The Thousand Year Curse (The Curse Books) (11 page)

"It's really beautiful." I tuck a piece of hair out from behind my ear and hide a little. The conversation halts and it's awkward so I feel the need to fill the silence. "So what instruments do you play?" I ask him noticing his face instantly light up.

"I can play pretty much any instrument." He says with a hint of cockiness as he winks at me. I hate it when guys are cocky, but for some weird reason he makes it hot.
 

"You're lying." I say to him. His eyes stay locked on mine. In fact his eyes are so intensely stuck on me that I'm embarrassed by the attention.
 

The progress of our relationship makes me optimistic we can be friends even though deep down, I know I want more than that. I can settle for friends though—for now. Gazing into his blue eyes is hypnotizing. I want to be the only one who gets to stare into them. There is more to Ollie than meets the eye. I want to know his deepest secrets and trust him with mine.

Junior comes back to the cabin with two guys flanking him that I've never seen before. One introduces himself as Dimitri and the other, Cristos. Dimitri is hot, hot, hot—in a foreign way. He has long dark hair, pulled back in a low pony tail with chocolate brown eyes and a flawless complexion.
 

Cristos is more rugged with a hairy face—a short trimmed beard. He has an athletic build but his muscles are hidden behind baggy clothes. He seems shy. Even as I inspect him his eyes never meet mine.
 

"Who's this?" Dimitri asks walking deeper into the cabin. "I'd sure like to taste those." He whispers in my ear, his eyes falling onto my lips as he passes me. I gape at him noticing the sly grin on his face. He shoots me a wink before I turn away embarrassed. Cristos punches his shoulder scolding him it seems like.
 

"Keep dreaming, creep." I mutter before following closely behind Junior as he makes his way down the basement stairs.
 

"So-rry." Dimitri mutters making me stop on the stairs to eavesdrop.
 

"That's Eurydice, you dick. Don't treat her like one of you girls!" A loud crash and some shuffling come from upstairs. Ollie said Eurydice—what the hell is going on?

"Dude, sorry. I didn't know." Dimirti mutters, his voice getting farther and farther away.
 

"Did you tell Ollie my real name?" I ask Junior when I give up listening at the door and move down to the basement.
 

"Nope. Why?" Junior starts pounding on the drums, not caring about a single thing other than the music. God, it must be nice not to have a care in the world.
 

"Never mind" I say to myself ignoring the weird feeling I have in my gut.

The boys join us downstairs soon after and I listen to them play songs all day long. Dimitri never looks my way again—neither of us addressing the situation. Ollie seems a little tense but once he gets on the guitar, it all fades away.

At about five o'clock I can't take it anymore. I excuse myself telling Ollie it's time for me to go home. My head is pounding and I need to decompress.
 

"See you tomorrow?" He asks me. I can tell he doesn't want me to leave yet.

"Yeah, I'll see you at school." I answer turning to go a little defeated. His arm reaches out latching on to my waist. He spins me around and we come face to face merely inches away from each other. My heart spikes into my throat and I can't anticipate what he's going to do. My stomach flutters and I don't know whether I'm freaking out or waiting for a kiss.

We both freeze, our eyes locked on to each other. I search them for any hint of his next move but only see the blue in his eyes glimmer in the sunset.
 

Ollie leans in to my side so I tilt my face up towards him. He takes one hand off my waist bringing it up on my face as his fingers brush along my upper cheekbone.
 

He leans in and kisses my cheek. I could swear that it is something more. Even though his lips rest strictly on my cheek, the passion behind them sends chills up my spine. This is the most romantic kiss I've ever had—and it's on my cheek. I melt into his arms hoping it never ends.
 

"Goodbye, Ryder." Ollie whispers into my ear, tucking strands of my hair behind it. He smiles while I go crazy inside wanting to push myself onto him. I smile the best I can conjure up and walk out the door in a foggy daze.
 

CHAPTER SIX

home sweet home

I pull into my driveway and take a long awaited deep breath. The past twenty four hours have been extremely weird and insane since my life has gone haywire but finally I'm home.
 

When I walk in the front door, my dad is sitting in the living room watching the Giants game. Thank God because he won't drill into me too hard. I stand behind him hugging him over the back of the couch. I give him a quick kiss on the cheek and walk to the kitchen, wanting food. I grab a soda and some chips and head back into the living room.

"So how was your night, pumpkin?" Dad asks me as he lunges for my chips. I laugh and pull them away but he gives me puppy dog eyes so I let him take a couple.
 

"It was okay. I had to babysit Junior all night." I explain to him, rolling my eyes. I grab a handful of chips and shove them into my mouth while plopping myself on the couch beside dad.
 

"Just another Saturday, huh?" He jokes with me while keeping his eyes glued to the TV.
 

"Yup." Days like this make me extra thankful to have such a cool dad. Any other parent would think I was out drinking and sleeping with guys but he doesn't.
 

A commercial comes on so dad turns his attention away from the TV and onto me. He has the paternal worried gleam in his eyes letting me know 'the talk' is coming.
 

