Covet (5 page)

He nodded his greeting.

Frowning, Mom shut the heavy oak door behind her. “So where’s Nanna? You didn’t call, so I assumed—”

“Mom, you should come sit down,” I interrupted, dreading her reaction and yet needing to get this over with.

She blinked a few times and then eased into the upholstered rocking chair, making its sagging springs creak in protest. Kneeling at her feet on the worn-out green-gold carpeting we’d tried a million times to convince Nanna to let us replace, I held Mom’s hands and tried to figure out how to tell my mom I’d caused her mother’s death.

“Mom, Nanna’s…”

“Oh no,” Mom whispered, her hazel eyes rounding. “They killed her, didn’t they? Didn’t they?” Her voice rose to a shriek. “I knew it! I knew they would murder her someday. Those hateful, spiteful… Oh sweet God. I should have been here, helped protect her. I shouldn’t have been on the road so much. I was gone all the time, I made it so easy for them….”

“No, Mom. It’s my fault,” I blurted out.

“Wh-what?” she whispered.

I couldn’t look at her. I stared at the carpet, and I confessed it all…dating Tristan and hiding it from everyone, the fight Friday night between Dylan and Tristan after dance team practice, the vamp council’s watchers at my school. And then the council’s test in Paris, and getting Tristan home again only to discover we were too late. I couldn’t make my voice any louder than a whisper as I told her how Nanna had died in my arms despite everything Mr. Coleman and Dr. Faulkner had tried, and how the doctor thought Nanna must have had a heart condition for years. And finally, how I had promised both the council and the Clann never to see Tristan again, and then I’d kept that promise and broken up with him.

There was silence in the room as Mom processed it all. Then she jumped to her feet and went to stand by the dark stained bookcase with her back to Dad and me. For long minutes, the only sound was the ticking of the ornately engraved silver-and-red clock on top of the piano and Mom’s harsh, fast breathing.

“Mom?” I felt like a little kid again, so small and scared. I’d never seen her so furious she couldn’t even look at me. I’d always followed the rules, done everything I could to be a good girl. Until this year. Until Tristan. And now I had broken our family apart.

I got to my feet, my cold clothes sticking to my skin. I took two steps in her direction, not daring to move any closer. “Mom, I am so sorry. I can’t even tell you how sorry I am. I didn’t know…I didn’t believe the Clann would ever do something like this. When they found out about you and Dad, all they did was cast you and Nanna out. And the council…taking Tristan like that…” How could I begin to explain how everything had seemed like no big deal, until it had spiraled completely out of control?

“You are your mother’s daughter, aren’t you?” she murmured, her shoulders sagging, and the disappointment, the utter defeat, in her posture was worse than a slap in the face could ever be.

Then she turned toward me, and I could see the tears pouring down her cheeks. I couldn’t hold back my own tears and sobs any longer.

“Come here,” she said, holding out her arms, and I was a first-grader all over again, running into my mother’s embrace for comfort. Only this was no skinned knee or bruise from falling off my bicycle in the street. This was so much more, and I would never be able to make all my mistakes from this year right again.

I told her I was sorry, over and over, even as I knew no amount of apologies would bring Nanna back to us.

“Shh,” she whispered, running a hand over my hair just as she used to do when I was little, but it only made it so much worse because I didn’t deserve to be comforted or forgiven.

She shook her head, filling my nose with her favorite Wind Song perfume, and sighed. “You didn’t know what the Clann was truly capable of because I didn’t want you to know. I tried to shelter you from all that ugliness, just like your grandma tried to shelter us both from her health problems, apparently.” She leaned back, cupped my face between her calloused hands and gave me a sad smile. “I had really hoped you wouldn’t ever have to experience the same troubles your father and I went through. And yet history just keeps on finding a way to repeat itself, doesn’t it?”

She looked over my shoulder at my father and her eyes grew even sadder, which I hadn’t thought possible.

The air whooshed out of her in the heaviest sigh I’d ever heard from her. “Where’s Nanna’s…?”

“It is all being taken care of, Joan,” Dad said with a softness I hadn’t thought him capable of. “Though of course there are other things to discuss when you are ready.”

