Everlasting Bond (12 page)

“Oh, not long, Kah-tree-nah,” Andrew winked.

Katrina blushed and got in the car with everyone else. It was an awkward ride. No one said anything, but the tension was still there. She was just happy when they made it home.

After they got out of the car, Andrew and Jake went up ahead and Cole hung back next to her. His body language was all over the place. He seemed like he was trying to muster up the courage for something.

“Is something wrong?” she finally asked.

“Car—Katrina—” he corrected himself. “I know how hard tonight has been for you and I’ll understand if you refuse, but could I please come inside?” When she gave him a funny look he continued, “It's not what you think. I just need to make sure it’s safe.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. He took her hand and they followed after Jake and Andrew into the house.

Once inside, Cole motioned for her and Jake to stay still. Andrew went upstairs and Cole headed towards the living room disappearing out of view. Katrina held her breath in anticipation. It was eerily silent, as she and Jake waited. Fear of what they would find weighed heavily on her mind.

She didn’t have to wait long. In a matter of seconds, both Cole and Andrew were heading towards them. “Nothing appears out of place,” Cole said.

“In that case, Andrew, want to come upstairs?” Jake reached out his hand.

“I suppose I can tuck you in,” Andrew lifted his mouth in a wicked grin.

Watching them leave, Katrina could feel butterflies in her stomach. Nerves were getting the best of her tonight and she wasn’t sure if they were coming from her or Jake. Katrina supposed she should follow Jake’s lead and invite Cole up to her room, but she didn’t want to give him the wrong idea.

“Are you thirsty?”
Really? Did I just ask that? Moron!
“Sorry. That sounded so lame.”

“No. Don’t worry about it,” Cole laughed. “Actually, a glass of water sounds good.”

“Okay.” Still feeling embarrassed, Katrina led him into the kitchen. She poured the glass and turned around in time to see him sit at the small table. Walking over, she handed him the glass and took the seat next to him.

He took a small sip and Katrina found herself staring. She couldn’t help it. Watching him caused so many questions to arise. Cole must have picked up on it because he gave her a wink. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to melt.”

Katrina let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry. It’s just—”

“What?”

“I thought you couldn’t— you know.” Her eyes motioned towards the glass of water.

He grinned, as the realization hit him. “We can drink and eat human food. It doesn’t exactly taste good, but it won’t kill us.”

“Oh,” was all she could say without sounding like a complete moron. They sat there in silence and Katrina debated on asking him more questions, but didn’t know how to start. Just when she had mustered up enough courage Cole spoke.

Cole set the glass down, leaned in closer, and became very serious.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.” She moved into him and didn’t realize they were so close, until she felt the smoothness
of his shirt against her arm.

“Do you remember anything I showed you at all?” His eyes stared so deep into hers, she felt him looking at her soul.

“Not really,” she uttered back, her feelings for him starting to take control. “It’s mostly jumbled pieces. They’re more like dreams than memories.”

Cole cupped her face in his hands and put his nose against hers. He was so close she could feel the hotness of her breath bounce off his skin, as her pulse quickened. “I wish you could remember.”

“I’ll try,” she whispered back.

Cole shut his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. As their lips touched, the feelings Katrina had felt earlier returned and this time they were much stronger. She closed her eyes and felt the flicker of warmth return. Her body was wanting to do things with him she never thought of doing with anyone. Before she realized it, she was kissing him back just as passionately as he had kissed her. The feelings mirrored the ones she had at the cemetery earlier.

Before things could go too far, she felt Cole gently pull away and look at her. This left her feeling breathless and confused. Why did he pull away? Am I that bad of a kisser?

His hand gently caressed her face as they stared into each others eyes. Then his face grew serious again. “I need you to remember.”

“Why is it so important to you?” Katrina stared into Cole’s eyes and found a deep sense of longing in them.

He opened his mouth to answer when they heard, “Ahem.” Startled, they both jumped and looked into the doorway to find An
drew and Jake smirking at them.

“It’s getting late. We should go.” Cole abruptly stood up and wal
ked towards the other two boys.

“Right.” Katrina had the feeling Andrew had timed his intrusion at that precise moment on purpose. He was really getting on her nerves. His hand reached out to Cole and he handed him something and they moved by the front door.

Katrina took a second to steady her hormones before she got up and followed them towards the door. Andrew gave Jake a soft peck on the lips before he turned and went into the car.

Cole lingered in the doorway staring at her. “Until tomorrow then?” He leaned in and gave her another quick kiss. Then he did something so fast she almost missed it. If it weren’t for the coolness a
round her neck, she would have.

“What are you doing?” She looked down and found the amber amulet hanging around her neck.

“Keep it on you, always.”

“But, why?”

“It’s for protection.”

“If they get in here, how would this stop them?” She motioned down at her neck.

