The Genesis Project Prophecy of the Seven (10 page)

I wished the blood would stop pounding in my ears so I could figure out what was going on.

I stumbled a little dizzy and lightheaded. Both Garrett and Jasper reached out for me, but it was my Dad who caught me seating me in the nearest chair.

I stared at him trying to read his lips as he knelt before me putting his hands on my face.

I tried to focus, finally catching my breath and I was almost shocked back into my stupor by what I heard.

Jasper and Garrett were arguing…over me.

Ben got between Jasper and Garret trying to get them apart in what could only result in blows.

My Dad stood protectively in front of me he was pointing and yelling at both Jasper and Garrett.

Lilly was pulling on Jasper’s arm, attempting to pull him away. My Dad turned back to me, placing his hands on my face touching his hand to my forehead; I could feel my mom’s hands on my shoulders.

Everything rushed back to me in a sudden skull splitting instant.

“Enough
,” I said, my voice projecting louder than I actually spoke, the sheer volume of my voice startled everyone in the room me included.

My dad stood to my right my mom behind me and slightly to my left. All eyes turned to me and every voice fell silent.

“Enough,” I said again this time it came out so softly you couldn’t even consider it a whisper.

Garrett and Jasper both looked at me and both stopped, even though they continued to glare at each other.

This was too much to take in after the gore I’d witnessed and participated in today. The shock that my father was alive and standing next to me, defending me as two men fought over me, well that was the cherry on my melted ice cream.

My Mom squeezed my shoulders in attempt to comfort me; she had always been my rock, my invariable in life.

I placed my hand on top of hers, fortifying myself. “This is not the time to do this,” I said looking at both Jasper and Garrett sternly, tossing a glance at Blaine, who had stayed seated throughout the whole episode, surprisingly.

“We just fought our first battle in this war; we’ve gained information and a little more insight about why all of this is happening. I appreciate your interest, but do you really think that now is the time for division? I like you both too, but there are people depending on us to win this thing and we can’t do that if you two plan on destroying each other. All you would be doing is helping the Militia in destroying one or two of the Seven! Now suck it up, you’re both adults, act like it. We’ve gained a lot tonight and lost a lot to
,” I said looking at Ben and Bethany with sympathy.

“I think it’s time to care for our wounded, question wounded the Militia has left behind, and get a plan going for some type of lookout duty. I know we have some precog’s, and gleaners, who are more than capable of looking from in here, I think a lot of people would feel better with some guards posted too. I know I would. They know where we are, or they may have known this entire time, why they choose to strike now is beyond me, but we have people showing up daily who have to be screened, we have training that needs to commence. There’s too much that needs to be done and this…” I said waving my hand in front of me toward Garrett and Jasper.

“Is uncalled for, it won’t make anyone like you more-- Either of you.”  My Dad smiled at me at how I diffused the situation, reminding not only Jasper and Garrett silent, but everyone in the room. We each had our part to play, our role that we were designed to take, now was not the time for silliness.

“I’m exhausted, if you all will excuse me, I’d like to go lie down
,” I said, walking toward the door with my parents following me.

I left everyone else stunned in Ben and Bethany’s apartments and I didn’t really care, everyone had a crazy day and I really believed that it was going to increase on the insanity level before things started to get better.

Mom and Dad walked with me to my room making small talk the entire way.

When we got to my room my dad smiled looking around. “This was your favorite spot as a kid; we used to spend hours in this one cave alone.” He smiled through his broken, swollen face.

“Really? I don’t remember that.” I frowned, squishing my face in concentration trying to pull up that memory.

He looked at me and laughed. “Seems fitting for you, now I know why you were drawn here, you’re surrounded by your elements. They call to you like the open air and a bon fire call to me.” He squeezed mom closer to his side as if he were afraid that at any given moment she would just disappear.

I was delighted we found each other again, no matter the circumstances of how or why we were separated, none of that mattered now.

I was just happy.

My mom and dad wrapped me in a hug, we all lingered there for a while before Mom and Dad went their own way for their much deserved private time together.

I turned to my bed utterly spent from the day, falling into the comfort of the room I had made mine in many different ways.

I was sleeping before I ever heard my latest visitor’s shoes echoing down the hallway.

CHAPTER
23

Someone was next to my bed. They stood over me watching me sleep as they paced back and forth.

I buried my head into my pillows pulling my knife out of its sheath.

“If you’ve come to make trouble I’ll blow you down the hall on your ass.” I calmly stated to my strange visitor.

I heard the visitor come and stand next to my bed once again.

“Well?” I said turning to see who it was, I lifted myself up sitting cross-legged.

I sat on my bed staring speechless at the man who had render me utterly defenseless on numerous occasions just by his nearness.

He sank to his knees before me, with the curtain now closed off from the only light source I couldn’t make out much in the dark except for his form.

