The Thousand Year Curse (The Curse Books) (25 page)

My dad isn't home yet so we sit in the family room watching reruns of old shows on netflix. Finally after I'm starving and exhausted, the front door swings open revealing none other than, my god 'ole dad.
 

"Hey!" I say springing up in my seat nervously.

"Hey, Mr. Mason." Junior says being polite as ever. "Stop being so cheeky" Junior whispers to me when dad is busy putting his stuff down by the doorway.

"Who's hungry?" Dad asks.

"I definitely am." Junior says following dad into the kitchen. I silently follow behind them, my palms starting to sweat, my heart rate spiking. I'm a sucky liar.
 

"How was work?" I ask dad when he pulls out a frozen pizza from the freezer and then pre-heats the oven. I plop myself down on the stool in front of the island and Junior does the same, next to me.
 

"Mr. Mason do you know how to ski?" Junior asks—not subtle at all. I elbow him in the rib but he just shrugs me off.

"I can't say that I do. Why?" Dad asks back sitting on the opposite side of the island than us.
 

"There's a ski trip this weekend and I'm trying to get Ryder to go. She said she's scared." Junior says rolling his eyes in my direction.

"I'm not scared!" I speak up, not liking to be weak.

"Sweetie, you should go. Experience life. Junior, do whatever you have to do to get my little girl on that trip." Dad says reaching across the table and taking my hand in his. He squeezes it reassuringly and then turns to put the pie in the oven.

When his back is turned, Junior glances in my direction giving me a wink and a heads up. Looks like I'm going into the Underworld tomorrow, all thanks to my best friend, Junior.
 

After dinner, I excuse myself to my room. Junior leaves picking up on my odd mood and promises to see me tomorrow before we leave. I kiss dad goodnight and then lock myself in my room.
 

I get in my sleep clothes and then jump into bed, letting myself relax into the down comforter. I grab my cell to plug it in and notice a light blinking on top telling me I have a message. Ari's name lights up my screen.

We will NEVER just be friends…

I open my eyes realizing I'm in a vision by the similar blurry edges of my sight. I'm in a cave like looking place, but instead of being cold and damp like my first vision, this one is hot and dry. I can almost feel my skin sizzling. I check out my clothes and realize I am in clothes from my real life.
 

I have on a simple tee shirt and my favorite pair of black leggings. I look around, not knowing how I got here and find Ari propped up against a rock in a corner. His eyes are closed as he sleeps. He has some bruises on his body that scare me, making me think he's in pain. I want to run up to him to make sure he's okay but at the same time I know he won't be able to see me.
 

I stand up, dusting the flakes from my butt. Rock chips scatter the floor as piles of dust swirl around after my movement. I start walking around when Ari starts to stir. I hear him mumble, moving in his sleep. When he wakes himself up, his eyes instantly find me. He runs to my side as his hands grasp my face, inspecting me.
 

"What's the matter?" He asks. I don't know what to say since I've never been seen in a dream before. In all of my other dreams I am simply a bystander.
 

"Nothing." I mutter, giving him a fake smile, unsure of the circumstances. He seems much more comfortable with me in the dream than in real life. He has no issues touching me or showing affection which makes me think something happened between us.
 

"Are you upset?" He asks me, clutching my hands to him. He gives them a reassuring squeeze and then envelops me in a tight hug. He whispers in my ear, "we'll get there, I promise."
 

He's never been the easy going, touchy feely guy with me. He's always so guarded. I feel the current I've grown to love snake up from where his hands hold me.
 

He lets go of my hand, taking my face between his hands, resting them on either cheek. The warmth soothes me, making me relax and lean into his touch. I don't know what to do or what is going on so I just stand there. He starts moving in closer towards me and kisses me softly, our lips barely touching.
 

I am completely shocked. I never imagined this happening, let alone in a vision. Since it isn't real, I decide to deepen the kiss. I kiss him back harder than he is kissing me, wrapping my arms around his neck. He meets me head on, letting his tongue enter my mouth and explore.
 

We both tear away, gasping for breath, clinging to each other as if we'll never be together again. He looks at me with admiration, maybe even love, which takes me off guard. I mean this is a dream, right? I shouldn't feel what I do here. However, when he stares at me like that, I can't help but love him back.
 

He opens his mouth to say something but shuts it before any words can escape. I think he might say he loves me but I can't be sure. My stomach flips at the thought, wishing he just said it.
 

He grabs my shoulders, pulling me into him. I wrap my arms around his rock of a body as he strokes my hair. I'm not sure why but it feels like he is protecting me.
 

I shut my eyes to take in the moment never wanting to forget this. All of a sudden I am drifting. I know by now what it means—the vision is ending.
 

I wake up leisurely which is a nice change. Usually when I have these visions, I wake up scared or confused or crying or all of the above. This time I am just content. I'm sad it's over but happy that it happened at all.
 

