Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

Nicoli grumbled and groaned as he slowly came out of the perpetual darkness of unconsciousness. He knew immediately that something wasn’t right. The soft, cozy bed he was lying on did not feel familiar and his entire body was achy and the slight movement that he made caused his muscles to burn. Things were definitely not right.

Blue eyes fluttered open and tried to focus on an alien ceiling, but before he could examine it fully a transparent head appeared in his line of vision.

“Ah!” Nicoli cried out in surprise. He then scowled at the grinning ghost above him.

“Waky, waky eggs and bacy, Mr. Sunshine,” Felix said, obviously delighted in the immediate distain he could cause in the human. “Finally decided to wake up, did you?” the spirit then asked.

“Wake up? I don’t remember ever going to sleep,” Nicoli said as he began to shift and stretch his tender body. “I feel like shit.”

“Not to mention you look like shit,” Felix said as he settled on the bed next to the other boy.

“Have I ever told you what a delight you ar–ah!” Nicoli cried out as he tried to sit up, only to have ripples of pain spread throughout his body, forcing him to collapse back on the bed.

“Yeah, you may not want to do that just yet. You went through the ringer.”

“What the hell happened?” Nicoli asked as he tried to breathe through the twinges in his muscles.

“You don’t remember?” Felix said in astonishment.

“Not particularly. Why? Did I miss something good?”

“Only you becoming the color of a lobster before bursting into a fiery message board from beyond the grave.”

Nicoli blinked at Felix repeatedly, as if the longer he stared the more he would understand what was just said to him.

“What?” he finally had to ask.

Felix sighed and rolled his eyes.

“The book attacked you, and caught you on fire, quite literally. Deloris put another damn protective spell on the stupid book and it burned a message into your chest from her to us,” he explained.

“Are you fucking serious?” Nicoli asked. He ignored the protest of his body as he began to squirm in order to lift his shirt to his chin. But when he looked at his chest he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“Well, it’s not there now,” Felix said. “It faded soon after you passed out. I gotta tell you, after all the crazy shit that’s happened throughout the years that was undoubtedly one of the bizarrest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“What the hell did it say?” Nicoli asked as he worked his shirt back down, which with every movement he regretted.

“I don’t remember exactly, but Faith wrote it down,” Felix said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Basically it said that she’s getting pissed that we keep trying to break into the book, this is our last warning, and the next person that tries is going to die. Normal threat stuff.”

“Holy shit…” Nicoli murmured. As Felix spoke he began to remember what had happened before he passed out, though all he really had to go on were feelings. He recalled a great amount of pain that had coursed through his body and that it felt like he had been thrown right into a fire. It was then he realized how much power the book had. It could have actually killed him!

“Okay, next time we’re messing with the book I’m calling not it! Fuck that, I am not going to let that thing turn me into a crispy critter,” Nicoli said. He was willing to help out, but it was clear the book meant business.

“You do know you’re the only one who can touch the book, right? We kinda need you to mess with it,” Felix pointed out.

“The only way I am ever going to touch that book again is if we have a sure fire way on how to get it open that does not result in me catching on fire.”

“Well, we kinda thought we already did. The magic decoder seemed like it was going to work. We just weren’t anticipating that the book could counter it.”

“What happened to the magic decoder?” Nicoli asked curiously, completely forgetting about the little device that had put him in this situation in the first place. “I guess no one was able to finish the code, right?”

“Uh…that’s a funny story, actually,” Felix said, a sheepish smile creeping along his face. “You see, I don’t think it’ll be able to decode anything ever again.”

“What? Why?”

“After you passed out it kind of…exploded,” Felix said as he scratched the back of his head.

“…It exploded?” Nicoli said slowly.

“Yeah, just went boom,” the ghost said, simulating it with his hands. “Gavin and Faith were upset, apparently it was a rather old, rare artifact and Conrad’s not happy because now he has to tell the guy he got it from that we broke it.”

“Jesus Christ. What the hell did she do to that damn book? I’m surprised it hasn’t grown legs and walked out of the house by now,” Nicoli groaned and he covered his eyes and shook his head.

