Eternal Youth (36 page)

She ran.

The streets beneath her flat-soled shoes were cobblestone; twice, she had stumbled, nearly wrenching her ankle into immobility. She tugged her cloak tighter, clutching at both sides until her knuckles hurt. The snow was falling steadily now: a blanket of white that whipped at her face as she struggled to keep up the pace. The cold air burned as it pushed in and out of her lungs, but she couldn’t stop.

If she stopped…she was dead.

Glancing over her shoulder, she could make out his dark form in the night. He was getting closer. Why was he chasing her? She stumbled and fell—hard.

There was no time to recover from the jarring hit; she bounced to her feet and rushed forward. She could hear his breath in the night.

She dodged into an alley; the kind of place she’d always been told to never venture.

Her father wasn’t alive to help her now.

She rounded another corner and found a wall instead of another alley. The wet, gray stones sailed high above her head, blocking any means of escape.

She turned to face her fate…

Kelliantra McNeil jerked awake, teetered on the edge of her bed, and fell to the floor with a loud
thump
.

“Oww,” she groaned. She pushed up to her elbows and shook her head, as if she could shake away the dream.
Really, I should be used to them by now.

Kelli stood and shoved her blankets back onto the bed, then stretched her arms to the ceiling with a grunt. She had never been a morning person, especially on Sunday mornings when—per Mom’s orders—Kelli was to finish any and all homework that she didn’t do (and never did) earlier in the weekend.

She took a quick shower and tried not to think about the dream. It was the one she hated the most; it gave her the creeps. But, without fail, she had it at least once a week…

After her shower, Kelli ran a brush through her wet hair and then sat down at her desk. She pulled out her algebra book and opened it.

Of all the subjects she had to take in school, Kelli hated algebra.

If someone had shown up at the front door and offered to do
all
of her algebra homework for the low-low price of her eternal soul, she would have signed the contract without hesitation. She would even have dotted the “i” with a heart for good measure.

But, that was an unlikely chain of events. Instead, she sat at her desk staring out into the rosy morning and tapping her eraser on her algebra book—alternately ignoring and glaring at her homework.

She opened the window, telling herself it was because sometimes her room got too hot since heat rises and she lived in the attic. It was such a nice morning with the temperature significantly lower than it had been in previous weeks. Autumn was starting right on time and the refreshing wind it brought ruffled her white-blonde hair.

Really, though, she had the window open because her neighbor was out mowing his front lawn.

Gabriel Halogeras.

Even from her bedroom at the top of the house, she could see his shirtless torso gleaming with sweat. He had the kind of body that deserved to be ogled: strong shoulders, a thick neck, muscular biceps. His rounded butt looked fantastic in those low-slung, faded blue jeans. Kelli liked the way his shoulder-length black hair looked pulled up in a ponytail, and the way his back rippled as he walked.

She shivered. It probably wasn’t the breeze.

Kelli looked back at her notebook, determined to at least finish
one
problem before she drifted again. The equation swirled together on her worksheet: a spiral of nonsensical numbers in stark black on white.

Glancing back out the window, she found Gabriel on his front porch. He was kicked back with his legs on the white wooden railing, drinking from a soda can.

He was the ultimate mystery.

One Tuesday morning a month after the school year began, he was sitting in Kelli’s social studies class as if he belonged there. His cocky smile had sent the girls into palpitations and their excited whispers had overwhelmed the room. Everyone sent furtive glances his way, speculating and gossiping…especially Kelli. She remembered he had worn leather pants, a feat not many guys could pull off. It gave him a primeval look, like a wild cat.

He was unreal.

No one knew his story. It wasn’t like he was a loner; he spoke to people and made friends right away. He flirted with girls from day one, and he even tried out for track on day four. He loved attention and got into the habit of strolling into class a few minutes late. Teachers couldn’t control him, but for some reason only had respect for him. He never talked of his family or where he came from.

Kelli had seen an older man come and go from the house across the street. She didn’t know if it was Gabriel’s dad or what. But she sure did like the way Gabriel cut his grass.

“Staring at the Grecian God again?” Aries’ voice startled Kelli out of her thoughts.

She dropped her pencil, whipping around quickly in her chair. “You scared me.”

Her brother stood in the doorway with a textbook clasped to his chest. His white-blonde hair was spiked dangerously high, the tips of the spikes dyed cerulean. His pale blue eyes twinkled merrily. “You shouldn’t be so involved in looking at the neighbor. You were, weren’t you?”

“No,” she said defensively, looking down at her Algebra book and picking her pencil up once more. “I’m doing homework.”

Aries crossed the room to peer over her shoulder. He was so tall and lanky he loomed over her—whether she was sitting down or standing beside him. His eyes landed on Gabriel, who was back to pushing the lawn mower up a small incline in the lawn.

At the movement of muscles in their neighbor’s back, Kelli nearly panted like a dog.

Aries laughed. “Uh huh. Whatever you say, little sis.”

Growling, Kelli poked his hip with her pencil.

He cackled, dancing away on his long bare feet.

“Quit calling me that. You’re only fifteen minutes older than me.” Propping one arm on the back of her chair, she narrowed her eyes and zeroed in on his dark blue sweatpants. “Did you steal my sweats?”

He smirked, still clutching his textbook to his chest. It was probably some stupid psychology crap. “No.”

Kelli rolled her eyes and went back to her school work. She was positive they were hers because the giant word
Pink
kinda gave it away. It wasn’t worth arguing with him.

“Breakfast’s almost ready,” her twin called, prancing out the door. He sounded like a horse the way he took the narrow staircase.

“Okay.”

She put her pencil down, twisting in her seat and craning her neck to stare down the staircase. He was gone.

