Awaken (3 page)

             
“Practice what?”  His answer was a slow smile.

             
“You’ll see.  But first you need to tell your roommates to get packed.  We’re all going on a little trip for Fall Break.”

              “So, let me get this straight.  Fall Break on the Outer Banks in a massive beach house?” Carmen’s eyebrows shot up, “Why are we still sitting here?!”

             
She sprinted out of the kitchen mid-bite to pack her clothes.  Phoebe had returned from her date with Ian and we were perched on the bar stools sampling Willow’s newest recipe for white chocolate brownies topped with macadamia nuts; or according to Carmen: the best thing since Channing Tatum.  I peered at my other roommates hoping they’d agree to go just as easily.

             
“You had me at ‘Ian’,” Phoebe sighed and pretended to fan herself, but the big, goofy grin on her face was anything but forced.

             
“What other guys are going besides Ian and Finn?” Willow asked apprehensively, “This isn’t a couples-thing is it?”

             
“I think he’s bringing his other roommates Ricker and Cage, along with another guy, but I don’t know his name.  He said it’s a big house-“

             
“More like a mansion - the Sons’ beach house is crazy big!” Carmen yelled from her room.

             
“-so there’ll be plenty of room and it’s definitely not a couples’ thing, I promise,” I finished.

             
“Did you say Ricker?” Carmen had reappeared.

             
“Do you know him?”

             
“Unfortunately,” she muttered and disappeared again.  I looked at Phoebe with a question mark in my eyes.

             
“There’s major history there,” she whispered, “But don’t ask her about it, she’ll bite your head off.”

             
“What kind of history?” I asked, intrigued.

             
“It’s kind of a love-hate relationship, but somehow they always find their way back to each other,” Phoebe explained in a low voice.

             
“It’s a hate relationship, end of story,” Carmen bellowed from her room.

             
“See? She’s a little touchy about it,” Phoebe warned me with a giggle. 

             
“This could be entertaining.  I’m in,” Willow finally conceded.  Phoebe squealed, wrapped her in a hug, and then ran off to her room to pack, too.  Following their lead, we finished off our brownies and retired to our rooms.  The plan was to meet Finn and the rest of the guys at the marina in the morning.  The Sons’ beach house was located near Cape Lookout, which was at the southern corner of the Outer Banks, north of Lorelei and Bald Head Island; only a six hour boat ride on the Sons’ yacht. 

             
Long after I had gone to bed, I still lay awake staring intently at the ceiling above. I was secretly hoping the answers I needed would magically present themselves across its smooth surface, but after examining it for more than an hour, I raised the proverbial white flag in defeat.  The only thing I had succeeded in identifying was the white paint peering back at me with the same blank stare I felt on my own face.  The incident with Nadia had been pushed to the bottom of my priority list in lieu of this new development in my journey.  Unfortunately, the number of the questions far exceeded my number of answers.  Trepidation had begun to outweigh most of the excitement I felt about the long weekend ahead.  What did Finn mean by ‘practice’?  And how did he plan on figuring out my birthday on a remote island on the Outer banks?  Unless the answer was hidden away in a buried chest, I wasn’t too sure how this was going to work.  What happened if we discovered my birthday was before the November date, as well?  Or even yesterday?  Would I just be out of time and out of luck? 

             
No wonder I couldn’t sleep.  The weight of the world was growing pretty heavy on my slim shoulders.  Giving up on any chance of rest, I rolled out of bed and ambled across my room.  I softly touched the twelve dried black roses still hanging beside my mirror and couldn’t stop the unexpected smile that fought its way onto my face.  A glowing heat spread through my chest, and the simple fact that I wasn’t going to have to do this alone immediately lightened the intense pressure on my shoulders.  Finn would be with me the whole time.   I didn’t know if I could do this, but maybe
we
could.  We could figure this out together.  Of that I was 100% sure.  Whatever life threw at me, I would deal with it and overcome it the same way I had my entire life; with strength and courage.  I fingered the triskellion charm hanging around my neck that matched my trace and felt it warm beneath my touch; reminding me of who I really was. I had faced adversity before.  Not only as Hannah, but also as Anastasia.  This test would be no different.  As I laid back down, Finn’s words to Keto floated through my mind;
She will prevail…she will prevail…

