The BlackBurne Legacy (The Bloodlines Legacy Series Book 1) (9 page)

Dad’s eyes fixate on the book I’m clutching, and he frowns. “Alex, promise me you won’t put much stock in that thing. You are better. I can see that now, but that book…that book might cause you a setback.”

“You know how Jason and I both feel about her, but this is the only thing she’s given to us in almost twelve years, Daddy. No matter what else, I’ll keep it for that reason. Even though I hate her, she’s
still
my mother, and I can’t just throw this away. I won’t.”

The strangest expression crosses his face. “Maybe coming here was a mistake.”

“Why would you say that?”

“This place…your mother said she felt it in her bones, felt the magic around her. She grew up here, did I tell you that?”

“I thought you met at college?”

“We did, but she was from this town. She never told me much about her childhood, but she was very much involved in the town when we moved here. Everyone adored her, and it was here that she started to talk more and more about her beliefs. It all started and ended with that book.”

The soft leather under my fingers pulses with energy, like the book is growing angry. I am a little stymied myself. How can he be so angry at a book?

“Alex, your mother’s book took her from us, and I’ll be damned if I let this one rob you of the sanity you’ve fought so hard to regain.”

I get the distinct impression he’s contemplating ripping it from my hands.

“Daddy, it’s just a book.”

“That’s what I thought too.” The pain in his voice is unmistakable. As much as he loves Emma, I think my mom was the true love of his life, and when she left, it broke him in ways even he doesn’t understand.

“Did Mama tell you why she left?” It’s a question he’s never answered before.

His face pales.

“I deserve to know why my mother walked out on us.”

He comes back over and sits down. “What do you remember about the incident in the park? The day before she left.”

The Event, as I’ve taken to recalling it. Oddly, I have some very vivid memories about that day, when the rest are so blurred, I can’t tell if they’re memories or things my six-year-old mind imagined.

My eyes drift closed and I let myself go back there, to that day “Mama took me to get my hair cut. I used to hate long hair, remember? I had on my brand new blue sundress, and Mama made me wear those ugly yellow hair bows. We went to the park. The sun was shining, but it wasn’t hot. The place was quiet. Butterflies were everywhere. I thought we were in our own little world, where no one else was allowed.” A soft smile eases the tension on my face. Mama and I used to go to the park a lot when it was empty. I loved it so much.

“Think, Alexandria. What else do you remember?”

“I ran to the swings, startling the birds. They flew off, chirping loudly, and I laughed. They were roosting on the swings, my favorite thing in the entire park. I made Mama push me, over and over. My laughter echoed around us as I went higher and higher. It felt like I could fly when she pushed me that high. Then something changed. One minute I was in the air, squealing, and then next…the next is just a jumbled mess.”

“You hit your head,” Dad reminds me. I don’t remember that, but I guess if everyone says I did, then I must have.

“You told me it was wild dogs that attacked us.”

“Yes. Your mother fought them off.”

“She threw me into one of the tunnel slides.” That’s a new memory. Talking about it must have brought it back. I remember hearing snarling and snapping, and flashes of very large, angry teeth accompanied the noises. “She said not to come out until she came to get me. I was so scared.”

Dad’s arm wraps around me, and I sink into his side, needing my daddy as the memories filter in. I’d never been more scared than I was that day. Listening to the fight, afraid for my mom and me. It’s no wonder the incident gave me night terrors.

“She left the next day.” I’ve always thought maybe I did something wrong, that I wasn’t brave enough, or that my fear disgusted her. Why else would she leave us not one day later?

I remember she put her bags in the car and kissed us all goodbye like she was going on a trip. Jason stood stone-faced, and Dad worked hard to keep a smile plastered on his face for us. I cried and begged my mom to take me with her, not to leave me. I remember running after the car as it pulled away until I fell down so hard I bloodied both knees, all the while screaming for her to come back. It was my brother who picked me up and brushed the dirt off my clothes. He told me not to cry anymore, that he loved me and would never leave me. I’ll always have him and no one can ever take that away from us.

Dad’s eyes linger on the book I have in a death grip. “Your mother saved your life, Alex, and I’ll always be grateful for that, but she decided that you, me, and your brother would be safer if she wasn’t with us.”

“I don’t understand…”

“I
still
don’t understand, to be honest.” He closes his eyes. “She started talking about crazy stuff, that they’d found her and she had to leave to keep us all safe.”

“Keep us safe?”

