Everlasting Bond (3 page)

“There you are. I was about to send out a search party,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.

Katrina waited for Jake to say one of his witty comebacks, but he said nothing. Slapped in the face by his cold blank stare, Katrina was left speechless. Then she felt them come through like an explosion. His emotions were so jumbled. Usually, she could tell exactly how he felt, but not this
time—this time they were all over the place.

Without a word, Jake walked to the passenger side of the truck. His movements were robotic, as he opened the door and climbed inside. Katrina went to the other side of the truck and climbed in the driver’s seat.

The car ride home was a quiet one. Katrina attempted to pry any helpful information she could out of Jake, but found it difficult. Jake was no help; he sat catatonic, refusing to respond to any of her questions. Silently, he stared out the passenger side window.

Determined to find answers, Katrina refused to give up. She tried once more with a calm and non-interrogative approach.

“So, Jake, guess who I have in my first period class? One of the new kids, Cole Aldrich.”

“Yeah, me too.” Jake’s voice was barely a whisper and he wouldn’t look at her.

“Really? What’s his name?”

“Andrew.”

“What’s he like? Is he like the other jocks or is he different, like you?” she asked, as the truck’s balding tires crunched against their narrow gravel driveway. Relief washed over her at Jake’s response. He was talking again. Then her previous thoughts from earlier resurfaced, as her intense curiosity was back. Gently, she eased into pressing him for more information.

“He’s different all right, but not like me.” Jake’s body suddenly tensed. Sliding out of the truck Jake gave her an angry glare before slamming the door shut and heading towards the house.

Katrina shut the truck off and ran after him shouting back, “Jake! What the hell is wrong with you?”

Jake had never been a typical moody or angry teenager. He was occasionally prone to an emotional outburst, but nothing like his behavior displayed in the truck. Jake had never been so cold and heartless towards anyone, especially Katrina.

Fighting back tears of frustration and anger, she forced herself to pull it together and began to head upstairs towards her room. Passing the icy lavender bathroom, she caught a quick glimpse of her brother. She gasped in shock, as he rubbed his neck. Dabbing his bloody lip with a damp cloth, he caught sight of her through the bathroom mirror.

“Jake, what happened?”

“It’s nothing.” He tried to brush it off, but she wasn't giving up that easily.

“Nothing? Look at you.”

“Just let it go.”

“No, I can’t just let it go. Who did this to you?”

“Kat, leave it alone!”

When Jake’s eyes met hers, Katrina could see anger sweltering behind his cold stare. His face tightened into a harsh glare like a marble statue. He turned and angrily slammed the door in her face.

Confused and hurt by her brother’s callous behavior, Katrina stormed into her room. As she slammed her door, the tears she had been fighting back finally overpowered her. She threw herself onto the bed and grabbed her pillow. Burying her head, she burst into heavy sobs.

Waking up to her alarm, Katrina was hoping today would be better. The past couple weeks hadn’t worked out too well. Tears fell down her cheeks as she recalled how rough it had been. She hoped Jake’s coldness would dissipate over time.

While she was concerned for him, Katrina still had another problem to deal with. The odd encounters with Cole managed to repeat themselves almost every day. Each time, the feelings seemed to grow and become stronger with every encounter. He even found his way into her dreams at night.

The first time it happened was the same night of the first day she met him. It began the same as many of her other dreams. Most of them took place in a distant time, but in this one there was something very different. The line between reality and dream began to blur into one. It felt more like a distant memory from her past rather than a simple random reflection. Most of her dreams were jumbled thoughts intermingling into one another as she drifted from one scene to the next, but this one was the exact opposite. There was no roaming from one incoherent thought to the next. Katrina could still remember every vivid detail as if it happened moments ago.

The musty smell of the cottage floor overwhelmed her, as she was crouching in a tight knit ball. Hidden in a crawl space under the floorboard, she nestled against the firm ground. Watching and waiting for someone or something, Katrina’s frantic eyes searched for any distinguishing features. Unfortunately the stranger’s face was hidden amongst the shadows and she could never get a good look at him. The only thing she could remember was the sound of his boots dragging along the wooden flooring as bits of dust fell into her eyes.

“Katrina! You’re going to be late!” her mother’s voice intruded, bringing her back down to reality.

“I’ll be right down!” Katrina exhaled before moping her way down the stairs. She wasn’t sure she could stomach any more of the silent treatment from Jake. Being ignored by her brother as though she were a ghost hurt her beyond words. She couldn’t imagine what had him so upset that he refused to tell her.

