Cinders

Chapter three: Strange Dreams

“Frick! Con that hurts!” I glared at him and he chuckled at me. Connor had me draped slightly over the side of my bathtub while he poured high grade antiseptic over my stitched up wound. We had stopped by his parents house to grab some of the supplies his dad had stored up for emergencies. Connor didn’t live with his parents. He had a small… ‘Cabin’ all to himself just on the edge of their property. That’s how they liked it though. They made him work to keep it up too. I winced when I tried to move my leg.

“Gabby hold still or this will really start to hurt.” Connor was grinning at me but the tone in his voice was serious. “So when do your parents get home?”

“Probably late. They’ve been working extra hard for some reason.” I clenched my teeth as he had to move my leg out of the tub so he could take a sterilized cloth to my wound to dry it. I was sitting on the floor while Connor sat on a stool next to the tub. My hurt calf was resting lightly on his thigh, and I was clutching at my skirt trying hard to keep it to where he couldn‘t see underneath. I bit my lip fiercely when he accidentally pressed too hard. His head shot up knowing he’d accidentally hurt me.

“I’m sorry!” he nearly yelled. I just nodded and motioned for him to continue. He lowered his head slowly and my breath caught in my throat. His lips softly pressed against the spot he had hurt. My cheeks burned as he continued placing small kisses up and down my wound. I froze as he looked up at me to gage my reaction. I don’t know what he saw there but he smiled softly against my torn flesh and then dabbed some more antiseptic on it. The bubbling pain made itself present again and my blush faded.

“Connor… what was that?” I asked tilting my head knowing I was still faintly blushing. His smile grew wider as he started gently drying my wound again.

“We used to do that when we were kids. I thought you would like it.” I smiled lightly and blushed harder thinking about it. When we were little if I fell down and my leg got scraped Connor would make me pull up my pant leg so he could kiss it, and I would do the same to him.

“Yeah… I missed that when we started school.” I admitted making myself blush worse. He grew serious a moment.

“You never told me that.” He said softly as he started putting some thick antibiotic onto a large adhesive gauze pad.

“Well we were little you know, and we both did that whole yuck a boy, ick a girl… thing. We only started that crap because everyone else was doing it. That’s what I hated about childhood. It was always way too easy to conform.” As gently as possible he placed the gauze on my wound and I winced lightly. After placing the pad on my leg he grabbed some adhesive tape and started wrapping it around my calf.

“I can agree with that statement.” he smiled when my leg was all taped up and grabbed my hands to help me stand. I gasped in pain when I accidentally put too much pressure on my leg. “You need a vikadin?” he asked grabbing the small bottle of pills off the counter.

I nodded and he opened up the bottle and grabbed a pill. Closing the bottle back he held the small pill in-between his thumb and index fingers. I leaned against the wall taking as much pressure off my leg as possible. He tossed the bottle back on the bathroom counter, so I held out my hand for my happy pill. He grinned and waved my hand away and placed his empty hand under my chin.

“Open up miss.” He ran the pad of his thumb softly over my bottom lip. I blushed fiercely and opened my mouth slightly. He grinned and slipped the pill in my mouth his fingers lingering on my lips as I swallowed. His hand that had been under my chin moved slowly down my neck, and lightly down my arm. He then placed his hand on the wall and started leaning in towards me.

“Did you really mean what you said this morning?” He asked me sweeping my hair away from my face. I was frozen.

“I… I don’t know Con…” He grinned against my ear.

“Why don’t you know?” I shivered at the huskiness in his voice and the warmth of his breath.

“I just… don’t know what… I feel…” I could barely speak with him so close to me. He sighed softly and placed a kiss on my ear. My face felt like it was on fire.

“Maybe we should try a little something. See how it makes you feel.” I knew what he meant and I bit my lip softly as he moved his face toward mine. My eyes closed automatically and my breath caught in my throat. Then something in my head snapped and I saw behind my eyelids someone I should not have been thinking about, the angel. My eyes flew open and I stared at Connor’s face as it moved ever closer to mine. Somehow it seemed wrong, wanting to kiss Connor while Anthony was invading my head. Connor and I jumped as his phone rang. He sighed and took his phone out of his pocket, moving away from me, he flipped it open, I already knew who it was.

“Jade, you’re a moment killer…” Connor muttered into the phone. I put a little pressure on my leg and I felt the pain but it seemed muted like it was far away. “Whoa calm down. Yeah she’s hurt but she’s fine. I’m with her… Yeah that’s why I called you that. Yeah they gave her vikadin. She’ll be floating on a happy little painless cloud soon. I’m going to stay with her until the feds get here.” I felt silly standing there while Connor was on the phone, I also felt a little light headed like I wouldn’t be able to stand up much longer. As I started to fall I thought I saw someone standing outside the bathroom window. When I blinked they were gone, if they were ever really there at all.

“Connor?” I must have sounded panicked because he turned toward me fast enough to catch me.

“Listen J I gotta go, Gabbs may be fainting.” He closed his phone and slipped it in his pocket, while holding me tight. “Gabbs, honey you okay?” I shook my head while continuing to stare out the window.

“I feel numb all over like everything’s really far away.” Anthony was glaring at Connor behind my eyelids every time I blinked now. It was strange how vivid the image of him was, seeing as I had just met him as little as a few hours ago. Connor smiled at me and swung me up into his arms until he was holding me bridal style. I blushed and for some reason the angel in my head growled. The tan boy holding me just grinned.

“Let’s get you in bed then doll.” I actually smiled at the nickname this time. I didn’t know why, but the more he said it the more it grew on me. Though it could have been the drugs. Grabbing my pills quickly with one hand he shoved them in his pocket and carefully he started moving me out of the bathroom and up the stairs to my bedroom. I heard a car speeding down the road, and I wondered whether it was their car.

My house wasn’t really a big house it used to be a barn that got renovated into a house. We had a large cast iron wood stove downstairs in the front room plus an air conditioner, but that was downstairs. Upstairs was a different story entirely. It was always the hottest place in the summer and the coldest place in the winter. I liked it best when it was cold. I hate most things that are warm. Connor was an exception, he’s like a space heater, so if I ever get too cold I know who to call. As Connor opened the door to my bedroom Kira immediately leapt toward him off the bed. The cat always loved him most.