“She kept going back to her book, looking things up, checking it constantly. She also was on the phone all night, refusing to say who she was speaking with. I got so angry. I had no idea what was going through her mind. The next morning, she had her bags packed and announced she was leaving. I tried to get her to talk to me, to tell me why, but she wouldn’t. It had something to do with that damn book. I know it. Don’t get caught up in the ludicrous notion that magic is real, Alex. Remember what’s real. I’m real, Emma’s real, Jason’s real. School is real. That book and what it represents isn’t real. It’s a fairytale of madness.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not jumping on the crazy train, Daddy.” I give him a half-hearted smile. The ticket’s already bought, but he doesn’t need to know that.

“When does school start?”

Wow. My dad is the whiplash champion of subject changes. Talking about my mother is something he never does, and seeing the pain in his eyes, I finally understand it. He loves her. No matter how much he loves Emma, he’s still in love with my mom. He gets a pass on more questions today.

“Next week.”

“You ready for it?”

“I don’t know, honestly. I think so, but I’m a little scared too.”

“It’s okay to be scared, peanut, but don’t let your fear hold you back.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I let fear keep you locked up. I was so afraid for you that I forgot to think about what
you
needed.”

Did he really just say that? Who is this man, and where is my father?

“Don’t give me that look, Alexandria Nicolette Reed. I’m you father, and it’s my job to protect you. I thought keeping you in that bubble
was
protecting you, but I was wrong. I realized it the first night you came home and you stood up to me, all your mother’s fire and passion in your eyes. I can’t keep you safe by not letting you live your life. You’re going to make mistakes, terrible mistakes, but they’ll be yours to make. You’ll learn from them, hopefully, and make better decisions because of it. You grew up, and I didn’t want you to. I wanted you to be that same eleven-year-old girl who needed me to keep her safe, but you’re not. You’re a strong, beautiful, intelligent woman who can live her own life.”

A single tear makes its way down my cheek. He gets it. He really gets it.

“No tears.” He smiles at me. “Your old man isn’t blind. I’m just a dad who wasn’t ready to let go.”

“But you are now?”

“God, no, but I know if I don’t, I’ll lose you, and that is something I can’t bear, Alex. We just got you back, and I’m not about to let my own insecurities and fear drive you away.”

“Emma got to you, huh?” I wipe the tears out of my eyes.

“No. I got to me. I had a dream of you leaving and never looking back because of me, and there isn’t a world where I could ever let that happen, peanut. I love you too much.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

We spent the rest of the morning talking about all kinds of stuff, from why I wanted to be a writer, the kinds of books I wanted to write, to Dad filling me in on general gossip in the family, like the grandparents going to Jamaica for a month to escape seeing all the family over the summer.

It was a good day.

Chapter Nine

Just breathe, Alex. You can do this.

I chant that over and over as I clutch my messenger bag and attempt not to freak out over going to the campus bookstore. It shouldn’t be this hard. I mean, I’ve gone out in public before. I eat at the diner. I’ve gone shopping. Going to get my books for the semester should be a piece of cake, but yet, I can’t budge from beside my Jeep.

Class starts in a couple days, and I’ve put this off for as long as I can. I decided to major in English. Even if my writing never pans out, at least I can go to work in the publishing industry. Words are my passion, and being able to work with them for the rest of my life brings me a sense of peace.

Well, standing here is making me look like an idiot, so I force one foot in front of the other and move to the sidewalk. A low sigh escapes and my muscles start to relax. Normal. This is normal, going to buy books. It’s not like I have to talk to anyone. I should, though. Talking is normal.

Please
, I pray to whoever is listening,
please help me find what I need to get through this, to get through everything
.

“Going in, or are you gonna stand there all day?”

The heady mix of honeysuckle and fresh mown grass assaults me. Micah. Amazingly, the nerves of earlier recede and a calm washes over me. He always has that effect on me, but I’m not complaining. I don’t feel panicked anymore.

“I’m thinking of standing here all day.” I shift my messenger bag. “Are you always gonna be this good at sneaking up on me?”

“Yeah.” He comes over and loops his arm through mine, pulling me toward the building. “Count on it, Blue. Buying books?”

“Why else would I be at the campus bookstore?”

“Scoping out guys, of course.” Saidie falls into step beside us.

Micah rolls his eyes. “What are you girls majoring in? I don’t think I asked.”

“English.” The word pops out of our mouths together and we burst out laughing.

“Journalism,” she says, to which I answer, “Creative writing.”

“I bet y’all are into all those imaginary book boyfriends too, huh?” The disgust in Micah’s voice is loud and clear, earning him another round of laughter from us. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but Sadie does. She’s cracking up which, in turn, is cracking me up.

