First Kiss: The Ghost Bird Series: #10 (The Academy Ghost Bird Series) (6 page)

When we were done, and after he paid and left a tip on the table, we walked out together, me still holding onto the tablet. Items filtered through my brain, but I dismissed them all. He had ties and that was a boring gift anyway. He already had a violin, and that would have been way too expensive, even if he didn’t.

Once we were in the car, I was ready to give up. “Victor,” I said, placing the tablet on my lap as I buckled in. “What would you get for Mr. Blackbourne?”

“I’m the one that usually gets him new music sheets,” he said. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, heading back to Sunnyvale Court. “And I usually buy him new bowstrings for his birthday.”

I sat up straight, staring out the windshield but not really focusing. “His birthday? When is it?”

“On the twenty-second,” he said. “I try to get something sent to his house, so he gets it on the day. Sometimes I won’t see him that week until Christmas, and I don’t want the gift to blend in with the others.”

“Shouldn’t we do something?” I asked in a rush. I’d missed a few birthdays, and had barely been prepared for Gabriel’s. This time, I had a chance to prepare and do things better. That was important to me, especially for Mr. Blackbourne, who had done so much for me since I’d met him.

“Maybe we should do a little dinner. Or...” I wasn’t sure what else to do for him. Take him to a concert? Would he like that?

Victor pressed his lips together, remaining quiet for a few minutes as he drove. His eyes darted to the mirrors. “Princess, I’ve known him many years, and I have no idea what he does on his birthday. He usually disappears for the day and tells us all he’s busy with Academy business or something else.”

“Do you not believe him?”

“I don’t think he really enjoys his birthday,” he said. “I’ve never figured out why. Maybe it draws a lot of bad memories. It’s the only time he ever really withdraws from the rest of us. I’ve asked Dr. Green about it, and he says that for now, we should just let him be. Just send him birthday wishes and gifts—from a distance.”

I settled into the seat, staring off at the line of trees whizzing by. I was curious, wondering what happens to Mr. Blackbourne on his birthday.

If Dr. Green said to leave him alone except to send a gift, it made me determined to pick one that would be perfect.

♥♥♥

For the rest of the day, I curled up in a couch or in bed, looking at the iPad. I kept a novel ready on a reading app, so when Nathan or someone came close, I’d tap on it to bring it up, claiming to be caught up in a new book.

In secret, I carefully went over gift options from every store I could find. One by one, I picked out different gifts for all of them. I had them sent to Victor’s house, and then I’d send him a text message or call him, letting him know which items were for who, so he could label them correctly.

He approved of my choices. “You should shop with me for gifts next year,” he said. “We’ll work with two iPads and drink coffee by a fire while we pick out what to give. We should do that for birthdays, too.”

I adored his idea. I told him I wanted to do that next year.

I’d still go out with Gabriel and Luke if they wanted, but I’d save special gifts for shopping with Victor.

THE SOUND OF SNOWFALL

S
chool whirled by in the couple weeks that were left. No Volto. No Mr. Hendricks. I saw the inside of Music Room B and we cleaned the room and worked on homework as a group. We did homework that would last us several months through the next year, so when we returned, we could focus fully on the task at hand there. Everyone was busy with mid-terms and closing up school for the holidays anyway, so nothing eventful happened.

I was grateful for that.

♥♥♥

Early morning light woke me first. It was the gray glare of winter, with the sun starting to rise, and the surrounding trees and neighborhoods hiding its arrival. The day promised to be cold, and sections of my body was chill, even with the blanket around me.

Without opening my eyes, I sensed Kota in the bed next to me. I knew that Nathan slept on the roll-out cot next to us. North, Gabriel, Silas, Luke and Victor were nearby in sleeping bags spread out along Kota's bedroom floor. I smelled them in the air: Kota’s spice, North’s musk, Luke’s vanilla, Silas’s ocean, Victor’s moss, Nathan’s leather, and Gabriel’s new blend, which I thought to be cranberry.

To me, that was what smelled the best. I didn’t have to look to sense they were there, and they smelled wonderful. My heart fluttered, even while I was still partially asleep, warmed simply by the different scents blending together.

