The Breaker's Resolution: (YA Paranormal Romance) (Fixed Points Book 4) (18 page)

Don’t be absurd,” he balked. “While I will admit that my feelings became more than a little complicated when the Council paired us, I’m afraid your girlfriend is far too ubiquitous for my taste. No, she cannot fix this problem.”

“You remember that? When they paired you guys together?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “So you are Sevie?”

“I am Sevie, but not Sebastian. And I am more than both,” he said. “If that makes any sense.”

“It doesn’t,” I responded. “You sound like Wendy.” And then I remembered something from my time with the dead seer; the giant snake and the word she used to describe it. “Sevie,” I asked. “What are the Constants?”

His eyes darted toward me and his head tilted instinctively to the right. “Who’s been whispering in your ear, Big Brother?”

“Just tell me. Does it have something to do with what’s happening to you?”

“Take me with you,” he said abruptly.

“What?” I backed away. “Absolutely not. It’s way too dangerous.”

“Did you not see what I’ve learned? I can take care of myself,” he answered.

“And what about Mother? She’s already losing one of her children today. How selfish would it be to ask her to give away both?”

“If you wish to know what’s happening to me and who the Constants are, then you’ll take me with you. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to make due with speculation.”

“Sevie,” my mouth tightened. “I don’t come back here.” The revelation made me feel lightheaded. “I talked with Wendy, the seer girl. She told me pieces of my future. And one of the things she told me is that, when I leave the Hourglass, I won’t ever return to it. That means that you likely wouldn’t ever return either. I won’t do that to Mother, Sevie. What would her life be? I couldn’t do that.”

“But you would do that to your brother?” He asked, moving toward me.

“Don’t be dramatic,” I muttered. “I know you want to go. Ever since you were a little boy, you’ve batted down that adventurer’s spirit of yours. But stopping you from going on a trip isn’t the same thing as condemning Mother to a life alone with Father.”

“And what sort of life would you be condemning me to?” He retorted. “It’s coming back, Owen. I can feel the pieces of the boy I used to be returning. They drip into my brain like water droplets into a pool. Soon, all I will be is those droplets. I shouldn’t remember the things I do now. I wasn’t built for that. I’m not like her. The fact that I can remember those things, that I can look back and see all that happened, is a testimony to the fact that something is very wrong. But I won’t be able to fix that, because I won’t be here. Sevie will be back soon. Your Sevie. And he’ll be in trouble.”

“What do you mean?” My muscles tightened. “What kind of trouble?”

“The powers that this body holds are changing. I already showed you a bit of it earlier. Now look at this.” Sevie waved his hand and suddenly we were in Crestivew. I was studying for an Algebra test in my football jersey while Cresta sat next to me, tossing tater tots at Casper and talking about the latest episode of American Horror Story.

With another wave, it was gone.

“What did you do?” I balked. “How did you get into my memories? How did you show them to me?”

“This body is changing. I am a flux case, Owen. How long do you think the person that I was will be able to keep that to himself with you gone? They’ll cart me off into one of those dungeons and keep me there until they find out exactly what’s going on. And I promise you, Owen. They never will.”

“Damn it,” I muttered, because I knew he was right. My brother would spend the rest of his life as a prisoner of the Council if I didn’t get him out of here. “They won’t listen to me.”

“They will,” he responded. “They want you to do this so badly that they’ll let you choose whatever team you’d like. Me included.” He shook his head. “You know I’m right.”

As I was about to answer, an alarm blared through the sky.

“No!” I yelled. “It’s been an hour already?”

That meant that I was, among other things, a fugitive.

“I don’t think so, Big Brother,” Sevie said, pointing in front of me. Turning around I saw that, for the second time this morning, the Council of Masons stood somewhere they shouldn’t be.

“I’m on my way,” I murmured.

“Not quickly enough,” Chant answered, but there was an urgency in his voice that didn’t quite make sense to me. “You need to get to our Chambers as quickly as possible. The traitors within our midst have shown themselves and they’re revolting.”

“What?” I asked, my body tensing up.

“Loyalists of the Bloodmoon are taking up arms against you, Dragon. You’re the most wanted man in the Hourglass, and they want your head on a spike.”

I shook my head hard, trying my best not to think of how much this place reminded me of Crestview. “Nope. Sorry. Just can’t do it.”

My words were flat. My tone was final. Of course, that didn’t matter to Casper at all.

“You know what I’m gonna say,” he answered, a backpack slung across his shoulder.

“That it’s stupid that these people are making us go to school?” I asked, arching my brows.

“Well, no. I mean yeah. But I just sorta figured that went without saying.” He grinned at me. “Besides, classes here aren’t that bad, and I sort of miss school.” He chuckled. “I bet you never thought you’d hear me say that.” He pointed. “Take a left up here.”

The fact that Casper knew his way around this place irked me to no end. Sure, I had sent him away, but I hadn’t sent him
here.
The fact that this is where he ended up was a testimony to how out of control the entire situation had gotten. Also, I felt really lost here, and the idea that Casper wasn’t made me feel that much more alone.

