“I had things to do. What are you talking about? I told you that.” I wanted him to leave it alone. I didn’t want to tell him about the painting, not after so many years of secrecy.
“No, you didn’t tell me anything. And I knew you didn’t want me to ask, just like you never want me to ask.” Kellan moved forward and leaned against the fridge. I knew he didn’t intend it, but his stance seemed predatory.
“I saw Leah leaving the pizza place tonight. You sure you want to miss out on that?” I asked nervously. I downed the rest of the orange juice, and when I turned toward the sink, Kellan grabbed my arm and hauled me back.
“What?” I asked. Kellan had never been intentionally rough with me. I’d never seen it, but I knew he had it in him. In fact, something told me that he had a lot in him that I wouldn’t want to know.
His fingers tightened on my arm. “What were you doing tonight?”
I looked at his hand, almost distantly, though I felt the pain intimately. “Don’t ask me that.”
“Why? Are you going to tell me the truth?”
I looked up and met his gaze. His eyes were a piercing blue, so beautiful to look at, but I swallowed and steadied myself. “I would lie. And I don’t want to lie to you.”
Kellan didn’t remove his hand, but he used it to draw me closer. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t…” I looked in Kellan’s eyes. He wasn’t looking for some weak truth. He was looking for something deep, infinite, something that would hold true no matter what trials endured. So I lied for the first time, “I went to see Matt Rettley.”
“Why?” Kellan hadn’t bought my lie. His hand didn’t tighten or relax either.
I glanced at his hold on my arm. His fingers were strong, too strong, but we both knew he couldn’t hurt me. Slowly, almost gently, I slid a finger underneath one of his and yanked it backward. Kellan held his breath, but let me hold his finger at bay. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. They seemed to sparkle in the moonlight.
“Why, Shay?” Kellan demanded with a rough edge in his voice.
A shudder went down my spine, but I tightened my hold on his finger. “I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t say anything. I wouldn’t want my brother getting in trouble for me.”
“You don’t want me to get hurt?” A ghost of a smile flashed over his face.
I smiled, and then I yanked his finger the rest of the way until the bone snapped. Kellan didn’t move, not an inch. When it was done, after a moment of silence, he rasped, “Are you going to break the rest of my fingers?” He still had his hold on my arm, but his fingers had loosened their grip. I shrugged off his hand and stepped back.
A chill slammed into me, and I hugged myself to ward it off.
Kellan watched. He didn’t say a thing.
Softly, I murmured, “I just lied to you.” I didn’t know what compelled me. Maybe it was that I’d broken his finger, I’d hurt him back. Or maybe it was because I’d lied for the first time and I needed to expunge myself. I wasn’t sure.
But I saw that Kellan already knew I’d lied.
I added, “I didn’t go to see Matt Rettley, but I’m not going to tell you where I was. That’s for me. And don’t put your hands on me again.” As I turned and headed upstairs to my room, I couldn’t shake off a sense of dread. Something had happened, something that felt off, between Kellan and me.
I hadn’t left him with the knowledge that I could and would hurt him, if need be. No. Kellan had left me with the knowledge that he allowed me to hurt him. He stood there and just let me do it. But…why?
I shook my head as too many chills washed over me. Kellan had always been my protector. He’d been beside me all my life. He would’ve been the big brother that any little sister would idolize, but the problem is that those girls didn’t know who their big brothers really were, or what they were capable of.
Kellan was a lot of things, but I needed to reassure myself that he’d always protect me. That was my bottom line… I couldn’t be concerned about it, not anymore. When I pushed through my bedroom door, I sagged in relief.
Within my four walls was my sanctuary. It was mine and mine alone. No Kellan. No Rettley. No Mrs. Ullen. No one. Just me.
The door burst open, and Giuseppa threw herself onto my bed.
Guess my sanctuary was easily penetrable.
I turned from my desk and sighed. “Can you leave? Please? I’m asking nicely.”
Giuseppa laughed, her blue eyes sparkled in evil mirth, and her smile widened as she threw out her arms to stretch on my bed. Her long golden curls became entangled around her arms and within my white laced bedcover, which starkly contrasted underneath the black bikini top and bottom she wore. Nothing else.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“I’m drunk, Shay. You should try it.” She giggled and hiccupped. “Oh. Oops.”
“Go to bed, Gus. Your own bed. Please.” I slumped down in my desk chair. The wood creaked, protesting, underneath my weight. I groaned. The chair would have to deal with it. I was dealing with my drunken, scantily-clad sister. As I bent forward to open my bag, I muttered, “You’re not passing out in my room. You snore, for one. And two, you want Kellan to wake you in the morning? You want to go running for me? I’m all for that.”
Giuseppa bolted upright and exclaimed as she brushed her curls back from her heated face, “Speaking of Kellan—what’d you do to him? He looked like he could commit murder or something.”
“Why do you think it was me?”
“It usually is. He doesn’t get that pissed with me.” She shuddered. “And hell no. I am not going running for you. That’s your sick obsession that I don’t understand. It’s not like we have to work for these bodies.”
