The Chronicles of Winterset: Oracle (9 page)

I looked up at him and he was staring down at me, a storm swirling in his blue eyes. A muscle in his jaw was tense, and I saw it working as he thought through his next move.

“Come with me,” he said evenly, and before I could answer, he was pulling me through the room and out the front door. I saw Mel and Chad as we passed by, and they looked from Kellin to me, clearly confused by what was happening.

Kellin took me to his truck, lifted me up into the passenger seat, and buckled me in. He made his way over to his side and climbed in behind the wheel, then sat there staring straight ahead, the heat radiating off of him as he fought with himself.

He turned the key, making the truck roar to life, and then squealed the tires all the way out of Kevin’s driveway.

We drove in silence, and I didn’t say a word as he pulled down a dirt two-track outside of town. We drove for what felt like hours deep into the woods before finally coming to a stop in the center of a clearing.

A clearing filled with dancing wildflowers.

“What are we doing?” I breathed out as I studied the field through the pane of glass separating me from my beloved flowers.

“Enjoying the view,” he commented, sliding over and unbuckling my seatbelt. I looked up to him and gave him a nervous smile.

“How did you know I like wildflowers?” I asked after a pause.

“You aren’t all that hard to figure out,” he replied. “You’re always drawing them in your notebook. I knew these flowers were still in bloom despite the lateness of the season. You deserve to enjoy them before they’re gone.”

“You know what I draw in my notebook?” I mused.

“Yes,” he replied easily.

“How?”

“I just do,” he answered simply.

“I drank too much,” I said with a slur, feeling my head spinning on the inside.

“I know.”

“I want to touch the flowers,” I said suddenly. Before Kellin could stop me, I opened the door to his truck and stumbled out to the flowers, where I twirled around in the middle of them. It was like I was feeling what they felt—calmness, ease, joy, a freedom to dance with the wind.

Heaven.

I fell backward, but instead of hitting the cold, hard ground, Kellin’s arms wrapped tightly around me, and he pulled me down with him. I clung to him as my drunken state slapped at me.

“I’ve said this to you before, Ana. I know you don’t think it’s true and that I’m not serious, but you are so beautiful,” Kellin murmured, his arms wrapped tightly around me as I snuggled next to him.

“I know you mean it,” I replied softly. “I just know there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Kellin sat up suddenly and leaned down over me, his blue eyes intense beneath the full moon. He pushed my hair away from my face and stared fondly down at me, a sadness in his pretty eyes.

He went from looming over me to being just a breath away from my face, his eyes sweeping my face hungrily. I licked my lips in anticipation, not knowing if this was a good idea or not, and then deciding I didn’t really care.

He pressed himself against me and his warm lips found mine. They moved expertly over mine, his breath warm and sweet and his hands gently cupping my face.

This was nice. I liked it. My first kiss was from Kellin James. It was beautiful if truth be told. It was perfect. Peaceful. Serene. Gentle.

His desire grew more intense, and he pressed his lips harder into mine. A little moan escaped my mouth as his hands raked through my hair. Just when I thought he was going to take things to the next level, he stopped and rested his forehead against mine, his breathing ragged.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long, Ana,” he breathed out. “You have no idea.”

“I think I have some idea,” I answered faintly.

He rolled off of me and stared up at the night sky, a sad look marring his handsome face again.

“What’s wrong? Was I bad?” I asked, feeling nervous.

“No! No way, Ana! You were, for lack of a better word, amazing. Everything I’d dreamed it would be.”

“But?” I pressed, knowing there was a but coming.

“But I shouldn’t have,” he finished with a sigh. “Not yet. Not like this. You’re drunk. There’s . . . there’s more I need to say to you and I can’t. It’s not right.”

“Courtney?” I asked softly as I sat up.

Kellin followed my lead and looked off in the distance. “Yeah, there’s that, but it’s not really the main reason,” he said gently.

“What’s the main reason?”

“Because,” he shrugged helplessly. “I didn’t really want to do this. Not like this. I was forced into it. It wasn’t my plan, but then I spent so much time with you that I-I started to really like you. I don’t want to do it like this because there’s so much more to it, and I want you to have the choice.”

“What?” I asked tensing. “You didn’t want to? You were forced? A choice? I’m here, Kellin. Ask me and I’ll choose.”

“It’s not like you think,” he answered hastily.

“Then what the hell is it?” I pressed, wrapping my arms around myself as the cool autumn air nipped at my skin. “I’m pretty sure you just said you liked me but that you were forced into it.”

“I did, but I can’t explain it to you, Ana,” he replied helplessly, offering me no real clue what the hell he was talking about. “I shouldn’t have done this with you. I didn’t want this to happen. I wanted . . . I wanted you to know, to decide for yourself. It was a mistake. I’m sorry.”