“We’ve actually taken that into consideration,” Felix said. “That’s why it’s being locked up tight in a secret safe in Gavin’s room. With Andre’s help he was able to get that safe so locked up even air can’t get in or out.”

“Well, I guess that’s good,” Nicoli murmured as he stared up at the ceiling. It was then he took in the room. It was bare, like most of the house. The only furniture in it was the bed he was laying on, a dresser and a chair. It was no surprise that the only window was covered with heavy curtains, making the room very dim. He recognized the leather jacket that was draped over the chair as Ethan’s. He thought it made sense that he would be put in Ethan’s room since he was basically the vampire’s responsibility.

It was then he realized that the vampire was not there. If anyone was going to sit with him and wait for him to wake up he thought it would be Ethan, not Felix. Was he with his family? Nicoli noticed that at the knowledge of Ethan’s absence his chest tightened uncomfortably and he was not sure why, but he knew he did not like it. He tried to distract himself from the peculiar feeling and thoughts by reengaging the spirit next to him.

“So, what’s gonna happen now?” Nicoli asked.

“I don’t know,” Felix said. He had also been staring off and his voice sounded quiet and thoughtful. “Conrad will most likely figure something out. I’ve never known for him to let anything stand in his way.”

For some unknown reason Felix’s statement made Nicoli think of what Ethan had said about Conrad’s brother Dimitri. The clan leader must have been strong if he could fight against his own brother, so Nicoli believed in what the ghost said. He was an only child, so he had no idea what it would be like if he had a sibling who was his enemy, but he could imagine how hard it had to be. If it was Nicoli, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to fight his own brother, especially if it was to the death. Of course, he did not have all of the information about why the two were fighting, so he could not really understand their motivations.

Nicoli glanced at the spirit that was seated beside him. Felix had been with the family for many years it seemed. It was possible that he had answers that Ethan had failed to tell Nicoli previously.

“Felix, can I ask you a question?” Nicoli inquired.

“Do you have to?” Felix retorted flippantly.

“God, you’re a pain in the ass.”

“I try,” the spirit said with a great big grin. “So, go for it, Meatbag, ask me your question.”

“Can you tell me anything about Conrad’s brother Dimitri?”

It was rather interesting to Nicoli that he could practically see the shock wash over Felix. The ghost’s mouth fell open and his eyes grew to almost humorous proportions. The human was sure that if Felix had a complexion it would have paled considerably.

“Wh-What? How the hell do you know about Dimitri?” Felix asked.

Nicoli couldn’t help but crack a smile at the way the ghost stumbled over his words. It was about time he was able to catch Felix off guard.

“Ethan mentioned him when he was walking me home the night the family showed up,” Nicoli answered.

“God, Ethan has such a big mouth,” Felix said as he looked away and mumbled a few unintelligible words under his breath. There was a pause before he sighed and turned back to Nicoli. “What exactly did he tell you?”

“Not much, really,” Nicoli told the ghost as he closed his eyes. He was tired, but he was relieved that the achy throb that pulsed through his body was lessening as time went by. “Just that Conrad, Dimitri and the other brother Isaak are all Twice Siblings, Isaak’s dead, and that Dimitri didn’t really agree on stuff with the other two so he broke away and is now your guys’ enemy. That sound about right?”

“A very loose gist of it,” Felix admitted. “What did you want to know, exactly?” he then asked.

“Well, see, I just don’t really understand how brothers – nngh – can become enemies,” Nicoli said as he struggled to prop himself up on his elbows. “I mean, brothers? I can’t wrap my mind around the idea that Conrad and Dimitri are brothers and they’re trying to kill each other. “Blood is thicker than water” or so they say.”

“It’s…complicated,” Felix mumbled uncomfortably.

“So I’ve heard.”

“Look, blood may be thicker than water, but blood doesn’t mean a thing when it comes down to desire. When you want something bad enough you won’t let anything stand in your way. To get what he wanted Dimitri did the one thing Conrad could never forgive him for.”

