Spellbound (the Spellbound Series Book 1) (22 page)

“I’m not homeless, just-“

“Whatever you say, buddy. Come on in.” Jenna leads me inside, and I’m immediately struck by the décor. Her house seems bigger on the inside than I would have expected, and apparently doubles as an armory. There’s at least one sword or knife of some kind in every room, and a shining suit of armor from the Middle Ages stands in a corner of the living room. The guest room is on the second floor, a tiny space with a pair of katana on a shelf above the bed. I might decide to put them on the floor later; I’d feel safer without two sharp objects hanging over my head while I sleep. Jenna stands at the doorway while I step inside, and says, “If you’re hungry, you can just dump your stuff in here while we go grab lunch.”

I didn’t notice I was hungry until Jenna mentioned food. I happily drop my bags on the bed, and follow her down to the kitchen, where we make a few sandwiches for ourselves. In the middle of eating, Jenna mentions that she invited Rachel over right after I called, and that’s enough to brighten my mood; the three of us haven’t hung out in what feels like forever. We play Connect Four while we wait for Rachel to show, and towards the end of our fourth game, I ask, “What’s with all the weapons you guys have hanging up?”

“Oh, that.” Jenna rolls her eyes, and says, “My parents are really into classic weaponry. They’re cool, I guess, but I keep trying to tell them that having swords on hand won’t matter much if we get robbed by a guy with a twelve gauge.”

“Do you actually know how to use any of them?”

The doorbell rings before Jenna can answer, and she gets up to let Rachel in. We spot each other as she walks into the kitchen, I push my chair away from the table as Rachel runs over to hug me, and for a moment, the world around me is obscured by her reddish-orange curls. She pulls away, and asks, “How was your trip?”

Jenna comes up behind Rachel, and asks, “You went somewhere?”

“Yeah,” I mutter as I try to think of a suitable alibi. “I went camping upstate for a couple of days. It was pretty alright, nothing too exciting happened while I was there.” Jenna shrugs, and heads into the living room to set up the TV. Rachel goes to follow her, but I grab her arm, and whisper, “What the hell? Jenna doesn’t know… about any of what the two of us are going through.”

“Sorry, I figured she at least knew you were gone for a while. What was it like though, really?”

“I nearly died, I kissed a girl, and I wound up in a shitload of trouble because of Krystal.” Rachel opens her mouth to ask, but I glance at Jenna, and say, “I’ll go into detail later. How have you been?”

“Pretty okay, I guess. Nothing’s really going on that I can’t talk about in front of Jenna.”

“What about me?” Jenna reenters the room, holding a plastic guitar. “Come on bitches, are we playing Rock Band or not?”

Rachel and I let our conversation drop, and follow Jenna into the living room without hesitation. Playing Rock Band has been a tradition of ours dating back to the first time we all met. It was a birthday party in freshman year, one of the few I’ve been invited to. Rachel and I had already been friends for years, but it wasn’t until the two of us were paired with two random partygoers that we met Jenna. We barely spoke to the guy on drums, but Jenna, Rachel and I bonded over the span of four songs; we proved to be such a good combination, that people were content to watch us play. Ever since, whenever the three of us have hung out anywhere with a TV and the proper equipment, we’ve played for old time’s sake.

I’m terrible at playing lead guitar, so I let Jenna take that position while I go for bass. Rachel has the best singing voice of the three of us, so she chooses vocals as she usually does. As we breeze few the first few songs, I can’t help reminiscing about playing this game at my place with the two of them over the years. About the time before we started really worrying about boys, or where our lives were supposed to go, or SATs, and in my case, my developing powers and the consequences of both having and using them. Surprisingly, I find myself relaxing, and letting the memories of the old, carefree Heather wash over me, and the problems of the present temporarily fade.

An hour later, we’re all tired of playing, so we just sit back on the huge couch, and talk. Jenna fills us in on her love life; she and Andrew didn’t last very long, and even though he’s tried multiple times to win her back, Jenna is determined to stay single for a while. She claims that she just doesn’t have time for guys anymore, but when I ask what’s taking up so much of her time, she changes the subject. “What about you two? You never talk about your love lives.”

