Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (4 page)

   “I learned from the best,” she retorted. Jack reached out and tugged on her hair as he strode past
,
struggling to hide his
smile
from her
.

   Ethan slid the glass doors open and stepped into the kitchen. Everyone filed in behind him. Willow darted into the adjoining room,
and
slid the
wooden
doors shut behind her. Almost immediately Isabelle could hear her
bickering
with Julian. The
TV
in the basement was blaring, over the noise she could hear Kyle and Cassidy fighting over what they wanted to watch. Above it all, she could hear Vicky and Abby arguing over the hairdryer.

   “Would you two cut it out! There are
two
hairdryers!”

   Isabelle grinned as his father’s voice boomed through the house. She leaned against the counter, folding her arms over her chest as Aiden, Ian, and Jack slid wearily into the kitchen chairs. Ethan leaned against the counter beside her, crossing his long legs before him as her mother and father came strolling into the room, smiling brightly.

   “Hi guys,” her mom greeted happily. “You’re a mess.”

   “And it doesn’t look like we’re getting a shower here either,” Jack muttered.

   “I’ll get them out of there,” her father
told him
.

   He turned and strode back down the hall, yelling for Vicky and Abby to get out of the bathroom. He came back into the kitchen to the accompaniment of pounding footsteps. “Dad!” they yelled as they burst into the kitchen. “We’re not done!”

   “Get ready in yo
ur bedroom then,
”
he told them, not at all deterred by their pouting.

   “But...”

   “No buts,
”
he said firmly.

   They both stared at him with full, pouting
lips
and pleading green eyes as they lifted damp, light blond hair and held it out. “The light isn’t as good,” Vicky protested.

   “Victoria, there are other people that need
the bathroom. Go ahead Jack,” Isabelle’s
mother said
gently
.

   “Hey
shouldn’t your
kids
go first
!” Ian protested instantly. “We’re filthy too!”
   Jack was gone in a blur of motion before Ian even could finish his sentence. “Damn I have to learn how to do that,” Aiden said in awe. Isabelle flashed past him, pulling his hair
as she moved
. “Ow! You witch! That wasn’t fair!”

   Isabelle laugh
ed
happily as she returned to her spot on the counter. She had finally managed to master that particular power last year, when she had reached maturity. It aggravated the hell out of her brother’s that she could do it, and they couldn’t. She loved to use it on them. “What about us?” Abby demanded.

   Her mother took a deep breath as she bit into her lip and closed her eyes. Her father wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest. “Use the bathroom in the basement,” he
told them. The
twins
sighed angrily before turning and stomping down the stairs. “You really want more?”

  
Her mother laughed softly as she shook her head.
“Not for a long time.”

  
“Good,” her father said on a sigh of breath.

   Isabelle watched as her parents grew quiet, and then her mother burst out laughing and hit her father playfully. She had long ago adjusted to the silent conversations they had with each other. Conversations that always left them smiling. Sometimes, when she watched them, she wondered what it would be like to meet someone that would make her that happy, but more often than not the idea frightened the hell out of her.

 
She couldn’t imagine needing someone so much that she would die without
them;
it terrified her to even think about it.
It
was the main reason that she kept herself locked away, she was scared to death that she would accidentally stumble across the person that she couldn’t live without. That was the last thing she ever wanted to have happen to her.

   She would gladly stay here for the rest of her existence before she gave up her heart, her soul, and her freedom
to someone else
. Her parents couldn’t
bear
to be apart for long periods of time, and when they were apart, they were in constant communication with each other
’s
minds. She knew that their love was rare, and precious, and something wonderful
.
B
ut to never be able to part with someone was something that she didn’t even want to contemplate, let alone experience.

   “So how are things going
with the house
?” her mom asked.

   “They’re going,” Ethan answered
tiredly
.

   A knock on the front door snapped all of their heads around. “Who
could
that
be
?” Aiden pondered
.

   “Probably some of the material I ordered for the new house, it was supposed to come today,” her mom answered. She untangled herself from her father, headed swiftly past the fridge, and down the stairs to the front door.

   “I’ll go help her,” Isabelle said.

   She couldn’t wait to get her hands on the new material, and start planning exactly what they were going to do with it. It had to be the paint that they had ordered, or maybe the kitchen cabinets. She was beginning to really smile with anticipation when her father suddenly stiffened. His eyes flashed a vibrant red, before he was gone. They stood silently for a moment, gaping at each other, before turning and running toward the front door.

CHAPTER 3

   By the time they reached the front door, her mother and father were outside, kneeling over a woman. Isabelle skidded to a halt, her eyes widening at the sight of the middle aged woman
on the ground
between them. “Kathleen!” Ethan gasped.

   Isabelle’s mouth dropped open as she gaped in surprise. “What happened?” Aiden demanded.

