Under A Blood Moon (Elemental Enchanters) (8 page)

She swallowed hard. He had a way of making her feel guilty.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Let’s go.”

Ava nodded and then they got out of the car. She felt like crying, but with every fiber in her body, she held it in.

Together, they walked toward the large fire. As usual, music blared while people gathered around with beer or other alcoholic drinks, dancing, mingling, or just acting stupid. Like the time Chip Crenshaw fell into the fire because he was dancing to impress some girl. Lucky for him, he didn’t burn.

Ava hate
d being here, and all she wanted to do was go home.

“You two get all that out of your system?” Melissa asked
as Ava and Thomas joined her and Lance.

Ava
clenched her teeth to keep down the lump that lurched inside her throat. She blinked away the tears.

“Shut up, Mel,” Thomas snapped.

“I guess not,” she said.

Lance patted
Thomas’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get a drink.”

Ava grabbed
Thomas’s arm. “You said you wouldn’t drink tonight.”

“Whatever.” He jerked his arm away and followed Lance.

“You okay?” Melissa asked.

“Fine.” She knew she should’ve taken her own car.

Melissa lit a cigarette and exhaled the smoke as they watched Thomas telling his larger-than-life football story.

“
It sure didn’t take long for him to regale everyone with his precious football game,” Melissa said. “He cracks me up with how animated he gets. You want anything to drink?”

“No, thanks.”

Melissa walked away, and Ava continued to watch Thomas, anger brimming. She stared at the fire and then tilted her head to the side. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked as though the fire actually tried to reach out to Thomas. Yes, it seemed to follow his hand movements. Whether he moved up or down, the fire tagged along. She glanced around to see if anyone else noticed, but they all seemed too drunk or too enamored with him. Then, she saw Xavier.

He appeared to be staring right at
Thomas’s hands. She stiffened. Did he really see what she did? What was going through his mind? He didn’t look shocked at all, but his gaze was so intense that it made her nervous.

“
You’re not getting any ideas, are you?”

Ava jerked around
and met Peter’s eyes. “What?”

“To mess with Xavier. It’s not worth it.”

“No, that’s not what I was thinking.”

“Good.
Are you okay?” His brown eyes invited her to unload all her worries.

But she didn’t.

“Sure.”

“
I’m sorry I didn’t sit with you. Valerie and Amanda didn’t want to sit alone since Seth, you know.”

“It’s okay.
How are you all handling it?”

He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry.” Ava wished she could say something to make him feel better.

“Don’t be.
Seth made his decision.”

But she wasn’t sure
Seth had a choice. She had to figure out what Xavier was doing. Something was going on.

“
You get your homework done?” Peter asked after a few moments.

“I guess. I suck at chemistry.”

“I know.” He grinned. “Maybe I could tutor you.”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Why? Because of Thomas?”

Ava turned,
and saw Peter’s brunette friend watching them with her arms crossed. “I don’t think your girlfriend would like it.” At once, she wished she could take back those jealous words.

A crease formed between his eyebrows.
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Ava was silently relieved.
“Oh.” She looked back where Xavier stood, but he was gone. She saw Thomas talking to a few cheerleaders away from the fire as if nothing had happened. Surely, he must have been aware.

“
Would you like to meet my friends?” Peter asked.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think I’d be good company right now.”

“Why don’t we go for a drive?”

“What about your friends? How will they get home?
”

“I took my own car.
And Tony’s with them now. Come on.”

Alone time with Peter?

“Okay.” She followed him to his car, hoping Thomas wouldn’t see them together. But she decided that he was too drunk to notice. He would be upset, but she’d send him a message. The brunette girl would probably be even more upset that she was leaving with Peter. She suddenly felt wrong about taking a drive with him. If the girl wasn’t his girlfriend, she obviously liked him, and Ava didn’t want to step on any toes.

“
Do you want to go to my house?” he asked.

“Su
re,” she said, and slid into passenger seat. What was she doing? She couldn’t go to his house. Ava wanted to be there with him, but Gillian’s words flashed in her mind like a blinking red light.
Forbidden. Forbidden. Forbidden.

Peter drove down the interstate a short distance and then exited.
Ava ignored the rational part of her brain, and tried to push aside Gillian’s annoying warning. They would just hang out like they did all those times during the summer. Besides, this way Thomas couldn’t find her.