“Garrett?” I asked hesitantly. He fell to his knees at the edge of my bed placing his head in my lap wrapping his arms around my waist.

I sat there shocked looking at his dimly lit face resting on my legs. His arms squeezed me tighter bringing me closer to him and making me release the breath I had been holding.

My head was spinning, how did he even know I was here? How had he found my room? My thoughts spun in my head I thought of Jasper and the argument that had happened not even half an hour ago.

What if Jasper showed up? Would they fight? Would I be able to stop them? I felt Garrett move, releasing me from his hold. I watched his shadowy form move to my lamp, how did he know it was there?

The lamp flickered to life, temporarily blinding me. I covered my face with my hands to hide my embarrassment just as much as to shield my eyes.

“What are you doing? You do realize that I was trying to go to sleep.” I said.

“You know why I’m here.” Garrett stated as if it were simply that obvious.

“Actually I don’t.” I said removing my face from my hand attempting to look at him standing over me.

“I’m here because it’s where I belong just like you and the others; I’m here because this is my place, just as much as anyone else’s here.” He said.

Well I guess it was that obvious I thought to myself. “You know that’s not what I meant. I meant why are you here, as in, in my room here especially after what I said.” I watched his face, as he thought about his answer.

I wondered if he would tell me the truth or attempt to lie to me. “I’m here in your room because…I can’t stop thinking about you. I need to be near you, it’s as if there’s something drawing me to you…something I can’t fight, something I don’t want to fight. I’ve been dreaming of you every night since we met in that gas station. I really don’t know what overcame me there and possessed me to act like I had with you there, or here for that matter. The need I feel to be with you is almost primal.” My heart pounded listening to him.

I stared at him, I wanted to respond my mouth went dry and my tongue felt like sandpaper. Garrett moved to the pool, sitting at its edge staring into it.

I struggled with myself whether I should stay where I was on my bed or go to him, when he began to speak again firmly gluing me where I sat yet again.

“I feel like I’ve known you all my life and the only thing I know about you really is your name, I know you’re one of the seven or someone who’s important to the cause or you wouldn’t have been in the room tonight, well maybe you would have considering your father was one of the two in question.” He paused pondering the different possibilities.

“Whatever the case may be, I only came to ask if you would consider spending some time with me, but that’s probably out of the question now that I seem like a weirdo.” He laughed.

“I’d love to
,” I interrupted him startling not only him but myself at my outburst.

I slapped my hand over my mouth as he turned to look at me from the edge of the pool. “I’d like that, but this is not a relationship, this is building a friendship
,” I said staring at my hands.

“You would? Even after I made a fool of myself numerous times and basically declared my love for you? You would still spend time with me and be my friend?” He asked.

My mouth dropped. I hadn’t thought he was declaring his love for me, a complete stranger. I didn’t know if I felt the same way he did. I wanted him near me, yes, but was I willing to forfeit something wonderful I could have with Jasper? I wasn’t so sure.

I stood trying to regain some measure of composure. “I’m going to be honest. I don’t know, or can’t say I feel the same as you do. Like I said before, this war thing; the Seven thing is a big deal and I really think we need to focus our efforts on that completely
,” I told him.

“Ever since I laid eyes on you I wanted to be near you, but this is crazy. I don’t know what this is; I always imagined love would be like a lightning strike. That you would just know when you had seen that one person, but…I don’t know
,” I looked up at him watching as he rose and walked slowly toward me, reaching out his hand to cup my cheek, brushing the hair out of my face with the other.

I looked into his beautiful eyes and felt as if I could see his soul, see the love, as if I could read his entire life from the depths of his unique eyes.

I slowly reached up my trembling hands to his face, feeling the gruffness of his stubble, watching his eyes close as a tear escaped down his cheek only to be swept away by my finger.

He opened his eyes and he crushed me to him hugging me before he got up and walked away.

              I woke up the next day smiling remembering the night before and that had happened, we won our first battle and my Dad was here.

I stretched out before getting up. I wanted, no, needed the confirmation that I hadn’t dreamt everything and wasn’t going crazy.

I jumped up stripped and washed quicker than I ever had before, throwing on some comfortable clothes pulling my hair into a bun I pulled my shoes on and ran to find my Dad.

Had I dreamt last night? I wondered.

I ran into Jasper just as I entered the common area, almost knocking him and myself over.

“Oh my gosh I am so sorry
,” I said embarrassed.

“No problem, I love it when beautiful women run into me especially you
,” I laughed nervously, at his playful nature.

“So--what’s the word of the day? Have you seen my Mom and Dad anywhere?” I asked brushing off the dirt and dust from my jeans.

“Your Dad is outside with Ben and Garrett.” He watched me as he said Garrett’s name.

“My Mom?” I asked trying to avoid the inevitable. I knew was coming. Jasper and I had spent a lot of time together, and I cared for him deeply, but the feelings I had for Garrett confused everything.

