Inception (The Reaping Chronicles, 1) (14 page)

“Thank you, Grayson, for the help you always offer freely and the friendship you have given even more easily.”

“Oh, m’lady, ye make that easy. Very, very easy.”

Phalen cleared her throat as she walked up next to them and held out her closed hand. “I’m feeling a little left out, so I’m offering a token of friendship.” Phalen grinned at them as she turned her hand over and opened it. “Grape bliss, anyone?”

Chapter Eighteen

Lucas ~ Strange Ways

Lucas was at a loss.

It had been three weeks since the morning in Gabby’s car when things had become weird between them. His feelings of caution were fading. All he wanted to do was talk to Gabby and try to make right whatever he’d done wrong. However, she was still avoiding him like he was a cockroach.

To top it off, she’d been a frequent visitor in his dreams. They were odd and disturbing, filled with red eyes and darkness and fear. When Gabby was present, he felt many things—safety, inferiority, love—stronger than he ever could have imagined.

But there was one dream …

In that one, he felt nothing but anger, hurt, and betrayal. All directed at her. He also felt strong with enhanced senses he had never known. It was exhilarating until he was unsettled by the way Gabby looked at him like he was a physical threat to her. None of it made sense. But he was sure Gabby held the key that would open the door to all the answers he sought.

“Hey, Gran!” Lucas yelled toward the kitchen as he was about to walk out the front door. “I’m going on over to the Daniels’.”

“Okay,” his grandmother, Emma, called back to him. “I’ll be over in an hour or so. Tell Lizzie to let me know if I need to bring anything else.”

“I will. See ya.”

He closed the door behind him and made his way across the street to Nonie and Nate’s house. He wondered how many times he’d walked this stretch of concrete and asphalt and how many more he’d add to that number by the time he and the twins set off into the real world, leaving these homes behind. Even then, there would be holidays and other visits when they’d all be together. How could they not? Sometimes family is chosen instead of given by only blood. The Daniels were definitely family.

As he jumped the three steps up to their porch, he didn’t break stride as he opened the door and called out. “Yo! Where’s the fam?”

“In here, Lucas.” Lizzie, Nonie and Nate’s mom, called back to him.

Lucas smelled yeast and smiled. “Oh, Lizzie, you must really love me. Are those your rolls I smell?” He walked toward the sound of her voice and the smell of food coming from the kitchen.

When he turned the corner into the farmhouse kitchen, Lizzie greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. “You know I love you. Kids are on the back porch. Here.” She handed him a pitcher of sweet tea. “Take this. Glasses are already out there.”

“No problem. By the way, Gran said call her if you need anything else.”

Lizzie laughed and looked around the counters scattered with potatoes, ground beef, onion, cans of corn, and freshly shredded cheese. “Maybe an extra set of hands. I’m running a little late tonight.”

“Call her. She’s just piddling anyway. Hey, looks like shepherd’s pie is on the menu.”

“Yep.”

“You definitely love me,” Lucas said with a wink and pushed the door open with his free hand.

Nonie, Nate, and their little sister, Chloe, were playing Jenga on an oversized table that took up half of the screened porch. They looked up just as Nonie finished taking out a block. The sudden clattering of wood hitting wood startled everyone as the tower gave way and fell.

Nonie shot Nate the evil eye. “You hit the table, brother.”

“Negative, sister.”

“Can you ever play something,
anything,
without cheating or bending the rules?”

“Stop being a poor loser, Nee. It isn’t very attractive,” Nate said with a smirk and a wink.

Nonie smirked back and lobbed a Jenga piece at him playfully.

“What’s up?” Nate said as Lucas sat the pitcher down.

“Hey, Lucas,” Nonie said, already rebuilding the tower.

Chloe just smiled as she made Lucas’s lap her seat.

“Wanna play?” Nonie asked as she continued to stack the pieces.

“Nah. I think I’ll just watch you two duke it out this time.”