“Back off kitty! I’ll play with you in a minute.” He looked around for a few seconds. “You redecorated.” I nodded. I had added a lot of magazine photos to the walls to try and cover up the dancing teddy bear border around the white room. I also had moved my bed against the wall so it was under my windows, and I put my desk at the head of my bed so if I got bored I could turn my computer monitor around and lay on my bed to play the sims.

“Do you like it?” I asked looking at his thoughtful face, as he closed the door with his foot.

“Yeah. It makes it more… you.” He smiled as he added the last word and I grinned up at him. He laid me across the bed gently then picked up Kira to scratch behind her ears. I sighed and starred up at my ceiling counting all the small glow in the dark stars Connor had helped me put up years ago. “So what do you want for dinner? I’m cooking for you seeing as you aren’t able and your parents aren’t home.”

“I dunno.” I said softly shrugging to the best of my ability. “I really want pizza but they don’t deliver out here.” Connor turned and smiled at me.

“They will if I pay them extra.” I rolled my eyes.

“You need your money to pay rent, and to stock your kitchen with massive amounts of food!” He chuckled and put Kira down onto the floor.

“I’ve already paid for everything this month, and I have all my grocery money and gas money put away. So I have about two hundred extra to spend.” I looked at him suspiciously.

“How?” He sighed and made a face at me.

“This year at the beach I was doing some odd jobs, not just hanging out with my nonexistent family. So I have a lot of extra cash.” I glared at him and when I closed my eyes to think the angel was looking at me funny.

“Okay if you want to buy me a pizza go ahead.” I said it under my breath with my eyes still closed. There was slight movement and then I heard the light clicks of Connors cell phone as he dialed the number for the pizza place.

“Hello.” His voice was smooth. “Yes. I would like one large stuffed crust pepperoni pizza. Extra pepperonis, and extra cheese. A family order of cheese sticks and extra marinara. The address? Alright, 324 Snow Marsh drive. Really. I’ll pay you an extra twenty dollars plus tip. No, I’m not kidding. Really? I’m Connor Downes, Dr. Downes’ son, I think I can afford this don’t you? Yes, that’s right. No I can’t just come and get it. I am taking care of a very badly injured person, that has the urgent need for pizza, if you have to know.” It was always fun to listen to Connor toy with people when they needed it. Just as he was getting toward the most interesting part of his scheme to get me pizza the house phone rang. I had a corded phone just a foot away from me with no caller ID, I sighed.

“Hello?” I asked picking up the phone. My voice sounded whimsical, silly pills.

“Gabby?” I didn’t recognize the melodious silky voice at first.

“This is she.” I said softly. Connor was staring at me out of the corner of his eye.

“Hey this is Abby. Dad and Anthony told me what happened, are you okay?” I smiled.

“Yes. I’m good right now. I just took one of my pills a little bit ago so my pain is gone, for now. Tell Malcolm and Anthony I’m alright. Oh and thank them both for their help.” I didn’t mean to put an emphasis on his name, it just kind of happened. It made me blush. Abby giggled and I heard her relay the information to her family a smile in her voice. They must have been waiting nearby because I heard Malcolm sigh.

“Do you need someone to come look after you? Maybe fix you something to eat?” She asked me sweetly. I felt really bad knowing my answer would hurt her feelings.

“Sorry, Connor’s taking care of me tonight. He fixed up my leg and carried me up to my room to rest. Right now he’s ordering pizza.” It was very silent on the other line for a second. Then I heard a light growl and the sound of a door slamming. I shivered in response to it. “How strange it sounds just like the way he growled in my head…” Abby sighed softly.

“Oh alright. Good to know someone’s taking care of you. If you need help on your homework later give me a call, okay?” I felt bad due to her sudden change of tone.

“I will. If you don’t hear from me it’s because the vikadin has sent me to lala-land. Talk to you later Abby.” I heard her giggle slightly and then the phone cut off.

“Abby?” Connor asked me when I hung up. “Aww I missed the fun stuff!” I thought to myself and nodded as I hung up the phone.

“Yup. So what’s the verdict?” I tried to sit up but he gently pushed me back down. He grinned and I knew he had accomplished the impossible.

“Pizza will be here in around… an hour. Thirty minutes to cook our order, and thirty minutes to deliver.” He was grinning at me. “You want to watch a movie while we wait?” I looked over at my small stack of DVD’s. We had watched these movies together maybe a million times.

“What movie?” I asked him, he was already reaching over me before I even had a chance to move. He grabbed a movie in the middle of the stack and got up to go turn on my DVD player and my TV. He popped in the movie grabbed my remote and came to sit down beside me scooting back to the window. As the trailers started going he grabbed a pillow by my head bored and placed it on his lap. He didn’t even have to motion for me to move. It was an automatic reaction.

We always watched movies this way. I took my right arm and placed it on top of the pillow followed by my head and he placed his left arm around me as I curled up, my left leg staying stretched out. I smiled contently, until the angry angel in my head started growling at Connor. The movie started and I was able to ignore the angel, even though it was the same movie I had watched two days ago with Jade. I found myself getting more and more comfortable. My eyes were closing a lot and the angel was now smiling at me.

“Get some rest, Gabby.” The angel told me, I smiled back and let my eyes close. The next thing I knew I was waking up to a cold, damp feeling under my cheek. I closed my mouth and realized that I had been drooling. Sitting up quickly was an instant regret. My bandaged calf protested angrily when I tried to move it. Then I also realized it was getting dark out and Connor was gone.

“Connor?” I called out hoping he was still there. I heard a chuckle from downstairs and after a few seconds there were heavy foot falls on the stairs. The door opened gently and there he was.

“Hey, how was your nap?” He asked after turning on the light. I blinked at the brightness of it. Then I looked at my alarm clock.

“It’s seven already? What about our pizza?” I tried to stand up, another bad idea. Connor caught me as I started to fall and placed me back on the bed.

“I was waiting for you to wake up before I even touched it. How’s it feel?” He started checking my bandage.

“It hurts really bad.” I looked around for my pill bottle and Connor took it out of his pocket. He popped it open and placed a pill in my palm. Then he motioned towards a glass of water on my desk.

“Drink the whole thing down with the pill. I forgot to make you do that last time.” I did as he said and then he slowly helped me up not letting me put much pressure on my leg at all. “Would you like me to carry you again?” he asked I shook my head no.

