Enigma (23 page)

“Kate, are you okay? Your head is bleeding,” Seb told me. He put his hand on my shoulder and I grabbed it, feeling dizzy. As he moved in closer, I couldn’t help feeling comfortable in his arms.

Seb leaned into my neck and whispered, “Kate, are you okay? Speak to me.” His breath skimmed across my skin.

“I’m fine. I just feel a little dizzy.”

Seb picked me up and carried me over to a corner of the library. He placed me in a beanbag chair and passed me a napkin. I held it against my head, loving the feel of Seb’s breath on my face. It would’ve been just as easy to push him away as to pull him closer, but I remained still. Our breathing was intense.

“Kate, I have to ask you something.” There was awkwardness in his voice. “What’s going on between us? You seem uncomfortable when you’re around me. Have I done something to upset you, to offend you?”

I knew that I had to either confess my feelings for him or lie, and I was the worst liar.

“I think you already know what’s going on,” I said.

“I need to hear you say it,” he whispered in my ear.

In that moment, it felt like time had frozen. The silence went on for such a long time that I thought the next day would arrive soon. When I stood up, I felt Seb stand up in front of me.

“Do you have feelings for me?” he asked.

It would be a great relief to tell him, but I didn’t want to burden him any further. If I did, he’d have to lie to Jack, too. But I had to go with the first thing that came to my mind.

“Yes, I think so.”

I placed my hands in front of me, touching his shoulder, and he turned away. Now my heart was racing; I wished I hadn’t said anything.

“Just forget what I said,” I told him. “It’s not like you feel the same anyway. Is it?” I had to know and now I thought my heart would explode with anticipation. Part of me wanted him to confess his undying love for me, for us to fall into each other’s arms and make passionate love. The other part of me wanted him to be disgusted with me for crossing such a forbidden line.

Seb ran his fingers through my hair and leaned toward me. Feeling him so close sent shivers through my body. We had undeniable chemistry.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered in my ear.

I felt sick. “It’s okay. It’s probably just a stupid crush. As if you feel the same—”

Seb gently pressed his finger to my lips.

“I’m sorry because I have feelings for you too. I wish that I didn’t, but I can’t help it,” he said. Before I had a chance to respond, Seb placed his hands on my waist and said, “I have to confess how I feel. After keeping away from you, I’ve found myself wanting you more than anything. I know I can’t have you. I shouldn’t have you.” He turned away from me again.

I had gotten my answer. Seb had feelings for me, but knew that he could never act on them. Despite our mutual attraction, we could never have each other. It was like a bee that could never thrive on nectar, like a child who was denied candy, a plant withering without water. It was unfair.

Perhaps it was that Jack’s attention had flattered me into thinking that I had feelings for him. With the combination of flattery and the curse, which seemed to have taken over my mind and body, I had been tricked into living a lie. Because of this curse, I had now destroyed the one chance I had of true love. If I told Jack that I’d fallen for his brother, he would die, and consequently, Seb would die too. I was overwhelmed and trapped in a nightmare, and I wanted to be free..

With my heart beating faster, I felt Seb’s hand glide gently into mine. Our fingers entwined and I instantly knew that this felt different, natural. He turned to face me and I gently pressed myself into his chest. He then wrapped his arms around me, fully aware of the danger of our actions. I knew that if I kissed Seb, I was kissing Jack goodbye.

Seb’s body was naturally responding to mine. Feeling for his face, I ran my hands through his hair, moving closer to him. Our bodies shuddered as we touched, and our lips met. Then Seb pulled away and hung his head.

“Kate, we can’t.”

I didn’t know how to respond, but then I didn’t have to; I heard footsteps and the lights came on. Grabbing my bag, I ran out of the library, past the janitor, not daring to look back. I drove home, gasping for air between tears. I thought about telling Jack, but by telling him the truth, he would die.

I felt dizzy and hit the brakes.

