Enchanter (26 page)

“She must be the wise one then,” he muttered under his
breath, but I heard him just fine.

“Hey! You don’t know me!” I retorted, sounding like a six-year-old.

“You’re right. I don’t. But I do know that you’re in love
with Brandon and won’t admit it, even to yourself.”

My mouth dropped open. “And how would you know that?”

“I see it in your eyes.”

Hadn’t Vanessa said the same thing to me this morning? Talk
about a serious case of déjà vu.

“I… That isn’t… No, I’m not.”

“See what I mean. You won’t even admit it to yourself,”
Nelson said as he turned to the fridge, opened the door, paused to inspect the
contents before taking out a gallon of orange juice, which he placed on the
counter before opening a cabinet above the kitchen sink to take out four
glasses.

“Why would that matter anyway? It’s not like we’re here for
me. I’m here for Brandon.”

“Having a hard time letting go?”

Geez, am I that obvious?

“No!” I blurted, immediately regretting the harshness of my
tone. “He’s just a friend.”

“I can see that.” Nelson proceeded to pour orange juice in all
four glasses as he continued, “The question here is whose choice was it to
remain just friends.”

Damn this old man! Why can’t he just leave me alone?

“It was
my
choice. He would have given up who he is
for me, but I can’t let him do that.”

“Why not?” Nelson was looking at me now.

“Because he’s the last of his kind, and he has a very
important mission to fulfill. He was made for something greater than me and I
can’t let him throw all that away just for me.”

“What a wise thing to say.” Nelson’s head bobbed up and down
for a few seconds before he added, “If so many others in the past had made the
same choice you did, our lineage would not be in danger of becoming
indefinitely extinct.”

“I don’t think you should put all the blame on us,”

“You’re right, but sometimes it’s up to other people to make
the right choice.”

“Speaking of which, that spell the elders cast really
backfired big time.”

“I suppose it did.” Nelson moved to open another cabinet and
reached for a box of chocolate chips cookies.

“I agree with you, but that really doesn’t matter right
now.”

“What matters then?”

“Brandon.”

“And Natalie?”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and gritted my teeth as I
repeated, “And Natalie, yes.”

Letting out a breath of frustration, I watched as the older
man placed the four half-full glasses of orange juice on a wooden tray and
turned to offer me the box of cookies. Politely refusing to carry a weightless
package while he carried the heavier item, I reached for the tray and carried
it to the living room instead, while Nelson picked up the box and followed
closely behind me.

Slowly but surely, I carefully strolled back into the living
room. However, the second my eyes rested on Brandon and Natalie sitting so
close to each other and holding hands, I nearly dropped the tray on the beige
carpet. It took a lot of willpower for me not to lose my composure as I
approached and placed the serving dish on the coffee table.

Although the holding of hands was nothing but a friendly
gesture between them, it bothered me to the point of wanting to rip her pretty
hair out of her scalp.

The second he spotted me, Brandon let go of Natalie’s hand
and gazed up at me.

“Juice and cookies?” Nelson offered, trying his best to ease
the obvious tension in the room.

Brandon nodded, but his pale blue orbs were focused on me.

I did my best to hide my true feelings and sauntered to the
loveseat where Nelson was sitting, and reached over to grab a glass of orange
juice from the tray lying on top of the coffee table while avoiding making eye
contact with the couple sitting nearby.

“As you’ve probably figured out already, I’m not Natalie’s
real father,” Nelson started. “I was assigned as her Protector when she was
five months old, and I’ve kept Natalie sheltered all this time. For her safety,
she rarely leaves the house and—”

“The soul devourers are after her still?”

“They’ve never stopped searching for her. After her parents
were ambushed and killed, I disguised our appearances and never lived in one
spot for too long to avoid being found easily. As you know, the older we get,
the stronger our magic is, so that strategy worked for many years. But lately
they seem to have little trouble finding us, which is why I’m so concerned. I’m
old and Natalie needs protection.”

