Fighting Destiny (Central Coven) (21 page)

“Duh.  I figured you were probably looking for a way to get out of there.  I mean yeah Finn was being a jerk, and I can see why you hooked up with Grey. Obviously, he is painfully and unnecessarily hot.  But come on, no one expects you to get together with him.  So you scratched an itch.  I was just helping you have a less awkward way out.  No need to thank me.”

“Oh, I won’t be thanking you.  You don’t think Grey thinks I was looking for an out, do you? Eh, never mind, I’m going to get something to eat and go see him.  Please the next time you want to help me out with Grey, don’t, okay.” “What is wrong?  You aren’t seriously moving on to him now are you.  I mean you were into Finn, and now just as quickly into Grey?  I don’t understand you.”

“I told you I had feelings for them both.  I hadn’t realized how deep my feelings for Grey were until last night. When I saw him, I just knew.  I thought being with Dean was helping you view relationships differently.”

“I’m trying, but what I have with Dean seems too good to be true sometimes. Maybe he is just too good for me.” “Oh, Anita.  No.  Dean loves you.  I don’t think he is too good to be true, I’m sure the guy has at least one flaw.  Just because we haven’t found one yet doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one.” 

A cloud of goose feathers exploded over my head.  “You threw that one a little hard that time didn’t you?”  “Yeah, I forget how strong I am sometimes.  What are you going to do about Finn?”  “You have no idea how much I don’t even care about what’s going on with Finn.  I’m not jealous.  I do find it amusing though.  You don’t think Cynthia is going to try and go after Grey now do you?”

Anita began laughing hysterically to the point she began to hyperventilate.  Dean walked in using a key he and Anita had somehow obtained for him, although I was still unclear how they made a copy of a key that stated on the key not to copy it.  “What did you say to her that made her laugh like a hyena?” Dean asked.  I shrugged.  It was starting to sound ridiculous to me the way she was laughing.

Tears were running down Anita’s cheeks.  “I…I…I would love it if she would!” Anita blurted out.  “Would what?” Dean asked confused.  “Chloë thinks Cynthia might go after Grey now that she is with him,” Anita explained.  “Sounds possible to me.  Cynthia seems to view men more as a status symbol against other women rather than someone she really wants to spend time with,” Dean commented. 

“That isn’t what I find so funny,” Anita said.  “Yeah then what?” I asked sourly.  “She is so annoying, she might tempt Grey to kill her more than kiss her,” Anita said in a burst of laughter.  I threw a pillow at her, and I said, “True, I’m only a witch and I want to kill her and it would do nothing for me physically.”

“I’m going to go back to Grey’s house to make sure he doesn’t think the same thing you did.”  “Its daytime,” Anita said matter-of-factly.  “He was awake when I left.”  “I’m sure he had other things on his mind to keep him awake,” she said in a teasing tone.  “I’m going to go call him,” I decided aloud. 

I grabbed my cell phone and marched with singled minded purpose for the tree-lined paths around the dorms and dining hall.  The air had a sharp chill in it, so when no one was looking I summoned my warm coat around myself.  I searched through my contact list, and dialed Grey’s number.

It rang a couple of times, and I was beginning to consider hanging up when he answered the phone.  I had never been nervous talking to Grey before.  All of a sudden I was unsure if there was some protocol I was unknowingly breaching.  I could feel my mouth turning to cotton.  I wanted to make sure he knew I wasn’t looking for an out, but all of a sudden I was the one in need of reassurance.

“What emergency did you find waiting for you?”  He almost sounded amused.  “No emergency, unless you consider Anita’s serious need for counseling,” I grumbled.  “Mmm.  So it was as I expected.  She thought you would need a delicate escape to our evening together?”  “You know her much better than she knows you.”  “Anita’s behavior might be reformed now that she is with Dean, but her attitude has not changed,” Grey observed.  “You could say that again.  She does seem to be softening towards the idea of us though.” 

“And the purpose of your call?” “I didn’t want the out,” I answered.  “I was hoping you were going to say that.”  “So when will I see you again?” I asked.  “I will come to you as soon as the sun sets.”  “Tired?” I asked.  “That and I have some other needs to see to.  It’s only a few hours darling, do you really miss me already?”  “Yes, I do miss you.  These other needs, you mean you have to feed don’t you?” I asked prying.  “It is, and I would rather you not see that.  I buy blood, but even still.  I would like to keep you away from that.”  “I can respect that.  I’ll see you tonight.”