As I opened my eyes, I looked around. I was on Jack’s bed and he was lying next to me. Turning my head, I saw Seb standing on the other side of the bed.

“Don’t worry, Kate. Relax. Seb told me what happened. You’re fine; it was just a nasty knock to your head, nothing serious,” Jack said calmly.

Seb looked at me guiltily; he had obviously not told Jack the truth.

Jack looked at me and kissed my cheek. “You’re lucky that Seb found you. He recognized your car as he was driving home. He has some exciting news. Tell her, Seb.”

“What news?” I was worried about what he might say.

“I’ve been invited to spend another semester in France for an art program. Professor Livingstone submitted a piece of my work and the art directors in France were so impressed that they want me to join the program immediately. I leave tomorrow.”

I rubbed my eyes, trying to avoid Jack seeing my disappointment. I didn’t want Seb to leave, even if we could only ever be friends. I needed him in my life in some way.

“I thought you were enjoying Art and English? Our classes have been great.”

“He’s not going to pass up an opportunity like this,” Jack said. “I’ve spent the last few hours convincing him to go for it!”

It seemed that Jack couldn’t wait for his brother to leave, and I knew why. Seb sat in silence; he couldn’t even look at me.

“Wait! What about our plan? We have to see out our plan.” My voice was overly desperate. Thankfully, Jack didn’t seem to pick up on this, but I was sure that Seb had.

“Kate, we can see the plan through without Seb,” Jack said, trying to convince me.

“No, we can’t do it without him. All I’m asking is that you stay for a couple more days. What’s the rush, anyway?” Jack’s face tightened with my reasoning. “A couple more days won’t make much of a difference,” I pleaded.

“Okay, let’s see out the plan tomorrow then,” Jack decided, without consulting anyone else.

“Is that okay with you, Seb?” I asked.

“I’ll stay if you want me to, Kate.”

I nodded, knowing that he wasn’t just referring to staying for the plan, and I wanted him to stay more than anything.

Seb looked at his brother and left the room. Jack lay next to me, swamping me in his arms. As he held me, my heart throbbed for Sebastian, and the guilt made me sick.

CHAPTER 23

L
ater that afternoon, I awoke in Jack’s bed and the throbbing in my head had subsided. I looked out the window and saw Jack and Seb talking in the garden, probably discussing how they were going to capture this stranger to get answers from him.

I headed down the hallway to the bathroom. I held the handle of the bathroom door and stared at Seb’s closed bedroom door for far too long. The house was so quiet that I could hear myself breathing. I took my hand off the handle and tiptoed down the hallway toward Seb’s room. I opened his door and closed it quietly behind me.

Unlike Jack’s bedroom, Seb’s room was clean and well organized. There was a huge bookcase crammed full of books on art, sculpture, and Shakespeare. But a large sandy-colored sketchbook caught my eye. I slid it out and sat at Seb’s desk. To my surprise, the book was full of sketches of me. The last sketch was of Seb and me standing together, gazing into one another’s eyes. It seemed that I’d underestimated his feelings for me, and although I was surprised, I was also thrilled. But before I had the chance to turn the page, the book snapped shut. I looked behind me and Seb was standing there looking at me. I jumped up out of the chair.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here,” I said.

“What are you doing in my room?” Seb walked over to the desk and, taking the sketchbook, he placed it back on the shelf. “You shouldn’t be going through my things.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Jack would go ballistic if he knew you were in here. If he sees you, it could jeopardize our plan for this evening. You have to go.”

I knew he was right, so I headed for the door. As I reached for the handle, someone knocked on the door.

“Seb, are you in there? I can’t find Kate!” Jack shouted.

Seb ushered me behind the door. He took his shirt off in a hurry and threw it in my direction. I caught it as he opened the door just enough to peek into the hallway.

“I’m getting changed. I just saw Kate; she’s gone home to get changed too.” I could tell he felt guilty having to lie to his brother, and it was my fault.