“
What happened tonight?” he asked.

“Nothing.”
She twirled her opal ring around her finger.

“
What’s the nicest thing Thomas has ever done for you?”

The question took her off guard.
“I don’t know. He brought me flowers when he came back from camp.”

“That’s it?”

“What do you want me to say?”

Peter sighed. “I don’t get why you’re with him if he makes you so miserable.”

“He’s always been there.” She paused. “When I was younger, I got sick with pneumonia, and he would talk to me on the phone every day. He’s all I’ve ever known. But he’s different now.”

“
Then why are you still with him? I mean, he doesn’t seem to treat you well.”

“He treats me fine
”

“Is that why you looked like you were about to cry back there?”

She peered out the window, crossed her arms, feeling a little embarrassed. “Can we not talk about this?”

“I’m just worried about you.”

“Peter, I appreciate your concern, but really, it’s not necessary.”

“Okay.” He pulled into
a driveway in front of a massive two-story house with a brick front and eight windows that faced the road. Peter and his dad lived in an old wealthy subdivision.

They walked up
the short winding sidewalk to the front step. He opened the door to a quiet house, and she followed him through the narrow hall and into the living room.

Forbidden.

Soft yellow light poured from a lamp on an end table. Peter switched on the TV and flipped to a sports channel, while she took a seat in the deep brown plush couch.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” he asked.

“No, thanks.”

He sat next to her, and her heart sprang to life.

After a few moments of silence
and staring at the TV, he turned to her. “I didn’t know you had pneumonia. How bad was it?”

She met his soft brown eyes. “
I almost died.”

His jaw dropped open.
“Wow.”

Ava fought the urge to hold his hand.
This was bad. They would return to Savina and Colden’s tomorrow night, but would she and Peter still have nights like this after the Initiation?

“What are you thinking about?”
he asked.

“Just how
everything is going to change.”

“You mean after graduation?”

“Yeah,” she lied.

“You
can’t worry about things that are out of your control.”

“
I know. It just sucks.”

“
Don’t get down about it. This is our last year, so we need to make the best of it. Things will change, and friends will drift apart, but you’ll gain some new ones. And those who really care will still be there. They won’t abandon you.”

His tone was bitter.

“Have you talked to Seth at all?” she asked.

He shook his head. “
He still ignores me. He changed his number, and he’s never at home. His parents don’t even seem bothered by how different he is. I don’t get it.”

“I don’t understand how someone can up and change like that, without warning.”

“I’ve been wondering that myself for seven years.”

Ava looked at Peter, unsure of what he meant.

“My mom left when I was ten,” he said.

She gasped. “Peter, I’m so sorry.” First, his mom had abandoned him, now his friend.

“
Thanks. She just couldn’t handle us I guess.” He shrugged. “It happened one day after school. I came home, and she told us she was leaving. She said she wasn’t cut out for this kind of life and left.”

“
That’s awful. Has she ever tried contacting you?”

“No.”

“Do you ever think about her? I mean, do you ever want to see her again?”

“I try
not
to think about her, honestly. And no, I don’t want to see her.” He spoke with resentment.

She reveled in the simple fact that they had something in common, something big, something no one she had ever known shared. They each had no mother.

“How come you never told me?” The words slipped out, but she knew the answer.

Another shrug
. “It’s just something I don’t talk about.”

“Yeah, I can understand.”
And she could.

“It’s okay, though.
I don’t mind telling you about it. I’m very comfortable with you.”

“Me too.”

His hand brushed against hers, and slowly he intertwined his fingers with hers. It felt so natural. The simple touch made her heart hammer against her ribcage.

Forbidden.

She dropped her gaze, and removed her hand
.

The room was quiet, except
for the people talking on TV. The wind outside forced the nearby branches to scratch the window. Her attention turned to the brewing storm. White veins descended from the dark clouds and illuminated the room. She flinched and looked away. No matter how many years had passed, she still hated lightning.

“You were there,” he whispered. “
Weren’t you?”

She met his eyes.
“Where?”

“With your mom?”

Her stomach tightened, as if someone had wrapped their hands around it and squeezed. It always felt like that when she thought of that day. “Yes.”

“H-how did she?”
Peter shook his head. “No, sorry. That was rude.”

“She was struck by lightning,” she mumbled, and fidgeted with her ring.

Peter made a sound, but Ava wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“I was outside playing—.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I don’t want to upset you.”

