Aven's Dream (34 page)

“I’ll pick you up at four?” she asked.

I noticed Will tense.

“What,
mon ami
?” Gen laughed at him. “You shall endure the pain if I borrow Aven for a few hours.”

She turned, and I watched as she walked gracefully from the room. Feeling Will’s lips at my ear, I shivered.

“How long do you think I can keep you here before your father calls the authorities?” he whispered.

“I
should
get back before he gets home from his dinner,” I offered weakly.

I looked down. For the first time, I actually wanted to escape this house, but it wasn’t Will I wanted to escape from. I wanted to escape the memory of James and his slate-gray eyes watching me. His hostility was worse than Vladimir Fidatov’s—because he belonged here with these other perfect creatures.

Me? I didn’t belong, and I never would.

F
rom my window, I watched as a sleek silver sports car pulled up in front of our house. Gen, as lithe and perfect as she had been the day before, began walking toward the house as Will grudgingly picked up my jacket and purse from the bed. My dad didn’t know Will was here, so Will wouldn’t be leaving through the front door.

“Have fun playing poker with the guys,” I smiled as he handed me my things. “But try not to take too much money from Sean. Please.”

I went on my tippy toes to kiss him just as Gen knocked on the front door. Will disappeared out the window as I bolted for the door. Beating my dad down the stairs, I opened the door just as he arrived behind me.

“Dad, this is Genevieve. Gen, this is my dad, Aaron.”

Gen flashed my dad a disarming smile and shook his hand.

“It’s good to meet you, Genevieve.”

“Likewise, Professor Casey.”

“Call me Aaron.”

She smiled.

“Everyone calls me Gen.”

“Do you go to school with Aven?” my dad asked.

“I will as of tomorrow. Will and I grew up together. I’m staying with him through the end of the year. I needed someone to go shopping with, and I’m just glad he was willing to let me borrow Aven for the day.”

I winced at her comment and stole a look at my dad. The last thing I needed was for him to flip out over the amount of time I was spending with Will—and that wasn’t counting all the nights he would never find out about.

“Well, I think Aven’s been shopping more times this weekend than the entire time we’ve lived here,” my dad said, patting his pockets absently.

He took out his wallet and handed me a few bills, shaking his head when I tried to hand them back.

“I don’t want to keep you two,” he said. “Gen, please feel free to come by any time. It’s good to know Aven has some girlfriends.”

Smirking at him, I opened the front door.

“It was a pleasure meeting you,” Gen said as we stepped out.

I looked back at my dad, hoping he hadn’t noticed the car across the street, but I could tell by the way he was staring that he was mentally calculating how much money it cost.

“Gen, do you guys own any low-key vehicles?” I asked as soon as we climbed into the low, cockpit-like seats.

“Yes, I’m driving one,” she said as she pulled away from the curb. “Why?”

“Because my dad’s going to think Will’s running a drug cartel.”

She turned off our street, and the car rocketed forward. I swallowed.

“You drive as fast as Will does,” I squeaked.

“Faster,” she smiled.

When we got to the freeway, the other cars looked like they were standing still as Gen’s car weaved between them.

“No offense, but your energy is quite delicious,” she said, punching the gas.

“Good to know that my fear is a tasty appetizer.”

“This also is the first time in ages I’ve had a girl to hang out with. Edmond has Will and James … when James isn’t being such a malcontent.”

I squirmed.

“I feel bad that I’m causing trouble between Will and him.”

After all, Will and the others had mostly likely been together for decades, even centuries, longer than I had even been alive. Gen looked over at me.

“Please! You can’t blame yourself for James’s tantrum. I’ve long felt that the two of them were having a competition to see who could be unhappy the longest. Now James is disappointed that he’s finally won.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t get it.”

“It’s a long story. Will didn’t say anything to you—about James?” she asked carefully.

“I thought it was just you and Edmond until yesterday,” I admitted.

