Tainted Crimson (18 page)

I close my laptop while trying to come up with another idea for my research. I doubt that the library, if this town even has one, will have anything helpful. My only real chance of learning more about all of this is to ask D, my dad, or Jacob. Only I’m sick of bothering them with my millions of questions.

I’m interrupted by a knock on my door.

“Come in,” I call.

The door swings open and in walks D.

“What do you want?” I ask with mock annoyance.

“Gee, I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for supper with me but fine,” he replies with mock defense, raising his hands up in the air and backing out of the room.

“I’m kidding.” I laugh and roll off of my bed. I set my laptop on my dresser. “I’m starving.”

“Yeah me too.” He nods in agreement and begins descending the stairs.

I follow him outside and into his already running car.

“Pizza or Chinese? That’s about our only options,” he asks seriously. “This place doesn’t have much.”

“Pizza.” I shrug.

When we arrive at the restaurant, I’m not shocked to see that it’s nearly empty. After we order we’re left sitting in awkward silence while we both pretend we’re fascinated by the walls and ceiling.

It’s D who breaks the silence. “That was a pretty nice headlock today,” he smirks. I swear every time he smirks like that my insides turn to mush.

“Thanks.”

“I thought about killing him after he grabbed you like that. That guy is really something.”

“Yeah. No kidding.” I nod.

D straightens his shirt and rubs a hand across his shoulder as if it’s some nervous tick.

“God, I’m starving,” he murmurs.

“Yeah me too. I never got to eat my lunch. That was really nice of you to stand up for Blake by the way. I guess I haven’t got to thank you yet.”

“Nothing to thank me for. Anyone who gets your respect, gets mine,” he says while making eye contact. Every time he does that I have to look away. It’s not like I’m self-conscious. At least, I’m normally not. It’s only when he’s around that I act this way. “Don’t do that,” he whines.

“Do what?” I demand confused.

“Look away from me when I look at you. Am I that revolting to you?” he asks sadly. I’m completely shocked. I muster up enough courage to look back up at him. I feel my face flush as I decide my next words. “Just the opposite actually.”

His eyebrows merge as if he can’t comprehend what I’ve said.

We are interrupted by our pepperoni pizza arriving. I thank the waitress and dig in. D follows my lead and grabs a slice for himself.

“Maybe we should have gotten two,” he jokes with his mouth full.

“Maybe,” I agree seriously. I’m not afraid to eat half a pizza all on my own. Not even in front of him. Like I said, I love food.

“I want to show you something tonight, will you come with me after this?” he asks hopefully.

“Show me what? I have lots of homework,” I admit. “You do too.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like we have to actually pass, we just have to pretend that we’re 16. We can even drop out after a while and pretend that we’re being homeschooled or something if we want.”

I scowl at him and say nothing.

“Come on,” he insists, giving me puppy dog eyes.

I let out a short laugh and resign. “How long is it going to take?”

“Not long,” he promises, while gobbling down his fourth piece.

“Okay, what is it?” I ask again.

He winks.

“What?” I demand and take the last piece of pizza.

“It’s a secret.” He grins.

“Well, let’s go then,” I insist and get up to go pay.

“No, no, you’re not paying.”

“Well technically it’s my dad’s money,” I say while waving it in the air like a fan.

“I’m paying because I was raised to always buy lunch for the lady. Especially on the first date,” he grins and pulls out his wallet.

I’m so shocked by his calling this a date that he gets past me and races to the cash register, beating me by only a second. I wonder if this is a pity date because he told me the other night while he was under the influence that he’d take me out for supper.

When he’s done paying we head out to the car and he begins driving out of town.

“Uh, where are we going?” I ask, hoping for a hint of some sort.

“I told you already that it’s a secret.”

“I don’t like secrets,” I tell him truthfully.

He wags his eyebrows at me. “I don’t care.”

“That’s not nice.” I make a pouty face hoping that he’ll feel bad.

“I don’t care,” he repeats with a playful smile.

I cross my arms.

“Suck it up, princess,” he teases.

“Don’t call me that,” I say quickly.

“Why not?” he asks curiously, noticing my immediate protest.