“I need to try and walk on it. It’s not like mom or dad will be carrying me around Con.” He sighed and went to open the door for me. He insisted on going down first so that if I fell I’d land on him and not the floor. It didn’t make much sense to me but I smiled and painfully followed after him. When I rounded the corner to the kitchen I could smell the pizza. “yum.” I mumbled and sat down stiffly at the table propping my leg up on the chair in front of me.

“How many slices you want?” He asked grabbing a few paper plates and opening the boxes. I felt kind of sick to my stomach but after all the trouble he had went through to get it I’d feel terrible not eating.

“Um… two cheese sticks and one large piece.” I reached for a hair bow that was resting next to some of my mothers bills and put my hair up haphazardly. Connor placed a plate in front of me and I smiled up at him. “Thanks Con.”

“It’s no problem doll. Now when exactly have your parents been coming home?” I rolled my eyes and then looked over at the clock.

“Probably around nine, why? Are you planning on jumping ship before they get here?” He sat down next to me his plate piled with around four pieces of pizza and five cheese sticks. “You’re like a freakin bottomless pit.” I muttered and took a bite of pizza. He smiled ruefully.

“Well yeah I plan on leaving before they get here. I know how your mom feels about me.” Connor had already devoured an entire piece of pizza. I didn’t know how he did that.

“Who cares. Mom can get over it. Dad and Jeff like you just fine so she can deal.” He shook his head and stared at my barely eaten food his eyebrow raising.

“Why aren’t you eating?” I shrugged.

“I know I should eat but I can’t. Maybe it’s the meds.” I stated and I could see his eyebrows draw together in thought. He nodded slowly.

“Eat what you can. You need something even slightly nutritious in you.” I giggled.

“Yes, pizza is the epitome of nutrition. You have your carbs, your vegetable or is a tomato a fruit? I can’t remember. Then you have your dairy, and your protein. It’s the perfect balanced meal.” Connor and I both broke into a small fit of laughter. The Anthony that had invaded my head, did not look so amused.

“Gabby your completely crazy, but that’s also why we love you so much.” I knew that we meant he and Jade. It still made me blush though. I took a bite of my pizza again.

“What would I do without you Con?” I asked grinning over at him taking another bite. He grinned he was down to his last piece.

“I dunno. Maybe you’d be more like Marion if I weren’t around.” I made a gagging noise and remembered that Marion had said she was going to call.

“Shit. She was supposed to call me tonight.”

“She did. She said something about calling Jade back to tell her your instructions too. Then we traded insults for a few minutes and I won because my last one resulted in her hanging up.” He grinned triumphantly and stared at his now empty plate. “Ugh I ate too much…” He groaned and looked over at my almost empty plate.

“You seriously need to think about what your putting in your mouth before you do so. You large bottomless pit you.” We both grinned at each other and then we heard a rustling at the door. “Shit.”

“Gabby I’m home!” my mother called as she stepped in the door. I quickly went to stand up but Connor placed a hand on my shoulder keeping me where I was.

“Hey mom. Pizza’s on the oven. Connor’s gonna be leaving in a minute.” Connor stood up placed a quick kiss on the top of my head. He took the pills out of his pocket and placed them next to my plate.

“Follow the directions. I’ll pick you up in the morning, no walking down the road to meet me. Just sit on the porch or something, okay doll?” I nodded as he moved away from me towards the door. “Good to see you Mrs. Cinders. I have to go home now.”

“Of Course Connor. Goodbye.” The door closed before she said goodbye but she said it anyway. “What was he doing here Gabrielle?” She asked me as she set her bags down on the table. I rolled my eyes while starring at the pill bottle.

“He was taking care of me mom. I got hurt at school, he was making sure I wasn’t alone to deal with my pain.” My mother stopped and came around to look at my leg. She gasped at the large pad there.

“What happened baby?” I rolled my eyes again not looking at her.

“I tripped and snagged my leg on a sharp piece of metal. They gave me stitches and a prescription for vikadin. Connor got it filled for me, and he got the pizza too. There should be enough for you and dad.” I started to get up and she came around to help me stand. The pain was numbed now so it wasn’t so hard to stand or limp. “Oh um we have neighbors now. The Laile family. Mr. Laile is my first period teacher. He has two kids my age and they would like to come by Thursday for dinner if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course. Who are they?” My mother seemed happy to be on a different subject.

“Malcolm is… well like I said he’s my teacher and his two kids are twins. Abigail is really sweet, and Anthony… I really haven’t had a chance to talk to.” He smiled in my head. It was a soft smile that sent butterflies fluttering throughout my whole body. I idly began playing with my pill bottle fighting off the urge to blush.

“Speaking of which, I need to call Abby about our French homework. Then I’m probably going to go to bed. Is that cool?” My mother nodded her head while getting herself some pizza. “Remember to tell dad about dinner Thursday and please try to be here.” Again she nodded and I grabbed my book bag and went upstairs with a huge amount of effort.

Kira was looking rather depressed as she stared out an open window down at the spot where Connor had parked. I sighed as I sat my bag in my desk chair and placed the pill bottle on the corner of my desk closest to my bed. I ran my fingers through my hair and felt that brittle feeling of gel. The only person who had played with my hair was Abby.

I sat down slowly on my bed trying hard not to bend my left knee. Reaching out for my bag to pull Abby’s number from my French folder, the phone rang. I continued what I was doing. I found the note that had her cell number on it just in time for the phone to stop ringing. There was the sound of the microwave beeping downstairs and then a loud knocking against the wall.

“Gabrielle, telephone!” My mom called from down stairs. I sighed and picked up the receiver on my corded phone.

“I’ve got it!” I yelled back and put the phone to my ear. “Hello?” I asked and heard the click as my mother hung up.

“Hey Gabby!” Abby’s musical voice chimed in my ear. I smiled and placed the scrap of paper on my bedside table.

“Hey I was just going to call you! So what are you up to?” I asked pulling out my French workbook.

“Just watching a movie with Dad. Did you get around to your home work yet?” There was a sound of an explosion in the background and the silky sound of Malcolm’s laughter.

“I’m just getting to it actually. Did we have any homework in first period I can’t seem to remember.” Kira was nudging me with her ear trying to get me off the phone. I swatted at her lightly with my book.