“That’s my responsibility now,” Brandon offered.

“In a way it is. All Enchanters should protect each other,
but Natalie is capable of putting up a fight if the need arises. She isn’t
completely helpless.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Be there for her. Watch over her as I have since she was a
baby. I want Natalie to have someone else she can turn to in the event that I
expire.”

“I will. I’ll be there for her no matter what, I promise.”

Natalie rewarded Brandon with what looked like a
self-satisfied smile as Brandon uttered those words, forcing my heart to flip
uncomfortably in my chest.

****

We left Nelson’s house shortly after Brandon promised the
older man that he would take care of Natalie. The drive back to Direct City was
long and uncomfortably quiet after our exchange with the Enchanter elder and
his adoptive daughter. There was a lot on our minds, but very little we wanted
to share with each other. I, for one, could not summon the motivation to come
up with a suitable topic of conversation because I knew that no matter what we
started talking about, the dialogue would eventually drift to Natalie. And I
wanted to avoid that at all costs. Besides, I was too afraid to talk lest my
emotions be revealed through my shaky voice.

Thankfully, the twenty-minute drive calmed me down and
reinforced my belief that Brandon and Natalie belonged together. By wanting to stay
beside him, I was just making it worse for the both of us. It was time to let
go and allow for him to get used to what the future held for him.

“Leah? Are you okay?” Brandon’s voice startled me straight
out of my thoughts.

I was so deeply distracted by my clogged-up mind that I had
not even realized that we had arrived at my apartment building and the car had
stopped moving. “Oh, um… yeah, I’m fine.” I sat up straight and looked out the
window. “Why do you ask?”

“It was a long drive, and you haven’t said a word since we
left Nelson’s house.”

“I guess I’m just tired,” I lied. “Maybe even overwhelmed.
This week has been kind of crazy for me.”

“Is that all?”

“What else could there be?”

“I was hoping you’d tell me.”

“There is nothing to tell.” I sighed and leaned my head back
against the seat. “Except maybe that Natalie is nice and she seems to have
already accepted the fact that you two were meant for each other.”

“I don’t want to talk about her.”

“Why not? You like her. Or did I misinterpret the whole
holding hands thing?” I tried my best not to sound jealous, but hell, I failed
miserably.

“Yes, I like her. She’s nice, sweet, and willing.”

“Good for you, then.” I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned
heavily against the seat.

“But she’s not who I want.”

“But she’s—” All other words were cut short when his lips
descended on mine. Caught off guard, my eyes shot open and I tried to sit up
straight, but Brandon’s persistence kept me locked in place.

Brandon’s way of silencing me caused my blood to rush throughout
my entire body in rapid torrents. At first, I tried pushing him away, but the
more I squirmed underneath him, the more his kiss intensified. I felt I should
run away, but I found that I did not want to escape the sweetness of his
caress. I needed this closeness as much as he did – wanted it perhaps more than
he did.

Brandon moaned as his tongue invaded my mouth, forcing my
body to break out in goose bumps at the primitive sound. As we kissed, my mind
kept trying to tell me to fight back, to resist his alluring charms, but I
found myself ignoring that little voice of reason and giving into the amazing
sensations his lips were guilty of evoking within me. There was no way I could battle
the torrent, and even if I could, I simply did not want to. I gave in completely
and drowned out the world and all common sense.

It was not long before my fingers were toying with his hair,
threading through the long locks as our mouths joined and our tongues explored
one another. After a few minutes of passionate kissing, Brandon withdrew and
brought his gaze up to mine.

“If things were different, if I wasn’t an Enchanter, would
you have accepted me?”

Sweet Jesus! Did he really have to ask? Couldn’t he tell by
the way I responded to his kisses?

“Brandon, I don’t think that matters right now.”

“I’m only asking you to be honest with me, Leah.” He kissed
me again, disabling my response. Brandon may have little experience when it
came to intimacy, perhaps as little as I did, but, boy, could he kiss. He was
damn good at it. So good, in fact, that whenever his lips devoured mine I could
not even think.

