CHAPTER 5
I’M A WHAT
The following morning Ian was up before Jo, he went downstairs to make breakfast. When he entered the kitchen Marcus was already there.
Ian cringed, “Let the interrogation begin,” he mumbled to himself. “I’m not in the mood to hear your lectures Marcus,” Ian said as he pulled out a frying pan.
“I’m not planning on lecturing you. Actually we like her.”
“We?” Ian gave Marcus a quizzical look.
“Isabella and I, we like her.”
“Are you one and the same now?”
“Don’t try to get off the subject. Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing her?”
Ian was thoughtful for a moment. He didn’t know why he hadn’t told at least Marcus about Jo. It would have probably stopped him from harping about Ian being alone and unhappy.
“I guess I just wanted to be sure before I said anything,” Ian shrugged.
“And are you sure now?”
“Marcus, you’re prying.”
“Well I haven’t seen you this happy in a very long time and I just want to make sure…”
“Make sure of what?” Ian gritted his teeth. He knew what Marcus was going to say.
“Make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself.”
“Are you really going to bring this up now?” Ian dropped his voice.
“Well you’ve been seeing her secretly for months, Ian. Doesn’t this all sound just a bit too familiar? You must be a little apprehensive or you wouldn’t have kept it to yourself.”
Ian shot Marcus a venomous look, “She’s not Mia!” He spat out.
“I know she’s not. I already told you, we like her and we like seeing you happy. I just want you to make sure that you’ve got your head on straight.” Marcus stood and patted Ian on the back, and then he left.
Ian knew what Marcus was concerned about but if there was anything he was ever sure about, it was his feelings for Jo. He hadn’t spent a day away from her since their first night together. Actually he had seen her everyday since their first meeting in the café, but he didn’t count spying as quality time. He didn’t know if he could spend an entire day away from her, was that normal? Then again, was anything about their relationship normal? He began to try and picture a day without Jo. Just one day, he could handle that couldn’t he? The more he thought about it the more he really wasn’t sure.
A few minutes later Jo came into the kitchen. “There you are,” she said wrapping her arms around him from behind.
“Hey Sleeping Beauty, I made you breakfast,” Ian said as he indicated the omelets he had just slid onto plates.
“Well isn’t that…”
“Don’t say sweet.” Ian turned to face her and kissed her full on the mouth then led her to the table. “Sorry I didn’t make any coffee.”
Jo laughed and shook her head, “That’s ok. I’ll get some at work. I hope you don’t mind, I took a shower.”
“You’re going to work today?” He had only just this moment realized that she was dressed and ready to leave.
“I’m just going to stop at home and change first. Imagine what everyone would say if I went to work in the same dress that I was in last night.”
Ian rolled his eyes, “Yes this town certainly doesn’t need any more excuses to talk about the two of us.”
When they finished eating, Jo helped Ian clean up and then picked up her purse. “So I’ll see you later,” she assumed.
“Actually, can I talk to you for a minute before you go?” Ian sounded nervous
“What’s the matter?’
“Nothing it’s just…” Ian didn’t know how to say this to her without upsetting her. He saw her looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. “Jo I need you to do me a favor but I don’t want you to take it the wrong way.”
She eyed him suspiciously, “What kind of favor?”
“I was just wondering if maybe,” he took a deep breath. This was harder than he thought; “maybe we can do something apart for a day or two?”
“You mean apart from each other?” Her expression was suddenly harsh.
“Yes I…”
“Oh Ian!” she blurted out, “I knew this was too good to be true. Why in the world would you ask me to go out in front of all of those people and then humiliate me like this?” The tears were falling down her face and she looked as if someone had just slapped her.
“Jo wait a….”
“No Ian. Please don’t say another word. I should have expected this but I’m an idiot and let myself believe that this just might work. Don’t embarrass me more than you already have.” She got up and stormed out of the door.
Ian just stood dumbfounded staring at the door. That wasn’t at all how he had expected the conversation to go. He thought he could make Jo understand that he just wanted to see if it was possible for them spend one day apart. He never expected her to react like this but he knew that he could not go after her right now; he would have to let her calm down. Maybe it would be easier if she was mad at him, then he wouldn’t have to risk any of her little daydreams while he was trying not to think of her. Then a thought hit him like a ton of bricks. If he could experience her most pleasant and welcoming fantasies, what would happen when she was so obviously livid with him? What if she felt like driving a stake through his heart or plucking his eyes out with a sharp stick? He stood very still for a minute waiting to see if any hint of pain was coming his way…nothing. All he could feel was complete and utter sadness.
As he stood there, Marcus and Isabella walked in. “Great, exactly what I needed,” Ian grumbled to himself.
“Hey Ian,” Isabella smiled at him, “has Jo left already? I wanted to apologize for last night.”
“She has and you should,” Ian scoffed.