My heart froze. Everything froze. I froze.
I hated hearing those words.
“I’m sorry. I forgot that you hate talking about how we’re different. Whatever. I’m out.” Giuseppa stood up and strode to the door. Just as she reached it, she swiftly turned, her blonde curls swung so that a strand hung just off her lips, and she rested her hands on her slim hips. Her black bikini showed off her perfect body…the body that she claimed we didn’t have to work for.
I lifted deadened eyes to her face. I knew what was coming.
“You need to deal with it, Shay. We’re different. Our entire family is different. We’re not human. We don’t have to play by their rules. I think it’s seriously weird that Kellan indulges you by going on these ‘runs.’ I don’t get it. I don’t get why he indulges you at all. You’re so…out of all of us, you are the most powerful and the weirdest one. You never even use—”
“That’s enough.” Kellan materialized from behind Giuseppa. He wrapped an arm around her mid-section and lifted her into the hallway. I could hear her rant, “Stop, Kellan. Stop—”
“Gus, stop. Hush.” I closed my eyes, but I still knew what was going on just outside my door. Kellan had placed his hand over Giuseppa’s mouth. He was making soothing sounds, but none of it worked. It enraged more than sedated her.
“No!” She ripped his hand away. “I’m freaking tired of it. Where was she today? That’s right, you don’t know. None of us know where she goes. You should know, you’re more powerful than the rest of us except for Shay, who doesn’t even use her powers. But no…”
There was silence. I felt my heart skip another beat. And then I heard a more muted Giuseppa, like she’d lost her fight. “I think I’m drunk. I think I’ll go to bed.”
“That’s a good girl.” I heard Vespar murmur from down the hallway.
Kellan stood in my doorway and watched until another door clicked shut.
I didn’t say a thing. I didn’t need to. We both knew Gus would be sleeping it off in Vespar’s room the rest of the night. If I weren’t related to them, I’d assume they were incestuous. They had a weird best friend/sibling relationship. Vespar was often the only one who could quiet Gus.
“I think he uses his mind tricks on her,” Kellan offered his two c
ents. He flashed a sardonic smile and sauntered inside to sit where Gus had recently been lying. I hadn’t moved.
I finished pulling out my homework.
“She’s right, you know.”
“Can we not?” I groaned, but I knew what was coming.
“We’re not human, Shay. Stop pretending we are.”
“Kellan, don’t…” I said.
“I’m not saying that we have to have a conversation about it. I’m just saying, you gotta own up to who you are someday. And that day’s coming soon, Shay.”
“Kellan, stop.” I reared back. I was ready for a fight. Suddenly, I wanted that fight. I could feel the energy in my body. It tingled right down to my fingertips. I wondered what I’d see if I looked at my hands, if I’d actually see the power there.
Kellan fell silent. He was the one to rear back this time. He stood to his fullest height, his eyes thoughtful, and then he sniffed the air. An evil smile lit his face, his golden features, and his shoulders straightened. He was ready for a fight, one that he lived for.
A part of me died inside because that fight was with me.
“Are you ready?” He moved forward, just an inch. “I can feel it in the air. I can feel you, Shay. You’re everywhere. Everyone in the house knows it. You’re enraged. They can feel it, and they cower.”
I narrowed my eyes and slammed the door shut behind him.
Kellan didn’t even jump. I felt his adrenaline kick up another notch.
“This is what you want? This is what you live for? You want to fight me?” I whispered.
“No, Shay. I don’t want to fight you. I want to make you alive. I want to see what you can do.”
“Why? Why is it you?” It was always Kellan, since I was a little kid. It was never Vespar. Never my sister. Not even my mother or our father. It didn’t feel right. When we grew up, it was only Kellan.”
“What do you mean, Shay? Who takes care of you? Who makes sure you eat? Who makes sure you get a ride home from school? Is that what you mean? Why is it always me who pushes you? That’s what I’m doing right now. I’m pushing you. Let go. Feel your powers. Show me what you can do.”
“Show me what you can do.”
Those words weren’t right. They didn’t sound right. I shook my head, and the fight left me. I didn’t understand it, but something rebelled against Kellan. It was like he wanted me to do something and I couldn’t, not on command.
They were correct, though. I knew we weren’t human. It was why I knew I could’ve easily removed Matt Rettley’s hands from holding me against the locker, why I could’ve stopped him. It was why I had felt Kellan’s approach before I saw him. It was why… It was possibly why I painted masterpieces. But it didn’t matter, not in that moment, because in that moment I was a student.
I tapped my books. “I need to do my homework.”
Everything was gone in that moment. The air was replete, sucked of emotion, and I actually saw Kellan’s chest fall in disappointment.
“I don’t think I can go running in the morning. I’ll be up late studying. There’s a test in college psych tomorrow, you know…” I trailed off.
Kellan just sighed and left.
I was okay with it. I had homework to do. In some ways, I wasn’t sure if I was a coward or if I was courageous.