“Then, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but it’s clear Will has found in you his
âme soeur
—”

“
Âme soeur
?” I asked.

“Soul mate.”

I looked down.

“You know he’s only known me for, like, less than a month, right?”

“You humans have such an interesting concept of time,” she said thoughtfully. “Do you believe you will feel differently about him next week?”

“Well, I
am
human,” I smiled. “We’re also fickle.”

Gen laughed.

“Yes, I’ll give you that.”

“What about you and Edmond?” I asked carefully.

“I knew I was meant to be with him from the moment I saw him.”

“Were you both … human when you met?”

She shook her head.

“Fortunately, no.”

“What do you mean
fortunately
?”

“It’s a thorny matter being so close to humans,” she said. “And it is particularly complicated that Will is obviously attracted to you in in a physical sense as well.”

“Obviously?” I swallowed, blushing.

“It leads to conflicting motivations. He’s attracted to you, but I believe he also enjoys your company. Otherwise, he would never …”

She glanced over at me.

“He would never what?” I prompted.

She shook her head and looked over at me again, smiling radiantly.

“My point is that things aren’t so simple between a human and a creature like us. Attraction and affection are in conflict with the craving we have for human energy. And that craving will always increase immeasurably with you so close. It has the potential to cloud his judgment, and given our strength …”

Gen reached into her pocket and pulled out a gold coin that looked like it was pirate treasure. Then she casually pinched it in half between her thumb and index finger like putty. She set the crumpled coin between us just before it turned to dust.

“He can’t for one second forget how fragile you are. I imagine he has to concentrate all the time when he’s with you, and it frightens him that he might lose control.”

Gen looked at my expression and smiled apologetically.

“Please don’t be afraid. He’ll never let you come out with me again.”

“You were going to tell me about James,” I reminded her, hoping to change the subject.

Sighing, Gen looked back at the road, her expression resigned.

“James wasn’t always as he is now. He, like Will, once was in love with a young human.” I swallowed, suddenly sure that this story wasn’t going to end well. “And then Vladimir Fidatov murdered her.”

I gasped, not prepared for exactly how bad James’s story was. Suddenly I felt compassion for this stranger, even if he did seem to hate me. I looked out the window, lost in thought.

“So James thinks history is repeating itself,” I said quietly a minute later. “He thinks Will is being stupid for wanting to be with me.”

“
Reckless
is the word James would use,” Gen pointed out. “It’s more than that, though, I believe. James is afraid that Will has found someone who loves him as much as he does her. And that would make James the only one who is alone.”

When Gen stepped from the driver’s seat, I realized that we were parked not far from the mall. She opened my door a second later.

“Come. Let’s shop, shall we?” she said brightly.

Getting out and following her from the parking structure, I thought about what she had said.
Reckless
. Was that what I was being? And was I going to suffer the same fate? As soon as we reached the mall, Gen kicked it into high gear, picking an endless number of outfits and dressing me up like a life-sized doll. When she started taking half of what I had tried on to the register, I shook my head.

“I can’t get all this stuff,” I said.

“You can argue as much as you would like with Will. I don’t negotiate.”

She paid for everything before handing me half of the bags to carry. Then, just when I thought she was done with me, she dragged me into a shoe store and watched as I tried on dozens of shoes. To my horror, she didn’t stop there. Next she hauled me to one of the cosmetics stores that I never went into. She purchased an intimidating supply of expensive makeup that I didn’t even know how to use. Unlike me, Gen didn’t need any cosmetic help. She was flawless.

By the time we finished, I was ready to collapse. I had officially done more shopping than I had since I started high school—and I was feeling every second of it. Barely dragging myself back to the car, I collapsed into the passenger seat and closed my eyes the minute we got there. By the time I opened my eyes again, we were parked on the street, and Gen was standing with the car door open. Getting out, I followed her down the street, looking at the various food carts lining the sidewalk until Gen stopped at one. I yawned, trying to snap out of my trance. She came back a few minutes later with a plate piled high with whipped cream.

