Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (54 page)

If they never switched back, what would I do? What was I supposed to do?
Do I run away with who Kiera thinks is Carter?
What would Carter do in Oliver’s body for the rest of his life?

Professor Amber’s voice stalled my thought process. She was announcing the week’s topic as the last of the quizzes were being handed in.

I hurried to the front of the room and placed my half-answered quiz on the stack of others. I quickly walked back to my desk, avoiding “Carter’s” stare as I took my seat.

“This week’s topic is witchcraft. Or rather, those who are born with or practice magic,” she said, her accent more apparent when she raised her voice.

Amber didn’t have a co-teacher for the night, and she was quick to pass out our pretests.

My classmates and I set to work answering questions. Carter now had an unfair advantage considering he was actually Oliver. When I glanced over to him, he flashed me a quick, crooked grin. It didn’t have its usual effect as when it was on Oliver’s actual lips, but I still caught its meaning. I smiled in return as I looked away.

With another glance over at him, something occurred to me. Oliver was left handed. Carter was right handed. Sitting beside me, Oliver was answering questions with the pen held in his left hand. A subtle thing, but to someone watching, someone who was waiting to see if their dirty trick had worked, it was that subtle thing they would look for.

Dropping my pen on the floor between our desks to get his attention, he leaned over and reached for it the same time as me. With my lips near his ear, I whispered, “Carter’s right handed.”

His eyes were wide as he straightened in his seat, but he quickly moved his pen into his right hand.

My heart was beating a little faster as we shared another glance before getting back to our quizzes, hoping this little factor
wasn’t the telltale sign someone had been waiting for.

My knowledge of magic, witches, and witchcraft was nothing to brag about. I listened quietly as Amber discussed the elements of witchcraft, the differences
between those who are born with magic and those who learn it, and other related information.

Halfway through the lecture it occurred to me that the topic was perhaps too close to the problem at hand.
Does she know?
Was she trying to give me a hint, clue me in on a solution? I refused to believe, or even think she was playing any part in what was happening in my life.

I listened more intently.

Sadly, I left that night with no more knowledge on our situation than when class had begun. What I did get was more attitude from Kiera. Apparently she thought “Carter” had been paying me too much attention during class. She was snotty to me and short with Oliver (who she thought was Carter) as we were leaving. She pitched a fit in the parking lot, and then she left.

With “Carter” in tow, I gave Zoey a ride home. We
didn’t talk during the drive, but before she got out of the car, Zoey turned to me from the front passenger seat of my Civic. Oliver was in the backseat, and she addressed both of us as she spoke.

“Maybe it’s time for the two of you to take a little break from each other.”

“What are you talking about?” I snapped, immediately turning my glare on her.

“Kiera is stressed and overwhelmed. She is dealing with the wedding, Christmas, and finals. She doesn’t need to see how close the two of you have become,” Zoey said.

I got that she was trying to be a caring and concerned friend, but it pissed me off. Even if my boyfriend wasn’t stuck in Carter’s body, and if it was actually Carter in the backseat, I still would’ve been pissed.

I faced forward with my hands gripping the steering wheel
and my knuckles turning white.

“I’m not going to change my life or make myself miserable just because Kiera can’t handle the stress of her own life.” It may have sounded rude, or even like a growl, but I was tired, mentally exhausted, and I’d
had about enough.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Zoey staring at me, but I refused to turn toward her. I really
didn’t care what she had to say at the moment. I wanted to go home and go to bed. I
wanted
this day and this nightmare to be over. I wanted her out of my car.

Without another word, she left.

Even though I was pissed, I still waited until she was inside before I drove away. Waiting for Zoey to go inside also gave my very quiet boyfriend time to climb into the front seat. He didn’t say anything, which was probably wise.

As I drove home, I wondered how Carter’s night was going. He was out on a call or something. Whatever it was, it was Brookehaven related.

After
Laney’s paranormal class (where I was positive I’d aced the quizzes—Carter could thank me later), we had a quick and ridiculous argument with Kiera in the parking lot of the college. After that, we dropped Zoey off at her place, where another, smaller argument took place…

“Well, I think I made
Kiera mad,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood. Maybe even make Laney laugh.

“That’s not hard to do. Especially lately,” Laney responded, an obvious strain in her voice.

There was no laughter, and most likely no hope of any soon.

I really hated being without my ability and not being able to know what Laney was feeling. I could read her fairly well, but
I’d never had to do so without the help of my ability.

Years ago, I
would’ve never thought I would have such a longing for something that was sometimes such a curse, but now I missed my ability, and I needed the damn thing. I felt lost without it, and I hadn’t realized how much I had come to rely on that power. It was natural for me to assess a situation or a person by simply getting a feel for them first. I felt blind without it…

For now,
I was just going to have to rely on brains and knowledge alone. Wish me luck.

“She
’s always been jealous of your relationship with him, you know,” I told Laney.

She glanced over at me for a quick moment as she drove us home in her Civic.

Maybe this wasn’t the best information for her to have, but I felt it might help her and let her she wasn’t the problem.

“That night
when you and Carter went out while they were apart, those rumors that started to fly…well, that wasn’t the beginning of it for Kiera. For her, it was more like confirmation.” I tried to keep my voice steady. The memories of that night were still hard for me to deal with, and I knew nothing had happened.

