Everlasting Bond (9 page)

Since she spent the night tossing and turning, Katrina was up and ready for school an hour earlier than usual. And today it was a good thing because she needed to the extra time to apply massive amounts of cover-up to her face. While she slept last night a big purplish bruise formed on her cheek. It was hideous and the last thing she wanted was for her mother to get pissed at Brody all over again. So, it was worth the extra effort.

She sat on the edge of her bed focused on her make-up when she heard the door bell ring. Listening to her mom open the door, Katrina gasped for air as she realized who it was. He's here already! Her hands started to tremble and she lost her grip. The compact went crashing to the floor shattering into a million pieces.
Smooth, real smooth Kat!

“Kat, honey, is that you?” her mother shouted from downstairs.

“Yeah!”

“Come on down and have breakfast!”

“I’ll be right down!”

Bending down on her knees to pick up the broken pieces of the compact she was careful not to cut herself. Shards had spread out all over across the hard wood floor. Some slipped under her bed and others made it as far as the pile of laundry next to her dresser.

Shaking out the clothes for any sharp pieces, Katrina heard a loud
clunk
against the floor.
What did I drop now?
She looked down and found the amber amulet by her feet. Katrina had forgotten all about it. When she reached down to pick it up, she suddenly stopped. The amulet turned a deep crimson color and started to glow.

The light was so bright she wanted to look away, but couldn't move. It was like a vortex sucking her in, paralyzing her. For a moment time seemed to suspend itself.
Katrina's body grew weightless. It was as if she were floating along in a dream. Images began to roll in front of her like a silent movie.

Figures were running around in a forest. Their laughter echoed against the nearby trees. Katrina couldn't make out the faces, but their clothing was crystal clear. The female was wearing an emerald green dress that flowed to her feet. The male was wearing pair of black trousers and a dark purple shirt that went all the way down to his wrists. Everything about their clothing was out-dated. She leaned in wanting to see, no needing to see their faces. The faces were slowly starting to come into view when Katrina heard
a woman's voice break through.

“Katrina!” The tranc
e she was in shattered at the sound of her mother's voice.

“Coming!” Katrina took a second to throw herself together and looked back at the amulet. The light that was there a second ago had faded. Katrina frowned.
What the hell!
Am I going crazy?
She'd been so sure what she saw was real. Every part of her felt it. But now whatever it was was gone. She wanted to stay locked up in her room and figure out what just happened, but she couldn't. Instead, she stuffed the amulet into her backpack and headed downstairs.

“There you are.” Her m
other was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her. “It’s Tuesday and I have to work a double shift, but I wanted to see both of you guys before I left.” She turned and headed into the kitchen.

“Sorry mom.”
Katrina followed right behind her.

“It’s fine. You were just up there a while and your company has been patiently waiting.”

Katrina looked at her confused for a second. She let out a quick gasp as it dawned on her.

“Hello,” Cole's voice caught her attention.

Katrina turned and about fainted. There, sitting at her mother’s kitchen table were, Cole and Andrew. They both looked at home, surrounded by the mountainous piles of food on the table. If it was one thing her mother did well, it was over-cook.

Nestled up next to Andrew, Jake was shoveling food in his mouth and laughing. It was all very surreal—her mother and love
-struck brother enjoying the company of vampires, who also seemed at ease in her kitchen.

“Morning, Kat,” Jake said in between a mouthful of food.

“Morning.” Her voice was so low and hoarse, it was barely audible.

“We came to give you both a ride to school and your mother invited us in,” Cole explained with a smile.

“Kat, honey, you didn’t tell me you two knew Dr. Aldrich’s boys,” her mother said, as she grabbed her coffee.

“I guess I forgot.”

Bracing herself against the corner cabinet, Katrina looked down at her feet. She couldn't make eye contact with Cole. After everything that happened between them she felt a bit awkward and unsure how to act. At least with Todd she had been able to shrug it off and move on. With Cole she couldn't do that. There definitely was something about him that called to her.

“So, what does Dr. Aldrich think of life in the country?” her mother asked, sitting at the table with the boys.

“He thinks Colorado is a nice
change
,” Cole smiled looking at Katrina and she blushed.

“I’ll bet I know some women in town that would just love to be fixed up with a doctor.”

“Mom!” Katrina couldn't believe her mother said that. She wanted to crawl under a rock and hide.

“What? You never know till you ask,” she shrugged.

Leave it to her mother to ask a question like that. That was one of her many talents. Katrina’s mother would say exactly what she was thinking regardless of her surroundings. It was yet another reason Katrina was glad she didn’t have to rely on her mother for transportation,
anywhere
.

“We should get going,” Cole interrupted. “Mrs. Davenport, thank you.” He rose and extended his hand to her.

“My pleasure,” she smiled and shook it. “You boys are welcome anytime.”

“We might just take you up on that.” Andrew smiled as he glanced over at Katrina who was gripping the strap of her backpack tightly.

Katrina tried to ignore him and turned her attention to her brother. She hadn't spoken to him much and had no idea what to make of him still. She laughed to herself as Jake stopped stuffing his face and followed Andrew into the entryway. She couldn’t remember a time when her brother had looked happier. He was usually an oddity, not fitting in to any one group. With Andrew, the two seemed a perfectly even match.

“After you,” Cole said, breaking the silence.

“Thanks.” Katrina gave him a nervous smile and hoisted her backpack over her shoulder.

“Kat, honey, remember I work late tonight. So, I’ll see you guys sometime tomorrow.”

“Okay. Bye mom,” she answered back as she stepped out the door.

