Cancer: Book 5 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) (11 page)

‘Well, my dear, you have to follow your heart. That’s what I did with your mother. Sometimes I wonder why.’

I giggled as my mother hurried along next to us. ‘I heard that.’

‘I know you did, love. You bloody hear everything, don’t you?’ My father winked at me.

My parents had been together since they were teenagers. They loved each other dearly. That’s what I wanted. Someone that made my heart sing but also made me feel secure. I hadn’t been that way with John for at least a year.

‘You know what you have to do?’ my father asked as we came up into the street.

Shaking my head, I hugged myself as the wind whipped around me.

‘You have to let Henry know how you really feel. It’s not going to be easy. You didn’t tell him the truth. But I think you’ll be alright.’

My father patted my shoulder before striding off ahead. My mother pretended to snarl at his back but I knew better. He probably showed her his sweet side sometimes, when no one paid attention. I certainly had never heard such wise words from him. He was right, I had to tell Henry that I was in love with him.

Chapter Fourteen

‘I’ve been thinking,’ Matt said. ‘Maybe we rushed into this. I’m not sure I’m ready for a relationship. This whole Nick business, it’s got me questioning. I know you believe that I’m your soulmate but I’m not sure I can give you what you want.’

‘My brother said that to Pisces once,’ Derek blurted.

We sat in the back of the car outside the airport. Matt was about to get on a plane and go back to London. Derek had kindly given us a lift but now he interrupted a very important conversation.

‘Derek, can you give us a minute?’

‘But it’s my car,’ he said.

Matt opened the door to get out.

‘Okay, I’m going.’ Derek left us to it.

Matt settled on the back seat again. ‘I can see how much I’m upsetting you. I don’t want to do that.’

I couldn’t count the amount of times I swallowed, trying my hardest to keep tears from entering my eyes. It didn’t work. We didn’t work. Derek said that Antony had said the same words to Pisces. That meant he was running. Which was fine. Wasn’t that supposed to be part of the whole dynamic?

‘I need to let you go.’

I glanced down at the pale blue varnish on my nails. I couldn’t look him in the eye.

‘It’s not that I don’t want to be with you. Well, maybe it is. I don’t know.’

Meeting his gaze, I leant forward and kissed his cheek. He didn’t say anything. There was no need to.

‘I’ll be in contact,’ I said.

The air rushed out from his lungs before he climbed out of the car. He didn’t look back once as he got his stuff from the boot.

Tears trickled down my face as he said goodbye to Derek and walked into the terminal. My chest squeezed tighter than I had ever experienced. My stomach cramped. I had to hold my hand against it to ease the pain.

‘At least we can have a laugh now he’s gone,’ Derek said as he climbed back in.

I couldn’t help the cry of pain as it escaped my mouth. Derek froze, turning to look at me. I curled myself into a ball on the seat. The pain ran up and down me. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. My heart was literally cracking.

‘I don’t know what to say.’

The engine started. I was grateful that Derek ignored me on the journey home. There was nothing he could say. I just had to let it out. My whole body shook as tears poured from me, as noises and snorts escaped me.

‘This…hurts… Don’t ever fall in love.’ I managed to get out as the car stopped.

I tried to calm myself. Pulling back the tears was impossible. Getting up was impossible. Everything was impossible.

I heard movement but didn’t uncurl myself. A breeze ran over me as my door was opened and two strong arms wrapped around my body, pulling me out of the car. I covered my face as the smell of Derek filtered up my nose. He somehow managed to swing me into his arms. All I could do was feel. The split in my heart, the breeze on my skin. My stomach cramping and the whole of my body shaking.

‘What happened?’ someone asked.

I was moving. Light came through my fingers and touched my eyes. I squeezed them shut.

‘He broke her heart.’ Derek’s statement was blunt. Yet, so accurate.

The light changed. We must had moved into the villa. My body bounced as Derek carried me. Sobs still fell from me. The footsteps of shoes against lino was the only thing I could hear. Other than my own crying.

My body started to lower until it hit something soft. My bed. I wrapped my arms around myself and buried my head in the pillow. Someone pushed me towards the wall. An arm squeezed under my neck and the other came around my waist. A body wrapped around mine, cradling me against them. I didn’t acknowledge them. I could do nothing but cry.

