Crushed (12 page)

“What does that mean?”

He sighed, and his warm, coffee-scented breath caressed her face. “Let’s just say that getting involved with you would really complicate my life. I’ve been trying hard to keep from falling for you.”

Her lips slowly formed the word, “Oh.”

“On the other hand, a little complication could be fun. I am finding it very hard to just be friends with you.” He leaned forward and brushed his mouth against hers in a teasing kiss.

A few catcalls disturbed the air around them. The warning bell rang, and for a moment, she thought it was the alarm going off in her head.

He added, “I guess we need to get to class, unless you want to ditch school with me and take another ride.”

It was tempting.

She had promised herself to have more fun this year.

She shrugged and smiled. “I guess we could do that.”

Zach stroked a hand down her bare arm, sending shivers up her spine. “I’ve tried so hard to stay away from you, but I just can’t do it anymore. Maybe you should come to my house and meet my sister.”

Sister
! Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. That was the big secret he’d been hiding? He had a sister? Relief weakened Kristen’s knees. Her legs turned to jelly, and she held onto his arm.  With a big smile, she said, “Sounds great.”

“Let’s go before someone stops us.”

He took her hand and pulled her through the glass doors. They walked across the parking lot together. Fortunately, it was empty. Everyone was inside, hurrying to their first class. She just hoped no one spotted them from a window. The last thing she needed at this point was to get kicked out of school.

Zach asked, “Do you want to drive?

She shook her head.

She climbed on the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. Relaxed now, she rested her cheek against his spine. Being with Zach felt incredible. All her problems melted away, and she temporarily forgot Brittany. She was going to meet Zach’s sister. He was allowing her into his life. What could go wrong?

###

Zach lived in a house that brought every scary movie Kristen had ever watched to the forefront of her mind. It was a huge, Tudor-style home with white stucco, dark brown trim, and a rock foundation. Add to that the diamond-cut windows and ivy crawling up the sides, and you had a place that made you shudder just to look at it. It answered at least one of Kristen’s questions—Zach definitely came from money.

He opened the massive front door and waved her inside. She stepped past him into the foyer and forgot how to breathe. It was beautiful. A crystal chandelier glowed with golden light above their heads. A hand-carved staircase traveled up one wall. There were expensive paintings and pricey antiques along the other walls. She was almost afraid to move for fear she might break something.

“Wow,” she said.

He grinned. “Glad you like it.”

“Will you give me the tour?”

“Sure. But first, I’d better introduce you to my sister. She’ll freak out if she hears voices.” His expression and mood sobered as he explained, “My sister is handicapped. She may look twenty, but she’s got the mind of a child. That’s why I didn’t want anyone to know about her. She doesn’t like strangers, and I don’t want her to get upset.”

Kristen slid her hand into his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The trust he had in her filled her with awe. Meeting his sister was an honor he hadn’t bestowed on anyone else. “One of my cousins has a handicap, too.”

“She doesn’t like to be touched, so be careful about that. I’ll go get her. Stay here. I need a few minutes to prepare her to meet you.”

Kristen nodded.

Zach walked away, allowing the house to devour him.

While he was gone, Kristen drifted into the room on the left. It was being used as a study. There was a huge stone fireplace, and the pictures on the mantle caught her attention. She inspected each one closely, even though it made her feel somewhat snoopy. There was one of Zach’s parents—at least, that’s who she assumed they were. They looked like nice, regular people, big smiles and warm eyes. There was a picture of him and his sister. The girl had dark hair and dark eyes, no smile. There was something missing from those eyes, something vitally essential.

Between the pictures were angels carved out of wood. They were so lifelike that her breath caught in her throat. She lifted one and examined it. Amazing. The angel had such a serene expression, half-closed eyes with a dreamy smile. She wondered where Zach had found them.

Maybe they had belonged to his mother.

“Who are you?” a cold, mechanical voice asked from somewhere behind her.

Startled, Kristen gasped and dropped the angel. Fortunately, it was made out of wood, not glass, so it bounced on the floor without breaking. She swung around to find the dark-haired girl from the photos standing there, teddy bear dangling from one hand. The neutral expression on her face mirrored the one in the photograph.

Kristen looked to the open doorway, hoping Zach would appear, but he didn’t. Clearly, he hadn’t been able to talk to his sister.

“I… I’m Kristen Noah, a friend of Zach’s. He’s looking for you so he can introduce us.”

