Eye of the Storm (The Charmed) (9 page)

“Uh, yeah.”

Brendan looked around. “Where did Harley go? I thought I just saw her with you.”

“She uh, went to the ladies room.” Kayla was trying to keep an eye on Harrison and Thomas as she spoke to Brendan. Mud was now caked all over their clothes and big splatters were dropping right into the punch bowl as they scooped a glass up. “Will you please excuse me?” Kayla left the corner and made a bee-line to the punch bowl.

Brendan on the other hand had witnessed the demise of the boy’s attire. He knew what happened and felt bad for them. No spells or charms worked on the dance, it was a rule. When you had that many Charmed in one place, you had to have some safety nets in place. Everyone who came knew this, except of course the girls. He glanced outside and noticed Harley walking quickly away toward Hollis Gardens looking like Cinderella fleeing the ball. He slipped out the side door and followed her, finally locating her in the back of the garden sitting on a bench overlooking the waterfall. She was crying.

“Harley.” His voice broke the silence.

She looked up startled. “What do you want? Come to gloat?”

Brendan’s shoulders slumped. “No. I wanted to tell you how beautiful you looked tonight.” He held onto the pillar holding up the small roof and looked out onto the garden. It was sparkling in the moonlight and was one of his favorite places to steal into at night.

Harley went on as if she hadn’t heard his compliment. “The first few weeks after we broke up, I cried.” Harley looked down into her hands. “I couldn’t understand anything after so long it felt like you were a stranger.”

Brendan felt a pain begin in his chest that flowed out through his arms and into his fingertips.

“Then it was anger, then denial. Now I’m just sad.”

Brendan took a small step forward. “Harley.”

“No. Let me speak. I’m sad because I miss you. I miss us, and I don’t know how to get us back. I don’t know if we can.” She looked up at him then. Brendan felt the air go out of his lungs. She was so startlingly beautiful and sad, he thought. He wanted to run his fingers through her long red hair and smooth out the crease between her eyes.

Harley stood and walked toward Brendan. She looked up at his eyes.

He mumbled, “It’s not exactly been a piece of cake for me either.” Brendan paced away. He was angry at her for doing this to them.

“My parents are just that, Harley, my parents. I can’t do anything to change their mind and believe me, I’ve tried. By the time you found out I had been stressed over it for three years.”

Harley lowered her lids and glared at Brendan. “Well sorry for stressing you out.”

Harley made to leave but Brendan, frustrated at being put in this ridiculous game of circles, grabbed Harley by the arm, spun her to face him and grabbed her other arm. Brendan lowered his head so they were touching foreheads. “You will not walk away, you will listen to me. I have a right to say what I like since I’m in this relationship too.”

Harley took a quick breath in. She had never seen him this assertive before.

“I told you before, I can’t change their minds. This isn’t about them, it’s about you and me goddamn it. If you didn’t love me anymore, why didn’t you just say so?” Brendan’s voice cracked slightly.

Harley’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped open. “I never, I….I still love you.”

Brendan let go of Harley and paced away running his hand in his tidy hair.

“Then why? Why all this? Why, Harley?” He paced back and grabbed her by the waist, pulled her to him. “I’ve missed you so much.” Brendan crushed his lips down on hers. Harley wrapped her arms around his neck, twining them into his hair. He deepened the kiss, unable to resist.

“Harley!”

Brendan and Harley pulled apart reluctantly. Kayla ran up the aisle toward them.

“Harley, you have to get inside! There’s chaos!”

“What do you mean? How is that related to us?”

“Remember the uh, changes we made?”

Harley stepped forward and spoke slowly, “Yes.”

“They’re all back, but…” Kayla stopped and looked at Brendan.

“It’s alright Kayla, spill it.”

“Everything we took away has come back tenfold.”

Harley felt sick. She placed a hand on her stomach.

Brendan looked from one girl to the next. “What have you girls done?”

“Uh, we, uh, made some changes to our dates.” Harley fessed up.

“Yeah, I know.”

Harley looked at him, “How did you know?”

“His appearance changed a little bit while you two were dancing.” Brendan scratched the back of his head looking away.

She took off her mask and looked up into his face.

Brendan started to laugh.

Harley put her hands on her hips. “And just what is so funny?”

Brendan straightened up. “You can’t place any charms or spells on anything or anyone at the masquerade. It’s the one place nobody is allowed to do that.” A smile spread across his face. “But I can’t wait to see what happened to sweet mom and dad’s party.” A dark twinkle appeared in his eyes. “Come on you two let’s go see what terror has erupted at this tight ass party!” He rounded on them. “I can’t wait I’ve been waiting my whole life to see my dad’s face when this masquerade backfires on him. Do you know how many freaking manner lessons I had to go to, to attend this damn thing? Years! I don’t even like to dance! Well, that’s not true, but what kid wants to do the waltz!”

Harley and Kayla were walking well behind him watching the craziness of Brendan unfold. Both girls giggling at the animated arm movements he was displaying as he spoke to everyone and no one. They finally reached the hall and it was true, chaos was everywhere. Brendan came up next to Jaden and looked up. Brendan gave a low whistle. He looked back at Harley who stood there transfixed on the chandelier. “Now THAT is what I call chaos.”

Speared through the chandelier was the pig, dripping large amounts of blood onto the dance floor. Large crystals, usually ornate and sparkling, were now dripping with the dark blood and mud. Harrison and Thomas were propping a ladder up in the middle trying to get to their prize. Both men had large amounts of mud and caked blood all over their clothes. Their hair was covered in mud and the few teeth they still had jutted out from their bottom lip.

Brendan’s father came up and tried to help the two boys but slipped in the blood pool below the pig. Brendan’s mother stood back and screamed a low cry. People were running from the hall, blood and dirt splattered over their beautiful clothes.

