Taurus: Book 3 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) (11 page)

‘Taurus! Where are you?’

‘I’m not sure. They just dumped me on a busy street. It looks like…hold on…’ I ran to the end of the pavement and gave Aries the name of the road.

‘I’m in the next street along. Stay there.’

The phone went dead. I thought about the expression as people pushed past me. Dead. What a weird way of explaining what happened when someone hung up the phone. Sophie was dead. She didn’t beep.

It was dark. I hadn’t noticed before I looked up and counted the car lights as they drove past me. Why was London always so busy? Even at night time?

‘Taurus!’ Aries called as he approached me. ‘Where the hell have you been?’

I blinked as both he and Gemini came into view.

‘Into the past,’ I muttered, believing for the first time in my whole life that maybe I had been wrong.

Chapter Fourteen

‘What happened when you were there?’

Aries fiddled with the bolt on his implant. He had taken off his metal leg to polish the aluminium. Natalie stood by his side, holding the other leg in her hand.

‘Not a lot. We spoke a bit, then he left. Next thing I knew, they dragged me back out to the car.’

I didn’t want to lie to him. My brother was looking out for me. He couldn’t give me what I needed, though. He couldn’t help me to understand why I was the way I was. Always searching for a way to escape the reality I found myself in.

‘Could you tell where you were? How far did they drive?’

I shook my head. Apparently I had been missing for four hours. I didn’t realise how quickly the time had gone when I had been off my head.

‘What about the men? Did you recognise any of them?’

Aries clipped his legs back on and got up. He kissed Natalie on the forehead and came over to where I leant against the kitchen worktop.

‘Nope. I didn’t get anything. I’m sorry.’

Father stood from his seat at the table. There was only the four of us in the house. Everyone else had gone to work.

‘Leave the boy alone. He’s had a rough few days.’ He patted me on the back before turning to my brother. His cheeks were red. Smoke started to rise up from his clenched fists.

‘We need to find the person that killed Sophie. If we—’

‘We will! I’ll deal with it, Aries,’ I snapped, pushing away from the counter and standing in front of him. Even with fake legs he was taller than me. ‘This is my fight. Let me handle it.’

My words were quiet. I meant them. Just because I had played nice with Nick, didn’t mean I had forgiven him for Sophie.

Aries nodded once and stepped back. It took a lot for him to back down, but he knew I meant what I said. ‘If you need any help, just let me know. In the meantime, I’m going to keep searching for him.’

Father put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the front steps of the house. We sat for a moment, just watching the traffic go past.

‘I never believed you,’ I said, tapping my foot on the ground.

He faced the sun and closed his eyes. ‘I know.’

We had never been close. He related to some of the others better than me. There was nothing wrong with that, it was natural. It must have been hard to bring up twelve very different children.

‘How is your power doing?’

My gaze shot to him. He still had his eyes closed. Did he know something? I looked at my hand, clenching my fist slowly.

‘I’ve not used it recently.’ I wasn’t lying.

He shuffled on the step. ‘Maybe you should practice.’

‘Just say what you mean,’ I said, turning to face him.

His eyes slowly opened as he felt my movement. He reached forward and gripped my thigh. He squeezed so hard, his knuckles went white. I felt nothing as my skin was pinched in his vicelike hand.

‘You need to find your own way. I know that and your mother knows that…now.’ He released me as quickly as he had grabbed me. ‘Please don’t put the others in danger.’

What did he know? And, how did he know? How dare he assume that I would put my siblings in danger.

‘Don’t talk in riddles, Father, it doesn’t suit you.’

He laughed. It was a rare sound that came from him. I fought the urge to rise to my feet and leave him sitting there.

‘Okay. I forget that I have to be forthright with you.’ He smacked my back. ‘Let’s just say that I know what each one of you are doing. I’m your guardian for a reason. Your mother and I have our own powers.’

