Redheads are Soulless (8 page)

Eight

Nightmare

When I woke up the next morning, I couldn’t help b
ut smile. I was still being held
b
y Jason, and I couldn’t think of anywhere else in the world that I would rather be.

“Hey, princess,” I heard a
sarcastic
voice from behind me. I jumped when I saw Robbie standing in the doorway.

Jason was still asleep, but I still felt safe in his arms. I chose to ignore Robbie and lay my head ba
ck on my pillow. Not even he could
ruin my good mo
od
.

“I’m sorry… Good morning, Sofia,” he said sweetly
, but I could still hear the slightest bit of sarcasm
in his voice
. “You and lover boy over there should probably get up if you don’t want to be late for school.”

I sat up, and looked at the clock on the wall.

7:55
– if we didn’t leave
now
, we would be late. I shook Jason. “Wake up.”

He looked at me and smile
d. After he realized the time, we got up and got ready for school in record time.
We got to school five minutes late, but Mr. Franks
let us off with a warning
. I wondered if he would always take it easy on me.

The school had written the broken lights
, windows
and
glass
doors off as a
power surge
, as Jason had said. Everything was completely back to normal,
and
everybody had forgotten about our previous fight in the hallway.

Jason talked to the counselor
and had his schedule changed. He had every class with me now, but so did Robbie.
They both
charmed
all the teachers s
o they could sit beside me. With Robbie on one side and Jason on the other, it made for a very tense day of school.

Every time I looked over at Robbie, he would wink. I couldn’t help but look at him. The guy wanted me dead, and I wasn’t quite so sure he couldn’t kill me as long as Jason was with me.

“Why are you torturing me?” I finally asked Robbie at lunch as he sat down across from Jason and me.

He laughed a genuinely happy laugh. “Because, Red, it’s so much fun.”

My lunch tray started to rattle
, so
I pushed it down before anybody noticed. “I told you not to call me Red.”

“Maybe you should try some anger management classes. Or yoga,” he suggested.

“I don’t think
meditation
will help when it comes to you,” I smart
ed
off back to him. “All the prayer in the world wouldn’t be enough.”

He snored. “Not like it would do you any good to pray anyway. I’d love to see you try and walk into a church.”

“What do you mean?”

Jason touched my arm. “Don’t listen to him.”

Robbie continued. “Haven’t you heard, Red? You’re soulless. If you walk into a church, you will burn to death.”

I rolled my eyes. “I have a soul, unlike you.”

“Is that what your boyfriend told you?”

“Because it’s the truth,” Jason jumped in. “Seriously Robbie, I will not sit back while you torture Sofia. She is the most important person
in the world
to me. Don’t think for one minute I would hesitate to kill you for her.”

Robbie bit his nails. “Ooooh, I’m so scared.”
He glared at us both. “You have forgotten the part
where you don’t really care about her
.”
Robbie’s voice was full of hate, and I knew that he would not hesitate to kill me if given the chance. The thought scared me. I’m not ready to die. I haven’t even got
ten
the chance to live.

I tried to push back the tears that threatened to escape. I didn’t want Robbie to know that he scared me. I didn’t want him to know he has any effect over me.

I was thankful when the bell rang alerting us that lunch was over. I walked out of the cafeteria as quickly as I could, followed by Jason.

“I’m sorry about him,” he apologized. “
Robbie
is
kind of a bitter person.”

I just nodded my head, unsure of how to respond.

“He’s a liar, and he knows he’s getting to you, Sof. You can’t let him. You’ve got to fight it. I will protect you.”

“Can I really not pray or go to church?” the question came out in a whisper.

“Of course you can,” he laughed.

“Good. Cause I have a feeling I’m going to need a
lot of prayer when it comes to him
.”

After school
,
I didn’t go visit my mom. I just called her and let her know I wouldn’t be home
again
. She said it was
ok
, becau
se she would have company again as well. I had a sinking feeling that she wouldn’
t miss me, even if I never came home.
The thought saddened me more than I thought it would.

Everything had become overwhelming, and I was feeling a little depressed.
Jason said that he would take me out on Saturday to do something fun, and I found myself very much looking forward to the upcoming weekend.

On Thursday night, I cuddled with Jason on the couch while we watched a movie. Of course Robbie sat on the other side of me. As much as I tried to ignore him, it was impossible. I had never met anybody so persistent
, and annoying
before.

Jason got up to make some popcorn, as always, Robbie took it as his opportunity to annoy me. Maybe he thinks he can
annoy me to death
. I didn’t think it was possible, but
with him,
it may truly be.

“I can keep you warm while he’s gone,” Robbie winked at me. I felt his arm slip behind me on the couch.

I took his hand and threw it back to his side. “No thank you. I’d rather freeze.”

“Ouch.”

“Don’t pretend to be offended. You don’t care about me,” I said angrily.

“What makes you think I don’t care about you?” I could
n’t
tell
if
he was being sarcastic
, or honest
.
So I went with sarcastic.

