“What?” he growled.
“I thought they were going to die like you said they were. It takes a long time to charge, Uncle Gaston, you know that. I can’t help it. I wasn’t going to charge up on the off chance that your little plan fell through. You know how bad it sucks.”
“You idiot,” he yelled. “Now he’s ascended and you have no idea what kind of power he has. He’s going to hurt you, you little—”
“No. He’s going to hurt you. I’m out.”
“No you’re not. Get back here!”
She turned, but stopped. “I can’t help it if I’m the only one the little experiments worked on. You all ran me into the ground using my ability. For what? You don’t treat me any better. For family? Pfft. This isn’t a family. This is an army. And this soldier sees that she’s outnumbered in this battle. Have fun, Uncle Gaston.”
“Come back here!”
Once she was gone, Gaston turned to Seth. And I knew from the look on his face, it was not going to be pretty.
“This is all your fault. The family started to fall apart when you bonded with her. Any one of us would have killed to have been given the privilege of that task and you were handed it. Instead you fall in love with her.” He spit in our direction. “You deserve to live with them. Their sentimental crap, their drivel. If only I could go back and not waste an entire lifetime on you. You disgust me. You may be ascended, but so am I.” He came toward us. “And this ends today.”
Seth pushed me with a hand on my stomach. “Get back, Ava.”
“Oh, God,” I moaned and prayed, and realized that Gaston was truly going to try to fight him. I didn’t even know what his ability was, but I didn’t even have my phone—
The words had barely left my mouth when a car pulled into the lot. Seth was looking, too, and Gaston was about to take advantage of it when he was nearing him.
Look out.
He ducked out of the swing and sighed. “Are you really going to fight me?”
“Are you really going to duck me the whole time?”
I could see in Seth’s mind that his ability was that he could hit you with the force of two punches at once if he could get a hit on you. That was why Seth came at him from behind that night at my house. But that wasn’t going to kill him, so why did he think he was going to be able to end it tonight?
Something wasn’t right.
I looked to see Rodney getting out of the car. His eyes bulged as he looked at the scene.
“You never answered the texts. Mom was a little worried so she sent me to make sure you and Seth hadn’t fallen in a pothole.”
I ran over and stood next to him. I turned back to watch and could feel Seth’s pain and guilt over this already. His uncle’s rage was just too much and he wasn’t going to let it go. He didn’t want to live with them, he didn’t want to look over our shoulder forever, he wanted me to be safe, but that didn’t mean he wanted to kill his uncle.
And his uncle, in his stupid rage, didn’t even know what Seth’s ability was. He didn’t even care. He just stupidly thought he could take him if he could just get one swing on him.
“What happened to you?”
“I can’t right now,” I answered.
I could only guess what I looked like right then, but I couldn’t worry about that, I had to focus on Seth. I watched as Seth ducked again, and was about to deck his uncle and leave him there when Gaston pulled a knife from his boot. Between blocking the knives and the fists, Seth took a hit to the stomach and got sliced on the arm. I tried not to scream as I bit into my fist. I felt Rodney holding me back so I didn’t try to run forward. Seth gripped his uncle’s arm and he hissed and slid backward. He raised his arm like he was going to throw the knife at him, but in its place was a poultice bottle. Like the one he had thrown at my father. Seth lifted his arm to block it, but there was nothing he could do. I yelled and threw my hands forward in frustration. There was no way I could have gotten there in time. A strand of fire came barreling out from my fingers in front of Gaston, obliterating the bottle.
He groaned and then threw the knife next. I blocked that one, too.
He looked at me angrily, knowing that my power was obviously more proactive than his. So he ran at Seth, knowing I wouldn’t risk hitting Seth if they were so close together. They tumbled on the ground and Gaston wound up on top. I tried to break free, but Rodney held me back. “Wait.”
Seth kept burning his uncle’s hand, but he just kept yelling through the pain and pushing on, determined to put that dagger in his chest.
“Uncle, don’t make me do this.”
“It’s over!” Gaston yelled. “Starting with you, and then every last Jacobson.”
Seth reached up with his other hand and wrapped it around his uncle’s neck. It began to burn. He screamed and Rodney turned me to make me look away. I could feel how badly Seth felt as he looked into his uncle’s eyes, watched as he took his life, watched as he watched the man he thought had actually cared about him, even if it had been only because he was his protégé, die.
I heard the fire trucks in the distance. Someone had finally seen or heard something. And now we were going to have to come up with a story. I felt Seth’s hand on my arm and swung around to hug him to me.
“I’m so sorry,” I told him.
“We need to go,” he told me, avoiding how guilty he felt, how ripped up inside he was.
“Too late.” Rodney pointed at the cop pulling in.
“Daggumit. Now we’ll have to come up with a story,” he growled.
“We’ll be okay.” I walked back to the door before the cop could see inside and tried to figure out how to get the fire out of my hands again. Smoke was still everywhere, so it looked like there was still a fire. There was no way we were going to be able to explain how the fire got put out. When the place was sufficiently ablaze again, we went over to cop and began a concocted story that we made up between the two of us in our connected minds, that sadly, wasn’t far from the truth.