“No, we were only supposed to go over his reading list. Right dad?” I heard Malcolm explaining in the background. Then I heard a loud, “I’m expecting you to pick a good one!” and Abby’s giggles. “I’ll explain that to you tomorrow. Are you able to do the French homework alright?”

“Yeah, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do with a foggy brain. Could you look it over for me before class tomorrow?” I scribbled down some random answers on my workbook page.

“Of course. Do you like what I did to your hair?” I frowned, so she did put gel in it. I picked up a CD that was laying on my desk and quickly looked at my hair in the reflection on the back. It looked pretty nice actually.

“It’s pretty nice. I didn’t even notice you putting the gel in it. I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t ran my fingers through my hair.” She giggled happily, and I smiled.

“Great! I’m going to have to do that tomorrow considering I haven’t given you those hair products yet. You still want them right?”

“Yup.” I couldn’t help the yawn that escaped my lips.

“Oh your tired! Of course your tired! You get some sleep and I’ll see you in the morning okay?”

“Okay goodnight Abby.”

“Goodnight Gabby!” She giggled and hung up. I smiled and hung up the phone quickly then picked it back up and punched in very familiar numbers.

“What’s wrong?” Connor asked as he answered the phone. I rolled my eyes and put my workbook back in my bag.

“Nothing I was just calling to make sure you weren’t upset or anything.” I heard him sigh deeply.

“Yeah hun I’m fine. Listen you need to get some sleep, tomorrows going to be rough on you. Goodnight, try to sleep well.”

“Alright, alright I will. See you in the morning. Goodnight Con.” I hung up before he could patronize me anymore. I stood up and yanked off my clothes while stiffly walking to my dresser. I grabbed a pair of pajamas out of the bottom left hand drawer and put them on with minor difficulty. After turning on my bedside lamp and turning off the main light I sat down on the edge of my bed and stared at my bookshelf. With a sigh I fell backwards until I hit my still wet pillow and laughed. My eyes closed for a few seconds. While I made myself comfortable, pulling my thick comforter around me, I heard Kira run under the bed hissing from the far corner.

“Goofy kitty. What has you so upset?” I slowly got up but still I felt a little woozy. I faltered a little and almost fell but I caught myself on the side of my desk. That’s when I felt it. A cool, soft hand on my elbow. I turned my head quickly and there he was. “Um… Anthony?”

“I… Well I couldn’t let you fall.” He smiled sheepishly at me. I felt my eyebrows come together.

“What are you doing in my room?” I asked staring at him trying to yank my arm from him. He looked at me confused.

“Gabby, We’re not in your room.” He motioned with his other hand to our surroundings. We were standing at the edge of the woods around my house. It was very dark but there was a small fire set up nearby and a thick fog was creeping in. “You’re the one who invited me here. You said we had to talk.”

“I did?” I started looking around for anyone else. It was suddenly very uncomfortable being around Anthony. He chuckled at me and let my elbow go.

“Yes, darling you did.” I stared at him again.

“Darling?” He knit his eyebrows together this time due to frustration.

“Is this about our relationship?” I didn’t get a chance to answer him seeing as an extremely warm hand was suddenly holding mine and tugging me away from the beautiful angel.

“Of course it is.” Connors voice sent a shiver down my spine. It was deeper and rougher than normal, like he’d been screaming for hours. “How could she want to be with a blood sucking monster like you?” I looked at Connor he looked very upset and he was shaking terribly, like he was really cold, though his skin felt like it was burning.

“Now, now puppy. We mustn’t have a round of the pot calling the kettle black, must we?” Connor released me at the sound of Abby’s musical voice. When I looked back over at Anthony she was beside him her hand on his shoulder as if keeping him in place.

“Children calm down. Gabby, are you alright?” Malcolm was now standing on Anthony’s other side his hand also on his shoulder.

“I’m fine, I think. What is going on?” I started to turn to look back at Connor when suddenly I was in Jades arms in a tight hug.

“You still don’t understand why we’ve all been called here?” She asked me and I nodded as she let me go and walked backwards until she was standing beside Connor. “Gabby we’re here because you told us to come here.”

“I don’t remember asking any of you to come here.” I said angrily standing to where I could look and see each small group with just the slight turn of my head. Anthony growled and started to move toward me but Malcolm and Abby held him in place.

“Is this because of that damn mutt?!” He asked me his tone seething with hatred. I heard a deeper growl off to my left and when I turned my head Connor’s shaking grew worse. Jade placed her arm in front of him almost protectively.

“I don’t understand. What’s going on?” The fog was getting thicker, it almost blocked out the fire light leaving me in the dark.

“Gabby you must choose!” Jade implored me. I saw a figure moving through the fog toward her and I screamed. She turned her head and smiled. “It’s only Scott, Gabby.” She grabbed the slightly tan man’s hand and he smiled at her.

“What do I have to choose?” I was getting more confused by the second. Then as Connor spoke I began to understand.

“You love me don’t you Gabby?! Admit it for once!” Connor was begging me. He was shaking so hard now that he was almost falling to his knees.

“Of course she doesn’t love you, mongrel!” I didn’t realize it but I had began backing up towards Anthony. I felt his soft cold hand on my shoulder and I jumped and moved quickly away from him.

“Why do I have to choose between the two of you?” I asked softly running my hands through my hair trying to stop the world from swirling so violently around me.

“Gabby, you’re meant for both of them. If you don’t choose who you love most how can you be happy?” Jade wasn’t looking at me anymore she was staring at that Scott guy.

“I’ve always loved Connor.” I admitted under my breath. I saw him start to walk towards me triumphantly, I held up a hand to stop him. “But I don’t really know why I suddenly have feelings for Anthony. If I really love Connor why would there be any feelings for Anthony in my head at all?” I was talking more to myself than to any of them. Then as I blinked both of them were beside me in an instant.

“You kissed me Gabby. You were never able to kiss, him.” Anthony was whispering in my ear trying to pull me against him desperately. Connor was lacing his fingers through mine and running a hand through my hair.

“I always knew you loved me… I just wish I would have known about it before he got here…” Connor was still shaking but not as bad.

“I can’t choose… I can’t…” Then everything started to fade from view. Connor and Anthony’s arms were both open wide waiting for me to run to one of them and hold them tight.