   Her mother looked up at him, unshed tears in her wide violet blue eyes. “She fainted,” she whispered.

   “Mom! Mom!” It was then that Isabelle noticed the young girl kneeling over Kathleen, lightly tapping her face
in an attempt to wake her
.

   “Who is that?” A
iden
insisted
.

   “Kathleen,” Isabelle answered
absently, horrified by the scene before her
.

   “Who?” Ian asked
in confusion
.

  
She sighed impatiently as she rolled her eyes at them. If it didn’t have to do with a girl, or blood, they paid no attention to anything.
“Mom’s friend from college!” she snapped impatiently.

   “Oh,” he said dully. “Oh shit!” He exclaimed more loudly when the
full
realization sank in.

   “
Liam
, ge
t her up, we’ll take her inside,
”
her mother ordered briskly

   Her father bent and scooped Kathleen easily up. “Put her down!” the girl screamed, pulling at her father’s arms. “Put her down now!”

   “What the hell is going on?” Jack bellowed from the back
of the pack still crammed in the doorway
. “Is that... oh
shit
this can’t be good.”

   “Get out of the way Jack!” her father snapped as he carried Kathleen quickly inside.

   Her mother followed eagerly behind, her beautiful face pinched with worry. “Ethan, please take care of ah
…
Kathleen’s daughter.”

   They all turned to look at the young girl as she stared fearfully back at them with wide blue eyes. Tears were streaming down her
pretty
face as she tried to shove her way past them. Ethan seized hold of her shoulders, pulling her back from the doorway. “Just calm down,” he said gently.

   Bright, sky blue eyes flashed to him,
they
boil
ed
with anger and fear as she shoved at him again. He seized hold of her slender arms, pinning them to her sides. “Your mother is
fine;
she just went inside to catch up with her
good
friends.” The girl
’
s eyes began to glaze over as his power
started
to
wrap its way into her mind. “You decided to stay out here with us
while they catch up
. Okay?”

   She nodded slowly as he released his hold on her. Isabelle nudged him out of the way, seizing hold of the girls limp hands. “What’s your name?” she asked gently.

   “Delia,” she replied numbly.

   “Delia, that’s a nice name. How old are you Delia?”

  
The girl continued to stare dazedly at her
.
“Sixteen.”

   “What brings you here?”
Isabelle
asked gently, trying to break the girl from her trance.

  Delia blinked in confusion
,
and
then her eyes focused fully on Isabelle. “My mom wanted to see yours.”

  
Isabelle let out a small sigh of relief as the girl began to regain
full consciousness.
“I’m sur
e that they’ll have a good time,
”
Isabelle said more forcefully, clinging tighter to the young girls delicate hands.

   “Ye
s
, they will.
W
ho are you?”
the girl asked quietly.

   “I’m Isabelle and these are my brother’s Ethan, Aiden, and Ian. The ugly guy with the wet hair is Jack, one of the stooges.”

   “Hey!” Jack
protested angrily
at the same time Delia asked. “The stooges?”

  
Isabelle grinned at Jack as he scowled disapprovingly back at her.
“Yeah, that’s what we call
our parent’s friends
Jack, David, Mike, and Doug.”

  
Delia frowned, her forehead
puckered
as her light
eye
brows drew tightly together.
“There were only three stooges.”

   “You’re forgetting
Shemp
,” E
than interjected. “
Everyone forgets
Shemp
. T
rust me
,
once you get to know the
se four
they are just like the stooges.”

   “Hey!” Jack protested again
, frowning angrily at all of them
. “We helped
to
raise your ungrateful asses!”

   “Yes, and that’s why we are the way we are,” Aiden retorted happily
, pushing Jack’s shoulder lightly
.

   Delia smiled brightly as she looked over Isabelle’s shoulder toward the group gathered on the porch. She was a pretty girl with wide, sky blue eyes, and soft, gentle features. Her cheekbones were high and delicate, her mouth full and pouty. She was taller than
Kathleen
, and leaner, but she had her mother’s curvaceous figure.

   At that moment, another set of headlights flashed into the driveway. “Who the hell is that?”
Jack
’s
kidding air vanish
ed
in an
instant as they all stiffened in preparation for what was to come.

   Delia turned to look, her smile gr
e
w wider. “That’s my sister
Jess;
she rode up with her boyfriend. You probably remember Jess.” She turned back toward Isabelle,
her face eager as she looked hopefully at her
. “She remembers you.”

   Isabelle vaguely remembered Jess. The last time she had seen her, she
’
d been eight years old. Jess had been a pudgy blond, with bright blue eyes, and a zeal for mischief. They had been fast friends then, as Jess had been the only girl that Isabelle had to play with at the time, Abby and Vicky having just been born. To her surprise, Isabelle
suddenly
found herself looking forward to seeing her again.
Jess had been so much fun when they were younger, and it would be nice to have someone other than her sisters to speak with.