*

My eyes were sticky as I tried to pull them open. Light blinded me when I managed to wrench them wide enough to see. Someone held me close. I smiled gently as I placed my hand over theirs. Their smell was different. Not like Matt’s.

‘How are you feeling?’

Derek. The pain of the day before came rushing through me. I squeezed his fingers in mine, pleased that he didn’t instantly pull away. I didn’t know why; I didn’t really know him.

‘Have you ever felt this?’ My voice croaked.

My back was against Derek’s chest. My head rested on his arm. It probably wasn’t the most comfortable position for him. I was cradled, like a little girl.

‘No. I don’t want to ever feel it.’

His chin rested on the top of my head. I didn’t dare move. The comfort was too much to break.

‘I hope you never do,’ I said, stroking his fingers. ‘Thank you.’

He squeezed me in his arms tightly for a second before letting go. Untangling himself, he stayed silent as he rolled off the bed. I stayed where I was as he moved across the room and left me to it. Why had he helped me so much?

The door opened again. ‘Do you want me to get a flight over to London and kill him?’

Only Leo would threaten the love of my life when I laid there, broken. Instead of trying to fix us, he was prepared to break us even more.

‘There’s no point.’ I turned and pulled myself from the bed. I still wore the same clothes from the day before.

‘I could just pay him back for the way he treated me. I’m not sure if I’ve ever really forgiven him for stabbing me with a knife.’ Leo leant against the doorframe. Crossing his arms, he rested his hands on his bulging tattooed biceps.

Shaking my head, I wiped my eyes. They were heavy, puffy and probably bright red. I didn’t want to look in a mirror. ‘You don’t have to do anything. It will work out eventually.’

Leo grinned.

‘Why you smiling?’ I asked.

Virgo came up behind him, punching him in the side so she could squeeze past. Leo scowled at her but moved anyway.

‘I’m smiling because I think it’s about time we went and sampled some of the Greek delights,’ Leo said as Virgo sat next to me.

‘I’m not sure Cancer is up for that. She needs to rest. We need to talk about our situation with Nick’s men.’ Virgo stroked my arm for a second before pulling away.

Leo screwed up his face. ‘Don’t be so prissy. The last thing Cancer needs is to worry about being captured. We need to go out and party. Have some fun.’ Leo clapped his hands, rubbing them together.

The thought of letting my hair down did appeal. If I had to feel the pain, surely I could try to drown it out?

‘Derek!’ Leo shouted. ‘We can go clubbing, can’t we? You’ll take care of us, won’t you?’

I heard Derek’s shout but couldn’t hear what he said. Leo left us to talk to our bodyguard.

‘What happened?’ Virgo didn’t need to explain her question.

‘He doesn’t want a relationship.’

It was what he had told me. For too long I had held onto the thought of him. It was time to let him go. There was no point in blaming him for everything. No point in trying to persuade someone to want me either.

‘He really is…’

I let myself smile. Virgo had managed to stop what she was about to say but I could guess. My sister would always stick up for me. I was sure that my siblings had suspicions about him anyway. No matter how much Matt tried to prove to them that he was no longer on Nick’s side, he would never succeed.

‘Derek said we can go if you disguise yourself.’ Leo came back into the room. He ran a couple of feet and jumped on the bed, making us bounce.

‘I’m not sure this is such a good idea. I thought we were going to try and be careful? They almost got Cancer yesterday. Are we not even going to talk about that?’

Virgo took my hand and pulled me to a stand. She was right, I had to shake it off. If I wanted to survive, I had work out how we were going to live.

‘You know you want to go out tonight. It doesn’t take all day to sort things out.’ Leo jumped on the bed, making the springs creak.

‘Don’t do that, Leo. You could break the mattress. Let’s go and talk sensibly,’ Virgo said.

I followed her into the kitchen. Derek poured tea as toast popped up.

‘You want to go out tonight?’ He handed me a steaming mug of tea.

I shrugged and shook my head at the same time. I could either stay indoors and wallow or go out and dance the night away.

‘Of course she does,’ Leo called, skipping into the room.

‘Can I ask one question?’ Virgo climbed onto a stool. ‘Why are we still here if Matt’s gone back to London?’