“They can’t come in unless you invite them. And if you’re wearing this,” he motioned to the amulet, “They won’t be able to touch you. Promise me you won’t take it off.” She nodded and he gave her one more quick kiss before he turned and went to the car.

Both Katrina and Jake stood in the doorway and watched them drive off. Neither of them said a word. They didn’t need to. Katrina could sense exactly what he felt and she knew he could do the same with her. When the car’s lights disappeared out of view, they both went upstairs. Jake went to go in his room, but stopped. “Hey, Kat?”

“Yeah?”

“I know you’re tired, but mom won’t be home till morning and I was wondering if maybe we could—” he let his voice falter. It didn’t take any special powers to figur
e out what he was hinting at.

“Go get your pillow and you better not hog the bed this time.” His face lit up, as he ran into his room and gra
bbed his stuff.

Katrina changed into her pajamas and got the bed ready. She and Jake hadn’t had a camp out-in each other
’s room for quite a while and despite the reasons for it now, she was glad.

“Ready?” Jake asked, standing there in his matching plaid
pajamas.

“Yeah.” Katrina bit down on her the inside of her cheek and tried to hide a laugh. He looked like he was ten years old again. All he needed was his favorite teddy b
ear to make the image complete.

“What?”

“Nothing. You look so—youthful.”

“Ha ha. And you look homeless,” he teased. Katrina looked down and he was right. She was wearing her favorite grey sweats that were showing how much she liked them. Despite the holes, she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of them. At least her black camisole was newer.

“A stylish one.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

“Style is an acquired skill you’re still working on,” he winked. “Can you get the light?”

“Yeah. I got it.” As soon as the lights were off, Katrina waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust. The last thing she wanted was to walk into furniture. She slowly crept towards the bed, when her foot landed on something hard. It threw her off balance and she fell forward. Lucky for her the bed broke her fall. “Jake! Why can’t you ever put my stuff away?”

“Oops. My bad.”

“I swear. I’m going to break something one of these days,” Katrina said, making her way into her bed.

She had just enough time to lay back and close her eyes when she heard, “Hey, Kat?”

“What?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“About what?”

“Cole.”

“What about him?”

“You like him, right?” His excitement was enough to keep both of them awake. There was also a doub
le meaning behind his comment.

“I think so. I mean it’s a little complicated.”

“What’s so complicated? Either you like him or you don’t.” Typical Jake. With him it was either you do or you don’t. There was no in between.

Ugh. Why does Jake always pick when I’m tired to talk about stuff?
She opened her eyes and turned towards him. “I wish I could be like you and accept things easily, but I can’t. I need some time to figure it all out.”

“That makes sense.” She let his words finish their conversation and she turned over to try to go to sleep a second time. But, that only lasted a few seconds. “What if there was a way you could be with him forever?” he quickly added. “Would you do it?”

Katrina rolled back over as she realized what Jake was getting at. “You can’t be serious?”

“Why not?”

“Because Jake! That’s a major change. And you would probably have to leave everyone, leave us behind.”

“You’re already planning on leaving us,” he said matter-of-factly.
Ouch!
She should have seen that one coming. “So, what’s the difference?”

“The difference is I’ll be alive.” Katrina could tell by his silence, he was upset. She didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, but wanting to be a vampire was crazy talk. “Look,” she began as she faced him, “All I’m saying is just promise me you’ll really think it through before you go and do something that serious.”

“You have my word.”

“Good. Can we go to sleep now? I’m exhausted.”

“Absolutely. Thank you.”

“What are big sisters for?”

That got a laugh and she was glad. Katrina turned back to her side and tried, yet again to go to sleep. It took a few tries of repositioning herself until she was finally comfortable. She barely started to doze off when she heard, “Night, Kat.”

“Night, Jake.” And with that she closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

A couple weeks had passed since Jake slept in her room and Katrina’s nights of restless sleep were wearing her thin. At first her dreams were normal and boring, which was fine by her. She was enjoying the change of pace in her overworked-mind, but it didn’t take too long for the scenery to change.

She started off in the same cottage like she had been every night. Then everything went black and she was dragged someplace else. Standing there, she felt the bitter chill in the air. It was stabbing into her skin like needles. She went to rub her arms together when the material on her dress stopped her.

Oh, hell! Can’t I ever have some damn pants on!
She tugged at the green dress that seemed to follow her everywhere. The stains that usually covered it were missing. At least this time, it wasn’t as dirty. As she inspected the dress, she couldn’t help but take a few steps and that brought up another question.

Hmm, I wonder?
Lifting the dress, her suspicions were confirmed. There staring back at her were the all too familiar silver heels. Why couldn’t she ever have a dream where she was wearing comfortable shoes?

“
Hey.”

Katrina froze. She knew that voice. Now she real
ly didn’t want to turn around.

“Psst.”

