A Life Unexpected: Holly Nather Book One (Holly Nather Series) (10 page)

BRODY PULLS TO
the shoulder and turns around. I guess he knows of a spot. We drive around for what seems like forever, and I fall asleep.

“Holly, wake up. We are here,” Luke whispers in my ear, while brushing my cheek with his hand. I yawn and look out the window. It’s starting to get dark outside.

I get out of the vehicle and stretch, while looking at the thick patch of woods. All the guys start making camp, and once again—I feel useless. All of a sudden, with a point of Luke’s finger, there is a tent and then another one.

I watch as he walks over to his friends. They start concentrating really hard, and I figure they are putting that protective thingy around us again. I
hope
they are anyway. I feel awkward just standing here being so useless. I walk over to the SUV to get my bag, but everything is still super tiny. Well, I sure don’t have any magic to make them bigger. All I’m good for is causing the Poyen to come after us. Honestly, I’m surprised Brody, Mason and Jett haven’t left me on the side of the road somewhere.

After they are done, they create a fire that has big logs around it to sit on. It sure is convenient having people with magic around. We all sit down on the logs, and Luke wraps his jacket around me.

“Don’t you get cold too?” I ask.

“Yes. But I will be just fine.”

“Thanks. So, where does all of this come from? Does your magic steal it from somewhere or something?” I ask while putting a hotdog on the end of a stick, placing it over the fire.

Luke puts a hot dog on his stick and laughs. “Nope. Everything is created by our magic.”

While we are eating, there is a lot of small talk, laughing and joking with each other. They are all drinking beer, and I believe they’ve had too much. Well, besides Luke. He hasn’t drunk more than a few and isn’t acting like a dumb drunk like the others.

It is getting pretty late. I decide to go to the car to see if my bag is normal sized. I get up and Luke follows me. Thankfully, Luke makes all the stuff in the back normal size again. We get our things and go to the tent while the other guys continue to goof off. Brody sure loosens up when he’s drunk. I wonder why he is so uptight all of the time.

“After you,” Luke says as he moves out of the way so I can go into our tent.

“Thank you.” I walk in and put my things down. Looking up at Luke and scrunching my eyebrows, I ask, “Ummm…Could I have some privacy? I’m going to change into something warmer.”

“Of course,” He says with a smile as he zips the door shut.

I can hear Luke and the guys acting like typical college guys. Even though they have magic and are from another world, they are pretty normal. You would never know they were different if they didn’t tell you and show you their magic. And even though we’re on the run from the Poyen, tonight has actually been fun and more laid back than I expected. I’ve even gotten to know Luke a little better, and although I’m still being cautious about us, I don’t feel as worried about being with him. He truly is a great guy.

While I am sitting in the tent alone thinking about how me and Luke might actually be a good idea, something dawns on me. All of a sudden I feel extremely sick.
What the hell is wrong with me!?
I’m falling for someone I don’t belong with! I’ve been so dazed and in “la-la land”, that I haven’t actually thought about all of this. Until now. I’m the cause of all this trouble. I know Luke explained things to me and told me it’s better if he doesn’t marry Lana, but I’m beginning to agree with his dad. I cover my face with my hands and pull my knees to my chest. I have to come up with a plan. As much as this hurts, he can’t be with me. I need to end things before they go too far. If I feel the way I do about him now, those feelings will only get stronger with time. When Luke walks in, he hurries over to me. He kneels down beside me and puts his hands on my shoulders.

“What’s wrong? Listen, I know this is hard, but it will get better. I promise. What can I do to make this easier for you?”

“I’m just tired, Luke,” I lie.

“Let’s go to sleep. I had a vision earlier, and the Poyen are still searching, but the protection barrier is working properly. We are safe for now.” Suddenly a really big sleeping bag appears. He gets in and motions for me to get in with him. I get in and lay down.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong? I think you are more than tired.”

“I don’t know. I’m just confused. Everything is happening so fast. But, I’ll be okay.” I work up a fake smile and close my eyes. I’m tired, but not tired enough to stop my brain from thinking. I can still hear the guys outside, but can tell they are starting to settle down. I have to hurt Luke somehow, so he will never want to see me again. I have to somehow make him
so
mad that he will no longer feel the way he does about me. Maybe then the Poyen will get off his back about me and we can both move on with a normal life.

After I’m sure that Luke is asleep, I slip out of the sleeping bag and peek outside. All the guys are in their tents, except for Brody. He’s sitting by the fire, and it looks like he is keeping watch. I get out and quietly zip the tent closed behind me.

“Can’t sleep?” Brody asks, keeping his eyes on the fire.

I sit down next to him. “No. I need your help. But, can I trust you not to say anything? Like, keep a secret?” My hands are shaking, not only because I am cold, but I know what I’m about to do.
Hopefully,
Brody is still drunk enough to agree to this.

He looks at me with a confused expression. “Maybe. It depends on what it is.”

Whispering, so no one can hear me, I say, “This is going to sound crazy, but I have to do something. Luke and I aren’t right for each other. This can’t be right for us to be together, causing so much trouble in your world. He needs to marry Lana. He needs to make this right. Do you agree?”

Brody nods his head. “So, what is your plan? Don’t you love him?”

“I care about him. But, just because I have feelings for him doesn’t make this right. I’ve thought about running away, but he will just come after me. I don’t even know how to ask this. Would you be willing to hurt him?” Tears start flooding my eyes.