A lump formed in Nicoli’s throat and he could not swallow it down. Felix’s solemn tone sent chills up the boy’s skin.

“What did he do?”

Felix did not reply right away. He would not make eye contact with Nicoli and he chewed on his bottom lip for a while. Finally, he took in a deep breath and tentatively looked at Nicoli.

“From what I was told, Dimitri is the reason that–”

The ghost was interrupted when the door swung open and a familiar blond haired, teal eye vampire ambled into the room.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Ethan said with a big, bright smile. “We were starting to get worried.” He stopped short when he felt the stifling atmosphere in the room and the serious expressions on the boys’ faces. “You two okay?”

“Yeah, perfectly fine,” Felix quickly quipped. A devilish grin then appeared as he tilted his head toward the human. “I was just telling little Nikki here what a wimp he was for passing out for a third time.”

“Hey!” Nicoli exclaimed in protest, but he was confused. Why would Felix lie about what they were talking about? It also seemed that the ghost was relieved that they were interrupted. Was what Dimitri did really that hard to talk about?

Ethan sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Why do you two always behave like bickering children?” he asked as he came around to the other side of the bed and sat down on the mattress, opposite of Felix.

“He starts it,” Nicoli and Felix said in unison then scowled at each other.

“Thank you for proving my point,” Ethan said with a chuckle. “Here, Nicoli, I thought you’d be thirsty when you woke up, so I brought you this,” he then said as he held up a glass of water he was carrying.

It was then Nicoli realized just how thirsty he was. His throat felt dry and scratchy, as if he had swallowed a desert. He supposed that was normal after catching on fire.

“Hell yeah I’m thirsty.” Nicoli made to grab the glass, but he winced when his muscles showed their disapproval by stinging and he couldn’t support his weight on just one elbow.

Ethan rectified that by slipping his free arm around Nicoli’s back and cradling the human to him. The vampire then shooed the boy’s hands away when he reached for the glass and held the rim of the glass to Nicoli’s lips himself.

A noticeable flush stained Nicoli’s face as he glowered at the glass in front of him. He did not want to be babied by Ethan, especially in front of Felix. It was embarrassing! But with the cool water right in front of him, and his throat constricting at just the thought of it, he gave in and took deep, long gulps from the glass. He could feel the water rush into his system and he shivered in delight.

Felix watched this display until the human had his fill and the glass was taken away.

“All right, he’s fine now, can I stop babysitting him?” he asked as he crossed his arms with a huff.

“Yes, Felix,” Ethan said with an amused smile. “I know it wasn’t something you wanted to do, so I’ll make it up to you later.”

“You better,” Felix retorted, but he could not hide a small, excited smile.

“Wait, why was he the one that was up here with me in the first place?” Nicoli asked curiously. It had just dawned on him that it was rather odd that Felix, of all people, was the one taking care of him.

“For your health, of course,” Ethan said, as if that would explain everything. When Nicoli only stared at him, and Felix made fun of his confused expression while he was not looking, the vampire elaborated. “After what happened your body was dangerously overheated and if we didn’t get your temperature down you could have died.”

“That’s where I came in, unfortunately,” Felix muttered.

“And why’s that?” Nicoli asked.

“Not too bright, are you?” the ghost said. “Because I am the coldest thing in this house, as you know from experience,” he said and Nicoli nodded in agreement, knowing exactly what he was talking about. “So, I was in charge of monitoring you and if it seemed like you were getting too hot I had to cool you down.”

Nicoli shifted in Ethan’s hold so he was more comfortable and he stared at Felix thoughtfully.

“And how exactly did you do that?” he asked, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“How else do you think?” Felix said as he raised his hands and flexed his fingers.

“You were groping me!?” Nicoli exclaimed in shock.

“More or less,” the ghost replied calmly. “It’s not like I enjoyed it. I would have rather let your insides melt, but noooo the others insisted I didn’t, so count yourself lucky.”

“I feel so violated…” Nicoli murmured and even leaned into Ethan a bit more, who was trying hard not to laugh at it all.