“Gabby, you’ll only end up hurting them or yourself. You have to choose.” Jade’s voice rang in my ear though I could no longer see her.

My eyes fluttered open. The first thing I noticed was how dark the room was, my lamp was off. Kira was hissing at the window so I turned my gaze quickly towards the direction she was hissing. I saw an outline of what looked to be a man. My breath caught in my throat. When I blinked the silhouette was gone and Kira dropped her protective stance. I let out my breath slowly and ran my fingers through my hair as I sat up my fingers jerking at the knots.

My leg was throbbing angrily at me. I had apparently been moving a lot during my awkward dream. A gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it. I had dreamed. It was a very strange dream but a dream nonetheless. I looked around the dark room for my bottle of pills. I was defiantly going back to sleep. I had to see if I could dream again. I found it on the corner of my desk and grabbed it quickly twisting off the lid, grabbing one of the pills and tossing it quickly into my mouth with a hurried gulp.

I placed the bottle back on my desk and flopped back down onto my pillow trying to get comfortable. The clock on my bedside table told me it was midnight so I had slept for maybe three hours. I closed my eyes and waited for my pill to kick in and the pain fade to numbness, so that sleep would claim me quickly. It did.

The alarm blared in my ear and my eyes shot open to stare at my alarm clock. I hadn’t dreamed or had a nightmare. My head was simply blank. I smiled even though my leg was aching terribly. I quickly turned off my alarm and made my way downstairs to happily complete my morning ritual.

The next few days were a blur. Jade had given me my list of instructions from Marion, and asked me about the Laile’s in private after homeroom. Abby gave me those hair treatments and a bottle of gel with instructions on how to use it properly. I had introduced Connor and Abby at lunch so they would have someone to talk to while I was off seeing the nurse about my leg. Connor seemed a lot happier but he didn’t try to kiss me again, and Anthony…

Well he’s a different subject all together. He seemed to be pretending I didn’t exist especially after he saw my drawing of his Porsche in art class. He wouldn’t talk to me and I don’t know why, but it made me extremely upset. It was like he was carefully hiding himself from me. He wouldn’t look at me when I came in and if I said hi he wouldn’t even nod at me. He just stared down at the table gripping it as if he were in pain. Over the next few nights I had the same dream. Nothing changed in it at all. It was like watching a re-run of a bad sitcom, and not understanding the plot. Then Thursday came.

“So I guess I’ll be seeing you tonight then?” I asked Anthony as I stood up grabbing my bag. He nodded and bolted for the door. I was getting really angry now. What was wrong with me that he couldn’t even find me decent enough to talk too? I would have to talk to him about that tonight, if I could get him alone to ask.

I made my way up the stairs and down the outside corridor to the student parking lot. Then I saw something really strange. Abby was standing next to Connor a big grin on her face about something. I moved my leg wrong and gasped in pain as I came closer to them. Connor turned toward me smiling and then his expression turned to concern as did Abby’s. They both rushed over to me.

“Gabbs you okay?” Connor slid his arm around me keeping me stable. I nodded.

“I just stepped wrong that’s all.” Abby bent down to examine my leg through my jeans.

“Well from what I can feel you haven’t popped a stitch and the fabric’s not wet so your skin didn’t tear either. It seems you just stretched your calf a little too far.” She stood back up and swept her fallen hair behind her shoulder. Connor let me go after he gave my shoulders a light squeeze.

“Well I’ll call you later Gabby. Have a fun time with Abby tonight. I hope she doesn’t drive crazier than I do.” Then Connor was gone. I stared after him confused. Abby smiled at me.

“I’m driving you home so I can help you get ready! Dad and Anthony will be there at around seven-ish. Which gives me plenty of time to coordinate the perfect outfit for you! Mine is in a bag in the car! Oh it will be perfect!” She twirled around for a second and a sudden sense of dread filled me. She was going to go through my clothes. She pulled me toward Anthony’s Porsche and practically shoved me into the passenger seat.

“Please don’t do anything too drastic to my clothes, Abby.” I pleaded as she sped out of the parking lot. She giggled at me and turned on the radio. The car smelled like him. It made me blush as I realized that I was looking around for any hint of him in the car.

“I promised I wouldn’t touch your stockings but I will coordinate your clothes. You have a flair for stylish things sweetie, but you just don’t put them together correctly.” She made a motion at my flair jeans, and blue stripped spaghetti strap over top of a dark green long sleeved shirt that was way too baggy for layering. “With the proper instruction you can look like the bell of the ball everyday. Have you been using the hair treatment?”

“Duh.” I motioned to my already lighter hair and she grinned at me again.

“Oh I have a question about the area. Why does everyone call North Cove, Old Fort, and Nebo the boonies?” I tried very hard to stifle a laugh.

“Because they’re in the middle of nowhere. Like take where we live in North Cove, that is defiantly the middle of nowhere. Especially since we live near the hill.” She raised an eyebrow at that and I sighed.

“You don’t know about the hill? It’s probably just behind your house. Anyway the hill is said to be a breeding ground for supernatural activity. We went out there one night and Jade swears she saw a ghost. I’ve seen something’s around there sometimes really spooky things which is why we don’t go back there anymore. Con say’s that there’s been a lot of death’s back there but I was always to scared to check it out.” Abby’s eyes narrowed when I stopped talking.

“Is that why all those houses are abandoned back there?” I nodded and gulped. I always hated talking about the hill. That was the place where most of my nightmares occurred. My hand jerked and my eyes narrowed slightly.

“Ow.” Abby looked at me as she stopped the car in front of my house. “Damn, she does drive as fast as Connor.”

“What’s wrong?” I stared at my hand.

“My hand is burning for some reason. Right here.” I pointed out the light pink tint of hurt flesh in-between my thumb and pointer finger on my right hand. She grinned a moment and then pain disappeared but the pink tint remained.

“You should run some cold water over it when we get inside. That might help.” We both got out of the car and walked quickly to the porch as I grabbed my key from my bag. I opened the door and allowed Abby to go in first. She looked around. “I pictured it to be much more… Colorful.” I stared at the bright white walls.

“If I had my way it would be more colorful. My parents like white though. Every chance I get I cover up the white space on my bedroom walls.” I dropped my bag in the corner and went to run some cold water over the light pink mark on my hand.