“It’s okay.” She drew in a shaky breath. “There was a storm coming. My mom came outside to get
the sheets from the clothesline and told me to go inside. But I just took my time cleaning up my dolls.” Tears blurred her vision. “If I had listened to her, I wouldn’t have seen the lightning reflected in the glass doors.”

“Ava
.”

She looked up and several tears fell.
“The last memory I have of her…” Ava saw in her mind, the blood oozing from her mom’s head and her singed body. “I kept screaming for her but she never woke up. How could such a thing have happened?”

Peter
pulled her against him. “I—I wish I knew what to say.”

“
It feels weird knowing I’ve told someone else.” She tilted her head up at him and searched his eyes. “Someone who understands me.”

“I can’t ever imagine how you must feel.”

“Yes, you can. Your mom left.”

“Yeah, but she had a choice. I do know how it feels not to have a mom. If she couldn’t stand my dad so much, at least she could’ve made an effort for me. She could’ve given me advice or just been there for me.
At least, we have each other.”

“Yes. We do have that,” she said, and their eyes locked.

Ava wanted to kiss him and knew she needed to leave before the desire became too much. She was getting in deeper. Why was she doing this to herself? It was only going to hurt even more. But she wanted this. This level of comfort and honesty. She couldn’t remember the last time she and Thomas had such a sincere conversation. If ever. Peter was understanding and cared for her. Ava wanted to tell him that she wanted to be more than just friends.

Forbidd
en
.

H
er mouth went dry.

“I should
go before Dad starts to worry.” She stood from the couch, breaking the intense connection.

“Okay,” Peter said. He picked up
a dark blue jacket and handed it to her. “Here, take this. Looks like the bottom’s about to fall out.”

“Thanks.” She smiled and put on the jacket. She inhaled. It smelled like him.

He opened the door for her and then followed her to his car. The wind blew, gaining strength, and the temperature outside warmed. Only in the South could it be warm one day and cold the next.

Peter got in the car after her and cranked it.
“We should hang out more often. It’s been a while.”

“We hang out every Friday night.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I meant not at a football game. It’s been like two months.”

“I’m sorry.
I’ve just been busy.”

When they pulled up next to her car in the school parking lot, she dreaded leaving th
e moment and going back to reality. But she got out anyway.

Peter came around to her side.
“I just want to make sure you’re happy. I care about you, you know.”

“I’ll be fine. I had a good time.”

“Me, too. I’m glad you came.” He stepped closer, and her breath hitched.

Peter wrapped his arms around her tightly. It relaxed her
, and for a moment, Ava wanted to draw him closer and run her hands through his hair. She was sure he could feel her pounding heartbeat.

She quickly pulled away.
“Goodnight.”

He grinned, showing
the dimple in his cheek. “Goodnight.”

Ava slid behind the wheel, and then he closed her door.
She started the engine and drove away. The stupid warning from Gillian kept bothering her. But why was it forbidden? Other than keeping their kind a secret.

Her phone rang, startling her, and she answered, thinking it was Peter.

“Where are you?” Thomas asked, angrily.

His words slurred evidence that he was still drunk. She didn’t even want to think how he got home.

“Home,” she said. Like she was really going to tell him the truth.

“
How’d you get back to your car?”

She didn’t want to answer and knew she couldn’t lie. “Peter.”

“What’s with this guy? You into him or something?”

“No. I’m just strug
gling with chemistry.”

“Whatever.”

Ava imagined his jaw clenching. “It’s true. I’m failing.”

“So you have to get some other guy to help you? Can’t
you ask Jeremy?”

“He was busy. What difference does it make? You got drunk even though you promised you wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, because you pissed me off.”

“I’m not doing this.” She hung up. He was such a jerk.

Why did she have to be with him? Because of some stupid binding? How serious could Savina and Colden be, since they had been absent for ten years? Whatever happened to them always being there for Ava and the rest? Why should she go back tomorrow?

Ava turned up the radio to calm her anger. Guilt seeped into her thoughts as she remembered her father telling her that her mom never regretted what she was. Bet Mom never had feelings for a human, she thought. 

Could it even be possible to be with Peter?

No matter though.
Tomorrow she would end her relationship with Thomas. It was that simple. She had overanalyzed things once again, but the answer was right in front of her. Life would be good. At least, it would be better.