Chapter 11 : Walking Back Home
Another car buzzed past me.
"Make that 26 white cars," I corrected myself, tallying off an imaginative list in my head.
It was late afternoon on the weekend, the sun was blazing overhead and I was following the sidewalk back to the manor with a fresh bag of groceries tucked under each arm. My feet swung in front of each other, heel on toe, and beside me cars zoomed by. To them I was invisible; just a part of the blurry scenery they passed.
It took me a while but I eventually fell asleep after that horrible dinner Alastair had spent an hour preparing for me last night. He definitely wasn't a cook but of course I already knew that.
I could tell Alastair was even more worried than usual. He hadn't allowed me to do anything last night other than sleep, even going as far as to pull a chair up beside my bed to make sure I did just that. Honestly, with him there made it all the more difficult to relax, even if his eyes weren't on me but the book he was reading.
A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I stared at my feet. He really does like his books.
I formulated an image in my mind of Alastair wearing glasses. Holy God, he would look perfect in them.
Despite not being tired last night, once I fell asleep, I slept like a rock for the entirety of the night. Not once did I rise, even waking up late this morning as well.
And when my eyes did finally open, I instantly became aware of the strange feeling permeating my body. It was difficult to explain but I felt different. I was still me; shy and nervous Nikki, but at the same time I also felt like... not me, if that made any sense.
It wasn't a sick feeling, in fact, even that headache from earlier had disappeared. But what was left in place of that headache was something I couldn't quite put my finger on. But maybe I was just overthinking things.
Probably.
Alastair seemed to have relaxed the minute after finding out my fever had gone down. I could tell he wanted to delve further into the issue but not even I knew why I passed out. I really thought it was nothing and even told him that, only hoping he would somehow forget about the whole ordeal and not deem me as weak or frail.
He'd always stressed over me, always kept one eye on me no matter where I went. It seemed to have increased the older I'd gotten, or maybe I'd just become aware of it now that I'd matured.
Now that I'd matured?
That's right. I was almost an adult now, finishing my last year of high school. I was no longer a girl but a young woman.
I bit my lower lip. I wonder...
When Alastair looked at me, which did he see: his silly little sister or an attractive woman? The question circulated my mind. And if he did see a woman, would I be the type he might...?
My feet halted, a blush reddening not only my cheeks but my entire face at the explicit thoughts going through my mind.
"No, no, no, no, no," I chanted, forcing my feet to move again and shaking my head so fast that my vision blurred. I turned the corner, not realising the person doing the same until it was too late.
The tall metal fence made it difficult, almost impossible, to see anything around the corner and so I crashed into something, or rather someone, face colliding with a chest and he groceries smushing between us.
"Oh sorry," I quickly apologised, stepping back. I tilted my head up and my breath hitched in my throat.
"And so she bumps into me again," the person chuckled, "how are we, my little blue eyed sprite?"
His dark ivy green eyes gleamed in the sunlight, bending the colour to make them look a normal green. He was grinning that crooked smile he wore at the cinema, revealing perfectly straight teeth and above his left ear was a jagged pattern shaved into his hair.
"Shopping are we?" He asked, shaking me from my stare. His face was closer, I hadn't even noticed him lean in. "You know, you're a tough one to track down. I'm glad I ran into you before I returned home."
Inching my face away I asked dubiously, "Are you following me?"
Draven shrugged. "I don't normally chase but you're something I especially want so..." He must have seen my arms tighten around the groceries on my chest, creating a barrier around me so he couldn't grab me like before, because he put his hands up in defence. "Jokes. You can relax, girly." His words did little to reassure me.
What did this guy want with me? Maybe he wanted something from Alastair?
My curiousness returned, the one thing that often got me in trouble.
I knew Alastair wanted me to stay clear of this person, his actions and attitude toward Draven at the cinema making it obvious. From a past I wasn't a part of they had known each other and from what I could tell, their fallout, whatever it may have been, must have been big.
But still, I didn't like not knowing something, especially when it came to Alastair.
I wanted to know what happened, and if Alastair wasn't prepared to tell me than I'd find out by other means, even if those other means meant talking to the person he didn't seem too keen on me interacting with.
"How do you know Alastair?" I asked Draven in a rush.
I might have been acting naive but how else was I suppose to act when I was left in the dark? I took a step closer to Draven, proving my confidence. He couldn't have been that dangerous anyway, maybe a little cocky and arrogant but nothing harmful, right?
Not far from us a couple were walking hand in hand on the other side of the road. I knew I was safe if worst came to worst but the precaution was unnecessary. It wasn't like Draven was some werewolf or something that would eat me.
Draven tilted his head, raising an brow in either surprise at my actions or the question I asked. "So he hasn't told you?" He looked down at me. "Huh. Makes me wonder what else he's hiding from you."
My eyebrows drew into a frown. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing," he said dismissively. He leant his back against the metal fence that had caused our collision. "To answer your question, I guess you could call us -- what's that word that I love so much?" His grin widened, "Ah yes, friends."
I narrowed my eyes ever so slightly. "Is that so?"
He nodded. "Hurts that he wouldn't mention me to you. You must not be that close to him."
I bit my tongue to stop from retaliating. I knew Alastair better than anyone. Even if I didn't know everything I was the one he entrusted himself to the most. How dare he say something like that.
"Tell me, has Alastair told you what he is?"
It was like he was speaking in codes. "My brother?" I said it like it were a question.
Draven was absently scraping his nails along the groves of the fence but as soon as those words left my mouth, his hand froze.
"Brother?" A look I couldn't describe flashed across his face as his eyes rested on my features. As if looking at me for the first time, his gaze raked down my body to my shoes before returning up. Awkwardly, I looked down at myself too. "Well, well," his dark eyes twinkled mischievously, "isn't this a shocking revelation."
