Spell Checked (20 page)

~~~***~~~

Aidan walked into the gym where Beck had been breaking and punching things for the past hour.  Beck’s hands had been broken and rebroken so many times; they looked like they’d been through a meat grinder.  He was just about to hit the concrete wall again when Aidan grabbed his friend from behind and stopped him.

“What in the hell happened?  I was driving up the road and got hit with a wall of emotion so painful, I had to stop the car before I wrecked it,” Aidan told him.

Beck sat down on a stack of mats, his eyes red and swollen, trying to explain everything to Aidan.  “She said she loved me!” he whimpered as if in a trance.

Aidan raised an eyebrow in confusion, “I thought that was a good thing.”

“It is, but then I told her about Helen and now she never wants to see me again.”

“Where is she now, Beck?  I need to check on her.”  Aidan was still reeling from the onslaught of emotions from Mae and Beck.

“I left her in my bedroom.  You have to do something Aidan, I love her.”

Aidan left Beck to find Mae, not knowing what he was going to say to her, but sure it was not good for her to be alone.  To his relief, he could hear the helicopter land.  Meredith and Alexis rushed into the house.  "Aidan what in god’s name is going on?  Alexis almost crashed the helicopter as soon as she got near the house!" exclaimed Meredith.

"Beck told Mae about Helen and she didn’t take it very well.  I just got in a few minutes ago and heard Beck screaming at himself in the gym. He is an absolute mess right now.  I was just going to check on Mae, but then I heard the helicopter.  I think she would rather talk to you than another man at this moment."

"I will check in on her, you stay with Beck.  Alexis can you put a bubble around the house before they take down a plane," Meredith advised.

“It looks like they’re on one side on the house, so I’ll keep the bubble on that side.  That way the rest of us can have some peace and quiet on the other side.”  Alexis sat on the couch and started to weave her spell.

Meredith made her way to Beck’s bedroom where she could hear sobbing through the door.  She knocked first not wanting to intrude. “Mae, its Meredith, may I come in?”

Mae didn’t answer her, so she knocked again.  “Mae, if you don’t answer me I am coming in anyway,” Meredith threatened, using magic to unlock the door.

“Come in,” Mae conceded softly.

Meredith opened the door and sat on the edge of the bed next to her.  She put her arms around Mae in a motherly hug.  “Want to talk about it?”

“How could he, Mere?  How could he take my life from me?”  Mae had cried so much, the tears no longer came as she desperately tried to analyze her situation.

“Mae, you have to understand.  Beck had no control over any of this and neither does Helen.  They were destined to be together a long time ago.  They didn’t choose for Helen to come back in your body.  He has been in love with Helen for over thirty five hundred years and then you came into his life and turned it upside down.  He loves you Mae, and not because Helen is trapped inside of you.  I have never seen him so happy.  The only thing he is guilty of is not telling you about Helen sooner, but he was afraid that you would leave if he did.  So he decided to keep it a secret until he thought you were ready.”

“Did everyone but me know about Helen?” Mae’s voice was laced with anger, pulling away from Meredith.

“I told Gemma last night by accident.  She understood Beck’s reason, but didn’t agree with it.  So, she told you to ask him. The whole of vampires and witches knows the love story of Helen and Paris…aka Beck.  You need to forgive him Mae, he almost killed himself making the decision to love you and forsake Helen.  He knew one day that he might have to make a choice between the two of you and he chose you.  What more could you ask of him?”

“Nothing, now that you have explained it to me that way,” she sighed.  Mae wanted to hate him, but couldn’t and she regretted the fact that she had not allowed him to explain.  She knew none of it was his fault, but it still hurt to be led here under false pretenses.

“I think you two need to talk before he does something stupid and irreversible.  Aidan tells me Beck has been punching the walls downstairs.  His hands are shattered into a thousand pieces and he refuses to let them heal.”

“I’m not ready to talk to him yet.  I need some time to think.”  Mae’s mind was ready to forgive him, but her heart still ached.

Meredith smiled, “Just promise me you won’t leave him without talking to him first.  Alexis and I are going to Killarney tomorrow.  Why don’t you join us?  It will give you a chance to clear your head.”

“Alright Mere, I won’t leave, I promise and a trip with the girls sounds great…I need to get out of here.”  Mae planned to call Gemma later.   Gemma always knew what to do when it came to men and Mae needed her now more than ever.  “I wish she hadn’t left,” Mae thought to herself.

“Now that that is settled, I will have some food brought up.  You look like hell, so I suggest a hot soak in that swimming pool Beck calls a tub,” she laughed.

“A hot bath sounds wonderful…will you stay and keep me company?  I could use a friend right now.”  Mae got up and started to run the water.

Meredith opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a bottle of lavender oil and handed it to her. “I’ll come back after I check on Beck.”

~~~***~~~

Meredith went to the gym to talk to Aidan and Beck.  Things finally quieted down emotionally and Alexis removed the bubble.  “Beck, she has agreed to stay, all she wants is a little time before she talks to you.”  Meredith looked at the mess of broken bones that were previously Beck’s beautiful hands.  “You’re going to need help fixing them,” she said pointing at the bloody mess.

“I know,” Beck hung his head in shame.