“Everything okay?” Anita taunted in a singsong voice as I re-entered our dorm room.  “Yes.  And he was totally on to your plan to give me an ‘out’ by the way.  So thanks so much for all of your
help
.”  “Wow, you are in a mood today.  I really thought you would have hooked up last night and mellowed out.”

“Anita,” Dean chastised.  “What?” Anita asked.  “I don’t think Chloë sees this as some kind of fling.  Why do you keep needling her about this?  She obviously has feelings for Grey.  Is that so hard for you to understand?” Dean asked slightly irritated.

“Come on Dean.  She has been back and forth between Finn and Grey since the beginning, but she’s always had deeper feelings for Finn.  She said so herself.  She’s mad at Finn because he is being stupid, and she turned to Grey for comfort.” Anita turned to talk to me, “That makes sense Chloë, I get it, but come on, be honest.  It was a hook up.  There is no shame in that.  Don’t force a relationship just to save face.”

“You don’t have to understand it Anita, but I really like Grey. 
I am over Finn.
So don’t ruin last night for me.  Stop bringing Finn into it, because I can promise you he couldn’t have been further from my mind.”

Dean touched Anita lightly on the shoulder, and brushed her hair out of her eyes. “Anita, I love you. I wish I could take away every bad experience you have ever had. I can’t undo what has been done; all I can do is love you.  I hope by the time you are
with
me
, you won’t need an exit.” “How did I get you?” Anita asked quietly.  Dean moved nearer to her, circled her in his big muscled arms, and said, “
I
am the lucky one.”

The tough girl façade Anita had been wearing fell off of her.  She turned to me and said, “I’m sorry Chloë.  I just don’t want to see you hurt the way I have been.  I reacted. I just want you to be sure.  But I guess it is too late now.” 

“I am sure.  Really.  You don’t need to worry.”  I smiled uncomfortably. I really wanted to change the subject away from my newly created sex life.  “I’m also sure I’m hungry.  Wanna grab some lunch?”  They looked at each other, then at me.  “Eh, what the hell, sure ask Finn.  I can play nice. I do want to be friends.  You know, as long as he isn’t going to be an ass.”  “That’s a girl,” said Anita rolling her eyes at me.

Since it was late in the afternoon on Sunday, we decided to go to the most popular Mexican restaurant in town.  Anita and I left without Dean and Finn, because she wanted to ride in my Z.  We knew that if Finn refused to come Dean would be along shortly.

“Do you think he will come?” Anita asked.  “You saw him last night, so you would know better than I would,” I answered.  “Do you think this has anything to do with his parents missing?” Anita asked.  “Maybe.  I don’t know.  Getting to know Finn is like trying to read a book in the dark.  You might get a word or two, but mostly you don’t understand any better than if you didn’t even try.  He hasn’t said much about his parents.  Honestly, I don’t really know him at all.”

Suddenly we heard the rumble of Dean’s large truck pull into the parking lot.  I couldn’t see Finn in the truck, but I knew he was there.  His mood cast a dark and stormy shadow over the restaurant.  The clouds accumulated quickly, and the sky released a tremendous crash of lightning followed by a torrent of rain. 

Dean walked over to the table shaking the drops of water out of his dark blonde hair.  Finn sauntered with his head down, unconcerned with the droplets in his hair that adorned it like diamonds.

Without thinking Dean slid into the empty spot next to Anita, leaving the only space for Finn to sit next to me.  I saw his jaw tighten in response, as he too noticed his only seating option.  I, on the other hand, found it was not difficult to smile and welcome him to sit down.

“Chloë,” Finn said, nodding his head to me.  “How was your evening?” he continued mockingly.  I was fairly certain he didn’t actually want any details.  It also seemed he was unaware I knew how his evening ended.  I raised my eyebrow as I briefly contemplated my answer.  “From what I heard my evening was a lot like yours.”

For a moment his bright blue eyes doubled in size before he quickly composed himself.  Anita began to choke on her tortilla chips.  “Ehm, excuse me.  I need some water,” she said trying to fight laughing and choking. 