“Don’t discriminate just because you can never be as
awesome
as Jacob or Travis. Don’t you agree, Alex?”

“I would if I knew who you were talking about.”

Saidie’s eyes widen and she looks gobsmacked. “Travis from
Beautiful Disaster
and Jacob from
Twilight
?”

“Not a clue.”

“Ohmygod! Where have you been the last five years?”

Locked up in the looney bin. “I went to a private school and they were very strict on what we read. Limited computer access too.”

“We are so having a
Twilight
marathon today.” She nods, thinking. “We’ll need to stop at the store to pick up some marathon binging junk food, and I’ll loan you my copy of
Beautiful Disaster
.”

“You girls can leave me out of that.” Micah scrunches up his nose as we go into the bookstore.

“Leave you out of what?”

We turn to see a guy hefting a massive load of books in his arms. “Hey, man,” Micah greets him, automatically taking a couple of his books. “You put off getting these to the last minute too?”

Violet eyes twinkle. They’re not that bluish color, but a true violet. Purple. Freaky weird, really.

Micah laughs at my expression. “His eyes are pretty freaky. Conner, meet Alex and Saidie. Girls, this is a friend of mine from high school.”

“You two are new.”

Really, that is the first thing out of his mouth? The locals need to get a new thing to obsess over. And why did Micah’s words mirror my thoughts? I’d just been thinking those exact words—freaky weird. Bizarre.

“Yes, I’m new.” Saidie throws her blonde hair over one shoulder. “Get over it.”

Looks like I’m not the only one getting irritated with the townsfolk.

“I’m not complaining.” He stacked his books on the counter, freeing his arms. “It’s not every day we get two beautiful additions to our town. Welcome to Jacob’s Fork, ladies.”

“Thank you,” I murmur. I would love to be as outspoken as Saidie, but this is too new. I’m not comfortable in social settings yet.

“So what are they counting you out of?”

“
Twilight
marathon.”

Conner’s face matches Micah’s disgusted tone.

“He only thinks he’s getting out of it.” Saidie shoots them both an evil grin. “And I think misery always needs company, so you are coming too.”

“Me?” Conner takes a step back, his face wary. “You don’t even know me. Why would you want to do something so awful to me?”

“It’s not awful. It’s awesome. Tell them, Alex, they’re coming, and that’s that.”

“You’re coming, and that’s that.” I repeat Saidie’s words, trying to sound as enthusiastic as she is, but inside I’m begging them to decline. Spending an entire day with people I don’t really know is causing me to panic. What if I can’t do it? What if I say or do something wrong? What if…

Calm down
, the voice whispers.
You’ll be fine
.

My eyes widen. Not again. I thought the voice had shushed.

“Coming where,
munya?
”

No air escapes my lungs. Scarlet blooms across my cheeks. Flashes of the dream I had the other night swarm behind my eyes. My reaction to him is so intense, it momentarily blocks out the panic of hearing voices again. Saidie barely contains her laughter at my expression. God only knows what it looks like. Thankfully, Luka can’t see it, as my back is to him, which only serves to remind me of his lips traveling along my neck, my back pressed against him…
stop
! No thinking naughty thoughts. It was a dream, anyway. Focus on what’s real.

“Movie binging,” Saidie tells him. “Want to join us?”

“I’m sure he has something else to do.” The bite in Micah’s voice is unmistakable.

“What is this movie binging?” Luka’s voice is low and rough, just like I remember it. A shiver runs up my back. Why can he affect me so much?

Saidie is curious, but she’s watching me with devilment playing havoc in her expression. “It’s where you watch all the movies or episodes on TV in a series. You don’t do movie binging in Romania?”

“No. We do other things.”

“Well, then, you have to come and movie binge.” Micah and Conner both look like they want to argue, but one baleful glare from Saidie shushes them. “Tell him to come, Alex.”

If looks could kill, Saidie would be dead and buried. I try to keep my expression neutral when I turn around. He’s standing there, his book bag in one hand and several textbooks in the other. He’s in black again, but it only makes him look that much more attractive. The color suits him.

“Sure.” My voice is a little strangled, so I clear my throat. “If you want to come, you are more than welcome, Luka.”

Even his laugh is full of darkness. “I do no think you mean it,
munya
.”

“Of course she does,” Saidie quickly interjects. “Don’t you, Alex?”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. You can come or not, Luka. Now, tell me where I can find the biology textbooks.” I need to get away from him and everyone else before the panic starts to show. I can feel a slight tremor start in my hands already.