On the bright side, it was a new day and she hoped he might be in a better frame of mind. She would remain positive—today would be better. Excited at the thought, Katrina was dressed before her mother could heed a second warning. Katrina tried to remain positive. “Today will be better,” she repeated out loud to herself.

In the hall she caught a glimpse of Jake in his bedroom. She sucked up her emotions and said, “Morning,” hoping he wouldn’t bite her head off. To her relief he didn’t, but he didn’t exactly return her greeting either. He just gave her a slight nod and quickly shut his door.

Exhaling a sigh of frustration, Katrina continued down the stairs and into the kitchen. Their kitchen wasn’t modern by any sense of the word, but it still had all the basics. The white squares of tile glistened against the light maple cabinetry. Even the matching white appliances seemed brighter than normal. Her mother’s apple décor lined the little wall space available.

Katrina found her mother sitting at the oak table reading the morning paper and
enjoying her morning coffee. One place setting was set in front of her and the green plate was overloaded with piles of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Katrina was so used to her mother being absent during her morning routine that the scene seemed odd.

“Wow, a real breakfast t
oday,” Katrina said, playfully.

Lost in the paper, it took her mother a moment to realize she was even there. “That wa
s quick,” her mother looked up.

“I know,” Katrina exhaled. “I was running late the past few weeks and I don’t want to make it a habit.” She sat down and took a bite full of eggs.

“Good for you, sweetie. Jake is already in the truck, so you had better hurry up. I’ll be home late. I have to work an extra shift at the restaurant.”

“No problem. We’ll be fine,” Katrina said, in between more bites of her food.

Her mom smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “I know you will. You guys always are.” Chewing her last bite of bacon, Katrina gave her mom a silent nod of agreement.

“I mean it.” Her mom put a hand on hers. “With everything that’s happened, you both have really stepped up to the plate.”

“Since dad’s accident, it’s been hard for us, but we know it hasn’t exactly been easy on you either.”

“And I thank you for that. Lots of kids would rebel or do something crazy, but both of you’ve made our situation easier and I just wanted you
to know that I appreciate it.”

Her mother’s sleep-deprived hazel eyes sparkled under the kitchen’s dim lighting. The dark colored bags forming underneath were a dreary reminder of how much stress she was under. Judging by her messy chestnut colored hair that was still pulled back and the fact that she still smelled like a truck stop restaurant, Katrina knew she hadn’t even showered yet. Katrina could never mistake the unique aroma, which was the overwhelming stench of fried grease lightly misted with a coating of pancake batter. Most memories of her mother were submerged with that smell. It was one of the reasons Katrina hadn’t eaten at a diner in years.
Katrina’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jake slamming the front door.

“I better go. I love you.” Katrina quickly wiped her face and then planted a light kiss on her mother’s tired cheek.

“I love you too. Do me a favor will you? See if you can talk some sense into Jake. He’s still upset over something and won’t tell me about it. Maybe you’ll have better luck with him since you two are so close.”

“Sure, mom, I’ll try.”

Katrina found it very difficult to get through her brother’s silent treatment; she had never felt so alone. Jake became withdrawn and spent all of his time locked up in his room, unwilling to talk.

“I’ll see you later,” Katrina said, as she closed the front door.

Making the short trip from the porch to the truck, Katrina took a couple deep breaths and prepared herself for whatever possible outcome she would face. Opening the door, Katrina gave her brother a wary smile before sliding into the passenger’s seat.

“I’m ready
to go,” Katrina softly uttered.

Without a word, Jake started the truck and then made his way onto the highway. The two sat in awkward silence for a few miles before Jake suddenly slammed on the brakes and swerved onto the shoulder of the highway so quickly that she could smell the rubber burning. He threw the truck into park before they were fully stopped. Katrina let out a scream as she was thrust forward. The seatbelt l
ocked so tight she thought she might actually lose her breakfast.

“Jake! What are you doing?” Katrina looked a
round. “Did you hit something?”

“No,” he said, shutting off the engine.

“Then why are we stopping here? We’re going to be late.”

Jake sighed and tilted his head down, as he fidgeted with the steering wheel. She felt a surge of frustration overtake her, but it wasn’t coming from her. His feelings were com
ing through loud and clear.

Suddenly picking his head up he said, “Look Kat, I know you’re angry with me.”

“What do you mean—angry at the fact that you ignored me the past few weeks or angry at the fact that you shut me out completely?”

“I’m really sorry,” he said, looking into her eyes. This was the first time since that day that she had gotten a good look at him. The bruises were starting to heal, leaving only light purple reminders behind. “I sat in my room and debated on whether I should tell you or not.”

“Tell me what, Jake?”