I almost fell off the step. My father had never been one to be blunt. I was glad that he had been. My thoughts had been racing all over the place since I had come back from Nick’s house. I had lain in bed the night before, thinking of Sophie. Her smile was what I remembered the most. The harsh reality was I hardly knew her. I didn’t know her family or friends. Yet, we had connected.

‘What do you want from me?’

Father clasped my shoulder with his hand. I didn’t look at him. Instead, I watched a mother and her child skip past.

‘I don’t want anything from you. I want everything for you.’

His riddles made me press my palm into the concrete step.

‘You know the truth. You don’t have to go somewhere else to find it, but if you insist on doing that, be careful.’

He knew about Nick. He must have psychic abilities. The more I tried to deny that it was possible, the more I was being proved wrong.

I didn’t reply. What could I say? Okay, Dad, I promise not to go and see our enemy? I couldn’t do that. I already wanted to visit the house that had unveiled a part of history. Nick was showing me his past for a reason.

‘I’m always careful,’ I said when he didn’t move.

‘Taurus?’

Kerry stood at the bottom of the steps. I had been so engrossed in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed her approach. Her eyes were red. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she came up the steps. Father nodded at Kerry before leaving us.

‘Are you okay?’

The numbness that usually kept me in a state of okay was starting to lift from the lack of drugs or drink. My knee bounced up and down as my foot moved against the concrete.

‘I suppose. What about you?’ I asked, turning to her when she lowered herself next to me.

She wrung her hands together. I reached out and wiped a tear away as it fell towards her lip. She smiled gently, grabbing my hand and squeezing it.

‘I saw everything.’ She hiccupped.

For the first time since I had been back, I swallowed hard. My throat closed in on itself. I had to open my mouth to pull in a deep breath. Sophie had been killed in front of me. I had cradled her in my arms as the life left her body. I hadn’t been in love with her, but I had certainly liked her…a lot.

‘Cancer said that they took you to a house.’

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I never cried. Seeing Kerry, the one that had been there, made it difficult not to get tearful.

‘You don’t look hurt.’

A part of me wished that she would stop talking. Another part was glad that she kept my thoughts from going mad.

‘No, I’m fine. Nick didn’t hurt me.’

‘Nick?’ Her face was pale. The skin was shades lighter than it would usually be. ‘Oh, the drug dealer?’

Considering I wanted the truth, I wasn’t doing a good job at being honest with her. I faced forward, resting my arms on my thighs.

‘Yeah.’

‘Why do I get the feeling that there is a lot more that you’re not telling me?’ she said, putting a hand on my arm.

The touch was light. It sent warmth through me. It was nice to have someone care about me for once. Sophie had been the only person that didn’t see me as a waste of space. Maybe Kerry would feel the same.

‘It’s complicated. We’re a unique family.’ I wasn’t lying to her. It made me feel better.

Her exhaled breath landed on my ear, making me shiver. I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to blurt it all out, but I couldn’t.

‘I was abused by my stepfather.’

Her words smacked me in the chest. I clasped my hand to my heart before turning my head to look at her. My cap shaded me from the sun. It couldn’t shade me from the cringe on her face.

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ I replied.

She had said that she would tell me her secret when I told her mine. She was trusting me when I couldn’t trust her. Why?

‘I can’t believe I told you that. After everything that’s happened.’ Her eyes watered, so I took her hand in mine.

‘We’ve been through a tough twenty four hours. Thank you for sharing your secret.’

Nodding, she squeezed my hand before standing to go. I let her leave without saying anything more. What could I say? I wasn’t in the position to be an agony uncle. And I certainly wasn’t in the position to tell her that I was a freak with powers.

Jumping up, I skipped down the steps and went towards the park. It was time to take Father’s advice. When we were being chased, I hadn’t been able to make the tree fall over. It was the first time I had failed at using my power.

My walk turned into a jog. My skin was itching. I needed to see if I had lost my power. What had happened? Was it the drugs?

‘Careful!’ someone shouted as I shot past them, my legs pumping harder and harder.