After a few more minutes, he withdrew again but hovered over
me, his lips close to mine.

“Answer me,” he demanded in a soft but hoarse voice.

“Brandon, you’re such a wonderful person. I don’t deserve
you, I never did.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Exasperated, I tried pushing him away, but Brandon drew me
closer and silently threatened to kiss me into submission by inching his lips
nearer.

“If things were different, I would’ve loved to be more than
just your friend.”

For a few mind-numbing seconds, Brandon just looked at me
and held himself as near as the small, four-door Honda would allow. When he
finally spoke again, his voice was full of emotion.

“If I could change who I am just for you, Leah, I would.”

That was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever told me
and the effects of those words were felt deep in my slowly breaking heart. “I
know, Brandon.”

His breath caught in his throat as he stared at me. His eyes
revealing that there was a new sense of hope behind them, but before he decided
to ruin what life had in store for him, I had to crush whatever expectations he
had.

“But you can’t change who you are, because you are what you
were meant to be. You’re the last young male Enchanter with all his abilities,
and you belong with Natalie because you both are the last hope for so many
people. Seeing you fulfill your destiny will make me very happy, Brandon.” It was
not a complete lie, of course. I would be happy knowing that he had accomplished
something in life that others never could. It was the fact that he would be
involved with Natalie on a much deeper level that really bothered me.

With his renewed hope shattered, Brandon drew away from me
and made himself comfortable in the driver seat. He stared at the steering
wheel as he said, “If seeing me fulfill my destiny really is something that
will make you happy, then I’ll do it.”

With my heart caught in my throat, I could not speak, so all
I did was nod.

A sudden knock on the passenger-side door broke through the
uncomfortable silence inside the car and caused me to jump and glance sideways
to see who was demanding our attention. Standing next to the car, with his face
a few inches from the glass, was my lovable roommate, Matt. Relieved to see his
handsome face, I let out a nervous laugh and reached over to roll down the
window.

“Hey, Leah, sorry to interrupt, but your mom is waiting for
you upstairs.” Matt’s grin was priceless. It was obvious he had seen us kiss.

Startled, I frowned and asked, “
My
mother is waiting
for me in our apartment?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

As soon as Matt uttered those last words, I actually glanced
out the window to see if I could catch some sign to indicate the world was
about to end. Because, quite frankly, I was more than surprised to hear that
she was waiting to see me. My mother never stopped by for a visit, so coming to
terms with the fact that she had decided to drop by was hard for me to swallow.
I could not believe it. I had not seen her in almost a year.
What is up with
her? Is she sick or something?

The few times I had seen her were only because I had stopped
by my childhood home to see how she was doing. Just because we did not get
along did not mean I had to stop inquiring about my estranged mother, so I did
so a couple of times a year.

“I’ll see ya,” Matt said.

“Where are you going?” I asked when I noticed Matt started
to move away. He opened his mouth to respond, but I added, “You’re not leaving
me alone with her.”

“I’m just going across the street to pick up the Chinese
take-out I ordered twenty minutes ago. I’ll be right back.”

“If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’ll kick your ass.”

Being alone with my mother was something I did not enjoy at
all. She had the tendency to say things that made me want to throw myself out a
window. However, whenever Matt was around, she dropped her arrogant demeanor
down a few notches. Apparently it was not as much fun to annoy her daughter
when others were around to listen to her insensitive remarks.

Matt grinned. “Like you could.”

“I mean it, Matt.”

“Boy, are you bossy,” Brandon murmured next to me.

“I promise I’ll be back soon.” With that, Matt walked away,
leaving Brandon and me alone again.

“Well, I have to go.” Although I was not looking forward to
facing my mother, it was the perfect excuse to bolt.

“I’ll see you around, Leah.” It sounded like he was saying
goodbye, and the thought forced me to stare hard at him.