“Well girls, shall we get the heck out of here?” Brendan put his arm out for Harley to take, which she did happily. The two walked out the front door with their heads held high and laughing.

Jaden looked at the two and glanced at Kayla. “What do you suppose that was all about?”

Kayla smiled. “I think they’re back together.”

“Really?” Jaden smiled.

“Yeah, it’s just a hunch since I found them like smashed together in the garden.”

“Thank god. I couldn’t take much more. Wanna go get something to eat? I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving.” Kayla smiled.

“You look beautiful, by the way.” He had seen her come in with Harley and couldn’t find his voices. Her dress was a deep blue strapless long gown with white feathers halfway to the bottom, her mask matched in white and blue.

Kayla stopped and looked at Jaden. “Thank you.” Jaden helped her navigate around a large pile of dirt to the entryway.

Brendan came through the front door, face beaming. “Guys, come on! You have to see this!”

Jaden and Kayla rushed through the front door to the parking lot that was in another form of chaos. Every single car had mud caked around it and a pig skewered on the front hood. Nobody could use a spell or charm to take them away because the hold on it lasted over twenty four hours. Either people left their car there or they took it home to clean it up which would require driving through town with a pig skewered on the hood.

“This is the best day of my life. I got my girl back and dad got hell. Come on guys, I didn’t park here.” The group walked down the sidewalk to the parking garage a block away and folded themselves into Brendan’s car.

H
arley spent a whole day holed up in her room. She cleaned, sorted through her few clothes and makeup and finally gave up around four. She was exhausted from the masquerade last night but on a high of happiness that she hadn’t felt in so long. Brendan was different and so was she. They had talked until five that morning. She had to sneak into her house, which wasn’t that hard considering her father was passed out most of the time. She walked downstairs quietly but the age of the house and the amount of neglect were too much, she stepped on the stair she was trying to avoid and a creak reverberated throughout the house.

“Harley! Is that you?”

Harley hung her head and said, “Yes, dad.”

“Get me a fresh bottle, would you?”

“Okay.” This was Harley’s least favorite part of living here. Her father was an alcoholic and had been most of her life. If her mother hadn’t died when she was born, she wondered what her life might have been like. She tried to keep up with the house but it was a lot for one person. Harley went into the kitchen and noticed a sink full of dishes. At least he was eating, she thought to herself. She walked over to the fridge and opened the freezer above. Nothing. She opened the cabinet directly next to it and plucked a new bottle of vodka out. Harley never understood how so much liquor came into their house when her father never left. He would be pissed it wasn’t cold. She plodded back through the dingy brown hallway past the front door and turned left to the living room. Her father was sound asleep on the couch. Mouth open, one leg draped over the arm, television on. Harley walked in, placed the bottle on the table and noticed a picture in her dad’s hand. Harley looked at the picture. She recognized her father but didn’t recognize the other two faces. Both tall, with dark hair, the couple were smiling but her dad wasn’t. She looked closer. Something about the eyes of the man was familiar. He had a gleam that hinted he knew more than everyone in the room. She straightened up and began walking toward the front door when it hit her. She ran back to the photo and plucked it from her father’s hand. The two people were Brendan’s parents. Her father had known Brendan’s parents. Harley’s heart began thumping loudly.

Harley picked up her bag and went out the front door. She started running in the direction of Brendan’s house four blocks away, but she never made it. Driving straight toward her was Brendan. He pulled up next to her and leaned out the window.

“Hey gorgeous.”

Harley didn’t say anything but ran to the other side, letting herself in. “Let’s get out of here, fast.”

Brendan looked at Harley, happy she was back to wanting to see him. “Where are we going?”

“Anywhere but here.” Harley looked behind the truck as if someone had followed her. Her behavior was alarming Brendan so he put the car into drive and sped off. They used to drive to the north side and get lost in the back woods, he would head there.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?”

Harley hesitated. “Dad was asleep in the front room. When I brought in a bottle, I noticed a picture in his hand.” Harley held the picture out for Brendan to take.

Brendan took the picture in his right hand while driving with this left. “Wait. What are you doing with a picture of my parents? Is that your Dad with them? Wait, wait…” Brendan pulled over, into the Butterfly Café parking lot and turned the truck off. He really looked at the picture. “When was this taken?”

“I don’t know. Maybe after my mom died. His hair was longer after she passed. See, his hair is to his shoulders there.”

“He doesn’t look happy, almost like he just got some bad news.” Brendan observed.

“I know. Did you know they knew each other?” Harley was moving over to look at the picture as well.

“No. That’s the strange part. My parents have been telling me for years to stay away from him, that he’s a drunk. He doesn’t look like a drunk in this picture. There’s something wrong.” He looked over at Harley. “Let’s go talk to your dad.”

Harley paled which wasn’t hard since she was a fair skinned red-head. Brendan reached out and moved the hair from her face to look at her pretty green eyes. “It’ll be okay.”

“Maybe we could do it tomorrow?”

Brendan sighed. “What’s the difference? We already can’t figure out where Chase and Lyla are. Mr. M is gone. We need answers, Harley. He might hold the key to some of this.”

Harley looked down into her hands. Brendan hadn’t taken his hand from her face. She looked up into his brown eyes. Brendan leaned in and kissed her so gentle and sweet it almost broke her to pieces.

Harley whispered, “Okay.”

Brendan kissed her cheek where a tear rolled down, and said, “It’ll be okay.”

“You promise?”

“Yes. I can promise you that. Whatever we find out, whatever happens when we walk into that house, I’ll be there for you. Forever, Harley.” His voice was strong with conviction .

Harley let a few more tears roll down her face. Brendan wiped them away and smiled. “Ready?”