Now I was even more confused. If he was as close to Alastair as he claimed to be, wouldn't he have known about me?
"Yes, this is definitely news to us. Now I'm even more thankful for running into you before I left. It seems things really have changed."
I shifted the weight from one foot to the other. "You mentioned you were leaving before, where exactly is home?"
Draven scratched his jaw and with that crooked smile said, "Curious?"
I shrugged. "Not really."
"And it's a mystery why he enjoys your company." He crossed his arms over his chest. The muscles in his biceps grew taut. He was quite tall, his legs long and thin and his arms of similar build. I doubted he relied on brute strength, I believed him more to be the person who thought outside the box.
"It's Nikki, right?" I stood there unresponsive but he didn't seem to mind, continuing nonetheless. "If I were you, I'd start questioning things."
"What for?"
"Just a little tip from yours truely." He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to me. "Pass on a little message to that lovely brother of yours will ya?" He stopped directly beside me, mouth at my ear. "Tell him I'll be back," he whispered. "And when I do, you'll be mine, girly, 'cause if you're something precious to him, I'll take you. After all, I like to take things that are precious to others." I felt a cool breath blow over my neck, just before the last of his words were carried away with the wind.
Blinking, I turned around but he was gone. I poked my head around the corner of the fence, finding only an empty sidewalk.
How...?
A car suddenly blared behind me. I jumped, nearly throwing the groceries in the air. I spun on my heels, eyes falling on the jet black car pulled to the curb.
"Nikki!" the driver yelled out to me.
My thrashing heart quietened. Pushing what had just happened to the back of my mind, I smiled at Brianna's dad waving at me through the wound down window of his car. I'd think about Draven later.
I made my way over to him. "Klein, hey! Bri said you weren't coming home till next week?"
He rested his elbow through the open window and with his other hand, shifted the shades he wore down the bridge of his nose. "Finished work early so I thought I'd surprise 'em." His eyes met mine, dark brown on ocean blue. "Need a lift?"
I nodded gratefully and walked around the hood of his BMW to the passengers door where I settled into the plush seat.
Klein Larsen had become like a second father to me; he'd been a significant figure for me since I was little, even before I became friends with his daughter. He was away on business endeavours more often than he was home but whenever he did come back, he always managed to take some time out of his busy schedule to spend with me.
"How was work?" I asked conversationally as he pulled onto the road again, feeling the car engine humming through the seat beneath me.
I didn't know the details of his job but I assumed it was well paying, considering the long weeks he worked at any one time and the type of vehicle and other such things he had.
He sighed, leisurely resting his hand on the top of the steering wheel. "Been thinking about retiring."
That got my attention. "Really? Why? I thought you loved your job."
"I do love it. Who wouldn't love slaying creatures?" He turned to me with a grin and I laughed, thinking he cracked some joke I just didn't understand. I pretended to understand for the sake of it.
We swapped pleasantries for a little while. He asked about school, how my friends were doing and how life was treating me. It was good to see him again after almost a month, I really missed him. The conversation was light and friendly, filled with laughs and jokes here and there.
"So how's that boy treating you?" He asked after some time, drifting the conversation to my older brother. He rolled into my driveway, trees replacing the scenery of tower lines.
"Alastair's good," I responded simply, "same as always actually."
He turned the steering wheel, swinging the BMW in front of the manor. Leaning against one of the sculptured wooden porch pillars with their arms crossed over their chest, my eyes landed on the person we were just talking about.
Klein saw Alastair too. "I know I've told you this plenty of times, Nikki," he said, turning his attention to me, "but if you're ever frightened of living alone in that big house you can always stay at ours, with Brianna," he added. "No questions asked."
I shook my head. "And just like every time, I've told you I'm fine where I am." My eyes fell on the handsome man waiting for me on the porch. He was shadowed from the sun, appearing even darker in his black jacket and jeans. "Because I have Alastair."
Putting the car into park, Klein turned to me fully, his brown eyes hard and serious. "Just know that our door's always open, alright?"
Holding the groceries to my chest, I opened the door. "I know," I said before slipping out.
There were so many people surrounding me who cared.
I smiled at Alastair, attempting a wave with the bags of groceries in my arms. He didn't smile back, his eyes shifting to Klein who also got out of the car. Klein leant over the roof of his black vehicle, hardly giving Alastair a word of greeting.
I walked up the steps, stopping beside Alastair who instantly offered to take the groceries. I refused of course, turning back to Klein. "Did you want to stay for dinner?"
"Nikki, you look pale," Alastair told me, peering down at me through the bangs shielding his beautiful eyes.
Klein straightened. "Have you been ill, Nikki?"
"No, no, I'm fine," I assured him, brushing off his concern. "I'm totally fine. I just caught something and you know Alastair, he worries too much." I sighed. "I swear, if I so much as cough around him, he thinks I'm dying or something."
Klein didn't say anything, he just looked at Alastair, as if sharing some silent conversation with him.
"Well," Klein said after a moment, tapping the top of his car and breaking the strange silence. "I better be getting home to the Mrs and daughter. I'll have to take a rain check on that dinner invitation, Nikki."
"Ookay," I sighed, extending the word. "Your loss."
Klein laughed softly. "Great to see you, darlin'."
I attempted another wave while holding the groceries and again I failed. "Say hi to Bri and Callie for me."
"Will do, Nikki, will do." Just before he lowered himself into his car again, he glanced at Alastair. As if tipping his hat, he said roughly, "Alastair," giving my brother a curt nod.
Standing behind me, Alastair said in return, "Klein Larsen."
Published 26/10/16