“I’m not five.”

He rolls his eyes. “You’re such a drama queen.”

“Am not! You’re the one always rolling your eyes at me.”

He shakes his head and makes a left. We pull into a field where the road becomes no more and we’re heading up a hill on a beaten down grass path.

“Are we going to get arrested for trespassing?” I wonder out loud.

He shakes his head. “No, because this my land. I purchased it yesterday.”

“What?” I ask wondering if I’ve heard him right.

“This...is...my...land...I...bought...it...yesterday,” he says slowly as if I’m dumb.

“Why do you need land?” I ignore his jab at me.

“The price of land is always rising. It’s an excellent investment,” he answers flippantly and stops the car outside of a patch of bushes.

“Do you have cows too?” I ask, almost excited.

“Uh, no. Too much work.” He laughs. “Would you
like
me to buy you a cow?” he asks completely serious.

“No, no.” I shake my head quickly. I hate it when people buy me things. Why would he buy me a cow of all things anyhow? Aren’t they expensive? I mean dogs are expensive and they’re so small compared to cows.

He shuts off the engine and gets out. He leads me through the trees to a clearing with a small natural spring in the center of it. The water runs down the hill we drove up and down into a small pond. I’ve never seen anything like it. Then again, this kind of stuff doesn’t really exist in the middle of Denver.

I’m fascinated by the countryside.

He reaches down into the small pool of water and cups some in his hands. He takes a sip.

“Careful, you might get sick from drinking that,” I warn him, remembering what I learnt in biology class back at home.

He looks at me as if I’m stupid and I remember that
no
it won’t make him sick.

“Try some,” he insists. “It’s the freshest water you’ll ever taste.

I hesitate but end up cupping my hands together like he did moments ago and taking my own sip. He’s right the water tastes so much different from the treated stuff I’m used to. It tastes earthy but in a good way. Not like dirt but like nature in general. That’s the only way that I can describe it.

“Neat, huh?” he asks.

“Yeah, is this what you wanted to show me?” I ask.

“Yeah, well, I knew you grew up in Denver so I thought this might be cool to show you. I mean you went to that field party in the dark the other day but it’s still light out so I thought you’d appreciate everything more.

“Definitely,” I agree while taking in my surroundings. It really truly is amazing.

He goes over to a bush and begins plucking something off of it. I approach him to see what exactly he is doing. Leaf collecting?

When I get closer I realize that he’s picking little blue berries.

“Are those edible?” I wonder.

“Yes. They’re called saskatoons. Here, try one,” he suggests and pops one into my mouth.

I’m surprised by the taste. They look sort of like blueberries but they sure don’t taste like them.

“Shouldn’t we wash these?”

He chuckles. “No, there’s no pesticide chemicals on them like produce at the store. The only thing on these is bug shit and maybe bird shit which is very unlikely to kill anyone normal, let alone us.”

At the thought of poop on the berries, I should be repulsed but they’re just so good that I throw some more into my mouth. I take a seat under the bush and lay back in the grass.

“Tired?” he asks.

“Shhh,” I mumble. “I’m listening to nature.”

He laughs again, removes his shirt, and then lays down beside me. I can’t help but gawk.

“Stop checking me out,” he teases and I immediately feel heat enter my cheeks. “I’m kidding.”

I close my eyes and pretend to be relaxing so he doesn’t bother me or make my cheeks any redder but it doesn’t stop him.

“You’re beautiful, you know,” he says softly and I realize that he’s much closer than I anticipated.

I don’t say anything in return. Maybe he’ll think I’m sleeping.
Wrong
.

“Do you want to get back to do your homework?” he asks while playing with a strand of my hair.

I sit up and nod although it’s exactly what I don’t want to do.

Later, I’m lying in bed sleeping when I hear D cussing loudly in his room. Confused, I jump out of bed after glancing at the clock and seeing that it’s nearly two in the morning. When I reach his room, his door is shut but a light shines underneath it. I knock.

“Come in,” he groans as if in agony. I open the door and find him sitting up against his headboard with his math textbook in his lap. “Sorry if I woke you, I’m trying to do this crap.” He raises his textbook up so I can see it.