“I know I’m sorry. Will she be by later?”
“I don’t think so.” Ian left the room as quickly as possible. He really didn’t feel like discussing what had just happened with the ‘Gemini Twins’.
Ian often referred to Marcus and Isabella as ‘The Gemini Twins’ but he had never said it to their faces. Both of them were born on the same day, May 26th, although Marcus was born in 1843 and Isabella in 1985. They were almost always together and one usually knew what the other was thinking. Not that they could read each other’s minds, just that more often than not they would be thinking the same thing. And if you spent long enough in a room with the two of them you would notice that they almost always finished each other’s sentences.
If Ian were being honest he would say that Marcus and Isabella were perfect together. They never argued and they were absolutely, undeniably in love with each other. The two of them could spend hours in a corner talking in whispers or sometimes just the opposite, spending hours in complete silence. They always seemed to be on the exact same page, sometimes they communicated just by eye contact. The only time that the two of them had ever been at odds was the day Isabella found out that Marcus was a vampire.
Once they had fallen in love Marcus thought that it would be safe to tell Isabella his secret and when he did, she lost her mind. It was the first time Marcus had brought her to the house and she ran around screaming that he had betrayed her trust and that she was sure she was going to turn into a vampire because Marcus had nipped her accidentally the week before and was that really an accident. It was quite a scene; until Marcus calmed her down enough to very reluctantly use his mind control ability to assure her that he had no intentions of hurting her. From that moment on they transformed into the ‘Gemini Twins’.
Up in his room Ian threw himself on the bed. He could still smell Jo’s scent in the air and it made him even more sullen. He really should have handled the whole conversation with Jo differently. There was a knock at the door.
“What!” Ian yelled.
The door opened and Marcus poked his head inside, “May I come in?”
“No.”
Marcus pushed the door open
and walked into Ian’s bedroom.
“Why do you bother asking?” Ian looked exasperated.
“Just a formality really,” Marcus smirked and sat on the end of Ian’s bed. “Is everything alright?” He paused, “With you and Jo I mean.”
“You’re being nosy again.”
“I like to think of it as concern.”
“Everything is fine. Can you leave now?”
“Come on Ian, I’m your brother. I know something’s wrong it’s written all over your face.” Marcus looked sincere.
Ian didn’t answer; he turned his head in the other direction and looked out of the window.
Marcus didn’t push him, “Alright then, but if you need to talk we’ll be downstairs.” He got up and left, closing the door behind him.
There he goes with the ‘we’ again. Ian just wanted to be left alone. He sat up with his insides yearning and started thinking about ways to get his mind off of Jo. He decided that staying locked in his bedroom wouldn’t do him any good, so he put on his coat and having no desire at all for a conversation with Marcus and Isabella, he climbed out the window.
His first inclination was to go to the café and he had to remind himself the whole purpose of this exercise was to see if it was possible for him to be away from Jo. He walked slowly down the street determined to pass the time. He tried to take notice of everything around him; he looked into the face of everyone he passed, to see if by some chance, some one would catch his attention for one reason or another. He passed one young woman and was staring at her intently to see if there was something…anything. “Nothing,” he said to himself.
“Excuse me?” The woman replied.
“What?” said Ian blankly.
“You just said something to me,” she was smiling widely.
“Oh sorry, I was just thinking out loud.” Ian paused and took in her appearance. She was definitely beautiful; blonde, tall and well put together. She wore a very tight pair of jeans with knee-high heeled boots and a snug baby blue sweater, which showed that her maker was very generous in the chest department.
“What were you thinking about?” It was very obvious to Ian that she was trying to make conversation with him. She was playing with a strand of her hair and swaying a little as she spoke. Ian was surprised to find that he had no inclination to speak to her. He moved toward her seeing her anticipation and stared into her eyes.
“I was just thinking,” he began.
He could feel her excitement. “Yes?” She asked breathlessly.
“I was just thinking that, I want you to go away.”
She looked at him for a split second longer and then turned and marched off in the opposite direction.
Ian decided to go down to the local bar. He had at one point almost spent more time there than he had at his own house, and he had spent many nights with the voluptuous bartender. He opened the door and stepped inside. The bar was nearly deserted, as it was still early afternoon, usually the biggest crowd gathered much later in the evening. Ian made his way to the bar; he could see Sarah starring at him as he approached. She was a pretty lady; with long dark hair and dark eyes and a very sensual demeanor. Sarah was a very straightforward kind of gal and full of confidence, but best of all she was single. All of these qualities combined with her sexy southern accent made for guaranteed repeat business.
“I haven’t seen you ‘round here for a long while,” she said leaning forward on the bar.
“I’ve been busy,” Ian replied.
“Ian Marcellus I haven’t seen you busy since the day I moved to Bromsgrove. What could you possibly be busy doin’?”
“This and that.”