“Hell, if I could still be affected by bacteria I would go sanitize my hands. I don’t know what diseases you’re carrying,” Felix snapped as he levitated off the bed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go do something that doesn’t make me want to puke up my nonexistent insides.”

Before either Nicoli or Ethan had a chance to say anything Felix darted out of the room, phasing right through the door.

“I swear, Felix is just so ghhn,” Nicoli said, not having an actual word for what the ghost was.

Ethan simply laughed and coaxed Nicoli to take another drink of water.

“Some day you two are going to get along,” Ethan said and smiled when the boy made a noise of disagreement while he drank. “But, really, if it wasn’t for Felix you could have been in some real trouble. You could at least be a little thankful.”

“Oh, I am thankful, don’t get me wrong,” Nicoli said when the cup was taken away. “But that doesn’t mean I have to tell him that. Don’t give me that look,” he told Ethan when the vampire frowned. “You wouldn’t understand. Just leave me and Felix to do our thing. If you try and force something between us we’re just going to hate each other more.”

“Children…” Ethan muttered under his breath with a shake of his head, but he did not say anything more on the subject. He twisted around enough to place the almost empty glass on the bed post. When he turned back around he graced Nicoli with an affectionate smile and began stroking the sides of the human’s face.

“Are you feeling any better?” he asked softly as he hooked his finger under Nicoli’s chin to make the boy look up at him.

“A bit,” he answered and he closed his eyes as Ethan went back to gently caressing his skin with the back of his fingers. The touches and the hold felt nice after what he went through. “Were you worried?” Nicoli asked as he cracked open an eye to look up at the other.

“Extremely,” Ethan answered. “For a moment I thought the book was going to completely engulf you. I’m happy that wasn’t the case.” His hand stilled. “Why, did you think I wasn’t?”

“I don’t know,” Nicoli said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Maybe. I was confused when I woke up, but I was expecting to see you first, not Felix. I guess I just thought that, maybe, whatever happened didn’t bother you all that much…” he trailed off. Nicoli wasn’t sure what he was saying, or why he was saying it, but he realized that it did bother him extremely that Ethan had not been fussing over him the moment he had awoken. That maybe the one person he had to rely on through all of this did not really care what happened to him…

All coherent thought was swept from Nicoli’s mind when Ethan’s hand cupped his cheek and lips pressed against his own. His eyes widened in surprise, but just the feel of those now familiar lips and Ethan’s very presence enveloping him, he could not help but close his eyes and relax into the soft kiss. When Ethan broke the kiss Nicoli tilted his face more into Ethan’s hand, not wanting to lose more contact.

“Of course, I was worried, Nicoli,” Ethan said softly as his thumb rubbed against the human’s cheek. “What happened to you more than bothered me and the only reason I wasn’t here with you while you were passed out was because I wanted to give you time to rest and recuperate. You and I both know my very presence tends to throw you right into a hissy fit,” he added with a light chuckle. “I just didn’t want to bother you after what happened. It’s the last thing you needed.”

Nicoli could not find words. Not only because Ethan’s words were very touching, but because he felt stupid for thinking the vampire did not care. What was the matter with him? Why was he worried if Ethan cared or not? Since when did he start feeling like that? It was not good. Not in the least. Ethan was starting to get to him. That dangerous fence that he had been teetering on was now starting to tilt and any second he was going to fall.

“Um, thanks for being considerate,” Nicoli mumbled in embarrassment. He started to move away. He did not want to be held by Ethan anymore. With his realization a prickling sensation was running all over his skin and the last thing he wanted was to be around the person causing the feeling.

Before Nicoli could get far, though, Ethan’s arm tightened, holding him to the vampire. When Nicoli turned his head to tell the man to let go of him he was hushed by another kiss. It felt so good. To be kissed. To be touched. To be wanted. It was something Nicoli craved, what he figured most people craved, but at that exact moment it was causing Nicoli’s uncomfortable prickling sensation to intensify and he just could not stand it.

He placed his hands on Ethan’s chest and with a good shove he was able to push the man off him and dislodge the kiss.

