “I’ll bet Brand will like this car.  It’s a
classic.  When are you gonna bring him back for a visit, sweetie?”

“We’re not dating
anymore, Mom.”

“Oh, no.” I could
instantly hear the disappointment in her voice.  I braced myself for the
questioning sure to come.  “What did you do?”

“She,” Tara said
coming to stand beside me, “didn’t do anything.  He’s just an ass is all.”

“Well he seemed
nice enough to me when I met him.  You must have done something.”

I could feel a
cloud of tension develop between Tara and my Mom.  Luckily, Utha Mae stepped
in.

“Why don’t you
come in for a bit, Lilly?  I have something I’d like to give you.”

“Well,” my mom
said.  “I need to go get ready for my date.  Bob’s taking me out.”

“We’ll be leaving
soon,” I told my mom.  “Thank Bob again for the car for me.”

“Ok, sweetie.  See
you all later.”

When we got back
into Utha Mae’s trailer, I thought Tara was going to rip our clothes to shreds
the way she was folding them.

“I just don’t know
about your mom sometimes, Lilly Rayne.  She just beats all I’ve ever seen.”

“I don’t know why
you’re surprised.  She’s been that way all my life.”

“I know but…”  Tara just shook her head in frustration.  “It’s like she thinks having a man in your life
will solve all your problems.  I haven’t seen it solve any of hers.”

“Tarajinka, you
just lay off that woman.  She’s got a good heart inside.  She just doesn’t know
how to show it sometimes,” Utha Mae said.  “Anyway, I really do have something
I want to give you, Lilly.”

Utha Mae went into
her bedroom and came back out with a small jewelry box in her hands.

“There was a lady
selling antique jewelry outside the Wal-mart the other day.  I saw this and
thought of you.”

When I opened the
box, I saw that it was a filigree cross and chain made out of silver.

“It’s beautiful,
Utha Mae.”  I took the necklace out and got her to help me put it around my
neck.  “Thank you,” I said touching the cross, feeling its delicate structure
between my fingers.

“What did you get
me?” Tara asked, looking at my necklace with a small bit of envy.

“You don’t always
get something when I give Lilly a gift, Tara.  Just feel lucky I’m letting you
use my washer and dryer for free.”

Tara pouted until
we left.

By the time we
arrived home, she soon got over her envy.

Simon called her
not long after we got home to ask her out on another date. 

“I need to do some
research at the library anyway,” I told her.  “You should go out with him.”

“Are you sure? 
I’ll come with you if you want.”

“No. You go
ahead.  It’s just something for my biology class.”  I hated lying to Tara but I didn’t want to explain what I was really up to.

Simon didn’t pick her
up until almost six.  As soon as they left, I ran to my room and grabbed
Brand’s jacket and tie from under my bed.  I reasoned with myself that I was
simply being polite in returning his items to him.  Though, I knew by the way
my heart was racing that my motives weren’t completely innocent.  I desperately
wanted to see him again and he’d left me a justifiable excuse to go back to his
house.

It didn’t take me
long before I was in front of Brand’s place.  His car was parked in the
driveway so I was pretty sure he would be home.  How different it felt to be
here again.  A week to the day I had experienced the most perfect day of my
life.

But what if what I
felt for him wasn’t real?  Was I just feeling the effects of the pheromone he
said he produced?  Was I just deluding myself into thinking I loved him?    

I grabbed his
jacket and tie from the passenger seat, walked up to his front door and rang
the bell.  My heart was thumping inside my chest in anticipation of seeing
Brand again.  A few seconds later the door was answered by the one person I had
not expected to see.

Izzi stood tall in
the doorway wearing absolutely nothing but a smile.

“Well hey there,
Lilly.  What brings you out here?”

I thought my heart
had stopped.  What was she doing here and why was she naked?  If Brand’s car
was in the driveway, then why was he home with a naked Izzi running around his
house?  The insinuation of what was probably happening made the hope of
reconciliation with Brand die in my heart.

“I just wanted to
bring Brand back his jacket and tie,” I said, trying to keep my voice even.  

“Well how nice of
you,” Izzi said with a knowing smile.  “I’ll make sure to let him know you
dropped them by.”

I handed her the
items and quickly turned away to get back into my car.

I raced down the
drive way as fast as I could.  Once I got back on the highway, I tried to
decide where I wanted to go.  I didn’t want to go back to the apartment yet,
that much I knew.  The only other person I knew in town was Will, but I wasn’t
ready to see him again.  He wasn’t the person I thought he was.

Wanting to be
alone and having no where else to go, I bought a cheeseburger and soda at a
fast food place and drove onto campus, parking beside the Common’s building. I
sat with my meal at the table on the terrace.  It was almost seven but the
lamps from the side walk on the other side of the rose garden provided enough
light for me to see by but still kept me fairly well hidden in the shadows.

I took a sip of my
soda and I thought about how much difference a week made.  It was about this
time last week I was trying to seduce Brand into kissing me.  Thinking of Brand
made me instantly think about Izzi.  I wanted to cry but I didn’t have any
tears left.  I’d done nothing but cry the last week, and I was sick of it.  If
he didn’t want me anymore, then I had to try and find a way to move on.  I
refused to pine for someone I couldn’t have.  I’d done that with Will and I
wasn’t going to waste myself on someone like that again.