             
Blue.  Stretching out for miles.  But not just any blue.  A deep indigo hue of epic proportions that captivated my soul and enriched my heart.  I knew I was having a reverie, but besides that I was completely at a loss.  I stood on stark white sand as fine as powder with towering limestone cliffs in the shape of a crescent at my back.  The beach was in the shape of a crescent as well; the cliffs blocking any view except for the expansive sea before me.  The contrast of the dazzling white cliffs and the mystical blue water had me mesmerized.  Where was I?  Taking in my surroundings, I had an odd sense that I was very far away from my body.  I could only describe it as a feeling of extreme freedom, to the point it was frightening.  I shoved the highly unsettling feeling back in my mind, trying to concentrate on why my soul would have come here.  I pivoted slowly, trying to find anything that would give me a clue.  Upon closer inspection, a section of cliff behind me had actually been altered. It had been chipped away to the extent that a large block-like structure had emerged from the stone.  With several hollow squares that resembled windows, it could have been a five story building carved into the limestone.  Suspended high above the sand, it was the perfection of camouflage.  Clink…clink…clink.  My head swiveled side to side, finding movement on the sand several yards away.  A man.  Where had he come from?  …clink.  He was collecting something.  I held my breath, even though he shouldn’t be able to see or hear me, and moved closer.  The warm air blew his gray hair and beard to the side; revealing weathered skin and sunken cheeks.  Only wearing thin shorts, his body appeared starved for nourishment as well as for cleanliness.  He methodically scanned the beach, bending carefully as he found a particular shell.  He dropped it in a small basket with the others, causing the clinking sound I had heard.  I moved closer still, accidentally stepping on a small piece of driftwood.  It broke beneath my weight and the old man immediately glanced up, startled.  Serene, blue-gray eyes met mine and I froze.  I was overcome with a feeling of déjà vu as the world faded to darkness around me.

             
 