“Zach doesn’t have friends. He keeps to himself. He told me he has to lay low. He keeps to himself. Talking to people is dangerous. Who are you? Why are you here?”

There was a definite challenge in the tone of voice. Kristen looked at the doorway again, desperate to see Zach’s face. She didn’t want to upset the girl. Zach might not forgive her.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Zach and I are brand-new friends.”

“Zach doesn’t bring people home with him.” Suspicious, the sister moved closer to Kristen. “He doesn’t have friends. Zach doesn’t bring people home with him.” Her dark eyes raked Kristen from head to toe. “And he doesn’t like it when people touch his stuff. Are you a burglar? If you are, I have the right to defend myself. Zach told me we’re allowed to defend ourselves.”

“I’m not a burglar.”

“Burglars break into people’s homes. They get shot because people have the right to defend themselves. Zach says we aren’t supposed to hurt people, but we have to defend ourselves. I wrote it down in my notebook.”

Kristen forced a smile. “That’s good. It’s good to write things down so you’ll remember.”

Morgan stared at Kristen in silence.

Kristen shifted from one foot to the other, uncomfortable.

“There you are,” Zach said from the doorway. He moved to stand next to Morgan. “Have you met Kristen? This is my sister Morgan, and this is Kristen Noah. I hope you two will become good friends.”

“You’re home early again. You aren’t supposed to be home until a few minutes after three. It’s only nine o’clock now. Are you going to have snack with me at ten?”

“Well, I’ll stay for a snack if Kristen wants to join us.”

“I don’t want her here,” Morgan said, body rigid. Her voice started cold and flat, but by the time she reached the last word it had steadily grown louder. “Make her go.”

“That isn’t very nice, Morgan.”

She glared at Kristen while hugging her brother close, a possessive flare in her eyes. “I don’t care. I don’t like her. Bear doesn’t like her, either. Make her go away. Then we can have a snack together.”

She ran out of the room and up the stairs. The door slammed shut above them a few seconds later. Zach gave Kristen an apologetic smile. “That actually went better than I thought it would. I’m going to talk to her. I’ll be back in a second.”

Kristen waited alone in the expensively furnished room. She found the girl’s notebook and flipped through it, reading a few of the entries. Apparently, Morgan felt like she had to write everything down. There were lists of things to do, stuff that Zach had told her, and a few detailed entries on what Zach did when he left the house.

Did Zach know his sister liked to spy on him?

She had followed him to the club and seen him with Kristen on their second date. The girl wasn’t as helpless or as clueless as she pretended to be. She’d known who Kristen was when she’d questioned her. Two sets of footsteps tromped down the stairs. They were coming back. Kristen tossed the notebook back on the table and went to stand by the fireplace again.

Morgan entered the room ahead of her brother. In a robotic voice, she said, “Kristen, we want you to have snack with us at ten.”

Zach gestured for Kristen to respond to his sister’s forced invitation.

“Thank you,” she said. “I would love to have snack with you.”

Morgan’s smile changed, becoming slightly malicious. “Then maybe you and I can play a game.”

Game? A shiver raced up Kristen’s spine. There was knowledge glittering in the cold depths of the other girl’s eyes. This girl wasn’t just ill, she was off her rocker. Kristen had no doubt that if Morgan could kill her and get away with it, she would.

Zach stood there smiling, completely oblivious.

“I don’t think your sister likes me very much,” Kristen said as they took a walk through the woods behind Zach’s house. There wasn’t another person for miles. He owned two-hundred-plus acres. It was weird to think everything in sight belonged to him. There wasn’t another person for miles. Little Morgan didn’t like visitors.

Kristen tried to keep her tone light. They weren’t at the point in their relationship yet where she could tell him the truth about a close relative, especially not the sister he obviously adored. She peeked at him from beneath lowered lashes, checking his expression.

He shook his head and smiled. “You just aren’t used to how she acts. She doesn’t like or dislike anyone. Remember the movie
Rain Man
? That’s Morgan, except for the freaky number thing. She can’t do that.”

The trees parted on a clearing overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. There was an old, red barn in the center. It looked like one of those picture-perfect calendar photos. For a moment, Kristen forgot about the crazy sister. She felt like an explorer making an amazing discovery. Her lips parted on a soft gasp. “I wish I had my camera.”

Zach gave her a doubtful look. “Are you kidding me? You’d want a picture of that?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s old and falling apart.”

She smiled and took him by the hand, pulling him towards the building. “Where is your sense of adventure? Let’s have a closer look.”