“You want to
kill
me. If you cared about me, even a little, you wouldn’t kill me.”

He rolled his eyes. “
I don’t
want
to kill you.
It’s Jason who wants
to kill you.
But I may
have
to kill you.
Don’t act like you know something when you really have
no clue
, Sofie.”

“Why would you
have
to kill me?
”

“You know why
…
Because it’s the only way I can get this curse lifted.” I could
n’t
tell he was lying.

“What curse? You seem fine to me,” I answered. “Please, explain this curse to me. If my dad put it on you, maybe I can lift it.”

“Of course you can lift it,” he smiled
bitterly
. “Your death is the key to it all.”

“I don’t want to die.” My voice came out in a whisper. I didn’t want to admit my weakness to him, but I couldn’t help it.

“I don’t want you to die either.” His voice was so quiet, I was certain I had misunderstood him.
I didn’t have time to question either. Jason walked back in with the popcorn a
nd we resumed playing the movie, but after that I had a hard time concentrating.
I knew that there was more to me dying than just lifting some curse. I knew that even Jason didn’t know the truth, but I was going to figure it out. I ha
d
to.

…

That morning when I woke up, to my surprise, Robbie wasn’t standing in the doorway. I couldn’t help but smile. I rolled over to give Jason a kiss, and jumped when I seen Robbie lay in his place instead.
My heart beat franticly from the surprise.

“Where’s Jason?” I asked.
I tried to sound calm, but I could hear myself freaking out.

Robbie’s eyes stared at me. For a moment, I got lost in his caramel-colored eyes, the same color as Jason’
s, b
ut his eyes soon turned red. “Jason can’t come out and play,” he replied, followed by a deep laugh.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. My throat wouldn’t let me.
I tried to get up and run, but I couldn’t. I lay frozen in place and Robbie got closer.

“Sofie,” I heard a voice.

Suddenly, everything was really bright. I jumped when I saw Jason shaking me.

“Sofie?” he asked again.

I breathed deeply. “Sorry. I was just having a bad dream.”

Jason pulled me close to him, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Robbie standing in the doorway laughing softly.
I watched him as I let Jason hold me.

Robbie looked at me differently than I had ever seen him look at me before… He looked at me with
desire
. I quickly pushed the thought aside, and turned my attention away from him. There was no way he was feeling those kinds of feelings for me. That is just crazy.
The only desire he feels for me is the desire to murder me.

The rest of my Friday
crept
by
slow
ly
. Robbie wasn’t his normal sarcastic self. Instead
,
we all just sat there in awkward silence. Because of it, I felt more certain than ever th
at he was hiding something
about the curse – something that I planned to figure out as soon as I was given the opportunity.

So, Friday afternoon wh
ile Jason was in the shower, I decided to sneak
into the living room to talk to Robbie. Sure, it was probably dangerous, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me.

Curiosity killed the cat
, a voice warned me.

What a stupid saying
, I told it back.

As soon as I stepped into the hall, Robbie was standing there waiting. He had his arms crossed over his chest. Never before had I noticed how nice his biceps were.

“You’re being a bad girl,” he said in a flirty voice.

I cleared my throat, and silently hoped my cheeks weren’t blushing. “I know you’re hiding something,” I replied confidently.

“You know nothing. Just stay out of this. It isn’t your fight, Sof.”

“It
is
my fight. I’m the one who has to die,” I reminded him. I was shocked over the fact that he called me Sof instead of Red. It pleased me more than it should have
.

Robbie’s hand came up to my face, and he caressed my cheek softly. “Go back in there before Jason finds you with me.”

My heart beat erotically at his touch. I tried to ignore the butterflies that suddenly appeared. I backed away. “Goodbye, Robbie.”

Before he could respond, I opened the door, walked inside, and shut the door gently. I can’t let him affect me like this. He wants me
dead
, end of story.

For me, there won’
t be a happy ending – a
t
least not wit
h him.

Jason walked out of the bathroom, and I force
d a smile when I looked at him. His smile was genuine, and I couldn’t help the guilt I felt.

You did nothing wrong
, I reminded myself.

“I want to take you on a date tonight. No Robbie, just me and you.”

“I would like that a lot, actually, but do you think we can really ditch him?” I asked with a laugh.

“I already talked to him. He promised he would leave us alone tonight.”

“Wow,” I said surprised. “
Do t
hink he will follow through?”

“Probably
not
,” he admitted.
“But, I think he will leave us alone.”

“Stalk from a distance?”

Jason nodded his head, and we both laughed. It was going to be a great night, and nothing,
not
even Robbie, was going to ruin it for me.

Nine

Charming spell

Every time Jason held
my hand,
I silently wondered if Robbie
was watching. If he i
s,
i
s he jealous? Does he wish it were him with me instead?
Does he secretly want to touch me, kiss me even?
I mentally kicked myself. I had to stop thinking about him like that. He wants to kill me. Jason is the one who loves me. He is the only one who can keep me safe
.

