Chapter 15
Close Call
The light of the ever-punctual early morning sun brushed against my face, turning the insides of my lids a muted red.
Peeling my eyes open despite the dried tears that had all but glued them shut, I squinted into the early morning sky.
Something sharp poked into the soft skin at my side, making me wince and lean away.
"Where am I?" I groaned, sitting up slowly.
Almost immediately, an annoyingly familiar voice replied, "You fell asleep in the McGurrins' witch hazel."
I snapped up straight, eyes fighting the suns glare to see Alexander looking back down at me with a smug smile.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, wobbling a little as I stood up and shoved my way past him.
He followed behind, hands in his pockets and the smile still rooted in his stupid face.
"What are you doing here in your pajamas?" He shot back, infuriatingly calm.
Despite myself, I blushed angrily and stomped away faster, but Alexander's legs were so much longer than mine that he kept up without much strain.
"It's none of your god damn business," I snarled, flipping my hair-which I'm sure was quite the sight-impatiently over my shoulder. "Don't you have something better to do than follow me around?"
By now, he had caught up with me and was making a show of just how much he enjoyed getting under my skin.
"Actually yes, plenty of things, but Akshana sent me to get you."
At that I stopped on the corner of the roughly paved sidewalk and turned to look up at him hesitantly.
I still hadn't quite decided how I felt about Akshana, let alone how she felt about me, but she probably wouldn't have been too happy about having to send Alexander after me. Besides, she'd made it abundantly clear how she felt about our little arangement with her favorite prisoner. I had a feeling she still wasn't too happy about that, so why was she looking for me?
"How did you find me?" I asked instead.
In all honesty that was the last thing on my mind. But when I did take the time to think about it, it didn't quite add up.
For a minute a flash of impatience crossed over Alexanders angular face, making him look even more intimidating than he already did, and I had to restrain myself from taking a cautionary step back.
"Kaylee, there are a lot of things you don't understand about people like us and the world we belong to." He leaned down close to me, his hot breath blowing on my face. "It's not all fun and games, shifters and spell Binders and training sessions. It's a whole world of shit you think you know all about, but really you don't know the half of it."
With that, he stood straight and turned away from me, walking away briskly but casually, as if he hadn't said any of that and sent chills down my skin thick enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"What does that mean? And what does it have to do with finding me?" I called after him, jogging to catch up and wincing when a rock hit my instep at the wrong angle.
I should've worn shoes.
"I found you because you have magick in your blood."
"Magic? As in bippity boppity boo? Pumpkin into a majestic carriage?" It would've been funny if Alexander didn't look like he wanted to gut me and stuff me like a dead dog.
"No, thats magic. Cartoon bullshit. Magick, as in with a K, isn't like that. You can't wave a wand and turn a pile of rags into a dress for the ball. Magick is in your blood, in your genetic makeup. It's passed down from generation to generation, and it affects everyone differently."
I cleared my throat and tried to wipe the dazed look off of my face so I didn't give him another reason to feel superior to me before I interrupted cheekily, "This is great and all, I mean who doesn't love a biology lesson first thing in the morning? But in case you haven't noticed, I'm still in my pajamas. And she may be all soft on you but I really doubt Akshana will be too happy about me showing up like this."
I motioned to my polka dotted pajama pants, and Alexander eyed them with disdain.
"You're right, those are awful."
I dug my nails into my palms to restrain myself from punching him right across the jaw and gave him a garish grin. "So if you don't mind, I'm gonna go home before marching myself right off to death row."
I turned to walk away, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back, turning me around to face him as easily as if i weighed no more than a feather.
"I'll give you a ride, my car is just across the street." He offered quietly, eyes boring into my own.
I pulled my arm out of his grasp and eyed him suspiciously. "That's weird, I figured you would have gotten a few laughs out of watching me trudge home barefoot in my PJ's."
He rolled his eyes and glared down at me with that same edge of impatience. "I'm offering you a ride, if you'd rather walk thats fine with me, believe me. I'm trying to be nice."
"Nice is out of character for you," I began, making his eyes flash darkly. "But I will gladly take that ride. Lead the way o great prince." My arms stretched out past my sides as if I was lifting an invisible dress, and I curtsied sarcastically.
