Reaper (7 page)

Everyone got along at dinner; the conversation flowed freely and I felt comfortable talking to René and Keith.
 
We exchanged numbers after dinner and René promised she’d call soon.

“Aren’t you glad you went?” Ethan asked he opened the car door for me.

“Yes, and I think I have friends now!”

“You are so cute,” Ethan said with a chuckle. “I like them; they seem like nice people.”

I smiled. He was right; they did seem like nice people. A small sense of logic roped in my excitement. Not everything was as it seemed.

~*~

René called me the next day. We made plans to hang out with her and Keith on Sunday and then again on Monday. I really liked those two, and it was so easy and comfortable to be around them and be myself. I was so happy that I was a bit surprised when, on Tuesday, Ethan asked me to keep the next day open. He said he made plans but wouldn’t tell me what they were.

The weather steadily got nicer and nicer each day. The sun was shining and the temperature reached sixty-five. Ethan filled up water buckets while I saddled up Mystery and Neptune. We had only just begun our ride when a white car bumped down the long gravel drive.

“Your friends?” Ethan asked as he cantered Neptune over.

“No. I don’t recognize the car.”

Ethan shrugged. “Let’s go see.”

We ran over just in time to see a slim blond getting out of the car. She smiled and waved ecstatically.

“Ethan!” she called. It took a minute for my brain to process her voice. We moved closer and I knew immediately who she was.

“Sam!” Ethan exclaimed in disbelief. He swung off of Neptune. “What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too,” she said and opened her arms for a hug.

Ethan smiled. “Of course it’s good to see you, I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Well, we were in the area and thought I’d stop by.”

I realized that there was another person present. A young girl with tight brown curls stood shyly by the car. I wanted to turn Mystery and gallop back into the field. My run-ins with Sam had not been pleasant. Still, Ethan loved her like a sister so I smiled warmly.

“Hey Sam. It’s really nice to see you again,” I said as sincerely as I could.

“Yeah, you too Anora,” she replied with a pressed smile.

“Well,” I said, taking the reins out of Ethan’s hand. “I’ll put the horses away.”

“Need any help?” he asked.

“No.” I turned Neptune around. “Thanks, though.”

I took my sweet time unsaddling and brushing the horses. Ethan, Sam, and her friend were sitting around the kitchen table when I finally came back inside. Sam was saying something to Ethan but stopped as soon as she saw me. The brunette smiled and looked down.

"Hi, I'm Anora," I told her, though I'm sure she knew.

"Hi. Belinda," she said shyly.

"Nice to meet you." I sat in the chair next to Ethan. He put his hand on my thigh. "So, you must be friends with Sam then."

"Obviously," Sam snorted, but didn't look at me.

"A
good
friend?" I asked, and hoped someone would catch what I was trying to ask.

"Yes. I've known her for a while, and I've met Ethan before too," Belinda explained.

"Oh yeah," Ethan recalled. "Weren't we hunting a banshee in the Bronx?"

She nodded. That answered my question too: she was in the Order.

"You get the horses put away ok?" Ethan asked.

"Of course. They're back outside; it's too nice for them to stay in," I said and looked out the window at the pasture.

Sam chuckled. We all looked at her. "Enjoying your vacation, I see," she directed toward Ethan.

"What are you talking about, Sam?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Your vacation here."

"Still not following you." He shook his head.

Sam rolled her eyes and smiled. "Other than helping out your dad a while ago, when was the last time you killed something?" When Ethan didn't answer right away she spat, "That's what I thought!"

"He was hurt, remember?" I reminded her.

She waved her hand in the air. "Oh, please, I've seen this boy go after five goblins with a broken arm before."

"Goblins are real?" I asked aloud in disbelief. It was a bad move because Sam rolled her eyes again and loudly whispered to Belinda, "She's new to this."

Ethan took his hand off my leg and crossed his arms. "What does it matter? We’re still getting used to living here."

"Come on Ethan." Sam leaned on the table. "Do you want to be on probation again?"

"Sure. They can kick me out for all I care." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. Sam and Belinda looked shocked. A tense silence fell over the table. I wished for a distraction.

And I got one. Hunter came bounding over, wagging his tail. He remembered Sam, and he approved of her in a 'she's not evil' way, but ignored her for my sake.

"Oh, is this
the
dog?" Belinda asked.

"Yes," Sam sighed.

"This is Hunter," I told her. "I'm guessing you know about him."

"Yeah, Julia told me everything," Belinda said. Julia was Sam’s older sister. She and Sam shared the same blonde hair and facial features, but that was where the similarities stopped. Julia was friendly, welcoming, patient, and kind. Plus, she inherited psychic abilities from her mother. I had always wondered if Sam was jealous of that.

Belinda slowly edged off her chair. "He's beautiful! And bigger than I expected." Hunter walked over and let her pet him.

"Thanks," I said. Then everyone was quiet again. I could sense that Ethan was pissed. "Anyone hungry?" I asked to break the silence.

"Um, a little," Belinda said shyly.

I looked at Ethan. He nodded.

 
"Well, I can make you something here or we could go out," I offered.

"Let's go out." Ethan stood. I made a face. "What's wrong with that?"

"I kinda need to shower then. I smell like horses." And I hadn't showered yet today, but I didn't share that with everyone.

"That's fine." Ethan's eyes met mine. I smiled and saw him relax.

"I'll hurry," I promised and ran upstairs. I showered as fast as humanly possible. I pulled my long, dark, wet hair into a bun and started to quickly apply some makeup.

