Ethereal Knights (20 page)

“Fuck,” I groan, trying to gain my footing.

I flatten over the asphalt as he knocks my head into the road—my skull explodes as a wild jolt of pain fires through me. I bring my knee to his balls, and he does the same like a reflex. It goes on for an eternity until a pair of headlights pull up.

Skyla’s heels scuttle over the road as she gets into the waiting car, and they take off.

I sit up, panting, watching the minivan evaporate in the fog.

Logan lands one more punch square across my jaw, and I land flat against the concrete one last time.

My head bounces like a melon, and the world dissolves to darkness.

15

Logan

Set My Heart on Fire

Shit—I almost killed him.

I almost killed Gage, and yet, if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have done anything different.

I’m too ashamed to tell Barron what I’ve done, so I help Gage upstairs to his bedroom and find him an ice pack. God forbid Emma gets wind of this. She’d have me drawn, quartered, and minced in tomorrow night’s stew. 

“Sorry, man.” I slap a hand over his shoulder. I don’t think I could ever convey what shit I feel like for bashing his head in.

Gage looks up at me groggily. His dimples twitch as he pulls his lips into a dissatisfied line.

“It’s all right,” he groans, rolling over on his side. “I’ll kick your ass some other time.”

“Looking forward to it.” I mock shoot him as I head to my room.

I call Skyla before I ever hit the bed.   

“Make it quick.” Her voice rasps from the other line as if she’s been crying.

If I didn’t feel like crap before, I do now.

“I’m sorry.” It strains from my vocal cords because I know those two words will never be enough. “Will you accept my apology?”

“No.” She darts the word right through my heart. “I’m just being honest.”

“I wouldn’t ask anything else.” Maybe a little lie just this once.

We don’t say anything for a long time, just sit and listen to the sound of one another breathing.

“I wish I was with you.” I’d die to hold her tonight. To take this pain I’ve inflicted and evict it from the planet—to hold her until all memory of me with my arm around another girl, fades away. “There’s so much more I want to say,” I whisper.

A quiet sniffle emits from the other end of the line.

Oh, shit. “I made you cry.” It wrenches from me, deep with regret.

I don’t deserve her—for sure, I should stay the hell away from her. She deserves someone sweet and honest, like Gage.

“You don’t have to forgive me,” I whisper. “I don’t think I can forgive myself.”

She gives a ragged breath as if protesting the idea. “Did you get the diary?”

“No.” And if Michelle gets her way, I never will. She’s reveling in the special attention I’ve been doling out.

“Are you done with trying?”

I don’t say a word. I want to tell her I couldn’t care less if that pendant ever made its way back to me, but it’s not true. I need it now—more than ever—for Skyla.

“I guess I have my answer,” she huffs, good and pissed. “Listen, I gotta go. Tell Gage I said, hi, would you?” The line goes dead.

Her words reverberate in my head like a tuning fork.

Tell Gage I said hi.
A slap in the face would have stung less.

***

Gage shows up to breakfast wearing a stupid grin.

“Morning, honey.” Emma pinches the fabric of her blouse. “What do you think?”

I know what she’s going to ask. Apparently, she’s no longer allowed to wear light blue to the daycare center because there’s an off-chance that it gives the aide in her room hives. Personally, I’d fire the aide and wear whatever the hell I wanted.

“What color does this look like to you?” She directs the question to Gage. She’s already asked both Barron and me. We agreed it was purple, much to her delight. 

Gage examines it a moment. “Skyla blue.” He takes a seat at the table and starts heaping eggs onto a plate without catching his gaff.

“Isn’t that Logan’s girlfriend’s name?” Emma sucks in a breath at what this might mean.

You tell him Emma.

“Sky blue.” Gage looks up with his fork frozen midflight. “That’s what I meant. Sorry—I hit my head last night.” He glares over at me.

Emma claps her hand over her mouth. “You’ve fallen in love with her, haven’t you?” She wastes no time throwing around accusations—accurate ones, no less.

Barron ruffles his feathers over at Gage and now it looks as if both of his parents might be tempted to do a little head bashing themselves.

I let out a chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Emma snipes.