“Need help?” I ask him sleepily.

“You look exhausted, Ariella, go back to sleep,” he insists and returns to punching numbers into my calculator.

“No, it’s fine,” I try again and take a few tired steps into his room. He’s decorated in here more since the last time I was in here. I notice a couple books cases filled with large books and boxes full of nicnacs. I wonder if he’s brought this stuff from home, wherever that might be. I peak into one of the boxes and pull out an old worn photo album. I flip it open. Inside, are pictures that look too old. The kind you find in senior centers. They’re all black and white. It takes me a moment to realize that D is in the pictures. He’s wearing a soldier’s uniform in many of them and in others he is working with paper or fooling around with other people. I recognize my father in a few and even Jacob in others. I can’t comprehend the fact that they all look to be the exact same age as they do now. It’s almost freaky. It
is
freaky.

“Don’t look at those,” he says and suddenly the book is shut and back in the box where I found it. Him and his stupid magic.

“Why not?” I ask tiredly.

“Because they’re old,” he answers seriously and closes his textbook. “You should really go back to sleep. I promise that I’ll be quieter.”

“So what if they’re old?” I ask confused. Why does it matter how old they are? What difference does it make?

“If you’re not going to go to bed, then come help me with this math stuff.” He ignores my question.

I give in and wander over to his bed.

“Take a seat.” He pats the spot next to him. I hesitate before getting close to him because every time I do it feels like an electric current is whipping through my body and I can’t help from swooning like a little fourteen year old girl. Even my breathing goes erratic! Like seriously, Ariella,
get a grip
!

“Are you going to sit down and help me or have you decided to go to sleep?” he asks amused by my hesitation.

I reluctantly take the seat he is offering me and lean back against his headboard. We go over most of the equations before I’m too tired to keep my eyes open and I drift off into a deep sleep. I wake only momentarily at some point when the bed shutters because D is moving. I realize he is turning the bedside lamp off and I’m still passed out in his bed. I think about getting up and going to my own bed like I should but I’m frozen here with exhaustion as my eyes attempt to close once again. My mind is foggy and I vaguely wonder if I’m dreaming.

“Good night, Ariella,” D whispers and I wonder if I’m imagining it when I feel his soft, warm lips press against my forehead.

The next morning I awake in D’s bed and sit straight up in shock. I notice that he’s not lying beside me and so I race out of his room and into my own. After I close my bedroom door, I hear an array of voices downstairs and realize that my father and Jacob have returned. I get dressed quickly realizing that I’m almost going to be late for school and rush downstairs.

“How was your trip?” I ask, still unsure what exactly they were gone doing.

“Good, what about your first day of school?” Jacob asks while eating a pancake. It’s weird he and dad only seem to eat for pleasure now that I
know
.

“Fine,” I answer and grab my backpack. “Where’s D?” I ask, glancing at the clock. It’s nearly time to go.

“No clue. You’re not going to school today though. They called, it’s been cancelled. There was a car accident last night just outside of town. Three very young kids well-known in the community were killed and with the recent death of that girl in high school, they’ve decided to call of the next two days,” Jacob explains.

I nearly fist pump because I don’t have to go to school but then reality of it sets in and I feel like crying. How much loss can this little village take? I remember what the school was like after the death on the weekend, it’s no wonder they’ve closed for the next two days. I wonder how old the kids were, did I see them at school yesterday? Of course I did, I decide. This poor village. So much loss.

“So what is the plan for today then?” I ask Jacob. He shrugs. “Dad is out looking into getting you a car. But you know him, he’s trying to pick out the perfect one. So whether or not it’s ugly, please pretend you like it. He wants it to be a surprise so act surprised when he tells you. So anyways, I’m supposed to tell you to practice your witch stuff. D said he’d be back later to help.”

Great. More practice at lifting light objects with my mind and getting nowhere. Looking forward to staring at a piece of paper for more hours and wasting my time. Although D says I have the ability, I don’t buy it. If I did, wouldn’t I have at least been able to move the paper a little bit by now? Ugh.