I looked over at him, and seeing the pain in his eyes, I swore loudly. “You son of a bitch!” I climbed swiftly to my feet, surprised at how agile I was despite my intake of alcohol. “You brought me out here to the middle of nowhere to pull this crap? You knew how I felt about you, and you took tonight to take advantage of those feelings? You know that was my first . . . my first kiss,” I said, stumbling over the embarrassing words. “I wanted the first time to mean something, and you played me. I can’t believe you, Kellin! Where is Courtney? Sasha? I bet they’re all having a good laugh knowing you’ve brought me out here to leave me. That was it, wasn’t it? You were supposed to leave me out here in the dark, all scared and alone, while you returned to them all smiles to tell of how you triumphed. Well, I have news for you, Kellin! I’m not afraid of being alone! I’m not afraid of the dark. I am the darkness. If you only knew,” I hissed, turning on my heel and marching away from him back toward the road.

I had every intention of leaving him standing there just like he had intended doing to me.

“Ana! Stop!” he shouted, running to catch up to me. He grabbed my arm and tugged me around to face him.

“Leave me alone,” I snapped at him, attempting to push him away.

But he was strong and held onto me tightly. “What did you just say?” he demanded, shaking me slightly.

“I said leave me alone!” I shouted at him, once again trying to shove him away but failing. God, he was seriously like pushing against a brick house.

“No, before that, Ana! What did you say about the darkness?” he asked, his teeth ground tight as he stared at me.

“I said I am the darkness!” I answered, wondering why the hell I would say that to begin with.

Sure, I had weird visions and dreams and I could burst into flames, but darkness? That was new. Must be my drunkenness, I reasoned. Or my brain tumor.

“No. No, you are not!” he shouted, shaking me roughly. “You are not the Darkness, Ana! You are the Light! You are our Light! My Light! Don’t ever say those words again!”

“Ow, stop it, Kellin!” I shouted at him. “You’re hurting me!”

He continued to shake me, his face contorted in some sort of torturous, unrelenting pain, and I winced as his fingers dug into my skin.

“Stop it!” I cried out, tears leaking from my eyes in rivers of fear and pain. This wasn’t the Kellin I knew.

I fell to the ground as he let go of me and he took a frightened step back. His eyes raked over my tear-stained face, and I saw a look of profound sadness, sorrow, and panic wash over his. He turned abruptly, leaving me on the ground, and jumped into his truck.

He roared past me without bothering to stop to pick me up and take me home. I stared after his angry taillights in disbelief and shuddered as they disappeared into the night.

I wrapped my arms around my sore body and curled into a helpless ball on the cold ground in the middle of the woods. This would definitely help me to get over him.

Kellin clearly hadn’t been the friend I’d thought he was, and that hurt more than him shaking me.

When I woke up, I wasn’t in the forest anymore. I sat up, confused, and stared around at the unfamiliar bedroom I was in. I knew I’d fallen asleep on the ground in the woods after Kellin had left me, so how the hell did I end up in someone’s bedroom?

I glanced down at myself and saw I was wearing a familiar oversized black hoodie. I pulled it back to look down my shirt and gave a sigh of relief when I saw I was still dressed in my outfit from last night underneath. My mind skirted back to how I had ended up in someone else’s bed, though.

Panic began to rise in my chest, and I was just about to lose my senses when the door cracked open and Calix’s familiar dark head of hair popped into my view.

Instead of relief flowing through me, confusion blossomed, and I stared at him wordlessly as he walked into the room and stood at the foot of the bed.

“I-I,” I stammered, wincing as my head throbbed.

“You’re confused,” he filled in the blanks and sat down on the edge of the bed, giving me a kind smile.

I nodded without a word, waiting for him to continue.

“I have a confession,” he said softly, not meeting my gaze.

“What?” I asked uncertainly.

“I followed you and Kellin out to the woods. I was worried about you having drank so much, and I didn’t want harm to come to you because of it. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner, though. I got lost on some of the trails back there and it took me a while to find you. I’m sorry I was late, Ana. I knew this was going to happen.”

“Thank you,” I answered without hesitation. If he hadn’t come out there and picked my drunk butt up off the cold ground, I’d probably have frozen to death.

“You aren’t upset that I followed you?” he asked, his dark eyes narrowing.

“No,” I replied. “I’d have probably died out there in the cold in that outfit. You probably saved my life.”

“So I’m your hero?” he asked, his face breaking into a look of relief.

I chuckled at him and nodded. “I guess you are,” I answered.

“You know, back in the day, when a hero rescued a damsel in distress, the hero was rewarded with a kiss,” Calix continued slowly, a sly smile touching his lips.

I rose to my feet and sank down beside him on the edge of the bed. I leaned in and kissed him gently on his cheek.

“Really. Thank you, Calix. You’re one of the last people I’d expect to come to my rescue,” I said with a sigh.

“Then you have an awful outlook on me,” he replied softly. “I’d come to your rescue if it meant I had to claw my way through Hell itself.”

