Requiem (10 page)

“
You
blame you,” Jared said. “I have an idea,” he said, pulling
his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed numbers, and then held
the receiver to his ear.

After several moments, a grin touched his
mouth. “Claire. How is everything? I see. I have someone here that
would like to speak to you. You got a minute?”

Jared handed me the phone. “Hello?” I said,
unsure of her reaction.

“
It is hot as hell here,”
Claire snapped. “I have sand in places no woman should experience.
It’s in my hair, my eyes, the seat of my Jeep. There’s no getting
rid of it, even when I get the occasional shower. And my hair looks
like crap. So…how are things?”

I managed a quiet laugh. “I miss you.”

“
I miss you, too,” she
sighed. “Don’t worry, Nina. I’m taking care of him. He’s a cowboy,
and likes to pretend he’s invincible, but despite his best efforts,
I’m keeping him alive.”

“
Thank you.”

I could hear the wind whipping against the
phone, and she spoke loudly to compensate. I imagined her standing
alone in a sea of sand, big sunglasses, and light camouflage
clothes blending in with her platinum hair.

“
Ryan doesn’t want you to
feel guilty. He wants you to be happy. He’s just trying to get on
with his life. He’s happy with his choice. Be happy with
yours.”

“
Of course I am. I
just…everything feels wrong here. I feel lost.”

Claire laughed. “Try driving around with
identical sand dunes as your guide…then you can talk to me about
feeling lost. It’s a good thing I’m fluent in Farsi, or I wouldn’t
be able to keep up with him. How’s Jared?”

I peeked up at him, his blue-grey eyes
comforted that his idea had worked. “He’s Jared. He’s good.”

“
I need you to take care of
him for me, okay? I’m kicking ass over here, so you can rest easy.
Just concentrate on school, and work, and being happy, and I’ll get
the cowboy home safe. Deal?”

Relief washed over me. “Deal. See you
soon?”

“
As soon as I can. Gotta
go, they’re moving,” she said. The phone silenced, and I handed it
to Jared.

“
He’s okay,” I
said.

Jared nodded. “Feel better?”

“
A little. Thank
you.”

Jared took a step toward me and enveloped me
in his arms, touching his forehead to mine. “I would do anything,
go anywhere, suffer anything to make you happy. You know that,
right? That’s all I want.”

I lifted my chin to kiss his lips. “I’m
sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“
You’re exhausted. I’m
going to run you a bath, and you can soak until your hands get all
pruny, and I’ll have dinner waiting for you when you get out. Then
we can turn in early.”

I buried my face into his warm chest.
“Sounds perfect.”

Chapter Five

Landstuhl

The first day of Summer Break, I took the
day off from Titan, and Jared and I went to our Oak Tree. I lazily
traced the details of the carving of our names, and let the sweet,
summer air sweep over my skin. Lunch was served on the blanket he
had given me as a graduation gift—before I knew him—and we
playfully wrestled and chased each other barefoot in the grass.

Jared was working overtime to prove to me
that our lives could be as normal as anyone else. Even with the bad
dreams keeping us apart at night, he had figured out how to get
around them and made it seem that nothing was different.

The air smelled of fresh grass and sunshine,
and coupled with Jared’s scent, it felt a little like Heaven.
Summer soaked into my every pore, and I could see that Jared was
enjoying my mood. He sat next to me, waiting for me to catch my
breath from chasing him.

“
Having a better day?” he
asked, running his finger lightly across my wrist.

“
Exponentially,” I said,
digging my toes into the grass. “I feel like I did at Little
Corn.”

“
Speaking of that…have you
given any more thought to returning to that perfect little chapel
we came across there?” Jared said the words casually, but he was
fidgeting with the hem of his jeans.

“
Wedding date,” I said,
nodding. I should have seen the topic coming. Jared never broached
anything important lightly, and always insisted on the perfect back
drop. “Does Claire know when she’s coming back?”

