Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) (7 page)

              I groan in sympathy; part of the reason I chose not to go away for college was to avoid living with people I can’t stand. “Sure, I’ll stay. I probably just need a night away.”

              “Alright. But since I’m doing you a favor, I’d like you to do one for me.”

              “Should have known.”

              “Again, can’t believe I’m saying this, but… I want you and Nick to hang out with me and Lily sometime.”

              “A double date? With you?”

              Alyssa shrugs, and says, “Lily keeps complaining that she hasn’t met any of my friends, and you’re pretty much the only person I care enough about to call a friend. It’ll be awkward-“

              “An even bigger understatement than earlier.”

              “-but I think if we all put our histories aside, it could be fun. Who knows, you might actually end up liking her.”

              I think back on the night I met Lily, and how she carried herself. How she dressed, how her makeup was done, how her hair was cut. How it felt when I saw her kissing Alyssa. I don’t see myself liking her much.

              Then again, I never saw myself being friends with Alyssa either. Maybe I can afford to give her girlfriend a second chance.

              “Fine. Next time we’re all free on the same night, we’ll go out to eat.”

7

              For a moment, I’m not sure where I am when I wake up the next morning. Nothing about the room I’m in feels familiar. Then, I spot Alyssa, fast asleep face-up on the couch across from mine, and remember staying up all night watching Two Broke Girls on Netflix. She refused to leave me in the living room alone, instead opting to change into pajamas and sleep out here with me. She’s a different person when she’s asleep. The hardness about her face and personality must be learned, because she looks peaceful in this one moment. Content, even. Especially without the thick rimmed glasses.

              I take advantage of the opportunity to observe her carefully, without anyone around to see, or judge me for doing so. She groans a little in her sleep, and rolls over onto her side, the sheet covering her shifting so that her legs are visible. My eyes are drawn to the faint white marks on her thighs, but I try not to stare. We all have parts of our past that we wish we could forget, and I guess some of the darker parts of hers will never completely fade.

              My eyes travel up to her t-shirt, and even through her tangled dirty blonde hair, I can see the ironed on insignia of the Ramones. A band I know she doesn’t listen to; I’ve seen the contents of her iPod enough times to know that. I get the feeling that the shirt might be Lily’s.

              I suddenly regret agreeing to a double date with the two of them.

              I look at the time on my phone, noting that my mom should be getting home from work soon. I admit, I do feel a little guilty about leaving things the way I did. Luckily, I’d slept in my clothes from the day before, so I don’t need to change. I can shower at home when I get there. I scribble a note to Alyssa telling her that I went home to face my mom, and leave it on the coffee table next to her glasses. I take one last look at her sleeping form, then walk through the front door, locking it behind me with a spell.

              I could have teleported home, but I’m in no rush to get there.

              My mom and I are polite enough to each other when I finally do make it home. In fact, things are fine for the next few weeks, just frosty and punctuated with awkward silences. I said some things that must have hurt her more than I’ll ever know, and even though I apologized profusely the morning after the fight, I don’t entirely regret saying them. Keeping things from me is an offense I take seriously. All the same, I miss the way things used to be. Between the two of us, we always made this apartment feel full, but lately the space between us leaves it feeling cold and empty.

              Things with Nick, on the other hand, remain mostly unchanged. I’m not even sure if he really noticed I’d been upset with him. He spends most of his time under Navarro’s supervision, but calls me every night once they’re done doing God knows what to him. I’ve asked what sort of tests they’re doing on him, but he won’t say. Or rather, can’t; whatever Navarro’s research team is up to, their techniques and results are apparently classified information.

              I told Nick about the double date the night after I promised we would go, and he wasn’t happy, but he agreed to come along. More to make sure I keep my word than out of any desire to spend time in Alyssa’s company. I believe his exact words were, “I guess if she’s moved on from you, I might be able to handle a meal in her presence.”

              If he knew how much the idea of her moving on stung, he might have reconsidered.

              They aren’t done testing Nick until a few weeks after I proposed the idea to him, and we all happen to have no plans on his first night of freedom, so it’s then that Alyssa and I arrange for all of us to meet at the Olive Garden in Times Square. Nick and I are the first ones there, but we don’t have long to wait before Lily’s sleek black motorcycle pulls up, and Alyssa hops off of the back. The three of us head upstairs to reserve our table, while Lily takes on the arduous task of finding a place to park in Times Square.

              Half an hour later, we’re all seated in a booth, waiting for our food with nothing to say. I don’t know what I expected; I can’t remember Alyssa and Nick ever speaking without it being absolutely necessary, Lily and I have practically nothing in common, and I can’t focus on either my friend or my boyfriend without the other thinking I’m neglecting them. This is so much more stressful than dates of the one-on-one variety. 

              I’m just about to comment on the awkward silence when Lily reaches into her bag under the table, and pulls out an old school black notebook that looks like it’s been through hell. She jots something down, and grins sheepishly when she notices Nick and I watching. “Sorry,” she says. “Sometimes I get ideas for song lyrics, and have to jot them down before I forget them.”

              “How many of them become full songs?,” Nick asks.

              “All of them, eventually. I just save most of them for myself. The ones I let the rest of the band read are the ones we get to play.”

              “You’re in a band?”

              “Yep. I play bass for
Interrobang
.”

              “
Interrobang
?”

              “Yeah, we’re an all girl post-punk group. You guys should come see us. I can get you into practically any show for free.”

              “I’ve written a couple of songs,” I blurt out. I don’t know why; maybe part of me wants to be on even footing with Lily. “None of them have ever seen the light of day, though.”

              “Really?” Lily’s attention shifts to me, and for a split second, I regret opening my mouth. Then, she asks, “Why not?”