She nodded. “Savannah, why don’t you go get some dry clothes on. Rest if you feel like it, and tomorrow we’ll talk some more, okay?”

I nodded, so empty and tired now, it was all I could do to drag myself into my room and change into a giant T-shirt to sleep in. I slid under the blankets, my feet bumping against a stack of freshly folded laundry Nanna must have left at the end of my bed for me to put away.

I fell asleep with my fingertips rubbing the soft twisted nubs of the lavender-colored afghan Nanna had crocheted for my sixth birthday.

TRISTAN

I paced the length of my room from the bathroom door to my desk then back again, my fists curling and uncurling. What an unbelievable mess this morning had turned into, and just when I thought I’d finally figured it all out for Savannah and me.

I tried the knob on my bedroom door. An electric jolt zapped my hand, forcing me to let go with a yelp and a curse.

My parents had put one heck of a spell on my door to keep me here. No doubt the window was covered, too.

Would they let me out for dinner? For school tomorrow?

Growling out a sigh, I sat on the edge of my bed and dropped my head into my hands.

I needed to get out of here, get to Savannah. Be there for her while she dealt with all of this. She talked about Mrs. Evans all the time. Her grandma had been like a second mother to her, especially since her mother was on the road all the time. Losing her would be devastating for Savannah. She would need all the support that she could get right now.

I should be there with her. Instead, I was a prisoner in my own bedroom. And because of the other spells my mother had placed on this room years ago, I couldn’t even dream connect with Savannah as long as I was locked up. The only time we’d been able to connect our minds in our sleep was when I camped out in the backyard.

If I smashed my desk chair through my window, would that break the spell on it, too?

A sharp double rap on my door made me jump to my feet.

“Yeah?” I said.

The door swung open. Emily poked her head in. “Hey. Thought I’d see how you’re doing.”

I frowned at her. “How are you able to open the door without getting zapped?”

“Selective spell. Mom set it to work only on you. Don’t try walking through the doorway just because I opened the door, though. The minute your toe hits the threshold, you’ll get thrown back on your butt. And trust me, you’d remember the experience afterward.” At my raised eyebrows, she added, “What, you think you’re the only one around here who’s ever been grounded?”

Grumbling under my breath, I dropped onto the edge of my bed again with my back to her. Man, this sucked. Why couldn’t I have been born into a normal family?

“What in the world are you listening to? Is that…Phil Collins?”

It was. Not that it was any of her business. Rolling my eyes, I leaned over and turned down the volume on my docking station. Then I flopped back on my bed.

“Raiding Dad’s music collection again?” Grinning, she stepped the rest of the way into my room.

I sighed and stared at the ceiling. “Come to gloat that you’re the angel of the family again?”

“Well, it’s not like you make it a hard achievement for me.” She sat down on the corner of the bed nearest the door. “Seriously, little brother. What in the world were you thinking, pulling that stunt out there? Did you really expect the Clann to just roll over and give you whatever you wanted because you threw out an ultimatum?”

“No.” Well, maybe I’d hoped.

“Then what exactly
did
you think would happen?”

I shrugged. “Either they’d accept Sav and me, or I’d leave the Clann. Just because I was born into this family doesn’t mean I don’t have a choice about anything.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. Like Mom would just let you quit and throw away all her plans.”

Honestly, I didn’t care what Mom wanted anymore. This was my life, not hers. “Any idea when they’ll let me out of here?”

“I heard Mom on the phone. Sounded like she was leaving a message with the school office. You’re out with the flu for at least a week.”

A whole
week
?

As I stared at her in disbelief, she added, “They want you to have some time to calm down and see reason. Well, that and for the gossip to die down.”

Unbelievable. They still didn’t get it.

I slammed the heel of my fist against the mattress. “I need out of here
now
. Savannah just lost her grandma. And no telling what hell she’ll be catching from her parents, too. She needs me to be there for her.”

“Well, I guess she’ll just have to face Hades on her own for a while, because you’re not getting out of here anytime soon.”

I cursed loudly. Emily didn’t even flinch.

“You know, you could get out sooner.”

That got my attention. “How?”