“You running a fever, or something?” Nate asked. “For like, the past few weeks?”

Lucas shook his head and gave him a funny look.

“You just haven’t been yourself for a while,” Nate continued. “And I just wanted to make sure you’re all right.” Nate looked at Lucas with a hint of suspicion and something else that came to the surface from time to time that Lucas couldn’t define. When it happened, Nate’s demeanor would shift, just slightly, becoming a bit aggressive, and he’d get a darker shade to his eyes—a darkness that seemed to be only partially explained by the color difference. Whatever it was, it made Lucas clam up.

“I’m okay, man. Thanks.” Lucas left it at that and began a thumb-wrestling match with Chloe. Nate seemed to get the hint and stood.

“Be right back, Nee.”

“You’re not getting scared are you, brother?”

Nate laughed as he opened the door to the kitchen. “Hardly. Just have a phone call to make.”

After adding the last layer to the tower of blocks, Nonie poured herself a glass of tea and sat back in her chair, studying Lucas as she took a couple of sips. Lucas tried to ignore her, but Chloe wasn’t as good at not saying something.

“Nee, why are you staring?”

Nonie and Lucas looked at each other.

“Hey, lil’ sis, go see if mom needs some help.”

“Okay … “ Chloe said, protest in her tone, as she slid off Lucas’s lap and went to see her mom.

Lucas waited for Nonie to speak.

“This is about Gabrielle … isn’t it?”

Of course Nonie would know what was wrong. There was no use in denying it. Not to her, anyway. She always seemed to know exactly what was bothering people and why. Once, he asked her how she always knew, and she just said she was good at reading people. Lucas had never pushed further, feeling she wasn’t so comfortable with the
how
of it, but always thought there was more to it.

Way more.

Lucas sighed heavily and began studying their large, fenced backyard so he didn’t have to see Nonie’s scrutiny for a moment. The yard was lined with mature trees and shrubs that lent themselves to privacy for the Daniels family, and it had a wooden swing set with a fort and slide attached. It had been there as long as Lucas could remember, and he had spent many hours playing on it with Nonie and Nate when they were kids.

That seems so long ago.

Lucas realized he had been lost in thought and responded to Nonie. “Yeah … it’s about Gabby.”

“So, what happened? ‘Cause there were some
major
vibes coming off you two, so I know you were both more than a little interested. Next thing I know, you’re brooding, and she’s distancing. She won’t even spend time with me, and I know it’s not because she’s not charmed by my personality.” Nonie stopped talking long enough for Lucas to glance at her, to which she gave him a smile. “So, it must be your fault.”

Lucas continued to watch Nonie for a moment, then looked back to the trees. “I honestly don’t know. It was like, at the same time, we both just got … scared or cautious, or …
something.
I was avoiding
her
for a while. But then whatever had spooked me started to fade, and I was drawn to her again. I’ve tried a few times to talk to her even if they were lame attempts. She wouldn’t bite at all. She’s avoiding being anywhere near me, which confuses the hell out of me because I know there’s no way I’ve done anything wrong.”

Silence lingered as they both seemed to consider what he said.

“Lucas, you need to talk to her.”

“I
know
that, Nee. But how do I get her to talk when I can’t even get her to stand with me for more than two seconds?”

“You just have to keep trying.”

“I’m not a glutton for punishment, Nee. I’ve already looked like some lost puppy because of her … and I haven’t even taken her on a date!” Lucas stood and walked as far away from where he’d been sitting as he could and crossed his arms. “Maybe she’s not so good for me.” He spoke to the screen and thought back to the dreams, to the one that bothered him most. “
Maybe …
she knows something I don’t, and we would be terrible together.”

Nonie chuckled as she joined Lucas. “Really, Lucas, you’re just two people freaked out by the fireworks between you that anyone who was within a hundred yards would have noticed. Ya’ll have the kind of chemistry books are written about, movies are made because of. It’s what most people search their entire lives for.