“Where is your room?” She asked me a smile in her voice.

“Hold on and I’ll show you.” I quickly wiped off my hand and motioned for her to follow me up the stairs. I blushed in annoyance at the teddy bear on my door that was surrounded by the word’s “Gabrielle’s Room” in big block letters. I opened the door and heard Kira hiss as Abby made her way in.

“Oh you have a cat.”

“Don’t worry she won’t bite you or anything. She’s just not that good with strangers.” Abby nodded and headed over to my closet forgetting about the cat baring her teeth at her. She oh-ed and ah-ed at my clothes as each article was moved aside she would nod or shake her head. “Well if you’re okay up here I’m going to go down stairs and start getting the chicken ready.” She nodded, and before I could close the door she was gripping my elbow.

“Your stockings are where?” I pointed to my dresser. She grinned wide. I bit lip and closed the door. She promised so she’s not going to go crazy. I made my way to the refrigerator, opened it and started groping the big bag of thawed chicken breasts sitting on a pan inside. I grabbed the bag and took it to the sink de-skin them. As ran them under the water jerking the skin off I found myself singing. I didn’t really sing often but when I did it was a nice feeling.

I placed all the chicken breasts on a plate and quickly rinsed off the pan that they had been sitting on in the fridge. After I wiped it off I danced my way, while still singing, over to the opposite side of the kitchen to grab some tinfoil to put on the pan. I twirled to the sink and placed the tinfoil on the pan forming the edges to it. Glancing quickly at the clock I smiled, it was only four thirty I had plenty of time to get everything done before seven.

Twirling over to the fridge I opened it and grabbed the marinade I had made early this morning. I grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer and opened up my marinade container. I took a piece of chicken and placed a spoonful of marinade on it and rubbed it in. I continued the process placing each one on the pan. Then there were light footsteps on the stairs and I stopped singing and blushed knowing Abby would have heard me. I had forgotten she was here.

“Aww don’t stop singing. You have a beautiful voice.” She said as she came in to view. I moved slowly to the oven turning the dial to broil with my clean hand.

“Nah my voice isn’t that good. So you didn’t turn my room upside down, did you?” I washed my hands and went to the pantry to grab a bottle of four cheese pasta sauce and two boxes of angel hair pasta I closed the pantry door with my foot and when I turned back around I noticed Abby was grinning at me. I raised my eyebrows at her and set my supplies on the counter.

“I have put together the perfect outfit for you tonight, and I’m going to do your hair! You’re going to look gorgeous.” I grabbed a package of fancy shredded parmesan cheese.

“Why do I have to look gorgeous?” I asked opening the package and sprinkling some over top of each piece of chicken. She giggled at me.

“Because, silly, we should all look nice. It’s our first dinner together, our first chance to really get to know one another. Isn’t that a dressy occasion?” I smiled at her as I put the cheese away and nodded my head.

“Okay so what am I wearing?” She pulled the clothes out from behind her back.

“Go put them on please!” I giggled and took them from her and went to the bathroom to change. I dragged off my clothes after I closed the door and looked at the things she had picked out for me. There was a dark brown and light blue collared striped shirt, a short dark blue skirt that I had modified with bits of white lace and ribbon, a white double layer half petticoat to go under the skirt, and a pair of my dark blue stockings with dark blue garter loops.

I put it all on with a smile. It all matched. That’s what I didn’t like. I hated it when my clothes matched, but she was able to make it match while incorporating my quirky style. I walked out and she grinned even wider and placed a pair of shoes on the floor. They were my dark brown flats I put them on and she jumped up and down a second.

“Almost perfect!” she dragged me back into the bathroom and found the gel and a supply of hair bows and barrettes’ on a my small shelf of bathing supplies. She grabbed a stool that was in the corner and sat me down on it. She combed through my mess of already gelled hair sprinkling some water on it every now and again. Then she put some gel in my hair and started scrunching and teasing it. I felt her twist up a small bundle and felt the snap of a barrette. The oven beeped.

“The oven’s done pre-heating and I can’t leave the chicken out much longer or it’ll start to get all icky.” She forced me back down as I started to get up.

“I’m almost done. Stay still.” It seemed like it took her forever to finish. But when I got to look at what she had done I was taken aback. There were small tendrils slightly curled and framing my face. There was part of it balled up in the back with a barrette that Mrs. Downes had given me at one of Connor’s birthday party’s to pull my hair back. I really looked pretty. Abby stood behind me in the mirror and smiled at my awed expression. “The most perfect thing is that you don’t have to wear makeup. You have it naturally!” I blushed.

“Thanks Abby. What about you didn’t you say you had a different outfit to wear too?” She nodded and shooed me out of the bathroom motioning toward a bag next to the door.

“Okay time to get cooking!” I quickly shoved the chicken into the oven and gabbed a pot out of a cabinet. I put some water in the pot and shoved it on the bottom left eye of the stove and turned the dial to high heat. I looked over at the clock, almost six. I sighed and smiled while turning down the heat for my pot of water. There was plenty of time. I took out another pot and poured the sauce in it and put it on low heat. I then picked up the phone and called my mom’s cell phone. It went straight to voicemail.

“Hey mom it’s me. I just wanted to let you know dinner is going to be around seven. If I don’t hear from you by six thirty I’m going to call you at work. Love ya, bye.” I hung up then dialed my dad’s cell phone. He picked up after a few rings.

“Hello home.” I giggled.

“Hey daddy. Mom told you about dinner tonight, right?”

“Yes and I will try to be there. When is dinner supposed to be ready?”

“At around seven. That’s when the Laile’s are going to be here. I’ve already got the chicken in the oven.” My dad sighed.

“I don’t know if I can make it by seven. I didn’t get home until after you were asleep last night. I’m working out in Rutherfordton this month but I will try.” I smiled sadly at the phone.

“Okay if you can’t make it that’s fine. There will be other times that you can meet the neighbors. I’ll save you some chicken and pasta if you’re not here.”

“Okey-Doeky then I’ll see you later sweetie. Love ya, bye.”

“Love ya, bye.” I hung up as Abby came out of the bathroom. My jaw dropped when I saw her. Her long hair was up in an intricate swirl of curls on top of her head, and she was wearing a red blouse and a long black skirt with a slit on one side that went up to her knee. She was wearing what looked to be black ballet slippers with ribbon that tied up to her knee.

