Chapter Seven
‘Come on!’ I cried, running towards the lake.
‘Wait up.’ He laughed as he started to sprint.
I didn’t slow down. I was ready for the cold splash of water as I jumped straight into the deep lake. Opening my mouth, I allowed water to flood me. A smile spread when the sensation of drowning gave way to a different type of breathing. My whole soul expanded as I floated underwater.
‘Pisces…!’
The shout from above was muffled by the water so I pushed myself to the surface.
Antony blinked rapidly when he saw water gushing from my mouth and nose. My cheeks heated at the way he almost cringed. I never thought to hide myself from him.
‘That’s pretty gross,’ he said, looking down at me.
He made me laugh. It was only Antony. I didn’t really care how I looked around him.
‘Thanks…well—’
A gunshot sounded, cutting me off mid-sentence. A small splash next to me made me squeal. Antony ducked down and looked towards the small trees that lined the garden.
Another shot rang out. He grunted and pitched forward, into the lake. He had been hit. I dived under as his body started to sink.
His eyes were open. He tried to kick to the surface but only one of his arms moved. The bullet must have gone into his shoulder. Blood swirled and swelled within the water. I didn’t know what to do. He opened his mouth and I panicked, knowing that water was about to fill his lungs. Grabbing his face, I placed my mouth over his. I put my hand on his chest and breathed into him. The rise of his chest made me feel better as we floated to the surface and broke through. He spluttered but was able to pull in a breath.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes, that worked.’ He panted.
We couldn’t see the shooter from such a low vantage point. The pop of a gun sounded again so Antony grabbed me and pushed me underwater. Holding onto his good shoulder, I pulled him down with me. There was no way I would let him take more bullets for me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and took his face between my hands. He held his breath and for a second we just gazed into each other’s eyes. When his eyes widened, I breathed into his mouth again.
As we floated to the surface, I took my hands away. He took in another deep breath and wrapped his arms around me. My legs were still around his waist. I suddenly felt hot when he held me close.
‘It’s okay. I’ve run the shooter off,’ Derek called from somewhere nearby.
I tried to pull away from Antony before his brother could see us but he held on.
‘Your shoulder…’ I whispered as he looked at me.
My hands rested on his chest. He didn’t say anything.
‘Are you okay?’ Derek called, his footsteps sounding nearer.
Antony let me go, so I took his good arm and dragged him to the edge of the lake. It was deep and didn’t slope out like most lakes. Derek came into view and took hold of his brother.
‘He was hit in the shoulder, I think,’ I said as I pulled myself out.
Water ran off me. I ignored it as I turned towards the men. As soon as he was upright, Antony’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started to slump. Derek caught him just in time. He put one arm under his shoulder. I went to Antony’s other side and did the same. We helped him through the garden and into the house.
‘What happened?’ Father came out of his library.
‘Antony’s been shot,’ Derek said as we took him up the stairs. ‘We’d better take him to your room.’
I frowned but did as I was told.
‘Why have we brought him in here?’ I asked when Derek put him on my bed.
‘Because it’s the only room with a sink and a double bed. It will be easier to sort him out. Plus our room is a pigsty,’ he said, turning the tap on and letting it run hot.
‘My side isn’t.’ Antony’s voice was quiet.
He was awake. He winced when he tried to lift himself up so I took his hand to stop him.
‘Stay still. Father has called a doctor. Why hasn’t he called an ambulance?’
Derek came over with some scissors and started to cut away Antony’s sopping wet T-shirt. I swallowed as smooth ridged muscles and bare skin came into view.
‘Too many questions.’ Antony squeezed my hand. ‘I’ll be okay, it doesn’t feel too bad. Just a graze maybe. Bloody lucky if you ask me.’
Derek rolled him and ripped off the rest of the shirt. I couldn’t help but trace his body with my eyes. He had a couple of tattoos but I didn’t take the time to see what they were.
‘It’s not too bad,’ Derek said as he studied the wound.
I was no expert in gunshot wounds. Derek squeezed water from a flannel over the wound. The blood washed away to reveal a hole where the bullet had gone in.
‘Is he okay?’ Father came into the room followed by an older man.
‘Let me see,’ the doctor said, stepping forward and taking over from Derek. ‘It’s quite clean. I just need to take the bullet out. It’s lodged within the skin’s surface, not too much of a problem. He was lucky.’
‘Pisces, I think you should go downstairs.’ Father pulled me away.
‘But—’
I wanted to stay and help. Antony had been hurt because of me. I needed to make sure he was all right.
‘Leave!’ my father barked, pushing me out the door.
Why had someone been shooting at us? How had the Dysfunctionals found me already? I hadn’t even met my soulmate yet.
‘Come with me, love.’
Father’s new wife, Bev, came up the stairs and led me down them. I let her guide me. She had been kind since I’d arrived but I kept my distance. A part of me couldn’t believe that my father had moved on from Mother.
‘He will be okay,’ Bev said, sitting me in the library.
The bookshelves that surrounded me had sent thrills up my spine when I first saw them. I had already read some of the books as I got used to my new home. A memory of Father in the old house came back to me. He used to read to us from a book that explained our mission. I stood suddenly. The chair tipped. I ignored it as my gaze roamed the bookshelves.
‘Here you are, dear.’ Bev handed me a mug of tea.