“Lucas, if you let her go … I swear I’ll kick your ass myself. I would
love
to have someone like that come walking into my life, especially while I’m young. And I can tell you if they ever do, I won’t let a little
fear
get in my,
our,
way.”

Lucas wrapped Nonie up in a hug, giving her a kiss on her head.

“Thanks, Nee. You’re pretty awesome. Any guy who gets your heart will be a lucky, lucky man.”

“Well, that’s
very
true,” she said through laughter. “But, he’d have to be one hell of a guy to get me to fall for him. Kind of a cross between a protector, a leader, a romantic, and a man’s man all rolled up into one yummy looking gift just for me. And that’s the clincher, he’d have to have eyes
only
for me. All that’s a pretty tall order. Oh, yeah, tall is good, too, since I’m not so short.”

Lucas squeezed her tighter. “You’ll find him, Nee, or he’ll find you. I know it.”

“Your lips to God’s ears, Lucas.”

They turned at the sound of the door closing behind them.

“What’d I miss?” Nate asked as he put a bowl of chips on the table. “Mom says dinner’s running behind, so here’s some snackage.”

When Nate looked up his eyes were his normal shade, his odd demeanor and whatever made him seem darker … gone. It was the Nate that Lucas was comfortable around, the one who had been a part of his life for his entire life.

My family.

While Lucas ate dinner with Gran and the Daniels, his mind was somewhere else. The conversation he’d had with Nonie kept replaying itself, and she was right. He had to try harder. She’d also been right about the fireworks between him and Gabby. There was no use in denying them.

He found his thoughts were jumping around a lot as he went from thinking about Gabby to Nate’s odd moods, which seemed more frequent, and then to Nonie and her
feelings
. Thinking of Nonie and Nate, and how they had their own oddities, made him consider his own. Something he hadn’t done much in several years. He’d almost forgotten about it until he understood some of the language Gabby had spoken. He’d
tried
to forget.

At first, he’d thought the things he seemed good at, way better than anyone else, were cool. But people started talking. Gran told him to play down his abilities. He began to wonder if there was something wrong with him. Something that would make people not like him or treat him badly. Whenever he asked her why he needed to play down what he could do, she just smiled and kissed him on the cheek. The one time she did give him an answer, her normally effortless smile became strained, and her eyes clouded with sadness. Then all she said was, “You’re very special, Lucas.
Very special.
” And that was it.

He was ten.

In the seven years since, he’d given up sports. Because even when he tried not to stand out, it was obvious he was still out running, out hitting, out throwing, and flat out out-playing everyone else, regardless of the sport. It had been four years since he did anything that involved organized athletics.

School was easy for him, too. He still had to do the work, but he
got it
right away. It was similar with languages, but with them, there were times he could understand some he’d never heard before.

Just like that day with Gabby.

He cursed to himself as he realized she must have been freaking out because she’d noticed other things about him that weren’t quite normal.

Feeling not quite normal was why he’d never truly let anyone other than the Daniels get close to him. He was popular at school, but not because he was great friends with everyone. It was only because he looked the part. It was like he had been given a pass into the popularity classification simply because he was tall, and others considered him good-looking, funny, and smart. And, even though he didn’t play anymore, everyone had heard the stories of how unusually athletic he was. The track, football, wrestling, and soccer coaches always asked him—practically begged—to try out for their teams every year. He always said no. He always disappointed. Still, he knew, even though Gran never told him what she meant, that he was different.

Painfully so.

He’d never talked to anyone about it. How could he? There would be no way they could even begin to grasp what it was like to live inside a body that you didn’t understand. To know that even if it looks normal, it isn’t. He’d decided it was better to keep to himself until more made sense to him, protecting whatever it was that made him different from others, and even himself.

And … maybe protect others
from
me.

Lucas sighed.

Gran was the only person who might have an explanation, and she was apparently unwilling to enlighten him. If he couldn’t understand even a little of the
why
, he would remain alone with his uniqueness—and the loneliness.