The Stone Sisters: Lyssa (The Stones Sisters Book 1) (27 page)

“You alright?” she asked, worry clear in her eyes and her voice.

“Yeah, just a little confused.
 
Hey, did you…” He stopped himself.
 
If he asked, would she answer?
 
He needed to know more before he spoke to her.

“Did I … what?”

He smiled, “Nothing.
 
Hey, want to have lunch together?
 
Please?”

Her beautiful gaze turned painful again.
 
Breaking up with her had hurt her.
 
He just hoped the damage could be repaired.
 
But, before that, he needed to know.
 
He needed to know why there were gaps in his memory and why he saw her killing his attackers in his dreams.

“I… I’m sorry, not today.”

He nodded.
 
It was probably for the best.
 
The more he thought about it, the more he had to think about it.
 
Why didn’t he remember clearly?
 
Why did his dream feel like a reality?

The rest of the day, he tried not to crowd her.
 
At lunch, he sat with Brad and Steven.
 
Doug was off sitting with Tori.
 
That was fine by him, the further away she was from him the better.
 
At gym, he kept watching Lyssa.
 
He couldn’t help it, she looked so sexy in those damn yoga pants.
 
Before he knew it, the day had ended and he hadn’t even been able to bring himself to make up with her.

That night, he slept restlessly again.
 
Dreams of Lyssa mixed with men in sunglasses chasing him and Lexa.
 
He tossed and he turned, but each time he woke, he remembered the sorrow in her eyes.
 

Finally, he dreamt of something very important.
 
She was touching his cheek.
 
She said she loved him.
 
And then, as his vision was dimming, he heard her say one more thing, “I’m sorry I have to take some of your memories away.”

He woke with a start.
 
He didn’t know how it could be true, but it was true.
 
Somehow, she had taken his memory.
 
There were things she didn’t want him to remember and she took his memory to stop it.
 
But, how did she do it?
 
Why did she do it?

It was impossible.
 
No one could take another’s memory like that, could they?
 
If she could, then what was she?
 
Why would she take them?
 
She had said she loved him, didn’t she?

He went to school, and when she came in, he watched her.
 
What should he do?
 
Feelings aside, he needed to know the truth.
 
Would she take his memories from him again if he said something?
 
He had a feeling he wouldn’t get more back on his own.

He waited, acting normal.
 
After their shared class, he watched her go to the library.
 
It was the perfect place.
 
They could talk alone and it wasn’t like she could really do something there.
 
Could she?

After his class, he walked into the library.
 
He looked around and found her in a little nook.
 
When she saw him, her eyes went wide.
 
She was reading Lord of the Rings, the same copy he had finally remembered buying for her.
 

“What are you doing here?”

“Give it back,” he said evenly.

She blinked, “Give what back?”

“My memories, give them back.
 
Let me decide what to do with that knowledge.”

“How?
 
How do you even know this?”

Suddenly, her eyes went wide and to his right.
 
Damn, the teacher monitoring the library was coming.
 
He pulled out his textbook and started looking into it.
 
This wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.
 
One thing was certain, however.
 
She confirmed that she took them when she asked how he knew.

They sat silently, waiting for the teacher to move on.
 
Once she did, he leaned forward and said, “After school, I’m coming over and you’re giving them back, Lyssa.
 
That’s it.
 
I don’t care.
 
I have a right to know what you took from me and why.”

After that, they sat once again in silence.
 
He pretended to read a book, but he was more interested in her.
 
She had dropped her eyes to the book, but he was certain she wasn’t reading when she never turned the page.
 
Her finger tapped nervously on the cover of the novel.
 
Lyssa was not the type of girl to fidget a lot, so he knew she was anxious.

When the bell rang, she got up and he grabbed her arm as she passed, “I’m serious.
 
I’m coming over.”

She raised her beautiful gray-blue eyes to him and for a moment, he was lost.
 
Pain was in her gaze and he wanted to take it all away.
 
But he couldn’t.
 
Not until she gave him back what she took and he understood why.
 
Perhaps when he got his memories back, he wouldn’t want to be with her.

“I’ll be waiting for you right after school,” she said softly and pulled away.
 
He watched her go and felt a part of himself go with her.
 
Memories being stolen notwithstanding, what little he did remember hadn’t changed his feelings for her.
 
If she took his memories, why didn’t his feelings go away?

He spent the rest of the day watching her from a distance.
 
He felt like some sort of stalker.
 
But he wanted to watch her.
 
He wanted to understand her reactions.
 

The thing was, other than looking a little depressed, she was normal.
 
She behaved like any other teenage girl.
 
Yet, he knew, she had to be different.
 