"You know Ryder, you should do something for yourself." He states staring at me so long and hard. I can almost see his crows feet lengthen.
 

"Okay, dad." I humor him.

"You're always watching over Junior. You need to let go." He stares me down with those parental eyes again.

"I'm fine dad, really. I don't mind." I mouth back grabbing more chips to distract us both. I see him gearing up for another attack from the corner of my eye.
 

"Okay, but you worry me." He says before focusing back on the TV. The commercial is over and so is the conversation, thankfully.

"O-kayyyy." I say sarcastically. "So, are you going out with Cindy?" I ask changing the subject completely, knowing it will throw him off.
 

"Ryder. Come on!" Dad says as he grabs my shoulder and pulls me into him. He kisses the top of my head and we settle into the game—in silence.
 

I finally go up to my room at half time, for the first time since coming home. I drop my bag and tear my shoes off before flopping on my bed and letting myself breathe for a couple minutes. I let my mind and my body relax. I decide to shower since I hate showering in the morning before school. Five thirty is way too early for me to wake up. Plus the weather is getting cold and acting up—can't have my hair frizzing out.
 

The shower is refreshing. The water's hot, exactly the way I like it. I start to think about Ollie—the way he looked when he was playing his guitar. I remember the song he played, the sad one he played over and over. I had the crazy dream afterwards and the dream before that was even weirder.

They are starting to freak me out. The dreams are so vivid like they happened in real life. Obviously they didn't since that's even more far fetched.
 

I haven't ever left Connecticut so I've never been to either place. Recalling every book or movie I've seen, the settings aren't familiar. I don't think my imagination is good at all but it must be. I can't think of any other explanation.
 

I try to focus on Ollie's beautiful eyes—the way they lock on mine. That kiss was filled with so much emotion both passionate and breathtaking. It left my legs feeling wobbly. It was everything I could have imagined yet it was a simple peck on the cheek.

I have to hide my feelings about him. I've been hiding in my shell for the past couple years. I've hid my tears from Becca. I've hid being bullied from my dad. I've pretended to be happy for Junior. I can do this.
 

I finish up my shower and head back to my room to get dressed. I put on some comfy pajamas and brush my hair. I throw my wet hair up into a bun and sit at my desk.
 

I have to write down the weird things going on in my journal. For some reason I feel like if I write it down, it will make sense, somehow it will all come together.
 

Sept 7

Green eyes at party (A-something)

Vision about girl dying and Ollie and A there

Threw myself and Junior across the room. Felt weird—buzzing. Hurt my head.

I keep feeling dizzy and vision fades to black.

I quickly scrawl down the weird stuff that I can remember from the past day. I don't want to think of anything anymore. I need to completely clear my mind. My brain is on super overdrive showing no signs of stopping. All of the dreams, the weird things, Ollie, it's too much to handle.
 

I turn on the TV over my dresser remembering my favorite show is on at nine. Checking the clock, I see it's only eight forty which leaves me plenty of time before my show. I run downstairs to say goodnight to dad but he's already passed out on the sofa.

When I go into back into my room I notice the air has changed. Unsure of what is different, my gaze sweeps the room. Everything is in the exact same spot I left it. I was only gone a minute.
 

The curtains around my window flutter in the wind and my skin pricks from the chill. I panic. The window is open.
 

A blood red rose and a note are dangling off my window sill partly covered by the curtains. I'm confused how it got here since I'm on the second floor so I peer out to see if the person is still lingering. They're not and the world is quiet. It's eerily still outside with a clear sky.
 

 
I take the note and rose inside, placing them both on my desk. I run back over to close the lock on the window, thinking some creep is probably peeking at me. I return to the note.
 

I hold the paper, staring at the words on the envelope. Ryder. I don't know who would do this. I'm scared to open the fold. With a swift tear, I rip it open before my brain tells me to throw it away.
 

I hope my friends didn't scare you off.
 

I'd love to go out tomorrow night with you. Seven?
 

Say yes.
 

I'll see you in class. Text me.

Love,

O

What the hell!
Love
O
. How can I not read into this? I read over his cell phone number wondering if it's real or if this is some cruel joke. The rose itself seems boyfriend like—flowers are a romantic gesture. Don't red roses mean surrender or love or something.

He made this so complicated. Obviously I'm going to say yes. How could I not go out with this beautiful man? This is my chance. I have to do this right. I have to open myself up and grow up. This is what I've been waiting for—fate.

Do I text him or is that too forward? Will I seem desperate? How the hell do I even respond to this? I would wait to respond in class but I don't want school to be awkward. I shove my head into my hands and inwardly groan.
 

I decide I'm going to just text him and get this conversation over with. Texting's perfect because he won't know how excited I actually am. If I tell him at school, I'll get all nervous and blush and he'll know he has me in the bag. Shouldn't I be playing hard to get or something? I suck at this stuff. I need a girl friend to tell me what to do.
 

seven is good :)

The text seems perfect to me. I'm saying yes but not in a desperate way. I put a smiley at the end so that makes the message seem like I'm happy but not too happy.