“Now you are defiantly the gorgeous one out of the two of us.” I said going over to the stove to check the water and the chicken. I stabbed a piece of chicken with a poultry thermometer. No where near ready. She giggled and curtseyed. I put the thermometer on the counter and opened the two boxes of pasta.

“Anthony just called me. He and dad should be here in well…” There was a knock on the door. “Now.” She smiled as I went to go answer the door, fighting the urge to touch my hair. I smiled at Malcolm as I opened the door.

“Hello! Please come in.” Malcolm didn’t look that much different from how he dressed at school. As he stepped past me he took a deep breath.

“mmm… It smells delicious Gabby.” I heard Abby sigh in annoyance as she came around the corner.

“Dad why didn’t you wear what I picked out for you?” I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation because I was too bust staring at Anthony.

“Hello, Gabby.” He said softly his silky voice low. He handed me a small bouquet of daisies. I reached out slowly to take them. He smiled softly like I had seen so many times in my head these past few days. The smiles simply could not compare. I blushed. The way my name fell off his lips was intoxicating.

“H-hello… Anthony.” I said softly closing the door behind him as he made his way inside, blushing harder as I rushed past him to turn down the now boiling water. I tried not to think about how beautiful he looked in that crimson button down, and how his eyes had stared straight in to mine seemingly knowing everything I was thinking in that brief second. I poured the pasta into the pot and set the timer on the oven for five minutes.

“You look wonderful, Gabby. Is the lovely outfit my daughters doing or your own?” I blushed at his compliment and checked the chicken again.

“Abby’s of course.” I said softly as I stood up. Still not ready. I took the flowers and put them in a vase from my mothers china cabinet and filled it with water. “Thank you for the flowers.” I said softly trying to calm my blush. It was no use as soon as Anthony’s voice hit my ears so did the blush.

“Your welcome.” Everything was quiet for a moment except for the loud beating of my heart. It seemed that it was trying to beat its way out of my chest. I went and placed the flowers on the table and returned to the kitchen to get out the plates, cups and silverware.

“So where are your parents at?” Malcolm asked softly.

“Dad’s still at work and I don’t know about mom. I need to call her again. Daddy might not be able to make it though. Abby would you mind handing me the phone?” The oven timer was beeping so I went and turned it off and stirred the pasta yanking out a noodle to taste. I shook my head at the still crunchy noodle. Abby tapped my shoulder with the phone. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome. Do you need any help with anything?” I shook my head and then thought about it.

“Wait yeah. I made the breadsticks last night so if you wouldn’t mind getting them out of the fridge their in the top crisper in a plastic bag.” Abby nodded and made her way to the fridge as I called my mom’s work number.

“Hello may I speak with Sarah Cinders please?” I asked the girl who answered.

“Hold on.”

“Okay.” Abby handed me the bag of breadsticks and I mouthed a thank you at her as I dumped them onto a paper plate. I then shoved them in the microwave for around forty seconds. I stirred the now steaming sauce.

“Hello?”

“Hey mom it’s me.” She sighed. “I just wanted to know if you were going to make it to dinner. The neighbors are already here, and dinners almost ready.”

“Yes but go ahead and start without me. I have to go we are very busy right now Gabrielle.” I nodded at the phone as she hung up. I quickly stirred the pasta and took another bite as I turned off the phone. The pasta was perfect. The microwave beeped but I didn’t bother to check on the breadsticks, instead I checked the chicken. It was done too.

“Okay so, mom’s going to be late but she said to go ahead and start without her. So if you guy’s are ready so is dinner.” I smiled and turned to my guests. “So this a serve yourself type deal. Take what you want and if that’s not enough come back and get more.” I pulled the chicken out of the oven and placed it on the stove. I turned off the noodles and lightly drained them. I put a set of tongs by the chicken, and in the noodles, and placed a gravy spoon in the sauce. Everyone grabbed a plate as I leaned against the counter waiting to go last. Malcolm was first, then Abby and Anthony.

“It looks even more delicious than it smells.” Malcolm smiled as he went past me to go and sit at the table. Abby giggled and went and sat by her father, and Anthony smiled crookedly before sitting on the other side of Malcolm, making me blush. I made my own plate and went and set it next to Abby.

“So what would everyone like to drink?” I asked and Malcolm motioned to a large black bottle that was on the table.

“I brought this for the kids, and myself. I don’t think you would like it, but we drink it after every meal.” I nodded and brought them their glasses and then I poured myself some milk and sat down next to Abby. “You have a very nice house Gabby.” I choked back a laugh as I took a bite of pasta.

“It used to be a barn.” I said softly after I swallowed. I looked at their glasses which were now full of a thick red liquid. It looked like it could have been some kind of wine, but I didn’t ask. “So are you guys liking Marion?” Anthony took a bite of Pasta, Malcolm smiled, Abby giggled.

“I really like it here. I didn’t think I’d make friends so quickly. Especially a wonderful friend like you Gabby.” Abby took a sip of her drink and her eyes turned momentarily dark.

“I like it here as well. It’s much warmer than Maine. It’s also nice to have a neighbor who can cook so well. Gabby this is delicious!” Malcolm took a large bite of chicken.

“It’s really nice to live so close…” Anthony said softly staring at his plate not finishing his sentence. “Have you always lived here?” he asked suddenly still not looking up.

“Yup. I hate it here, personally. I mean, I love it because of my friends but otherwise I could care less about this place. There’s never anything to do. You have to go out of town if you want to really go shopping or something.” Abby nodded. Malcolm chuckled at me and took a sip of his drink, his eyes flashed just like Abby’s had. Anthony was shaking. “Anthony are you okay?” He nodded and took a large bite of chicken. The rest of dinner was silent Abby and Malcolm were keeping a close eye on Anthony, and I was getting angrier and angrier the closer it got to eight o’clock.

“Is everyone done eating?” I stood up and took my plate to the sink and came back getting Abby’s. Anthony’s head snapped up and his eyes flashed dark. He stood and grabbed Abby’s plate from me.

“Let me help you with that.” He said softly and my breath caught in my throat as I nodded. He grabbed the rest of the dishes and helped me wash them as Malcolm and Abby made themselves comfy in the living room.

