Unbound (31 page)

“I know how frustrating it is,” Julia said in her gentle voice, “to see something and not be able to place it. And you want to think you saw it for a reason but you just can’t find one.”

I almost forgot she saw things too. “What do you do then, when you can’t place it?”

“Keep looking. If there is a reason, you’ll find it.”
 
She put on her coat. “I’m gonna go grocery shopping, I’ll be back in a while.”

Now it was just Sam and me in the quiet house. That was awkward.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Ethan,” she said with a smug look on her face.

“Yea, I really like being with him.”

“I can tell. I’m just surprised.”

“Surprised about what?”

“I’m just surprised to keep seeing you. You should know that Ethan usually goes through girls really fast. In fact, I don’t recall ever seeing one for more than a month.”

“Oh,” was all I could think of to say.

“It’s kinda funny really. Once I asked him how many girls he’s been with and he couldn’t even remember.” She laughed a fake laugh. “He’s such a player.”

I trusted Ethan and I didn’t believe Sam, but I couldn’t help the slight sick feeling that settled in the pit of my stomach. Silence fell over the table again. I was just about to excuse myself to go wake up Ethan when she spoke again.

“So your trip was pretty useless then?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Ethan rounded the corner.
Thank God
. I thought.

“Hey Ethan!” Sam called in a cheery voice.

 
He stood behind me and massaged my shoulders. “Been here long?”

I looked up and behind me. “Not too long.”

“Whatcha girls talking about?”

“You.” I flashed a smile. He slipped his fingers through mine.

“Ethan,” Sam said, causing him to turn slightly to her. “I saw in the paper a small story about a teenage girl being found dead from massive blood loss. And the wounds were on her neck. I think we should check it out.”

Ethan looked only slightly interested. “Sure. You should find out more info first.” The light in Sam’s eyes dimmed.

“Are vampires real?” I asked, suddenly excited.

“I’ve yet to see one,” Ethan said.

“Oh, well that’s good, I guess.” I think I was a little disappointed there, to be honest. “Want to go to the barn with me? I have a photography project due soon and I haven’t taken any pictures yet.”

“That’s fine. Can we ride?”

I squeezed Ethan’s hands in excitement. “Do you have to ask?” Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sam fume. She stood so quickly that her chair scooted harshly over the tile. Without a word, she stormed out of the kitchen.

“What’s up with her?” Ethan wondered.

“I think I know.” I waited until I heard her door slam shut to continue. “Uh, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t think it’s a big deal, but, uh, Sam told me something.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “What did she say?”

“She told me that you go through girls— a lot of girls, for that matter— really quickly and that basically she was surprised that you haven’t gotten rid of me yet.”

Ethan looked pissed. “Do you believe her?”

“No,” I said but my face showed my concern.

“Annie, don’t doubt my feelings for you. I told you I love you and that’s the truth.” He sighed, sat and signaled me to sit in his lap. Once settled he said, “Want to know something funny?” I nodded. “I’ve never had a
real
girlfriend before.” I looked at him incredulously. “I won’t lie, I’ve been with a few girls, but because of the Order, I never got close to anyone.”

I wonder what he considered ‘a few’. I went with my gut and didn’t ask. “So you’re just with me for the convenience then, right?”

“Yep. That and you have nice boobs,” he joked. With me still in his arms he stood and walked us into the living room. Once on the couch he said, “You don’t give yourself enough credit.” I smiled weakly; it wasn’t the first time I’d heard that. “I love
you
.”

My smile gained strength. “I love you, too.”

“And I’m gonna risk sounding like a chick by saying this, but I wish I met you years ago. If I could take back the past, I would.”

I ran my hands up and down his muscular arms. I took what he said to mean that yes, he’s been with a lot of people but he regretted it…maybe. Men were so hard to understand. “It’s ok,” I said quietly. “I don’t care about all that stuff anyway.”

“Really? Or are you just saying that?”

“I mean it. And anyway, ‘dating’ and ditching girl after girl only shows your attempt to cover up the fact that you were lonely and really wished to have someone to settle down with. You were trying to fill a void.”

He raised an eyebrow. I hope I didn’t offend him. “Ok, Dr. Phil.” He smiled and said, “That is sorta true, I guess.”

“It was?”

He shrugged and buried his head in my chest, obviously done sharing his feelings. Again…men. We lounged around on the couch for a while before we went upstairs so Ethan could change.

“See ya later!” Ethan called through Sam’s closed door. No response came back. Puzzlement shone on his face but he kept walking.

“You said you knew why Sam is in a bad mood.” Ethan looked sideways at me.

“Yea. She has a huge crush on you.”

“What?!” Ethan really had no idea. Typical guy. “No she doesn’t. She’s like my sister.”

“Only to you. Trust me, she totally has it bad for you.”

“No way.” He looked truly baffled. “That’s…that’s kinda messed up.”

I nodded. How could he not have noticed? In a way I felt bad for her; it would suck no matter what to have the guy you like with someone else. It would be even worse to live with him and have to actually witness it happening. I thought about what I would do that that situation. Probably call Laney and cry then sulk in my room. But if Ethan couldn’t even date anyone then I really didn’t think Sam could have friends. Now I felt even worse for the girl. Still, I reminded myself, that’s no excuse for her being mean to me on purpose.