“Just tell Mom what she wants to hear. Tell her you’re sorry, and you were wrong, and you still want to become the next Clann leader.”

“And that I’ll never see Savannah again?” I didn’t bother to keep the sneer out of my tone.

One blond eyebrow arched in her trademark
well, duh
look.

I returned to staring at the ceiling. “Not gonna happen. I meant what I said out there. They can’t make me stay in the Clann. And if I’m no longer a member, their rules don’t apply to me anymore.”

“Maybe the Clann rules wouldn’t. But our parents’ rules would.”

I clenched my teeth and focused on not breaking anything.

Emily huffed out a long and noisy sigh. “Lord, you’re hardheaded. I know you like Savannah and all, but honestly, she can’t possibly be worth all of this.”

“She is. And I don’t just like her. I love her. I’ve never felt like this for anyone. Ever. I’m not giving her up just because our parents are a bunch of bigots.”

“So you’re going to stay grounded for the rest of your life?”

“They can’t keep me in here forever. Eventually they’ve got to let me out for school.”

“Not if they sign you up for homeschooling.”

I raised up on one elbow. “They wouldn’t do that.”

She shrugged. “They might if you push them far enough.” When I kept staring at her, she glared at me. “Do you really not know our parents
at all
? They’re going to do whatever it takes to get it through that thick skull of yours that she’s off-limits! Just let her go, Tristan.”

“Never. Not as long as we love each other. Besides, our parents can only control me till I turn eighteen. Then I’m out of here and they won’t be able to do anything about it.”

“Oh, I see. Planning on falling back on that trust fund.”

“Yep.”

“Except who do you think holds the strings to that, too?”

Mentally I cursed. I hadn’t thought of that, but I should have. This was why Emily was the brains behind most of the trouble we used to get into as kids. “Fine. Then I’ll get a job.”

“Doing what, genius? Folding burritos at a fast-food place? You think you’re going to be able to support the both of you on that? Because I can guarantee you her parents aren’t going to become your biggest fans anytime soon. Her dad looked ready to kill you in the Circle. And now that you two basically went and caused the death of her grandma, I can’t see her mother liking you much, either. The only way she’ll be with you is if she runs away from home.”

“The Clann caused Mrs. Evans’s heart to fail, not Sav and me.”

A long silence. “Savannah didn’t seem to see it that way.”

I’m so sorry, Nanna
, Savannah had whispered over and over while holding her grandmother’s body.

As if Savannah blamed herself for Mrs. Evans’s death. “I’ll make her understand it was the Clann’s fault.”

“Good luck with that when you’re grounded to your room till you turn eighteen.”

Mom had taken my cell phone, house phone and computer, too. My left foot started to jiggle. “Let me borrow your phone.”

“No way! Then Mom would take it away, too. And before you ask, you can’t borrow my laptop, either. I’m not losing my social life just because you’ve gone nuts over one of the few girls on the entire planet that you can’t have.” She hopped to her feet. “Face it, little brother. You’ve had your fun, but your fling with Savannah is over. The sooner you move on and find someone else, the better it’ll be. For the both of you.”

She walked out the door then hesitated. “Oh yeah. And Mom sent you this.” She used a foot to push a wicker and wood tray with a can of soda and a sandwich on a plate across the threshold into my room. “PB and strawberry jelly. Your favorite.”

Like I would eat that. Mom had probably laced it with more spells to make me forget about Savannah or something. “I’m not eating till they let me out of here.”

A slow grin spread across her face. “Stupid, but admirable. I’ll sneak you in something to eat.”

Could I trust whatever she brought?

Her grin turned into a laugh. “It’ll be safe. Pinky swear.”

“Thanks, sis.”

Now if she could just find me a spell strong enough to bust out of this joint.

SAVANNAH

As I stumbled out of bed the next morning, I felt like one of my glass ballerinas, cold and brittle and way too breakable. My eyes were scratchy and so puffy I could barely open them at first.

I desperately needed some caffeine.

Dragging myself down the hall, I headed for the dining table, already looking forward to that daily cup of Nanna’s homegrown, old-fashioned steeped tea. Two things stopped me in my tracks.