It was winter vacation. We had two weeks to ourselves. Two weeks without a crazy principal and vice-principal looking over me, or sneering students trying to look into my life. It would be the longest amount of time I’d spent with all of them for any length outside of school, without having to work at the diner, deal with school work, or do anything for the Academy.

“Everyone needs a break,” Dr. Green had said. I could almost envision him trying to lecture me like he did in class at school, but failing to hide the grin on his lips. “That includes you. We work hard, but we take holiday breaks very seriously.”

My skin tingled with chill, waking me further. I hadn’t realized while sleeping that parts of me were almost numb. Despite the sheet and blanket, I was still freezing. It was usually moderately warm in Kota’s room; why was it so cold now? Perhaps the weather had changed quickly, and the heater wasn’t able to keep up.

It felt odd to be upstairs, with Erica, Kota’s mother, and Jessica, his sister, sleeping downstairs and knowing I was up here with the boys. Maybe they didn’t know that I shared the bed with Kota, but Erica trusted the boys to not do anything “unbecoming of a gentleman” as she called it, with a laugh and a teasing wink at Kota. Kota blushed when she said that.

I turned in the bed slightly, drawn to Kota’s warmth and peeked at him, trying not to get caught looking.

His handsome face was still. His chest was bare, which surprised me because I thought I remembered him wearing a T-shirt the night before. The glasses were gone, although there was a spot on his nose, close to his eyes, where his glasses normally rested on his face. He didn’t open his eyes, but he must have sensed I was awake anyway because he started to move. He threaded his arm around my shoulders, inviting me in.

I rolled into him and snuggled up against a firm chest and my legs folded near his, drawn to body heat. When I was pressed up against him, he tucked the blanket around my body. How the boys managed to keep their bodies warm when I ended up cold was beyond me.

He didn’t say anything and I didn’t either. I thought I should be shy about snuggling with Kota when the others could wake up and see us, but if Kota didn’t have a problem with it, I wasn’t going to object. I was too cold to move away. The boys were still sleeping, too. It was probably the quietest I’d ever heard them when they were together.

I settled and stilled. I thought maybe I’d fallen asleep again, but was listening to their breathing.

As I was listening, something caught my attention. My eyes opened a little, staring at Kota’s chest, unsure of what I was hearing though I’d heard the sound before. My half-asleep state wasn’t putting to words what it was. It was a very delicate sound, soft, crackling like a fire hissing...but softer.

There was also a familiar taste in the air.

I knew it. I knew it in my bones.

Excitement surged through me. I forced myself to still, grinning against Kota’s chest. “Guys,” I called, nearly cooing, the sound muffled against Kota.

Someone grumbled, though not Kota.

“Guys,” I said louder, pulling my head away so I could be heard.

A grunt. A rustle of a sleeping bag as someone flipped over.

“Guys, wake up.”

“Go back to sleep, Sang,” North said, his voice gruff and deep, sleepy. “It’s too early to get up.”

That was a first. I was usually the last one in bed. The boys had a habit of waking me, urging me to get up and move quickly.

I quieted and listened again for the sound, not wanting to be wrong, but it was so distinct, unmistakable. “We should get up,” I said.

North cleared his throat. When I peeked over Kota, I caught North dragging his blanket over the top of his dark head of hair. His broad shoulders caused the blanket material to tent around him. “Baby, sleep.”

Kota reached a hand up, rubbing my back. “Sang,” he said softly. “Let them sleep. It’s vacation.”

“No,” I said, even as I closed my eyes. I would normally agree with them, but they wouldn’t want to miss this. “Get up. Guys, we have to go outside.”

Gabriel gave off a loud groan. “Trouble, I love you and everything, but shut the fuck up and go back to sleep.”

I dismissed the love comment, knowing it didn’t mean anything. It's what he said when he wanted any of us to shut up or do something he wanted. “Guys,” I said. “It’s snowing.”

Kota’s hand at my back stilled. “Sweetie, you’re dreaming.”

“No really. It’s snowing.”

Kota chuckled. “You can’t even see the window.”

“It’s snowing. I swear. I can hear it.”

There was a dead silence and I knew the boys were listening.

Someone snorted and then laughed. “You’re so full of shit, Trouble.”

“Meanie?” I sing-songed his name.

“Trouble,” he mumbled, his voice slurred.

“Go look.”

Gabriel groaned. “No. You’re tricking me.”

