Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (194 page)

“
Fun? Saturday?” I tried scratching my head. However, being
tugged at an almost sprinting speed, I only managed to tug my
fingers through my curly hair. I kind of liked her free spirit and
crazy pushiness. Who wouldn’t be curious if this girl was nuts or
actually fun?

“
I forgot. You don’t know anything yet.” A cascade of laughter
erupted from her. “Sorry. The senior class has a party the weekend
before school starts. You’ll come, right?”

It
wasn’t like my plans were laid out for the weekend. I might get to
see Michael if he attended the high school. Except, in the few
moments I spent with him, he seemed older somehow. Grace was like
one giant fireball of energy. Someone who chattered, so I wouldn’t
have to. “Sure. Sounds nice.”

Her
vice-grip on my arm released when we came to the world’s tiniest
car.

“
It’s a smart car. Awesome, isn’t it?” Grace patted the
bonnet.

I
pointed my finger at a pair of pink fuzzy dice hanging off the
mirror. “I think they’re bigger than your car.”

Grinning, Grace unlocked the doors. “My brother got those for
me.” She rolled her eyes but patted the dice affectionately. “Oh
shoot, I didn’t even ask.” She smacked her head. “Do you need to
stop by your place before we head to the mall?”

“
Probably a good idea.” A change of clothes seemed required.
I felt underdressed. I didn’t have loads of money, but it wouldn’t
hurt to check out the mall.

Grace
zoomed out of the school lot and headed in the direction I pointed.
She swung the little car on my street and then slammed on the
brakes right in front of the house. Freaky, as I’d only pointed and
never said the house number.

She
jumped out of the car faster than I could get my seat belt off. I
stepped out and pulled at my shirt, not in a rush to go inside.
Grace just seemed a lot classier than my dilapidated
house.

“
I, uh, live here with my foster folks…”

“
No way! My brother and I are adopted. I totally know the
feeling.” She smiled. The sympathy in her eyes too much for
me.

“
Maybe similar, but trust me, it’s completely different.” I
pulled out my house key. “I get the feeling your folks are pretty
well off. Jim and Sally are, well…they just are…They work hard,
but…” Not knowing what else to say, I turned and headed towards the
front porch. The neighborhood and house spoke better than I
could.

Grace
followed on my heels, but I didn’t miss the funny look on her face.
When I opened the front door, she pinched her nose. Her face
screwed up tight.

“
Sorry. It’s bleach. We’ve been cleaning and
painting.”

She
coughed, politely covering her mouth and dropping all expression
from her face. “It’s fine. It just caught me by surprise.” She
glanced around. “The place is, uh, cute.”

Jim lay
on the couch watching TV in dirty jogging pants and a paint-stained
shirt, one of those ugly wife-beater tank tops. He lowered the
volume with the remote and waved before looking over. Then his
thumb hit the wrong button and channels started flickering past
when he noticed Grace. Obviously at a loss for words, Jim sat up,
his mouth hanging open. In the past three years, I’d never brought
anyone home, and Grace was probably the prettiest thing he’d ever
come in contact with.

“
My room’s upstairs,” I mumbled.

“
Hu-llo there.” A weird smile crossed his face as he stared at
her.

Is he actually trying to flirt with her?
Gag!
Any
minute he’d be salivating like a dog – all I needed was a
bell.

I
grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards my room. Her eyes were
wide and bright blue. She didn’t say anything, but as soon as we
got into my room, she went straight to my open window and took a
few deep breaths.

“
Sorry ’bout that.” My cheeks refused to stop burning. I
grabbed my black miniskirt and threw a turquoise shirt over my
white tank top. Pulling my pony holder out, I shook my tangles out,
ran a finger through my hair and then clipped a small barrette to
hold most of my bangs away from my face. Far from stunning, but at
least it looked decent.

Thank
goodness Jim was absent from the living room when we left.
Hopefully to shower and change.

