Banes (22 page)

She shook her head no actually I'm from a small place just south. Jal."

He smiled brightly, "Yes I've been actually once many years ago."

"Was there a diner on the outskirts?"

He laughed, "Yes Cookies. Yes, it’s a bit of a dive but the burgers are the best I've ever eaten. If I recall there was a sweaty man in the back who yelled at some lady. He seemed a bit feisty. You going there?"

She smiled brightly, "I am." Cookie was like a long lost relative for her. He was everything her uncle had been to her, before. She couldn’t wait to see him.

The man stopped, "This is your gate. You board in five minutes."

She smiled, "Thanks so much."

He bowed slightly, "It was my pleasure. Have a safe flight."

He turned and left her standing at the small gate with only a few chairs. She sat in one and waited for them to call boarding.

She tried not to think about the fact Lucas would never find her. They didn’t know where in New Mexico she had been from. She never had spoken about home with any of them in the new Ari's world. There would be no getting back to Portland, she didn’t have any money left. She had used the small amount of money she had to pay for the trip to Jal and had saved a small amount to get her through the first month of rent and food. She knew Cookie would give her a job, she hoped anyway.

The flight on the small charter plane was beyond frightening but it was fast and it seemed over before it had started. She got off the plane to the dry warm air like a sweet musk the desert air filled her nostrils and senses. She loved the feeling of the air and heat. She could feel the soaked awful feeling of the coastline leaving her as the warmth reached into her to dry her out.

She caught the transit from the airport, it was a coach line bus direct to Jal. She got off the bus at the stop breathing it all in. The town looked just as she recalled, nothing was different as far as she could see. She walked along the street smiling at people who looked at her like she was nuts. She saw Missy West who she had gone to high school with and waved. Missy looked at her like she had three heads and waved back awkwardly. Ari stopped herself and kept her eyes on the ground remembering no one knew her.

She walked to the outskirts of town and smiled looking up seeing the sign. It used to say Vince's but now it said Cookies. She nearly ran to the diner. It looked exactly the same, long like it were a doublewide trailer out in the middle of the dusty desert with wide wooden stairs in the middle of it. The sign was red and glowed in the night. She was exhausted from spending the night traveling but it had been worth it. She felt the exhaustion shake off as she ran up to the stairs and through the doorway.

The world stopped for her, everything froze as the smell of the diner filled her. She closed her eyes for the smallest of seconds letting it all wash over her. The million memories of a happy childhood filled with normalcy and love and kindness.

"Its not fancy sweetie, you just seat yourself."

She opened her eyes and smiled at Lorna, the waitress who had always worked there. She had long suspected her uncle and Lorna were more than friends.

"Hi, uhm okay thanks." She wanted to hug the older woman and dance around the diner. Fans were blowing the smells around the room.

She recognized every patron.

She sat at the bar where she'd spent her entire life sipping a shake after school listening to them all bicker and razz each other.

A man she didn’t recognize walked up and smirked at her in a way that crushed her fantasy life of being home, "Hey there beautiful what can I get you?"

She raised an eyebrow wondering if anyone else could see him. He looked about twenty-five with short blonde hair and very tanned skin.

She grimaced at him, "Wow what did you get fired from Jersey Shore?"

He laughed, "Spicy, I like spicy. You don’t look like you're from here either."

She nodded, "I'm from around here."

He shook his head, "Nope I'd say North West by the sound of that accent, maybe even Canadian."

She smiled, "You think you're pretty good don’t you?"

He nodded, "Chocolate shake and a chicken burger with cheese no fries?"

She laughed, "Okay have we met?"

He smiled too charmingly, "Yeah I feel the same way but I don’t think so. I'm from the East coast so unless you’ve been there."

She froze realizing exactly who he was. She'd met him once in New York at the Roses, when she'd been angry Ari. He was a shifter, a werecat of some sort. He left as she arrived. They'd met twice.

"Mitchell?" She asked softly.

He froze taking a step back still smiling, "We have met. Where?"

She froze, "Uhhh New York."

His face dropped, "New York, as in New York New York?"

She nodded, "I still want my shake dude."

He smirked, "What's your poison?"

She raised her hands and waved her fingers at him.

"Jazz hands?"

She burst out laughing, "Basically."

"Name?"

"Ari."

He smiled, "Holy shit, I've heard about you." His face lowered as did his voice, "Oh my god wait a minute have we met before in one of the other worlds you've made?"

She nodded.

"What you doing here?"

She looked around, "I was raised here, before."

"No shit?"

She shook her head liking him so much more, at least liking the fact she wasn’t completely alone.

"You know Cookie?"

"Yeah he worked for my uncle for a few years before." Her smile faded as she remembered, "Well before."

He put one of his huge tanned hands on hers, "It's going to be okay Ari. I'm going to assume you're on the lamb?"

"Yeah. I left. I keep messing it up for everyone. As long as I'm near them their lives keep getting turned upside down."

He frowned and pulled his hand back, "Oh I heard it like you couldn’t send us back. Just mess us up short term."

She laughed at the concerned expression on his face, "No I can't but I can alter their world by influencing humans involved with them. I won't send anyone here back don’t worry. I'm trying not to notice people."

"How's that working for you?"

She shook her head, "Not good. The girl in the corner is like thirteen and pregnant, the man at the table behind me is a drunk and maybe a drug addict and I know for a fact the guy in the red jacket is abusive to his wife. I could change it all."

"Heavy responsibility. On one hand you leave it knowing their lives will be ruined or you send them back and change every footprint they’ve made?"

