Cursed (Book 1, The Watchers; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (10 page)

“Who was the first
boy you ever kissed?”

I could feel
Brand’s eyes on me awaiting my answer.  I looked to Abby and said, “One of my
best friends growing up, though I regret it happening now.”

Abby sat back in
her chair with her glass of white wine hanging in her hands studying my face
carefully.  “Why would you regret your first kiss? Was he a complete git about
it?”

“It ended our
friendship.”  It was painful to say the words out loud but oddly therapeutic. 
Telling a complete stranger one of my best and subsequently worst memories was
almost like purging myself of a stain on my heart.  If I could tell a stranger
something which had affected me so much the last couple of years, surely I was
ready to move on with my life.  I looked up at Brand and wondered if he had
come into my world at just the right moment.  Maybe now was the time to put my
past behind me and move forward.

“I think maybe
you’ve interrogated Lilly enough for one night, Abby,” Brand said while
starting to clear the table.

I picked up my
plate to help but Brand shooed Abby and I outside while he handled the
cleaning.

When we went
outside, Abby picked her guitar back up and started to play me a song she said
she wrote herself.

“You know,” she
said after playing her song, strumming the strings of her guitar lightly. 
“I’ve never seen Brand this excited about anyone before.”  She looked at me and
smiled.  “I like seeing him this way.  I hope things work out between the two
of you.”

“That’s nice of
you to say.  I guess we’ll just have to see where things lead,” I shrugged. 
“We haven’t known each other very long.”

“Well, I can
assure you he’s pretty much putty in your hands already.”

Brand came out a
little bit later with a bag full of jumbo marshmallows, Hershey chocolate bars
and graham crackers.  He stoked the fire in the pit and we made s’mores.  It
was one of the most perfect nights of my life.

At around seven,
Abby made her goodbyes to us and gave me a wink and a smile as she left to go back
to her own home down the road.

“Don’t do anything
I wouldn’t do,” she teased over her shoulder before heading around the corner
of the house to her car.

Brand and I were
finally alone.  He pulled me closer to him on the sofa and we watched the fire
blaze before us in complete, contented silence.

“So, how many
serious boyfriends have you had since Will?”

I could feel the
blood rush to my cheeks and being the attentive person he was, Brand noticed.

“You have got to
be kidding me,” he said with such astonishment it surprised me.  “Will’s the
only one?”

I shrugged my
shoulders helplessly.  “The guys in my high school never showed much interest
in me.”

“Well they must
have all been blind fools not to notice you.”

The earnest way
Brand made his statement made me feel good, if slightly embarrassed.  No one
had ever lavished me with the attention and total adoration he did so readily. 
Where exactly had he been two years ago when I desperately needed someone like
him in my life?

I leaned my head
against his broad shoulder and felt the warmth of his skin underneath his crisp
white shirt.

“Lilly…”

I looked up at
Brand waiting for him to continue.

“Do you still care
for Will?”

His question
caught me off guard.  I leaned back from him and tried to quickly sort through
my feelings for Will before answering. 

“I’ll always care
about him,” I said.  “We grew up together.  There’s a connection there that can
never be broken.”

“That’s not really
what I was asking,” Brand said slightly frustrated but still patient.  “Do you
still care for him romantically is what I meant?”

Did I?  I’d dreamt
so often in the past few years of Will being the one I would eventually marry,
have kids with and share my life with.  Even when he was being a complete jerk,
I hoped the Will I had fallen in love with would come back to me one day.  But
do you tell your new boyfriend that type of thing?

“I honestly don’t
know, Brand,” I could see his controlled disappointment.  “I don’t want to sit
here and lie to you by saying I don’t still have some feelings for him.  But,
you have to realize I’ve known Will all my life and you for only a week.  A
great week,” I smiled at him with unabashed happiness.  “I can’t even tell you
the last time I’ve felt this happy.”

“Then I have a
chance?”

“More than a chance,”
I said leaning against his shoulder once more. 