The Common came into view. The grass met my shoes as I thundered onto it. Nature was my passion. It was in my bones. I had researched everything to do with science, nature and the human condition. However, the one thing I hadn’t even looked at was how I was able to manipulate the earth.

‘Let’s see,’ I muttered, ducking behind a clump of trees so the dog walkers wouldn’t see me pointing at the ground.

My arm was like a wand. I used my body to feel into the energy of the living plant. Just a small movement with my hand or arm made the element do as I asked.

I held my arm in the air and closed my eyes. The nearest tree was only small. I would start with that one. Energetically feeling my way into the roots of the tree, I tried to mesh my energy with its own. A barrier stopped me from connecting. It was hard to describe how I was able to manipulate the tree. It was even harder to figure out why I couldn’t.

‘Crap!’ I exclaimed when I was denied access to every tree surrounding me.

It must be the substance in my system. My brain was still a bit fuzzy from the day before. I was used to being a bit slow, but the drugs had never made it impossible to use my power.

My phone burst into music. The rock song made my eyes fly open as I tried to grab it out of my pocket. The number was unfamiliar.

‘Taurus, it’s Kerry. I’m sorry. Cancer gave me your number. I can’t believe I just dropped that on you. Especially with everything you’re going through. I—’

‘Kerry?’ I interrupted.

‘Yes?’

‘Come and meet me on Clapham Common. In the kid’s playground.’

I might as well talk to her. I didn’t have to hide my power from her. I didn’t seem to have it anymore.

‘Okay, I’ll be there in a bit.’

I tried to connect with the tree one last time before I buried my phone back in my pocket and left the safety of the clearing. My whole body shook as I walked over to the play area. Kids were in school, so the park was free.

‘What the hell am I doing with my life?’ I muttered, climbing on the roundabout and leaning against the pole.

The first thing I had wanted to do when I woke up, was to take the white powder that now sat in the back pocket of my jeans. The next thing I wanted to do was to go and see Nick. The last thing I wanted was to be sober.

Kerry appeared across the grass. Her maxi dress blew in the gentle breeze. Her ponytail swung as she marched towards me.

‘You just can’t resist me, can you?’ I yelled as she came into the play area.

She raised her eyebrows as she came to stand by the roundabout. She put her hands on her hips and opened her mouth to speak.

‘It’s okay. You don’t have to confess your undying love for me. I already know,’ I joked, trying to grin at her.

Rolling her eyes, she came onto the small roundabout and leant on the pole opposite me. Our knees almost knocked so she scooted back a bit.

‘If you don’t grieve for her, you’ll never let it go.’

The sun heated my bare arms where they held onto the cool metal.

‘She died because of me,’ I replied.

‘No, she didn’t. She liked you. I assume she was trying to help you against the drug dealer?’

The charade was pathetic. Drug dealers killing Sophie because she was trying to help me. Funnily enough, it could be true. My dealers were much less hardcore than the fantasy one I had made up to Kerry. However, it was much more realistic than the actual truth.

‘Something like that.’

She saw straight through me. Her eyes searched mine, so I looked away. I squinted from the sun as I watched the swing move slightly in the breeze.

‘You’re not very emotional, are you?’

She crossed her arms over her chest. The start of a smile tugged at my lips.

‘No, I’m not,’ I replied. ‘There’s no point in crying over everything.’

I believed it. The day that had changed my life was the day I decided never to let emotion overtake me again.

‘I almost killed my siblings.’ I don’t know what made me blurt it.

My shoulders slumped as the truth came out of my mouth. No one knew my secret. Why had I told someone I hardly knew?

‘Was there an accident?’ She pushed her hair back from her shoulder as it fell forward. The crease on her forehead would deepen with my next sentence, but now the words were out, I had to tell the story.

‘No. It was on purpose.’

The night had haunted me for years. I took drugs to try and erase the memory. I drank to try and forget the pain of what I had almost done.

‘You almost killed your brothers and sisters on purpose?’