A Life Earthbound (14 page)

Rohan looked at the chart, but his eyes could hardly focus on the paper. This was merely a way to distract himself from his frustration. He knew he could trust Rhiannon to be thorough and precise with her work, but he had to do something to take his mind off the impending anniversary just days away…

Handing it back to her, he crossed his arms again and took a deep breath. She accepted the chart numbly, still refusing to meet his eyes.

“Look at me, Rhiannon,” he ordered, part of him knowing he was being too hard on her, while the rest of him embraced his role as both educator and father. She tilted her head up, her eyes slowly rising. “You only have a year or so left of study with your mother, and then you will be in here with me full time. But it is imperative that you start taking on more responsibilities now. I’m going to entrust you with a very important project, and I need you to devote yourself to it. We can’t afford to have any mistakes.”

Rhiannon nodded, her eyes serious and her face carefully blank.

“Good.” With a heavy sigh, he pulled his glasses from his face and rubbed his eyes, taking a seat in the chair beside her. It was clear something was weighing on his mind.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, concern for him flashing through her before she could stop herself.

For a moment he didn’t say anything, he just studied her. She had changed from a child into a young, beautiful woman, although she would always be his little girl. He knew he was strict at times but he also knew his influence had helped her grow into the intelligent and independent woman she had become.

But wasn’t it chance that she was still with him at all? And every year when summer was in full swing, he was reminded that his friend Clynn had not been so lucky and there was a daughter who didn’t get the chance to grow up like Rhiannon.

That was the source of his anxiety, of his frustration and his lack of focus. And it was the reminder that his daughter was still here, and that she needed him to guide her.

“It’s nothing, Rhiannon,” he assured her, trying to smile. It wasn’t easy for him but he knew it would comfort her. “Let me show you what I have in mind for this project.”

He pushed away his thoughts and tried to focus on the present, and not dwell on the past and what couldn’t be undone.

June fourth marked
the eight year anniversary of the night she lost Capri.

It was always a melancholy day on Euphora, the memory of that terrible night was on everyone’s mind. The adults had made it a tradition to venture out to the cliffs and toss a wreath of white and pink lilies into the ocean, in memory of both mother and daughter.

Though they didn’t join in, Rhiannon and Liam held their own small memorial together this year in the courtyard. They braided a crown of tiny flowers and grass, and laid it gently beside the jasmine bush where Capri had last been seen. It broke her heart to return to that spot, even more so now that her memory of Capri was shadowed and gray, her face losing clarity with time. But she would never forget just how sweet her friend had been, or how her disappearance had essentially destroyed what was between the three Dryads left behind.

She sat in class later that morning, putting the final touches on her comparative essay on
Pride and Prejudice
and
Wuthering Heights
. She was perusing it for spelling and grammatical errors when she heard someone approach and sit beside her. Turning from her paper, she saw Brogan. Her smile was automatic and becoming easier for her now. That, she knew, was a welcome result of her ongoing experiment.

“Hello.”

“Hi.” He looked a little worse for wear, as if he hadn’t slept at all the night before. There were shadows under his eyes, and his face was a bit paler than usual.

“Are you alright?” she asked, her brow creasing in concern as her smile faded.

“Oh…yeah, I’m okay,” he replied, chuckling to himself and averting his gaze from her, clearly embarrassed that she had noticed. When she said nothing, he chanced a peek at her, seeing she didn’t believe him. With a heavy sigh, he said, “I was up half the night practicing with this new weapon that we got…you see, Rian’s already a pro with it, and I know my father’s counting on me to do well also, so I stayed up to practice. It was just so hard to get the hang of, and I couldn’t hit any of the same targets that Rian had hit so easily…but I’ll just have to practice some more, I guess.” He smiled again, shrugging.

Rhiannon looked over his shoulder to where Rian was sitting, back rigidly straight as his hand cruised over his paper diligently. Her dislike for him was obvious in her eyes.

“He should be offering to help you, Brogan,” she insisted, turning back to him. “Instead he sits there like he’s above everyone else. It’s revolting.”

“Rian doesn’t think that way, not at all,” Brogan insisted defensively, his dark, poetic eyes hardening. “He doesn’t know I’m struggling so much. I…haven’t told him.”

“But surely he sees you–”

“No…Roarke has been giving him special training because he’s going to be the Head Fury when his dad retires. So he hasn’t been around very much. It’s just been my father and me.”