“All right, that’s enough out of you,” he said, sounding out of breath. “I’ll tolerate one kiss, but you’re not getting more than that, Buddy,” he said, moving so he was sitting up on his own without having Ethan support him. “And don’t go thinking just because I kissed you the other night that you can just kiss me whenever you want. That’s not how this works so just–”

He was cut off when Ethan grabbed his wrist and yanked it so that he was pulled more towards the vampire. The grip on his wrist made sure there was no hope of being able to pull away.

“Ethan, what–”

“Just shut up once in a while, will ya?” Ethan said with a smirk and he captured Nicoli’s mouth in a kiss before the human had time to reply.

Nicoli squirmed and struggled, but with Ethan’s arm around his back holding him to the vampire and his own arm pulled straight out he could not get away from Ethan’s invading mouth. He still tried though. He cursed and berated Ethan through the mind link as he continued to kick and thrash, but to no avail, as usual.

When Ethan began to nibble and suck on his lips Nicoli’s will faltered. Again he felt the tiredness of trying to fight off this man when a big part of him just wanted to have fun. Being resistant just left him irritated, flustered and frustrated. Soon the want began to outweigh the peculiar doubts he had been having.

“Fucker,” Nicoli growled against Ethan’s mouth before throwing his free arm around Ethan’s neck and using his legs to push himself against the man. He could feel the victorious smile that appeared on Ethan’s face and he tried to get rid of it by biting his lips.

Nicoli’s wrist was released and he had planned to use it to forcefully grip Ethan’s hair, but his plans were cut short. He gasped as he found himself thrown down on the bed and a second later Ethan was on top of him.

The two attacked each other with the ferocity of wild animals. Their mouths kissed, bit, and licked as hands pulled and tugged at whatever they could find: hair, limbs, and clothes. At some point those very hands found their way underneath Nicoli’s shirt and the human shuddered as wandering fingers touched his skin. Through his haze of fiery lust he realized he had never really touched Ethan. They had kissed on numerous occasions and he had practically wound around the man the night at the maze, but he had never laid his hands on the vampire’s skin and, at the moment, he really wanted to. He needed to.

Luckily for Nicoli, Ethan was wearing a white, button up shirt. He seemed to like them if he was just relaxing. All it meant for Nicoli, though, was easy access. He did not have the time or patience to wrestle with all of the buttons. Instead he yanked and tugged on the shirt until they either came undone on their own, or a few of the buttons popped off by the force.

Ethan pulled away from the lip lock and pushed himself up enough to look down at his shirt that was now hanging open and revealed his pale, vampiric skin. He grinned down at the panting boy, who was sporting a smug smirk of his own.

“Was that necessary? I liked this shirt,” Ethan asked teasingly as he left kisses on Nicoli’s chin and cheek.

“Tough. It was in my way,” Nicoli said, his voice husky and sultry. He then did what he set out to do. He lifted his hands and placed them on Ethan’s tempting skin. He started at his chest and made his way down to the vampire’s abdomen.

Nicoli could not deny it. Ethan’s body was mouthwatering. His skin was firm, but with an underlying softness to it that made it even more touchable. Ethan’s muscles were sculpted to perfection and every dip and contour of the vampire’s body made Nicoli want more.

As Nicoli explored Ethan lowered his head and left heated kisses and nips down the human’s neck. He could feel Nicoli’s pulse beating rapidly and the slight hitches in his labored breathing were intoxicating to the vampire.

Ethan abruptly sat up, leaving Nicoli’s hands grasping at air. From his position Ethan had a perfect view of the boy beneath him. His hair was splayed out on the mattress and his face was flushed in passion. His chest rose and fell in time with his breathing. He was the picture of beauty and life. It was impossible to resist him. Not that resistance ever crossed Ethan’s mind.

The torn open shirt slipped from Ethan’s broad shoulders and was tossed off the bed. He then moved down further until he was over Nicoli’s knees. His fingers teased up the human’s thighs until they reached the hem of his shirt. His thumbs hooked into the fabric and he began inching it up. Ethan bent down and began to kiss the skin of Nicoli’s stomach and followed the moving shirt upwards.

