The Broken Curse (19 page)

"That makes sense," Lisa says, nodding her head.
 

I catch Linus' gaze from across the room, and he's watching me intently. I furrow my brows, squinting at him, as if asking him what he wants. But he turns away and goes back to a conversation that he's having with the Louisiana group. Nikias glares at me, but I don't pay her attention.

I notice that Ari is missing from the training center—he's not sitting with the teachers or Ollie. In fact, I don't really remember seeing much of him yesterday either. I didn't see him at all after I went into the vision with Linus. Maybe he went with Cece to retrieve the person she thinks will help us.
 

Ollie notices me looking around and waves, smiling his wide grin with his perfectly straight, pearly teeth. I take a second to just admire him. His eyes are so blue, it's like staring into a perfectly cut sapphire. He radiates energy and love. I can feel what he puts out from across the crowded room, and it cuts a dagger straight from him to me. He suddenly frowns, and I hate it because he should be happy all the time. I know it's my fault.
 

I muster a wide smile and shoot it right back at him. I try to convey my love, but I haven't thought about my own curse in days. I have to figure that out. I have to go back to the beginning and really dig deep into what I feel.
 

I decide that that's what I'm going to do while everyone is busy in the training center today. I'm going to figure out who my soul mate is by diving into the past and really discovering my relationship with each of the guys.

"Ryder, are you in there?"
 

"What?" I look up and see all my friends standing in front of me.

"We're going to the training center. Are you okay?" Kara asks.
 

"I'm fine," I say and wave her along. They walk out the doors, the rest of the people in the room following.

"I'll miss you today," Ollie says and then kisses my forehead. He runs his hands through my hair, and I let my head tilt into it, loving the attention.

"I'm going to do some soul searching."

"Oh, yeah?" He rests his forehead against mine and stares right into my eyes. I can't look away.

"Yeah. I have only a few hours before I make a decision."

"Well, I hope it helps. I feel like you've been avoiding me lately."

"I haven't at all."

"It's just the only time I see you is when I find you. Are you doubting our connection?"

"No." I sigh and take his hand in mine. "Not at all. I'm just trying to focus on the war and training and making sure we're all ready."

"I understand. Dream hop away." He waves his arm out like a magician revealing his trick.

"Is that even a thing?" I ask back, laughing under my words.

"I just made it a thing," he laughs back. "I believe in you, Ryder. You'll be great."

"Thanks," I mutter, because it's the last thing I feel right now.
 

I finish eating in silence and dump my tray into the trashcan in the middle of the long aisle. I'm not in a rush to get back to my dorm room since I know I have all day to dream before any of my friends are done training.

I walk back, conserving my energy, and slowly trek up the stairs. The room is bright, the sun streaming through the double window. I lock the door behind me, shutting myself in, and then prepare for a day of long dreaming.

I draw the blinds down, casting the room in dark shadows and weird gray light. My bed is made, and I sit on top of the covers, lying back against my pillow.
 

I place my hands over my stomach and start to control my breathing. I slow my pace, taking deeper breaths, and begin to relax. I shut my eyes and start to think about what I want to see in the vision. Ollie's face appears behind my lids, and I go with it.

It isn't long before I fall into bliss.
 

I wake up in a dream—the first of the day. I hope that this one has Ollie, because I was thinking of him when I laid down to meditate. I want to know more about my relationship with Ollie. I feel like there are still things that I don't know and am unsure of. Whereas with Ari, he's more of an open book.

I'm in a low-ceilinged house. There's a brown couch and a small ten-inch television with bunny ears on the top sticking out in strange angles. I'm clearly in a pretty recent time.
 

I find Ollie in the next room, the kitchen. It's small with a black and white tiled floor and white appliances. Immediately, I think I'm in the fifties, but I'm not a hundred percent sure.

Ollie looks exactly as he does now. His hair is cropped short, his face clean-shaven. Even his clothing is similar to what he wears now. His jeans are dark and tight. His white t-shirt clings to the muscles on his chest. But over his clothes is a woman's apron with red cherries printed on the front.

"Dear, you're doing my job." I watch myself skip into the room. My outfit matches the pattern on the floor. My dream self wears a knee-length black and white polka dot dress. It flares out like an umbrella, making my legs look lean as it ends just above the knees.
 

"You know I love to treat you like a princess."

"I know, but I don't work. I like cooking while you watch me." She swats him on the butt and pulls the apron over his head. She ties it around her neck and then tends to the stove, stirring whatever is in the black pot.

"Tell me how I got to be so lucky." Ollie moves around and sits at the dark wood table in the corner of the room. He leans his head on his hand and stares at my dream self as if she was the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet.

"Well, I guess you're charming." She winks over her shoulder. "And you're pretty handsome, too. Plus, you have a nice car."

"Ah. I see now. Using me for my body and car, huh, little lady?" Ollie darts up from the table and wraps his arms around my dream self's tiny waist. He lifts her into the air, and they both giggle as if they're having the time of their lives.

"Ollie, dear. Quit it!" She laughs into him, her words completely playful.

