Tale of Life (Essence Series #2) (28 page)

Weston sat down. “No.”

Calloway felt his heart fall. “What?”

“I can’t trust you, Calloway. While I admire what you tried to do, your actions are still unforgiveable. I can’t be—friends—with someone who would keep things from me.”

“But don’t you understand why I did it?”

“Yes,” she said. “But it doesn’t excuse your behavior. You act like you know what you’re doing but in reality you don’t have a clue. That is also unacceptable.”

Calloway dropped into his chair and placed his head in his hands, shielding his face from everyone at the table. Breccan and Easton sat in silence, saddened that their conversation had headed in such a devastating direction.

“How did you move through the camp anyway?” Weston asked. “They should have spotted you immediately.”

Calloway didn’t look at her, choosing to stare at the surface of the table in silence. Easton turned to her sister. “Well, we were caught a few times, but killed them before they could hurt us. They could even see us through walls.”

Weston nodded. “Well, that’s how they see. They see the essence in humans and that’s how they always know where you are. They can even see through solid barriers. I’m amazed that Calloway was able to listen to the meeting at all. The only aspect they can see of humans is their essence. Without it, they are practically blind.”

Calloway looked up and met the gaze of his friends. No words were spoken but he knew what they were thinking—Calloway didn’t have an essence.

Revelations

The drive home was spent in silence. Calloway stared outside the window but he didn’t see the neighborhood trees or the streetlights that lit the roadway, nor did he see the houses placed along the lawns—he didn’t see anything. Easton glanced at him in the rearview mirror every few minutes, studying his features in the darkness, but she said nothing.

When they reached the house, they left the car in the driveway and entered their dark home. All the lights were off and everyone on the block was asleep in their beds. Calloway wasn’t sure what time it was but he knew it was late. His aunt and uncle had been asleep for hours.

Calloway walked inside and sat on the couch, facing the blank television that reflected the light from the porch. Easton and Breccan sat next to him, saying nothing. Easton grabbed Calloway’s hand, holding it in her own.

The night couldn’t have gone any worse. Now he didn’t have an essence, the woman he loved trusted him even less, and Calloway didn’t have an After-life. The overwhelming grief piled on his shoulders and made him want to collapse, giving up the fight he had left inside him.

“So, this is what it feels like,” he said quietly.

Easton stroked his hand. “What?” she asked gently.

Calloway shook his head.
“Nothing.” He pulled his hand away from Easton’s and returned it to his lap. “I don’t want to see you anymore—either of you.”

“Why?” Easton asked. “You need us even more now.”

“No,” Calloway said firmly. “I want you to stay away from me.”

“We aren’t going to do that,” Easton said.

Calloway finally looked at her. “I’m a Hara-Kir. Don’t you get it? I’m dangerous and you need to stay away from me. Weston was right from the beginning—she’s always right.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Hara-Kir, Calloway. This doesn’t change anything between us,” she said.

“It doesn’t,” Breccan answered.

“Yes, it does!” Calloway snapped.

“You couldn’t be dangerous if you tried, Calloway,” Easton said. “And this doesn’t mean that you’re a Hara-Kir. There could be another explanation.”

“There is no other explanation!” Calloway shouted. “Hara-Kirs look human but they aren’t, just like me. They don’t have an essence—I don’t either. It is the only explanation. My father was a Hara-Kir and I am one, too.”

Easton shook her head. “I still think there’s more to this story.”

“There isn’t!” Calloway yelled. He rose to his feet and stared at his friends. “And I don’t want to see either of you anymore. I mean it.”

Easton stood up and met his gaze. “It doesn’t change anything, Calloway. Even if you are a Hara-Kir, does that mean you’re going to fight for the Anti-Life? Are you going to abandon us?”

“Of course not,” Calloway answered.

“Then knock it off!” Easton shouted. “We are your friends—Hara-Kir or not.”

Calloway shook his head. “I feel so stupid now. Weston was right from the beginning but I didn’t believe her. She saw me for who I really was, and she had every right not to trust me. I never should have fallen for her—there is absolutely no possibility of us ever being together. She would kill me if she knew the truth—that I’m a Hara-Kir.”

“We don’t know that.” Eason said. “You still had a human life—a human mother.”

“She was probably a Hara-Kir, too,” he said. “They flock to me because they want me to return to their side. Danger follows me everywhere I go. You would be stupid if you continued to be my friend.”

“Then we’re stupid,” Breccan said.

Calloway shook his head. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Easton rubbed his shoulder, sliding her hand gently down his arm. “It’s going to be okay, Calloway. You can still help the White Wing. In fact, you are invaluable to them now, acting as a spy for them.”

“Weston would never accept that,” Calloway said.

“Then we won’t tell her,” Easton said. “She doesn’t have to know. We know you’re good, Calloway. Revealing the revelation is unnecessary.”

“Did you not hear how angry she was that I hid so much from her?” Calloway asked. “I can’t do that again, especially with something this big, that I’m the enemy.”

“You aren’t the enemy!” Breccan snarled. “Stop saying that.”

“But I am!” Calloway answered. “Stab me in the heart and see if I die. That will determine if I really am a Hara-Kir.”

“And what if you die?” Easton asked.

“Then that would be even better,” Calloway snapped.

“Calloway!” Easton yelled. “Don’t talk like that!”

Calloway turned away from his two friends and left the house, moving across the grass to the street. Breccan and Easton followed him but they stopped at the end of the lawn. Calloway heard their whispers.

“Let him go,” Breccan said. “He needs to be alone.”

“No,” Easton said. “He needs to be with
us
.”

“He’ll realize that eventually.”

Calloway continued to move down the street, walking with his hands shoved in his pockets. He wasn’t sure where he was going or what he was leaving behind, but his feet continued to guide him forward. His mind was clouded with confusion and he felt the spasm of pain course through his body.