He scoffed and muttered under his breath about something that sounded remarkibly like 'should've offed you when I first saw you' but I just followed his leather jacket clad back with a dopey grin, more than happy that the tables of moderate annoyance had turned in my favor.
Up a half a block ahead of us I spotted the mossy green backside of his jeep, and I almost smiled at the familiarity before I remembered who owned it.
"Why a jeep anyways?" I asked out of mild curiosity, my eyes wandering off to the perfectly manicured lawns and spotless houses that lined the street we meandered down.
"Are you hating on the jeep?" Alexander asked while glancing at me sideways out of the corner of his eye.
"Of course not," I clarified with a laugh, eyeing an old golden retriever that sniffed around in its yard before lifting up one of its legs. "I'm just wondering why a jeep of all cars."
By now we had reached the vehicle currently under discussion, and he pulled a chain of keys out of one of the pockets of his wrinkled jacket. "I don't know," he muttered, clearly not in the mood to discuss his taste in automobiles.
Picking out a battered looking silver key, he slipped it into the lock on the drivers side and unlocked the door, then hopped up into the seat, leaning over to unlock my side and push open the door for me.
"How chivalrous," I observed with a bat of my lashes and placing a hand gingerly over my chest.
"Get in the god damn car Kaylee," He growled, starting up the engine with a scowl.
It whined in a pathetic protest as I climbed up into the passenger seat, yanking on the door till it slammed shut behind me.
By the time I was buckled, the engine roared to life and we were off, headed back up the street and away from all the polished wealth, back towards my old rotting neighborhood.
For awhile neither of us talked, we just listened to the ear-splitting rumble of his old car in comfortable silence and watched the scenery that passed by.
"What were you talking about earlier?" I asked after a minute, turning my head now to gauge his reaction.
"When?" He responded, signaling before making a wide right turn off of the main road.
"About magick being in my blood and all that," I clarified.
"We can talk about this later Kaylee," He sighed heavily.
"But why not now?" I was none too eager to simply drop a topic so massive and apparently relevant.
"Because the answer is too long and I can't take you seriously in that ridiculous getup," He snapped, silencing me.
I pulled my mouth shut in a thin line, embarrassment and irritation bubbling inside me but shoving them back down while he pulled the car up in front of my house, blocking the driveway.
Eyeing the way the roof seemed to slump into itself and the way the paint was faded and chipped, he said in a surprisingly non-judgmental tone, "Go get dressed and then I'll tell you about it on the way there."
My hand reached out to grip the handle, when I remembered in flashes all that had happened last night.
The shouting, the buzz of anger and aggression filling the air, the crash as my moms body hit the glass, and the way she lay in a motionless slump on the floor.
My blood turned to ice, and my body froze up.
"What? What is it?" Alexander asked once he saw my expression, glancing up into the dark windows of my house as if looking for an intruder of some sort.
"My...my mom...." my voice came out no more than a hoarse croak, and still I was frozen in my spot.
"What about her?"
I forced my eyes to turn wearily up to his own, guilt and horror and all sorts of emotions that ate at me crossing over my face.
"Will you come with me inside?" I whispered.
Alexander's eyes grew, surprised to see me so suddenly vulnerable and without my witty edge.
"Sure Kaylee," He replied softly, taking my hand carefully, as if it was a grenade, and squeezing it lightly with his own.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, finding comfort in the gentle touch.
Then his hand was gone and I exhaled, forcing my tensed muscles to grip the door handle and push.
Each step towards the front door of my house sent waves of agony up the entire length of my body. They were so incredibly vibrant, I had to bite down on my lip to stop myself from whimpering.
By the time we both had made it to the door, with Alexander visibly tense at my side, blood trailed down the side of my mouth, tasting metallic and sweet when I licked it away.
My hands trembled as I reached forward, not needing a key because not only did I not have one, but we also never bothered to lock the door.
Anyone who tried to get into our house was probably not very bright, considering it looked like a glorified dump, and even if they did want to get inside, there wouldn't be anything to steal except maybe our television, but that was the kind that still had rabbit ears.
The knob was stingingly cold against my already frozen skin, but when I put the slightest pressure forward, the door floated open easily.