Sam’s fake laughter drifted up the stairs. I wondered what could possibly be so funny. She made me so mad! I wanted to call Laney and vent, but she was still in school. And I wanted to know why Ethan was on probation before...and what that even meant. I dressed simply in jeans and a tee shirt, and grabbed a pair of flip flops before I ran back downstairs.

Everyone was still in the kitchen, but the atmosphere felt different; it was calm and relaxed. A weird, manic energy came from far left side of the room, and coincidentally, Sam was sitting there.

"You look pretty," Ethan said and stood.

"Really?" I was surprised. "I got dressed in like ten minutes. I didn't even dry my hair." I shrugged to cover the fact that the public compliment made me flush.

“Your house is beautiful,” Belinda said as she examined the kitchen.

“Thanks, I can’t take all the credit though.” I opened the garage door. “I inherited it and then we hired an interior decorator.” Hilary Moore had done a wonderful job keeping the Victorian theme subtle and tasteful. She came up with most of the ideas on her own, with little help from me or Ethan. I had one rule though, and she shuddered when I told her I wanted as much horse decor incorporated as possible.

Sam made a little excited squeak when she saw the Camaro. “Holy shit, this thing’s awesome!”

“Best birthday present ever,” Ethan said with a wide grin. She and Ethan walked over; he popped the hood. Sam was pointing to things and seemed like she knew what she was talking about. I had no idea she liked cars.

“We’re taking that?” She asked when she saw me open the door to my Prius; she sounded very disappointed.

“Yup. Save the environment,” I said flatly. “Plus the backseat in the Camaro has like no leg room.”

The ride into town would have been awkward, but was saved by me blaring Poison to the point of not allowing conversations to take place.
 
We ate lunch in a cute little café in the heart of downtown Paradise Valley. I expected an awkward silence to fill the entire time out but Sam didn’t keep her mouth shut.

Talking with amazing speed, she told us every single detail of her previous hunts, including their current one. Sam and Belinda were on an assignment hunting some sort of reaper demon. Sam said that she ‘randomly realized’ that they were only a few hours away and decided to surprise Ethan with a visit.

 
We sat around the house making small talk after lunch. Sam kept bringing up stories about past hunts, all involving her and Ethan. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she was trying to make me jealous.
 
I was just about to make up an excuse to take Hunter for a walk when René called.

“Hey René.”

“Hey Anora.” Her voice broke; she was crying.

“René, what’s wrong?”

“Scott,” she sobbed, “cheated on me, that asshole!”

“Aw, René. I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks,” she sobbed again.

“Want me to come over?” I asked.

“That’d be nice.”

I quickly explained what was going on to Ethan and sped off to René’s. She and her older sister shared a really cute apartment downtown. I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I waited and knocked again, but still, no signs of life came from inside. Going with my instinct, I put my hand on the doorknob and slowly twisted. When the door opened, I quietly made my way to find René.

The curtains were drawn in René's bedroom. She was buried under blankets and a bottle of vodka sat on her nightstand.

"René?" I whispered. She groaned. "The door was unlocked so I just came in when you didn't answer." I perched on the edge of her bed. "You ok?"

"No," she grumbled. "I feel like I'm dying."

"It's probably from this." I picked up the bottle; it was almost empty.

"Probably." Slowly, she pushed herself up. "Sorry I called you. I just didn't know who else to call. Keith is working and Shelly was up with me all night." Michelle—or Shelly as René called her— was her sister.

"Don't feel bad. I'm glad you called."

"Really?" she asked and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah." I patted her shoulder. She hugged me "So what happened?"

"We went out last night. At first it was fun, he kept telling me how much he liked me and how he thought I was different than everyone else. He took me back to his place, and I knew what he wanted. He made some drinks and we started talking about everything. He was so open! Or at least I thought so. We had sex and after it he told me I should go home because he had to get up early for work. God, I’m so stupid to believe that!" Tears rolled down her face. "I forgot my phone," she paused. "I didn’t realize it until I was home, but I needed it so I turned around. It didn’t even seem weird that all the lights were on in his house. And then I saw the car in the driveway. I don’t even remember why I did it; it was like I was on auto pilot or something. I marched up and opened the front door. And there he was…with his hands all over another girl. "

"René, he's an asshole." I put my hand on hers.

"That's not even the worse part."

“He laughed, like the whole thing was just a big joke. He never wanted to date me; he just wanted to use me for sex.” Her voice choked up and she buried her head in the pillow. “I feel like such a loser!”

“You’re not a loser,” I promised. I remembered all too well the feeling of thinking you’re only good enough for sex and not a relationship.

“And I didn’t even like him that much,” she cried. “So why does it bother me so much? Am I really only a slut only good enough for one thing?”

“I don’t think you are.”

“I know.” She straightened up. “I’m glad I met you.”

“Me too.” I smiled and then realized I agreed that I was glad to meet myself.

“Ah! I hate this!” She threw her pillow against the wall, almost knocking over the bottle of booze in the process.

“We can summon spirits to haunt him,” I joked.

“Yeah!” She smiled. “Or we can curse him and make his penis fall off!”

“Or both.”

“I like the way you think.” She flopped back down on the remaining pillow. “I feel like crap and I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“You can come over if you want,” I offered. “You can see the horses. They always make me feel better.”

“Ok.” She didn’t move. “Can I shower first?”

“Of course. It’ll help you feel better too. Have you had anything to eat?”

“No,” she said softly.

“No wonder you feel horrible,” I laughed. “I’ll make you dinner,” I offered.

René wiped her eyes again and smiled weakly. “I’d like that.”

I called Laney while René showered to tell her about Sam’s surprise visit. It was so nice to have someone to vent to, and she agreed with me on Sam trying to make me jealous. With perfect timing, René was ready to go just as I said goodbye to my best friend.