“Nothing.” I shake my head over at Gage. “He’s right, he hit his head—I hit his head—on accident.”

Emma runs her fingers through his hair as she examines him and gasps.

“Were you boys fighting again?” Barron gives a dissatisfied grunt. “Logan, you’re old enough to know better.”

“You’re stronger than he is.” Emma says it with such conviction that I almost believe her.

“Thank you,” I nod into her. It’s not true, both Gage and I know it.

“It was over that girl, wasn’t it?” Emma is ready to beat the shit out of this dead horse and ride its bones all the way home, trampling our backs to get there. “You’re both head over heels, and now you’ve come to blows over her.”

“It was just a love tap.” I wink over at Gage. “Isn’t that right, sweetie?” I knock into his shin from under the table.

“Be quiet.” Gage sighs. “And yes”—he glances up at Emma—“it was over Skyla. I’m in love with Logan’s ‘girlfriend,’ but in my defense, I have visions that prove she’s going to marry me one day.” He glares over at me as Emma and Barron both stop breathing.

Barron clears his throat. “A daughter-in-law, Em, isn’t that great?” He gives a hesitant smile, clearly terrified of the impending wrath.

“A wife?” She says it amused, just this side of psychotic. Emma’s lips begin to twitch a million miles an hour, and I hope to God she’s not about to drop dead, no thanks to Gage and his future nuptial standing.

I take Gage in with his dark hair, those dimples you could jam your fists in, and I want to. I’m not amused. I’m downright pissed he chose to break the news to his parents like pulling the pin on a grenade at breakfast. Gage doesn’t care who he hurts as long as he gets Skyla in the end. He’s claiming her as his own, throwing his visions and his parents into the mix to rattle me. 

I push back from the table and get up to leave.

“Stay the
fuck
away from my girlfriend.” I say each word like it were its own sentence.

Emma straightens and takes in a breath. “What he said,” she hisses at Gage before snatching her keys from the entry and taking off for work.

At least I’ve got Emma on my side.

***

West Paragon High melts in and out of the fog like a dream that’s about to turn into a brutal scholastic nightmare—school. Anyway, football season is upon us, and I do love that, plus Skyla is enrolled, so things are looking up already. Even Cerberus’s three-headed snarl looks a little prettier stamped over the gym just knowing she’ll grace the campus with that heavenly bod. 

I scan the crowd for Skyla as students race through the halls of the administration building. The fall schedules are pinned to the boards, and everyone and their mother is craning their necks in hopes of a preview. I spot a stack of individual copies set out to the side, and I snatch up mine and Skyla’s. I scan the two of them, and my heart drops.

Shit.

I have
no
fucking classes with her and my prognosticating relation has every single one?

I glance over at Gage and wince with suspicion. 

Skyla’s coming this way with Drake and Brielle but before she can get here Ellis blocks her off at the pass. Great. Now I’ve got Harrison to deal with.

“I got you in two classes.” Ellis slides his glasses up his nose. He must have lost his contacts. It’s hit or miss with the spectacles, but I know for a fact it drives the girls wild—at least that’s what he tells me. Let’s hope Skyla doesn’t have a weak spot for stoners with glasses.

“How do you know?” She turns her shoulder up in my direction as if evicting me from her line of vision.

“It’s posted up on the wall.” Harrison sports his killer grin as if he were about to score Skyla for himself.

“Oh. I thought we were registering.” She glances over at Gage before reverting her full attention to Ellis.

“Nope, just copying a list they were too lazy to send. Plus, this way they get you to sign up for the after-school stuff without infringing on their precious time.”

“So what classes do we have together?” She produces an ear-to-ear grin for no particular reason. If she’s trying to make me jealous, she’d have much higher success by indulging Gage in another liplock. On second thought, grinning at Ellis is a much better idea.

I step in between the two of them just as Gage takes off toward Brielle. 

“Ellis, will you excuse us a minute?” I don’t take my eyes off Skyla. She’s got her hair pulled back, and her earlobe is taunting the hell out of me to take a bite. 

He looks over at her. “You want me to leave you two alone?”

