True Connection (The Soul Mate Series) (14 page)

It’s not like reliving them. It’s like watching them on a movie reel in a theater for all to see.

***

             
Fane, Athan, Luke, and Barry dissect and digest as much information about my nightmares as they can, and what happened to my body during the nightmares was brought up by Barry.

I ignored them and mentally went to a happy place. I picture myself at the beach, soaking up the rays, and I can practically smell the saltwater. With tingles surrounding my body, it’s easy to imagine Seth beside me in my happy place.

Seth pats my arm, bringing me back to reality.

             
“This demon is certainly determined, but now that we know what’s going on, we can stall or prevent certain things from happening.” Athan drums his fingers on the table for a short time. “The dreams you’re having, aren’t dreams. A devux is attacking you.” I gasp and sit straighter. “They’re like nightmares to an extent, but if he were to mark your skin, or break your bones during these attacks, you’d wake up with those injuries.” I squeeze Seth’s fingers. “If he were to succeed in killing you, you regrettably, would not awaken.”

I stop breathing and war, internally, with the urge to hug Barry and thank him for waking me, and protecting me. I’d probably do that, and wake my brother, and uncle for the same thing, if I could move and breathe.

“These are three very real attacks. There are a few ways to stop these attacks. One is to kill the attacker. You wouldn’t be able to do that in the nightmares, even if you knew who the attacker was. That’s how they are designed. But there are two options available to you that are the most convenient,” Athan says.

That statement thaws me out. I’m so grateful for those words, I could kiss the man! “Anything! Tell me, please. I love sleep and I love coffee. I’m afraid if I give up on sleep and drink coffee all the time, I’ll end up hating it.” Under different circumstances, I’m sure the room would’ve been bursting with laughter from my desperate outburst.

              “You must sleep in the same bed with someone who has pure intentions. Someone who wants to protect you, keep you from harm. Anyone in this house would be a perfect candidate for that job,” he responds.

Sleeping with me is a job, what a lovely way of putting it. “I can’t always sleep with Henry. He’d begin to ask questions. There is no way I’ll allow Barry in my bed,” I turn to him and mouth “no offense,” he shrugs. “And I’ll be grounded for life, if Seth is caught in my bed.”

              “There is another way for you to have a decent night’s sleep.” Athan shifts a little and looks me square in the eyes and says exactly what I don’t want to hear. “It involves a shifter while in their other form.”

I’m still not ready to see that, not after those nightmares, er, attacks. After seeing that, I’d end up with nightmares just as bad as the attacks, with my imagination. Seth gently squeezes my hand and smiles at me, reassuringly.

***

             
I close the door behind us and pause before turning around. I can’t believe Luke, Seth’s
father
, encouraged me to allow his son to sleep in my bed. I don’t see how any parent would willingly allow this behavior. My uncle will blow a gasket if he finds out. I’m not even going to think about what Henry would say or do should he find out this bit of information.

             
I’m not prepared for this. I can’t do this. I can’t share a bed with my boyfriend. That has bad news written all over it, like an invite to be the next teen mom.

             
What am I talking about? We’re just sleeping. He wouldn’t take advantage of me.

             
A tingling and warm caress in my mind tells me that Seth agrees, he wouldn’t take advantage of me, ever.

I take a deep breath and turn around, only to see him sitting on my bed with his shoes kicked off.

I gulp.

             
“Come ‘ere.” He opens his arms. I go to him and sit on his lap. He gives me a few pecks and then pulls back. “Hey, we’re just taking a nap. Okay? Just some cuddling and some sleep.”

             
I nod and breathe a sigh of relief.

He lifts me like I weigh nothing and shifts on my bed, so his head is on my pillows and my head is on his chest, tucking me tightly in his arms.

I feel like I’m in a bubble, a protective bubble to be exact, and it smells like heaven. He runs his fingers through my hair, and sleep finds me quickly.

***

              Seth wakes me up forty-five minutes before I usually get up. He captures my lips with his before I can even wipe away the sleep dust from my eyes.

             
“Good morning,” he whispers.

He looks so awake, so perfectly refreshed. I really hope he doesn’t wake up looking that perfect and rested, that doesn’t seem fair. I probably resemble a twisted blonde version of Cousin It crossed with The Mad Hatter.

              “Drink plenty of coffee so you don’t doze off before school. I’ll bring some Red Bull for you,” he promises.

I smile. How he knows me so well, while not actually knowing me, is beyond me. I just nod at him.

He gives me another kiss and then walks over to my window. He looks back, winks and holds his finger to his mouth, indicating I should be quiet, and leaps out my window. I gasp and race over to the window, and see him running through my yard.

He’s insane!