“I swear,” I said. “It’s snowing.”

“No, it isn’t.”

I turned away from Kota, lying on my back. “I bet you a dollar.”

“I’m not getting up for a dollar.”

“I’ll bet you...what do you want?”

“Gabe,” Luke said. “Don’t fall for it. She’ll get you to get up and then while you’re up, she’ll get you to get something for her. Like a cup of water or something. It’s an evil girl trick.”

“Guys,” I said in a more urgent tone. Why did they never believe me? “I swear. I’d bet my soul...”

“No betting your soul, Princess,” Victor mumbled.

I grumbled, frustrated. “Gabriel,” I called. “Go look.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“Fuck, no.”

“God damn,” Nathan said. “Someone get up and tell her it’s not snowing so she’ll go back to sleep.”

I shoved my hands into my face, yawning and stretching. I could have told them I heard gunfire and they’d still sleep. I turned enough so I could peek out at the boys, over Nathan bundled up on the cot nearby. He was on his back, but his eyes were closed with an arm draped over his face to ward off light. I spotted Gabriel on the floor nearby, his hair sticking out from just under his blanket. The blonde mixed into the russet and the locks were wild, twisted about and sticking up in places. “Gabriel, I’ll give you anything you want if I’m wrong. Cross my heart. It’s snowing outside right now.”

Gabriel grunted into his pillow, arched his back and slowly drew himself up until he was sitting back on his heels. His shirt was off, his bare chest a ripple of lean muscles. He eyeballed me through narrowed, sleepy eyes, focusing on my face. “I swear, Trouble, there is no possible way it is snowing. This is South Carolina. South. It hasn’t snowed here in like a hundred years.”

“And I’m telling you, I can hear it. It’s snowing. I’m from Illinois. It snows there. I know what it sounds like.”

Gabriel shoved his blanket aside, crawled over Luke, and started to knee-walk over to Kota’s window. “Trouble, you asked for it. You can’t hear snow. It’s impossible. I’m going to want a massage. I’m going to want you to wash my hair for a month. I’m gonna get you to paint my nails a thousand times.” He got to the window, wrapping a fist around the strings to tear open the blinds. His head tilted toward the window. “I’m going to make you wear skirts for the rest of winter. I’m gonna...holy Jesus motherfucking Christ; it’s snowing.”

“Now
you’re
full of shit,” North said.

Gabriel spun around, staring at me. “How the hell did you do that?”

“Do what?” I asked, my chest warming and happy I was right. While I had been arguing, part of me was worried I might have been wrong. Or maybe it would have stopped while Gabriel was delaying. I sat up, sucking in air and stretching again, suddenly wishing I’d worn more than a cami tank shirt and shorts to bed.

“You must have looked,” he said. “You must have gotten up and saw it was snowing.”

“She hasn’t moved,” Kota said, rolling onto his back. “Is it really snowing?”

“Told you guys,” I said. I crawled off the bed, stepping, wobbly, over Nathan on the cot, and almost falling to land on Luke. Luke got up on his elbows, but I moved away quickly, weaving my way between Silas and North, and headed to the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Gabriel asked.

“Gonna go see the snow before it’s gone,” I said. Like I was going to wait for them when the first snow was outside. Sure, I’d seen it a million times, but there were palm trees here. I wanted to see a palm tree in the snow.

“What? Wait.” It was Kota, who had sat up in bed, rubbing at his eyes. “You can’t go out wearing that.”

I was already past Victor, who was at the end, closest to the stairs. I thumped my way down to the bottom, opening Kota’s bedroom door. I had been right. I could hear it snowing. I was going to go see it.

I was opening the door to the garage when I heard the others moving and their footsteps down the steps behind me. I hurried out into the garage, met with an even stronger wall of cold the moment I stepped into the space.

Max was in his crate wagging his tail and gave me one bark in greeting. I smacked the button to open the big garage door, urging it to hurry.

Gabriel and Kota were the first ones to arrive behind me as the garage door finished opening. I smelled them coming before I even turned to look at them. Kota had shoved on a T-shirt, the one he’d worn last night. He’d also put on his glasses. His green eyes were wide awake now, looking beyond me. Gabriel was bare-chested, his crystal eyes wide, his lips pressed together. I stood just inside the garage, gazing out into the morning.