Resting her chin in a hand, she gazed across the street. She’d watch just a little bit longer.

“Dad, could you help me with my algebra homework?” Kelli asked as she took her usual seat at the table.

The sun had appeared over the pool house and shone in through the open patio doors so that the crystal chandelier above their heads was illuminated. The warm glow glinted off the placid water of the backyard swimming pool.

Kelli took a deep breath and her mouth watered. The room smelled like garlic and tomato sauce.

“Of course I’ll help you with your homework, Sugar. What seems to be the problem?” Her dad glanced up from his
Newsweek
with a furrowed brow. He was a remarkably handsome man with short, dark brown curls that he had to smother with gel. If he didn’t, his hair would be a giant afro. Other than his dark, dark eyes, his chin was his most prominent feature.

He also tended to think Kelli had hung the moon. His estimation of her intelligence haunted her.

Kelli shrugged, slouching against the back of the chair. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case, Sug,” he said with a chuckle, lifting his magazine once more. When she was a little girl, she used to think her dad’s face was a magazine.

She rested her head on the back of the chair, staring at the ceiling. The fall breeze rushed into the room, and goose bumps prickled on her pale skin.

The dining room was sunflower yellow with a white ceiling that peaked and dipped in what Kelli used to call “fireworks”. The room was dominated by a sideboard on one wall—the kind of monstrous wooden cabinet that could hold a buffet for ten. The only other furniture was the mahogany table and its six chairs.

“Kelli, would you set the table, Hon?” Her mom’s tall, thin form was flitting around the kitchen, her torso the only thing Kelli could see over the long counter that separated kitchen from dining room. She always looked at home in her red plaid apron, even if it seemed a little silly plastered over her suit skirt and satiny pink blouse.

“Sure, Mom.” Bouncing from her chair, Kelli headed for the plate cabinet.

Her parents were extremely young at 36; younger than most of her friends’ moms and dads. Kelli and Aries had been an accident, born when Jack and Nancy McNeil were only 19 years old and freshly married. Neither parent looked like their children—where Aries and Kelli were fair-skinned, fair-haired, and pale-eyed, their mom and dad were dark.

As Kelli was setting the last set of silverware, her brother burst through the swinging door with his usual panache.

“What’s for breakfast?” He took the seat across from Kelli’s, making a face at her.

“Jesus, is that my Fall Out Boy t-shirt?” Kelli screeched, smacking her hand on the table as she sat down. “Aries!”

“Kelliantra Leigh, you do not take the Lord’s name in vain in this household,” her mother snapped from behind the counter, pointing a serving spoon menacingly in her direction. Her mother had her dark hair pulled into a loose bun so that tendrils curled around her face in the heat from the oven. Her cheeks were rosy.

“Sorry, Mom.” Kelli glared at her brother.

“Geez, sis, I’m going to give it back,” Aries said, winking at her as their mother bustled over to put a glass of orange juice in front of him.

“You better.”

“Kelli, don’t yell in the house, Sug.” As always, her dad’s response was late. She sighed.

“Breakfast is served,” Mom said cheerfully, carrying the casserole dish around the counter with mitt-covered hands. She placed the dish on the two raggedy pot holders in the center of the table. “Sausage and potato casserole. Eat.”

As Aries and Dad dug in, Kelli watched her mother walk back into the kitchen. It was her ritual—she cleaned up while the rest of the family ate. Once her family was finished, then she would eat a small plate. It irritated Kelli, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.

“How’s school going, my boy?” Dad boomed before shoving a forkful of meat and egg into his mouth. Kelli giggled as she realized he had already spilled coffee down the front of his baby blue polo shirt.

Aries opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the chime of the doorbell.

“Will you go get that, hon?” Their mother’s voice drifted from behind the counter. She was probably head first in the dishwasher.

Kelli and Aries exchanged looks, then glanced at their dad. He held up his hands, one still holding his fork, and gave them a casserole smile. “Not me.”

“Me either!” Kelli said quickly, then ducked as Aries threw a chunk of his biscuit. It missed.

“Fine,” he said grumpily, shoving away from the table and slinking from the room.

Kelli had just shoved a huge forkful in her mouth when Aries reappeared through the swinging door.

“Look who stopped by,” he said, giving Kelli a behemoth grin.

Gabriel Halogeras appeared behind him.

Chapter 2

Kelli stared dumbly at the object of her affection, her mouth gaping open at the image he posed standing in her house.

He was so big. Next to her skinny brother, he looked like a bodybuilder. His hair was shiny black, still pulled into a tail that was carelessly flung over a shoulder and down his chest. He smelled like grass and sweat; Kelli thought that was probably the best combination
ever
.

Kelli was devastated; he’d put a shirt on. She sighed.

“Hello, Gabriel,” Mom said, walking around the counter. She dusted her hands on her apron and offered one to him. “How are you?”

“Great, Mrs. McNeil.” His voice sent shivers down Kelli’s spine. Deep and honeyed with the hint of some kind of accent. There was something different about hearing it outside of school.

Dad wiped his mouth and stood, reaching to shake Gabriel’s hand. “What brings you over, son?”

“The string on my weed eater has broken and we’re out. You wouldn’t happen to have extra?” Crooked grin. “I hate leaving a job unfinished.”

Kelli could have sworn his eyes flicked briefly to her, but it had to be her imagination.

“Sure, sure. Come with me,” her dad grunted in his man-to-man voice. He slapped an arm around Gabriel’s shoulders and led him out the open patio door.

Gabriel tossed a careless smile in Kelli’s direction before they disappeared.

For years, the nightmares had stopped.

She had found comfort in nice, normal dreams that she rarely remembered when she awoke. No cold sweats, no night terrors…just every day movies in her head. Usually about cute boys in music videos.