“I don’t know. If it could save our world, then I would probably consider it because he could hopefully, one day, forgive me. The Poyen will destroy our world if they take over. He and Lana have to be married. I tried to tell him this before we escaped. I agreed to have his back no matter what. I shouldn’t have agreed to that because now my own family is in danger because of all this. I thought I could keep him away from you. I thought he would come to his senses and go back. All of us did.”

“Okay, this is going to sound crazy. I think if we pretend to be into each other, it would hurt him enough to hate me.” Crying, I continue, “We can tell him this happened when you saved me from that gas station.” Why the hell am I crying? This shouldn’t matter to me! I shouldn’t even be falling for a guy so quickly like this! This is BEYOND stupid.

Brody stares at me as he thinks about it. “It might work. We can try. And we should make it like we’ve known each other for a while now and that I’ve been hiding it from him. He is going to hate me forever. But, I have to protect my world. My family is nothing in that world; they will be stripped of their magic by the Poyen if they get full control. I’ll do it. Just follow my lead.”

“Are you sure? Because why would I have met him if I was seeing you?”

Brody laughs a little and drink the last of his beer. “Because you’re a scandalous whore, and I am a horrible best friend.”

Tears fill my eyes. This is so wrong. “Okay.”

“Ready?”

I wipe my eyes. “No.”

He pats my back reassuringly. “You’re doing the right thing. Alright, get ready.”

I nod and look down at my feet.

“I REFUSE TO HIDE MY FEELINGS FOR YOU!!” Brody shouts as he stands up. Okay, that shocked the crap out of me! He is really good at acting.

“SHHH, keep it down or you’ll wake him up!” I say, playing along and make sure it is loud enough that everyone can hear.

“I don’t care! Everyone deserves to know what is going on between us. I can’t pretend that I don’t feel the way I do. I can’t stand seeing you with him! I know you don’t want to be with him either. You are only pretending to like him so he doesn’t get hurt and feel foolish for causing problems in our world!”

Now we have an audience. Jett and Mason come out of their tent, and their mouths are hanging wide open. When Brody is sure Luke is watching, he kisses me.

Anger sparks from each word as Luke yells. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?”

“We can’t hide our feelings for each other anymore. She has only been pretending with you!” Brody says with anger in his eyes.
Wow
,
did I mention he is really good at acting?

With the most hurt look I have ever seen, Luke asks in a low hurt tone, “Holly…is this true? When did this happen?”

I look down at my feet. I want to tell him this is a joke, but I can’t. “Yes. I didn’t know how to tell you. I’ve actually known Brody for a while now from classes at school. We both didn’t know how to tell you.” I want so badly to cry, but I have to keep a straight face.

Luke starts pacing frantically with fury and hurt all over his face. I want to run to him, and tell him this is all a lie. He closes his hand into a tight fist, walks up to Brody and punches him hard in the face. “You’re an ass, and I should kill you right now. But, I’m better than that, better than
you
. How could you not have told me this? No wonder you didn’t want me to meet her!”

My turn.
Luke walks over to me and lifts my head so my eyes can meet his. “How could you have done this to me? Why were you not honest with me when I have been so honest with you? Don’t you realize how hard it was for me to be so open with you and tell you I love you?! I risked so much for you!” Tears fill his eyes, and then he is gone.

I can still feel the warmth of his touch on my face and see the hurt in his eyes. I’ve crushed him. I then notice that Jett and Mason are gone too. I hate myself right now. I allowed myself to have feelings for someone way too fast, knowing it was never a good idea, and then crushed him. I’m such a bitch. I sit down next to Brody and ball up some snow to put it on his face where Luke punched him.

“I guess I better go after them. He is going to hate me forever, but I need to convince the other guys to talk him into marrying Lana,” Brody says while slowly sitting up and rubbing his jaw. “I’ll get you home to your parents.” I nod and get in his vehicle. He gets in the driver seat and turns the car on. I lose control of my emotions and start bawling.

“Are you okay?” Brody asks.

“No. I’m sorry for all this,” I say while still crying. It all seems so silly and surreal. Luke can’t possibly feel as strongly as he says he does. And the feelings I’m feeling for him are just my emotions being stupid. Nothing happens this fast.
Especially
love. I am so dumb for ever answering his text message the other night.

“I know it was the right thing to do. Luke doesn’t see the whole picture. He only sees you.”

“Do you think he will marry Lana?” I ask while tears steadily fall down my cheeks.

“Yes. I think Jett and Mason can convince him it is the right thing to do. He is also so hurt right now he will probably agree to it because he simply isn’t going to care one way or another.”

“I don’t understand, Brody?! How can Luke possibly claim that he loves me? We
just
met.” Brody doesn’t answer me right away. He looks deep in thought, as if he is battling with words in his mind.

“I can’t explain that to you. It is better that you just let it go. Move Luke as far from your mind as you possibly can. It’s complicated. What’s happening to you and your emotions you’ve only had to deal with for two days? Luke’s feelings for you have been for longer than you can possibly imagine. Damnit, I’ve already said too much. Just forget about him, Holly. It’s better this way.”

“That’s not a good enough answer.” I cross my arms over my chest and stare out the window.

“That is the only answer I can give to you. If you knew the truth about all of this, it would only make things harder for the both of you.”