“
No,” Jared said, frowning.
The hem of his jeans seemed to be irritating him, but I knew it was
the direction of our conversation.

“
We can’t get married
without Claire. I’m going to make her wear something
hideous.”

“
Already have your
Bridesmaids picked out?” he said with a contrived smile.

“
Beth, Kim and Claire. What
about your groomsmen? Can’t exactly have Samuel and Eli stand
in.”

“
Sure I could. I don’t
think they would do it, but I could ask.” I laughed, and his smile
relaxed. “Bex, obviously. Maybe I could ask Ryan. It would help
Claire.”

“
Not funny,” I said,
ripping out a handful of grass, and then throwing it at
him.

He shrugged. “Nothing says I have to have as
many as you.”

I had never considered that the small
details of a wedding would be so difficult for him. He had
siblings, and contacts within the system to make things easier, but
no friends. Barely any family. His side of the church would be
pitifully bare.

“
Maybe I’ll just have Beth
and Claire, and Bex can escort both of them,” I said, hoping to
relieve him of part of what he perceived as a problem.

I had insisted for so long that our lives be
as close to normal as a Hybrid and his Taleh could get, that Jared
was bordering on obsession about giving that to me. I knew that if
something were as important to him, I would be equally determined
to make it happen, but I didn't want our wedding to be a source of
disappointment; for either of us.

His eyes turned soft. “You can have as many
as you want, Sweetheart. I’ll figure it out,” he said, leaning
toward me. His lips touched my cheek bone lightly, and then brushed
along the edge of my jaw line.

His touch had always had an immediate effect
on me, but being alone, shaded from the summer sun by our Oak Tree,
I lost all in inhibitions. I pulled his mouth to mine and returned
his kiss, letting him know by the way my tongue eagerly danced with
his. I let myself fall slowly against the blanket, and held his
shoulders, bringing him with me. His lips planted tiny kisses from
my ear to my collar bone, and I melted against the ground, feeling
wonderfully overwhelmed. His mouth was so warm, and every time his
lips lifted away from my skin, little goose bumps formed in
reaction to the sudden change in temperature.

My fingers reached up the underside of his
shirt, feeling the lean muscles of his back under his tan skin. His
attraction to me had always confused me, but I was never
ungrateful. There was no doubt that I was lucky. Jared being so
close made that fact all too real.

I lifted his shirt over his head, and
watched as his muscles stretched with each movement. A smile broke
out across my face, and his expression mirrored mine, his senses
tuning into my emotions, giving me away.

“
Have I told you today how
incredibly beautiful you are?” he asked, his nose tracing a line
from my chin to my nose, where he stopped to kiss me. “If I
haven’t, I deeply apologize. That’s something that should be
recognized on a daily basis.” He easily unfastened the first button
of my blouse, moving to the second.

“
You can say it however
often you like, as long as you’re doing that while you’re saying
it,” I smiled.

His cell phone rang, and we both sighed.

“
Of course,” I
said.

He rolled his eyes. “It’s Claire.”

“
Old habits die
hard.”

He flipped it open. “Ryel.”

A stream of words I couldn’t understand
blurred in different tones. Jared’s expression caused me to
panic.

“
Okay. We’re headed to the
airport, now.”

“
The airport?” I said,
watching Jared dial again.

“
I need to charter a jet to
Ramstein. No, not Frankfurt-Hahn. Yes, the Air force Base. It’s the
closest airport to Landstuhl. I’ll take care of it, Frank, just get
it done.”

“
We’re going to Germany?” I
said in disbelief. “What’s going on?”

Jared ignored me, dialing again. He spoke in
German this time. The only thing I understood was Landstuhl. It was
the largest military hospital outside the United States, near
Ramstein, Germany. The hospital was mentioned in the news
frequently because the majority of wounded soldiers from Iraq and
Afghanistan were flown there.

In that moment of understanding, I shoved
all of our things into the backpack, frantically pulling on my
motorcycle helmet. Jared immediately climbed onto his bike, and I
jumped on behind him, gripping his jacket as he took off at full
speed.

