Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) (15 page)

Harrison didn’t know if it was Simeon’s
malicious grin or the images of Gemma in the olive guy’s arms that
made him do it, but his fist bunched into a tight knot and shot
straight into Simeon’s face before he could stop it.

The guy’s head smashed back against the
locker causing every eye in the hall to glance their way. A girl
close by gasped as Simeon righted himself and dabbed at the blood
on his lips. The bubbling anger dancing over his features
evaporated only to be replaced with the stunned expression of an
innocent victim.

“I’m sorry, dude. I didn’t mean to offend
you,” Simeon said.

Harrison’s face puckered with confusion. He
turned to follow Simeon’s gaze. For once, Gemma’s face was hiding
nothing. She looked at him with everything from outrage to
disappointment.

“Gem…”

Shaking her head, she spun on her heel and
ran for the door. He didn’t feel ready to deal with the aftermath
so stayed in his place. Turning back to glare at Simeon he felt as
though his chest was being trampled. The Californian’s triumphant
grin was unmissable.

Totally defeated, Harrison walked past the
stunned gazes and headed for the alcove. He knew Gemma wouldn’t be
there, but at least he could call and apologize in private.

Chapter
Twenty

St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD

Gemma’s bike fishtailed to a stop on the
grass. Unbuckling her helmet she dumped it on her seat and stomped
to the door. She pounded on the metal and waited with eyes closed,
recapturing the morning in vivid color.

The door swung open, making her jump and she
looked up with relief to find Gabe was home. He took one look at
her face and didn’t need to say a word. Stepping back he let her
squeeze past him and slump down into the squeaking booth seat.

She sat in fuming silence while he calmly
extracted a can of soda from the fridge then rustled in the
miniature cupboards.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not hungry
anyway.”

Taking the can with a grateful smile, she
took a long swig then slammed it down. It landed on a pen and fell
to its side. Cola fizz glugged over the table.

“Crap!” She righted the can and caught the
cloth Gabe threw at her. She dropped it over the bubbling puddle
and watched it turn brown.

Gabe’s lips twitched with a smile as he slid
into the seat opposite her. The phone in her pocket buzzed. She
knew who it'd be, but she didn’t want to talk to him. Glancing at
the screen, she scowled then turned the phone off before shoving it
back in her pocket.

“So, bad day?”

She nodded then let out a long sigh. “I’ve
been meaning to come and see you, but getting away has become even
more of a challenge.”

“What’s up?”

“Last week I got home to find this stranger
in the kitchen.”

“Stranger?”

“His name’s Simeon. He’s an exchange student
from California who my parents have taken in for the rest of the
year. He’s in every one of my classes bar one and I have to spend
every waking minute with the guy and Harrison is going crazy! I
mean-"

“Wait a second.” Gabe’s face was pinched.
“Your parents found this guy and are just letting him live in your
house?”

“It’s worse than that actually. I think they
want me to get together with him.”

“Get…? As in married?”

“Eventually.”

“Who is this guy?”

“A family friend?”

“Is he a time spirit?”

“I assume so. To be honest I haven’t actually
asked. I have spent a lot of time with him, but we don’t tend to
chat about that kind of thing.”

“What do you talk about?”

She shrugged. “I try to keep the conversation
as shallow as possible.”

Gabe’s eyes glimmered. “How does he take
that?”

“Pretty well, I guess. I mean at home my
parents are there waffling on most of the time and when it is just
us I try to stay busy doing stuff so we don’t have to talk. At
school it's way easier because he’s surrounded by his
groupies…”

“Groupies?”

“He’s… beautiful and charming and…
dynamic.”

Gabe leaned back in his chair and took a swig
from his can. “No wonder Harrison’s going crazy.”

“If only he knew!”

“What do you mean?”

Gemma felt her cheeks warm as she bit her
lip. Gathering up the sodden dishcloth she went to wash it out at
the sink.

“Simeon kissed me last night. I pushed him
away, but still…” She switched off the faucet and wrung out the
cloth. Turning to face her father, she sighed. “Harrison would
die.”