“Thank you Anthony.” I said as he put the last of the dishes in the strainer. He smiled softly at me.

“Your welcome. I uh… I have a question for you.” I bit my bottom lip trying to once again fight off my blush.

“What is it?” I asked quietly my fingers twitching in anticipation.

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” My breath caught in my throat. Was he asking me what I think he was asking me?

“I have a… meeting tomorrow night, I’m also staying the night with Jade. Um… Why?” My voice seemed to come out in a whisper he seemed to stiffen by the time I finished.

“I just thought maybe you’d like to see a movie… with me… Saturday maybe?” I could tell this was taking a lot out of him.

“Saturday’s tarot night… Which I’d like to invite you and Abby to. But how about Sunday. I have nothing to do then, I’d love to go to a movie with you.” He blinked at me a moment.

“Tarot night?” He leaned against the counter.

“Yeah it’s a thing Jade, Connor, and I do maybe once every two weeks. I’d love to have you and Abby there. It’d be fun. I could read you your future. But um.. Sunday?” I was fidgeting thinking that maybe he’d changed his mind seeing how weird I am.

“I’m sure Abby would like that. I’ll come too. Sunday it is. We could go out to dinner after we catch a matinee.” He was grinning at me now. “It’s a date.” I blushed. What had I done.

“Date?” Malcolm and Abby were now standing by the table looking between the two of us. Malcolm looked concerned and Abby looked ecstatic.

“Sure a date.” I said looking down at my feet fidgeting with the lace on my skirt.

“Abby we’re going to be coming over Saturday night. I’ll explain later. Thank you so much for dinner Gabby. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.” I nodded and then I was pulled into a hug by Abby. I saw Malcolm pull Anthony over to a corner. I could lightly read on their lips what was being said. Something about spending as much time with her as possible, and how that might not be such a good idea.

“Thank you Gabby! It was absolutely wonderful!” Abby lightly touched my arm and that electric shock ran through me again, I felt her excitement. It was such a big feeling I couldn’t contain it and I fell down. I heard a gasp and felt strong arms holding me up.

“Gabby, are you alright?” Anthony’s voice was in my ear and I nodded.

“It was just… static.” I said looking at the expression on Abby’s face as Malcolm held her up. The door opened and closed.

“Gabrielle sorry I’m so late! I… Oh.” My mom took in the scene quickly eyeing Anthony. Malcolm let go of Abby and turned to my mother staring right into her eyes.

“Hello you must be Gabby’s mother. I’m Malcolm Laile. These are my two children Abigail and Anthony.” Abby turned and curtsied Anthony just nodded in my mothers direction not letting me go. It felt right, to be held against him. I smiled and waved at my mother.

“Hey mom. Dinner’s on the stove.” I brought my hand up to touch one of Anthony’s on my shoulder, instinctively. He tensed at my touch and moved away from me. I frowned.

“It’s nice to meet you, I‘m Sarah Cinders. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it for dinner, I had a lot to do after work.” She set down her work bag on the table next to Malcolm.

“I’m sorry too. Maybe next time everything will workout better. You have a terrific daughter. Her cooking is impeccable. But we must be going the kid’s have school tomorrow and I’m the girls’ first period teacher so I can’t have them going to bed late. I’d feel bad about myself.” he chuckled and my mother laughed lightly. “We’ll see you tomorrow Gabby. Goodnight.” He ushered the twins to the door and out into the night.

“See you!” I called after them as the door closed. My mother turned to me.

“Those are our neighbors?” My mother asked me softly. I nodded. “That boy seemed quite taken with you. Does Connor know about him?” She smiled at me and I blushed.

“Anthony’s nice… We have… a date on Sunday.” My mother grabbed me into a hug as I said this.

“Finally! Some boy other than Connor is going to be around here! He looks very nice too! Just the guy I can picture helping have my grandchildren!” I pushed her away blushing.

“Mom stop it! I don’t even know Anthony that well! There’s chicken and Pasta on the oven, I’m going to bed.” I stormed up the stairs.

“You look really nice!” She called up to me as I slammed my door.

“Ugh!” I yanked off my clothes and threw on my pajamas, and gently pulled the barrette out of my hair before yanking my fingers through the gelled strands. I looked in the mirror on the back of my door and sighed. I looked like hell. I then turned out the light and collapsed onto my bed pulling the covers up over my head and smiling. I drifted off to sleep within minutes.

“Gabby how could you?” Connor was looking at me accusingly as we starred into the fire. The fog was staying far off for now. It was just the two of us.

“How could I what Con?” I sat down on a log by the fire feeling it’s heat.

“You agreed to go out on a date with that blood sucker!” He motioned to my other side and I saw Anthony emerge out of the mist.

“That’s right mutt. I win this round.” I rolled my eyes.

“Why do you guy’s keep fighting over me?” I asked throwing a rock at the fire.

“Darling, you know why.” Anthony sat down next to me taking my hand in his. Connor growled and sat down on my other side taking my other hand in his. The mist started toward us.

“No I don’t. I don’t understand any of this. All I know is I love you both equally. Why can’t we all just be happy together. I’ve never particularly wanted to be shared between two people but if that’s how it has to be, that’s how it’s just going to have to be.” I squeezed their hands and they both looked at me confused.

“How can you love us equally?” Anthony reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear. Connor growled and I squeezed his hand harder.

“I don’t know. It’s just that my heart is balanced when it comes to you both. Like right now even though you’re both really angry, and I can tell you’re angry, I’m completely content. When I’m alone with one of you I feel completely out of balance. If I had to think about who I should love the most it should be Connor.” The tan boy stopped growling and chuckled. Anthony closed his eyes trying to remain calm. “It only makes sense he’s my childhood love, but if I even think of staying with just Connor my heart aches. You are both two halves to my whole. You’re both the two pieces of bread and I’m the peanut butter. Together we make an awesome sandwich, and I do not mean it in a ménage a trois sort of way.” Connor snickered.

“Darling what we don’t understand is why you don’t at least try to choose.” I stood up angrily letting go of their hands.

“I just told you! Neither of you listen! That’s it, if you’re not going to listen and you’re just going to keep pushing this on me… I’m done! No more! I will be with neither of you!” With that I waked into the fog both of them chasing after me.