Nicoli sighed and tiled his head back as he closed his eyes so he could focus on the feel of lips on him. Further and further up the vampire moved and when he reached the human’s chest, Nicoli lifted up his arms and arched his back to help Ethan pull the shirt completely off.

When he was completely shirtless Ethan spent more time on the newly revealed skin. He peppered kisses over Nicoli’s chest and his tongue teased a dusky nipple. Ethan smirked at the way Nicoli groaned at the touch, so he circled the bud a few times before enveloping it into his mouth.

Nicoli cried out and tossed his head back. He shivered and writhed as the vampire continued to torment him in the most delightful of ways. He buried his fingers into Ethan’s golden locks as his other hand raked across the man’s back, leaving angry red lines in their wake.

Nicoli whimpered Ethan’s name as lips trailed back up his neck. The feel of Ethan’s weight and his skin pressed up against his own was magnificent. If there was any residual pain left from the book, Nicoli was far from aware of it. Unfortunately, he was painfully aware of his cell phone when it went off.

“Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me,” Nicoli said in exasperation.

“Ignore it,” Ethan told him as he nibbled the boy’s throat.

“I can’t. It could be my mom and if I don’t take it she’ll flip out on me,” Nicoli said as he tried to push Ethan off. It a disgruntled sigh the vampire relented and rolled off to lie next to the human. It was not like Nicoli was any happier about the turn of events. He quickly wiggled his cell phone out of his pants pocket and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Nicoli! Where are you?” Laura’s voiced demanded from the other end. Nicoli grimaced. She did not sound happy.

“I’m still walking Beethoven. You don’t have to yell,” he said as he sat up. He batted away Ethan’s hand as the man started stroking his back and side.

“Nicoli Leonard Vurkeshaun.” Nicoli cringed. He hated it when she used his full name. “Do you mean to tell me that you have been walking Beethoven for three hours?”

Nicoli’s eyes widened and he looked down at his watch. It had indeed been three hours since he had left his house. He must have been passed out for quite a while.

“Well, you know me,” Nicoli said, quickly trying to come up with a story. “When I want to walk I really walk. Remember that one time I was out for six hours just walking around San Francisco? Is it really that hard to believe?” he asked.

“It’s easier to believe when we’re in the city rather than a small town,” Laura countered.

“True, very true, that’s why I …I went out into the woods.”

“The woods?”

“Yeah. You know, Beethoven has never really been out in wilderness a lot, so that’s why I wanted to take him out here.” Nicoli told his lie as coolly and nonchalantly as he could, so his mother could not pick up on his deceit. There was a pause on the other end.

“All right, well, get home right now. I don’t want you out in the rain any longer. You’re going to get sick,” she told him.

“Kay. I’ll get home as soon as possible,” he said and with quick goodbyes he hung up. After putting his phone back in his pocket he hung his head.

“I gotta go,” he said and made to get off the bed, but Ethan grabbed his arm and pulled the human towards him. “Ethan, really, I have to–” The vampire’s lips swallowed the rest of his words. Nicoli allowed the kiss for a minute, relishing the feel and taste of Ethan’s lips. Before he gave in and started their tumble once more he pulled away.

“We’re going to finish this later,” Ethan said as he let Nicoli get up and get his shirt.

The human smiled at him playfully.

“We’ll see,” he said impishly.

“What? No, no, no, we are going to finish this. No “We’ll see.” Let’s keep the rollercoaster on the highest part of the track, no going back down.”

Nicoli laughed as he slipped his shirt back on and leaned down to place butterfly kisses on Ethan’s face.

“Maybe. We’ll see what mood I’m in next time.”

**********************************************************************

Laura walked into the kitchen as Lance and Nicoli fought over which movie they were going to play. She was a wreck and she knew it. As soon as he son had come home she drilled him about where he had been and what he had been doing. Nicoli tried to reply as calmly as he could, but after a while she knew he was starting to become annoyed with her interrogation and was close to snapping back at her.