We took a left where Casper suggested, the intersection of two one lane roads that looked like they could have been lifted straight out of that one horse town in Georgia where Casper and I first met. A weird sense of familiarity settled over me and I did my best to bat it off. This place, these people, they preyed on people’s comfort. I wasn’t about to get caught off guard, even if it was by my mother.

“And don’t think I forgot about it,” Casper said, elbowing my arm. “You need to talk to her. And keep your hands out of your pockets, Little Lady. I don’t want to hear it.”

“And I don’t want to hear her,” I whined. “I have nothing to say to that woman.”

“Really?” He pulled to a stop and I sighed heavily, but stopped beside him. “How could that be, Cresta? Please tell me. Because that woman literally gave birth to you, and then she hit pavement like Willi E. Coyote was after her. All ‘beep beep’ and everything. Or is it ‘meep meep’?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. The point is, whether you want to admit it or not, this woman has been a part of your life since always and forever, even if you didn’t know it. And honestly, I don’t see why you’re so mad at her.”

“Don’t defend her!” I pointed at him.

“Defend her for what? I don’t even know what she did wrong?” He shrugged in that way that Casper always did, infuriating but way too oblivious for me to ever get really mad t him.

“Really? Well, let me give you a rundown then.”

“…oh no,” he muttered.

“She lied to me about who my parents were. She moved God knows where, effectively missing out on my entire childhood. She creeped on me for nearly two years while she pretended to be my therapist, even though I’m fairly certain that she probably doesn’t have an M.D.”

“Probably not,” Casper added.

“
AND
, after all hell broke loose and my mom died, she was nowhere to be found. Where was she Casper? Where?!”

“I don’t know, wherever whores go?” He cringed.

“What?!” I asked.

“Nothing. It’s Game of Thrones humor. Don’t worry about it.”

The sad part was that I knew that humor he was talking about. The really sad part was that I wanted to laugh. Wanted, but didn’t.

“I’m just saying, I don’t know why she thinks I’d want to have a relationship now, especially after what she said to me.” I added.

“And what’d she say to you, Sweetheart?”

The voice alone made my blood boil. Looking past Casper, I saw Royce coming toward us. He had on a pair of blue jeans that you could tell he was at home in and a button up plaid shirt that was half undone, letting most of his chest show.

“You,” I grimaced.

“Don’t tell me you’re still mad at me.” He grinned cockily with half of his mouth. “You can’t be mad at me when I look this good.” He raised his hands like he was one of the Price Is Right girls and he was showing off himself. “It’s a mathematical impossibility.”

“Mathematical?” Casper shook his head. “No. I don’t think you’re using that the right way.”

I sneer at that stupid cowboy. “Algebraic equations aside, I don’t want to talk to you.”

“How about I don’t give you a choice? How do you like that bale of hay?” He asked, settling his stance and crossing his arms over his chest. 

“I like it just fine,” I chirped, then turned tail and walked away.

“Oh no ya don’t,” he said, and started after me.

“You’re wasting your breath,”” Casper said from behind me. “She’s not in a talkative mood.”

There was a spike to his words, but I ignored them.

“I don’t think I give a damn what sort of mood she’s in,” Royce said flatly.

“You lied to me,” I said over my shoulder, without breaking stride.

“I sure the hell didn’t.”

“Tell it to ‘Momma’,” I sneered.

“Oh, that’s what this is about?” He actually chuckled at me. “Not telling ya every little thing about myself ain’t the same thing as lying, Sweetheart.”

“Well, it is to me,” I shook my head.

“Noted,” he answered, sidling up beside me. “I’ll keep it in mind for the future.”

“That’s mighty presumptuous of you,” I said in my best (which was my worst) faux Southern twang.

“Is that s’posed to be me?” He jumped in front of me, expecting a smile.

He didn’t get one.

“What was I supposed to do, Sweetheart?” He sighed. “If I told you, it would have started a whole thing.”

“Of course it would have!” I huffed and moved past him, walking toward this school that I absolutely didn’t want to go to. “Did you ever think that’s exactly why you should have told me?”

“I don’t understand girls,” he sighed, probably in Casper’s direction.

“I do,” Casper answered. “At least this one.” Jogging forward, Casper settled in step with me. “You know why you’re mad, don’t you?”

“Because I’m stuck in
another
dumbass town, and this time I know for sure that there’s no way out?” I suggested.

“That’s probably part of it,” Casper conceded. “But the big part, the part you don’t want to admit, is that you’re mad at Royce because you’re jealous of him.”

“Oh, I like this idea,” Royce snockered.

“Not yet, Dude,” Casper waved him off. “Read the room.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “I know it sounds stupid, and I know that you like to pretend that you’re all rough and tumble and that you can do this without, but the truth is, maybe you need your mom.”

“Don’t call her that,” I said, clenching my jaw.

“Fine, your bio-mom, your former therapist, your special friend. Whatever. But Royce knew her. He lived with her every day, and when she left that horrible Hourglass place for good, she took
him
with her and left her own daughter. Now, I know it all turned out for the best. How could it not have seeing as how you got me out of the deal? But that has to sting, Cresta. It just has to.”