“Dean,” I asked changing the subject, “have you had a chance to read the news today?”  Before Dean could answer, Finn interrupted.  “Wait Dean, I want to know something from her.  Are you uncomfortable talking to your
friends
Chloë?”  I knew he was going to be an ass, but it was better to face it now than deal with a slow leak.  “You know actually I think I forgot my wallet in my truck.  Why don’t you help me look for it Anita?” Dean insisted.  “Okay, sure.  I’m going to help him look for his wallet, because…uhm…well, you know how men look for things.”  Dean and Anita got up and went out to his truck.

“No Finn.  I’m not uncomfortable,
obviously
our friends are, but not everything regarding my love life is open to discussion,” I answered.  “Are you hiding something?  Was it not as good as you expected?”  “I’m not hiding anything, and uhm… It seems totally improper to talk about this with anyone, but especially you.  But that question… If I say nothing you will assume I am disappointed, but if I answer it I am what, rubbing it in your face?”

“I asked so it wouldn’t be rubbing it in my face.  And I noticed you are still trying to not answer the question,” Finn continued.  “Come on Finn, are you seriously asking me about how sex was with Grey?” I asked bluntly.  “We are supposed to be friends right?  Well don’t friends talk?” Finn asked with false innocence. 

“Finn, drop the crap.  If there is a problem tell me.  I’ve told you I’m done with the games.  I honestly don’t care about what you did last night, and I don’t want to hear about it either.  I hope you had a nice night and I hope she is a nice girl,” I told him. 

Finn’s brow furrowed.  “You hope I had a nice night?  You think Tracy is a nice girl?  What are you on?  Come on Chloë, can you really just abandon everything you felt for me that quickly for someone else?”  It was then I saw the pain in his blue eyes.  I saw how he constantly pulled me under every time I tried to pull away from him.  I felt for his pain, but this time I wanted my own happiness more than I was willing to play his game.

“I don’t know how to explain it to you.  It isn’t that I don’t have those feelings. It’s just that the other feelings are stronger.  You make me feel bad, Finn.  I know you don’t mean to, at least I hope you don’t, but I end up feeling sad just the same.  I think you just aren’t ready for feelings like that.”

“Like love?” Finn asked.  “If that is what you think it is, you have a funny way of showing it,” I answered.  “And if I ever get my act together?”  “I’m not sure.  I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m really happy right now.  I wish you could be happy for me.”

“Found my wallet,” Dean announced, returning to the table.  “Sorry. I just can’t seem to get this right.  Everything always ends up screwed up.  You guys have lunch, I’m going to take a walk,” Finn said, getting up abruptly.  “Don’t go.  We have to try and work through this,” I begged.  I grabbed his hand to pull him back into the booth and the electric charge I always felt when I touched Finn, coursed through my nerves.

“I don’t know if I am strong enough to be your friend,” Finn said quietly.  “I want you to at least try.  I still care about you,” I whispered.  He nodded in acceptance.  “I’ll try.” Finn turned to Dean and said, “Okay, have you heard any news?”

“Who am I, CNN Ellensburg?” Dean teased.  “No, but you always seem to know what is going on,” I replied to his sarcasm.  “Alright.  We might have missed something last night.  The newspaper said a few girls didn’t come back to their dorms last night, but Anita and I were thinking people are a little bit paranoid because of the other two disappearances. 

They didn’t list any names, but they brought up the idea that with Halloween coming up on Thursday, another disappearance is inevitable,” Dean told us.  “Fantastic, why don’t they just tell Alexander to go out and attack students on Thursday?” I ranted. 

“Speaking of Halloween, what are you going to be?” asked Anita. “I thought we were done trying to fit into the party scene,” I responded. “Yeah, but with what the newspaper says, I think we have to go out.”  “I don’t know.  In college its just an excuse to dress as slutty as possible, and not have anyone ridicule you for it,” I said with disgust.  “I think I will be a vampire,” Anita announced.  “That’s imaginative,” I said sarcastically.  “Why not.  I can go out in public without worrying about wearing sunglasses, or whether my teeth have emerged.  I can scare people and dress trampy.  Sounds like fun to me.” Dean scowled at her, but said nothing.