This time his hand lightly tugged on her dress. She turned and knew exactly who would be standing there.

“What are you doing here?” She couldn’t help but stare at this version of Cole. His auburn hair was trimmed very short and he had on a white dress shirt that buttoned up to his neck. As her eyes roamed to the full length sleeves, she found herself a bit turned on by this Cole. He looked so sharp in his
grey slacks and matching vest.

“Saving you. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her down an alley.

When they came around a building, he turned to face her. His deep blue eyes glistened against the moonlight. “What ever happens, stay close.”

Katrina nodded silently. Hearing the strain in his voice, she knew better than to argue. Instead, she paid attention to everything he said. She walked when he sa
id so and stopped when told to.

They had been running for who knew how long when they suddenly stopped and crouched behind a large crate. Katrina took the opportunity to catch her breath. It wasn’t easy in the chilly night air. Plus, it smelled really bad. The bitter taste of salt and dead fish filled her mouth and polluted the air.

“Look, through there,” Cole pointed as he pulled her forward for a closer view.

Katrina peeked through a narrow crack in the wood and froze. The view was astounding. The ocean surrounded them. She had never seen it look that blue nor wild before. Then her eyes caught something else.

“Is that the Statue of Liberty?” she blurted out, more to herself.

“What’s wrong with you?” Cole gave her a worried look.

“Nothing. I’ve just never seen it before.”

“We were there when they unveiled it last week.”

“Oh, right.” Katrina didn’t know what else to say. She felt like an idiot. It may have been her dream, but it didn’t mean she had control over any of it. Still looking ahead, she noticed more of her surroundings. Dozens of ships were lined against the pier and sounds of horse hooves trotted along in the distance. Then she saw a ship that stood out amongst the rest. It was larger and more luxurious looking compared to the small fishing boats that lined the docks.

“A ship?” Katrina blurted out without thinking. She wasn’t sure being trapped on a boat was the best thing.

“It’s the only way.”

“It’s suicide.” She turned to face him. “We’ll be trapped.”

“What other choice do we have?” He shook his head at her.

“Can’t we just stay here and hide?” She shrugged her shoulders. It was a long shot, but it was better than being stuck in one place.

“No,” he rolled his eyes. “They’ll find us, like they always do.”

“I don’t think I can do it.”

“You don’t have a choice.” His eyes looked into hers and his voice became serious.

“There’s always a choice,” she shot back, her temper flaring. Even in a dream she hated being bossed around.

“Damn it! You have to trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He bent down and gave her a passionate kiss. It was enough to cause her body to melt from the inside out. Slowly, he pulled back and took her face in his hands. “I love you.”

Hearing him say those words was enough to give her the courage to try. She knew he would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

“I lo—” Before she could finish, a loud noise from behind cut her off. Dread filled her and she recognized that awful sound. It was the same snarling that had terrified her nightly.

“Run!” Cole screamed, shoving her forward.

Terror raced through Katrina. She didn’t need Cole to tell her a second time. Without looking back, she ran as fast as her feet could carry her, which she had to admit, would have been much easier in tennis shoes!

Hearing Cole struggle, she forced herself to keep running. It wasn’t that much farther. The entrance to the ship wasn’t too far. She was almost there when she felt something hard knock int
o her and she lost her balance.

The next thing she knew her body felt like it hit an
iceberg.
Katrina tried to scream in
shock, but all that came was a mouthful of water. Cold and salty, it burned all the way down her throat. The lack of air was causing panic to set in. Everything swirled into blackness and her head felt like it was going to explode.

She had never really been a good swimmer to begin with, add the freezing temperature of the water and it was twice as hard. Refusing to give up, she flailed her arms and legs around until her body moved.

It took a few more failed attempts before she was finally able to break through the surface. Katrina gasped for air as soon as her head shot out of the water. Her entire body was going to explode if she had to hold her breath any longer. The black clouds that blocked her vision slowly started to dissipate. When her vision came back completely, she wasted no time in finding her escape. A wooden ladder lay just a few feet in front of her. She took a deep breath and forced herself to swim in its direction. Her body was numb from the cold, but she pushed through and reached it in
seconds.

Her lips quivered, as she grasped onto the wooden railing and pulled herself up. Each move was counteracted by th
e constant shoving of the waves. They were so choppy and powerful; it felt they were trying to suck her back in. Katrina took one last breath and gave her body a heavy push. It was strong enough to send her flying forward.

She collapsed onto the wooden flooring on the dock and took a second to catch her breath. Coughing, her throat felt like it had tiny razors digging inside. The salt water had burned a trail of pain through her. Then the wind blew and it sent a
n icy chill that paralyzed her.

The more her body shivered the harder it was to move, but she knew she couldn’t stay there. She slowly forced herself up and tried to run. This time she didn’t have the burden of heels. She lost those somewhere in the water, but she didn’t care. It was hard enough trying to run while being frost bitten and weighed down by water. She wasn’t sure how, b
ut she managed a decent pace.