“Do you think he likes you or was he just
being a jerk?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe he’s bought into all
this stuff my parents have been spoon-feeding him. It was almost
like he felt entitled.”

Gabe frowned.

“Don’t worry. I made it abundantly clear that
he wasn’t.” She wiped down the table and threw the cloth in the
sink. “He’s promised he won’t kiss me again, but I’m sure as hell
going to keep as far away from him as I can.” She slid back into
her seat.

Gabe nodded, but the thoughtful look hovering
over his features made Gemma nervous. She began to play with the
tab of her soda can, hoping it would go away. After a minute of
silence Gemma looked up from her task and noted that distant
expression was still embedded on his face. His lips curved down
slightly and Gemma knew what was coming.

“Please don’t say it. Don’t make me do that.
Harrison will kill me!”

“Gem, you have got to find out about this
Simeon guy. You can’t honestly believe that your parents just
randomly brought in this boy for you. They’re up to something and
you need to find out what it is.”

“It can’t be to do with the box, I already
text you about the Decimus piece.”

“I know, but this is weird. Have you seen
this Simeon guy travel?”

“No. We’ve hardly done any traveling lately.
I think they’re still hoping to find the last piece and then we’ll
probably do a trip then.”

“I want to know more about him. Find out his
history, get him talking about past trips, his family, anything you
can think of.”

“Dad!” Gemma’s face bunched. “I can’t.
Harrison…”

“Look he’s just going to have to get over
it!”

“But he’s so jealous. It’s driving me crazy.
I’ve told him he can trust me, but every time he’s around Simeon he
just turns into this surly, unlikeable creature that I don’t even
recognize. You know what he did this morning?”

“What?”

“Punched Simeon. In front of everyone, he
just clocked him straight in the jaw. Thankfully no teachers were
around, but who knows if some kid reported him. I was so black I
just had to get out of there. If Harrison’s name ever gets
mentioned in my house he’s dead! He just doesn’t get it! A fight in
school! What the hell was he thinking?!?”

“I’m guessing he wasn’t.” Gabe chuckled.

Gemma huffed and shook her head, slamming her
back into the seat. In contrast, Gabe leaned forward and gave her a
crooked smile.

“You know your mother and I met when we were
fourteen. We were both across the line for different reasons and
destiny brought us around the same corner. The second I looked into
those eyes I knew she was meant to be mine. I only managed to get
her name before circumstances ripped us apart, but the second I got
home I began searching for her.

“I finally found her in my second year of
college. She’d transferred to be closer to her
boyfriend
,”
he said the word with mock disgust, making Gemma smile. “I couldn’t
believe that I had finally found her and I couldn’t believe she was
taken. Man, I was jealous of that guy. Even when your mom broke up
with him and got together with me, I still couldn’t stand him. They
remained friends and it drove me crazy.” He looked out the window
and licked his lips. “I nearly ended up losing Lena over it. I was
such an idiot.”

“How did you keep her?”

“She sat me down one night and told it to me
straight. That I was dork if I thought for one second that her ex
could ever give her what I had. That if I didn’t believe our love
could withstand a guy like him, than how would it ever hold up in
the real world.” He shook his head with a wry smile. “I never
thought she’d looked more stunning than at that moment. I gave up
the jealousy thing and ended up as a groomsmen at the guy’s
wedding.”

Gemma laughed. “Yeah, can’t really picture
that with these two.”

“The point is, Gem, you have to find out
about Simeon and you can’t do that if you’re worrying about
Harrison.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Tell Harrison he’s being a dork and if he
doesn’t want to lose you, he needs to trust you.”

“I’ve tried.”

“Try again and keep trying until he gets it.
You may have to break up with him to make your point.”

“What? Dad!”

He raised his hands to stop her furious
spiel.

“Not for long… just so that he gets it. He
has to support you through this. It’s not just about your
relationship. You have got to stay a step ahead of Alistair and
Penelope. It’s that simple.”