When he traveled to the Anti-Life he didn’t realize he wasn’t going somewhere new, but somewhere he had already been. It was his home and the revelation made him feel nauseated. It explained everything. Now he understood why the Hara-Kirs didn’t attack him—they knew he was one of their own. The Hara-Kir communicated with him at prom because he knew that Calloway was a Hara-Kir as well, since his essence was absent.

The fact that he didn’t have an essence, a soul, was the worst part. When his body reached the finality of age, his body would disintegrate and he would disappear from this life, seizing to exist for all eternity. Weston and his friends would travel to the After-Life but he would never join them—he wasn’t meant to. This knowledge brought him to tears and he let the drops fall down his face freely, knowing the darkness of night hid his depressed face from view.

He kept walking until he found himself in front of Weston’s house again. The lights were shining through her window and he wondered what she was doing this late at night. Was she just as upset as he was? Did she hate him now? He wasn’t sure why he was drawn to Weston in such a powerful way, especially since he wasn’t even human. Perhaps he was attracted to her essence and he wanted to claim it as his own, but then he dismissed the idea, disturbed for even thinking it. Calloway would never let her essence be compromised—
ever
. He stood in front of the house for a long time, not moving as he let his tears drip down his face. His friends were supportive and understanding, and Calloway knew the disturbing information wouldn’t change their friendship in any way, but he needed someone else to comfort him. Weston was the only thing he ever wanted, ever needed, even though he never understood why. The relationship he had with Beatrice had been a waste of time and he never should have dated her, not when his feelings for Weston were this powerful and unbreakable. There was no one else for him in this world—there would never be. The revelation made him sad. He needed her like plants needed water, wanted her like the earth needed the sky, but he couldn’t have her—
ever
. Calloway knew he needed to let her go, as impossible as that sounded.

Even though he was a Hara-Kir, he knew he would never side with the Anti-Life, even if that was his purpose. His complete allegiance was protecting the Life—that would never change.

Suddenly, the front door opened and Weston stepped onto the porch, her arms crossed over her chest. She stopped a few feet away from Calloway. She appeared so quickly that Calloway as unable to hide or run—he had been caught. He was standing in the dark, hidden in the shadows. He was surprised she detected his presence.

She shifted her weight and stared at him. “Why do you always come here?” she asked.

Calloway swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn’t wipe away his tears, unashamed of his emotions in front of Weston. “What do you mean?”

“I’m aware of everything around me, Calloway. Just because you are standing in darkness doesn’t mean I can’t see you.” The strands of brown hair fell over one shoulder, exposing the opposite one. Calloway stared at the thin night shirt that hung around her body. She was wearing shorts to bear the warm summer and he admired the toned muscles of her leg. Even from this distance, Calloway could see the blue irises of her eyes that shined in the darkness. She stepped closer to him with her arms still wrapped around her body. She didn’t seem angry or upset, just direct. “Why are you here?”

Calloway sighed, ashamed that he had been caught. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say. The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable, but now he had been caught lurking around her house late at night, like a stalker. Calloway felt horrible for making her wary of him. The sight would make anyone afraid.

Weston stepped closer to him, standing directly in front of him. “Why are you here?” she repeated. She gave him a hard look, commanding him to speak with just her powerful stare.

Calloway wiped his tears away. “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know.”

She stared at him for a moment, saying nothing.

“I’m sorry about everything,” Calloway said. “I apologize for yelling at you.” The tears still fell from his eyes and he wanted to be held, not have Weston stare at his broken frame while he collapsed in front of her.

Weston seemed to read his mind. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her, letting him rest his face in the crook of her neck. Calloway hugged her to his chest tightly and felt his body fall into the sanctuary of her arms. He immediately felt better, safe, in her embrace. He smelled the scent of her hair and felt the smooth skin under the shirt of her waist. She completed him in every way and he couldn’t help but feel happy when he held her. The tears finally stopped falling but she didn’t release her hold on him. She didn’t speak to him or try to comfort him with empty words, which Calloway was thankful. Just holding her was enough to thaw his frozen heart.

“I’m sorry about everything, Weston,” he said. He pulled away from her neck and placed his forehead against hers. “I’m so sorry.”

Weston sighed.
“Me too.”

“I need you to forgive me,” Calloway said.

“I can’t.”

“Please?” he begged. “I need you.”

“I know.” She ran her fingers through his hair and the touch made Calloway shiver. “But I’m sorry. This isn’t going to happen—ever.”

Calloway took a deep breath. “Why?”

“You know why,” she said. “I can’t trust you. You’re an enigma, Calloway.”

“I told you everything, Weston.”

“I know,” she said. “But that isn’t enough.”

Calloway sighed. He couldn’t describe the pain he felt at her rejection. It was too immense. A part of him knew she would reject his affections but he wasn’t prepared for the excruitiating pain. He wanted to argue with her, convince her that she should be with him, but he knew Weston well, better than anyone, and understood that the harder he tried, the more she would pull away. He took a deep breath and forced the words from his mouth. “Okay.”

He stared at the freckle in the corner of her mouth and knew he would never have the opportunity to kiss the skin he was enchanted by. Weston would never return his affection and Calloway knew it was for the best. Now that he was a Hara-Kir their relationship would never work. He could never hide something so tantamount, potentially dangerous, from her if she were his girlfriend. Calloway placed his hand on her cheek and felt the smooth skin under his fingertips. He stared at the freckle, and against his better judgment, he leaned in and kissed her gently on the corner of her mouth. She didn’t move away from his embrace and he let his lips linger on hers for a moment. Calloway felt the surge of emotions flow through him while he felt her mouth against his own. He had to force himself to break the touch.