Authors: Cheryl McIntyre
“Fine.” Keely swings the door open and slides out.
“Give me a ca
ll when Keely’s back,” Nick calls
coolly.
Keely slams the door hard. She takes
t
w
o angry steps before the dam of tears burst
s. Nick’s wrong. It’s not
multiple personali
ties.
She’s always her. It’s her emotions that are messed up. She turns back and ducks her head into the c
ar. “I’m stupid. I know it a
nd I’m sorry. If yo
u hate me I understand, b
ut I love you. Even when I act like I don’t.” She turns back to the house and rushes to the door.
Nick is on her heels. He catches her as she reaches for the knob. Pulls her in for a hug. “You have got me so messed up.
You piss me off and make me want to kiss you
at the same time. What the
hell are you doing to me?
I can’t take it. I
want you
. I don’t want him.” He pulls her chin up so he can reach her lips. Keely loses herself in th
e kiss. Her body longing for the distraction
more than she could have guessed.
Nick reaches behind her and opens the door. They nearly fall into the house. Without breaking apart, Nick
shuts the door behind them. G
r
abs her waist and turns her
back is against the door. He
slides his hands into the thick waves of her hair
and presses his lips to
her
s
har
der
. Before she can even think of stopping him
, he moves his hands to her hips and leans into her, pressing his body
firmly
against hers. His finge
rs dig into her skin pleasantly and she lets out a surprised breath.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she suspects he is doing his best to seduce her. It is totally working. She grabs handfuls of his hair and tries to keep up with his lips. As if of its own free will, her leg glides up his making their bodies mesh together. She locks her leg behind him and before she knows it, he pulls her other leg up sandwiching her be
tween the door and his hips.
With a soft growl from his throat, Nick turns
them
around and leans her
back
aga
inst the steps. He lies
over her, propping himself on his elbows. Looks at her admiringly. “I love you so much,” he says just above a whisper.
He licks his lips and touches them to her throat.
“Don’t stop on my account,” Kimberly says from the top of the staircase.
Keely looks up at her mom, upside down from her angle on the steps.
“Uh, hi M
om.”
Thirty-One
:
Lila slumps in Bryon’s car
,
staring out the window.
“Nick text me. He n
eeds me to go stay w
ith Keely for the night
. Do you want to go home or come with?”
“Just take me home. I feel too guilty every time I look at her.”
“Have you gone to see Dustin?” Bryon looks out the rear window as he backs out of the parking space.
“I went yesterday.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” she says.
He turns on the radio. Sings along with the song. Lila smiles, her focus still on the w
indow as the trees fly past
.
“I want to be a cowboy.”
“You what?” She laughs and turns to look at him.
He runs his hand across the dash board. “This could be my steel horse. And look at me? I could rock a cowboy hat.”
“This song’
s
not about an actual cowboy. It’s about touring with the band.”
“It’s open to interpretation.”
Lila looks back out the window. Rest
s
her chin in her hand. “Most things are.”
“If you think about it, we’
re
a lot like
cowboys. We go around rounding up the bad guys and herding them back where they belong.
I should get me a cowboy hat to wear on missions.
”
He raises his eyebrows and sings along with the song again
,
reaching for the high note and failing miserably.
“You’re such an idiot,” Lila laughs. She shakes her head. “It’s a good thing you’
re a Watcher
b
ecause
you seriously cannot sing.”
“What are you talking about? I’m a kick ass singer. You just need your ears cleaned woman.”
“I think you’ve be
en inserting the Q-tips too far,
”
Lila says with a smirk.
“I push them in until my brain tickles.”
“You’
re a clown, Bry
.”
“That hurts. My ego is seriously wounded.”
Lila looks back out the window as if she’ll find all the right answers there.
“Who do you think will replace Dustin?”
He shrugs. Looks at her from the corner of his eye. “I don’t know.”
“I hate him so much.”
“It’s all right
if you don’t, Lila.”
She
flinches.
“I do.”
“You’ve been tog
ether a long time. What he did,
he did for you. It’s understan
dable if you’re confused. I am
and I’
m not in love with him.”
“I’m not confused.
I’m
not in love with him anymore, a
nd what he did, he did because he is a coward. Not because he loved me. He just used me as an excuse. I hate him.”
Bryon turns the ring in his brow. “I guess it’s open to interpretation as well.”
“Like I said, most things are.”
“I kind of hate him too. I just keep imagining it in my head. How he held Keely. How she must have felt. But she’s not mad at him.”
“Keely doesn’t come from our world. She doesn’t get it.”
“I k
now. But if he did this to her
and she can forgive him…it kind of makes me feel like I should too.”
“Why would you waste your time after what he did? And when he betrayed Keely, he betrayed all of us. Don’t get that mixed up. We were all responsible for her and he didn’t care. Dustin did what Dustin wanted, the hell with everyone else.”