“With my Mom and Bethany.” He looked hurt and angry.

“Straight to the point today aren’t you
,” I said as I began walking by him toward the kitchen.

  I spun around to face him; I couldn’t just leave it like that.

“Jasper, I want you to know that I care about you…a lot, but I do like him too.” I looked from my shoes into his beautiful grey eyes, trying to gage his reaction.

He sighed; closing the gap between us, taking my hand in his bringing it to his lips as he gently brushed his lips across the top sending shivering pleasure shooting throughout my entire body.

How could one man...no, two men affect me so differently, yet the same?

“Reighlyn, I’m ‘supposed’ to ‘come around you’ any longer unless it is in a group or training.”

“Who on Earth told you that?” I asked after I had cut him off.

Jasper leaned forward kissing my cheek. I savored the feeling of his lips on my skin, breathing in his scent.

He was everything outdoors, he smelled of elements, and it was intoxicating. I leaned into him, rubbing my face on his shirt in almost a feline manner, wrapping my arms around him. I tried to tell him without words how much he meant to me, how lost I would be without him.

He broke our embrace so much sooner than I wanted smiling down at me, he turned and walked away.

I felt stunned stupid.

Who the hell told him that, and why would they want to keep him away from me?

I turned back around trying not to look at some of the others who had obviously heard and seen our PDA.

I walked toward the kitchen as quickly as I could without breaking into a full out run.

I needed my mom; I needed a girl talk after that I was defiantly going up top for some much needed training.

Hopefully I’ll be able to work myself into gaining some answers or maybe just exhaust myself beyond thinking about everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours.

I came around the corner to the kitchen hearing the women talking before I could see them.

I walked up to my mom who was helping kneed bread dough at the counter with Bethany, Lilly and a few other women.

“Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked.

I must have startled them; they all jumped at the sound of my voice.

My mom had her hand on her chest, leaving a flour print over her heart where her hand had rested.

“Dear lord girl, I thought I taught you better than to sneak up on old women
,” Mom said as she laughed.

“I’m sorry; I just really need to talk to you
,” I said.

“Well love, we already know what you need, or want to talk about...”
she said giggling. I hadn’t seen her giddy like this…ever. She had always been witty and fun, but she was on a whole other level which was most likely due to my Dads reinsertion into our lives.

“So do you think I’m doing the right thing?”

“Reighlyn, between the three of us you have years of experience at your disposal,” my mom said matter of factly.

I sighed seeing that insisting she go somewhere private to talk to me would be out of the question.

“So what do I do?” I asked.

She smiled at me, so did Lily and even Bethany, this was beyond awkward talking to my mother about to men who I cared for, while their mothers listened in.

Mom just looked at me waiting for me to continue.

“As you know these past weeks I’ve spent a lot of time with Jasper and I sure that everyone here knows that I really like him. He is amazing.” I sighed and shook my head at the craziness of this whole situation.

The worlds on the line yet here I am wondering which guy I like more.

“But, ever since we ran into Garrett at the Gas station in Texarkana…I don’t know I feel drawn to him. I don’t know what to do. I care about Jasper too. I don’t know what’s going to happen, with anything, and with us fighting now really fighting I kind of feel like I’m a fool for pushing them both away. I don’t know this is all so confusing and with everything else that has happened in the last twenty four hours I just really feel dumb and petty for even worrying about this when we have so much else to do and worry about
,” I said, more to my hands than to the women before me.

“Girl, Love chooses you, you don’t choose love, well…you choose to keep love alive in the face of great adversity but when it happens it happens, it’s not something you should fight. I understand you’re scared because of the path you are on right now but I will say this, you submit to God and your Husband just like you submit to your parents and you’re of the age now where you have and can make your own decisions, so unless someone asks you to marry them and you do, do not allow them to make any choices for you
,” Lilly said.

I was shocked by this piece of advice coming from her. I couldn’t believe I’d just spilt my guts to Garrett and Jaspers mothers as well as my own.

I sighed looking at them, laughing carefree; having fun despite the heartaches they’ve each experienced in life.

I knew that their advice was good, but ultimately I would have to make a decision.

“Well…I’m going up top; I’m going to work through some of this.” I hugged all three of them lingering just a little longer wrapped in my Mom’s embrace before I turned to head out in to the open air, feeling the elements calling to me like a friend opening their arms, comforting, loving, hoping for the best.

I thought of the rugged handsome man with bluish purple eyes who could melt me like butter in a hot pan with a simple glance.

Then there was Jasper, he was caring, compassionate and sweet. He lit fires that burned hot and slow, promising to consume you atom by atom until you were no longer you.

I sighed, walking down the long twisting hallway toward the open sky, needing to feel the sun on my skin the wind in my hair.

I needed to feel like me.