“Not really. What were those classes again?” She steps around me and takes a look at the paper in his hands.

“Sociology and Algebra Two.”

I balk at the thought of Ellis ever qualifying for higher mathematics.

“Algebra Two?” she asks. “You must be really good at math. I’m going to need lots of tutoring.” Skyla smears the words like she’s frosting a cake.

“Are you done?” I shove Ellis back a good foot in the event he didn’t pick up on the I’ll-be-kicking-your-ass-later look I just shot him.

“Enough,” Skyla shouts. “I’ll talk to you.” She glances back at Ellis. “Thank you. I look forward to your help.”

“For the record”—I touch my hand to my chest—“I tutored him in math two years in a row.”

“Like I said, you’re a real superhero,” she seethes. “So how long before you get your girlfriend’s diary back? A week? A month? Next two years? I really don’t want your excuses.”

“I’m not making excuses.” I lean into her. “I checked the schedule. You know how many classes we have together?”

“You and me, or you and Michelle?”

“You and me,” I whisper

Her face explodes with color. “How many?” She tilts her head, hopeful.

“None.” It hurts to even say it.

“None?” Her voice raises two octaves and solidifies the fact she still has feelings for me—or that her plans of cheating off my papers have been reduced to nil.

“What are the odds, right?”

“I don’t know.” She blows out a pressured breath. “What about lunch?”

“You have B, I have A.” I hand her a copy.

“Lovely.” You can practically see her mind reeling with possibilities.

Skyla steps away and examines her classes with great intensity. She glances up and makes a beeline over to Gage. 

“Did you do this?” I can hear her voice rising from the swarm of the crowd, ripe with accusation.

He shakes his head while feeding her some bullshit line.

Michelle comes up and snatches the schedule from my hands.

“Nice,” she says, slapping me some skin for scoring two classes with her.

I glance over at Skyla, and sure enough, she’s glaring in this direction. 

We lock eyes for a moment before she turns her back to me.

Skyla combs her fingers through Gage’s hair and takes a bold step into him until her body relaxes against his.

I get it.

Play with the fire that is Michelle Miller, and get burned by losing Skyla forever.

It’s as clear as those crystal blue eyes of hers.

Gage

The next day, the clouds press against the island with their dark-sooted bellies, holding the heat to the ground like a skillet. Every now and again, a light rain sprinkles down, cooling us off just enough to get us through the intense simmer of afternoon.

It’s cool in the bowling alley, and for once, I don’t mind logging eight solid hours in this overgrown box.

Even less so now that Skyla just wandered in with her stepbrother.

I speed over and say hello.

“You want a tour of the kitchen?” I ask, as Drake shoots off toward Bree like a missile. I’ve caught them on at least three occasions going at it full throttle in the utility closet, but I won’t tell Logan for fear of Brielle’s future paychecks.

Skyla gives a soft smile as I lead her over to the den of destruction. She takes in the stainless walls as the staff bustles around us. I have no clue why I offered to show her the kitchen other the fact that Logan might see her if I paraded her through any other part of the facility. Selfishly, I want her all to myself, every minute of the day.

I lead her over to the freezer and open the door like an invitation.

“Walk-in,” I say. “Hang out in there a few minutes, and it’ll really cool you down.” I should know—I’ve been doing it all day. 

“Can you get locked in?” She hesitates before slipping her arm inside.

“Nope.” I run my hand over the door. “Shuts just like a refrigerator.”

Logan comes over and pulls a sleeve of hot dog buns out of the rack behind us, rubbing up against Skyla in the process. He damn well knows we’ve been out of hot dogs since yesterday afternoon.

“Are you ready to work for me?” He raises his brows as if the proposition were far from fiscal.

“Maybe I will.” She twists her lips just shy of a smile. “I think I’d enjoy working with Gage.” She’s knifing him with my name, but I couldn’t care less—hell, I encourage it. I revel in the pissed-off expression on his face just the same.

“Him, I’m about to fire.” He gives a lazy wink in my direction before disappearing back into the kitchen.

“You guys usually get along?” A wave of guilt sweeps over her as if she were solely responsible—she is, but that’s beside the point.