***

             
I’m starting on my fourth cup of coffee already, and I’m so ready for the day to actually begin, that I’m dancing around the kitchen like a fool with my ear buds blaring in my ears. I twirl around and shimmy to beat, and freeze, when I feel eyes on my back. Someone is watching me. I slowly turn to find Leland standing in the doorway with Alex on his hip.

             
I smile. “Morning, guys!” I say and pull out one of my earbuds so I can hear.

             
“How much coffee have you had?” he asks slowly, and it’s easy to hear just how tired he is.

I messed up his sleep. No, those attacks messed up his sleep, but still, it’s my fault, indirectly. Guilt hits me like a ton of bricks. I push away my guilt for the time being, I can’t explain it to him anyway. “About half a pot last night. Er, earlier this morning. I had a two-hour nap, a blissful two hours of nightmare-free sleep! And right now, I’m working on cup number four,” I beam a large smile at him.

I resume my goofy dancing and dance towards the pantry to get Cheerios for Alex.

             
“You’ve either had coffee and plenty of it, or you scored concert tickets.” I hear Henry laugh from behind me.

             
“Yes to the first and I wish to the second.”

I dance around to the other side of the room to get a bowl and dance my way back over to Alex. I sing to Alex, and he giggles in between bites of his cereal.

              “Breakfast and a show? I think I’ll stay here permanently,” Barry says around a yawn.

             
“You could really use some of the secret magic I discovered,” I grin.

             
“Um, Pretty Boy isn’t my type,” he spits out.

I ignore him and pull down a coffee cup from the cabinet, and proceed to pour him some coffee. “I made it extra strong this morning. Have some. You’ll be chipper in no time.” The next song interrupts my thoughts and I continue being a goofball, loving the giggles Alex sings out.

              “If this makes me do
that,
will one of you
please
hit me over the head with a frying pan?” Barry says to Leland and Henry.

             
“I promise to take a video before anyone takes you out. Personally, I don’t think a frying pan’ll work. We’ll just pull out the couch and give you a shove,” I say, and laugh so hard I begin to snort. Henry and Leland join me with their laughter.

             
“Did you show Leland the picture you took?” Henry asks me.

Leland then proceeds to pull out his phone and show us all his background. Barry jumps up from his chair and charges towards me. I squeal but find myself cornered near the coffee pot.

              “
Who else got that photo?!
” he shouts.

             
“Only Leland,” I giggle harder. “I swear!” Because I’m still laughing he doesn’t believe me. He crouches and begins to stalk me, like a panther that just found his next meal.

Crap, my only options are attempting to hop the bar or run straight into his arms.

              “Where ya gonna go, Princess?” he taunts.

I stop laughing and turn away from him. I take a sip of my coffee and put my iPod on the counter, pretending I’m not playing anymore. It works out in my advantage. He straightens and crosses his arms over his chest, leaving his feet about shoulder width apart.

If I time it just right, I can slip right under him. I set my cup down, lean my hip on the counter and mimic his expression while waiting for the right moment to make my move.

He opens his mouth, probably to say something stupid, and I dart right for him. His eyes widen in surprise. He readies himself, waiting for me to go left or right. Just outside of the reach of his arms, I drop into a baseball slide and slide right between his legs. Then hop up into a run and dart into the bathroom.

              “We’ll finish this after school, Princess…” Barry yells through the door.

Since he lives here now, I don’t get a break from him at all. Protector or not, Barry is still Barry, and I don’t see him letting this go.

             
In art, Skeeter and I giggle about Barry and the couch while we work on our paintings. She gave me a list of options to get Seth back for him making me choke on my chicken. The list consists of four options to exact my revenge. One will not be used, ever, one involves a bathing suit, one involves a dirty diaper, and one involves a glass of water.

             
Derik slides his chair over when Skeeter goes to the back for different paints. “You seem better today, but you still look like shit,” he laughs. “How ya sleepin’ these days?”

             
“Thanks for the compliment, you’re so incredibly sweet. Maybe I will sit with you at lunch after all,” I say, dripping with sarcasm. I give him a fake, sickly sweet smile and bat my eyelashes. I really wish he would just ignore me. My days go fabulously when he does.

             
“Sure you will,” he snorts. “
Sweet
dreams tonight,” he sneers as he shoves the chair back.

I look at him, really look at him. He looks exhausted, like he hasn’t slept in weeks. He’s got deep purple bags under his eyes, his skin is almost an ashy gray color, and his hair looks oily and flat. He looks like he’s lost some weight in some places, and gained it in others.

And he thinks I look like crap?

I wonder if he’s okay, health-wise. He’s never been my favorite person, but I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to him.

              On a whim, I quickly ask him about it. “Derik, are you okay? Is something wrong?”