Lance had intervened and had ended the fight that was brewing. After they had eaten dinner they were now getting ready for a family movie night, thanks to a suggestion from her husband, to spend time together. Something they had not done in a long time. She loved Lance for trying to easy the tension, but Laura just could not rope in her worries. Every move Nicoli made filled her with suspicion and dread. Was it happening again? Was she about to lose her son? It was all she could do not to break down completely.

“All right, let me go help your mom in the kitchen then we’ll play the movie,” Lance’s voice carried in from the living room.

“You better hurry or else I’ll play it without you guys,” Nicoli said threateningly.

“You do and you’re grounded for a month.”

“What!? You can’t do that!”

“Just watch me,” Lance retorted with a laugh as he entered the kitchen. “Laura, how are you holding up?” The lightheartedness had left his voice and worry had replaced it.

“I’m fine,” she replied curtly as she searched one of the cabinets for a bag of popcorn. She knew he did not believe her, especially since her hands were shaking as she retrieved the item.

“Laura, you can’t keep carrying on like this,” Lance said in a hushed tone as he came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “If you continue to question everything Nicoli does you’re only going to push him away.”

Laura clenched the popcorn bag to her as she fought back tears.

“What else am I supposed to do, Lance? He suddenly ups and leaves, is gone for hours, then just comes home and doesn’t give me a straight answer on where he was. What am I supposed to think?” she asked him.

“That he’s being an average teenager. He does it all the time. I know that and you know that. You have to let this go.”

“I can’t, I just can’t. This fear won’t go away. I’m scared and I can’t just brush everything off as a coincidence.”

Lance rubbed his wife’s arms for a minute before sighing and bowing his head.

“If you can’t do it on your own then I’ll prove to you that everything is okay,” he said.

Laura hiccupped and looked back at him.

“What? How?” she asked.

“Get the drinks ready and I’ll be right back,” was all he said before he left the kitchen.

“You guys done yet? Come oooon. Movie, movie.” She heard her son say impatiently as she took out three glasses.

“You want snacks or not? Be patient for once,” Lance said and the creak of the stairs told Laura that he was going upstairs. She retrieved some juice from the fridge as she waited. What could her husband possibly be planning?

Soon enough Lance returned in the kitchen and Laura’s eyes widened when she saw a white flask in his hand.

“Lance, is that-how long have you had that?” she asked him in astonishment. Through all the years she never knew he still had it.

“Ever since that terrible time,” he told her. “I’ve kept it around just in case and if this will put your fears to rest then I’ll use it.”

Lance went to the three glasses and unscrewed the flask. He tipped it and normal, clear water gushed out and into one of the glasses. He gave it a quick swirl with a spoon and, with a wink to his wife; he took the glasses out into the living room.

Laura followed and watched from the doorway as Lance placed the glasses on the coffee table and handed the one mixed with the flask water to their son who was sitting on the floor.

“Are you guys almost done?” Nicoli asked as he scratched Beethoven’s ear with his free hand. The dog licked his owner’s hand before resting his head back in the boy’s lap.

“Yeah, we’re just getting the popcorn made then we can start the movie,” Lance told him as he made his way back to the kitchen.

“You guys better hurry. My trigger finger is inching towards the remote,” Nicoli joked as he leaned back against the couch.

Laura wrung her hands nervously as Lance joined her back in the kitchen.

“Now just watch,” he whispered to her and watch she did.

For a few agonizing minutes Nicoli simply sat there and stared at the television in boredom. Then, when Laura was getting her hopes up, her son lifted his glass and took a sip from his drink then…nothing happened.

Laura let out a shuddering breath of relief and she had to cover her mouth as a sob of joy escaped her. She was turned around and embraced by her husband in his reassuring arms.

“See, I told you, nothing to worry about,” he whispered to her comfortingly as she cried as quietly as she could. “He’s still our boy and nothing will ever change that, okay?”

“Yes, I’m so happy,” Laura murmured into his chest.

She was so relieved. It was not happening again. Nicoli was safe and sound and she prayed that it would stay that way. For all of their sakes.

==================================Ch. 29 End