I'm not sure what exactly I saw, whether it was the past or just me having a dream. I am starting to think my mind conjured up that scene.
 

I check the clock on my nightstand and it reads six thirty. I have to go to school today since dad would be curious if I skip it. The plan is for Ari to pick me up after seventh period and then we'll head to the airport together.
 

The entire day is boring as hell and drags on. Neither Ollie or Ari are in school so I have nothing to look forward to and zero distractions.
 

Ollie calls me when I am at lunch which is a nice surprise. He says he is making progress on learning about me. Apparently he found his friend Lara and she knows a lot about Nephilim. I don't have the heart to tell him everything that I've discovered.

I feel awful but I can't risk him coming home right now. I have to find Hades and my mom. I know if he was here, he wouldn't let me go.
 

I tell him that I am just hanging out with Junior all weekend. Of course he asks if I have talked to Ari. I try to answer somewhat honestly telling him I did since we share classes and that we talked after school. I just keep out the facts of what we talked about.

I love Ollie so much, but he is a bit overbearing. He can't control my life. I mean he can try and of course, he does but it's not fair. If he trusted me then I'd be able to talk to him more about this stuff and he could take me himself.
 

I miss him a lot, more than I thought I would but I can't dwell on that. I have to stay focused on my mom and the curse. I have to do this.
 

Finally, the last bell rings, signaling the end of my day. I all but run out of the school searching for Ari. I am disappointed when I can't find Ari's motorcycle in the parking lot. I go to my car to drop off my books when I hear a high whistle, making me turn. Ari is in the back of the lot, hanging out of a car window, gesturing for me to come over.
 

I wave at him, letting him know I'll be right there. I purposely parked my car at the far edge of the parking lot this morning since it has to stay all weekend. The last thing I want is someone to notice it and tell my dad.
 

"Nice wheels." I remark as I place my bag in the back of Ari's car. I smile at him when I buckle my belt and he returns it before reversing the car and heading towards LaGuardia.
 

It's only about a forty-five minute drive and the talking stays light. However, he does tell me that I can't bring my bag so I'm forced to shove a change of clothes and my toothbrush in his carry on back pack.
 

I hate flying. The whole process is dreadful. It takes us forever to get to the gate. Our tickets are at the right place and luckily, we don't have bags to check so we fly by the whole check in area. The metal detectors are semi easy but I get nervous by the amount of people and cops standing around. The airport is fairly packed which is weird because it's like three in the afternoon on a weekday.

Finally, we get to our gate. My anxiety hits an all time high, making me feel like I am going to throw up all over the place. I hate the anticipation before a flight. "I will be right back." I tell Ari as I all but run to the bathroom to take a breather. I find an empty stall and sit there, practicing my techniques, needing to relax. Breathe in five seconds, out five seconds. Repeat.

When I feel better, I head to the convenience store, stocking up on gum for my ears and soda for my stomach. I buy a book since stupidly I forgot one which has never happened before. I also get Ari a little gift.
 

I toss Ari a soda and some candy I bought him when I get back to our gate. I pretend like it's no big deal but the way he smiles up at me is breathtaking.
 

Instead of dwelling on Ari, I start my new book, eager to get to the murder mystery. Truthfully, I can't stop thinking about our kiss from my dream and it's influencing how I think of him now, knowing this new side to him.
 

We board our plane and I am ecstatic when Ari gets us upgraded to first class. There is so much more room and my anxiety drops about two levels, knowing it's just me and Ari in the row. I am still freaking out though, don't get me wrong.
 

I take the window seat, hoping it will make me feel less claustrophobic. I start jiggling my legs and popping my gum, twisting my hair and stretching out—my usual anti-anxiety techniques. I just want to take off already and get this over with.
 

Ari must be able to tell I am freaking out because he reaches towards me and rubs my arm in circular motions. "It'll be okay." He assures me smiling. For a second, literally one second, I feel okay and then I'm back to freaking out. After an agonizing ten minutes of sitting there, we take off without any complications.

Ari grabs his bag out from underneath the seat and takes out a laptop out setting it on the food tray in front of him once the seatbelt sign turns off. He turns it on before inserting a disc in the cd drive.

"Want to watch a movie?" He asks, facing me. "I picked a funny one. It seems like you need some comedic relief." I nod, thanking him for being so thoughtful. He hands me a set of headphones and starts up the movie, scooting closer to me in the lounge seat.
 

We watch
Role Models
then
The Hangover
. Only about four hours have passed which sucks big time. Half the flight down, half to go. Ari starts to put in a new movie but I want to take a nap, hoping time will pass faster.
 

I lift the arm barrier between us, unbuckling my seatbelt to move in closer to him. He puts his arm around my shoulders letting me snuggle on his chest.