I was pretty sure Kiera still questioned if the rumors
were true—rumors I’d desperately tried to squash…

Had they been true, Carter
wouldn’t be alive. And, if it hadn’t been for Felix being with me when I found Laney and Carter asleep in bed together that night, I would’ve killed him. Right then. I’d wanted to. For a long while, I wanted to…

Laney had yet to say anything. She just faced forward with her eyes on the road.

Once again, I wished for my ability.

Kiera wasn’t the only one jealous of Laney and Carter’s relationship. With my ability, I was at an advantage. Kiera was basing her issues off her own insecurities. Yet, even being fully aware of Laney’s feelings for me and for the real Carter, I still felt it. Jealousy, that is.

I did everything in my power not to show it, but I still got jealous from time to time, even though I knew better than anyone that Laney didn’t have romantic feelings for Carter. He was like a brother to her, or, I guess more of a best friend, considering a brother wouldn’t have sex with his sister. Even in a dream. Which leads me to this… I knew how Carter felt about Laney when I first met him. Finding out Kiera had feelings for him, I swayed Carter in Kiera’s direction. I knew he was interested in Laney—that he wanted to become more than friends—but she was meant for me. She was always meant to be mine…

The rest of the ride home was in silence.

Once back at the complex, I had to fight the urge to take her hand in mine as we headed up the steps to our apartment. I shoved both of my hands into my front pockets to control my urge.

I missed her touch. Hell, I missed her. She
was so quiet, so closed off since this mess started. I feared what this situation might do to her. What it might do to us…

“You were right,” I said as I locked the apartment door behind us.

She stopped beside the couch with her hand resting on the back of it. She was avoiding stepping in the dried bloodstain—a bloodstain I had tried to scrub out of the carpet, with no luck.

“Right about what?” she softly questioned.
Turning to face me, her dark eyes met mine.

“About not coming back here. You were right. We
should’ve stayed away.” I took a step toward her. She did not move. “I’m sorry, Laney. I should have listened to you. I should have taken what you said more seriously.”

“It’s not like we
could’ve known this would happen,” she said, trying to play off her suffering. “This is obviously rare if you guys don’t have a clue how to deal with it.”

“Still, you were right, and after this is over, I will do everything I can to get us out of here. I will quit my job if I have to.” I meant what I was saying. We would figure it out. As long as we were together, we would make it elsewhere.

I took another step closer.

Ever so lightly, she shook her head, but she said nothing.

She stayed quiet as I slowly made my way to stand in front of her—close enough I could pull her into my arms. But I didn’t. They were not my arms.

“Have you eaten?” I questioned as I stared at her, longing to touch her, to brush her hair behind her ear, to kiss her perfect lips.

She shook her head. I caught that her eyes were glistening as she looked away from me. Away from Carter.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, tipping her chin so I could look into her gorgeous, yet pained brown eyes.

Stepping back, away from my touch, she let out a pathetic excuse of a laugh.

“Right,” I said under my breath. “What isn’t wrong?” I shoved my hands back into my pockets, realizing
I’d just asked one of the stupidest questions ever. “Lucky Charms?” I questioned, hoping I could get some food into her—even if it was junk food—and hoping to brighten her spirits. I noticed that she hadn’t really been eating since this nightmare began.

She shook her head again while twisting the hem of her shirt around her finger. It was something she did when she was stressed or nervous, or sometimes even when she was deep in thought. I don’t think she realized she did it. I loved it.

“We’re out of milk,” she told me.

“That sucks,” I responded. Even though I would rather she ate healthier, I was actually looking forward to having a bowl of Lucky Charms with her. My mom
didn’t let us have such sugary cereals when we were kids, and like Laney’s regular chocolate shake that was absolutely delicious, I thought maybe the cereal would be too.

“Yeah,” she said, “it’s been a sucky couple of days.”

“Well, then let’s go to the store and get some.” This problem I could remedy, and I tried to give her a smile that she would recognize as one of my own. I don’t know if it helped, or if she even noticed, but at least she agreed to go to the store with me. And if I was lucky, maybe I could even get her to eat when we got home.

As w
e headed back out into the night, Laney handed me the keys to the Civic, so I drove the two of us to the nearest grocery store.

Once inside, I grabbed a hand basket instead of a cart, figuring we didn’t need too much. I was wrong. Having the ability to eat whatever I wanted after seventeen years of a very strict diet made for some overeating and overspending. Put it this way, it was a good thing
I’d taken all of the cash out of my wallet before swapping my personal belongings with Carter.

I didn’t realize how many foods I had missed. Chocolate chip cookies were one of them, but I didn’t miss just any chocolate chip cookie
. I missed the ones my mom made. There was just no replacing those. I quietly voiced this to Laney as we started through the store. She offered to make me some to attempt to please my chocolate chip cookie needs. If it made her happy, I’d let her try all she wanted.

After grabbing what we
needed to make cookies, we headed for the candy aisle.

As I scanned the candy selection, Laney let me know she was going to go grab a new box of Lucky Charms and a gallon of milk.
I’d gotten distracted many times as we perused the aisles, so we had yet to get what we’d originally come for.

I watched her go. Even in the way she moved, I could tell our situation was wearing on her.

Once she was out of my view, I selected a variety of candy—pretty much a little of everything. I stuffed it into the already overflowing basket, then I hefted it off of the floor before heading to the cereal aisle.

She wasn't alone when I found her.

“Step away from her,” Carter’s voice growled, surprising me as usual. I picked up my pace in the cereal aisle.