“Let me get help,” she said and was out the door before Beck had a chance to protest.  She returned a few minutes later.  “Mae has agreed to help on one condition.  You are not to look at her or try to talk to her.  Do you agree?”

Beck was shaking his head.  “I do not want her to see me like this, Mere.”

“Beck,” she said softly.  “You need her now more than ever and she needs you, but is too stubborn to let you know.  Please let her help,” Meredith pleaded.

“Okay, I agree to the terms,” he sneered, gritting his teeth.

When Mae saw his hands, she gasped.  How could he have done this to himself?  It took hours to mend his broken hands.  He sat there in silent pain as they worked.  By the time they were through, Mae was completely drained and ready to pass out.  She went to the kitchen and ate some soup and hot rolls.  Afterwards, she went straight to bed, too exhausted to even dream.

In spite of her exhaustion, off and on during the night, Mae could feel Beck’s presence through the door that separated their bedrooms.  His sadness kept interrupting her sleep, leaving her restless.  She planned to talk to him the next day, but only after going to Killarney with the girls.  She wanted him to realize there were consequences to his keeping secrets, and she wanted to leave him alone for the day to think about it.

It was a warm sunny day in Killarney, Meredith and Alexis were doing their best to keep the mood light.  It was nice to see that Alexis had a soft feminine side to her; which was actually pleasant to be around.  They all joked about the men in their lives past and present, for some reason, Aidan’s name kept popping up.  It made Mae wonder if Meredith was still in love with him.  Mae’s mind kept drifting back to Beck.  She was missing him and wanted everything to go back to the way it used to be.  Tonight she promised, would be new start for them both and although she forgave him, she needed to establish some rules.  The sun would set soon and they had one more stop before they went home.  Beck asked Meredith to pick up something from one of the jewelry stores.

They walked into the same store Mae had gone to with Beck a couple of weeks earlier.  The diamonds in the case were still singing their songs as she walked passed them on the way to the counter.  The same old man greeted them with a pleasant smile and reached behind the counter for Beck’s packages.

“You must be Mae,” he gestured towards Mae as if awaiting her arrival.

“Yes, I am…” Mae replied curiously.

“Then these are for you,” he relied, handing her the larger of two boxes and a note.

She carefully read the note, which was written in Beck’s hand.

Dearest Mae,

I know it is not exactly like the one your parents gave you, but I hope it reminds you of them just the same.

Beck

Mae opened the box to find an exact replica of the bug pendant her parents had given her.  The only difference was the stones in this one were real, not glass like the one she lost.  It was beautiful, every diamond shimmering in the light and drawing her into their brilliance.  The old man removed the necklace from the box and put it around her neck.  Mae’s eyes watered at Beck’s thoughtfulness while the old man gave her the second, smaller box and another note.

I saw this and it reminded me of the time I chased you around the bed to get my stick back.

Love, Beck

P.S. Get your mind out of the gutter.

She opened the box and laughed; it was a beautiful art deco style pendant made of green mother of pearl and encrusted with rhinestones.  Eyeing the piece, she realized it was a USB stick and smiled.  It was certainly one of Beck’s more thoughtful gifts which made her long to be with him.

“What a beautiful necklace Mae!  It looks exactly like the one you lost,” Meredith gushed, admiring the pendant hanging from Mae’s neck as they walked out of the shop.  Suddenly, gunshots rang out and pitch darkness was all that Mae knew.

Alexis stood stunned, shielding herself from the onslaught of bullets that rained down on them.  Soon, everything went quiet and she had a chance to assess the condition of her friends, both lying on the ground completely motionless.  Meredith took a shot to the shoulder and most likely endured a concussion from hitting the ground so hard.  Mae however, had two gunshots wounds to the head. Alexis pulled out her phone and called for help as her friends’ blood started to pool on the ground.

The ambulances arrived and paramedics were astounded that Mae was still alive.  Alexis called Aidan to tell him the news.  “Aidan, it’s Alexis, I need for you and Beck to meet me at the hospital in Dublin.  Meredith and Mae have been shot and it doesn’t look good, they’re being Medevac’d.  I’m following the assassin as we speak and hope to have answers when I get to Dublin.”

Aidan’s voiced trembled, “How is Meredith?”

“Not too bad.  One bullet to the shoulder and a concussion; she should be able to heal most of it herself.  Mae is not doing as well, so I need for you to keep Beck calm until we can get some answers,” Alexis continued to track the shooter; she felt it was the least she could do.  Her guilt began to manifest at her inability to protect all of them.

“We should be there within the hour.”  Aidan hung up the phone, pausing in his search for a good way to tell Beck.

Beck watched Aidan’s face go from pale to white and immediately sensed that something was amiss.  “What is going on, Aidan?” he demanded.

“There has been an accident and we need to get to Dublin right now,” Aidan said calmly.

Beck was already on the phone. “I want the helicopter ready to leave in five minutes,” he ordered, turning back to Aidan and anxiously inquiring, “What kind of accident?”

“Alexis only said that Mae and Meredith are being Medevac’d to Dublin as we speak.”  Aidan hated to lie, but he feared Beck’s reaction if he knew the truth that they’d been shot.

Beck tried to reach Alexis while the pilot flew them to Dublin.  “She must have turned off her phone because it keeps going to voice mail,” he growled.