Dew still stuck to my car. The morning was chilled. A light smattering of chirping birds could be heard in the background as I arrived at school the next morning. I took a moment and remained in my seat. I wasn’t quite ready to face another day as a Braden. It didn’t use to bother me so much, but…things had started to change, somehow, unexplainably.
Pulling the mirror over, I sat back and studied what I saw.
I had a heart-shaped face, with slightly reddened cheeks that came naturally. My cheekbones seemed to stick out, which drew the eye to my lips. A curve filled out on my top lip, and the bottom was slightly plush. And my eyes, dark eyelashes over frostbitten green eyes, and coal black hair that framed each side of my face.
I looked good. I knew it, but I didn’t care. Giuseppa was gorgeous. She was one of those golden Greek goddesses, and she loved it. She used her looks to get anything she wanted, and if her looks didn’t work, she’d use her powers. She’d probably slept with half of the guys in school, and most of them didn’t even remember. Gus was the ultimate female player, but no one even considered slamming her with labels such as “slut” or “whore.” Gus was just Gus, and she wasn’t considered on the same level as the human girls, who would call each other “slut” or “whore.”
Gus used them, enjoyed them, and made them forget. There were no ramifications afterwards.
I wasn’t sure, but I assumed Vespar did the same thing. He was just more discreet about it.
And Kellan…Kellan slept with who he wanted. If he changed their memories, that was up to him. No girl dared make any demands after a night with him. She wouldn’t have lasted long enough for the words to even escape her lips. His look alone would’ve filleted her, but I knew he altered some memories. I’d felt it in the air, like he’d felt my power last night. I always assumed that his sexual exploits, the ones that turned bad, were the recipients of erased memories.
Maybe, maybe not.
Matt Rettley’s scamper was the same as everyone else. No one wanted to mess with Kellan. If they did, those people tended to be changed for the rest of their life.
And me…I stared in the mirror. I looked different from them. I felt different from them. But was I different? I had the same powers, more powers, but I rarely used them. I felt like I couldn’t, like I hadn’t a reason for them, not yet.
I eyed my clothes. I always chose black, though I wasn’t sure the reason. And I always covered every inch. Sometimes I wore jeans, like I was wearing today. They were faded blue that I paired with a tight black long-sleeved shirt. Why did I cover my skin? It wasn’t because I was pale to my siblings’ tanned skin. No, it was because something new had started to arise in the last year, something that I didn’t dare tell a soul, especially my siblings.
I pushed up one of my sleeves and looked down. My wrist was pale, like normal, but three inches above, a black circling tattoo had formed. Some days it was there, and other days it wasn’t. I hadn’t asked for it. I hadn’t performed any spell for it. I had no idea what it meant, but it was on my arm anyway.
It scared the crap out of me. I was the only one with it.
“Hey!”
I looked up in time to watch a body thrown across the front of my car. It bounced and dropped to the ground outside my door. I hurried out and saw the body was a skinny boy with scraggly blond hair. He looked like he hadn’t showered in a week, and there were two holes ripped in his red T-shirt. The jeans were skin tight, not designer tight, but washed too many times tight. They rested an inch above his socks and sneakers.
He looked up in horror, and the look doubled when he saw who I was. As I closed the door and stepped to the side, two athletic-looking guys raced around and braked at the sight of me.
I was a Braden after all.
“Sorry, Shay.” One of the guys rushed out, his chest heaving underneath a blue polo shirt.
The other guy ran a ragged hand through his own brown mop of curls. “Yeah, sorry. We didn’t know you were in the car. We weren’t thinking.”
“So, if it was someone else’s car and someone else had been in it, you’d still have thrown the boy? Do you do that a lot? Throw people at cars?”
The first guy flushed. “No, I mean…look, this isn’t…I mean…”
“Shay.” Kellan stood on the other side of my car. He’d materialized like he always did. As he gazed questionably at the two guys, he came around to join us. When he stood above the boy on the street, Kellan looked once at me, confused, but the look disappeared. He was amused, and he only leaned against the car, just behind me. As I looked from my brother to the other two, images of a panther keeping company with hyenas came to mind.
It wasn’t too far off from reality
.
“Um, I mean…hi, Kellan.”
“Pete.” Kellan tucked his head, content to let me handle the situation. Whatever situation it was, I wasn’t quite sure.
“Look, you can’t throw people at cars.” I decided what the situation was. The boy was an obvious victim. The two idiots were bullies, and I was the one who needed to stop it.
A part of me cringed, knowing that Kellan wouldn’t have cared either way.
It didn’t matter. I’d just decided my role, and I clarified it again as I repeated, “You’re bullying him. How old are you?”
Pete looked like his mouth had become glued shut as his eyes skirted from me to Kellan and back again. The other guy had yet to make a noise since my brother’s appearance.
“His name is Scott,” Kellan informed me. He didn’t move from his leaning stance.
I kept my back to him. “Why would you even throw—what’s your name?” I turned and glared my question. The boy seemed to tremble,