In truth, my love life was essentially nonexistent before Nick came along, and Rachel’s is just as barren. So I wasn’t exactly expecting her to say, “Actually, I have a date next Friday.”

“Really?” Jenna sounds just as surprised as I am. “Who with?”

“His name’s Amaury. He goes to Baruch.” I recognize the name; Rachel has told me about him a few times. He’s a fellow werewolf that she met at Landon’s support group. I only went the one time, so I can’t recall exactly what he looks like, but she assures me every time he comes up that he’s adequately attractive.

“A college guy,” Jenna breathes with a hint of pride. “Not bad, Rachel. Where did you meet him?”

Rachel and I exchange a look before she answers, “Starbucks. He wrote his number on my cup.”

“Is that even allowed?”

“I’m not sure, but he did it anyway.”

“That’s cool.” Jenna leans back on the couch, and asks, “What about you, Heather? Have you dropped your crusade against dating boys your own age?”

“Not exactly,” I reply. It occurs to me that I never told Jenna about Nick. It’s not that I meant to keep it from her; I just don’t talk about myself or my life in great detail. I’ve never been very open with anyone other than my mom and Rachel, but all the same, I feel like a horrible friend. “I mean, I am sort of dating someone older.”

“Oh God, Heather. You’re not robbing the grave, are you?”

“No! Just… he’s twenty three. And he’s a great guy.”

“And you’ve never told me about him because…?”

“Jenna, most of our conversations eventually lead towards you questioning my sexuality. I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

Jenna laughs, since we both know I’m right, and I fill her in on what I can about the relationship between Nick and I while Rachel tries playing Rock Band by herself for a little while. I tell her we bumped into each other at Barnes and Noble, and that he’s a medical student taking a semester off to focus on enjoying his youth while he still can. Jenna smiles, and says, “It sounds like this guy might be too good to be true. What’s wrong with him?”

“What?”

“There’s got to be something wrong with a guy that great. Is he ugly?”

“No, not at all.”

“An ex-convict?”

“No!”

“Has a history of child abuse-“

“Jenna, there’s nothing wrong with him, nothing like that. He’s not perfect, but still. I like him a lot.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Jenna watches Rachel try to tackle a guitar solo, and fail miserably, before asking, “Do you love him?”

“I don’t know… how are you even supposed to know what that feels like?”

“Trust me, you’ll know. Love is one of those wonderful, horrible, indefinable things that everyone experiences in their own way, but when you feel it, you’ll know.”

After a while, we all get bored with just sitting around the house, and head out as a group to the nearest diner. The sky is just beginning to darken as we walk down busy streets, doing our best to avoid the herds of people rushing home from work. Jenna nurses one mug of coffee after another and a plate of waffles, while Rachel and I enjoy some decidedly decent cheeseburgers. We sit in our booth relaxing for a long time after the meal, so long that the sun is just barely hovering above the horizon by the time we leave. Rachel checks the time, and proclaims that she should be leaving, since she has to head back to the Bronx, and the ride takes a while. I hug her tightly, and make her promise to let me know when she gets home, and she asserts that she will before walking in the opposite direction of Jenna’s house, to the nearest train station.

When we get back to Jenna’s house, she complains that she’s tired, even after all the coffee she drank, and tells me she’s going to sleep pretty early. We say goodnight, then she disappears into her bedroom, somewhere down the hall from mine. I change into pajamas and a tank top, then tie up my hair and lay down on the tiny guest room’s appropriately tiny bed. Part of me immediately reconsiders the decision to abandon my huge, soft bed for the sake of my own safety as my body lands on the sturdy mattress. I dig a textbook out of my backpack, and once I find a comfortable position to read in, I crack it open to the chapter I’m supposed to read. I can barely pay attention to the words in front of me; Ancient History isn’t my favorite subject, but I still force myself to focus.

I’m nearly at the end of the chapter when my phone starts to ring. I don’t recognize the number, but I still slam my book shut, and answer with an excited, “Hello?”

“Hello, yourself.” I can hear Nick’s one-dimpled smile through the phone, and it brings a nearly identical one to my lips. “How were your first few hours in witness protection?”

“Kind of uneventful. Jenna invited Rachel over, and we played video games and went out to eat and stuff. How have you been?”