I took a cautious step over the threshold and into the dank hole of a living room that was my mothers favorite spot in the tiny shack of a house.
But nothing was as I expected it to be.
The TV was switched off, the empty beer bottles, used condoms and discarded candy wrappers that normally litered the floor were gone, not even a stain or ring of dirt left in their places. The smell of rat feces and rotting food that normally was thick in the air was replaced with the scent of pine sol and fresh laundry.
And most important of all, in the corner where I had left her last night, my mother was gone, no glass or blood had spotted the wall or carpet. The only way you would ever know something had happened was the empty frame that still hung on the wall.
"What the hell...?" I breathed, wrinkling my forehead as I took in the scene before me.
"Kaylee? Kaylee what is it? Whats going on?" I heard Alexander ask from behind me, clearly assuming this freshly cleansed, if a bit makeshift, home was one I was accustomed to.
"My mom, last night," I mumbled numbly, just as confused as he was.
I must've started to fall towards the floor, because all of a sudden his strong arms were around my waist, picking me up like a baby and placing me on the couch, where my head fell lazily onto the stuffing spitting arm.
"Kaylee, where is your mom?" He asked, putting his hands on my knees and staring up into my face.
My breathing began to become labored, and my vision grew fuzzy.
I knew what I saw last night. I knew what I saw. I knew she was lying there in a pile of glass and splattered with her own blood. I knew I flung her against the wall with my Shifting.
But then where was she? And why the hell was the house clean? It was never clean. I mean, she even yelled at me when I tried to clean it!
"Kaylee, you need to explain to me what is going on. Right now," Alexanders voice had become hard, and his hands shook my shoulders, trying to snap me out of whatever trance I was trapped in.
So I told him.
About it all. About waking up, the drinking, the yelling, the way her hand struck my face without hesitating, and the way my mind seemed to take control before my body could fully get the message, my shifting kicking into gear and defending me.
For a moment, the golden honey of his eyes was still, not relinqueshing the thoughts that were going on in his mind.
And then, he stood up, taking me with him, and stood me steadily on my feet.
"Listen to me Kaylee," He said firmly, and something in his face made me do just that. "You're going to go into your room, you're going to change your clothes and pack a small bag-just in case-" he added on, seeing my expression. "And then we are going to leave. You got it?"
I nodded, but even though I understood his words, I didn't understand why he was saying them.
Pack a bag? Why? I thought we were just going to Valerod?
When I didn't move, he snapped his fingers in front of my face and growled, "Go!"
Scrambling, I stumbled toward my room and ended up tripping over the glass coffee table, banging my shin hard enough that it made a loud noise and made me hiss in pain.
Alexander looked like he wanted to shout at me, but just then his eyes flashed over to just past me, and the next thing I knew he was gone, hidden from sight.
I turned my eyes to the direction where his had been pointed, and saw that the door to the bathroom was unlocking, the knob slowly turning.
"Shit!" I whispered, dragging myself into my room and flinging my body under the bed just in time to hear the bathroom door creak the rest of the way open.
From my hiding spot, I could just see into the hallway as steam and the sound of running water poured out from the open door to the bathroom, my moms feet padding on the bare wood.
"Hello?" She called out, and I imagined she had a towel wrapped around her since it seemed she was taking a shower, although with her you never really knew, seeing as half of the city had seen her naked she tended not to bother with things like towels or robes from time to time.
She took a few steps more into the living room, but of course saw no one.
I thought she would go back to her shower, but instead her feet carried her into my room, and I found myself holding my breath.
"Kaylee?" She called my name a bit quiter, looking around my room and getting so close to the bed that I could see each of her red painted toenails and smell her coconut shampoo. Both of her big toes had a delicate looking yellow flower painted on it, and when she turned around to leave I could see the turtle tattoo she had on the back of her ankle.
The door to the bathroom closed behind her, and I let out the breath I had been holding, climbing out from underneath the bed.
My mom, thankfully, was alive, despite the falling out last night. And apparently she was in a cleaning mood, which she never was in.
To say the least, I was a bit taken off guard.
Okay maybe more than a bit.
But that didn't change the fact that I needed to get the hell out of there, not just because of all the bizarreness, but also because I had a feeling that people who kept Akshana waiting, normally didn't live to tell the tale.