“I see…” Because she did, she smiled at him again in reassurance. “Just keep working at it, you’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” He chuckled, more relaxed. “Anyway, I was wondering if you could proofread my essay? It’s not that long, but I’m an awful speller and…”

“I’d love to.” She accepted his paper, grimacing at the sight of his chicken scratch handwriting. This was going to be…interesting. “What’s it about?”

He flushed, looking embarrassed. “Well, you recommended that book
To Kill a Mockingbird
, so I read it and wrote about Boo Radley.”

“I knew you’d like his character.” She nodded, proud of him. “He’s one of the most interesting characters in all of literature and by far one of my favorites.”

“I guess I related to him a bit, is all.” Brogan shrugged, pleased to have made her happy. “He didn’t want to be in the limelight, but he still wanted to help people, ya know? He was lonely, but at the same time he didn’t know how to live being around other people.”

“I can’t wait to read your interpretation,” Rhiannon said as she tucked his essay into her notebook, along with her own papers, keeping them organized and straight.

Over the last few weeks since Brogan had first spoken to her, she’d taken a strong liking to him, much to her surprise. It wasn’t what she felt with Liam…with Brogan it was more like discovering a long lost friend whose soul so closely mirrored your own in both desires and fears that when you talked with them, it was like looking into a mirror. He was soft spoken and usually let her do most of the talking, but she felt akin to him in a way, like he was the brother she’d never had as a child.

It made her sad to think about how he had been there all along and that they could have helped each other through the hard times.

She hoped this was the beginning of a long and fulfilling friendship. Because in her heart, she knew she desperately needed a friend.

That night, she lay with Liam under the stars.

They snuck out after dinner, pretending to go to sleep, and instead brought a blanket and some cookies to a secret, tucked away grassy area in the far corner of the courtyard. When they had been children, it had been a favorite spot for them to play. Now it was hardly used, except when they wanted to steal away for awhile.

She didn’t think she had ever laughed so much in her entire life as she did that night. Her hands were cupped over her mouth to stifle the sound, afraid someone would hear, even as Liam continued to crack jokes about everyone and everything.

“Did you see Balgaire’s face when Roarke spilled his drink all over his new leather shoes? I swear I saw his eye twitch, he was gonna blow a lid or something.”

Rhiannon let out a stream of giggles, recalling Balgaire’s sour reaction perfectly.

“I think his eye did twitch!” she managed, covering her mouth again as she burst into more laughter.

Liam just laid back and enjoyed the sound.

When she was finished, she sighed, her hands falling to her sides. Liam reached for her hand and held it in his own.

Above them, the stars rioted against the night sky. It was a new moon, so the courtyard was virtually pitch black except for the candle Rhiannon had dutifully remembered to bring, along with the crisp, clean cotton blanket and the napkins to go with the cookies Liam had nabbed from the kitchen.

She turned to look at him, incredibly relaxed despite everything. June fourth had always been a hard day for her, but this year…having Liam by her side made it a lot easier to handle.

“Do you remember what Capri looked like?” she asked, her voice sober and quiet. She saw him take a deep breath and close his eyes, as if trying to picture her.

“Kind of…” he replied, opening his eyes to look at her. “I miss her, though.”

“Me too.” Feeling sad, she bit her lip and looked back up at the stars. “Do you think she’s out there somewhere?”

“I like to think so.” He continued to watch her as he squeezed her hand. “I bet she’s living on some exotic island, where they wear coconuts as clothing and lay on the beach all day and dance around a bonfire at night. And she probably has a pet orangutan, one of those big orange ones. His name is Charlie, and he plays the drums while she dances, carefree and happy with her island family.”

Her eyes suddenly felt hot and heavy as she listened to his words, knowing with her practical heart that none of it could possibly be true. But that didn’t stop it from being extraordinary.

“I wish she had never been taken,” she said before she could stop herself, her heart aching, the tears just hiding behind her eyes, not yet ready to fall. “Things were easier back then.”

“Things don’t have to be hard now, Rhia,” Liam insisted, sitting up to stare down at her. “I bet if you and Blythe gave it another shot, you’d be best friends. Then all three of us could be together again.”

She shook her head, not wanting to look at him. “That will never happen, Liam, and you know it.”

“What makes you say that? You haven’t even tried.”

“I can’t handle the two of you together,” she said coldly, sitting up. “I’m nothing like her.”

“So what? You and I are nothing alike, but we get along.”

“Blythe’s bossy, loud and obnoxious,” Rhiannon began, ticking off the qualities on her fingers. “She likes to put people on the spot and doesn’t respect anyone’s opinion other than her own. And she’s incredibly selfish and has absolutely no manners.”