“What did you want to take pictures of?” Ethan asked after we rode the horses.

“You’ll probably think this is crazy, but I thought that old dock would look cool.”

“You mean the old dock in the woods?” He looked towards the trails. I nodded. “Why is that crazy?”

“I don’t know, because I got attacked there and it could, uh, harbor bad memories?”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “You are so strange sometimes, Annie.” He pulled me close to him. “I love it.”

I got the camera from the car and debated bringing my dagger. What could it hurt? I’d rather be safe than sorry.

“How come you had to come back into the Order?” I asked quietly, not sure if this was sore subject or not.

“My dad, Sam and Julia needed me. My dad had been working with is friend, Greg, while I was at college. But Greg got killed by a demon. So I quit my job, sold my house and moved back home.”

“So how did you guys end up in New York?”

“Through Order connections. A scryer saw an increase in magical energy in this area. And, as you know, that attracts a certain level of evil.”

“The magic…is that me?”

Ethan took my hand. “Yes.”

“But the binding spell.”

“It must have started to fade. Your aunt wasn’t in good health before she died, was she?”

I shook my head. “I don’t really know too much, to be honest. But I know she got sick and died a short while later.”

We reached the top of a hill. I picked up the camera from around my neck and took a few pictures. Ethan started to descend towards the dock. “You coming?” he asked.

“No.” An odd feeling came over me. I looked to the right. There was another hill. It seemed like a really good idea to go there. My feet moved in that direction.

“Where are you going?” Ethan jogged to my side.

“I don’t know. I’m being pulled this way though. I want to go this way.” We carefully picked our way down and then up a ravine. Another small hill was left to climb before the forest evened out a bit. I stopped suddenly when I saw what was in front of us. “I’ve seen this before.”

“You’ve been here?”

“Never.”

“Then how did you see it?”

“In a dream.” I moved forward into the small, man-made clearing. “I bet you I can even get us in without breaking a window.” I rooted around under fallen leaves. “See!” I held up a key.

“Annie, I don’t know if this is a-” I unlocked the door. “-good idea.”

But it was too late. I was already inside the big, white barn.

***

“So tell me again about this dream.”

“Remember the ghost that we saw, well I saw, that night I you pulled me out of the water? The blonde boy that was in my room? Well, he‘s been here. After I saw him for the first time, I had a weird dream. I was seeing things through his eyes, and he came here.” I looked around, fascinated that I actually was in the barn I had dreamed of. I snapped pictures as I went. We walked down a dirt aisle of stalls. Muted sunlight did its best to shine through the dusty four pane windows. A room with a cement floor was at the end of the aisle and a metal holding device was left rusting in a corner.

“I think this is a milking room.” I tapped a hanging part of the old metal, making it creak back and forth. “You know, for cows.”

 
There were three doors in this room; one that led outside, one to another room and one that proved to lead only to a closet with a hot water heater. Door number two opened into what must have been an office. There was an overturned desk and papers scattered around. The window in here had been broken, and as a result, rain had not only washed away the ink on the papers, but left most of them curled and moldy. I took a few pictures before I knelt down and shifted through the papers. At first I found nothing of significance; bills, vet papers, ownership titles and that sort of thing. A thought that wasn’t my own popped into my head again.

“Can you help me move the desk?” I asked Ethan. It was oak and very heavy. Under the protection of the sturdy wood was a collection of photographs. They were faded and yellowing, but their moments captured in time were still visible.

A girl in a red checkered tank top stood next to a large brown cow, holding a first place ribbon. A calf drinking milk from its mother was the next. The same girl from the first picture sat bareback on a black and white horse. I looked at the third photo and inhaled quickly. Ethan hovered over my shoulder. “That’s him.” I held the photo closer to my face. The blonde boy was smiling back at me, with his arm around the girl in front of a pickup. He looked so happy and so healthy, not at all like the ghost that appeared to me a few nights ago. No information had been written on the back. I carefully folded it and stuck it in my back pocket.

“I think we should go outside.” I reached for the door.

“Why?”

“I-I don’t know. I just really want to go outside right now.”

“Don’t you want to check the hay loft first?”

“No. There’s nothing there.”

Ethan looked skeptical.

“Go look and meet me around the back.” Before he could protest, I slipped back into the milking room and out the door.

A crow cawed and took off into flight, the flapping of its wings echoing on the now silent forest. The wind picked up, causing my hair to fly around like crazy and bending the tall weeds. My brow furrowed; was that…I walked closer. Yes, it was. Two faded white lift-up doors led down to a root cellar. I was happy to have gloves on because the metal handle crumbled slightly from the pressure of my hand. I pulled but it didn’t budge. On further inspection I saw it had been nailed shut. The crunch of breaking weeds made me snap up. It was Ethan.

“Let me guess, you want to go down there?” he asked, sounding impressed.

“Of course, but its nailed shut.” I stepped aside and let Ethan yank the doors open. A horrible musty smell escaped. The air that hit us was warm, like it had been trapped down there for years. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I went down the stairs. Ethan stayed close behind. Since neither of us had a flashlight, we stayed in the shallow pool of daylight cast down the narrow stairs. It was hard to see just what was around me. The floor was dirt, at least that was obvious. Ethan let go of my hand to get something out of his pocket. There was a click and suddenly a tiny flame helped light up this dark place.