Gemma took her time getting home. She needed
to think. Her irritation was an itchy rash on her emotions.
Harrison should have known better, but she could kind of understand
his frustration. Simeon would push any button he could find and
always relished the reaction. He was probably laughing himself
silly over Harrison’s punch. It was just what he wanted. She hated
that Harrison had played right into his hands.

In spite of that, Gabe’s right. You have to
find out who this guy really is and avoiding him won’t achieve
anything.

With yet another sigh of resignation, Gemma
parked her bike in the garage and wove her way through the house
waiting for her mother to pounce with fiery words of discipline
flaming from her lips.

Where have you been? Why didn’t you call?
Where’s Simeon?

Much to her astonishment she found the house
empty until she entered the upstairs TV room. Simeon was stretched
on the couch, lazily flicking through the channels.

His head popped up with a winning smile as he
heard her approach.

“Hey. You okay? I was worried about ya. You
just took off.”

“Yeah, well I couldn’t stand the company of
two complete morons any longer.”

Simeon let out a sheepish chuckle.

“How’d you get home?”

“Oh, um, I grabbed a lift from… Dana, is
it?”

Gemma winced then nodded with a grin.

“What?”

“Nothin’.” She shook her head.

Resisting the urge to retreat to her room,
she took Gabe’s advice and slumped into the plump cushions, close
enough to be friendly, but far enough away not to be touching.

Simeon glanced over with a wink before
continuing his channel surf.

“So, where is everyone?”

“Your parents were out when I got home. I
think they have some benefit at the hospital tonight.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot about that.”

“Should have stayed out longer, huh?”

Gemma smiled.

“Where’d you go?”

“Just for a ride. I like to be on my own
every now and then.”

“Yeah, understandable. I like to get away
too.”

Gemma shot him a sidelong glance then began
picking at a loose thread on the cushion beside her.

“So besides surfing and movies, what do you
do for fun?”

“Run, kick box, play sport. You know, normal
stuff.”

“You travel much?” She gathered the cushion
onto her lap.

“A little.”

“I mean, across the line.”

“Yeah, I know what you meant.”

Gemma studied his expression, but couldn’t
tell if he was lying. His posture was very relaxed.

“So, who do you get the traveling genes
from?”

“My mom. Hey, why don’t you go call
Harrison?”

Gemma was taken back by both the suggestion
and its swift arrival. Managing to keep her composure, she answered
shortly.

“I never call him from here in case my
parents unexpectedly come home or something.”

“Yeah, but I’m here to cover for you. Go on,
you should. He was really worried about you and… hell, I may as
well admit it, he’s a nice enough a guy, just fun to tease, that’s
all.”

“Look, I’d really appreciate it if you
didn’t. He means a lot to me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You love him.”

Her brow puckered with annoyance.

“Don’t worry, I won’t get in your way
anymore. Just friends. Really. I’m sorry I annoyed you. I won’t do
it again.”

His smile seemed genuine, the look in his eye
trustworthy, but something still felt wrong. Rising hesitantly,
Gemma headed for the door.

“Hey maybe after you’ve finished talking we
could order in a pizza and watch a movie.”

“Sure.” Gemma ignored her gut and left the
room.

Am I an idiot? Is Simeon really this
horrible person? He seems so genuine sometimes.

She closed the door behind her and reached
for the phone. She waited three rings before hearing a morose
greeting.

Her anger diminished at the familiar sound of
his voice.

“How mad are you?”

“I’m pretty much over it now. I just needed
to get away.”

“Gem, I’m sorry. I saw red and I couldn’t
stop myself. I hate the way he talks as if he’s entitled to you and
I’d just seen him flirting with Rosie that morning. All I wanted
was for him to leave her alone, but he just… I couldn’t stop
myself.”

“Babe, you need to try. You know he’s only
doing it to rile you. He got just what he wanted today.”

“I know.”

Gemma could hear the self-loathing in his
voice and felt her first pangs of sympathy for him.

“I went to see Gabe. He gave me some
advice.”

“Oh yeah?”

“You’re not going to want to hear it.”

“Great.”