"I just love to have you in my arms," Ollie says as he places her back on the cheap linoleum floor. He presses a kiss to the top of her nose and she wrinkles it up, pursing her lips.

He turns to head back to the table, but she grabs his arm and spins him towards her. She catches him with her lips, kissing him right on the mouth.

Ollie reaches backwards and squeezes her butt and she jumps from the pinch. "I love you, sugar butt."
 

"I love you, too. Now, sit back and watch me cook."

I smile as the dream fades away. They loved each other with their entire hearts. That kind of love is pure and beautiful and touching. That reincarnation of myself shows me exactly what I need to see. I need to see that Ollie can be carefree, that he's only stressed because of the drama. I love seeing him in love with me.
 

The second I am dropped into the vision, Prince seduces me. Not literally, of course. His voice vibrates through the tiny place, wrapping everyone up into a music-induced orgasm.
 

I sway to the song "Let's Go Crazy" involuntarily. Before I fully submit to the sounds, I see my dream self sauntering past the bar. I've never seen myself like this before.

I'm confident in my steps, each with the sole purpose of being seen. I'm in a short pink and black shirt that flares out in ruffles. My top is skimpy, with one of the sleeves hanging off my shoulder and showing my black lacy bra.
 

To say that my hair is teased would be an understatement. My dark locks are frizzed two inches above my head in a halo and put into a half-up, half-down pony tail.
 

Huge purple heart earrings hang from my ears down to my shoulders. I walk over to where my dream self pauses and directly in front of her is Ari. He actually doesn't look much different.

He has on black skinny jeans that hug his thighs and calves, a red t-shirt that squeezes his chest muscles, and a black leather jacket over it. His near-black hair is down to his shoulders in the back, but short in the front. Ari has a mullet. I laugh at him from where I watch.
 

"Kiss me, baby, like you've never kissed before!" My dream self lunges at Ari and wraps her entire body around him, giving herself completely to him. He lifts her up from under her butt and she closes her legs around him, crossing them behind his back. They kiss, right there in the club, in front of everyone.
 

It's not just a peck. It's a gut wrenching, I-love-you kiss. His tongue slides into her mouth. She runs her hands through his hair and tugs his neck back, sucking right where the vein throbs.
 

"Want to go to the club that plays house music down the block?" my dream self asks as Ari holds her in his arms and she peppers kisses from his ear to his collarbone. He looks up at her, his eyes never straying from her despite the fact that beautiful woman are everywhere. Love radiates off him in thick and tumultuous bolts that only flow into her.

"I'd rather take you home…" He pauses, looking down at her with a knowing look, and she grins at him. "And watch the Olympics!" She slaps his shoulder as he puts her down on the ground, refusing to let her hand go.

"Come on." Ari reaches for my dream self and lets her lead him out of the club. They funnel through the crowds, saying goodbye to random people they pass. I follow, and the closer to the door I get, the cooler the air becomes.
 

When I step out the metal door, an unfamiliar landscape faces me. It's a large city, with skyscrapers and busy streets. But it's not anywhere I've been before. It smells like old, dirty laundry and swamp fumes. Sirens wail in the distance menacingly.

My dream self and Ari catch my gaze again. They start to walk down the block, the sidewalk in very bad shape. Cracks raise random parts of the cement, and chunks near the road are missing, crumbling and creating rubble. My dream self stumbles a few times on the ends of the squares, and I'm not sure if it's the darkness, her drunkenness, or if she's just clumsy. But Ari never lets go of her hand.

"Honey, I changed my mind. Let's go home." My dream self stops in the middle of the street and stares up at him. He turns and faces her, constantly looking up and down the street to make sure no cars are going to hit them. People bustle around them, pushing and shoving, running and laughing.

"Why'd you switch your mind on me?"

"My mind thinks a lot of things!" She smiles up at him, her eyes twinkling in the street lamps. A car whizzes by on their right, and the wind blows both their hair in a tornado of darkness.
 

"You have a beautiful mind."

"And you have a beautiful face."

"Yours is the prettiest."

"What do you say we head home, play some Nintendo, and lie together all night long, laughing and playing? Maybe we can play into tomorrow if you let me win enough times."

"I knew I shouldn't get you one of those." Ari kisses her cheek and then lifts her into his arms, her face ending up facing his back. Instantly, I'm hit with a bout of deja-vu.
 

I remember the time I got into a fight with Becca at school, and she gave me a bloody lip. I remember how Ari came in and saved me. He pulled me away and brought me outside. I was in the same exact position as my dream self, and it looks like I liked it just as much in this life as I did before.

The blackness comes as I remember Ari from just months ago—how different things are now.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

a new relative

It's Friday. The realization that days have gone by and the deadline is looming makes my heart stutter in my chest. If Cece says we have to go, we'll go. And she comes back today.

While I'm excited to see her, I'm also anxious to hear what she has to say. If she's found help, we'll have a leg up on Hades. If she hasn't, we're screwed. My cellphone pings, and I see Junior's name on the ID.

Come over!

"Where's your boyfriend?" I ask Kara across the room.

"I'm not his keeper."