              “I dunno. They’re terrible. I’m a lot more proud of my short stories, but only Nick has ever read those.”

              “And they’re great,” Nick assures me as his fingers lock with mine under the table.

              Lily nudges Alyssa with her elbow, and says, “Allie is the same way with her poetry. She’s shy about it, but I love all of her work. Even the poems about y-“

              “Breadsticks!,” Alyssa interrupts as the waiter approaches, carrying a warm basket of them. She shoots Lily a dirty look, and frees her hand from Lily’s as the basket is placed in the center of the table.

              Lily smiles at us like nothing out of the ordinary happened, and asks, “How long have you guys been together?”

              “Nearly a year and a half,” Nick replies. “How about you?”

              “Going on four months this Sunday. It doesn’t even feel like it’s been that long.”

              “Yeah, I know what you mean.” I can feel Nick looking right at me as he speaks, and I have to fight not to roll my eyes. I love him, but he’s annoyingly cute sometimes. Without taking his eyes off me, he asks, “How did you guys meet?”

              “It’s the damnedest thing. I was browsing through Search and Destroy on St. Marks, and I overheard Allie talking to herself, debating whether or not to buy this eighty dollar pair of boots. I turned to her and said she’d look sexy in anything on the racks, and she took that as a challenge. We spent at least two hours playing dress up, and I got her number after making her try on nearly everything in the store.”

              I glance at Alyssa, who’s slowly turning pink. I have to admit, it’s a cute story. Well, cute compared to mine and Nick’s, anyway. He found me breathless and collapsed on the ground after fending off a pair of vampires that were trying to kill me. He saved my life, and the next day, I saved his. I don’t remember what happened the second time we saw each other, but Nick’s explained it to me before; I couldn’t control my powers just yet, but I used them anyway to save him, and wound up accidentally killing one of the vampires assaulting him. I can’t even remember my first victim’s face, but I can imagine him being ripped asunder as my spell hits him, black blood and body parts spraying all over the room.

              Just the thought is enough to make me feel sick. The other three continue chatting, but I tune them out, trying to focus on quelling the wave of nausea before it gets any worse. I can’t get sick. Not here, not now. After a few minutes with no progress, I stand and announce, “I need some air,” then make a beeline for the exit, ignoring everyone’s curious stares.

              The minute I push my way out through the front entrance, I try to breathe as deeply as I can, hoping I’ll be able to keep my food down. I don’t know why the mental image of a long dead vampire effected me so much; gore has never really bothered me before. And I never actually saw what happened to him, so it’s just my imagination that’s making my stomach turn. After a few minutes of deep breathing and ignoring the stares of countless people walking by, I’ve stopped sweating, and my insides no longer feel like they’re trying to climb out. I breathe a sigh of relief; my gag reflex has been far too easy to set off lately, and I’m starting to get sick of being sick.

              Once I’m confident that lunch won’t be making a reappearance, I turn around to head back into the restaurant. That’s when I spot Lily near the entrance, leaning against the window with her arms crossed. “Are you alright?,” she asks as I approach the entrance.

              “Yeah, I’m fine. Just started feeling a little sick. I guess I can’t handle dairy like I used to.”

              “It happens to the best of us.” Lily reaches into her pocket and pulls out a carton of cigarettes, one of which she offers to me. I shake my head; the one time I did try smoking a few years ago, I coughed until I saw spots. I took it as a sign not to get into the habit. Lily shrugs, and lights one up for herself, then exhales a puff of smoke as she says, “I’m sorry the claws came out a little when we met on your birthday. I’m not normally that bitchy, honest. I just didn’t feel like being in the same breathing space as you when I was so jealous of you.”

              “
You
were jealous of
me
?”

              “Yeah. Allie may be dating me, but we both know at least a tiny piece of her heart will belong to you forever.” Lily flicks some ash onto the ground, and continues, “Now that I know you a little better, I’m not as worried. You don’t seem to have any interest in my girlfriend, so we’re cool.”

              If only she knew. If only
I
knew; I’m never sure exactly how I feel about Alyssa. The one thing I am sure of is that for the most part, I’m happy with Nick. So I smile at Lily, and tell her, “Don’t worry. She’s all yours.”

              “Good.” There doesn’t seem to be anything more to say, so I try to make my way to the door. Before I get very far, Lily asks, “How do you actually feel about Nick?”

              “What?”

              “You seem like you’re tired of him, even though he’s clearly got it bad for you. I’m just wondering, are you as invested in your relationship as he is?”

              That’s a hard question coming from a near stranger. But I mull it over for a moment, and answer, “Yeah, I’m invested in it. Things have just been rocky on my end lately, and most of it has nothing to do with him. But… I dunno, you ever just wake up one day and realize that someone isn’t as perfect as you thought they were?”

              “No yeah, I get that. Don’t get me wrong, I love Allie to death, but sometimes she drives me up the fucking wall.” Lily takes another drag from her cigarette, and says with a smile, “That’s the thing, though. You don’t fall for someone because they’re perfect. You fall for them because they’re broken in all the right ways.”

              I shove my hands in my pockets, and walk a little further from the door. “Yeah. Doesn’t mean loving them isn’t a challenge sometimes.”

              “Depends. If they’re worth fighting for, it’s most important to love them when it
is
a challenge.”

              “I guess that’s true.” I’m about to try making for the door again, when a new thought occurs to me. I’ve been worried about something for a couple of weeks now, but I don’t want anyone else freaking out, so I don’t want to involve them. All the same, I need answers. And Lily might be practically a stranger to me, but she’s probably the best person for the job. So before I head inside, I gather my confidence, and say, “I have two questions for you.”

              Lily looks over at me, but doesn’t respond.

              “One: Can you keep a secret?”

              She nods.

              “Okay… Two: Would you mind doing me a favor?”