Derek buttered the toast and handed me the plate. I smiled at him, grateful that he was being so supportive. I had never realised how sensitive he could be.

‘She does have a point.’ Leo’s face was serious.

Now that Matt had told me he didn’t know whether or not he wanted to be with me, it didn’t make sense that we stayed in Greece. I could be with my brothers and sisters again. My mother and father. Maybe it was time to go home.

‘Let’s stay for a couple more days. I’ll ring your father and speak to him,’ Derek said.

I nodded, ignoring the toast that sat going cold on the breakfast bar. Virgo snatched a piece, knowing that I wouldn’t be eating. There was something about heartbreak that made you not want to put anything in your mouth.

‘I’m only going home if I’m allowed to go out tonight.’ Leo stole the other slice. Derek frowned at both of them but they knew me well.

‘I don’t know if that’s such good idea.’ Derek scratched his jaw.

‘Mate, you don’t need to protect me. I am the protector of myself. Just because I’m gorgeous, doesn’t mean everyone is trying kill me. Only those that are really jealous.’

I rolled my eyes, blinking when they stung. Virgo snorted in mock amusement. Derek didn’t say anything as he packed the breakfast away. No one ate much anyway.

‘Let’s go out for one night. I think it’s time to go home after that. Things didn’t go as planned.’ I stood and stared out of the window. The sun shone bright, glistening onto the water. Going over to the doors, I opened them and stepped outside. Pulling my top over my head and unbuttoning my jeans, I pushed them off. In my underwear, I ran and jumped into the pool. The water enveloped me as I let myself sink as far as I could go. Opening my eyes, I let my breath release from my lungs as I watched the sun ray’s reflection. Bubbles rose over my face. The cool liquid caressed my skin as I started to float up.

‘What is it with everybody? Why can’t we just have a normal conversation?’ I heard Virgo say as I broke through the surface.

They were standing by the side of the pool, watching me. All three of them.

‘What? Did you think I was going to kill myself or something?’ I laughed.

The fake sound echoed around us.

‘Have you decided that we’re going home?’ Derek asked.

He shoved his hands in his pockets but quickly pulled them out when I gestured at him. ‘Sorry.’

The others glanced between us, their eyebrows pulled low.

‘Derek has this habit of tucking his hands in his pockets and it annoys me,’ I said in way of explanation. ‘Yes. There’s no point in staying here. If Nick’s men are on the island, it’s better to go back home. It’s safer there, where we can be with everyone else.’

Leo and Virgo nodded. Derek smiled gently but looked away from me. Was he shy because we had shared a bed?

‘Sounds good to me.’ Leo dragged the chair to the edge of the pool and sat on it.

I swum to the side and held on. Derek rolled the bottom of his trousers to his knees and sat on the edge, letting his feet dangle in the pool next to me.

‘Yes. Let’s go home in the next couple of days. In the meantime, we need to let our hair down.’ Virgo rested her hand on the back of Leo’s chair.

‘You? Let your hair down?’ Leo joked.

They bantered between themselves, like they often did. More like bickered. Virgo didn’t really do banter.

‘Can was talk about the machine that they tried to grab you with yesterday?’ Derek said.

I waded nearer to him, trying my hardest to keep the image of Matt out of my head. ‘It was strange. I have no idea what it was. I was in too much of hurry to get out of it.’

Derek averted his gaze when I glanced up to see him eyeing my bra. He had never been as discreet as Matt.

‘I must admit, I didn’t have a chance to see what it was, either. When we ran out of the shop and saw you, we knew that you could take care of yourself. Especially when you turn into…water.’

The others stopped talking and started to listen. I smiled when Derek’s cheeks heated red. Now that I had caught him looking, he couldn’t help but keep dropping his eyes. My chest squeezed as an image of Matt came into my head. I bit back the tears that threatened to rise again. I had cried enough.

‘Cancer looks weird when she turns into water. As if she’s a puddle in mid-air that falls down to the ground. Weirdo,’ Leo stated.

My brother groaned when I pushed the water and splashed the bottom of his legs. He was about to stand up and kick water over me when Derek put a hand on his arm.

‘Leave her alone, mate.’