Everything I had feared since the moment I
learned of Ryan's decision to join the Army had happened: Ryan had
been injured, and Claire was alone, waiting to die.

We stopped at the loft long enough to grab
money and passports, but we left everything else behind. Jared was
quiet, and the way he was rushing to get to the airport made me
fear the worst. He led me through the terminal so quickly that I
had to jog to keep up with his long strides.

The plane was ready and waiting when we
walked onto the tarmac, escorted by only a handful of the jet's
employees. Jared spoke quick instructions to the pilot, and then we
rushed up the stairs, barely greeting the flight attendant as we
passed.

Jared didn’t speak during take-off. His
fingers were on his lips as his mind processed the situation, and
the consequences. I left him alone with his thoughts. Just as
worried as he was, I wondered about calling Beth, or Kim, or even
Josh. Telling them what I knew would only welcome questions, and
explaining how I knew before Ryan’s mother, or his best friends
would be far beyond my lying capabilites.

Two hours into the flight, I fought with my
eye lids to stay open. After the fourth time of jerking myself
awake, I finally broke the silence. “This is ridiculous. How could
I possible be sleepy right now?”

“
Maybe you should try to
sleep,” Jared said without looking at me.

I nodded, settling into my seat. My leg
jerked, and my eyes popped open again.

“
Dreaming?” Jared asked
with an amused smile.

“
I think I was riding a
bike to Germany,” I mumbled, leaning against his
shoulder.

Sinking back into oblivion, my breaths grew
even. It didn’t take long to let the airplane noise fade into the
background.

The lights were dim in the fuselage. My eyes
were blurry, and with the poor light, it was hard to focus. Jared
had left his seat. I wondered how long we had been en route, and
looked behind me to the restrooms.

“
Jared?” I called
back.

Nothing.

I stumbled to the back of the plane, and
knocked on the lavatory door. When he didn’t answer, I opened
it.

Empty.

My eyes strained to see in the darkness, but
I could vaguely make out the top of Jared’s head. He was back in
his seat, patiently waiting for me.

“
Thirty-thousand feet in
the air with nowhere to hide and you still keep me guessing,” I
said, falling into my chair.

But it wasn’t Jared. Sitting next to me was
Gabe Ryel.

I recoiled, the arm rest digging into my
back as I leaned away from him. “What are you doing here?”

“
It’s been a while,
Nina.”

“
I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” I
said, perturbed. Knowing Gabe was behind my sleepless nights and
the reason why Jared could no longer be within two blocks while I
slept mustered up suppressed resentment, resulting in a bit more
guts than I usually had.

“
Talk Jared into turning
back, Nina. We don’t have time for this.”

“
Time for what? Why do you
insist on being so theatrical? Just tell me what we need to do and
we’ll do it.”

Gabe didn’t react. “Turn back, Nina.”

His eyes were black again. It made me more
than just uncomfortable. His ice-blue eyes replaced by glass balls
in his sockets was downright disturbing.

“
No. Claire needs
us.”

Gabe didn’t react to my insolence. He simply
looked down at his intertwined fingers sitting atop his lap. He
wore an expensive suit, the same I remembered when seeing him
shadow my father, but his fingers were dirty and worn, as if he’d
been digging in soil.

“
Find the book.”

“
How? Jared has talked to
Eli, Samuel…no one will tell us anything!”

“
This fight is not Jared's.
It's yours.”

“
Great. More riddles,” I
said, crossing my arms. My muscles relaxed, thinking about the
situation at hand. I looked to Gabe. Even with his shark eyes, he
was still someone from my childhood that I loved. “Is Claire going
to die?”

The plane hit turbulence, and a bit of
bouncing evolved into what felt like a several-hundred-foot drop.
As I gripped the arm rest, Gabe turned to me once again.

“
Listen.”

“
I can’t listen if there’s
nothing to hear!”

“
Listen,” he
repeated.