I opened my eyes, having returned to my darkened room.  Confusion heavy on my heart, I pushed back the covers and headed for the bathroom.  I splashed refreshing, cold water on my flushed face.  Where had I just been?  And who was that man?  I pulled my hair up into a bun, checked out my reflection in the mirror, and gasped.  I quickly let my hair back down and leaned in closer.  Well
that
wasn’t something you saw every day.  Thin streaks of aqua now highlighted my messy blonde hair.  The streaks shimmered slightly in the bathroom light.  It was kind of pretty; ethereal almost.  Unless it spread and I ended up with a head full of blue hair.  I giggled at myself and jumped back in bed.  If I woke up looking like Smurfette in the morning, so be it.  I was too exhausted to worry about it.

~~~~~

              “Seriously?  Permanent highlights?” Carmen crossed her arms over her chest with disdain, “Do you know how many people would kill to have those?”

             
“Something tells me aqua wouldn’t be their first choice of color,” I laughed, and adjusted my bags as we left Maren Hall on our way to the marina.

             
“Maybe you’ll start a new trend!” Phoebe shrieked. “I can already picture the cover of Glamour Magazine:  Blue highlights: Not just for sea Goddesses anymore…” 

             
“Somehow I don’t think it’s going to catch on, Phoebs.” I couldn’t help giggling at her, but I was also secretly hoping Finn wouldn’t think they were weird.  My heart skipped several beats at the thought of him.  I couldn’t wait to spend an entire weekend with him, even though I had no idea what we would be doing.  Of course, we could be cleaning the beach house from top to bottom and I wouldn’t care as long as we’d be together. 

             
Once arriving at the marina, three very tan, very good-looking dark haired guys met us on the boardwalk and took our bags. Ian, his black onyx necklace and diamond stud earrings catching the light of the sun, and two guys I assumed were Cage and Ricker.  Although Finn talked about them, I had never actually met them.  Ian wrapped his arm around a glowing Phoebe and kissed her gently on the lips, while the other two turned toward the yacht.  If I had thought it was impressive the night of the Ball, it blew my mind in the sunlight.  Several times larger than Olivia’s, the Sons’ yacht dwarfed all other boats docked in the marina.  From what I could tell there were four levels, as well as a large deck on the bow and stern.  On the top level a smaller, more secluded deck overlooked the rest of the boat. 

             
“Aren’t you going to introduce Stasia to your friends?” Carmen looked expectantly at Ian.

             
“Cage, Ricker…Stasia,” he gestured at each of us in the world’s shortest introduction ever. 

             
“Nice to meet you,” Cage smiled genuinely at me and then made a face at Ian who was too busy kissing Phoebe to notice.  Cage’s full head of curly dark hair and warm brown eyes matched his laid back style.  His plaid swim trunks told me he was ready to get this vacation underway.  I instantly liked him.  Ricker was a little more reserved with short hair and light blue eyes.  He was tall, with a lean build and simply nodded his head at me.  I saw Carmen narrow her eyes at him as he twisted on his heel.

             
“Finn and Liam are already on board,” Ian informed us as the six of us ascended the ramp attached to the back deck.

             
We entered through the same door we had the night of the ball, but instead of continuing in to the sitting area, we climbed a small staircase.  The second level could be best described as the ultimate man cave.  On the far side of the room a pool table, foosball table, air hockey game, and a couple old-school arcade games littered the deep red carpet.  Directly in front of us were several large black leather couches and fluffy armchairs facing a large flat screen TV on the wall.  In the corner a small kitchenette housed a refrigerator, microwave, and sink.  Maybe this was where the Sons were while everyone else was hanging out at school.  You’d have to drag me off of this boat if I had unrestricted access to it.

             
Someone was splayed across one of the leather couches watching ESPN, but he jumped up at our entrance.  His pale skin and unruly blonde hair that he kept tucking behind his ears made him stick out like a sore thumb amongst Ian, Ricker and Cage.  He had warm green eyes that shyly darted toward Willow.  He effortlessly hopped over the back of the couch and introduced himself with a cute boyish smile.

             
“I’m Liam,” he announced before Ian could introduce me. His khaki shorts hung low on his hips, his blue plaid boxer shorts peaking out below a white t-shirt.  His height and the impressive muscles of his upper body had me placing him in the Triton category.  He was at least 6’4.  My assumption was confirmed when I caught sight of a trace in the shape of a trident along his calf as he inched his way closer to Willow. 

             
“I’m Stasia,” I told him.

             
“Charmed,” he bowed to me and glanced back at Willow; clearly trying to impress her by being funny.

             
“Nice to meet you,” I held back a chuckle.

             
“Finn’s upstairs.  He told me to send you that way when you got on board,” Liam gestured up another small flight of stairs.  It’s no wonder most wealthy people were always in shape.  When your boat has five flights of stairs and your house is a million square feet, you either needed roller skates or plenty of stamina.  I left the others and headed upstairs in search of Finn. 

             
The next level held a small sitting area with a glass door leading to the control deck, but it appeared to be empty.  I continued climbing the stairs to the top level, hoping to find him there.  At the top of the stairs, I stepped into a modest bedroom.  Old world nautical artifacts decorated the room.  An antique telescope sat on a tripod in one corner, a seventeenth century compass and octant sat on the nightstand, and a weathered wooden ship’s wheel hung on the wall above the bed.  A low bookshelf full of books and more artifacts ran the length of one wall.  A photograph in a simple black frame caught my eye and I strode over to the shelves to get a closer look.  It was a younger Finn in the arms of Natasha; him laughing while she looked down at him with unending love.  It made me smile, but also sent a wave of sadness through my heart; reminding me of what I never had.  As my eyes scanned the rest of the shelf, something else jumped out at me.