“A crêpe,” she said, handing the plate to me with a plastic fork.

We walked until we found a bench, and I raised the fork to my mouth, taking a bite. The crepe was smothered in chocolate sauce beneath all the whipped cream. Tasty, but extremely sweet. When Gen handed me a cup with what I thought was water, I gulped it down.

“Ugh! I thought it was water. Sugar overload,” I said, setting the cup down on the bench.

“Do you feel better?” she asked.

I nodded, already feeling less exhausted.

“I’m sorry, Aven. It seems I’ve been draining you a bit without realizing it. And I can’t take you back on empty, or William will be less than pleased.”

“On empty? Ha, ha,” I smirked. “All right. So what happens when you actually mean to drain a person?”

Gen smiled, her copper eyes burning into mine as she reached out and took my free hand. I felt a rushing sensation, like I was falling. Suddenly Gen released me, catching my plate before I dropped it. She picked up the sickly sweet soda and handed it to me. I took a gulp and watched my hand shake as I set it back down. Leaning back on the bench, I finished my crepe in silence before getting up to look for a trashcan.

When we started walking back to Gen’s car, I tried to think of other questions to ask her while I had her alone. I was enjoying having someone I could talk to who would actually answer my questions—something I was going to have to bring up with Will.

“What was her name—the girl James was in love with?” I asked.

“Grace,” Gen said as she opened the driver’s side door. “Don’t mention her to him, please.”

I shook my head as I slipped into the passenger seat and put the bags in the tiny backseat.

“I wouldn’t.”

I knew what it was like to have to talk about someone you missed with your entire being. It was better to keep my mom’s memory close to my heart and not talk about the loss.

“Besides …” I said. “At this point, it’s unlikely I’ll meet James, right? It doesn’t seem like he’s too interested in meeting me at least.”

Gen looked over at me as she pulled out of the parking structure and turned toward the freeway.

“I think he’s afraid for you,” she said. “I don’t know if Will told you, but James was the only one of us to expose our secret to a human. And the person with whom he shared that secret died.” Her brow furrowed, and then she smiled. “However, Will is clearly intent on you becoming like us sooner rather than later.”

I froze and then looked toward the river as we passed over it. I hadn’t given much thought to it, mostly because I didn’t even know it was a possibility until Wednesday night. I shivered as I remembered Will’s words.

I’m not worried about corrupting you, Aven. I’m worried about
killing
you … or not being able to resist the impulse to take your humanity from you and turn you into what I am.

What was I supposed to believe now? Was Gen right? Did Will intend to change me into what they were? I wanted to change the subject—fast. I couldn’t let Gen know how nervous her last statement had made me. I had no idea what to think. I turned back to her and smiled.

“If you guys are going to the dance, when do we go shopping for your dress?”

Gen laughed.

“I’m sure I could find something, but I guess it couldn’t hurt to get another one. Next time, then.”

I spent the rest of the drive thinking up harmless questions to ask Gen. The drive to the mall, which had taken Lizzie more than an hour and a half, took Gen less than half the time. Still, the traffic on the freeway
was
much lighter on a Sunday evening than a Friday night. When Gen pulled up in front of my house, the Aston was already parked at the curb. I sighed. My dad’s old Volvo was starting to look out of place with the growing collection of exotic luxury cars parked out front.

“I’m surprised he didn’t come hunt us down in Portland,” Gen growled.

The front door of our house flew open, and Will flew toward us, opening my door and sweeping me out of the car before my dad had even reached the front door.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered into my hair.

I shivered as his breath brushed my neck. Gen, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, had already taken the bags from the trunk. My dad came rushing down the stairs when he saw the number of bags in Gen’s arms. She smiled and let him take a few. As soon as we stepped through the door, Darcy barreled out of the kitchen to investigate the newcomer. Then he sat down at her feet and wagged his tail.