“This way.” Micah grabs my hand and pulls me away from the others. “You don’t want him to come, do you?”

“What?” Startled, I look up. His blue eyes are serious for once. “I don’t really care, Micah. Why would I?”

“I don’t know.”

“You and Conner obviously don’t want him there. Why?”

He shrugs. “We don’t know him.”

“Isn’t the point of hanging out getting to know people?” I pluck the biology book I need from the shelf. “Everyone in this town seems to have suspicions about outsiders. It’s just plain rude. You can’t judge people you don’t know.”

“I have a bad feeling about him, Blue. Stay away from him.”

A sigh rumbles out. “Micah, if you and I are going to be friends, you need to know something. I hate when people try to tell me what to do, and especially who I can and can’t be friends with. If this friendship is going to work, you need to respect that.”

“He’s dangerous.”

“Tell me how he’s dangerous.”

Frustration fills his eyes. “I can’t.”

“Subject closed.” I scan my schedule for the next book and make my way over to the English section. Micah follows me, and before he can say anything else, I turn around. “I’m serious. I spent most of my life being told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Never again.”

He nods, his eyes somber. “Okay.”

“Shouldn’t you start getting your own books?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” His smile is strained, but he doesn’t bring up the subject of Luka as we collect our books.

Once we are all done at the bookstore, Saidie decides we need several things so she sends us all on a mission with a list. It gives me some time to process the fact I will be in a room all day with Luka. Even now, sitting in my Jeep in the grocery store parking lot, I’m getting flashbacks of the dream. What was Saidie thinking?

Not just Luka either. A whole group of people. Can I do this? Hanging out is a normal activity. Goosebumps break out thinking about it. I’d visited the campus psychologist twice already about my anxiety. I hadn’t told her about the voice, but I had expressed my concerns over my social anxiety. She said the best way to tackle that fear is to deal with it. Jump in the fire, so to speak. This is a perfect way to test out her theory. We’ll see if I can do this.

Shaking my head, I text Jason I’ll be at Saidie’s watching a
Twilight
marathon. His reply is almost instant—
Sorry
:-(

What is it with guys and this movie? Is it that bad? Or just too girly for them? Either way, I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

***

Saidie’s apartment is very pink and purple. She painted the walls a cream color, but the couch is draped in a purple blanket, pink throw pillows scattered on it. The end tables have pink lamps, and she’s even hung purple curtains. I am so not a pink and purple girl.

I put the two cases of Coca-Cola in the fridge. It’s the one brand of pop we all agreed on. Saidie sits digging through her DVDs. I let my eyes wander over her apartment again, this time seeing beyond the pink and purple explosion. She has pictures of her family here and there, a laptop sits on the counter, but it’s the leather bound book that catches my attention. It looks almost exactly like mine, except the color is a light shade of brown. The name Sabrina Winters is emblazed in dark gold letters. I remember Saidie said her roommate was into supernatural stuff. Is she a witch?

Thinks she’s a witch
, I correct myself. There is no such thing as magic and witchcraft. It’s not real. Still, I let my fingers graze the cover. It pulses under my touch, just like mine.

“It’s a witch’s journal.”

I jump, startled, and pull my hand back. An African American girl stands in the doorway, her face amused. She’s not dark. Her skin is so light she could almost be mistaken for white. Even her hair is soft, not coarse. She has to be from biracial parents.

“Ugg…” Saidie stands, holding a stack five DVDs. “Don’t get her started, Alex. We are watching movies today, remember?”

“Movies?”

“
Twilight
marathon. Alex has never seen the movies.”

She turns her hazel eyes on me. “I’m Bree Winters. You seriously haven’t seen the movies?”

“Alex Reed, and no, I haven’t seen them.”

“Read the books?”

I shake my head, my instinct to shy away from everyone trying to overwhelm me. It’s been so long since I’ve interacted with anyone but orderlies, nurses, and other crazies, I’m unsure of what to do or say.

“Oh my God. You can borrow my set. They’re so much better than the movies.” She plucks her journal from the counter. “Let me put this away. We need pizza, Saidie.”

“Covered.” Saidie plops down on a bar stool. “The guys are picking it up.”

“Guys?” Bree yells from down the hall. “What guys?”

“The cute foreign exchange student is coming. He has a thing for Alex.”

“He does not.” Heat creeps up my cheeks.

“He so does.” Laughter colors Saidie’s voice. “You should have seen him at the bookstore. The second he heard her, her made a beeline straight over to us. She has a thing for him too.”