“Are you sure? The guy who sold me the land said no one has used it for over a decade. It might not be safe.”

“Hey, I thought I was the one who worried over nothing.” She grinned before ushering him closer. Walking behind him, she pushed him to the large opening while laughing. “You’re big and strong. I trust you to protect me.”

He returned her smile. In a quick role-reversal, he spun around, wrapped his arms around her, and put her in front of him. They stepped into the old building together. “It stinks in here,” he grumbled, his smile evaporating.

Kristen tried hard not to wrinkle her nose. Yes, it did smell, but it was nice to have Zach alone. She wanted to share her fears and frustrations with him. So much had happened since the last time they’d spoken. “Everything has been crashing down around me for the last few weeks.”

“I noticed. Gina has been working overtime to get to you. I don’t know what her problem is, and I can’t believe your sister is helping her. I think siblings should have each other’s backs, no matter what.”

Kristen wished she could tell him the truth about Brittany, the game, and her powers. If he knew what she was dealing with, how her sister was a dangerous witch, he would finally understand what was truly going on. Maybe he could help her think of a way out of it.

But she couldn’t tell him. He would either think she was insane or lying. Then there were the dreams to consider. He was going to accuse her someday and steal her powers away. As much as she wanted to trust him, she couldn’t.

“Brittany will come around eventually. She always does.”

Zach rubbed his hands down the length of both of her arms in a comforting gesture. “We can’t choose our relatives.”

“What about you and Morgan? You seem to get along.”

He made a face. “She’s the only family I have left, and she needs me. But sometimes, honestly, I just want to put her in a box and ship her as far away from me as I possibly can.”

Changing the subject to a happier one, she asked, “Where did you find those amazing angels on the fireplace?”

With a laugh, he pulled Kristen into a tight embrace. “Let’s not talk about that right now. We should take advantage of this rare moment.”

“What do you mean?”

His voice fell to a whisper. “We’re alone.”

“Yeah. I noticed that.”

“Scared?”

“Of you?” She laughed, thinking about how silly she’d been to ever believe he was horrible or dangerous. Now when she gazed into those blue eyes, she only saw the good in him. “Of course not.”

“You never have to be afraid of me. I will always take care of you.” His eyes dropped to her mouth while his fingers caressed her face. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve been wanting to kiss you?”

She blushed. “Me too.”

“All through snack time, while Morgan was going on and on about nothing, I just kept thinking how I wanted to reach over the table and take your face between my hands like this.” He demonstrated. “And kiss you breathless, like this.”

His mouth covered hers in a kiss that seared what was left of her brain. She couldn’t think; she could only feel. Her lips parted beneath his on a blissful sigh, and she marveled at the tenderness of his touch. It was hard to believe this was the same guy she’d recently hated.

A groaning sound filled her ears. For a moment, she thought the sound was coming from Zach, but it grew louder, more insistent. It was a bad sound, the sound of impending doom. Fear coursed through her veins.

They broke apart in confusion.

As if by mutual consent, their eyes traveled upward. The terrible noise magnified a hundredfold. A large, single beam directly over their heads seemed to be the only thing holding the barn up. It snapped while Kristen was staring up at it. The decrepit roof was going to fall on them. There wasn’t time to move, wasn’t time to run. It was over. They were going to be crushed.

Kristen’s eyes went to Zach’s. There wasn’t time for her to tell him how important he was to her. She thought she might actually be in love with him. Now he would never know.

Zach grabbed her.

He couldn’t possibly protect her from the collapsing barn, but the fact that he was willing to try made her love him even more. The words stuck in her throat. Instead of getting hit by something, she felt as if she were playing that silly kid game where you twirled around and around until you almost passed out. It was like she was flying through the air with nothing to hold on to except for Zach’s warm body.

Then she was falling, and Zach’s comforting presence was gone.

She screamed. The ground rushed up to meet her, and her body slammed against it. A cloud of dust momentarily distorted her vision. Eyes open, she scrambled to her feet and found herself no longer inside the barn. They were back in the woods. Her mind headed for a total meltdown. She yelled, “What the hell! What’s going on? How did we get out here?”

Zach was on his knees a few feet from her. His eyes were glued to her as if he were afraid to look away. He stood up slowly, hands out like he was trying to calm a frightened animal. “It’s okay. Don’t be upset. I can explain.”

“Explain what?
You
did this? How?”

“Let’s just say you aren’t the only one in Sol Moreno with powers.”