And then the firemen showed up.
_ _ _
“You’re trying to tell me that this guy set the place on fire with you inside it? And he’s your uncle?” Seth nodded. “And I thought my family reunions were bad.”
Trouble had been getting us blankets and coffee and trying to make us comfortable since he got there and the fire had been put out. We hadn’t been allowed to leave, no matter how much Seth asked them to let us. Seth was a mess. His fingers never left me, always touching me or caressing, moving, down my arms or hands. Trouble had gotten us to take off what was left of our other jackets and put us in some blankets.
“I won’t ask how these are practically burned to nothing and you don’t have a scratch on you,” he quipped and eyed me, obviously thinking I was the culprit. I guess I was in a sense. We had healed each other of anything that had happened to us. But he didn’t know that Seth could do things, too. And it could stay that way. He could just keep thinking I was the freak.
“You’re not a freak,” Seth growled all of a sudden and then sighed when Trouble and I both looked at him in shock. “Will you just stop with that?”
“I was half kidding,” I said softly, trying to joke and lighten the mood. He didn’t go for it.
“I’m the only one who’s actually been a freak all my life.”
Trouble’s eyebrows lifted.
“Seth,” I tried to stop him.
He looked at Trouble. “I’ve had an ability since I was eight. I can go into people’s dreams.” He gave him a pointed look that I didn’t understand until…
Trouble gasped and pointed. “That was you.” He let a breath go. “I’m actually kind of relieved. Now I don’t have to feel weird about having a dream about you anymore.” He cut his eyes at him. “I mean, really, what was with putting me in the tutu? And the zoo? I mean I get it was my birthday and all.”
I smiled, not even wanting to know, but Seth stayed stoic and angry.
“This was all because of me,” he said to th
e ground. “I should have been able to stop Lilith. I should have known they were using her to get to you. I should have been more convincing with my family. I should have known they’d try something and not believe me. I…should have known,” he groaned and looked at me, so angry. “And you almost died because of it. My one job on this earth is to keep you safe and I can’t even do that right. Over and over I keep putting you in danger.”
“Our families—”
“They are not my family,” he growled in response.
“The Watsons and the Jacobsons,” I answered softly, “have always hated each other. My mom took the Watson’s power before we were born. This day was coming whether we were together or not. If it hadn’t been me, it would have been Rodney.” I looked at him and he knew I was right. He nodded and looked down. “You can’t help what other people do. You can only react to their decisions and do the best you can. You told me Lilith was going to take you down, you knew, and you told me to run. I did. I would have made it if your uncle hadn’t been here.”
“I don’t want to spend my whole life looking over my shoulder to see what the next thing is that’s going to try to hurt you.” He let his gaze swing up to meet mine. “And that’s what this is going to be. You know that, right? Especially now that Gaston—” He gulped. “I’ve just fed the flame, made it so much worse. Once again, not protecting you like I should have.”
“Did you not hear him?” I said a little too loudly and adjusted my tone. I could feel his guilt all around him. It was all around him, but he was so angry, too. It was so confusing to sift through. “He said he was starting with you and going down the line of Jacobsons. You don’t think I was next as soon as he finished with you? You had no choice but to do what you did. This didn’t just start, Seth. I know you’re upset,” I whispered, but heard a ruckus near the road and turned to see our parents trying to get through. They weren’t letting them. I looked at Rodney with a glare.
“What? You really didn’t think I’d call them?”
“We’re not minors. They wouldn’t have called them, Rodney. We could have taken care of this at home. Now Mom is going to—”
“Let me go through now! My kids are in there,” Mom yelled.
“—blow up the place,” I finished and winced. I sighed. “I better go over there before someone gets their head blown up.” Trouble’s eyes widened. “Kidding. Sort of.” I shrugged.
I went to pull my hand from Seth’s. He was so angry he didn’t want me around anyway it seemed. But before the tips of my fingers could even leave his, he gripped my wrist. I looked back, confused. His eyes begged me not to go, not to leave his touch, not to leave his sight, not to leave him at all.
He was angry, yes, he was so guilty for what he had to do, yes, and he did feel like always let me down. And he was trying so hard not to lose it. The only way he knew how not to was to put up a front and act like he was the opposite. I knew if I tried to comfort him, it would open the flood gates, so I didn’t. It would be the same for me, too. I was almost…numb at this point.
We hadn’t even gotten to properly celebrate the fact that we had ascended. And given the fact that Rodney hadn’t said anything, I must have looked pretty bad and he couldn’t tell. I started to turn to Rodney and tell him to go handle Mom, but he was already looking at me. He must have seen it on Seth’s face because he said, “I’ll go,” and smirked, shaking his head.
I didn’t say anything else. I just turned, my blanket still wrapped tightly around me, and sat in between Seth’s legs on the back of the truck, leaning back against his chest. He engulfed me in his arms, wrapping his blanket around me as well, pressing his cheek to mine so we’d be touching in more places than one.