‘How much do you know about me?’ I asked, righting the chair and taking a seat on it.
Father would know where the book was. It was time I took charge of my own mission and learnt what I was supposed to be doing.
‘Everything…’
I glanced at her as she smiled and left me alone again. Was she more than Father’s new wife? Was she a guardian, too?
‘Antony is recovering. The doctor has taken the bullet out and stitched him up.’ Father walked into the room and fiddled with the paperwork on his desk. ‘He’s been very brave. Will you take care of him while he recovers? I have a meeting in New York and need to leave later today. Derek will be here to keep guard and Bev will need to run the house, so you’ll be the only one to look after him.’
‘Yes, I’ll do that,’ I said. ‘I’m so relieved Antony is all right. We had such a shock…’ I tried to hide my tears and changed the subject. ‘Father, do you remember the book you used to read to me?’
He went completely still. If I reached out and pushed him with one finger, he would’ve fallen sideways. He held his passport in his hand but looked away from me.
‘Of course I do. Although I’m surprised you remember,’ he said, lowering his arm and looking over his shoulder at me.
‘Can I have it? It’s time I learnt about my mission from an adult’s point of view.’
The smile that lit his face was so big I wondered what I had said to make him happy.
‘I’m not surprised you’re the first one.’ He came over and pulled me into a hug.
‘What do you mean?’ I asked, my voice muffled against his suit jacket.
‘Only when you’re ready to learn will you seek what you need to find.’ He stepped back and put his hands on my shoulders. Looking into my ey
es, he nodded once and turned to the nearest bookshelf.
‘You’re not that special, Pisces. Hear me out before you get offended,’ he said. ‘Everyone on Earth has a purpose. It’s just that yours is a bit harder to forget about. People have free will when they come here, but I’m afraid when you signed up to do this, you gave up most of yours. The Zodiacs, as I like to call you, have that extra special mission. You’re going to awaken and teach the other twin flames.’ Father took out a book from the shelf and handed it to me.
The first thing I noticed about the book was the picture of the entwined couple. Light radiated from their heads and showered them completely. It spoke to me. The beauty of the cover sunk into my veins. I was a sucker for beautiful things.
‘You’ll read that book several times and still not know everything. The whole purpose of life is to learn from experience. You can have feelings when you read, especially with your emotional intelligence, but it won’t integrate until you experience it in reality. Remember that and you’ll be fine.’
His words resonated. They made my stomach flip. I hadn’t experienced much in life. How would I know how to find my twin flame? I traced my finger over the male on the cover.
‘It’s not about trying to find something, Pisces. It’s about allowing it to find you at the right time.’
Hugging me again, he turned me towards the door. He would be gone for a few days. In everyday life, he was a businessman with branches all over the world. He was a top executive of a green energy company. When we were young, he'd often go away for weekends.
‘Why did you leave us?’ I blurted.
The pressure of his fingers on my shoulders tightened slightly as he sighed.
‘The pain was too much. She’s my soulmate and we fell apart. We failed in our own relationship.’
The weight of his hands lifted. There was nothing I could say. I left the room without questioning him further.
‘Antony’s asking for you,’ Derek said when I came out.
Tucking the book under my arm, I went upstairs to my room. Insecurity made me hide the book. It was special to me and I needed it all to myself. I itched to start reading but I didn’t have time.
Antony looked a little groggy. The doctor had obviously given him strong painkillers. The old man was shutting his bag so I took the opportunity to hide the book in the drawer of the dressing table.
‘He will need to take these four times a day. I’ll be back tomorrow to check the wound and change the dressing. He needs to stay in bed for a couple of days to let the stitches settle.’ The doctor handed me a bottle of pills. Seeing him out, I thanked him for all that he had done.
‘I’m sorry you got shot,’ I said to Antony as soon as we were alone.
‘Did you arrange it, then?’ His lip rose into his cheek and revealed his dimple.
I shook my head, a little tempted to hit out at him. ‘Yes. I can’t believe they were such a rubbish shot,’ I joked.
He laughed, cringing when the movement jolted his shoulder. ‘You saved my life anyway,’ he said as his eyes met my gaze.
Stillness surrounded me. I couldn’t breathe as he reached out and pulled me towards the bed.
‘I’m not sure I did,’ I whispered as he tugged on my hand.
I knelt on the carpet. He reached up to stroke my cheek. ‘You breathed air into me when we were underwater.’
His hand found its way to the back of my neck. What was he doing? Was he high from the meds? Would he remember this when he was well again?
‘I’ve never seen anything so amazingly…’
I smiled as he pulled me closer.
‘Weird,’ he finished.
My body froze as the words hit my chest like a dart. Ripping out of his grasp, I pushed myself up.
He frowned. I turned to the window and looked out. I knew I was weird. I didn’t need him to confirm it for me.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing,’ I replied, gripping the windowsill as I watched a tractor in the distance. Just because he had an injury, didn’t mean he could mock me.
‘Don’t lie.’
I huffed and tried to loosen my shoulders. ‘When’s your birthday?’
He didn’t answer for a moment. ‘I’m not telling you,’ he eventually said.
‘Fine,’ I spat, going to the drawer and taking out my new book.
‘Where are you going?’
‘You need to rest,’ I replied, before slamming the door shut behind me.