“Oh, just grand. I’ve already cheated on you with at least twelve different girls.”

“Only twelve? You’re such a disgrace to hot guys everywhere, Nicholas Brandt.”

“As long as you’re willing to concede that I’m hot, that’s fine by me.” Neither of us says anything for a while, and I keep half-expecting to hear his soft breathing, and remembering that he doesn’t need to anymore. I lay still, enjoying the comfortable silence, until Nick asks, “Is it weird that I already miss you?”

“Not really. I kind of feel the same.”

“Kind of?”

“Jenna’s gorgeous older brother is keeping me company.”

“I’m starting to think you have a fetish for older guys, young lady.”

“Only for the ones with fangs.” Nick laughs, and then we settle into another moment of silence, and I smile as I realize that we’re actually talking on the phone for the first time. It’s a little thing among the myriad little things about us that makes me appreciate what we have. We keep flirting for a while, and I keep thinking that I could stay on the phone with him forever, but before long, his soothing voice takes its effect on me, and my eyelids fail to stay open. Before we hang up, I ask, “Do you even need to sleep?,” my words slurring as if I’d had a few drinks.

Nick laughs, and says, “Not for very long, but yes. Once in a while, I do need to rest.”

“That’s surprising. I feel like I don’t know much about vampires, even though I’m dating one.”

“Maybe someday, when you’re fully awake, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“You better… I should be sleeping, huh?”

“Yeah. Should I go?”

“I wish you didn’t have to.”

“Me either. But I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow night, okay cupcake?”

Generally, I don’t approve of cutesy pet names, even though Nick has a fondness for using them. I let it slide for now, though, and say, “I can’t wait.”

“Goodnight, Heather.”

“Goodnight.” The line goes dead after a few seconds, and I let the phone fall from my fingers onto the bed next to me, too tired to bother getting up and turning off the light. I dwell on our conversation for as long as I can, then drift into a blissful sleep, unaware of the fact that Rachel neglected to call or text me as promised.

Chapter 24

Living with Jenna is a little more difficult than I’d originally assumed it would be. Mr. and Mrs. Chen demand of both of us that we wake up at five in the morning, and that we all eat breakfast together. Breakfast unfortunately includes Jenna’s baby brother, who flings banana flavored baby food in my face my first morning here. Normally, I love babies as much as the next person, but little Mikey doesn’t exactly make a good first impression on me. Thankfully, the house has two bathrooms, so we don’t have to fight much over who gets to be first in the shower. It’s nearly impossible to take a long shower, however; the water turns ice cold after only a few minutes.

Jenna’s parents are also very secretive, and let me know repeatedly that certain parts of the house are off-limits. Once, I made the mistake of trying to peek into the basement, and her dad nearly had a heart attack when he noticed me opening the door. He made it perfectly clear that if I want to continue being a guest here, I’ll have to contain my curiosity. I haven’t tried looking behind any closed doors since.

Jenna and I spend the weekend catching up on each other’s lives. I realize that I’ve spent even less time with her than I have with Rachel, who I’ve only seen sporadically over the past four months. When I apologize for my absence, though, Jenna says she’s been busy as well. She dodges the question when I ask what she’s been up to, and I make up a lie about needing a tutor for Calculus when she asks the same of me. I don’t even know why; Rachel and my mother took the news well when I told them I was a spellcaster, Jenna might as well. I suppose the timing just doesn’t feel right.

I reluctantly go back to school when Monday rolls around, and it’s just as boring as ever. If we didn’t have finals coming up in a few short weeks, I would still be reading a book under the desk, rather than taking notes. The only class I’m really worried about is Calculus; I almost regret not paying attention before. At this point, I’ll gladly accept a C or lower if it means I can still graduate.

Jenna and I don’t have any classes together other than English, so we meet up for lunch every day at any available table. I frequently spot Alyssa, sitting alone at a table in the corner, scribbling in her leather bound book. Every once in a while, I’ll glance at her to find her eyes on me, and rather than seeing them flitting away, she holds her golden gaze on me for a few seconds before slowly returning to her writing. I feel like I should go over and talk to her, but Jenna would never let me hear the end of it if I did. I’d rather avoid explaining how Alyssa and I know each other, so I keep my distance for the moment.