“Well you don’t have to tell me, it’s none of my business anyway,” she said, “so can I get you anything? A drink or maybe you’re in need of something else?” She leaned over so that her lips were at his ear, “I can get Ned to take over for a couple of hours,” she whispered.
“No thanks Sarah, I’m not staying. I just came by to say hello.” Ian suddenly realized that he did not want to be around anyone; all he wanted was to burst into Jo’s café, throw her over his shoulders and run off with her. But since that was not going to happen he just wanted to be back in his room, sulking.
“Well I never thought I’d see the day!” Sarah exclaimed as she slapped her hand on the counter, “I’ll be damned Ian Marcellus if you’re not in love!”
Ian stood up and kissed Sarah on the cheek, “It’s always a pleasure talking to you Sarah, take car of yourself.”
As Ian turned and headed for the door he heard Sarah laugh under her breath. “Don’t you be a stranger now,” she yelled after him.
Ian did not turn back but raised his hand in a goodbye wave, and before the door had closed completely behind him he heard Sarah’s voice once again, “I’ll be damned.”
Ian spent the rest of the night lying in his bed wallowing in his own pity. The urge to see Jo was almost uncontrollable; it was as if there was an enormous magnet pulling him to her. He didn’t know why he was so upset; he had after all brought this all on himself. Who cares if they couldn’t stay away from each other? So what? But was it normal for two people to not be able to spend one day apart? He just wanted to know. He wondered how Jo was handling his absence, if she missed him as much as he missed her. What was strangest to him was that he hadn’t seen an image from her, nothing, not a kiss, not an infuriated slap in the face, nothing. Once or twice he had thought he felt something but it was gone as quickly as it came, and in its place was nothing but sheer depression. Ian was miserable for so many years and he had never realized it. But after having been so unequivocally happy with Jo for so many weeks, he now felt as if had run into a brick wall headfirst.
Ian’s confused thoughts rose with the sun. He lay in bed wondering how he was ever going to pass another day in such a sullen state. He dressed and headed downstairs hoping desperately that Marcus had gone out. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he tiptoed quietly towards the kitchen, planning to turn around and head back upstairs at the first sign of Marcus or Isabella. He peeked slowly into the kitchen, not a soul was in sight. He relaxed and walked to the refrigerator.
“You’re up,” he heard Isabella’s voice.
“Do you ever go home?” Ian froze with his hand on the refrigerator door.
Marcus’ head popped up from the couch next to Isabella’s, “Isabella may spend as much time here as she likes.”
“And you wonder why I spend so little time here,” Ian retorted and headed back to the stairs.
“Wait we…I want to talk to you,” Marcus called.
“What is it now?” Ian groaned.
“Come sit.”
Ian very hesitantly walked to the living room and sat across from them. He at that moment realized that he must have interrupted a romantic moment with his arrival into the kitchen. Marcus wasn’t wearing a shirt and Isabella looked an awful mess. Her hair looked tangled and her lipstick was smudged across her face and upon a second glance at Marcus, Ian noticed that he seemed to be wearing precisely the same shade on his lips. Isabella saw Ian’s scrutinizing stare and self-consciously tried to smooth her hair.
‘What is it?’ Ian asked with his eyes lingering on Isabella.
“We…I haven’t seen Jo. I was just wondering if she’s coming by,” Marcus questioned.
“No, she’s not.”
“What did you say to her?” Piped up Isabella
Marcus shot her a look, “Come in the kitchen,” Marcus said to Ian. Isabella stood then sat back down as if someone told her to stay put.
“You two are a little creepy, you know that?” Ian said, looking at the two of them.
Marcus pulled Ian into the kitchen. “Ian,” he began, “Isabella and I are worried.” He saw Ian about to interrupt, “just let me finish, we think that maybe the reason that Jo hasn’t been around is because of what we said to her the other night, and we really want to apologize to her. We stopped
by the café this morning but she wasn’t there and we thought that maybe we should go to her house…”
This time Ian did interrupt. “Can you two be any more interfering? And you wonder why I kept our relationship a secret. What’s the matter with you two anyway? What did you go to the café for? You give yourselves too much credit. Did you really think that she’d stop seeing me because of the two of you? Jo hasn’t been here because I asked her to stay away for a few days!”
“What would you do that for?”
“I don’t have to explain anything to you Marcus and don’t you dare go near Jo’s house!” He turned on his heel and headed to the stairs.
“Come on Ian, seriously…”
Ian turned and yelled over his shoulder, “If you want people to take you seriously Marcus, you should take off your lipstick.”