Two
steps outside, I started laughing.

Grace
stared at me, one eyebrow raised. “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting…I
don’t know what I expected.”

“
Not taken personally.” I grinned. “He’s
never acted like
that
before. He’s harmless, honest.” At least she hadn’t taken
off running. If she could handle that, she was definitely
friend-worthy.

Both
giggling, we got into her car. “How did you end up with
them?”

“
I didn’t have much of a choice.” I
shrugged. “The system kept me stuck inside it. I got bounced around
a lot back in Niagara Falls, and when I landed with Jim and
Sally…I’ve been with them through most of high school and when
Sally got the job transfer, she an’ Jim asked if I wanted to come
with them. I said yes. I have to stay until I graduate.” I tried
not to let my frustration and disappointment leak into my words. “I
never got adopted. It supposedly took the system forever to try and
locate either of my parents, which they never did, and by the time
they stopped searching, I wasn’t the newbie baby parents wanted to
adopt.” I absently stared out the window as we drove.
Why did I just tell
Grace my sob story?
It’d never been a self-pity point for me and I turned
eighteen in January, so it wouldn’t matter much
longer.

“
Screw shopping. Do you want to come over to my place and watch
a movie instead?” She swung the little car around, doing a one
eighty. “We can dig through my closet and find something for each
of us.”

We
passed End of an Era cemetery. I held my breath, something I’d
always done as a kid whenever I drove by one. Michael crossed my
mind. I quickly pushed him out. “Sounds good.” My breathing resumed
as the car travelled by houses and left the cemetery
behind.

The road
became more hilly, the houses sparse. Grace made a sharp turn, the
little wheels squealing in protest. The long driveway lay between
luscious green grass and red maple trees with the biggest leaves
I’d ever seen.

House wasn’t the right word to describe
where she lived. Church or castle seemed more fitting. Built out of
limestone with beautiful architectural detail, there were unique
carvings in the bricks.
Gorgeous.
It took my breath away.

Grace
mumbled something I didn’t hear. She parked her car between a dark
blue Mustang and a black Mondeo.

A sudden wave of nervousness flushed
through my veins. Some weird urge to jump out of the car and run
nagged at my insides. Chewing my pinkie fingernail, I tried to
squash the jitters.
Why in the world did it feel like I wasn’t supposed to be
here?

Chapter 3

“
Are you coming?” Grace held my door open as she peered in the
little car. Her forehead creased then quickly disappeared when she
smiled. “Caleb’s a bit dramatic.” She laughed at some private joke
as I stepped out.

I
frowned. “Caleb?”

“
Yeah…
Yeah,
my adoptive father.” She gave her head a slight
shake, her hair sparkling in the porch light’s reflection against
the now growing darkness outside. The sun must have given up trying
to get through the clouds, and called it an early night. “There’s
a
royal
air
about
him. It’s hard to explain. You’ll see when you meet
him.”

“
Air?”

“
Bad joke.” She giggled. “I meant h-e-i-r, like he pretends to
be a king.” She rolled her eyes. “He designed the
house.”

I didn’t get the joke, but I’d never been
great with parents or any adults.
Probably why part of me wanted to stay
outside.
Another part begged to step inside and find the peace this
place had to offer.

The
front steps led to large wooden doors with multi-colored stained
glass insets. Grace pushed one open and ushered me in. “My room’s
upstairs. Let’s check out what I’ve got to wear for Saturday.” She
kicked off her ballet flats and started up the stairs, turning to
wait for me.

The place screamed rich. I bet old money
since everything looked antique. Grace said Caleb built it, but the
house seemed from before this century. Maybe the guy dug
reproductive stuff and had it all done to look ancient – like the
stuff belonged in a palace somewhere. The cool windows probably
made rainbows on the walls. They ran all the way to the second
floor with an open concept view.
A great room
. I remembered studying it in an
architecture class at my old high school.