“God, thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for saving her.” He kissed my jaw and squeezed me to him. I felt the numbness start to drift away. “I love you, little bird. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t,” I begged. Now I was the one not wanting to show and tell what we’d been through. He didn’t say another word, just held me, kissing my jaw and neck every now and then, as we waited for the cops to come and get our final statement.
When they said we could go, I’d never been happier in my life. Trouble eyed us with something close to sadness, like he’d never see us again. I rolled my eyes and left Seth’s embrace, but he kept my hand in his the whole time as I hugged Trouble to me.
“Thank you. For keeping our secret.”
“You saved my life. The future Mrs. Trouble greatly thanks you. Because who wants to miss out on all this.” He smirked.
I laughed while Seth brought him in for a brotherly hug. “You are ridiculous, man.”
“It’s why you love me.”
“It’s true,” Seth agreed and sighed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself now. I’m going to miss it.”
He looked at the burned building and I felt guilt pound into me once more. He looked over at me. “No. It’s meant to be this way.” He smiled a little and it was actually genuine. “I’ll find something great to do. Let’s get you home.”
When we reached Mom and Dad, who were still stuck behind the line, and not happy about it mind you, Mom wrapped me in a tight hug. “Oh, my gosh. I never imagined this when I sent Rodney after you.”
“It’s fine now, Mom. Seth took care of everything.”
I looked back at Seth to see Dad already hugging him. I wanted to cry. This whole day just made me want to cry.
“Thank you, son,” he told him. “Rodney told us what you did.”
Seth nodded, looking down at the ground, his fingers reached across, latched on to mine, because we still hadn’t let go.
“We need to go to home,” I told them, knowing Seth needed me. The breaking point was reaching the thin thread for both of us. “It’s…been a long day. Please.”
“Of course,” Mom said and opened the back door of her car. “We’ll come get your car later.”
We climbed in and I put my head on his shoulder as we made the ride to my house, gripping his arm and hand so tight.
As soon as we reached my room and I pushed the door closed, he pulled me to him and pressed me to the door. Just pressed me there. I loved feeling his mouth against my forehead, but he was still trying not to lose it, still holding it in with everything he had, and that wasn’t what this was about anymore. This was the place you could lose it. This was the place you should lose it. I pulled him down to me and kissed him once.
“No more stalling,” I told him, my eyes finding his in the dark. “This is the only place in the world you can fall apart, Seth.” I cupped his face. “And I feel you. And I know,” I started to feel the sob rising, “that I need to let tonight go for myself. So let it go.”
I tossed off my blanket, and pulled his off as well. I kicked off my shoes, watching him do the same. Then I pulled him straight to the bed and it was so much like that night where we went to bed smelling like smoke and fire, but I just couldn’t care. I laid on the bed and he followed me, hovering, but he made sure to touch me this time. So different than before. Everything had changed.
“I watched him die by my hand,” he whispered, his eyes closed as he remembered what he looked like.
“He was going to kill you.”
“He was going to kill you next,” he said and shook his head. “I just don’t understand why. Why couldn’t he stop and live to fight this another day? Why did he have to do it this way, this day?”
I pulled his face up from where he was staring at my shirt, numb. “Everything happens the way it should, and that’s a hard lesson sometimes,” I rushed to say. “I truly believe that your uncle just…” I shrugged. “Evil has its day at some point and they all will meet their day. His day was today. I’m sorry that it had to be you. I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice catching.
His thumb rubbed my cheek. “They all will meet their day by me if they come after you. I’m sorry today was cut so close.” His eyes squeezed as he remembered thinking we were going to die. He shudde
red and shook his head.
“We’re alive. You’re alive and I get to wake up with you tomorrow. That’s all that matters to me right now.”
He pushed breath from his lips and then looked up at me. “And you said you’d marry me.” He was still upset, but he managed a small smile. “Was that just the thrill of death talking?”
“I wanted to marry you before I even met you.” I smiled and pulled him down to my lips. He sighed into our kiss. I then pulled his head to my chest just like before, letting him settle against my body, and began to comb his short hair with my fingers.
His mind ran with the thoughts of the Watsons, the way he grew up, the way the day unfolded, the way things could have gone down, the fact that we ascended, how proud of me he was, but mostly, he was just raw. He was always here for me, always protecting me, always making me feel better and making sure I was happy and safe. But that was my job, too.
I couldn’t even imagine what I would feel if someone in my family had tried to kill me. So I stayed right there, being whatever he needed me to be, and held him to me tightly, kissing his forehead every few seconds just because I needed to, and combed his hair to let him know that I was still there and would always be there. No matter what. And I knew that when the tables were turned, he would be there for me.
Mom had be right about that. She didn’t have to worry about me because Seth would be there.
Our lives weren’t perfect, our lives weren’t easy, our lives weren’t simple or cookie-cutter, but who wanted that anyway?
The lives of significants were usually this spectacular fairytale. And ours hadn’t started out that way by a long shot, but I was determined that we were going to get our happily ever after.
Eighteen
When morning came, I was alone in my room. That was the first time that had happened in a long time. But I could hear him in the shower. His thoughts were a lot less somber than before. A stack of clothes were on the end of the bed, but they weren’t Dad’s. Mom had gone shopping.