She was almost to the ship, when she felt warm hands reach for her. One hand covered her mouth and an arm wrapped around her from behind. Panic set in as a male voice growled behind her. “You're mine!”

Screaming, Katrina opened her eyes and sat up. Sweat was trickling down her body, as she gasped for air. Her hands were shaking so bad she couldn’t move. It took a moment to steady them and then her throat started to ache. The soreness inside lingered for a little while before it slowly dissipated.

“Kat! What happened?” Jake burst through her door. Until he came in, she never realized she was even awake. She had been too terrified.

“It’s another one of
those
dreams,” her shaky voice said.

“Want to talk about it?” He sat down on her bed.

She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. “They’re just becoming too much. I have no control over them. It’s like I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

“I know. It’s not easy. I struggled with mine too.”

“Yeah, but you’ve pretty much dove in head first like you always do. I wished it was that simple for me.” Katrina was envious he could accept who he was so easily. It was a constant struggle for her.

“This life hasn’t exactly been a picnic for me. So, maybe that’s why I’m jumping at the chance to escape it all.” He bit his lip, and his embarrassment flooded her body.  “That sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”

“Not at all. I wish it was like that for me.” She looked into her brothers eyes. “But, I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t know. Everything. If I accept the truth, then won’t that mean I lose myself?” She looked down at her bed to hide her tears.

Tugging at a piece of violet thread sticking out of her comforter, she listened to her brother. “Kat, you could never lose who you are. This is just another part of you. And don’t let your fear stop you from being yourself. If I’d done that every time the guys at school wanted to bea
t me up, then they’d have won.”

Katrina picked her head up and found Jake wiping a tear away. Years of torture for being different had been really hard on him. Her heart ached for Jake right then. She hated how stupid some people could be to one another. “But, it’s frustrating. I hate that I can’t even tell my best friend. Lately, I feel like I’m two separate people.” She started twirling the amulet back and forth. She hadn’t taken it off since Cole had put it on her that night. “Somet
imes, I just want to run away.”

“You can’t run away from who you are.”

“What if who you are scares the hell out of you?” her hoarse voice whispered.

“Embrace the good with the bad.” Putting a hand on her shoulder, he continued, “You
of all people taught me that.”

“Wish it was that simple.”

“Then don’t be so stubborn. For once let someone else have all the answers.”

“Gee, thanks.” Her mood eased at his comment, just enough for a smile to break on her face.

“Anytime.” He paused for a second and then said, “I need to go get ready for school.” He got up to leave when he suddenly stopped and turned back. “And at least you have a hot guy to help you pass the time,” he winked before almost tripping over his own foot.

“Careful you don’t break your leg!” Sometimes being clumsy was hazardous to their health.

“If I do, I’ll just get Andrew to kiss it and make it better!” he teased as he shut the door.

Katrina laughed, before she got up and got ready. She wondered what would be in store for her today. There were no more strange incidents. Except for her dreams, things had been pretty quiet since last week. She hoped that was a sign things were going back to normal, but she knew that was a long shot. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach that things weren’t that simple.

After a few minutes, Katrina was finished dressing and running down the stairs. She found Jake in the kitchen eating. It was no surprise with her mom working the early morning shift that he was devouring a bowl of cereal. Cooking wasn’t Jake’s forte.

Katrina grabbed a banana and joined him. She shoved a bite in her mouth and watched Jake read the back of the cereal bo
x. His eyes never left the box.

She took another bite, when the doorbell rang. It seemed that was enough to bring Jake back to reality. He was out of his chair and almost running towards the door. She finished her banana and followed his lead.

Jake grabbed his backpack and ran outside to meet Andrew. Katrina went to do the same, but her backpack wasn’t there.

“Ready?” Confused, Katrina turned and found Cole standing in her doorway. Her backpack h
ung over one of his shoulders.

“Yeah,” she smiled. It didn’t take long for them to reach the car
and be on their way.

When they arrived at school, Cole held the car door open for her as he had been doing lately. And as usual Jake and Andrew climbed out after. In the mornings
, they were eager to sprint in the other direction, but today they didn’t. Instead, they hung back with her and Cole.

Cole leaned against his car and Katrina leaned up next to him. She felt a little lost. Usually she and Jake were scrambling to get to school on time, but since Cole and Andrew had been picking them up they’d been early. It felt weird having extra time to hang out in the parking lot.

“Hey Kat!” Stacy ran towards them.

“What’s up?” Katrina could tell by the look in her eye she was excited about something.

“Look!” Stacy beamed, as she held a piece of paper in front of her.

FALL FESTIVAL CELEBRATION

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29th 8:00pm

Costume contest & tickets
are going fast. Get yours soon!