My eyes drifted
across the fire pit to the forest surrounding Brand’s home.  I could see small
specks of light flying this way and that in the thick foliage.

“Are those
fireflies?” I asked sitting up a bit straighter, trying to focus on the small
lightning bugs.

“Would you like to
go see them?” he asked me.

I nodded and he
took my hand leading out to the woodland forest.  I’d never seen fireflies up
close before. 

When we got
closer, I cupped one in my hands and watched its little tail illuminate my
palms.  The fly hovered around me and soon landed on my hand.  Before I knew
it, there must have been a hundred fireflies all over my body.  I imagined I
resembled something like a Christmas tree.

I looked at
Brand.  “What are they doing?”

He shook his head
in amazement.  “I’ve seen a lot of things, but I’ve never seen that happen
before.  They’re attracted to you for some reason.”

I tried to think
of what I might have on which would attract fireflies.  I wasn’t wearing any
perfume so that was out of the question.  Maybe it was my bath soap or
detergent.  Whatever the reason, I was having fun watching my own legion of
insects following my every move.

“Sorry to
interrupt…”

I jumped at the
sound of the strange female voice and the fireflies scattered back into the
forest.  Brand turned his head to look at the interloper of our fun but didn’t
seem surprised by the intrusion.

I looked toward
the fire pit and saw the woman the voice belonged to.  She was tall with short
blonde hair and wore a skin tight red dress.  Her heals were so high I imagined
myself trying to walk in them and quickly visualized me tripping and breaking
my neck. 

“Hello Izzi,”
Brand called back to the woman.  He took my hand and escorted me back to greet
his new guest.  “I see you got my message.”

“Yes,” she said as
we came to stand on the other side of the fire pit from her.  “I came as soon
as I could.”

I could feel
Izzi’s eyes on me.  They traveled from my shoes to my hair in a quick, appraising
way which made me feel like I was being judged.  I felt uncomfortable under her
scrutiny especially since I was only dressed in blue jeans, sneakers and a
button down shirt.

“Lilly, Izzi and I
have some business we need to discuss.  Would you mind waiting in the house
while we talk?”

“Actually, I think
I should get home.”

“All right.”

I was a little
disappointed Brand didn’t put up more of a fight to make me stay, but I didn’t
feel comfortable waiting in the house while he talked to Ms. Playmate of the Year
either.

Brand walked me to
my car and promised to call me the next day to see if I was free for another
date.  I started my car and drove off wondering what type of business Brand
would have with someone like Izzi.

It’s never a good
sign when your car radio shuts off all by itself and your lights start to blink
off and on.  I had just enough time to pull off to the side of the dirt road
before the car completely died underneath me.  Cursing under my breath, I got
out of the car and tried to decide which way to walk.  Looking around, I could
see lights shimmering through the pine trees not far from where I stood.  It
had to be Abby’s house. 

It was pitch black
outside.  After a bit of stumbling around in the dark, I finally made it to her
front door.  I could hear the melody of classical music playing inside.  I
knocked on the wooden front door and waited for an answer.  When none came, I
peered inside one of the windows to see if I could see her.  Not seeing anyone,
I tested the door and found it to be unlocked.  Crossing the threshold
tentatively, I called out, “Abby!”

The music was much
louder inside the house. The interior of Abby’s home was just like her: open
and full of cheer.  They had put up dry wall on the inside which was painted
beige.  The furnishings were completely fitting of an old style country home
with pink gingham and white being the main colors used.  The ceiling appeared
to be the original roof of the barn but it had been stained and varnished to a
glossy shine.  There was a black iron circular staircase which connected the
first floor to the second landing.  I could see the loft area since no walls
had been erected on the second floor to hide it from the first.  It looked like
it was Abby’s bedroom.

I’m not sure what
music was playing throughout the house but it was so beautiful it completely
put me at ease.  I still couldn’t see Abby anywhere but I did see what looked
like a set of stairs leading to a basement.  It was probably where she was
since she hadn’t heard my knock or calling of her name.