He half smiles and I can see a hint of surprise in his eyes. It’s gone as quickly as it came. He has now reverted back to jerk face.

              “I’m fine,” he says with a sneer. He walks away mumbling and goes over to some guys in the corner.

             
Luckily, he takes an empty seat with his friends and starts working on the assignment Mr. Becker has given us.

             
“Alrighty then, sorry I asked,” I mumble to myself.

             
“Don’t worry about him. He’s been snippy with everyone for a few days now,” Skeeter says, sitting in her seat again.

Well, whatever’s bothering him, I hope he figures it out soon. I won’t let Derik ruin my day. I swallow my odd worry for him and look to Skeeter and smile.

              “Revenge Option Three,” I say, and she starts laughing.

             
“Yes!” She gives me a fist bump. “I so cannot wait for lunch now!”

             
As we work on our paintings, I hear some snickering from behind us. I glance over my shoulder, and see that Derik has fallen asleep, face down on his canvas and one of his friends is painting something on his face. I shake my head.

             
When the bell rings, I find Barry just outside the door, like usual. Maybe he knows what’s going on with Derik. There has to be a reason. Maybe he has a terrible home life.

I yank on Barry’s shirtsleeve to get him to lean down to me.

              “Look at Derik. Is he having problems at home or something? Do you think he’s sick?” I ask him.

He twists his head around to find Derik, and does a double take. His biceps flex and the veins on the side of his neck bulge. He grabs my arm and yanks me through the halls, until we arrive at the locker room.

I assumed he would let go and tell me what’s gotten into him.

Leland always says never to assume anything. You tend to make an ass out of yourself.

In this case? I think the ass is Barry.

He throws open the door to the locker room and drags me in with him.

Here we stand, in the
girl’s
locker room, with him gripping my arm like I’m an escaped convict.

             
I glance around, and see a few girls stare at Barry and me, with surprise written all over their faces.

I huff. “Barry! Get…”

              “You will wait here for Flynn,” he cuts me off. “You will not leave alone, and whatever you do, don’t be alone at all, period.”

I’m confused. I only asked him what was wrong with Derik. What, is he contagious?

I open my mouth and he glares at me. So I swallow my questions and just nod. He turns for the door and gives me one last look before leaving.

As I change into my uniform, I think about what just happened. That look he speared me with before he left, I can’t figure it out. It was worry, or maybe regret. But what would he be worried about? Or regret?

I glance around and notice the class is filing out to the gym. Shit! “Hey, Heidi!” I shout. “Wait up!”

She smiles and waits near the door as I jog towards her.

“What’s up with you and Barry? I thought you were with Seth?” She asks, when I reach her.

“Barry is my brother’s best friend. They just think I need to be escorted everywhere. Losers,” I say in annoyance. It’s not the whole truth, but it’s not a lie either.

“Your brother and his friends are as hot as they are weird,” she laughs.

“You can say that again,” I say distractedly. “The weird part,” I wave my hand when she laughs.

All through gym, I try to ignore the nagging feeling that something is happening and something is wrong. Barry wouldn’t react that way, if it wasn’t in my best interest.

I stay close to Heidi and her friends, something I don’t usually do. I’m polite to them, but I tend to stick to myself. A few of the girls seem to not mind that I’m normally a loner, and just ramble about this and that. Favorite make-up products, who they’re crushing, gossip about other classmates, all kinds of girly stuff. I’d tune them out, but they’re providing me with a perfect escape from my worries.

“Did you hear about that senior girl, Gretchen?” Sarah asks. I shake my head.

“That red head that was all over Henry?” another girl asks.

“Henry who?” I ask.

Sarah rolls her eyes. “Your brother, silly. Keep up.”

I nod. “I don’t keep track of his fan club, so I have no idea which one she is, or was,” I raise an eyebrow.

“Well, word has it, that they’re going on a date,” she giggles.

What? My brother is dating? “News to me,” I shrug.

             
I don’t know what’s worse. Listening to the worries inside my head, or these girls gossiping about how hot my brother is. I glance up to the clock on the wall after helping set up equipment. Only forty more minutes of listening to them.

             
I groan and move with the group.

***

              When the bell rings, I make sure to walk out of the locker room with a group of girls, and meet Flynn at the end of the hall. He ushers me to the cafeteria door, where we always meet up for lunch. I get an ominous feeling as I see everyone there, waiting. The guys look pissed, and Skeeter looks like she might cry. I yank my arm away from Flynn, and go to Skeeter.

             
Just as I open my mouth to ask her what happened, we’re both ushered out the door towards the student lot.

             
“Follow me,” Barry says to Seth, as he unlocks his Jeep.