No one could just take the memories of another.
 
No human.

Now he was thinking crazy.
 
She had to be human.
 
If she wasn’t human, what else could she be?

He laughed at himself and Brad said, “You’ve been super creepy all day.
 
You keep staring at Lyssa and grinning.
 
She’s gonna get a restraining order against you.”

After that, he tried not to watch her, but he couldn’t help it.
 
And when the day was over, he followed the sisters home.
 
Lexa was animatedly talking to Lyssa and she was shaking her head in response.
 
For a paranoid moment, he thought maybe they were talking about him.

They pulled in and got out of their cars.
 
He walked up behind them, Lyssa nervously glance at him.
 
Lexa skipped over to his side.

“You know, I’m really happy you’re here,” she chirped.

“Lexa, go upstairs,” Lyssa said as they walked into the living room area.
 
She sat down in the armchair and he sat on the couch.
 
She asked, “What do you remember?”

“Give me my memories, Lyssa,” he said quietly.

“You don’t want them, Kyle,” she replied and looked away.

“I do.
 
Lyssa, you and I… I don’t know what exactly happen, but I deserve to know.
 
If after I get my memories, I don’t want them anymore.
 
Then you can take them again.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure of that.
 
You shouldn’t have remembered anything.”

“Maybe,” he said, “you didn’t do it right because you didn’t want to.
 
Because you love me.
 
Maybe that’s why it just didn’t work on me.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Then tell me how it works.”

She looked away and sighed, “I just… touch someone and I can tap into their brain.
 
When I do, I can take memories away.
 
Well, more like hide them.
 
I can also make people do what I want.”

Kyle’s eyes went wide, “Have you ever… made me do something?”

“Only forget, but I did a bad job on that.”

“Fine, give them back to me.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting into.
 
If you don’t remember, you’ll be safe.”

“Safe from what?”

“I…I can’t tell you.”

“Lyssa, just give me my damn memories and let me choose for myself whether I want to remember or forget for my own safety.”

She got up and crossed over to sit next to him.
 
She stared into his eyes and he smiled, “Please, Lyssa.
 
I can’t get you out of my mind.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears and she nodded.
 
She slipped her hand over his cheek and suddenly everything was clear.
 
The shopping with Lexa, the attack and Lyssa’s rescue of them.
 
The pain in Lyssa’s eyes when she killed the Hunters and her shame.
 
When they’d made love and her finally telling him who and what she and Lexa were.
 
Also, he remembered her telling him she loved him.

It was all crazy.
 
His girlfriend was an alien.
 
It sounded stupid, like some girly paranormal romance movie.
 
But it was true.
 

She was staring at him, nervous.
 
He stroked her cheek gently.
 
He could tell she was waiting for him to speak, but there was something he needed to do first.
 
He leaned to her and pulled her tightly to him as he kissed her.
 
Passion flared in his heart, but he kept the kiss from going out of control.
 
Instead, he poured into it everything he was feeling.
 
Finally, he pulled back.

Then he said, “I love you.”

Epilogue

Anna
was doing her homework in the living room when Ryan walked in.
 
The two of them didn’t look too much alike so, growing up, people often mistook them for friends.
 
She smiled up at him.

“Hey!
 
Whatcha doing?” she asked.

“I was just wondering how often you hang around that Lexa girl,” his voice was low.
 
Great.

“You have to stop being so protective of me.
 
She’s just a girl, like Missy.
 
Their friends and I don’t have a lot of them.
 
So leave her alone.”

“I don’t want you hanging out with her, there’s something weird about her.”

She closed her books and put it aside, staring up at him, “You don’t dictate who my friends are.
 
Mom and dad like her.”

He walked over and sat across from her, “Then mom and dad are idiots.
 
You know we need to be careful.”

“Careful of what?”

He looked away, “People.
 
People can be crazy.”

“Yeah, well Lexa’s crazy but she’s not dangerous.
 
I’m not going to let you do this to me again.
 
She’s my friend and I’m going to hang around with her.”

He glowered at her, “Fine.
 
Then I’m taking a break from school.”

Anna let out a frustrated cry, “What for?”

“To make sure you’re safe,” his tone allowed for no argument.
 
But she asked anyway.

“Safe from what?”

“There’s a lot of people in this world who mean others harm.
 
I don’t want my sister getting hurt because she was nice to the wrong person.”

“Fine, whatever, skip school, I don’t care.
 
Do what you want, but don’t be mean to Lexa.
 
It took me a while, but I really like her.”

Frowning, Ryan nodded and left the room.
 
Her family was so weird.
 
Sometimes she just really didn’t understand them at all.