"That’s it in a nutshell."

"Lemme get you the burger, food always makes me feel better."

She laughed, "That’s cause you're a shifter."

Lorna walked behind the counter interrupting their discussion, "Mitch lets keep the flirting to a minimum."

He smirked at Ari, "Oh she's an old friend Lorna. You're still my favorite girl."

Lorna looked at the ring on Ari's hand and smiled, "Oh yeah you went to the same college."

Ari blushed, "Oh uhm yeah. Same institutional training." She rolled her eyes casually.

Lorna smiled, "Well I pity a pretty girl like you being stuck listening to prince charming here day in and day out." She winked at Mitch who smiled handsomely. He was truly smoking hot, like all shifters. He was tall and built with short blond hair and a tan like he was a surfer. Ari imagined him to be quite the ladies man. His smile was electrifying with perfect teeth and juicy lips. He bit his lip watching Ari.

She shook her head smiling again under the heat of his gaze, "I can smell him on you ya know."

She looked up at him feeling frightened, "Who?"

"Lucas and a little Ben I think. That’s some kinky shit Ari."

She rolled her eyes, "Not as kinky as you think."

He reached forward and rubbed his thumb down her hand, "If you need any help getting rid of that smell you let me know."

She shivered and laughed nervously, "You are trouble. What I need is a job not another shifter boyfriend."

He shrugged, "Cookie is looking for a waitress. Lorna is leaving for the summer."

She spun around and brazenly asked Lorna who was waiting on the table behind her, "You're leaving for the summer? Where ya going?"

Lorna blushed, "Oh uhm my sisters' place in Arizona. She needs me to house sit for her. Why?"

Ari smiled brightly, "I need a job." Her voice came out squeaky realizing she had been too familiar with Lorna.

She spun back around and looked at Mitch, "Might want to dial it back a little."

She nodded, "Where's my food slacker?"

"Keep your shirt on, well unless you really want to take it off."

She shook her head again cussing under her breath knowing full well he could hear everything she said.

Chapter Twenty-Four- Like Father Like Daughter

Aimee

She arrived back at the house to check in with Lydia and felt it immediately. Something was up.

She walked in slowly still feeling the guards but wondering if someone had gotten through them and what she felt was Annabelle panicking. The ghost could haunt the house when she wanted to.

Aimee never made any noise as she walked into the kitchen to see Lydia sitting at the table with red eyes.

"Hey what's going on?"

Lydia shook her head sniffling, "Ari, she left today and I can't see her in the city and Lucas lost her at the airport."

Aimee could really have cared less, which earned her a glare from Lydia. She sat next to the older woman and hugged her tightly.

Lydia had grown very attached to Ari in the time she'd been at the house. Aimee had never really given her much of a chance, she couldn’t bear to listen to the constant religious dribble coming from her lips.

"Where are Luke and Ben?"

Lydia sobbed harder, "They attacked each other and blamed each other for her leaving. They left too. Everyone left."

"She sent me a text."

Aimee smelled him before he even got he words out.

She turned glaring at Dorian.

Lydia gasped, "You're her father?"

Aimee nodded, "That makes so much sense, those black soulless eyes."

Dorian dropped his eyes to the floor ashamed of himself, "I never knew. I dated her mother, uhm well obviously nineteen maybe twenty years ago. She looks nothing like the woman. Her mother died because of me. I have never actually had one get with child before. I've always been careful about that."

Aimee frowned unable to see him as the vulnerable saint he was trying to put off.

Lydia stood and walked to him, "It's an accident Dorian. It's been two decades. Nothing can be done about it now."

He sighed, "She messaged me to tell me I was her father. I ignored her. I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say."

Aimee felt sick, "She reached out to you after discovering she actually has a family member alive and you ignored her. Well at least you're consistent. I'd hate for you to try to convince us of your love for her when really we all know exactly the sort of man you are."

He snarled at her, "I brought you into this world Aimee."

She snarled back, "Try to take me out Dorian."

He was gone as quickly as he had appeared.

Lydia glared at her.

Aimee shrugged, "What can I do he's evil."

Lydia shook her head, "I can see inside of him, every secret. He isn’t evil. He's selfish."

Aimee hugged Lydia, "We'll find her. I'm sure Luke is sniffing every plane as we speak like some kind of bomb dog looking for the one she was on."

Lydia laughed at the image, "Yes well he does love her an awful lot. It's Ben I feel truly sad for. She sees him as a brother and nothing more."

Aimee thought about Aleks and the look on his face earlier and smiled, "She can't make herself love someone when she has given her heart away to someone else. Ben will find the girl he's supposed to be with."

Lydia scowled, "You didn’t?"

Aimee nodded, "I did."

"I'm sorry about your father Aimee."

Aimee bit her lip, "Me too. He's dying, it's my fault. I waited too long to be with him. He's been alone for so long. I'm going to move back and spend some time with him if it's all the same to you guys. I'll check in and I'll have my phone."

Lydia squeezed her hand, "of course my dear."

Aimee went to her room to gather her things. It bugged her Ari had left but she thought about the things that had gone on over the last few days and wondered if it wasn’t better for her to be gone.

Chapter Twenty-Five- Fresh Start in an Old Haunt

Ari

The sun set in the desert between two huge hills lighting the sand and dunes on fire. Ari felt at home. Her heart would always belong to Lucas, there was no getting over him. Even the simple flirting that had occurred between her and Mitch over the past few weeks of working together couldn't distract herself from the fact she was in love. She would always be in love.