             
“Can I ride with you?” I whisper to Seth. He nods.

             
“It doesn’t matter who you ride with,” Barry glares at me. “Let’s just go,
now
!”

What crawled up his butt?

              I climb into the passenger seat of Seth’s car, and we follow Barry away from the school. I look out the windshield and notice the guys in the Jeep seem to be having an animated conversation. I’m kind of enjoying the quiet ride in Seth’s car.

Well, mostly quiet. Skeeter is sighing and making agitated noises, like the car just isn’t going fast enough. And Seth is tapping his fingers on the gearshift.

              “Will one of you tell me what’s going on that everyone’s in some kind of frenzy?” I finally ask.

             
“We figured out the answer to who and why,” Seth says, absently.

I wait for him to continue, because I’m lost and I have no clue what he’s talking about. After a bit, I can tell he isn’t going to elaborate unless I ask. “What do you mean who and why?” As soon as I say it, it dawns on me. The attacks in the forms of dreams and the stalker!
“Oh! Well, tell me!
Who
?
Why
?”

             
“I can’t believe we never guessed. It’s Derik,” Skeeter informs me.

I suck in a breath and turn in my seat to look at her and Seth both.

              “The why, is obviously your first day here. You embarrassed him, turned him down, and then chose myself and shape-shifters over him,” Seth says.

Well, I suppose I really did bring this all on myself. I’m endangering and inconveniencing my friends, my boyfriend, and my family, too.

Perfect.

I turn back in my seat and look out the window. “Is he working alone?” I ask.

Who knows, Derik could’ve gotten a whole fleet of them to go after me. All I did was tell him no and put him in his place. I don’t think I was even
that
rude to him. It couldn’t have damaged his image in school or even with any of his buddies. There has to be something more to it than this.

             
“Two of his friends in school are Devuxen. That’s all we got so far,” Seth says.

The more I think about it, the more I don’t understand it.

I can see being rude or spreading rumors around school because of what I said. He’s immature that way. But what I don’t understand is why he would actually want to hurt me because of this.

Those dreams, yes they’re scary, but he could’ve done worse from what Athan said about them. Yea, I did feel like I was actually choking… I don’t even know anymore.

I growl and tug on my hair. “I don’t get it,” I say, and turn in my seat. “I’m Devuxen enemy number one, because I wouldn’t sit with him at lunch and I won’t be his fling for a day. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, and I live with
Barry
now!” I nearly shout in my confusion. “According to Fane and Athan, he’s basically saying that I’m not safe with anyone, and he’ll take out everyone I’m near, just so he can what, eat my soul because I said no?” I blow out an annoyed breath and wait for one of them to attempt to enlighten me.

             
“Devuxen can compel humans.
Most
humans can’t turn down a devux for anything they ask.
That’s
why he is doing this, and I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t tried taking it further, yet. You, a human, told him no and embarrassed him in front of his buddies and other peers. He’s the known ladies’ man. Just ask Skeeter,” Seth says.

             
“I had no idea he was a demon, I mean a
real
demon,” she huffs. “The girls that hang around Derik are all… Well, honestly they’re dip shits,” she pulls at her seatbelt and looks over to me. “I don’t have any girl friends for this reason, except for you, Jazzy. Now I understand why they’re all about Derik, and follow him everywhere. They can’t help it,” she says sadly.

             
“Half the school’s female population is soulless then?” I ask in surprise.

             
“Not exactly,” he mumbles as he flips his turn signal to follow Barry. “They survive a few weeks to a month by taking little pieces of a soul at a time, sometimes from several,” I gasp, and he reaches his hand over to pat mine for a second. “If they took a whole soul each time they fed, there would be a large amount of deaths and it would cause too many problems,” he scowls and takes a deep breath before continuing. “When they take small portions of a soul, it slowly changes the victim. It’s like losing a piece of who you truly are and not getting it back or knowing it was taken.”

The blood drains from my head as I process this information. I’ll be one of the soulless morons, if Derik doesn’t drain me. I won’t even know if he’s taken anything from me.

“But he has to be physically there for it to happen, so he can’t take your soul in a dream attack,” Seth explains, which calms my fears almost instantly.

             
“When he figures out that I can sleep without his interference, he’ll probably be pissed, right? Will he try something more than the dreams?”

             
“He’ll figure it out soon enough, but he won’t have the chance to do anything else,” he white-knuckles the steering wheel. “He won’t be able to get to you. I’ll make sure of it,” he growls, and I swallow. Derik wouldn’t stand a chance against him. Why is he provoking Seth by coming after me? He has to have help. He can’t be that stupid to go at it alone.

             
Skeeter interrupts my thoughts. “He was the one who turned Steven, didn’t he?” Seth nods his answer.