I took a bite of my ice cream from Cold Stone, and all other thoughts were
instantly
erased.
Ice cream is really the
answer
to all of life’s problems.

I let the white chocolate chips slowly melt in my mouth. The taste was heavenly.

“I can’t believe you’ve never had Cold Stone ice cream before,” Jason was shocked after my confession.

“It’s amazing,” I admit
ted, taking another bite. Sweet C
ream ice cream, with strawberries, white chocolate chips
,
and cookie dough, all blended together and put in a chocolate dipped waffle cone
with sprinkles
.

I forced myself to take slow, small bites, but it was hard. It tasted so good, I w
anted to eat it all in one bite, but shoveling ice cream down
your throat isn’t exactly “lady
like”.

Jason held out a napkin. “You got some…” he cut off his sentence and wiped off my chin.

“Thanks,” I said
embarrassed
.

No matter how many times I was with Jason, I still got nervous
when I was around him. For those few
moment
s
, I forgot that Robbie was watching us, and it felt good
.

After we ate our ice cream, we headed back to Peckville and walked around the park.
Jason held my hand as we made our way to the swing set.

“I have a question, about what I am.”

“Ask away,” he encouraged me.

“Do all roggeras have red hair?”

He nodded. “Yes. Just like all
quartheras
have black hair.”

“Are there any other…
immortals
… like us?” I asked.

“As far as I know, we are the last of our kind in existence.”

“Why? What happened to everybody else? I thought we were immortal.”

Jason sighed. “We are, but we can still be killed. About a thousand years ago, there was a war, brought on by the
hortribue
s
.”

“What are the hortribues?” I asked.

“They are not important. They are all extinct. We fought back, and we won,” Jason said before pushing me on my swing.

As I moved back and forth, I looked at the ground thinking. I couldn’t just blow off what he said. I decided I should probably ask Robbie about them later on,
if
I get the chance.

Sneaking behind Jason’s back probably
i
sn
’t a smart idea
when it c
omes
to Robbie. He is a lot older than me, and a lot smarter. He could probably kill me before I had the chance to yell for help, but for some reason, I don’t think he will.

That’s probably his idea
, a voice warned me.
He wants you to trust him, and then he will kill you when you least expect it
.

I pushed the voice away. Either way, I need to know what I’m up against. If Jason won’t tell me, Robbie will.

But he could lie
.

But, he won’t.

“Was Robbie always a bad guy?” I asked.

Jason seemed stunned by my question. He hesitated before answering. “No. My brother has always been a very kind-hearted guy… Or at least he was, until about a thousand years ago
until the war started
. It was right around the time your dad put a curse on him.”

“Do you think the curse my dad put on him made him like this?” I didn’t want to believe that my dad would ever do anything so vile, but I had to know.

“No. I believe your dad put the curse on him after he turned to his
evil
ways,” he answered. “Your dad didn’t cause this.”

“What did?”

“I don’t know,” Jason shrugged. “I would give anything to have my brother back, but I truly believe the good in him is gone.”

“I can’t believe that.” My words shocked me. “Maybe there is something that we can do?”

He shook his head. “No, Sofia, I’ve tried everything. My brother is forever gone.” He looked at me for a moment, surprised. “Why would you want to help him anyway? Robbie was the one who killed your father.”

“I don’t know. I just… maybe I can see the good in him. I can see the potential.”

“My brother had
no
good left in him. He
is
a monster,”
Jason insisted. “You can’t let my brother’s lies get to you
. He is a very good manipulator.
D
on’t let him get to you
. Please fight it.”

“I will,” my voice sounded convincing enough, but I wasn’t sure if it was the truth. I didn’t know how hard I could fight it. I feared that Robbie was already in my head. I could feel him everywhere. In that moment, I knew exactly where he was. He was watching us from behind a big oak tree, about 50 feet from the swing set.
I allowed my eyes to glance in that direction, and I was right. He was right there, his red eyes looking back at me.

I knew that I should ask Jason for help, but I didn’t want help. I was under Robbie’s spell,
and I was starting to like
it.

“Are you ready to head back?” Jason asked.

I nodded. “Yes.”

On the way to his car, I held
his hand. He held open
the door for me, and I got in. He shut it behind me. After he walked around and got in the car, I started the conversation.

“So what are we going to do tomorrow?”
I asked as I flipped through the radio stations. There was nothing on, as always. The only kind o
f music they play in
Alabama is country. Annoyed, I just turned it off.

Jason just laughed at my annoyance. “Do you want to go ice skating again? I did promise to teach you.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I would like that.”

I would have t
o be crazy not to fall under Jason’s
charming spell.

He pulled me close to him, and gently kissed my lips. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Sof,” he said softly. “You really are my hope for the future. I look forward to everyday because I know you will be there. I won’t let him take you from me.”

Later that night, I let Jason hold me as he fell asleep. Once I was confident he was deep asleep, I gently pulled his arm off of me, and made my way out the door. As usual, Robbie was standing outside.

“Did you come to see how a
real man
would treat you in bed?” Robbie flirted.