Ian lay in bed with the same gaping hole in the pit of his stomach that he had had all day. He didn’t know what time it was but he could tell by the position of the sun outside his window that it was very late in the afternoon. He felt restless. He heard Marcus and Isabella leaving a few hours previous so he had the whole house to himself. He walked downstairs to the library and tried to immerse himself in a book, but not one book in the entire library could lull his mind away from the thought of her. Those beautiful eyes that he so often got lost in. The strange pattern of green and brown, that so fascinated him. Her lips so soft and gentle. Her dark hair playing around her face, as it cascaded over her shoulders and danced lightly down her back. Ian was driving himself mad and he just couldn’t stand it a moment longer. He made up his mind and without even stopping to pick up his jacket he headed straight for the door once again.
Jo sat on the couch watching T.V. She had called in sick that morning and seeing as she had no plans of leaving the house, she spent the day in her sweat pants and a t-shirt on the couch. She did not even have Clair’s company to occupy her, as she wouldn’t be back from her father’s house until after school the following day. Jo still had the needle in her pocket that she had been carrying around with her. If Ian did not want to see her she would make sure that he didn’t. Every time any thought of Ian entered her mind she would drive the needle into her finger to stop it. She knew that Ian would be able to see if she was thinking of him and she certainly didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. She got up and went to the kitchen for a bag of chips. Just as she opened the pantry door the doorbell rang. Jo was certain that it was Tanya picking up the homework assignment that she and Clair had been working on. She closed the pantry door and walked out to the hallway. The bell rang again. She opened the front door, and before she could register who was standing there, he had grabbed her so desperately, moving into the house and kicking the door closed with his foot.
“Ian?” Jo was absolutely taken by surprise, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Jo,” Ian gasped, “I’m... so... sorry,” he kissed her face in between words, “I just... wanted... to see... if I could do it... but I can’t. I just can’t.”
“Ian, what are you talking about?” Jo said trying to get her words in between his kisses.
He took her face in his hands. “I wanted to see if I could stay away from you for just one day, that’s all, one day. But I can’t Jo, I can’t. Please tell me that you’ve been as miserable as I have. I’m so sorry if I hurt you, but I just had to see.”
Jo pushed him away from her and held her arm out with her hand against his chest to stop him from coming close to her. She was absolutely furious with him and he could feel it. If her eyes could shoot fire they would have, and at that very second Ian actually thought he saw a hint of a flame flare inside the green-brown depths of her eyes. She took a slow deep breath and then she spoke trying to contain her anger as she did so.
“Let me get this straight,” she said through clenched teeth, “this was all just an experiment to see if you could stay away from me? To see if we could stay away from each other?” She glared at him and he actually felt a hint of fear.
Very reluctantly, he said in barely a whisper, “Yes.”
Jo eyed him with her head turned to one side. She didn’t speak; she just glared.
It felt to Ian as if time were passing in slow motion. He didn’t know if he should speak or keep his silence. He decided to take another chance to plea his case. “Jo please I…”
Jo suddenly threw herself at Ian with such force that he stumbled backwards. “If you ever do anything to me like that again I’ll kill you with my bare hands,” she said as she embraced him in apparent relief.
And they picked up right where they had left off; pants on the floor, shirts on the stairs, undergarments in the hall, and hands everywhere. They had the most explosive night of their entire relationship. It was as if the time spent apart had prevented them from burning up all of their energy and it was all being released at once in that very moment.
Jo fell asleep in Ian’s arms unbelievably content as he kissed the top of her head. She slept so soundly and so deeply that in the morning when Ian went down stairs to make her an apology breakfast, she didn’t hear him get up. When she finally did stir, she felt very groggy and her eyes were unfocused. She felt someone staring at her from the foot of the bed. As she tried to focus her eyes, she made out the figure of a dark haired woman but she had a hard time making out who it was.
“Isabella?” She asked unsure.
“Wrong!” said the figure, as she lunged headlong at Jo.
Jo heard a crash and a thud, and the next thing she knew, Ian was at the foot of the bed staring at the woman he had just thrown across the room.
“Ian sweetheart, that’s not a very nice way to treat me after all of these years.” The voice was so silky, and the woman stood up. She was stunning. Her straight dark hair fell just to her shoulders and her eyes were as dark as ebony. She had the same chiseled look that Ian had. Her face was mesmerizing.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Ian was beside himself.
“I just wanted to see you that’s all. I’m jealous it looks like you’ve replaced me.” She stole a quick glance at Jo who was too stunned to say a word.
“I don’t know what you want or what you’re up to, but you need to leave right now,” Ian’s chest heaved.
“You’re hurting my feelings Ian. Aren’t you happy to see me?”
“No!”
“Alright I’ll go…for now. But I do find all of this so very amusing,” she said looking up from under her long eyelashes.
“What is it that you find so amusing?”
“Well Ian, I can understand how Marcus ended up with a human, being so darn sensitive and all of that. But never in all of my years would I have guessed that you would have fallen for a witch.” And with that she was gone.
“Ian, who the hell was that?” Jo finally choked out.
“That,” Ian said, “would be Mia.”