A dark fear, worse than anything she’d experienced before, seeped into her bones and clouded her judgment. She had
trusted
him. Total betrayal rocked her senses. Unable to breathe, she just stood there, staring at him in shock. His words rolled over her a second time.

“Wait a second,” she said. “How long have you known about me?”

His gaze dropped to the ground.

“How long?” she shouted.

With a frown, he admitted, “I figured it out a few weeks after starting at Titan. I saw Cyndi blow colorful dust into a boy’s face. Then that kid started following her around, doing everything she asked him to. It was obvious to me, at least.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because then you would have known that I was like you. I’m hiding from the witches’ council because of Morgan. I couldn’t afford for you to notice me. And anyway, I thought you were a psychotic, stuck-up witch with delusions of grandeur. So I avoided you for as long as I could.”

“Until I blew the dust into
your
face.” Her skin crawled at the memory of how he’d behaved after she’d crushed him. That whole time he’d been playing a game with her. “You lied to me.”

He gawked at her, disbelief written all over his face. “
Excuse me
? You lied to me first! And you tried to use me, make me into your little puppet boy. I was going to blow your butt out of the water and accuse you in front of the whole damn school that day, but…”

The blood drained from her face. “Why didn’t you?”

“I went home to vent so my anger wouldn’t explode and destroy the whole block. After I got myself under control, I realized I couldn’t do it. I don’t want the council to know Morgan is with me. Then, when I got back to school, I found you fighting with Gina. You were so strong, so determined to beat her down.

“When you turned those beautiful eyes in my direction and demanded my jacket, I couldn’t resist. For a while, I thought I might actually be enchanted. It took time to figure out I just wanted to be near you. I was under a different sort of spell.”

On any other day, his words would have filled her with such unimaginable joy she would have been floating ten feet in the air, but she couldn’t get past the lies and the betrayal. Then, there was the crazy power he had. She had never seen anything like it.

“How did you do it?” she asked. “I’ve never even heard of someone who could do what you just did. My grandmother is the most powerful witch I know, and she can’t do anything close.”

“I can explain.” He took a step in her direction.

Kristen automatically backed away, arms raised and fists clenched. She spread her legs in a fighting stance as she thought of a spell, something that would knock him off balance so she could get away. He was dangerous—that was crystal clear. Anyone who could pop from one place to another was capable of anything. He might be able to make the ground open and swallow her. Maybe he could even wipe her memory clean so she wouldn’t remember this conversation.

“Stay away from me,” she said. “I mean it.”

“You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

“Right. So says the boy with the wicked power.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you.”

She didn’t believe him. The Zach she’d thought she knew didn’t exist. He had been playing a part the entire time, laughing at her behind her back because she had believed she was in control. Memories surfaced one after another, all the times she’d spent with him. None of it had been real.

“What was the plan?” she asked. “Were you going to play games with me, make me fall for you, and then accuse me in front of half the school?”

His dark brows drew together. When he answered her, his voice was quiet. “No. I was going to get you to fall for me so you would remove the spell and I could return to my normal life. But that was before I got to know you. You aren’t like any other girl I’ve ever met.”

“What is the big master plan now?”

“There is no plan.” He moved another step closer. “You have to listen to me. I think I might be in love with you.”

Claiming to love her was the last straw. Without warning she took off through the woods as fast as she could, legs and arms pumping, fear adding to her speed. She wasn’t running from Zach; she was running from a stranger with a familiar face. He had lied and manipulated her. As far as she was concerned, he was worse than Jake.

“Kristen, stop!” His feet pounded the hard earth behind her.

He was chasing her.

In a full-on panic, she pushed herself to run faster. Kristen looked over her shoulder as she tore through the woods. She didn’t hear him anymore, and she didn’t see him, either. There were only trees. She tripped over an exposed root and went down hard, scraping her knees and the palms of her hands. The fall knocked the breath out of her. Around her, the woods got deathly quiet. No birds chirped. No insects buzzed. She glanced up and saw the reason why.

There, a few short yards from her face, was the wolf from the other night. She was almost certain it was the same animal, although that didn’t make any sense. They were miles from the place she’d last come across it, and how could it possibly know where to find her?

Every muscle in her body froze. She didn’t dare breathe as their eyes connected and held. Her mind tried to work quickly and find a way out of this mess. She searched her brain for a good spell, but before she could come up with anything, the wolf changed. It transformed in front of her eyes, going from wolf to boy in mere seconds.

Zach stared down at her, his gaze mirroring the wariness in her heart.