“Oh. She never mentioned that to me.”

“She told me to tell you. Sorry, I forgot,” Seb lied again.

I couldn’t help staring at his body. Without realizing it, I found myself running my hand down his back. Seb spoke fast, trying to sound convincing as he told lie after lie, so that Jack wouldn’t find out that I was in his brother’s bedroom.

“Jack, I’m sure Kate won’t be long. I need to freshen up before we leave. I’ll meet you downstairs in half an hour.”

I continued to run my hand up and down his back.

“Are you okay? You seem edgy.” Seb nodded and Jack remained at the door. “Thank you for agreeing to leave. It’s for the best. I managed to get you the last spot in that art program. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Jack had planned everything. He had asked Seb to leave and through guilt, Seb had graciously agreed.

“I’m just anxious about tonight,” Seb said.

“Okay. See you in half an hour.”

Seb closed the door and spun around so fast that my hand was now caressing his chest. He reluctantly moved my hand away.

“Kate, what are you doing? I’m lying to Jack for you, telling him that you aren’t here and you’re, you know, touching me.” Flustered, Seb walked over to his closet.

“I’m sorry. It just feels so natural being with you. You can’t deny that you feel the same, not after what I saw in your sketchbook.”

“None of that matters. Kate, this can’t happen again. We have to stay away from each other as much as we possibly can. If Jack finds out that we have feelings for each other he’ll be destroyed; he’ll die.”

“And you’ll die too,” I said, feeling anxious.

“Yes. I’ll die too.” I could see that Seb wanted to comfort me, and I’d instantly welcome his arms around me.

“Seb, I’m scared. I’m holding both of your lives in the palm of my hand.”

“I know. Jack was selfish to allow this to happen. I’ll do everything I can to protect you.” Seb’s mood was soothing. “Try to focus and let’s hope that we find this guy tonight; he might have information that might help us.”

“Tell me,” I began. “If we could break the curse, would you want to be with me?”

Seb’s eyes were locked on mine. “Of course. I’m crazy about you.”

“Then don’t leave. I know Jack asked you to, but I can see that you want to stay. Stay with me, Seb,” I said.

“If I stay it’ll be hard. With the curse having such a powerful hold over us, we can never be together.”

“Please stay. I need you.”

“What will I tell Jack? I can’t tell him the real reason why I want to stay.” He hung his head.

“Tell him anything, but promise me you’ll stay.”

Seb moved closer to me and with all my willpower, I had to stop myself from reaching out for him.

“I promise,” he whispered in my ear.

We looked into each other’s eyes and leaned into toward each other, inches away from locking lips.

“Kate, you have to go. There’re only so many times I’ll be able to resist you. Jack will be expecting you back soon.”

Seb was right.

I sighed. “I’ll go, but how will I explain still being in the same clothes?”

Seb walked over to his window and looked outside. “Your balcony doors are open. You need to rethink your ideas on security.” He smiled. “Tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you.”

I described a green, striped top and a pair of black skinny jeans and watched Seb disappear out the window. He was back within a couple of minutes with what I’d asked for.

“Thanks. Now there’s the small matter of changing into them.”

He turned away from me.

“How will I know you won’t peek? You’re so fast I’d never know, would I?”

Seb laughed. “I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

As I changed, I knew that he wouldn’t peek, but I wanted him to.

T
he evening arrived and it was time to execute our plan. We left the house and Jack and I walked ahead, knowing that Seb wasn’t far behind us. I spent the entire walk hoping this stranger would turn up and solve our problems. Otherwise, I knew that Seb and I wouldn’t have a future together.

Jack steered the boat to the same spot where we’d seen the guy a couple of days before. He held my waist and I wrapped my arm around his, inhaling the salty air and trying to maintain normalcy in my fraudulent relationship with him. I knew that we were both hoping for freedom from the curse, but for different reasons.