“Yeah, I know
that,” Bryon says.
“
And I’m pissed. I seriously wanted to murder him with my bare hands for a while, b
ut
after I calmed down, I realized
I don’t
really
want him to die.”
“I don’t either.
” Lila sighs loudly. “
T
hen I think about how we would all be feeling if Keely had died because of him. How hurt Nick would be. How hurt you would be.
How badly we would have failed.
”
“But you’re the one hurting right now.”
Lila shrugs. “We all are. That’s his fault too.
I wish I could take back the past couple years.
”
“I’m really sorry, Lila.”
“I know you are Bryon. That’s what makes you such a g
ood guy
.”
“Well, that’s the general consensus
among
women.”
He smiles at her.
“I hope you can start working on your confidence soon. It makes me sad to see you so down on yourself.”
“Mmm. True story. I don’t tell myself how incredibly handsome, smart
,
and funny I am nearly enough.”
“You are smart
, but I don’t know about the incredibly handsome part.”
“And funny. Don’t forget the funny.”
“Funny looking.”
“You’re just jealous,
”
Bryon scoffs.
“You are pretty awesome, Bry
. You’re really good at making me feel better.”
He pulls the car into Lila’s driveway. “
I hope so. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
“Yep. Thanks Bry
on
.”
*
**
“Out,” Kimberly demands, her glower fixed on Nick. She points to the door as she descends the steps.
Nick lifts himself off
Keely. “I’ll wait outside until Bryon gets here.”
Keely nods, her cheeks hot. Once the door is closed, she stands to face her mom. “The Hierarchy said I have to be guarded around the clock.
I think it’s more because they don’t trust me, but they pretend it’s to protect me. Oh, yeah, they aren’t going to kill me. Thanks for being there today
,
by the way
.”
Kimberly lifts her head. Back straight. “Nick is still your Guardian?”
“Yeah. You’d know that if you had gone. He’s not in charge anym
ore, but he’s still my Guardian
because of our relationship.
They’re
o.k. with it.”
“I’m glad it all worked out,” Kimberly says as she moves past Keely.
Huh? That’s it?
“Yeah, I can tell. You should reel your excitement in a little,” Keely mumbles. She stomps up to her room and slams the door like any mature adult would do.
She looks around her bedroom
expecting A
smoday to be waiting for her. B
ut he’s not. Keely feels
tired and disappointed. And very confused.
She curls up on her
bed, hugging her pillow. P
icks up the faint scent of Asmoday. Presses the pillow to her nose and inhales deeply. “I am a horrible person,” she murmurs to herself.
How is
it possible to
be kissing Nick one minute
the
n
be
missing Asmoday
the next
? It’s incredibly sick and twisted. Nick’s right. Like usual. It runs in the family. They are all a demented bunch. Keely shoves the pillow hard against her face and screams. Throws the pillow across the room.
Asmoday sidesteps bein
g hit in the head and raises a brow
. “R
ough day?”
With a gasp of surprise
and embarrassment, Keely sits up quickly
,
making herself dizzy. “Where were you?”
Asmoday smirks. “Why? Did you miss me?”
Her face warms. “Minutely.”
He stares at her for
a moment before exhaling slowly
.
“I needed a moment to regain my composure. I was worried I would react badly.”
“Oh.
” Because of
the
unexpected
make out session
with Nick
. “Oh.”
He nods. “But as you can see, I am calm now. I’m getting better at this.”
He sits b
eside her on the bed. Like he’
s accustomed to
doing
, he pushes the hair off h
er shoulder. “What was t
he Hierarchy’s judgment?”
Keely raises her hands, palms up. “I’m alive. I have to go to school at the Academy. Train in the evenings. Tutor on the weekends.
”
He nods as if in agreement. “That was a wise judgment. You need to understand how to use your accolades.”
“There’s more.” She crin
kles her nose, worried how he’
ll react to the rest. “They want to talk to you.”
“To me? Why?”
“Because they want to know whose side you’re on.”
“I
am on whatever side you are on,
”
Asmoday says.
“That’s what I told them, but they have this White Warrior who is basically a lie detector. They want to be sure. They’re waging war with the Demons. On the Demon King in particular. They think it’s the only way to ensure the prophecy never gets fulfilled.” She watches him closely. Concentrates on his emotions.
He nods again. “They are very wise. When am I to speak to this White Warrior?”
“I don’t know. I guess the sooner the better.” She tilts her head. “You’re o.k. with this? With going to war?”
He meets her eyes
evenly. “It is the only way you wi
ll be safe.”
She breaks away from his gaze
. Stares at her hands. “When I talked with our father last night, he told me about the betrothal. He said it’s the reason we feel like we do. Did you know?”