“And what if it does?” I shrugged. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“No, and it doesn’t mean you love the mom who raised you any less. Maybe it just means that you’re ready to see what she has to say for herself. And there’s only one way to do that.”

“You want me to talk to her?” I groaned.

“I think you want to talk to her, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea,” he admitted. “And while you’re chatting her up, see if you can find out why these morons won’t let me talk to either Liv or the mother of my kid. It’s been days. It’s getting ridiculous.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I sighed. Turning toward him, I motioned at Royce. “Look, I know that I maybe overreacted.”

“I should have told you,” Royce answered. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” I answered.

“It’s alright, Sweetheart,” he moved toward me. “Anytime you want to kiss and make up, I’m available.”

“Right,” I actually grinned this time. “Better luck next time, Cowboy.”

He shrugged. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

*******

School was every bit as boring as I expected it to be. At least the Breakers taught about interesting stuff like ‘The Secret History of Lost Civilizations’. This was just like being in regular school, only with lunch that was somehow even more bland and restricted than Crestview.

“These Sloppy Joe’s taste more like feet than I remember,” Casper said, though that didn’t stop him from eating it.

I would have answered him. I had an entire ‘Dr. Scholl’s’ comeback in mind. But it turned out Casper was extremely popular in this place. Sure, they called him Toby and they reminisced about things that I had no idea ever happened to him, but there seemed to be a line of people stretching through the cafeteria to talk to him. It was like Bizzaro Desoto High. Unfortunately for Casper, Liv wasn’t among his admiring fans. In fact, I didn’t see Liv all day. Which didn’t sit well with me. Though to be honest, there was a lot about this place that didn’t sit well with me, even if it was the safest place I could be at the moment.

When school was over, after a relentlessly long Literature class led by a self-proclaimed ‘super cool’ who insisted that we call her by her first name- Nix, because “my parents loved Fleetwood Mac”- and used the word ‘deadly’ to describe pretty much everything, I was more than ready for a nap.

But it turned out that I wasn’t getting a nap. Because standing in the parking lot, ready to pick me up from school and entire ten years too late, was my biological mother.

“Can we talk?” She asked, her hands clasped nervously in front of her and her hair swept into eyes that looked way too much like my own. “Don’t say no Cresta.” She looked down. “It’s been days. I’ve given you your space. Just-just don’t say no.”

Damnit. I had really planned in saying no.

I closed my eyes. “Fine,” I relented.

“Really?” She answered. When I opened my eyes again, I saw that her face was full on shocked. “”Okay. Well, okay then.”

I pulled out my phone- the burner they picked up for me while I was unconscious on the road- and instinctively started to text Casper. I wanted to tell him what was going on and let him know that I wouldn’t be there to meet him when he left class, but then I looked at my signal bar.

“Damn,” I murmured. None of our phones had signal in Clarity, which was another red flag in my growing collection of concerns about this place that the city limit sign referred to as ‘The Strangest of Places’.

“I have to wait,” I said, looking up at her. “Casper will be worried about me if I’m not here. At this point, we don’t handle separation anxiety very well.”

“Understandable,” she nodded, even though I was being more than a little facetious. “And Royce, I suppose you’ve grown quite close to him as well?”

“Is that what you want?” I asked, tilted my head to the side.

“Is it what
you
want?” She asked, slipping back into ‘Dr. Conyers’ mode.

“This is going to be a really short conversation if you keep that up,” I warned.

“Fair enough?” She answered, her lips pursing.

“Is that why you sent him to me, to get me to fall for him or something so that we’d fulfill that stupid prophecy? You send him to the Hourglass so you could help me end the world?”  I shuddered, remembering what she’d said to me when I first saw her here.

“That doesn’t mean what you think it does?” She answered.

“Really?” I balked. “Because I pretty sure there are a butt load of people trying to kill me at this very moment. So I’m pretty sure that it means exactly what I think it means.”

“Um…what’s going on?” Casper seemed about as nervous as I expected him to be as he settled beside me. Luckily, he was without his throngs of admirers, otherwise this conversation would have been even more awkward than it already was.

“Nothing. I was just leaving,” I sighed.

“Don’t do that,” Laurel shook her head. “If we could just go somewhere and talk a little. I’m sure you have more than a few questions for me.”

“Like I’d believe anything you had to say,” I snapped.

“It was for you, Cresta. Everything I’ve ever done since the instant I found out I was pregnant has been for you. And that includes Royce.”

“Fine,” I answered. “Casper comes with us.”

“Oh, Casper doesn’t need to come with you,” Casper smiled nervously.

“Shut up. You’re coming,” I answered.

“Well, I pictured this as a private affair,” Laurel started.

“Anything you can say in front of me you can say in front of Casper. If you knew anything about me, you’d know that.” The ice in my voice could have killed plant life.

“Whatever you want, dear,” she nodded again.

“And no ‘dear’,” I said. “No ‘daughter’, no ‘honey’, and definitely no ‘sweetheart’. You got that? I’m Cresta and you’re Doctor Conyers.”

“Can I at least be Laurel?” She asked tepidly.

“Maybe. I’ll have to see how it feels. Now where do you want to go?”