I walked over to
the head of the stairs which were just off the kitchen area.  I was about to
head down them when I heard what sounded like a growl.  It wasn’t like a dog’s
growl exactly but more like what I would imagine a bear making.  The next thing
I heard were a pair of feet running on the basement floor in my direction. 
Within just a few moments, I saw Rose Marie run up the stairs towards me like a
bat out of hell.

“What are you
doing here?”  She demanded gruffly.

I was a bit taken
aback by her tone.  Had I done something wrong?

“I was just
looking for Abby,” I said trying to justify my barging in without being
invited.  It certainly wasn’t something I would normally do but this was an
emergency.  “My car broke down.  I was hoping she could help me out.”

Rose Marie took me
roughly by the arm and practically dragged me to the door. “I’ll call Mister
Cole and tell him to come get you.  You should just wait by your car.”

Before I could say
anything else, I was rudely deposited on Abby’s porch with the door slammed
shut behind me.

What the hell had
just happened?  Why had Rose Marie been so rude and what the hell had made that
animal noise in Abby’s basement?

 I stumbled back
to my car and waited for Brand.  It only took a few minutes before I saw the
lights of his Porsche come barreling down the road.

  “Hey,” he said,
“what happened?”

  I told him the
symptoms of my car trouble. 

  “Probably the
alternator,” he predicted.  “Come on, I’ll drive you home.  Carl can fix almost
anything.  I’ll have him look at it in the morning.”

  I climbed into
his car.  When we got to the end of his driveway and merged onto the highway,
he turned to me and asked, “Is something else wrong?  You’re awfully quiet.”

  “I think I did
something I wasn’t supposed to,” I admitted.  “Rose Marie was really mad when
she saw me inside Abby’s house.”

  “Don’t worry. 
You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said reassuringly.  “You did what any normal
person would do in your situation.”

  I sat silently
for a moment, unsure if I should ask my next question.  But, curiosity got the
best of me.

  “Does Abby keep
a bear in the basement?”

  Brand chuckled. 
“A bear?  Why would you ask that?”

  “I heard
something that sounded like a bear down there.”

  “It was probably
just the TV.  She has a projection TV down there.”

  “Oh.”  I sensed
Brand was holding something back from me but I didn’t want to push the matter
any further.  I had been the one trespassing in someone else’s home after all. 

  “I didn’t see
Abby.  Where was she?”

  “Probably out
skinny dipping in the lake, she likes doing that sort of thing.”

  I don’t know
why, but I had the feeling I was being lied to just then.  I didn’t like it.

  When we pulled
up in front of my apartment, Brand turned to me and handed me something black
and thin.

  “Would you mind
taking this so I can reach you more easily?  I don’t think campus security
appreciated me using them as my personal messenger service the other day, and I
would feel a lot better if you had a way to contact someone if you ever have
car trouble again.”

I looked at the
phone in my hands. 

“I can’t take
this.  It’s too expensive.”  I handed the phone back.

“Please, Lilly. 
It would put my mind at ease knowing you have it.”

“Well at least let
me pay for the monthly bill.  I can do that much.”

“Ok, it’s $15 a
month.”

“There’s no way
it’s that cheap.  I priced these things before I started school.  It’s at least
$70 a month.”

“For the first
phone yes, but this is like the fifth phone on my plan and it’s only $15 a
month.”

“All right, if
that’s all you’re going to let me pay, at least it’s something.” 

I felt funny
taking a phone from Brand, but I couldn’t deny it would make me feel safer to
have a way to contact people in case of an emergency, like tonight.

“I’ve already programmed
my home and cell phone numbers in there for you.”

“Thanks.”  When I
glanced at the window of my apartment, I saw Tara standing there yawning,
watching us.

“There’s Tara.  I better go in and let her know what’s going on.  I’ll call you tomorrow.” 

“Carl will
probably have your car diagnosed by morning” he said as I got out of the car.

I told him I would
call when I got up the next day.

Chapter 6