Grace led the way up the winding staircase
to the first door on the left.
Why am I so comfortable around her? Like
I’ve known her forever and yet we’ve barely just
met.

Grace
chattered at the top of the stairs, “I know what it’s like to be
the new kid. If I’d had someone to show me around, it would’ve made
things a lot easier.”

Her
massive room had a king-size bed and four matching dressers,
everything painted with bright and fresh colors. Stepping into her
closet, I barely made it two feet. It was easily three times the
size of my bedroom. Hundreds of clothes dangled on hangers,
organized by color and type. Dresses hung on one side, skirts,
pants, tops and blouses on the other. Massive shelves, with more
shoes than I dared count, climbed to the ceiling. “Maybe you need
to seek professional help.” I laughed, setting my bag on one of the
shelves. “Too bad you’re so tiny, or I’d borrow a third of your
clothes. You wouldn’t even notice them missing!”

Grace
bounced up and down, like an elegant ballet dancer. “Tiny? That’s
your polite way of saying I’m short? Ha!” She grinned. “You’re just
tall. Everything’ll fit but my pants.” She twirled around the
closet. “Sleep over on Saturday. We can get to know each other.
It’ll be fun.”

Her face
looked so hopeful. Even with the weird nagging feeling still
pulling at my gut, I couldn’t say no. “Twist my ar—” I stopped
mid-sentence when her door flew open.

“
Gracey. You smell something? I smelled it all the way
down--”

My heart
stuttered a few beats before racing out of control. There, in the
closet door frame, stood Michael.

His head whipped from Grace to me. Heat
rose on my face. I dropped my gaze to my hands.
Grace’s brother.
It suddenly felt
like I’d unconsciously used her to find him. They looked exactly
alike.
Why
didn’t I put it together sooner?

Grace ran over to him. “Michael, knock
before coming in.
I tell you that all the time.
”

“
No you don’t. It’s nev—”

“
This is Rouge.” She rubbed her neck. “She’s new. A senior at
Port Q.”

“
Hello.” His voice made me melt and freeze all over—like fire
and ice.

“
Ha-hello.” I cleared my throat. “It’s, uh, nice to see you
again.”

“
You know each other?” Grace’s head swung back and forth
between the two of us.

“
We ran into each other the other night – that’s all.”
Michael's eyes never left my face. He inhaled, stepped out of the
room and disappeared down the hall. A door slammed shut and,
seconds later, loud music hit the air.

I wanted to disappear.
Could his disgust be any more
obvious?
“I
went running in the cemetery. I didn’t know he’s your brother. We
just met one time…he helped me find my iPod.”

Grace
came over and waved her hand. “Michael’s, like, kind of abrupt.
He’s lousy with socializing. What were you doing running in a
cemetery at night?” She paused then held up a finger. “On second
thought, don’t answer.”

A burning between my shoulder blades
reminded me I needed to relax. I took a deep breath.
Screw it. Not worth
the time.
I’d
be out of here after graduation so it wasn’t like I had to hang out
with him or try to be friends.
Nice try, Rouge. You still think he’s
cute.

“
Don’t you dare change our plans for Saturday.” Grace must have
thought my silence meant I didn’t want to be here. She picked out
some clothes, led me out of the closet, then flipped the light off.
“I’ll tell Michael to get lost for the night. He could do with
getting a life.”

“
No. Don’t worry. I’m still coming.” I swallowed, glancing down
the long hall as we headed for the stairs. “How old is
Michael?”

“
Just slightly older and trust me, he never lets me forget. I
hate to admit it sometimes, but he’s actually my real brother.
Sarah and Caleb adopted both of us.”

She took
me through the living room, which had a huge flat screen TV and an
awesome sound system. One of those wireless ones. The furniture
looked antique and expensive, but very comfortable, like it was
meant to be sat in. The beige and bright white accents of the room
made the abstract artwork on the walls seem like they were painted
right where they hung.