“I need to tell you something that I could barely bring myself to believe.” Jake’s hands trembled against the steering wheel.

“Is it about what happened at school that day?” She gently placed her hand against his and felt his shaking ease.

“Yeah, about that,
Kat, I’m really sorry I was such a jerk. I just had trouble wrapping my head around the whole thing and last night when I had the dream it all seemed to click.”

“What are you talking a
bout? You lost me.”

“Sorry. Just try to
keep an open mind, okay?”

Katrina nodded her head and squeezed his hand for support. “I got out of class early that Monday, so I decided to sit on the bleachers and catch up on some reading. I was relaxing when Brody and the rest of them came out of the gym and found me.”

“Brody Miller! I hate that jerk. Is he the one that did this to you?” Katrina tried to contain her anger, as Jake nodded.

“Yeah, but let me explain.”

“Sorry, go ahead.”

“Brody, Mason and the rest of their idiots started messing with me and calling me names. Then they knocked the book out of my hands. They started shouting things at me and I knew I was in for it again. I thought I had
had enough for the day, but now I had to deal with more of his crap.”

“Brody already started in on you? I wis
h someone would knock him one!”

“Me too.” Jake paused a second before continuing, “I was so pissed off
I got up to leave. When I stood up, he tried to shove me back down and that’s when it all happened.”

“What?”

“Mason held me down while Brody swung at me.”

“That’s all that ass knows how to do!” Katrina snapped, her
temper getting the best of her.

“That’s not even the strangest part. While we were fighting, I heard this weird snarling sound from behind me.”

“Are you telling me it was an animal that did this?”

“No, well I’m not sure really. When I looked up all of them were standing there in a blank daze. I turned around to see what they were staring at and that’s when I saw
him
.”

“Who?”

“Andrew.” Jake paused on his name for second and the muscle in his jaw flexed before he finally continued. “But he’s not like us, Kat. He’s something else.”

“What do you mean?” She immediately thought of his cousin Cole.
“Did he make you feel strange?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what happened?”

“Remember how I said to have an open mind?”

“Yeah.”

“I wasn’t sure I should even tell anyone, but if I don’t I’m going to go crazy.”

“Will you please tell me before I go crazy?”

“Right. Sorry. When I turned to look at him his eyes were crazy. They were really dark and there was something else. Kat, he had fangs.”

“Fangs?” Katrina stared at him in disbelief.

Jake nodded. “They were long and sharp. I’m not really sure what happened next, but I must have blacked out because when I woke up, Brody and the rest of them were gone. I was alone. I thought maybe I had imagined the whole thing. But, lately I’ve been dreaming about him. It was little bits here and there that didn’t make any sense, until last night. Andrew was walking me up to this cottage and it was like we were old friends. Things were kind of a blur, but all I remember is him asking if I remembered him.”

“What did he mean by that?”

“That’s just it, I have no clue. In the dream, he began to tell me a little about his family and why they’re here. He said they came here to find what they lost.”

“Meaning what?”

“I don’t know. Just when he was about to tell me, everything changed. His mouth snapped shut and this black Camaro pulled up into a back alley. Walking towards the car, he yelled over his shoulder for me to sleep on it and the answers would come. After that my alarm went off and I woke up in a cold sweat.”

Katrina sat in silence, stunned as she tried to make sense of Jake’s revelation.

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” He nervously ran his fingers along the outer edge of the steerin
g wheel.

“No, no Jake. In fact, it’s just the opposite. As crazy as it sounds, I believe you’re telling me the truth. Actually
, I’m glad you’re talking to me at all after—” She let her voice fall as her emotions got the best of her.

“Yeah, I know. Again, I’m so sorry, Kat. I was just confused and shocked. I didn’t know if anyone would believe me.”

“I’m just glad you finally did.” Katrina bit her lower lip. “Since we're being honest, I need to tell you something.”

“What?” Jake asked, giving her his full attention.

“I’ve been having these dreams and until now I thought they were just my imagination.”

“About what?”

“Cole.” Katrina felt her face flush in embarrassment.

“His cousin?” Jake cocked his eyebrows at her.

“Yeah. They’re mostly jumbled images, but we’re always back in time. And it’s just weird. Like it’s more than just a dream.” It took everything in her to get it all out. “And I just feel—” Katrina searched her brain for the right word, but was distracted by the watch on Jake’s wrist. “Is that the time? Crap, we’re going to be late again.”

Jake quickly started the engine and pulled back onto the desolate highway. Katrina fidgeted with her books, hoping they would make it on time. She couldn’t stand the thought of Principal Weber giving her another disapproving glare, as she ran through the ha
ll like a tornado to her class.