I stared at him dumbfounded. What was with these guy professing their feelings for me lately?

“Don’t look so shocked, Princess,” he said, nudging me with his shoulder. I winced in pain at the bruises from Kellin’s grip.

Calix narrowed his eyes the moment the pain shot through me, and he focused directly on my arms. Without asking, he grabbed my arm, pulled the sleeve of the oversized sweater I was wearing up, and sucked in a breath.

“Kellin did this to you?” he asked sharply as he inspected the small fingerprint bruises on my arms.

I nodded wordlessly as I studied Calix’s face. It was smooth and almost porcelain-like. As if he had been carved from ivory. His lips were full and pouty, and his ears came to a slight point, making them seem almost elvish. He had a chiseled jaw and wide, dark eyes with incredibly long lashes that fanned out to his cheeks whenever he blinked or closed his eyes. His dark, shaggy hair was cropped closely at the sides, leaving the center long.

And his tattoo.

I could see the tattoo clearer now, and I wasn’t surprised it was what I’d originally thought—what I’d known it was. The enormous snake protruded out of the collar of his shirt and I traced it down his arm and saw the snake coiled around his wrists.

“He was drinking. He was upset about something I said. I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” I said absentmindedly, knowing I sounded ridiculous trying to make excuses for him. Maybe they were true, or maybe he was just a jerk. It was open for debate.

“He had no right,” Calix hissed between his perfectly straight, white teeth. “None, Ana!”

He turned his eyes toward me, and I gazed into them, noticing flecks of violet within the iris. Such beautiful, mesmerizing, strange eyes. I was surprised I’d never noticed them before.

“I’ll get you some aspirin,” he said, getting to his feet. He promptly disappeared and returned within moments with two aspirin and a glass of water.

I swallowed them gratefully and let out a soft sigh.

“I need to go, Calix. My parents are going to wonder where I am,” I said as I watched him pace the bedroom, his mind clearly elsewhere.

“Don’t they think you stayed with Melanie?” he asked, stopping to stare at me.

“Yes,” I answered, not surprised he knew that. It only seemed logical.

“Stay with me,” he said suddenly, and I looked at him in surprise.

“What? Why?”

“Because I want you to,” he said with a shrug.

“We hardly know each other,” I scoffed.

“Which is why you should stay. Get to know me, Ana. You might actually end up liking who I am.” He smiled sweetly at me and I laughed.

“I shouldn’t,” I said, getting to my feet. “I had a bad night last night. The last thing I need is both Courtney and Sasha on my ass about you guys. Besides, it makes me feel like a hussy.”

“A hussy?” he mused. “Are we in eighteenth-century Europe or something now?”

“No,” I chuckled. “I just didn’t want to say the word they would use.”

“They,” he said stepping close and smiling down at me, “are complete idiots. You should never give a damn about what a bunch of nobodies have to say about you. You are so much better than they are, and you do it without even trying.”

“It’s funny you should say that since you’re dating one of them,” I pointed out.

“Dating one of them? I’m not dating anyone,” he replied easily. “I don’t date. Not really. I mostly just take what I want and walk away.”

“Well, aren’t you just the best catch?” I tossed out in disgust. I hated guys like that. The ones who used women and left them heartbroken and wrecked somewhere.

“I’m not the best, Ana,” he admitted. “I’m actually a terrible person, and I hurt people. I’m honest about it, though. I won’t hide from the truth. I am who I am, regardless of how bad it sounds.”

“Gee, you just get more and more appealing,” I sighed with a shake of my head.

“Don’t you feel better knowing, though?” he asked softly. “I could lie to you and tell you everything you want to hear, but I’m not that guy.”

“Does Sasha know who you are?”

“Sasha doesn’t matter, Ana. Like I said, she’s a nobody. She’s at her peak. This is as good as it’ll ever get for her.”

“Then why be with her, Calix? Why put the two of you through the effort? You know, she genuinely likes you,” I said forcefully, wondering why the hell I was sticking up for her. “If you don’t like her then let her go.”

“You’re right,” he agreed. “I have my eye on something way better anyway.”

I swallowed thickly and looked away as his eyes fell on me. I couldn’t deal with this right now, especially not after my evening with Kellin.

“I need to go, Calix. I’ll . . . um . . . talk to you at school on Monday or something,” I said, getting to my feet again and pulling his sweater over my head. I was back to wearing the skimpy outfit from last night, and Calix practically drank in my presence.

“If you want to go, then you may,” he murmured, a storm churning behind his dark eyes. “But Ana, I know things are tough for you. I can see it with every breath you take. You’re hiding something from the world. You make excuses for who you are, but that’s all they are—excuses. You’ll never be happy if you never embrace what makes you different. I will be here for you when you’re ready to confide in someone.”

I stared at him in shock, his words hitting too close to home for me. I nodded tightly and left his house, my head swirling with the words he’d said.

Calix Night was about as ordinary as I was.

And that was frightening.