Jake and Andrew were already in the back seat of the car, looking very cozy next to each other. Cole was holding the passenger door open waiting for her. She gave him a nervous smile then climbed inside. Without further hesitation, Col
e got in the car and drove off.

The moment they pulled into the school parking lot, Katrina felt a wave of anxiety hit her. Brody had football practice before school and she was sure he was busy spreading
his
version of what happened around the whole school. As Andrew and Jake got out of the car and headed towards the school Katrina hung back. She wasn't sure if she was ready to face the rumors that were probably already spreading.

“Something wrong?” Cole came and stood next to her.

“Just tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She nervously scanned the parking lot.

“He’s not here.”

“What?”

“Brody. He’s not here.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I don’t hear him anywhere.”

“What do you mean, you don’t hear him?” Katrina stared at him in disbelief.

“We
have very sensitive hearing.” He pointed down the street and whispered in her ear, “Watch over there. A blue, no purple car is coming.”

Katrina turned and watched. Sure enough, a purple Volkswagen came from around the corner. She smiled and shook her head. “How did you know the color of the car?”

“I also have excellent vision,” he winked. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Wait.” She held up her hand to stop him. “I have one more question.”

“And what's that?” His baby blue eyes gleamed back at her.

“When my mother invited you in—is that true what they say about—you know?”

“Yeah, that’s true. We can’t enter a person’s home unless we’re invited in.”

“Then how can you go to school?”

“Public places don't hold to the same restrictions for us and that was two questions.” He lightly teased. “Shall we?” He cocked his head towards the school.

“Yeah,” she nodded.

It didn't take long for them to reach Ms. Stevenson’s class. When Katrina walked in, she found Stacy sitting in the corner. She was tapping her feet like crazy and Katrina knew the curiosity about yesterday was probably killing her. Stacy did a double-take when she caught sight of Katrina and Cole. He was too close to be played off as a mere coincidence. Katrina knew Stacy put the two together and that it must be eating her up inside. For a second, she looked as if she might turn blue from lack of oxygen.

“Take your seats, please,” Ms. St
evenson demanded, right on cue.

Ms. Stevenson handed out the day’s assignment and let the class work independently. Katrina tried, but she couldn’t concentrate on anything. There was too much going on around her. Off in the corner, Stacy was texting wildly, begging for any information out of her. From behind, she could feel Cole watching her every move. She felt like a rabbit, trapped with no way out. It was all too much for her to take. Just when she was about to explode, the bell rang.

While she packed up her stuff, Cole waited patiently next to her. She slung the strap of her backpack over her shoulder and caught Stacy staring at her. She knew that look. It was the we-need-to-talk-now one. It was long overdue and she felt bad, but Cole was right there. She couldn’t just leave without some kind of explanation.

Feeling her phone vibrate Katrina jumped. As soon as she read the caller id she knew what Stacy wanted:   
Lunch!!!

Katrina
texted back a resounding yes
,
before turning her attention back to Cole.

“Ready?” He smiled and her heart fluttered in response. Every time he looked at her, Katrina's body became an inferno of nerves.

“Yeah.” She nervously bit her bottom lip and tried to rein in her feelings. It was all so strange and new to her. No one ever made her feel the way he did. Whenever he was near, it was as if she lost all control of herself. Emotions she never knew existed would come crashing to the surface and send her body on edge. She was hoping to have a chance to talk to Stacy about it. Being the much more experienced one in this area, Katrina really needed her expertise. Not to mention Katrina still owed her an explanation for the scene this morning. Lunch couldn't come fast enough today.

Cole walked Katrina to and from every class. Each time, he seemed more and more reluctant to leave her side. It was strange receiving that kind of attention, but truth
be told she liked it; he made her feel special.

The rest of her day went like it did every other day. The only difference this time was she had a pale chaperone escorting her around. Every female that passed them in the hall would stop and stare at Cole. They eyed him up and down like he was candy. They never even gave Katrina a second glance. That was just fine by her. The less attention she got
, the better. She preferred to blend into her surroundings unnoticed, like a chameleon.

Finally lunchtime came and Katrina couldn't wait. Katrina and Cole were only seated for few minutes, but the strange vibe at the table was obvious. Stacy had wolfed down her lunch and was tapping her fingers anxiously against her tray. Jake had hardly touched his food. He was too busy talking to Andrew to care about eating. And Katrina knew it was now or never to get some alone time with Stacy.

“Stacy and I’ll be right back,” she said to Cole, as she all but yanked Stacy out of her seat. They barely had enough time to hear Cole say, “Okay” before they were across the room and inside the bathroom.

“Finally,” Stacy sighed. Katrina shushed her, before checking under each stall to make sure they had no unwanted eavesdroppers. “Come on! I can’t take it anymore. The suspense is killing me.”

Satisfied they were truly alone, Katrina started to spill the facts. She decided it would be best to leave out some of the details, though. She wasn’t sure how Stacy would take knowing she had just had lunch inches away from vampires. Katrina skimmed over most of her evening, except for the part about Brody.

Stacy’s eyes lit up and Katr
ina knew she was really pissed. “That son of a bitch! I wish Cole would have knocked him on his ass.”

“I’m just glad things stopped where they did.” Katrina shivered, as she thought bac
k to what Cole could have done.

“Me too.” Stacy gave Katrina huge hug. “I'm just glad you're all right. Hopefully he leaves you alone for good this time.”

“I hope so. At least I haven’t had to see him today.” Resting her head against Stacy’s, Katrina was relieved he was a no show at school.